Recent content by Keepitathome

I think the general idea is like you stated you start out with the number of chickens you'll butcher in a year, then the following year you add the same number of chicks, 3rd year you add the same number of chicks and then you butcher your first set of hens and repeat the process. The problem...

We're planning dual purpose birds. I read somewhere that layers generally have 3 really good years, so their suggestion was that you cull a 1/3 of the flock each year to give you a 3yr rotation.... Sounds good to me but then we started doing the math. We originally thought we'd need about 30...

We use DE. Spread it around the yard, work it into their fur, add it to their food, sprinkle it under the couch cushions and in the carpets. When we had a bad infestation I mopped the floors 3x/wk with fennel tea and gave the animals fennel baths followed by DE treatment.

I know I'm new here but I've been using forums like this for 13+ years. One thing that will go a long way in keeping a community cohesive is to always assume the best. Assume that the person whose post might offend you is questioning out of true curiosity. Assume that the other person is...

Thank you so much! I hadn't thought about letting them have access to the compost. I had it in my head it needed to be enclosed to "cook" and keep coons and possum out, but if I have a dog out there the varmits shouldn't be a problem and the chickens can stir the pile for me. Sounds like less...

Wow over 1700 pages to this thread ... it's hard to navigate and find the information I'm looking for so I'm just going to ask... sorry if I'm repeating questions. We are new to country living, actually we're not quite there yet, still in the research and development phase. We live as...

What about replacing the mineral oil with castor oil in the NS recipe? I tend to stay way from mineral oil, being a petroleum product.

That was my thought as well, thanks for confirming it!

Oh! A kiddie pool is a good idea. We'll be moving them through the pastures behind the cows so a moveable water source is priority. We're looking at float systems to keep the water level up.

Thanks! The name seemed appropriate, we homebirth, homeschool, homechurch and now we're homesteading I have not come across naked necks in my searching. Are they doing well for you?

Hi ya'll!! New to BYC and homesteading in general. Actually we're still in the process of procuring the land and getting started. I love to research though and can't help myself from digging through everything and learning all that I can before we even get started!! My main concern with...

well now ya'll have me confused! I had decided on "Production Reds" because what I read said they were heat hardy and good dual purpose birds. But I can't imagine anything originating out of RI or NH as being heat hardy lol Our summer temps are well over 100* most days so I need birds who aren't...

We currently feed our house dog a raw diet. This mostly consists of chicken since I can get leg quarters for cheap but also any other part of any animal I can get raw for cheap :) We're planning chicks in the spring and plan to get a puppy at the same time, this pup will live with the chicks and...

This makes a lot of sense to me. I was thinking that 100yrs ago, what did they do?? Our winters are very mild, we might get .5 of snow if we're lucky (my kids live for that one day a year lol) and an occasional ice storm. We're going to have 2-3 cows and 2-3 horses and a flock of chickens, It...