Homesteaders

[CapricornFarm]

well i have started a small list of things i would like to try,
for wild edibles i would love to try and eat cat tails, been reading a bit about them in my books, also would like to give my hand at trying to make birch syrup. (if i can find some birch trees)
for proteins i would like to try muskrat, beaver and common carp.

I hear the best part of beaver is the tail.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

I hear the best part of beaver is the tail.

i read an article that said if you cook it right it tastes really good if not it tastes really bad like chewing on plastic.

 

[lazy gardener]

My SIL bought me a book: Foraging New England. Poking through it tonight, I identified some plants that will be making it into my spring meals.

 

[rancher hicks]

Howdy
I'm living on 98 acres totally off grid in north central Alberta. Solar power, wood stove & no water.
Right now I have 2 butcher hogs (3rd was butchered a few weeks ago), 4 buckeye hens and a rooster and 3 cats (2 are mousers). Hoping to add a dog next summer and eventually some cattle or bison. Right now we've got 60 acres of alfalfa and about half an acre ready for a garden next summer.

Looking forward to chatting with everyone and picking up some tips & tricks along the way.

let me know how those Buckeyes do. Where did you get them. I've considered dumping the marans and adding Bucks instead. Cold hard are they? My marans don't hatch well and since even the hens have a hard time, I figure they're not worth the trouble. I only hatch with hens these days. No time for incubators and all that anymore. I just add a few hens now each spring and fall.

 

[rancher hicks]

thought of getting bees at one time but lots of folks have them now and I don't use much honey. I have about three jars in the cupboard right now. Winter is my time. Tea with honey and biscuits.

 

[The Farmers' Daughter]

let me know how those Buckeyes do. Where did you get them. I've considered dumping the marans and adding Bucks instead. Cold hard are they? My marans don't hatch well and since even the hens have a hard time, I figure they're not worth the trouble. I only hatch with hens these days. No time for incubators and all that anymore. I just add a few hens now each spring and fall.

I got 3 of my buckeyes from a flock dispersment. My other 2 I got from a woman who shows them here in Alberta.
The person I'd recommend to point you in the right direction for acquiring some would be Jeff Lay in Miamisburg Ohio. There's a buckeye page on Facebook, which is where I found the woman I bought mine from.
I've discovered the best part is that the roosters rarely crow.

 

[lazy gardener]

I added BE from Cackle last spring. They were slow to mature, but I like the personalities. Nice looking birds, also.

 

[wyoDreamer]

What is a BE?

 

[1cock2hens]

What is a BE?

just a confusing way to say Buckeye

 

[Molpet]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/byc-index-of-abbreviations-acronyms.63285/