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All About Electric Fencing

04.08.2020 by thriftyhomesteader // 5 Comments

electric fencing

Episode 10 For the Love of Goats If you own goats, you only get one chance to get fencing right. One of the first things I learned about goats was that they were too smart for me to use a sub-standard fencing option. When we brought home our first goats, we thought that the existing single-wire electric fencing that had been installed for the former horse farm would … [Read more...]

Categories // chickens, goats, Podcast, sheep

Goats vs. Cows: The Ultimate Comparison

07.08.2019 by thriftyhomesteader // 7 Comments

goats vs cows milk

When we first moved to the country, I didn't give much thought to goat vs cow. I thought we needed a goat to make "goat cheese" and a cow for all of our other dairy products, such as milk, cream, cheddar cheese, yogurt, and so on. Before I learned the error in my thinking, we had already purchased two cows, in addition to three goats we bought.  If you grew up drinking … [Read more...]

Categories // cattle, goats, home dairy, homesteading

What’s the difference between alfalfa and grass hay?

07.02.2019 by thriftyhomesteader // 39 Comments

alfalfa and grass hay

When I got started with goats I barely knew the difference between hay and straw. Although I quickly learned that hay is food and straw is bedding, I just assumed that all hay was the same. That is definitely not the case.  Alfalfa, clover, and peanut are legume hays, while timothy, oat, bermuda, and orchard are examples of grass hays. If you're sitting there thinking … [Read more...]

Categories // cattle, goats, livestock health

Can I keep sheep and goats together?

05.21.2019 by thriftyhomesteader // 10 Comments

sheep and goats living together

Like many things related to livestock, the answer to the question, "Can I keep sheep and goats together?" does not have a simple yes or no answer. Sheep and goats have the same diseases This is probably the #1 reason I hear people say that you should not keep sheep and goats together. However, if your goats and sheep do not have any diseases, then they can't give them to each … [Read more...]

Categories // goats, sheep

A Beginner’s Guide to Sheep

05.07.2019 by thriftyhomesteader // 8 Comments

sheep

Are you considering getting sheep or do you already have a few? In addition to providing an introduction to raising sheep, this post also includes some of Thrifty Homesteader's most useful posts about sheep... Getting Your Sheep When it comes to choosing a breed of sheep, I'm partial to the breeds on the Conservation Priority List of The Livestock Conservancy, and it's … [Read more...]

Categories // sheep

What Nobody Tells You About Raising Ducks

04.09.2019 by thriftyhomesteader // 16 Comments

brooding ducks

If you've ever thought about raising ducks, this guest post by Rebekah Pierce of J&R Pierce Family Farm will help you get started successfully and if you already raise ducks, please share your tips in the comment section!   Here’s how our decision to start raising ducks happened. I was waitressing at the time, and my now-husband (then my fiance) sent me a text … [Read more...]

Categories // ducks

Alfalfa pellets vs cubes and hay

03.12.2019 by thriftyhomesteader // 53 Comments

alfalfa pellets

Even though I have written about feeding alfalfa pellets to goats, I still get a lot of questions about exactly how pellets are different than cubes or hay and how they should be used as part of a goat's diet, as well as other livestock. Can alfalfa pellets or cubes totally replace hay? If you are asking about sheep, goats, and cattle, the answer is no. Ruminants cannot live … [Read more...]

Categories // cows, goats, sheep

Who wants to raise geese on the homestead?

11.15.2018 by thriftyhomesteader // 10 Comments

raise geese

Once upon a time, I said I would never have pigs or geese. Well, you know my stance on pigs turned around 180 degrees. Today I'm a huge advocate of having pigs on the homestead, and especially American Guinea Hogs. But what about geese? Until I received a review copy of Kirsten Lie-Nielsen's new book, The Modern Homesteader's Guide to Keeping Geese, I didn't realize I had never … [Read more...]

Categories // geese

Rabbits and the Home Garden

08.20.2018 by thriftyhomesteader // 9 Comments

rabbits

Below is an excerpt from Storey’s Guide to Raising Rabbits, 5th Edition © Bob Bennett. Used with permission from Storey Publishing. Rabbits can help your garden grow, and your garden can do the same for your rabbits. The manure is great for growing most anything, and some garden produce can help you feed your rabbits. Rabbit manure contains higher proportions of nitrogen … [Read more...]

Categories // books, rabbits

Feeding alfalfa pellets to pigs

04.23.2018 by thriftyhomesteader // 15 Comments

In modern agriculture, pigs are fed a diet of mainly grains, but heritage pigs love grass, and our American Guinea Hogs are no exception. In winter, we used to feed them hay, but they wasted it terribly! If you think goats are wasteful, try pigs! You can't use a hay feeder with pigs. You have to put it on the ground because their mouths are below their snouts, and they leave … [Read more...]

Categories // pigs

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