Thinking of getting your own cow? Fresh milk from your own cow is wonderful! It’ll ruin you for store milk, seriously. Your cow’s milk and store milk are not even on the same planet when you consider taste or nutrition. 12 dairy cattle breeds in the United States are: Holstein, Brown Swiss, Ayrshire, Guernsey, Jersey,…
Why do some people raise sheep with black faces? Are they any different than sheep with white faces? Let’s look into some breeds. Sheep breeds with black faces include: Suffolk, Hampshire, Shropshire, Black Welsh Mountain, Dorper, Karakul, Romanov, Scottish Blackface, Clun Forest, Valais Blacknose and Swartbles. Any sheep can have a black face if it…
Interested in getting some chickens for the backyard? Here is a list of calm chicken breeds that would be great for you and your family! Calm chicken breeds list Is Raising Chickens For Eggs Worth It? is an article I wrote to help you work up a budget to determine the costs of having egg…
Looking for a new type of fleece to experiment with? It’s easier than ever to get fleeces, or prepared wool if that’s more to your liking, and there are tons of choices. Let’s look at a few of the options! The wool from any sheep can be used for handspinning, with medium wools being the most beginner friendly. I love to play around with…
Why does a cow eat grass? A cow has a pretty big body to support and grass doesn’t look too filling. How can cow and a bunch of other large animals wild or domestic survive and actually thrive on grass? Cows are biologically designed to eat and thrive on grass. Cows have a specially adapted stomach that has four compartments,…
Do hens need a rooster around to lay eggs? This is a big question for the new backyard chicken raiser. The rooster takes up space that could be used for a hen, but you still want eggs. What can you do? Hens do not need a rooster in order to lay eggs. It is common for…
Is milking a cow good for her or just plain mean? I’m sure you’ve run across both ideas searching around online. What is the real deal? Those two statements are pretty far apart, so where is the truth? A cow needs to be routinely milked to keep her healthy and encourage her to keep producing milk in the future. Not…
Ducks are easy to raise and some breeds grow very quickly. Why don’t more people raise ducks? They are missing the opportunity here. Let’s get cracking so you can start raising some of your own ducks! The easiest duck breed to raise for meat is the Pekin. Pekin ducks are fast growing, easy care, economically priced and commonly available. To be honest, ducks are overlooked as a backyard bird! That’s a…
Ever wonder why some cows have horns and some do not? You can look out at a field of grazing cattle and not see a single set of horns in the group. Yet in other settings, every animal out there, both male and female, will be sporting a good size pair of horns. Maybe even…
Ready to get your first feeder pigs yet not really sure what to do? You came to the right place! I can help you with some of the basics so you can be more confident your new enterprise will start well. Feeder pigs can be purchased from a local small farmer, online ads or an…