Keeping A Conservation Flock: 5 American Breeds Worth Watching

Despite trends in poultry keeping—such as a few years back, when everyone had to have Columbian Wyandottes in their flock—occasionally a breed that appears popular is actually in decline. Finding their chicks at farm-supply stores or at online hatcheries becomes increasingly difficult, and locating a breeder who’s within your state or region seems more and more like a pipe dream. Even if not critically endangered, these breeds can be ones to watch.

When a specific chicken you’re looking for seems nowhere to be found, you’ll more than likely find it on the Livestock Conservancy’s Conservation Priority List.

While breeds in active decline may not have lessened to the point of Critical or Threatened classification, they may meet the parameters required for categorization as Watch. For poultry breeds to be considered Watch worthy, they must have fewer than 5,000 breeding birds and 10 or fewer main breeding flocks in the United States.

Five thousand birds may seem like a lot, but let’s put that into perspective. According to the National Chicken Council, the U.S. produced more than 9 billion broiler chickens in 2021. This 9 billion does not include heritage or hybrid chickens being farmed for eggs, nor does it include all the birds being kept in backyard flocks. Suddenly, 5,000 birds seems insignificant, especially since extinction is only 5,000 birds away.

The following breeds, all developed in North America, are currently categorized as Watch. Perhaps one or more may inspire you to start your own breeding flock.

Chantecler

Don’t let the name fool you. The Chantecler is not a Continental-class (Northern European) bird.

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It is in fact the first chicken breed developed in Canada, developed by Brother Wilfred Chatelain of the Cistercian Abbey of Notre-Dame du Lac in Quebec. Brother Wilfred set out to create a bird that could withstand Canada’s harsh winter climate. Using Dark Cornish, White Leghorn, Rhode Island Red and White Wyandotte stock, he succeeded in developing the White Chantecler (chanter means to sing and clair means clear).

The breed which was recognized by the American Poultry Association (APA) in 1921.

Halfway across the country, in Alberta, Dr. J.E. Wilkinson decided to improve on Brother Wilfred’s bird. Believing a white chicken to be too easily targeted by predators, Dr. Wilkinson developed a partridge variety of the Chantecler using Dark Cornish, rose-comb Brown Leghorn, Partridge Cochin and Partridge Wyandotte stock. The Partridge Chantecler was admitted into the APA in 1935.

Both Chantecler varieties are exceptionally cold hardy, with minimal wattles and a tiny rose comb. The breed adapts well to both confinement and ranging and gets along with other varieties of chicken. Chantecler hens lay throughout winter, producing up to 220 beige-pink eggs per year. A calm, friendly bird, the Chantecler is the ideal chicken for those flock owners living in the northern U.S. and Canada.

Read more: These three chicken breeds are critically endangered.

Delaware

Sometimes mistakes…

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My Swedish Death Cleaning Experience

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

Financial Death Cleaning

A neighbor recently received a large portion of her financial inheritance from her mother even though she’s still alive and well. I’ve often thought the idea of leaving our wealth to our children when we die is an inefficient system now that people live so much longer than they did a century ago. Typically when older people die nowadays, they pass their wealth on to their children who themselves are already “old,” well-established in life, and who oftentimes have no practical use for the money. I think of how much more practical it would be if we gave our children some of their financial inheritance now, in the form of paying down their mortgage or something similar. That’s what my neighbor’s mother did. She and her daughter and son-in-law had a memorable mortgage-burning party in the backyard. She got to enjoy the experience of her daughter’s overwhelming thanks and gratitude and the tears of joy which she never could have otherwise. I’m sure it was a great bonding experience as well. Paying off a mortgage is in a class of happiness all its own.

Our Stuff Owns Us

There’s an old saying that we don’t own our stuff, it owns us. Being a minimalist for the past 20+ years has allowed me to feel much freer than I did back when a lot of stuff owned me. While I was working in a large city, minimalism allowed me to be more mobile. Since I had so few possessions to move, I was able to move once a year. I took advantage of the rent discounts apartments offered to new move-ins if they’d sign a one-year lease. It never took more than two trips in my SUV to get it all moved. Being a minimalist to that extreme isn’t practical for most people but more useful for college students and those who change location frequently.

While living in a big city so far out of my hick-town element, there was the subconscious psychological benefit of knowing I could easily leave at any time with so few possessions to move. I knew I didn’t want to be there long enough to settle down and buy a home so minimalism was a big help. I also didn’t throw too many lavish dinner parties so living with sparse furnishings was not an issue.

I eventually settled down for good and bought 20 acres of land to pursue my lifelong dream of living a self-reliant lifestyle which, of course, requires buying lots of “stuff.”

Fast forward from my first Swedish death cleaning to the present day.

My Shop

During the busy times of the year when I’m doing lots of projects requiring tools and lumber, my workshop gets to be a huge cluttery mess. There’s no time to properly put everything in its place when I’m running back and forth for various tools and supplies. So a few times a year I have to…

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Basic Home Remedies For Fleas (Protect Your Pets) | Homesteading Simple Self Sufficient Off-The-Grid

If you’re looking for home remedies for fleas that is natural and effective, you’ve come to the right place.

Does your dog or cat have fleas? Get rid of them naturally with this home remedy that is painless for your pet, but kills those fleas for good. *This remedy works for ticks too!*

by Anna Ikona, an expert homesteader, pet owner, and mother.

 

Can you imagine how horrible it is for your pet. If you have a bug on you, you can just swat it away, unfortunately dogs and cats can’t do that. That’s just like trying to swat a mosquito with your elbows! Impossible! Make this spray and your pet will feel new and fresh! this stuff really works!!! My aunt owns a small dog grooming business, she is the only groomer there, so for that reason, she grooms only one dog at a time. Except that sometimes…very rarely I leave my dogs, Goose and Maggie with her, while I’m away on vacation.

On the exact same day that my dogs were with my aunt, a man brought his dog to get groomed. And that dog had fleas! Of course my aunt didn’t know that until the minute the man and his dog arrived. The dog zoomed to my Maggie and Goose and apparently some fleas decided to move onto my dogs’ precious fur. When I arrived, my aunt had good and bad news. Like usual, I picked the bad news first, which was that my dogs had fleas. I got pretty sad. But then she told me the good news: my aunt got rid of them using her homemade flea spray!

She taught me how to make this wonderful home remedy for fleas, and sure enough, the next time my fur babies got fleas, I whipped up a batch of my aunt’s homemade flea and tick spray, and it worked wonders!!!

 

Your pets will LOVE You for it!

 

Here’s my not-so-secret family remedy:

Home Remedy for Fleas | Ingredients Needed:

  • 2 tbsps baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tbsps apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsps lemon juice
  • 1 tsp borax

How to Make Your Home Remedy for Fleas:

Simply mix all of the ingredients listed above, and pour into a spray bottle.

 

How to use the Home Remedy For Fleas and Ticks:

Grab your cat or dog, make sure they are dry, and spray the flea and tick spray all over your pet.

DO NOT SPRAY CLOSE TO EARS, NOSE, OR EYES!

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Let the spray sit on your pet for 2­3 minutes and wash off with warm water, not lukewarm and not scolding hot. Very warm water is ideal. That’s around 80°F.

Then apply pet soap or shampoo, and wash your pet as usual.

If the ticks and fleas are still disturbing your pet up to an hour from application, simply spray the lemon juice by itself and leave it on.

Reapply as needed.

For most pets, using the spray once, helps instantly. For some, it…

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EPIC Urges Financial Services Committee to Strengthen Privacy Bill

In advance of a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, EPIC sent a statement to the Committee regarding a proposed Financial Data Privacy bill sponsored by Chairman Patrick McHenry. The proposed Financial Data Privacy bill unfortunately relies on an outdated system that does little to protect privacy by extending the notice-and-choice provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA). “This is out of step with the progress made by the House Energy & Commerce Committee last Congress on the American Data Privacy and Protection Act,” EPIC told the Committee. “The Committee should not advance legislation that purports to be a privacy bill unless it includes a data minimization standard similar to what is set forth in the bipartisan American Data Privacy and Protection Act.”

EPIC also argued that “data aggregators,” more commonly known as data brokers, should not be added to the types of entities covered by GLBA unless the privacy protections are strengthened, as the bill proposes to do. “Adding data brokers to GLBA simply allows them to evade stricter regulations, whether from existing state privacy laws or stronger national standards that may come into effect in the coming years,” EPIC said. This is due to the success that financial institutions has had in lobbying state lawmakers to exempt any GLBA-covered entities from state privacy laws. “The Committee should not include data aggregators under GLBA coverage unless the privacy protections in this bill are substantially improved and set a higher standard than existing state laws,” EPIC told the Committee.

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My Swedish Death Cleaning Experience

“Swedish Death Cleaning” is an unusual moniker for an interesting process. The purpose of a Swedish death cleaning is to rid ourselves of unnecessary possessions so those we leave behind won’t have to when it’s our turn to do the ashes-to-ashes thing. It’s more commonly used by those wishing to declutter in a big way whether to downsize in general, move to a smaller residence, or just to simplify their lives.

A Swedish death cleaning can benefit many people but it’s definitely not for everyone. Those in the minimalist camp can become even more so. Those on the other end of the spectrum who enjoy lots of “stuff” can ignore the idea altogether. Those somewhere in the middle may benefit by getting rid of some of the unnecessary things in our lives, beginning with those 10,000 plastic shopping bags overflowing from the broom closet.

I enjoyed a comment made by a SurvivalBlog reader a few months back on the subject of simplifying our lives but regret to say I cannot find it to provide a link. About that same time, I read a related article, The Last Temptation of Things. This article is a bit more extreme and if you read nothing else from it, the comments are very entertaining. I hadn’t realized this topic could be so polarizing.

I’ll share some of my experiences from the two times I did a Swedish death cleaning, once in my house five or six years ago and the most recent one in my workshop. Being such an emotional and polarizing topic, I have no suggestions for anyone. The main impetus for writing this article is the many comments on SurvivalBlog over the past few years from those preppers who live in tight quarters not having enough room to store many preps. Perhaps a Swedish death cleaning could help them create more space for at least the most basic necessities.

And for my friend with three rented storage units, perhaps he could save himself some rental fees.

What I’ve Learned From Auctions

I enjoy going to estate auctions for many reasons, not the least of which is for the great bargains. I generally have a “shopping list” with me hoping to find certain items I need for the homestead. There are two basic kinds of auctions: an older couple is downsizing and moving to another house, generally smaller and nearer to relatives, and those auctions when an older person has passed away and their children are selling a lifetime’s collection of things found in most households.

Many times at auctions I look over all the items and think to myself, “Wow, these people had a lot of stuff!” I often think on those occasions how much you can tell about the person’s life by their possessions: things they loved and enjoyed, collections of one kind or another, their taste in furniture, artwork on the walls, even their kitchen wares. I consider myself a minimalist so the sheer volume of all their…

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How To Make and Throw a Bola (Step-by-Step Photos)

A Bola is a three-legged spider sling. It is made up of three lengths of cord attached to a rock on either end to weight it down. These cords are bound together at one end.

how to make a bola collage

The three joined lengths, weighted at each end, are swung overhead and released just before the weighted ends are directly in front of your face in the direction of your target.

diy bola with made with paracord and rock weightsdiy bola with made with paracord and rock weights

As the Bola travels through the air the three legs spread and wrap around the target. The weighted end can also inflict a heavy strike to the body of a game animal or bird.

I certainly made these as a child using some heavy ball-type buttons I swiped from my grandmother’s sewing machine.

I started by tying thread to one button, and swinging and launching it at the peach trees in the front yard.

From there it seemed logical to attach more than one of these single “bolas” together. As a child designing a toy, I have to assert that humans must have discovered the bola in the same way.

The bola is an action diy weapon. Viewed in slow motion this weapon is as impressive as it is effective.

The weights can be as basic as rocks of similar size, with groves through the middle, to attach the cordage to.

A more reliable attachment is to wrap the rocks in leather, canvas, or material. Tie off the ends, and attach those to your lengths of cordage.

Sand can be packaged in the same way or lead weight; these packages will add balance to your bola rig.

History of the Bola

The bola is a primitive hunting weapon so simple that, at first glance, it would seem improbable that it couldn’t have been invented earlier.

Physical evidence is vague as the leather or sinew cords that joined the weighted ends to make the Bola would have certainly rotted over any length of time.

However, the Americas have a rich history of using the Bola dating back to 2,500 BC – 3,000 BC.

Inca and other South American tribes have a well-documented history of bola use as well as what is now the USA.

The Inuit Eskimos have been using the bola to take down birds in flight, especially the migratory waterfowl that visit the tundra.

The Chinese have used the bola over the centuries with examples from many dynasties on display.

Overview Of the Bola

The bola, in my opinion, is vastly underrated in the survival community. Its effectiveness cannot be underestimated.

  • Once built the bola requires the minimum of skill to throw. Young or old can make one.
  • It can be used to take down birds in flight (ducks, geese), and small to medium game animals. It’s also effective against larger animals when the legs are targeted…

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5 Tips to Protect Your Garden While Landscaping 

Gardens are a beautiful part of every home. Having a garden in your home is nothing less than a blessing. You can grow your favorite vegetables, and plants and enjoy the view at any hour. However, maintaining a garden is also crucial, especially while landscaping. 

There is nothing wrong with reshaping or landscaping your home. In fact, it’s good to occasionally shake up things around your house and improve its aesthetic appeal. Still, there are things you need to be careful about, and one of them is your garden. 

A simple landscaping project can put a major impact on your well-maintained garden. From torn grass to damaged plants, you could experience multiple losses. Sometimes, the damage is irreversible. Therefore, before starting any landscaping, consider the following tips to save your home garden from harm. 

Follow a Home Protection Plan 

Home protection plans come in handy during landscaping projects. For those unaware of what is a home protection plan? Well, it’s a blueprint of what you will do and how you will carry out a project. With a plan, people make fewer errors. Even the chances of ruining your gardens minimize.

You could ask professionals for help or make a plan after consulting online websites. When an individual systematically approaches a project, he makes fewer mistakes. 

Thus, a home protection plan is mandatory to protect your garden from harm while landscaping. It takes years to build a beautiful garden but only minutes to destroy it. So, be as careful as possible and follow protection plans. 

Move Away All the Plants 

Before starting landscaping projects, try to move out excessive material. For example, you could remove all the furniture if your project is within the house premises. Similarly, when you plan to renovate the exterior of your home, you will need to shift all your plants

During renovations, more people move in and out of your home. There will even be maximum utilization of heavy machinery. All these factors ruin the health of plants. So, move them out of the way to a safe place. 

Small plants and those species which cannot survive in rash conditions should be temporarily shifted to another ground. Once the project is complete, you could carefully move all your plants back to their original place. 

You could build temporary fencing around large plants having deep roots. That way, the plant remains safe. No matter what you do, don’t leave your plants unprotected. It would be the worst decision to not use any type of protection. 

Take Care of the Soil

Plants grow well when provided with quality soil. If you have a garden in your home, you will be well aware of this fact. If the soil isn’t nutritious, your plants won’t survive. So, during a landscaping project, ask your workers to be careful about soil maintenance. 

You could ask the construction crew to carefully dig holes. That way, the topsoil isn’t damaged. Often during digging, the topsoil ends up at the bottom of the pile. In such cases, you should first put back the clay and…

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EPIC, Coalition Ask CFPB to Act to Protect Consumers from Harms of Data Brokers

As part of coalition led by Just Futures Law, EPIC and 9 other organizations sent a letter to officials at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau urging them to act to address rampant data abuse by data brokers. Specifically, the coalition is requesting an advisory opinion clarifying that credit header data is not exempt from the Fair Credit Reporting Act, enforcement actions against data brokers, and rules that ensure data brokers are covered by the law. Further, the coalition urges the CFPB to bring enforcement actions in line with this advisory opinion against data brokers to incentivize improvement in behavior.

EPIC has consistently urged commonsense data privacy and AI regulation, and particularly has illustrated the urgent need to regulate data brokers.

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Understanding the Worth of Your Land – reThinkSurvival.com

Rolling hills, deep ravines, stunning blue lakes and starry skies — how do you put a price on your land? Whether you’re considering selling your acreage or just want to know how much it’s worth, the easiest strategy is usually to hire a real estate appraiser.

An appraiser will visit your property and look for specific qualities such as size, ease of access and any natural resources that increase its value. Here’s what they usually look for, plus a few ways to make your land more appealing to buyers. 

Features That Add Value

An appraiser typically looks for these features when they evaluate your land:

Easy Access

From time to time, you might see a rural tract of land for sale that seems too good to be true — it’s large, fenced in and even has a well. The catch? You must traverse a muddy, washboard road stretching for miles to reach it. If it’s raining and you don’t have a four-wheel drive vehicle, forget about it.

Properties with easy access to the highway are more valuable than acreage farther away or even landlocked. If your land has a good road, that adds value as well. The best routes are relatively short, wide, paved and on a level grade. Other factors to consider are whether the main roadway to your property is public or private, if you have to maintain it yourself and if people can legally access it.

Utilities and Infrastructure

Buyers looking for a home in the city don’t have to ask whether the property has electricity — it’s practically a given. However, rural properties run the gamut from highly polished to completely untouched, and buyers might look for different levels of development.

Your property will be worth more if it includes a house or cabin, even if the buildings aren’t fully roughed in. Other factors that increase its value include:

  • Internet and cell service: People looking for a truly off-grid experience might not mind the lack of cellphone coverage or Wi-Fi, but most will appreciate getting a signal.
  • A water catchment system: This setup is a huge plus for properties in the desert or that lack plumbing.
  • A septic system: Buildings connected to a septic system typically have lower taxes because municipalities only bill people connected to the public sewer. However, a septic system that breaks can be costly to repair.
  • A well: Having a private water source helps people lower their water bills, and a well can increase your property value. However, they require regular maintenance, water testing and electricity to keep them running smoothly.
  • Heating: Rural homeowners typically utilize oil, propane, electricity or wood combustion stoves to heat their buildings. Natural gas usually isn’t an option in the country. Buyers will probably be more interested in properties that already have heating systems.

Good Proximity and Privacy

People looking for rural land usually place a high emphasis on privacy. If your property…

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Livestock Guardian Dogs | LGD Keeping & Handling Tips | Homesteading Simple Self Sufficient Off-The-Grid

Do you need livestock guardians for your homestead? If you’re looking for some tips on picking the best guardian for your home, try this!

Livestock Guardians

Livestock Guardians

I should begin by saying that I am a dog person. Specifically, a spaniel person. Field bred, English Springer Spaniels. I’ve had them my whole life, and right now there are three gamboling joyfully in my house. I don’t keep dogs outside, they are welcome to come in and lay on the sofa, muddy paws and all, and I have been known to welcome them into bed with me too.

So when we moved to the new farm and it became apparent that we had a significant coyote and stray dog problem, the prospect of employing a livestock guardian dog was, honestly, somewhat intimidating. I had tried at my previous place to have an LGD, and it hadn’t worked out. Granted, that was probably more to do with the fact that the dog came to me with a significant set of psychological issues related to his past than anything else, but I’m never one to stray from a challenge and I thought I could fix him. I was wrong.

 

The dog that ultimately arrived at the farm was Merry, a one year old Great Pyrenees who had been raised and trained by a good friend who owns a sheep and goat farm in West GA. I was opposed to the idea, as I had fairly recently lost a dog who I loved very much, and I didn’t feel there was room in my heart or my life for another one. But nonetheless, I did everything as my friend instructed: trained her to her area, taught to trust me, bonded her to her livestock, and slowly but surely, she settled into her place here and now I can’t imagine life without her.

 

By contrast, she was later joined by Willow, a GP x Anatolian mix. Willow is a great LGD, but has scant regard for people’s personal space, and weighs more than I do, so she can be difficult to handle. She is also unreliable with rabbits and small birds, and likes to dig under fences. But all the same, since these two dogs joined forces (reluctantly; Merry isn’t really a dog person), I haven’t had a single loss from predators.

 

But here’s what I’ve learned from my journey; perhaps some of it might help you find your perfect farm partner:

  • Choose your breed carefully. Research and ask advice as to which one might suit youbest, from breeders and other LGD owners. Some breeds are more suited to different livestock, acreages and predator type.
  • Don’t buy just any random dog labelled as an LGD from Craigslist! While there’s achance of striking gold, there’s also a chance that you’re buying a dog with a whole pile of issues. The safety of your…

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