With everything we could want at our fingertips, why would we want to be less dependent on the global supply chain? Why would you bother when you have companies selling cheap goods that can be at your home in a matter of a few days, if not hours? The world is moving at a crazy pace, affecting our lives. More and more people are trying to figure out how to slow it down. One way to slow down the world…
Starting your flock is a very special thing. You are taking a big step to being less dependent on the system! While raising chickens may feel intimidating, you will be a pro in no time. Most chicken owners start with baby chicks. All baby chicks are cute, making your decisions harder on what to buy to get your flock started. You must be practical about how many chickens you need, how many you can hold in your coop, and the…
Chickens are usually the gateway drug for people wanting to be a little less dependent on the system. Chickens are generally low maintenance and easy for people new to small livestock. Considering the fluctuating prices of eggs, keeping chickens makes sense for a constant egg supply. When I started keeping chickens for eggs ten-plus years ago, I knew very little except that I had a good shelter for them to be safe and that they needed food and water. In…
Being mostly self-sufficient, I like to think ahead about where my food will come from. For many people (me included), that means food storage and preservation. I also think about my gardening and what I could do now to have food later. Planting garlic is generally accepted by most gardeners to plant in the fall. You can plant garlic in the spring and still have a good harvest. I have better harvests when I plant in the fall. I tend…
Hello? Is this thing on? Anyone there? Okay, maybe it’s not that bad. I have essentially been MIA for the last two months on this blog and almost everywhere else on social media. I could say that life is too busy, but the truth is that I have too much to do most days and don’t have a lot of time to sit down to write. Now that the garden is mostly in and will be holding steady for a…
April seemed a busy month even though I felt like we were home more and not running to appointments, school events, etc. I’m not sure if I did a whole lot of prepping because I was focused on some other things like making money and keeping living things alive. We got baby chicks on April 5th. I got my batch of 16 from Murray McMurray’s in Webster City. I have all layers again, and they have been fun so far….