Does your pasture resemble more of a lawn? Pasture seed sure isn’t cheap! Perhaps you’re wondering how you’ll afford to re-seed it. This simple way of feeding your livestock hay this winter will spread seed and fertilizer right where you need it! This fall, for the first time in our homesteading career, we purchased pasture […] Read more…
| Cattle, homestead management, In the Barnyard, Jersey cattle, out and about
We have recently started up a small, raw milk dairy, weaned the calves and have moved to twice a day milking. I am expecting our third child (3 under 4) and was wondering about how I am going to manage to leave our place again. How do you balance being able to go to things […] Read more…
I find that I enjoy introducing you to cattle. Might as well enjoy it since I do it so frequently. I mean in the last 14 months, you’ve met Maby, Holly, Bailey, Rusty, Stella, Candy, and “Big Bertha.” Well this chap is Dozer. He came to us as A Bull With No Name. Meaning that […] Read more…
| Cattle, farming ethics, In the Barnyard, Jersey cattle, Uncategorized
What kind of a self-respecting Cow Mama am I, exhibiting my poor gals before the proverbial world and pointing out all the imperfections in their body conditions?! Do you think they’ll forgive me because it was for educational purposes that I showed you that Holly is on the skinny side, Candy & Stella are just about […] Read more…
So you’ve been dreaming of a family milk cow. Raw milk. Cream. Butter. Cheese. Clanging milk pails. Cool morning sunrises. The sweet smell of hay. The works. So you bought a piece of land. And it’s big enough to finally bring your gal home and start living the dream. Congratulations! But what if your small pasture […] Read more…
Well, the results are in. Here it is, late September, and only ONE of our three cows are bred! Let’s all give Stella our sincerest congratulations on her expected arrival next year! Dear gal has earned a crown and may continue her reign as Still My Favorite. It has been an interesting year as we learn […] Read more…
| Cattle, dairy, In the Barnyard, Jersey cattle, Uncategorized
{I Heart Raw Milk} {Splish Splash} {Our Dolly, Holly} {Sweet Stella Vanilla} {Dandy Candy} {I Got A Little Sloppy, Don’t You Think? *Hangs Head in Shame*} {Candy’s Cream. Oh.My. Go’ness.} {The Most Yellow I’ve Personally Seen} {Bright, Beautiful Buttah} “My Side of the Milk Bucket.” Sounds like a good series title for ranting […] Read more…
I thought I read you had kept back a few of your Freedom Rangers to see how they lay and maybe try to hatch. I was wondering how they did. Did they make it to laying age? If so, how often do you find they are laying eggs? Have you had any success with hatching? […] Read more…
Erin from Blue Yurt Farms is firing up an awesome project I know you’re all going to be just as excited about as I am! I believe when you get down to it, this is really how so many of us ended up writing about our homesteading lives and reading about others- our need for connectedness […] Read more…
| Cattle, In the Barnyard, just a photo, our homestead, Pigs, sheep
Well June might not have been the month for gardens, but our homestead sure has been growing none the less! I already shared how we added sheep for pasture management. These girls have all been named since then… we chose Scottish names. The mama ewe is Blaire which means “dweller on the […] Read more…
Our Freedom Ranger Broiler Chickens that we’re raising for meat to feed our family aren’t about to live a pampered life. Oh no, no, no. No air-conditioned shady barns. No all-you-can-eat buffets style feeding troughs where they can lounge around all day gorging themselves. No bellies burned of all their feathers from lying about in their […] Read more…
I know. I didn’t see this coming either. But we now own four sheep. I mean, I kind of saw it coming. After all I did suggest when our lawn mower broke a few weeks ago that sheep would be a great alternative to a gasoline powered mower. But the advice was rejected (as well […] Read more…