So, you’re thinking about getting into sheep and have a few questions about them, specifically about your options regarding breeding season. Mainly, you need to know: when do sheep breed, how much flexibility is there in the breeding and resulting lambing season and how do you know if the ewes are actually bred? Most sheep…
You’re thinking about raising some of your own meat this year! Wonderful idea! The next step is to pick which animal to raise and pigs are at the top of the list. But… how involved is all this? Sure, you can get a few pigs but will you be glad you did? The real question…
Thinking about getting into sheep but want a bit more information on what raising sheep is really like? I’m talking about the full scoop, both good and bad, from someone who knows about sheep. I can help you here. We raise sheep for a living and enjoy doing so, most days are great, a few,…
Getting started with meat rabbits? Wonderful choice! Rabbits are backyard superstars that are rising in popularity since they are quiet, only need a small amount of space and are family friendly. Here’s the things you’ll need to get started! To raise rabbits for meat, you need appropriately sized cages (based on the size of the…
Getting started with raising your own chickens for eggs? Congratulations! Having your own eggs will give you a nice start into the world of raising your own food, plus the taste is unlike anything you can get at the store! Now that you’ve decided to get your pullets, what should you be feeding them, how…
Thinking about putting up some electric fencing? You’ll surely have some questions! How do you know how far you can run an electric fence and do the different types of fences change how long the fence can be? One joule of power is needed per mile of fence for a 3 wire cattle fence. Increasing…
It’s confusing! The buzzwords are everywhere, complete with cute pictures on the carton or website! But, what does it all really mean? Pasture raised and free range sound a lot alike, to me! How do the animals live their daily lives and which words on the label will help you to buy what you think…
Herds of cows, all with calves that were born this year. That’s a lot of babies and a lot of cows to get bred each year! How do farmers and ranchers get their cows bred? Most commercial beef cattle are bred by bulls, specialty cattle, like show steers, and most dairy cattle are bred by…
Now that you have decided to raise a few pigs, you’ll want to figure out what you should feed them. If you have looked around online, you’ll know there are a lot of opinions out there! Here’s the challenge, which ones are providing common sense advice and which opinions are just folks trying to get…
Is making your own hay is something you should be doing? If you made the hay, you would have exactly what you wanted for your stock and of course, it would be cheaper if you made it, right? Maybe, maybe not! If you have the extra time, plentiful forage growth that is overly mature before…