Basic Equipment for Chcikens

Basic Equipment for Chickens

Our newest blog post is all about chickens.  We go into some details about the basic equipment for chickens to get started with these fine feathered friends.  Chickens bless our homestead in many ways, including entertainment and food.  It is kind of like dinner and a movie, only different.

 http://heritagebreedsfarm.com/composting/basic-equipment-for-chickens/

Either copy and paste the link or click HERE

Chickens (Photo credit: Allie’s.Dad)

Also, please take the time to follow us on our new site.

Homesteading Series: Part 2: Next Steps

The next phase as I see it in regard to homesteading is to figure out your plans.  There are many things to consider that can play into the homesteading scene.  I will try to go more in depth with each topic, but thought is best to try to lay out the basics.  I will try to think of everything and am certain that I will leave some things out.    In the first part of this series, we talked about site selection.  For this part and moving forward, I am going to assume that step one has been taken care of.  I will figure that a water supply is secured and a home built.  (I suppose that a site could be purchased and set up in a different way than what I am describing here.  For instance, acreage could be obtained, yet the building of the house may be in the distance….so don’t lose hope if you can’t have the acreage and the home right off the bat.)  Some of these steps can be taken out of order.

1. Animal selection.  I recommend starting with chickens because they are cheap and easy, yet you get the incredible, edible egg as a result.  Most consider a dairy cow or a goat for milk production.  Sheep provide wool.  I would also suggest a dog of some sort for protection and possibly as a working dog.
2. Building selection.  This will need to be built around the potential animals.  For instance,
   

   A Chicken tractor. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

   a small outbuilding works great for chickens.  They can even be managed in a portable chicken coop (or a chicken tractor)which has a variety of designs.  A larger barn is necessary for cattle, goats, sheep, pigs and horses.

3. Animal containment.  This will again depend on the type of animal.  Cattle and horses test fences in ways that are different from pigs.  Chickens are a whole another ball of wax.
4. Plant Selection.  Do you want an orchard?  How about a berry plot?  A grape arbor?  And of course a garden.  I like Heirlooms for seed saving, making yourself more self-sufficient in the process and potentially saving money down the road.
5. Garden site.  Raised beds?  Traditional garden?  Should you build a cold frame or two? (yes!)
6. Medicine strategy.  By this I am thinking along the line of herbs.  You will need to consider which herbs that you will need and want to grow.
7. Storage Consideration:  With homesteading you will likely be saving root crops, making a root cellar a reasonable thought.  You will likely be canning, so you will need jars, lids, and a canner.
8. Tool Selection.  What tools will you need to have on hand?  Again, you might want to prepare for the practical and think toward the possibility of major circumstances changing.  As an example, you may get a chainsaw and a really good handsaw, just in case fuel becomes scarce.  I will suggest some nice tools that I have found for the garden.

I am certain that I have left some things out, so watch for this one to get edited in the future.  I typically write these posts as they come to me, not well thought out and written down onto paper.  Any thoughts and suggestions are always appreciated!  I will get some more thoughts down and put some thought into it as I review a few resources.

Until Next Time.

Related articles

• Homesteading: What Is It? (heritagebreedfarms.wordpress.com)
• Homestead Series Part 1 Where to Begin (heritagebreedfarms.wordpress.com)
• Planning your Suburban Homestead (prepping101.wordpress.com)
• Unusual Chicken Coops (hanburyhouse.com)

100th Post, A Milestone, Plans

I am surprised to see that we have just reached the 100 post milestone.  hopefully you have enjoyed the ride as I have.  My hope is that you have an idea about who we are, what we do and why we do these things.  I am somewhat random at times, but have tried to develop some threads as we go a long.

I am always looking at ways to improve the blog and ideas for posting.  I recently received a few from a follower, so I will probably start some threads about these various topics.

So moving forward from here, I think I will try to focus my posts for a few threads or series:

1. Homesteading (Keys, How to start, Things to consider, techniques)
2. Fencing Systems (By Species, By fence type, alternatives)
3. Animal Raising
4. Organic Crops and Management systems
5. Soil Series (how to test soil, nutrients, structure, etc)
6. Pasture Management (Intensive grazing, Plant types for forage, Rotational Grazing)
7. Gardening (Techniques and Tools)

Let me know how you enjoy any posts or ways that we can improve.  Any input is always appreciated.

Homesteading: What Is It?

"The Covered Wagon of the Great Western Migration. 1886 in Loup Valley, Nebr." A family poses with the wagon in which they live and travel daily during their pursuit of a homestead. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So what is homesteading?  Without looking up the formal definition, I feel that homesteading incorporates many aspects.  These include self-sufficiency, food production, preparedness, self-reliance, knowledge…

From Wikipedia: Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple self-sufficiency.  The term may apply to anyone who follows the back-to-the-land movement by adopting a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle.

It seems to me that people who are defined as homesteaders tend to have some common traits.

Self-Sufficient:  The first is the desire to live as self-sufficient as possible.  Notice I did not state that they are independent, for in my experience homesteaders tend to have a very intricate network of similar minded friends and family.

Nutrition:  The second trend is that they place an importance on nutrition.  It seems that one of the main reasons that people begin down the path of homesteading is to provide healthy food for their families.

Environmentally Friendly:  A third trait may be that of environmental awareness.  Do not confuse this with being a tree-hugger or avid environmentalist, just simply that homesteaders tend to respect their land.  At least the homesteaders that I have dealt with have a focus on taking care of their land by composting, cultivation, seed saving, and other friendly practices.

Family Focused:  Homesteaders tend to have a tight knit family.  Many forgo the modern day trends of television and the like to keep life simply and unconstrained.  Also the lack of cable also provides a chane to save money.  Many tight knit homesteaders homeschool their children.  We also give our children “real chores” like feeding the animals.  This goes above and beyond the common city chores of cleaning your room and doing the dishes.  Animals are reliant upon us to take care of them.  Lack of responsibility and provision results in lack of production and ultimately death (If care is extremely poor).

Organic:  Some tend to be organically focused.  This is may simply tie in to the nutrition thing as stated above.  The concern about the overuse of chemical agents and insecticides tend to be a common theme that I have noted.

Conservation:  A lot of homesteaders end up as conservationists, perhaps unintentionally.  By this I mean that homesteaders will save seeds, preserving may heirloom and non hybrid types of vegetables.  Also the focus on dual purpose cattle in some instances also furthers the preservation of heritage breeds (something we like!)

Disaster Preparedness:  Homesteaders will tend to be preppers.  This means that they are prepared for potential disasters on some level or another.  This may be from canning, quilting, storage, seed saving, as well as many other facets involved in homesteading.

Connected:  As I stated above, homesteaders tend to be connected to one another.  There are networks that are established, as no one person or family can go it alone for every vital need.  Blogs like this also function within that network.  We have a network locally of about 6 families, which extends very loosely to perhaps dozens of acquaintances of one form or another.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Amish:  This is just a funny, though the Amish are practically homesteaders by tradition.  They may, in fact, be the ultimate homesteaders.  I say it is a funny, as many of us joke and get teased about being Amish.  It is a joke made with the utmost of respect.

Learners:  It seems to me that those I have associated with are constantly wanting to learn.  Whether it be skills or simply practical knowledge, I note the extreme desire to learn and the craving of knowledge.

Christian?  This may be controversial, but I think that many a homesteader tends to have a deep faith in God.  So whether that be Christian or not, I do not know, but it sure seems to me that God is a thread that runs deep within many homesteaders.  We like to live a little outside of the trends of society.

To sum it up, Homesteading is an intricate plan to:

1. provide for your family,
2. prepare for the future,
3. conserve the land that has been granted,
4. preserve genetic of both animals and plants,
5. live off the land, share knowledge and wisdom,
6. and to raise a family that is focused on family and thrive.

Please share your thoughts below and perhaps even your definition of homesteading.

(I will note the website below as an inspiration for this posting, though I did not follow it to a tee.)

http://www.christianhomesteaders.org/