Guide to Caring for Livestock on Your Homestead – reThinkSurvival.com

People purchase livestock for many reasons. Some might want them as a pet. Others see them and buy them because they’re cute. However, when you’re living on a homestead, livestock is necessary. As a homesteader, it’s your goal to live a sustainable life while providing for yourself and your family in the best ways possible.

Caring for livestock is no simple task, but they provide a wealth of benefits. Besides giving you meat on the table or milk in a glass, you can use their manure as fertilizer, grazing animals aid in pest control, and others can help you better manage your land. They take a lot of work to care for them properly, but the benefits you reap are worth it.

If you’re just starting with some new livestock, you’re thinking of purchasing a cow or goat, or you’re an experienced homesteader and just need to brush up on your knowledge, then you’ve come to the right place. Here’s your guide to caring for livestock on your homestead.

Ensure You Have the Finances to Support the Livestock

A single animal costs more than you might think. Think of all of the things you need to care for it — including housing, feed, water, veterinary care, and transportation. It all adds up fairly quickly, so you need to fully ensure you have the necessary finances to support however many animals you want to purchase.

Set aside ample income for your livestock. They are an investment that is highly beneficial as a homesteader, but they will cost money over time. While owning livestock can bring in revenue, it may take a few years of barely breaking even to support your homestead.

Livestock is not significantly more cost-effective than store-bought meats or dairy products. You’re paying to care for them, whereas at a grocery store, all you have to do is pay however much a pound of meat or gallon of milk costs.

The cost of care and butchering is, of course, included in that price, so in reality, you break even more than make a profit. However, homesteading is all about sustaining and providing for yourself, and by raising livestock, you’re doing just that.

Decide How Much Livestock You Need

Before investing in livestock for your homestead, you should decide how many cows, sheep, pigs, goats, or other livestock you need to sustain your family entirely. Determine what it is you’re looking for in livestock. Some animals provide you with food, and others can provide you with milk. If you need both, then you may need more than one animal.

For a single person, you likely only need a few animals. However, if you want to make a living off of your livestock, you’ll probably need more than one in that case as well. For example, a dairy cow can provide you with a calf each year for meat purposes as long as you breed the dairy cow. For profitable income, you will more likely need a herd of dairy…

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Flowers Nourish The Soul At Buzzed Blooms Farm

“For us, farming meant food,” says Austin Graf. He looks back on growing up on a small farm with a kitchen garden and some beef cows. “Farming was our way of helping make ends meet.” Those early roots helped pave the way for Graf’s journey to running Buzzed Blooms, a sustainable and seasonally-focused flower farm in Manchester, Tennessee.

He says that he’s always felt “the connection to the land and wholesome food” that comes with farming. However, he never really saw it as a viable career—until serendipitous circumstances ushered him into the field of flower farming.

We spoke to Graf about the sustainable dynamics of micro-farming and accepting the calling of a flower farmer. We also touched on the nourishing nature of blooms.

Indebted to Patchy Cows

When Graf pinpoints where his interest in farming began, he credits the role of what he calls “patchy cows” in the story.

While accompanying his dad to meet livestock brokers, Graf recalls how they’d “give my dad a hard time. The whole county had black Angus beef cows. But our farm always had the most colorful patchy cows around.”

He adds, “My dad did that for me. I felt bad for all the other cows that nobody seemed to like.”

Read more: Check out these 5 miniature cattle breeds that are perfect for small farms.

From Patchy Cows to Fainting Goats

Graf continued to take his early farming steps, and his interests transformed.

“As I got older, patchy cows turned into spotted Nubian dairy goats that I hand-milked morning and night throughout high school,” he says. “I learned to make homemade cheese and soap. I got chickens for fresh eggs. And I continued gardening.

“Then I started discovering livestock preservation and adding rare breeds to our farm to preserve them from extinction,” he continues. “At one point we had a full dozen Tennessee fainting goats. It was just what I loved.”

Serendipitous Flowers

These days Graf runs a flower farm. The career choice, he admits, came “by pure chance.”

After graduating college and taking a gig in marketing, Graf found himself growing restless. He missed the farm life.

Graf persuaded his brother to let him use a 10 by 20 foot garden. He then “threw some dahlia tubers in there. They were on clearance at the grocery store, so I thought why not?”

When everything else but the dahlias in Graf’s garden perished, he did a little research and “stumbled across flower farming.” Graf discovered that cut flower production was actually the second most profitable crop per acre in his state. This, he thought, could develop into a lucrative avenue.

“Suddenly everything I’d ever known about farming changed,” he explains.

After starting with a packet of zinnias, Graf received an offer for what seemed likes a “dream job” that would require giving up the garden. “I chased the dream,” he says. “And guess…

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From The Herb Garden: You Must Consider Comfrey!

Comfrey is an herb worthy of consideration in gardens of all sizes. Its usefulness in the apothecary, in the compost or as a fertilizer makes this herb one of the most valuable plants that any gardener could grow.

The common comfrey, Symphytum officinale, is a perennial plant in the borage family, native to Europe but now widely naturalized throughout western Asia as well as most of North America. Spread by seed, it can quickly overtake an area, especially if not harvested or properly managed.

A hybrid, Sympytum x uplandicum, or Russian comfrey, has gained in popularity amongst gardeners and permaculturists alike. It’s a sterile plant that does not produce seeds, so you propagate this Russian variety through root division or by stem cuttings.   

Using Comfrey in the Garden

Even just a handful of plants will provide the gardener with endless value. Rich in silica, nitrogen, magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron, add comfrey leaves to compost bins as a natural activator. Or you can shred them and utilize as a nutrient-dense mulch around fruit trees, tomatoes and other garden crops.

The long, dark taproots dig deep into the soil. They extract nutrients inaccessible to many other garden crops.

You can also brew the leaves into a potent liquid fertilizer often referred to by gardeners as simply “comfrey tea,” which is easy to make!

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  • Harvest comfrey leaves until you have enough to fill a 5-gallon bucket.
  • Allow the leaves to wilt in the sun for one or two hours, then pack them into the bucket.
  • Fill the bucket with water and loosely cover.
  • Allow to ferment for several weeks, stirring every few days.
  • Strain out the plant material and dilute the ‘tea’ with water at a 10:1 ratio.
  • Use as a foliar spray on your garden plants.

Read more: Improve your soil with these homemade fertilizers!

Comfrey in the Apothecary

Herbalists have made use of comfrey for centuries, prescribing the herb for a wide range of ailments.

Modern practitioners avoid internal use due to the herb’s high pyrrolizidine alkaloid content. (The compound which is considered toxic and potentially damaging to the liver.) But topical applications are still commonly used.

You can craft a simple herbal salve from comfrey leaves to treat all manner of external ailments, including:

  • cuts
  • scrapes
  • insect bites
  • bruises
  • sore joints

You can easily make this product by infusing dried comfrey leaves in olive or sunflower oil. Then just blend the herbal oil with melted beeswax. (If you’d like to go deeper into herbal salves, I provide more detailed information in my book The Artisan Herbalist.)

Read more: These 7 healing herbs can aid you with pain relief.

Growing Comfrey

Comfrey is easy to grow and very vigorous. It does well in full sun or partial shade. Once established, in fact, you might struggle to fully remove it!

Even the smallest piece of…

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Everything to Know About .22 Rat Shot (Snake Shot)

Ever hear of .22 rat shot (also known as snake shot)? People will often ask me what this seemingly odd cartridge is good for. Let’s take a look, but first – the shells themselves:

Also, if you find this article informative, consider my book:
Rimfire Rifles: A Buyer’s and Shooter’s Guide.

Now, on to…

My Chipmunk Problem

It was a mid-March morning. Spring had nearly sprung. The day dawned clear and cold, but the sun was still strong enough to ease the chill. Stepping out onto my front porch, a few robins had reappeared and the taste of spring was indeed in the air. Life was good – that is, until I spied… “The Hole.”

rat holeThe Hole – again. Time for lethal measures…

At first I thought, I was seeing things, but nope, it was for real. Fresh dirt was strewn around the small garden beside the house foundation, and a cavernous new excavation had materialized – again!

The latest gopher shenanigans had shades of the old Caddyshack film. In theory at least, my hole-digging nemesis had been terminated the previous fall. That hit had taken some planning, too. Turns out chipmunks become elusive once the “wanted” posters go up.

My wife and I exercised our share of tolerance, refilling the fresh hole that appeared like magic several times each day. Although normally more of an aggravation, the overriding concern was its location. Chip’s front door was hard up against the foundation of our house, directly above the flexible water line that runs from our well.

After a week of tolerance, the prospect of a noshed line and expensive excavation nixed what little compassion remained. It was time for Chip to contract Swiss cheese disease. The trick involved avoiding any collateral damage!

Operation Chip Shot

A rat trap or poison would’ve been hard on our loyal Labrador so I settled on a more discriminate solution: the same .22 Marlin Model 39-A lever-action that had served other permanent eviction notices. Why not a modern airgun? That’s a good pick, too, but chipmunks are furtive little rascals that seldom sit still for long.

Also, this one was apparently sneaky, having never been spied in the act. The numerous others on our property caused no harm, so a total chipmunk cleansing was ruled out. Instead, the plan involved a stakeout at the crime scene. The adjacent concrete foundation and a stone walkway did raise concerns over ricochets, so I went with a proven close-range enforcement solution – a shotgun – but for this purpose, the Marlin would stand in – with a particular type of shell.

I positioned a lawn chair on my porch a few yards from Chip’s doorway with a gas grill serving as my “blind.” The next morning, shortly after sunrise, I slipped into position with a .22 LR rat shot cartridge chambered in the Marlin.

B after an hour of shivering, there was no sign…

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How High Can a Goat Jump and Can They Jump a Fence?

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As I’m researching goats for my homestead, I’m constantly hearing goat owners talk about how their goats keep jumping the fence. To me, it seems like a lot of work to go herd them back in so often. So, is this really a thing? Can goats jump fences?

You may be surprised to hear that a goat can jump 5 feet high and an average fence is only 4 feet high. In your mind, you might be envisioning goats leaping over fences effortlessly. However, this isn’t the case as their front legs are weaker than their back legs and they often need assistance from humans in order to make such acrobatic displays of athleticism possible.

It is important to know how likely your goats are to jump a fence. You should also consider what their jumping ability and distance are, as well as if there is a way to stop them from jumping the fence in the future.

Can a Goat Jump a 4-Foot Fence?

A 4-foot fence is great for housing sheep, alpacas and other smaller livestock but it’s not ideal for some goats.

Some goats are able to easily jump fences that stand at 4ft. This is especially true for pygmy or dwarf breeds of goat, who will often use other animals and structures as a ladder in order to get higher. Ensure you check your fence line regularly because these little creatures can be very sneaky!

Goats come in various breeds and heights so the ability to jump a 4-foot fence varies depending on its lineage or what it has been fed for most of its life. This makes sense when you think about how many factors can affect their weight: genetics, diet regimen during growth periods like weaning time in terms of food type and quantity as well as snacks they have had some access too throughout childhood will all be playing an active role in determining just how high up off the ground that animal could go with ease if given enough room at hand—or hoof?

Since smaller goat breeds are a popular choice, many homesteaders have to invest in better fencing and measures to keep them in. Larger goats weighing a couple hundred pounds will naturally not be able to jump as high, but can do more damage to the fence due to their heavier weight.

How High Can a Goat Jump?

Pygmy and Nigerian dwarf goats are two of the most agile breeds in all of goat-dom, to say the least. Their tiny frames make them light on their feet while also allowing for fast climbing! You won’t be able to keep these little guys penned up too well though; so it’s important you have a proper fence with an adequate height that’ll stop any pesky jumping off from happening.

Some homesteaders say that it’s very easy for them to hop over a 5-foot fence, while others say theirs can even jump higher than this! There are many different…

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Goats or Sheep for Homestead? Here’s How to Choose

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Choosing the right live stock is one of the first steps of creating a proper homestead. Choosing between goats and sheep can be most confusing as their differences might not be that apparent to inexperienced eyes.  So, if you are struggling to choosebetweengoats or sheep for homestead then this article may give you some closure. 

If you have to choose just one, goats are the better option for your homestead. Sheep and goats are both important assets to have on any homestead, but the choice between them often depends upon your preferences. Sheep can be difficult work with at times because they tend to be flighty creatures who don’t like being held or touched by humans; this isn’t such a problem for farmers that simply want wool from their flock. Goats, as intelligent animals, will require more of an effort when it comes to training them than sheep do – however in return you’ll receive meat (sometimes), milk production if bred correctly during mating season has passed, mohair which is valuable textile fiber used for making fabric** and other textiles****.

If you want to make an informed decision, you can find more details if you just keep reading.

Goats vs. Sheep – Which Is Better for Homesteading?

Whichever option you choose, it’s going to benefit you ultimately. But it also depends on the facilities you have at your homestead and the efforts you’re willing to invest. 

Sheep are perfect for small homesteads in the rural area. They’re straightforward to deal with besides being smart and intelligent. Moreover, they suffer from fewer illnesses compared to goats. They’re relatively more docile than goats, who happen to be the king of troublemakers. 

Besides, sheep will always eat grass as they are grazers. Goats will also turn to grass, but not with the consistency of sheep. They will also prefer to eat shrubs, twigs, and other leafy greens. You won’t be successful trying to keep them off of anything in their line of sight. Fortunately, that also includes weeds!

Sheep, on the other hand, will mostly eat grass except for areas on which they relieve themselves. 

You will hardly find a day without commotion with goats around. They make incredible companions and care a lot for their owners. However, they are a master of the art of escaping and try to jump over your fence. So, you’ll also have to keep fencing costs in mind if you choose to get goats for your homestead. 

With sheep you have to keep their wool sheered in the summer to keep them from overheating. But goats can’t stand wet places, so you’ll need special shelters for these animals too. Sheep are typically scared of new people and environments, due to this fact they don’t like being held or restrained either.

So, you’ll find better comfort in handling goats in this situation. That includes vaccination, deworming, and trimming the nails. Plus, the dairy products and meat of goats are healthy and have a lot…

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The Ecological Gardener Explores A New Kind Of Gardening

Title: The Ecological Gardener: How to Create Beauty and Biodiversity from the Soil UpAuthor: Matt Rees-Warren

Cover Price: $24.95

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing The Ecological Gardener coverChelsea Green

For home gardeners interested in making their growing practices more regenerative, The Ecological Gardener promises to be an indispensable resource. Although there are now numerous books on the market about regenerative practices for small-scale farmers, most of them describe machinery or techniques that can’t be scaled down to fit a home garden. 

The Ecological Gardener fills this void.  

Gardens & the Natural World

Unlike most gardening books I’ve read, The Ecological Gardner doesn’t deal much with planting dates, seeding strategies or pest mitigation. Rather, the essence of the book is about integrating gardens into the natural world that surrounds them. 

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Throughout the book Rees-Warren argues that making your garden part of the local landscape is a kind of win-win. Improving habitat within your garden helps local mammals, birds and pollinators. And in turn, your garden becomes more diverse, resilient and healthy. 

Rees-Warren provides numerous examples of what this integration can look like, including inviting wildlife into the garden, turning lawns into wildflower gardens and planting as many native species as possible. 

(A quick note to U.S. readers: Rees-Warren is British, so many of the species he mentions are particular to the U.K. The same principles obviously apply anywhere, though).

Read more: You can use ecosystem design principles to improve your garden.

A New Kind of Garden

In many ways, Rees-Warren is advocating for a kind of new understanding of what a garden is. As he observes at one point, many public gardens and parks contain few (if any) native species. 

With the average home gardener drawing inspiration from these places, it’s no wonder that so many gardens contain no native species.  

According to Rees-Warren, however, a garden should be more than a collection of plants with no connection to the natural world that surrounds it. Rather, by blending the garden with the local landscape, both can be strengthened. 

To this end, Rees-Warren advocates for a redefinition of what weeds are. Invasive plants should be treated as weeds, and native plants should be seen as wildflowers.

A Practical Guide

Although The Ecological Gardener does spend time considering philosophical questions about things like the nature of gardening, it is also deeply practical. Throughout the book there are numerous one- or two-page instructionals on how to perform various practical tasks like taking a soil test or laying a hedgerow. These instructions are simple and concise, providing new gardeners with a valuable blueprint to follow. 

The “Soil” chapter of the book is especially laden with helpful advice, including instructions on how to set up a bokashi bin, brew compost tea and make biochar.

In short, The Ecological Gardener is equal parts philosophical treatise and how-to manual. And these two elements work well together to…

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Family Survival: The Spouse – Survival Cache

When thinking about “Family Survival” it is important to have your spouse on board with the emergency plan and emergency preparedness. Here are some ideas to get you started talking with your spouse about emergency preparedness

Common Themes Among Non-Preppers

Over the years I have discovered several things about the non-survivalist by talking with friends, relatives as well as my wife her and network of friends.  Male or Female, there are a few common themes among people who do not prepare.

  • Ignorance
  • Selfishness
  • Despair
  • Fear
  • Arrogance

Ignorance

emergency-preparedness-survival-familyemergency-preparedness-survival-family

This is a trait that is hard to believe in this day and age post 9/11 and Katrina but it does still happen.  It usually takes the form of “They” will take care of us.  “They” are usually the government (Federal, State, Local) but it could also be international groups or charities.

I know a gentleman who never thought about preparedness until FEMA said to have a 3 day supply of food and water on hand for emergencies.

Now he has started doing this but won’t hear of having more than a 7 day supply of preparedness products.  Unfortunately Hurricane Katrina was not enough to prove to him that the government cannot always be there to help you and everyone should take emergency preparedness a little more seriously.

Selfishness

This trait is perhaps the most difficult to overcome. Grasshopper and the Ant tale; The Ant works all spring, summer, and fall to prepare for the winter while the grasshopper spends his time in the sun enjoying every minute of it thinking the good weather will last forever.  “I won’t sacrifice today’s pleasure for the possibility of future return.” This often results in denial of the coming shortage or disaster.

Despair

This trait takes a unique form, I saw it in adults when I was just a kid. The world would be so horrible after a “Nuclear War” that I wouldn’t want to survive, therefore I won’t. This is a tough nut to crack since despair often doesn’t respond to reason.

Fear

Fear often looks like despair but is much easier to deal with because all hope has not been lost. People are often afraid to put together a plan or talk things out with their family or spouse because they afraid to think of the possibilities and don’t have answers to the issues they will be facing in a “Family Survival” situation.

The truth is…none of us have all the answers.  We can only prepare so much and the rest will be left up to being able to improvise during a disaster or TEOTWAWKI.

Arrogance

This can often takes the form of “It can’t happen here because this is the United States (or Canada)”  or “Things like that only happen in 3rd world countries.”

But it could happen here and because of our society’s reliance on electricity & oil….things could be much…

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Why It’s Important to Build Roads and Trails on Your Homestead – reThinkSurvival.com

Roads and trails get you where you need to go every day. Millions of people drive for miles on the streets that shape their region to get to work, school or the store. Throughout national and local parks, marked trails tell hikers where they’re going so they can see main attractions and enjoy nature without getting lost.

On your homestead, roads and trails are just as important. They facilitate movement from one place to another and help you get all your tasks done for the day, like feeding your animals, tending to your garden or cutting down a few trees for firewood. These paths map out your property and are a vital part of your daily life. Here’s why you should build and maintain them.

They Offer a Place to Walk

You’ll be using the land to its fullest potential, and being able to maneuver easily throughout your property is a necessity. Without roads or paths, getting to where you need to go would be nearly impossible. Although some may enjoy using a machete to get through thorny thickets, it’s not realistic for everyday living.

You’ll need to get to multiple places on your homestead, like your gardens, barn, fields, home and any other buildings. You must also be able to access your water sources easily. Trails and roads facilitate the movement between various places. Plus, if you have visitors, paths ensure they won’t get lost on your property.

Think about what the world might look like without roads, sidewalks and trails. People wouldn’t have a path to travel and would destroy the land by driving, biking and walking wherever they pleased. Trails and roads allow them to travel without disturbing other areas of the land.

They Allow You to Enjoy Your Land

Trails and roads also allow you to enjoy your land. You can better understand your surroundings and property when you can freely move around. An area full of sticks, brush and other obstacles is harder to enjoy than one with built-in roads and trails.

Adults and kids can run and play on these trails to truly immerse themselves in the natural world. If you need to take a break from the work of the day, you can easily take a walk through your property and experience nature to the fullest.

Trails exist within nature, as wild animals create their own. They can get to where they’re going and enjoy the journey along the way without worry of giant mud pits or obstructions in their paths.

They Provide a Place for Animals to Move

Roads and trails are a must if you have animals living on your homestead. They allow creatures to move freely throughout your property. Without them, you risk having them get injured. Cattle could easily stumble over branches if they’re trying to access another field without a trail. You could suffer a financial setback if the cow gets hurt.

Additionally, if you have multiple pastures for grazing animals, trails and roads will allow you…

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Video: How To Craft Your Own Herbal Salves

Crafting herbal salves is an easy and rewarding way to use the herbs that are already growing in your gardens. You can make health, wellness and beauty products for yourself, your family and your community. 

Identify & Gather

The first step to crafting an herbal salve is to identify and gather the ingredients. Depending upon your recipe you may be gathering leaves, bark, roots or flowers. Properly identifying plants gathered from the wild is very important. But herbs from your garden or even your spice rack are all useful for crafting topical salves.

You will also need beeswax and oil to make your salve. Beeswax is available online or at your local co-op or health food store, but I recommend seeking out your local beekeeper and asking to purchase beeswax directly from them.

Read more: You can blend your own flavorful herbal teas, too! Here’s how.

Oil Infusion

Once you have gathered your ingredients, fill a jar or other container with your chosen herbs. Use dried herbs whenever possible, as this will extend the shelf life of your final product.

Next, cover the herbs with the oil of your choice, until the plant material is completely submerged. This is important to avoid any spoilage that might occur otherwise. Using a chopstick (or similar item), poke and gently stir the herbs to release any air that may have been trapped under the oil.

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Tightly cap the container and label the jar with the types of herbs and oil being used as well as the date. Place the jar into a cool, dark location such as a cupboard or pantry and let infuse anywhere from four to six weeks. 

Alternatively, herbal oils can be infused utilizing a crockpot or slow cooker. Simply fill the crockpot with your ingredients, cover and set on the lowest temperature. Allow the herbs to infuse for three to five days.

Read more: Grow your own herbs to use in handcrafted products!

Make the Salve

Once your oils are infused, strain out the plant material using a funnel, screen, coffee filter or similar tool. Be sure to squeeze all of the oil out of the herbs to avoid wasting any! Now your herbal oil is ready.

It’s time to make the salve.

Simply add the oil and a proper amount of beeswax into a double boiler and place on the stove to warm up. A good starting ratio is 1 1/4 ounce of beeswax by weight for every 16 ounces of oil by volume.

Feel free to adjust this formula to fit your preference. More wax will lead to a stiffer product while less wax will make softer herbal salves. 

Once the beeswax has completely melted into the oil, stir the mixture. Ensure it is well blended, then carefully pour the warm oil into your container.

Any container will work: specialty tins from a supplier, reused baby food jars, or…

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