Categorieslivestock quail traditional homesteadIf you have had quail, then you know they will fight. And when they fight, they fight dirty. For some reason they like to go for the eyes and head. It can be quite gruesome. Generally these fights are between males over females, or when a new bird tries to join the current group. The […]
Categorieslivestock traditional homesteadYep move over chicken…. The quail is here to stay! It has earned top spot at Myshire, and I’m sure many more farms and urban homesteader will make the switch too. Here is the case for changing the way you do birds. 1) Space efficiency. They just don’t need a lot of space! The […]
Categorieslivestock traditional homesteadI raise birds… Mainly quail, but with a few turkeys, geese, chickens, and ducks thrown in. I have come across some tips over time, some of them mine, some stolen from others. Here are a few of my favorite unconventional or $ saving ideas. To prevent water dish drownings from day old chicks, add rocks […]
Categorieslivestock traditional homesteadThe main thing you need to know about raising piglets is that they are ROTTEN. They want what they want, when they want it, exactly how they say they want it. So don’t get any ideas that you are in charge, because your not. The pig called the shots in our home for nearly a […]
Categorieslivestock traditional homesteadLets face it… Infrastructure is not glamorous. It my opinion, it is not fun (my Dad would say otherwise) Yet it is a necessary component of this thing we call homesteading. Outbuildings, electric, water, compost piles, animal pastures and garden space must be utilized to make working your homestead easier. It is hard enough with […]
Categoriesgardening livestock traditional homesteadBeing a homesteader isn’t like a thing that you can wake up and one day decide that you are. It isn’t something you become after you move to the country, or even after you buy a pair of overalls. To me, being a homesteader is a state of mind, backed by skill sets. These skill […]
CategorieslivestockThis year we have added quail to our livestock resume. It was originally intended to populate our aviary. But after talking to a local breeder and finding out that they are not as cold hearty as the ringneck pheasant, we decided on putting them in a movable “tractor” of sorts that we could pull around […]
Categorieslivestock UncategorizedWe hatched our first baby chukar. It was adorable. But at about half the size of a baby chicken, it seemed frail to begin with. It died 3 days after it hatched. Hence, I wish we had a good mother chukar. So what went wrong? Human error strikes again. The first ever egg was laid […]
CategorieslivestockToday is hatch day! We purchased some quail eggs from a local breeder (you can check them out at kckennelsandlofts.com) This also where we got our day old quail and pheasants. Let me walk you through the incubation process. We put 49 eggs into the incubator 18 days ago. Temp is set at 99.5 F […]
CategorieslivestockI had this grand idea of raising golden comets. They have been my favorite laying chicken. Their eggs are a beautiful dark brown and very large. They have been laying though out the winter without the aid of extra “daylight”. My kids can literally walk up to them and they just stand there, like thats […]
