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There are two common animals raised for milk, the cow and the goat. Either one will require you to milk your animal twice a day for most of the year. It is a huge investment of your time, and they must be milked the same times EACH day. They will get to know you, and many dairy animals in small herds simply will not let anyone else milk them. The milk must be cooled promptly, and everything it comes in contact with must be kept incredibly clean, or it will... Read more →

My second choice for livestock at home is to buy 2 or more piglets, and raise them to butchering weight. That is around 220 pounds live weight today. Larger weights will have more fat, but not that much more meat on them. Piglets will weigh about 35-40 pounds when you buy them at 6-8 weeks of age. They should be ready for slaughter when they are about 5 months old, so you will have them for around three and a half months. Fed grains from the Mill, a pig will... Read more →

If you are thinking about keeping any type of livestock, I would start off with a flock of hens. They will require less time and expense than any other animals you might raise. This article is to let you know the considerations about keeping a home flock of Chickens. It is meant to help you decide if you would want to have your very own fresh eggs, and fertile manure for your garden. Some may even want to raise chickens for meat as well. In the long term, I think... Read more →

I want to grow the very best animal or plant I can, adapted to my own needs. With vegetables, an early large crop is usually the best eating, and what you will want to be preserving also. You want to have enough to fill your drying racks, dehydrator, or canning kettle FULL several times. My pressure and water bath canners are the common size, and take 7 quarts or 10 pints in each batch. An excellent canning guide came with my pressure canner from Lehman's Hardware, and there are... Read more →