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In this article, I compare different livestock – Start-up costs, Continuation costs, Profits, and Contradictions.

I was not raised on a farm but when we purchased 20 acres I knew that we needed to put the land to good use. Thankfully, I have a husband who is almost as adventurous as I am so we jumped into the farm and homesteading life with both feet. God was gracious and we landed well- not very gracefully but we are surviving and even thriving in most areas!

This article will compare the different animals that we have tried to raise on our plot of Heaven on Earth, as well as the costs involved. Remember that we have only been farming for 15 years and our experiences may vary from yours. I am hoping that you will learn from our mistakes and gain some insight from our situation.

These are the animals with which we have had experiences:

Horses , Cows, Chickens – Layers, Chickens – Meat, Goose, Ducks, Rabbits (meat), Sheep, Goats – Dairy.

HORSES

We started with horses. Yep, hay burners. (For those of you who have never had these gentle giants on your property, they are called “Hay Burners” because unless you are using them for transportation, plowing, or enjoyment, then they really don’t do much except eat hay and poop.)

Although we hadn’t thought about having equine on the farm, my daughter had been praying for a free horse for several years and God heard and answered her prayers. Not only did she get a free horse, but it came with free feed and free tack and a free saddle. Who were we to turn down all that free stuff? For those who have or have had horses, you know that as soon as you get a free horse, the expenses begin.

Horses can be picky regarding the hay they eat. Right now in the mid-west, good hay costs around $8-10 a square bale. Horses also need a salt block and a mineral block. These run about $7 each at our local farm store.

Not-so-funny story about needing a salt block… Our second free horse (because horses are herd animals and we didn’t want the first one to be lonely J) was under the weather so we called the vet who came right out and determined he was dehydrated. After sedating him and shoving a gastric tube into his stomach, and filling his gut with electrolytes, I learned the importance of a $5 salt block as compared to a farm call vet bill ($160).

There is also the need for a farrier for their hooves, if you can find one in your area. In our area, they charge an average of $50 per horse (not including shoeing) and the visits are generally every 8 weeks.

And then, since horses don’t live forever, you need to consider the matter of burial. With our other (smaller) livestock we are able to transport their carcasses to the back corner of our property….

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A lot of people in the prepping community talk about bugging out, as if “the way” to do it is to head for the wild. By and large, that’s a much more complicated option, than heading for a prepared survival retreat, bugging out to a small, rural town, or even going to visit Aunt Tilde in another town till the disaster is over. Nevertheless, those options won’t work for some of us and bugging out to the wild may be the only realistic option we feel we have.

Bugging out to the wild is probably the most dangerous option we have available to us, although it is the best way to get away from people, if we’re concerned about a breakdown of society, with rampant lawlessness. The problem is surviving in the wild. The solution to that problem, is proper preparation. That’s what I want to talk about here.

The Survival Retreat

The ideal way of bugging out to the wilderness is to own some land and build a survival retreat, the proverbial “cabin in the woods.” Few of us can actually afford this, at least in the way we imagine it in our minds. Buying forested land with a lake or stream on it is expensive; building on that land can be even more so.

There are other ways of looking at this though. It takes some searching, but there is land available, which is known as “junk land,” that can be bought for a couple of thousand dollars per acre. The reason it is so cheap, is that it isn’t useful for anything. It’s too far for anything to be used for commercial or industrial purposes, there’s no reason to build houses there and it’s not suitable for agriculture. The one big problem with it, is that it usually doesn’t have any access to water.

Being remote makes such land attractive as a survival retreat though. The only real issue is overcoming the water problem. That either means putting in a well, which is an expensive proposition or using rainwater capture. If you have sufficient storage, there are few places in the country where there isn’t enough rainfall to survive.

As for a shelter, unless you want to build a log cabin or other shelter, the easiest way to give yourself a shelter on that property is to buy a used travel trailer and set it up there. A lot of hunters do this for “hunting cabins,” and it works out well. Old travel trailers can be purchased inexpensively, if you look around and aren’t all that picky about how pretty it is.

Alternative Shelter

Even the relatively lower cost of buying junk land and putting a used travel trailer on it is outside of many people’s financial reach. I fully understand that and am not suggesting that you do something you can’t afford. I’m merely listing that as an option for those who can. But…

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Most every animal-keeper knows the value of treats, and chicken-keepers are not an exception! Treats can provide a great bonding experience between poultry and humans, and can even be used for training. 

For example, researchers wanting to better understand chicken behavior and cognition train chickens to peck at a certain object by rewarding them with a treat. Similarly, backyard chicken owners can train chickens to come when called by using treats as a reward. This can be a great way to consistently get backyard flocks to return to the coop at night. 

For success in training, positive reinforcement tactics with treats is key. Just like with dogs, punishment-based training methods are counterproductive. This is especially true for chickens since they have reactive prey instincts. 

Chickens have a behavioral and physiological response when they anticipate getting a treat. This anticipation of consuming a treat is linked to the reward centers within their brain. One experiment (“Effects of haloperidol, a dopamine D2-like receptor antagonist, on reward-related behaviors in laying hens,” Moe et al., Physiology & Behavior, 2011) found that chickens increase their head movement and remain alert, with their head and neck stretched, when they anticipate receiving a treat. 

In fact, the more desirable the treat (for example, if the treat includes mealworms or insects vs. whole wheat) the more they showed head movement, as shown in another experiment (“Effects of signalled reward 482 type, food status and a µ-opioid receptor antagonist on cue-induced anticipatory behaviour in 483 laying hens [Gallus domesticus],” Moe et al., Applied Animal Behavior Science, 2013). 

Read more: Here’s what you should know about poultry waterers and feeders.

Nutrition & Chicken Treats

Even though poultry feed is considered a complete and balanced diet, treats can be a very beneficial supplement. Poultry feeds are formulated based on the protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals of various ingredients.

Chicken treats can provide additional, more flexible nutrition. 

Supplementing your flock with treats gives you the ability to tailor their diet based on what they need most. For example, most chicken-approved kitchen scraps can be a great treat for a flock. However, fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs have limited nutritional value because of their high-water content.

These types of fresh food scraps can help keep a flock hydrated. Oftentimes, however, the water content dilutes most of the nutritional benefit. Dried fruits and vegetables are more shelf stable than fresh, meaning they’re more nutrient-dense and provide a higher amount of nutrients, especially vitamins and minerals. 

Insects are highly beneficial and a poultry favorite, which is why they’re often included in treats! Birds are omnivores and love snacking on insects—those they catch in the coop and garden and the dried insects found on store shelves. 

In general, most insects and their larvae are a good source of protein and fat and are highly digestible, although they can have a varying nutrient profile. For example, the…

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We are coming up on the second-year mark of developing this small five-acre farm.  I share my experiences in hopes it will help others.  I’ve had some great successes and some disappointing failures.  I am in the process of reviewing my own work to see where I can change processes for more success in year three.  I’ve learned so much I can’t even write it all down.  I’ve worked too hard, of course.  I’ve spent too much money, guaranteed.  I’ve often had to do things over, trying to save money, only to spend two to three times what I could have originally spent to do it right the first time.  But, not in all cases.  I have had to learn the hard way on many things, even though I do research a lot before I start on something.  It’s just that you don’t know what you don’t know, and even if you read about it, or listen to someone tell you about it, you don’t always “get it” until you try it.  I’ve had to hire help, and that was expected. Finding the right help has been a challenge. All in all, I’m ready for year 3 come what may.

The Failures

The biggest failure was to not have a well inspection prior to purchase.  Water is life on a homestead.  And that wasn’t entirely my fault.  The water issues were not disclosed and even when I had requested a well inspection, I was put off.  Only later to find out that the homeowner called the well company and told them “not to worry” about it – he had it handled.  Yes, it was fraud.  I’ve written often about the lack of and poor quality of the water.  Those problems have been solved, but at great expense.  The new well produces more than I’ll ever need, and only due to prayer and the grace of God does that well produce more than any well in this area.  My other failures pale in comparison.

The garden failed the first year with the exception of growing potatoes and a few squash.  Mostly due to lack of water, a very dry Spring, and my falling ill at the same time.  I’m having the very same problems this year – time to rethink my entire garden strategy.  I have located neighboring farmers who grow amazing produce though!

Predators killed off half my Cornish Cross meat bird flock and I ended up taking the remaining birds to a local processor which negated any cost savings in growing my own.  Cornish Cross birds “stink” to high heavens and who flies in the heavens?  Hawks and turkey vultures.  Those chickens didn’t stand a chance.  The failure was not having them secured properly.

I bought animals before I was ready for them, namely goats and meat rabbits.  I ended up giving them all away.  I didn’t build proper housing for the rabbits, and I knew nothing about goats.  Goats, by the way, are “browsers” not “grazers”.  They will…

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I’m going to share a secret with you … I grow mint in the ground. Gasp! I recently found out this is a very divisive statement. But I’ll invite you to look at the big picture before jumping to conclusions.

First off, I’ll invite you to consider this topic within a “my-garden-my-choice” frame of mind.

My Testa-Mint

I love experimenting in my garden, so I planted a clump of mint dug up from my parents’ place into our “chicken yard” maybe eight years ago. The chickens kept it in check as they munched and scratched around it. And I used that patch of mint mostly for their bedding.

A few years ago though, we expanded the vegetable garden into that space. I half-heartedly dug up the roots, knowing full well I’d never get them all. We decided to plant a hügelkultur bed full of strawberries right over a part of it.

The mint lives on right with the strawberries and I’m far from worried about eliminating it. Plus, my chances are about as good as eliminating creeping Charlie. So far, the strawberries are holding their own, as long as I manage it.

Read more: Forage wild strawberries for a springtime treat.

Embracing Mint

I’m choosing to embrace the mint instead of fight it. For me this looks like:

• I get to harvest a ton of mint all summer  for infused mint water. Plus, I can dry tons of mint for winter herbal teas.
• I spend a few extra minutes every week pulling up plants from my pathways.
• I spend an hour or so two to three times a year pulling mint roots from my garden beds.
• I pay attention to the strawberry plants that my mint coexists with.
• I use extra mint in my chicken coop bedding.

Read more: Mint is seriously cool!

I know this way of gardening isn’t for everyone, or for every garden space either. But in some spaces and some gardeners, it’s a match made in heaven. 

I’m embracing the chance to pay attention and try to help the plants find a balance so they can coexist peacefully.

Mint does a wonderful job at coexisting with raspberries and blackberries, as it grows in dry shade where other plants really struggle. And a few of my friends actually grow it in the ground as a ground cover of sorts. They prefer it to clover and grass.

Now, one place I would not plant mint is near (like anywhere near) your compost pile. You don’t want those roots getting mixed in and spreading them all over your garden!

I’d just hate for you not to experience the joy of mint—or bee balm, lily of the valley or other aggressive spreaders—just because you’re afraid. 

Sure, plant mint in a pot, and sink it to help overwinter. But grow new plants and learn from them.

I’m in a relationship with my garden….

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(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

Post-SHTF, a survival group will be dealing with issues that are certainly more important than occasional potholes. What happens if individuals within the group begin dragging their feet and refuse to help with group projects or refuse to spend time on security and common defense? From a pure expediency perspective, what can actually be done about people in a group who don’t help with projects or participate in security and defense efforts? Should a group sit idly by and allow a gang of marauders to loot the recalcitrant member’s home nestled in the center of the MAG? That simply won’t work.

It is likely that refugees will be coming from outside the community and that they will try to join. If so, what will the requirements be? Who will make the final determination of whether or not they will be allowed admission? If there are leaders who will be making these decisions, will these leaders be elected? Or will they simply be those individuals with “the most toys” and the greatest assets on which others depend?

If these leaders will be elected, who will determine the eligibility of members to vote? Will the electorate include the original resident property owners only? Will it include every adult living in the group? If so, will this include even the newest arrivals who brought only what their vehicles could carry, or perhaps only what they could carry on their backs? If factions begin to develop, what conflicts might arise between a flood of “newbies” and the original members?

After society has fallen apart, assume that wherever this survival group is located, among the group’s members their adult sons and daughters, or their brothers and sister who were living elsewhere, straggle in after a tortuous and dangerous journey from great distances. Are they automatically entitled to join the group? If the answer is, “Obviously, yes,” then what about their spouses and children? If the answer is, again, “Obviously, yes,” then what about their son-in-law or daughter-in-law’s parents, siblings, etc.? Where does it stop?

What would be happening with all of this would be a micro-level example of “chain migration,” an immigration issue that exists in our country today. For every immigrant admitted, seven more will try to immigrate because families “should be allowed to stay together.” The question becomes, “Who will feed them and with what assets? Their own? The group’s?

As a point of reference, see: Amazing Photographs of Prospectors Carrying Supplies Ascending the Chilkoot Pass.

As an example of the problem here with less than fully-prepared group members, and with new arrivals after the calamity has begun, take a look at those photographs. It shows a long line of miners during the Alaskan Gold Rush carrying huge packs while climbing a snow-covered mountain. These men were on the Chilkoot Trail that began in Skagway, Alaska. They were headed to the Klondike gold fields. Canadian Mounties waited…

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My son Jaeson and I were out a couple of mornings ago, doing the daily farm chores. While I checked and reset our live traps, Jaeson went to fill the chicken and duck waterers. Suddenly, I heard a startled “Oh!” Looking up, I saw Jaeson, waterer in hand, standing statue-still and staring at the ground. 

“What is it?” I called out.

“There’s a snake here,” he told me.

“Is it a garter snake?” I asked, assuming it was one of the little yard snakes common to our farm. 

Jaeson didn’t take his gaze off the ground. “Noooooo … it’s a big fat snake and it’s reared its head up at me and is really mad.”

I immediately stopped what I was doing and dashed across the grass to the run fence and peeked in. Sure enough, a dark snake with a white underbelly was reared up, cobra style, about half a foot off the ground, continually flicking its tongue at Jaeson, who stood perhaps three feet away.

“I didn’t even see it was a snake,” Jaeson told me. “I thought someone had left the garden hose in here.” 

I walked down the fence line to come even with the snake and gasped. It was at least another two feet longer, thicker than a garden hose, and its tail was upright and vibrating swiftly back and forth in a blur. Rattler, I thought. The coloration didn’t match our state’s sole rattlesnake, the shy Massasauga, but that tail convinced me Jaeson was in peril.

I had him slowly back away. The snake remained in its defensive posture. 

Once he was clear, we discussed our immediate options. With the snake just two feet from the coop’s pop door, we decided against releasing the birds, since we’d have to approach the angry serpent.

We decided to save this coop for the last/ I stood guard and watched the snake while Jaeson dealt with the other henhouses. Just as he returned, the snake took off at incredible speed, heading for the front of the run.

We dashed out of the way and lost total track of where he went, which resulted in us standing still and craning our necks every which way for a few minutes until Jaeson spotted him … under the duck shelter where the feed bowl was. 

Of course.

Jaeson let the ducks out, and fortunately they headed straight for their pool. This gave us the opportunity to fill their waterer and put it back in place. Our slithery friend, however, was not moving from the shade of the shelter.

Using a spare fence post, I retrieved the food bowl, which Jaeson filled. “Now what?” he asked. The ducks weren’t particularly smart. They wouldn’t know to look for their food in another part of the run. In addition, we were expecting rain and didn’t want the food to get ruined by the expected precipitation.

I finally made the decision to put the bowl back…

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You can’t put a price on the security of your family… but you can put a price on all of the prepping supplies you need to get secure!

Getting started with prepping can seem expensive. And I’m not going to lie; you will have to shell out some cash to prepare for disasters.

But there is no reason that prepping has to be expensive.

Here’s how to prep on a budget so every dollar counts.

Start with a Prepping List

Don’t buy any prepping supplies or gear until you’ve made a complete list of everything you need. Otherwise, you will buy duplicates of some items (like that prepper I know with 10 lbs of dried tomatoes but no grains) and missing important items.

All of the prepping supplies can be broken down into categories:

Break Your List Down by Priority

Now that you’ve got your prepping supplies list, you must identify the core items you need. Identify the things you need for your Bug Out Bag (see a list here).

These are the items you should get ASAP. Then work your way up to a 30 day supply. You can then focus on long-term prepper supplies, like food buckets.

Set Your Prepping Budget

If you want to make every single dollar count to the maximum, you’ve got to set a prepping budget.

You might think, “But I don’t have a prepping budget!” EVERYONE has a prepping budget.

If you have no money to spend, your prepping budget is zero. Zero is still a budget (yes, you can still prep with zero dollars to spare).

• If you have a sizeable prepping budget: Resist the urge to rush out and buy a lot of fancy gear and pricy security systems. Identify the core items you need and get these first. Do your research and invest in quality.
• If you have a small prepping budget: Divide your list into expensive and cheap items. Buy some cheap items every week. Set aside a certain amount of money each week to buy pricier items.
• If you have zero in your prepping budget: Learn how to make your own supplies from cheap and recycled items. Read more about DIY survival projects.

Tips for Stretching Your Prepping Budget

Again, I need to emphasize that the most important thing you can do when prepping on a budget is prep with a plan. 

If you don’t have a plan of what items to buy, you will spend too much money on certain items or waste money when you throw things away.

Here are some tips for how to prep on a budget.

Rotate Your Stockpile

Let’s say you’ve built up a year’s supply of non-perishable foods like canned soups and pasta. Well, even “non-perishable” foods go bad!

Throwing away food is the same as throwing away money!

Once you surpass the 30 day food stockpile, you will need to develop a…

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Most people understand that not all foods can be processed using the water bath method, but many don’t know exactly which foods can be preserved this way. While water bath canning can only be used to preserve highly acidic or acidulated foods, its abilities extend far beyond simple jams and jellies.

Low-acid foods are not acidic enough to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria, so foods that are processed using a water bath must have a pH level of 4.6 or lower. There are occasions where adding citric acid, lemon juice, or vinegar is necessary to facilitate this process.  

If you’re new to canning, review our full instructional guide to learn more about water bath canning. Otherwise, try adding some of these home-canned foods to your food storage. 

1. Conserves

Conserves usually include two or more fruits and frequently contain raisins and/or nuts. Examples include peach-pineapple-orange conserves or fig conserves with walnuts. They have a thick, chunky texture and are traditionally eaten with meats and cheeses. 

2. Fruit Butters

Fruit butters are made from fruit pulp and are cooked down slowly with sugar until thickened to a spreadable consistency. Fruit butters normally contain less sugar than other preserves and often include the addition of herbs and spices for added flavor.

3. Jams

Jam is made from crushed or chopped fruits and sugar that are cooked to a smooth consistency. Some jams have enough natural pectin, but others require the addition of acid or pectin. Berries usually make the best jams.

4. Jellies

Jellies are made by cooking fruits and extracting their juices. These fruit juices are then mixed with the perfect proportions of sugar, pectin, or acid to give them a firm shape. When jelly is cut, it quivers but holds its shape. 

5. Marmalades

Marmalades are typically made with citrus fruits and usually contain soft, thin pieces of fruit or citrus peel evenly suspended in a transparent jelly. It’s most often eaten with breakfast breads like toast, biscuits, or scones.  

6. Preserves

Similar to jams, preserves are made with large or whole pieces of fruit and are cooked in such a way that the fruit retains its texture and shape. Usually, a bright, translucent syrup surrounds the fruit, giving it a good consistency for spreading. 

7. Fresh Fruits

Fresh fruits can be raw packed or hot packed and then submerged in hot syrup. Some fruits need to be treated to prevent darkening. This can be done with a solution of one gallon of water mixed with two tablespoons each of salt and vinegar, or a commercial ascorbic acid. 

Sugar is not necessary when canning whole fruits, but it does improve the appearance and flavor and keeps your fruit firm. Recipes for light, medium, and heavy syrups are readily available and easy to find. 

These are the most common fruits used in…

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