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 … Read More
Opinions on kelp for livestock vary about as much as they do on politics and religion. While one person says it’s a savior, others say it’s dangerous. The truth is somewhere in the middle. And as always, keep in mind … Read More
Did you know that the top five causes of mortality in chickens can be mostly prevented by management? That’s good news for those of us with chickens. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. At the Livestock Conservancy … Read More
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 … Read More
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 … Read More
When I was new to homesteading, I thought you just put up fences, stuck your animal in the pasture and left them there all year. However, there are a lot of reasons you should NOT do that! Rotational grazing or … Read More
It is a simple fact that you don’t need very many bucks for a dairy herd. Because a buck can sire dozens of kids, you should keep only the best for breeding. That means that a lot of bucklings … Read More
Why a Newborn Check? Shortly after each kid is born you should do an initial newborn check to make sure that each kid has all its pieces in the right places. In addition to checking for obvious things, such … Read More
The decision to dam raise or to bottle raise kids needs to be made before the kids are born. There has been a bias towards bottle raising baby dairy animals for the past few decades as factory farms … Read More
As we head into breeding season, some people wonder about the prevalence of goat infertility … Luckily, infertility in bucks is rare. An inability to get does pregnant is usually related to nutritional deficiencies, which is why a good mineral … Read More
Thrifty Homesteader is about creating a more sustainable life, but what exactly does that mean? It means making choices that will make you healthier...
