A few months ago I was giving a talk and brought up aquaponics as a good way to grow vegetables during times of drought. Aquaponics is growing fish and plants together. It could be outside or in a greenhouse or even in your basement, but the beauty of the system is that the plants take up the waste products of the fish, and the fish thrive by having the plants clean their … [Read more...]
Livestock and hot weather
With record breaking temperatures hitting many parts of the U.S. this week, anyone with livestock has probably been anxiously watching them to make sure they are surviving the heat. So, here are a few tips: WATER! Keep cool water available at all times! Dehydration is the main killer in hot weather. If you find an animal unable to stand, pinch its skin, and … [Read more...]
How the worst chicken ever became the best chicken ever
by Todd Allen Our dominant hen went broody this spring and we obtained fertile eggs for her to hatch. One of those eggs became Pat. We attempted feather sexing and it was completely ambiguous so he got an androgynous name. One of our more accurate divinations as we now have a lovely pullet named Boris and gave away her sibling a cockerel named Natasha. Of our male … [Read more...]
Growing your own meat
We became vegetarians in February 1989 when our first child was a toddler. Up until that point, I assumed (like most Americans) that meat came from animals who had spent happy lives wandering around in grassy pastures. But then I read an article about factory farmed chickens, and I wanted nothing to do with that industry. I began reading about eating a vegetarian diet and … [Read more...]
Choosing livestock for your homestead
It is that time of year when many of us are curled up with a cup of something warm and a hatchery catalog or we're on the Internet looking at classified ads for other livestock. Whether you will be bringing home your first livestock this spring or just adding to your herds and flocks, there are some important things to keep in mind. Last night I arrived home from the Illinois … [Read more...]
Chickens in winter
One of the biggest concerns of future chicken keepers, as well as novice chicken keepers, who live up north is how their birds will survive the winter. The short answer is that they'll survive just fine! You don't have to worry about heating the coop or feeding them hot cooked grains, both of which were done in the late 1800s in a failed attempt to get hens to lay eggs through … [Read more...]
Homegrown in the city
The only thing I regret about moving to the country is how many people look at me and say, "I wish I could do what you're doing, but I live in town." Oh, but you can do what we're doing, even if you live in town! I interviewed a few people for H&H who are doing it, and today I'm posting an interview with another person who lives in town and is doing it! Rachel Hoff, along … [Read more...]
Coop de Hill
Richard's Coop de Hill sits behind his vegetable garden, near his bee hives. If you want a chicken coop that sits in one place like Grandma's did (as opposed to the movable coop in my last post), you might be interested in this picturesque coop built by Chicago's Mindful Metropolis Publisher Richard McGinnis for the backyard layers at his rural farm Thorny Hill Manor, from … [Read more...]
City chicken condo
My oldest daughter, who now lives in a city, decided she wants backyard chickens, and we were happy to help out. After looking at a variety of portable, bottomless chicken coops online, we designed and built this one for her. The base needed to be four feet by eight feet so it could fit into the bed of our pick-up to move it to her house after we made it at our place. … [Read more...]
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