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Tuberculosis in cattle, goats, and sheep

12.04.2017 by thriftyhomesteader // 5 Comments

tuberculosis in goats

If you are raising any type of animal for dairy, it's a good idea to know their tuberculosis status. TB is a zoonotic disease, which means animals can transmit it to humans. Although most states are TB-free, the disease does still pop up sometimes in random slaughterhouse testing or in routine herd testing, mostly in cattle, and it is spreading. When I got my first goats in … [Read more...]

Categories // cattle, goats, sheep

Growing an Agrihood

11.20.2017 by Janie Hynson // 1 Comment

Have you heard about agrihoods? I've seen this term popping up more and more recently. Short for "agriculture neighborhood," essentially, an agrihood is an urban or suburban neighborhood built around farms. Here's a video about one of the largest agrihoods in the country located in Ashburn, Virginia and another agrihood in Detroit. There are thought to be more than 200 … [Read more...]

Categories // conferences, farming, green living, homesteading, sheep, urban homesteading

Livestock Handling to Reduce Stress and Keep You Safe

11.16.2017 by thriftyhomesteader // 13 Comments

If you've ever wished you could read your animal's minds, then Temple Grandin is the person who can get you closer to that goal. Before reading her books, I never thought about how being a prey animal affects the personality of livestock. Imagine how nervous you would be if you knew intuitively that you could literally be someone's lunch. Understanding that one fact has helped … [Read more...]

Categories // cows, goats, I wish I'd known, pigs, sheep

Castrating Goats and Sheep with a Burdizzo

10.12.2017 by thriftyhomesteader // 118 Comments

castrating goats and sheep with Burdizzo

The first year we had goat kids I took them to the vet to be castrated surgically because I read that it was the most humane method. It was the first and last time I ever did that. The vet gave each one a shot of something that made them limp, but they were still capable of screaming weakly as he sliced open each side of the scrotum, pulled out each testicle and tossed it on … [Read more...]

Categories // goats, sheep

Want to go pro as a sustainable farmer? Meet Joel Salatin

09.28.2017 by thriftyhomesteader // Leave a Comment

Joel Salatin

When people think about sustainable or organic agriculture, many simply think that we are trying to replicate what our grandparents or great grandparents did. In fact, I remember visiting an organic farm years ago whose motto was "Grandpa knew best," and at the time I heartily agreed. I also hear conventional farmers say things like, "Why would we want to go backwards when we … [Read more...]

Categories // books, cattle, chickens, pigs

Feeding alfalfa pellets to goats

09.11.2017 by thriftyhomesteader // 153 Comments

alfalfa pellets

We started using alfalfa pellets years ago when we had goats that could finish all their grain faster than we could milk them. If goats get too much grain, they'll get diarrhea and a host of other health problems. And some goats are grain hogs. They don't chew. Not kidding here. They just slurp up the grain like a five-year-old eating ice cream. Of course, goats are going to … [Read more...]

Categories // goats, pigs

Collecting Rainwater on the Homestead

08.24.2017 by thriftyhomesteader // 12 Comments

collecting rainwater

Although I didn't grow up on a farm, I remember visiting my grandparent's farm and my uncle's ranch as a child. I only have a few memories of what I saw there, but one regarded water. They had downspouts that flowed into water troughs. So, when we moved to our homestead in 2002, we immediately put water troughs under two of the downspouts on the barn. I had no idea at the … [Read more...]

Categories // cows, donkeys, homesteading, livestock health, llamas, sheep, water

Poisonous plants and livestock

07.13.2017 by thriftyhomesteader // 16 Comments

poisonous plants livestock

A couple of weeks ago I visited a poisonous plant garden. No, it wasn't at Hogwarts. It was at the University of Illinois. Don't go looking for it. You won't find it. It is hidden away behind the school of veterinary medicine. Since the plants are poisonous, they don't want people taking self-guided tours and potentially poisoning themselves. Our tour was coordinated by The … [Read more...]

Categories // cattle, cows, ducks, livestock health, pigs, sheep

What’s so bad about lard?

07.06.2017 by thriftyhomesteader // 12 Comments

lard

For most of the twentieth century, people believed that lard was indigestible and unhealthy. They mistakenly believed that eating foods that contained cholesterol would raise your cholesterol, which would lead to heart disease. We now know that all the above is incorrect. Lard is actually good for you because it is a monounsaturated fat like olive oil. It contains about 50 … [Read more...]

Categories // Homegrown and Handmade excerpt, pigs

Homegrown Pork: Learn to raise ‘the Einsteins of the farm animal world’

06.26.2017 by Janie Hynson // 14 Comments

As I'm getting started with pigs, I was happy to discover Homegrown Pork: Humane, Healthful Techniques for Raising a Pig for Food by Sue Weaver, and I can't imagine a more comprehensive guide to raising pigs. Not only is the book very well-organized and thorough, but it will certainly endear you to these intelligent and entertaining animals if you're not already. In fact, … [Read more...]

Categories // books, pigs, recipes

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