All About Electric Fencing
Episode 10For 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 … Read More
sheep
Can I keep sheep and goats 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 … Read More
A Beginner’s Guide to 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 … Read More
Alfalfa Pellets vs Cubes and Hay
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, … Read More
Keeping a Closed Flock or Herd
Even though I’ve had chickens since 2002, I really don’t feel like I know much about sick chickens. We had them for more than a dozen years before it took more than one hand to be able to count the … Read More
Kelp: Friend or Foe
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
Goats and Sheep and Cobalt
You may have seen a cobalt block at your local feed store, or if you’re on social media, you may have seen goat or sheep owners talking about them. People have stated that it helps goats utilize their feed better … Read More
Heat Lamps, Safety, and Livestock
Every winter I see articles like this about a barn fire or other structure that burns down because of a heat lamp. In fact, we almost had two fires here because of heat lamps. Yeah, not just one, but two! … Read More
Tips for Protecting Your Livestock from Predators
One of the biggest challenges for anyone raising livestock is preventing predator attacks. This is true whether you have 300 head of sheep in Wyoming or 3 hens in Chicago. Predators are not simply big scary animals like lions and … Read More
Stall Cleaning: A Necessary Part of Homesteading
It’s not fun or sexy or exciting, but it is necessary — cleaning or mucking out stalls. If you asked ten people how they do this, you’d probably get ten different answers, and our answer has changed over the years. … Read More
