Day 7 - Raising Chickens

31 Days of Homestead Living!

Today was a cool day for us here.  I know some people have already had snow, but in the South 50 degrees is cool! 

When we first moved to the farm, we get some young chickens.  We raised them in our basement until they were large enough to be outside.  We've had chickens ever since!

We had about 20 chickens earlier this year, but predators got most of them.  Now we have about seven.  We were getting about three dozen eggs a week.  Now maybe half a dozen.  We need to get some more laying hens, but I just haven't had time.  My husband wants to get another rooster, too, because he misses their crowing!

We love having our own eggs.  We sell a few along the way, too.  In the summer when we have too many eggs, we freeze them to use in the winter.  There are several different ways to do this.  Some people just put the eggs in a freezer bag and place it in the freezer.  Some break the eggs into ice trays, one in each space.  Then they freeze.  When frozen, the place frozen egg squares in a zip lock bag.  Some say you should press the egg through a sieve, to keep them from getting tough.  So I guess you have to try the one that sounds best to you.  We haven't tried them all yet, so I can't give you a good opinion yet.

We also butcher our older birds for the freezer.  But my husband hates to clean chickens, so we don't order chicks for meet.

Some people are very picky about what they feed their chickens.  We buy laying feed for the chickens.  But I feed them all the left overs, all the stuff I take out when cleaning the fridge.  It is really great that you could keep a few chickens, feed them your scraps, and have eggs for free!  Chickens love tomatoes.  If you have a garden, and the chickens run loose, they will peck the tomatoes.  They also like strawberries, and they love cucumbers.  I give our chickens all the cucumbers from our garden that get too large and turn yellow.  I slice them down the middle, and throw them in the chicken yard.  They love them.

Our hens at feeding time.

We buy chick starter feed for our little ones when they first arrive.  You must keep the chicks under a heat lamp and make sure they have plenty of water. 

Hope you stop back by tomorrow!  Thanks - Honey

Day 6 - Raising Rabbits for Meat and Money

31 Days of Homestead Living!

Today I want to talk about raising rabbits.  I was at a farm meeting at a local college a few years ago.  At that class they discussed ways small farms could make money during their off seasons.  They mentioned that rabbits could be raised for little money, with little space.  The rabbit cages could even be built single space along the edge of your fields, and not take up a lot of room needed for your main money crops.

I went home and told my husband about what I'd learned.  We began to look at it a little, but not really seriously.  We had always had a rabbit or three since our girls were little.  But the rabbits raised for meat are different.  There are several types but most are all white.  They grow larger and are heavier, and they grow quickly.  We started buying a few rabbits here and there.  Then I read about a rabbit farm that was going out of business in the next county.  My husband gave his blessings, and I bought all their cages, rabbits, feed, and what ever else they had.  I think I paid $400.  We were in the rabbit business!

Our state had a group then who would buy the meat rabbits live and take them to the slaughter house.  We got paid per rabbit.  A large truck made a route and would meet farmers to pick up the rabbits.  Then a few years ago the slaughter house was taken out by a hurricane.  So that kind of slowed down and never really got off the ground again.  We still grow our rabbits.  We butcher them for our own needs.  We sell to the public live rabbits.  These people come to our house and knock on our door to see what we have for sale that day.  We sell live rabbits at Easter time.  And we sell rabbits to petting zoos, and other situations like that.

People love to come and see them.  They stop by and look at how we have ours set up so they will know how to raise them too.  Rabbit meat is like chicken.  It is very lean and healthy.  Rabbit is a popular fresh meat to purchase where we live because the international population is higher than in outer towns.

There are other ways to make money while growing rabbits.  You can sell the manure.  Some people use the manure and raise worms to sell.  Some people sell the furs, and some sell the wool to be woven and spun for yarn.

Rabbits can't be too hot or they won't breed.  We keep heaters on them in the winter when needed, and fans on them in the summer most of the time.  We buy rabbit feed at the feed store, but we feed them other things as well.  They can eat the same feed as the cattle if we need them to.  We give them hay, grass, vegetable and fruits, what ever we have.  They love bread.  They are not really picky.  If a rabbit stops eating, he probably doesn't have any water. 

Rabbits are very quiet, small, and non-destructive.  I've known people to raise them in their garage in neighborhoods that didn't allow pets.  Lot's of people are interested in independent living now.  Rabbits are a meat source anyone can raise.  That is why I became interested at first.  I knew if anything happened to my husband, I could raise rabbits myself.  I may not be able to tend the cows alone, but I could do this!  I know that we will never get rich off rabbits.  It's just another piece of the puzzle.  Another thing we put together to support our family.

We let our rabbits run free in fenced areas at times.  Rabbits are great editions to your homestead.

Day 5 - Storing Vegetables in a "Root Cellar"

31 Days of Homestead Living!

We extend our season of eating fresh fruits and vegetables by storing them in our home in a cool dark place.  We don't really have a root cellar, but we do have a basement.  In our basement, I have stored whole pumpkins and watermelons.  They will store for a few months before getting soft or going bad.  We store sweet potatoes and white potatoes in barrels or tubs.  These need to be checked regularly.  Currently I have several butternut squash in a basket with newspaper placed between them.  This was our first year to grow this type of squash, and it grew great here.  We are enjoying having the option of eating these items for a longer season.

Strings of pepper hanging to dry

I have strings of peppers drying downstairs.  And garlic hanging to harden.  Most of the time I have herbs hanging to dry.  A friend of ours buys apples from the local orchard every year.  He wraps several in newspaper, puts them in a brown paper grocery bag, and he has fresh apples to eat for Christmas dinner.
Another friend tells me that one year his family picked tons of pears.  The wife loves pears. They, too wrapped them in newspaper.  But then placed the pears in a cardboard box and put it in a dark closet.  They say that winter, they ate fresh pears till spring! 

Green tomatoes waiting to ripen, and garlic hanging to harden

I think other vegetables like carrots, turnips, or onions could be stored this way, too.  One year I had baskets of pecans and walnuts sitting everywhere till they could be shelled.  I bet you have a cool dark place you could store some fresh food!  Honey

Day 4 - Producing our own Food

31 Days of Homestead Living!

In our home, we try to produce as much of our food as possible.  Over time, I have decided that it is healthier for my family if we can eat our meals from food made with ingredients as close to natural as possible.  This means we raise our own meats:  beef, goats, sheep, pork, chicken, rabbit, duck, goose, and turkey.  We have our own catfish pond. 

Canned mushroom soup cooling

We grow our own dairy:  eggs, and part of the year we have our own goat's milk to drink and use for cheese.  My husband gifted me with two dairy cows earlier in the year.  We hope they will calf in the spring, and we will have our own milk. 

Pears waiting to be canned

We grow most of our own fruits and vegetables.  If we don't grow something ourselves, we look for a local source to purchase it.  I really believe in the 100 mile diet.  Everything you eat should be grown within 100 miles of where you live.  Recently I was blinded by a chain grocery store that had produce so cheap!  They sold bags of kiwi for .85 cents, pears and apples for less than any store in town.  They even had pineapples and coconuts for $.99 each!  But when I got home and looked closer, the kiwi were from Costa Rica!  I don't want to eat food grown on the other side of the world if I can help it!  So we try hard to eat local.

We plant a large garden each year.  We have some things we grow each year (like tomatoes and peppers).  Others I make lists, and decide what I really need to plan to put up for our family that year.  When all the girls lived at home, we put up most of our food  in quart jars, and would you two jars of spaghetti sauce at a dinner!  Now there are three of us some nights.  I'm canning some of the vegetables in jelly jars or pints, because we don't need a quart of something very often now. 

When I shop for groceries, I have a list.  The list has been in progress since the last time I left the store.  My daughter works in a grocery store.  We get a discount of 10% on the store brands every day.  On holiday weeks, we get a discount of 20%.  I try to stock up as much as I can, on the items we use, during the holiday sales.  The rest of the time, I just buy what we need.  I shop the outside of the store, purchasing the fresh foods and perishables.  I start in produce.  I always check first to see what has been marked down, and purchase it.  I usually purchase all that they have that we can use.  We will eat it first, and can or freeze the left overs.  This past year I bought 30 bags of baby carrots marked down to .75 each.  I canned them in pint jars, and we still have a few jars.  GrandBoy loves carrots.  I also buy mushrooms when I see them marked down.  I can some to put over meats.  But a lot I use to make and can cream of mushroom soup.  We never buy the canned soup at the store.  This soup is so good, I can eat it plain!  Each year we can our own spaghetti sauce, pickles, relish, tomatoes, salsa, green beans, pintos, corn, peas, fruits, etc.  I will share more about this later in the month.

Shelled white beans

So I start in the produce section.  Next I go to the organic area.  I check the mark downs.  The I go to the grocery mark down section.  Next I skip the meat department and go to the dairy side.  We buy the dairy items we don't make ourselves.  Dairy is a large part of our budget.  Next I go to the deli department and look at what is marked down.  I pick up deli pizzas, chicken salad, breads, and what ever else has been reduced to a good price.  Now I stop and look at my list to see if there are any items we need from the center of the store.  Then I am done. 

We don't buy any paper products except toilet tissue and female products.  I don't buy many cleaning supplies either.  I make my own laundry detergent, fabric softener, wrinkle spray, and stain treatment.  I do purchase dryer sheets, but I split them to make the last longer.

We buy tea bags, coffee, sugar, cornmeal, flour, and spices.  We buy tortillas and sandwich bread.  We buy mayonaise, mustard, and ketchup.  I'm sure there are other things we buy, but not a lot.  

I will talk about different areas of our food purchases later this month.  Thanks for stopping by!  Honey

Day 3 - Insurance

31 Days of Homestead Living!

Hello!  Welcome back to our farm.  Today I'm going to talk about a topic that many of you may find boring.  But it is very important when you need it!  That topic is insurance!

Our barn

 

There are so many types of insurance you may need when you have a farm.  Everyone needs medical and auto insurance.  In our state auto insurance is mandatory now.  I guess medical coverage is about to be that way as well.  What about homeowners coverage?  Coverage for your tractors and farm equipment?  How about liability in case your cow walks out in front of a car?  What about if you let people come on your property and buy vegetables, and they fall?  Are you covered for that?

Our home

One of the most important types of insurance to have is homeowners.  If you have a bank loan to purchase your home or farm, your bank will require you to have homeowners insurance.  You can subtract the value of the land from the loan amount, and only insurance the value of the home itself, not the total loan amount.  But some banks will make you maintain a certain percentage of the loan value until the loan is paid off.  In April of 2011,  we were hit by a tornado.  We were involved in another tornado in March of 2012.  The 2011 tornado caused damage to our home.  Roof damage, loss of all the floor covering in our home, some furniture and appliances, as well as downed trees and rubbish removal.  Our insurance policy covered a portion of the costs we incurred.  Everyone thinks insurance covers 100% of your property value, and that is not true.  We carry a high deductible to make our insurance coverage more affordable.  We feel  we will be able to come up with a $2,500 deductible, to have lower yearly premiums.  We try to avoid filing insurance claims of any sort.  We live in an older farm house.  Insurance pays better for new home damage than it does for older homes.  Our insurance company wrote us a check for $8,000 to cover our damages.  The SBA would have allowed us $22,000 for our damages.  So you see there is quite a difference there.  None the less, we were pleased to get the check, and used it to help patch our roof and cover our floors.

Our premiums on the farm policy are outrageous.  The main reason they are so high is because we are half a mile off the road (I know you all are getting tired of hearing me say that), which means we are at least a half mile from a fire hydrant.  We have a large pond in our front yard, and the fire fighters have acknowledged  they would use that water to fight a fire at our home if necessary.  But our insurance company won't recognize this fact.  If we were on county water, we could  "buy" a fire hydrant of our own and have it placed back here, and our premiums would go from about $1,200 a year to $350 a year.  But the price of a fire hydrant is a couple of thousand dollars, so we will wait.

GrandBoy, Pappy, and our new tractor

We discovered a new insurance need about a year ago:  tractor insurance.  We had always paid cash for our farm equipment, but a year ago, my husband came across a great deal for a larger John Deere tractor we could use during hay season.  We got it (with the help of our local bank), but the bank required that the tractor have an insurance policy naming the bank as the loss payee.  We tried to explain that our current policy covered our farm equipment, but they wanted our tractor listed separately, to them.  We finally got that worked out without buying another policy.

Some of our cattle

Our farm policy does cover us for liability if a farm animal walks in front of a vehicle, or causes other property damage.  Even at the pastures we rent that are not attached to our farm.  Our state does not require this coverage, but it is nice to know we are covered, none the less.  We have had people drive through our fences several times.  A couple of times someone has hit a cow in the road.  Once a man had been drinking when he hit our cow, and he did try to get us to fix his car.  He said he only had liability insurance, that the law required, but it wouldn't fix his car.  I told him I was sorry, but the law didn't require me to have insurance on my cow.  Our state feels an animal walking in front of a car is like an act of God.  And for the record, never, has anyone who has driven through a fence, come back to pay us.  Or stayed to help try to round up cows in the dark.

If someone came on our property to buy a cow or maybe some eggs, and they fell and got hurt, it would be covered under our liability on our homeowners policy.  But if I start allowing groups of people to come on our farm for tours and someone falls off a hay wagon, I will probably need some type of additional policy.  And I'd be afraid to price it.

GrandBoy on the hay wagon

Another insuranc coverage used on farms is crop insurance.  We don't raise crops, so I don't know anything about it.  If you are thinking about raising a crop, call your farm insurance office for more information.

Stop back by tomorrow.  No telling what you'll learn!  Honey

Day 2 - Utilities

31 Days of Homestead Living!

Welcome to Day 2 of 31 Days of Homestead Living.  Today I plan to talk a little about utilities.  Our farm uses electric and propane gas for heat.  All the farm is electric, except we have gas logs in our living room and a gas heater for the basement of our home.  This is good if the electric goes off, we would still have a source of heat on both levels of our home.  As you all know, we have been without electricity for an extended time once a year for the last two years due to tornadoes.  Each of these episodes was for a week or more.

We have several wood burning stoves we've picked up on our travels.  We love to "junk shop".  Stopping at thrift stores, antique shops, flea markets, and so forth.  So we have a few of the cast iron type and we use them at various places around the farm for heat.  We have a larger one in our outdoor kitchen, and also a smaller one on the porch of that kitchen.

We have an electric stove and oven in our indoor kitchen, and a gas stove/oven in the outdoor kitchen.  We have a gas heater in the greenhouse.  And we are considering putting a gas heater in the chicken house so the hens will lay better year round.  When it is very cold, we use kerosene heaters in the rabbit houses.

Our Outside Kitchen

We would like to set up some solar power panels, but we haven't had time to figure that out yet.  One of our friends did though.  They set up some solar panels, and hooked up specific appliances to them.  They were pleased with the results.  Maybe we can find time to try that next year.

Our electric bill for our whole farm, is less that several of our tenants get for their homes.  We have the electric for our home, and we run fans in the rabbit house during the summer.  Our well pump is electric. 

We have to leave a lot of outdoor lights on to keep the predators away from the animals.  We also run radios outside to keep the animals company, and to scare off the predators. 

We  try to watch our electric usage very closely.  We have central heat and air, but we also use window units to keep from cooling the whole house when we don't need to.  We hang out the laundry the majority of the time, instead of using the dryer.  We don't use a dish washer.  We try to make sure the lights and appliances are off if not in use. 

The upstairs clothes line

And the downstairs clothes line

Our home is a half mile off the road. This means that our electric lines are also run a half mile back from the main road.  If our lights go off, we have to call the utility company immediately to report it, because we could be, and have been, the only people who's service goes off.  Once we waited and waited for the lights to come back on.  Finally I called to see when it would be on, and the utility company were unaware we didn't have service.  Any high wind or storm can cause our power lines to come down. 

In the winter we cover the outer windows with plastic.  We hang quilts over the french doors.  I bought thermal curtains for some of our larger windows.  I stuff fabric in any cracks around the window units to save on the electric bill.  I put draft dodgers in front of the windows and under the doors to stop the cool air from coming in.  In the winter, if I use the oven, I leave the door open when I'm done to let the warm air out into the room.  Every little bit helps when trying to conserve!

As alternate sources of light, we have a supply of candles, oil burning lamps, and battery operated lanterns.  We use them frequently, and really enjoy them.  We also try to store batteries in all sizes for emergencies.

We have a crank radio, and battery opereated radios also.  When my girls were little, we had a battery operated TV, and used it if needed to calm the troops!

Well, it's getting late here so I guess I'll close.  Come back tomorrow!  I can't wait to see you them!  Honey

Wood for our stove

Day 1 - Water

31 Days of Homestead Living!

Hello friends!  If you are just stopping in today for the first time, I'm so glad to meet you!  If you have been here before, you probably realize I have been away for awhile.  We have had some family things going on,  but things here have settled down, and I am glad to be here.

The topic I am going to talk about today is Water.  When you are homesteading, water is very important.  Where we live, we are on well water.  Our well is fed by a natural spring.  We have a catfish pond for our cows and other livestock to drink from also.  We are one of a very low number of families in our county who are on a well for their only source of water.  I love it, and love not having to pay for water.  We use lots of water with the animals, and all the other needs of the farm.  The reason we are not on county water is that we are a half mile off the road, and it would cost several thousand dollars to run water to our home.

Last February, I said we were going to test our water.  My husband wanted me to get this done, because we had lost a few baby animals (sheep and goats) and we couldn't figure out anything else that was different.

So finally, I had the water tested about a month ago.  Our house has a house water filter system.  I thought the correct way to test the water would be to test the water at the outside faucets to see if the unfiltered water was safe.  I really needed to know if the filtered water we're drinking is safe.  I did the test, and dropped it off to be mailed.  When the results came in, they weren't good.  The water failed in two areas, and we weren't suppose to drink the water until we had it retested.

Well, I have wanted a Berkey Water Filter for some time, but the price just didn't fit in my budget right now.  A few years ago, a tenant left one of those plain water cooler stands that uses a large water bottle, in one of our rental houses.  We now have that in our kitchen.  We keep it for when we have tornadoes, or the electricity goes off.  When you live in a rural area, you never know what will happen.  Since we're on an electric pump to get water, if the electricity is off, we won't have water.  We keep those bottles for the water cooler, and at least we;re able to make coffee or a bottle of formula when the GrandBoy was small.  My sister saw the water cooler and said, "I can't believe you have a water cooler!"  She was insinuating I am cheap! So I had to explain to her that it was free, and why we buy the water.  Under normal circumstances, we only buy about two bottles a year.  With this going on, I believe I've bought two already this year.

I also started buying gallon jugs of water at the grocery store.  Well, that got old pretty quick.  I just got tired of paying for the water.  So I decided I would refill the gallon jugs at work.  I started out with four jugs, and one sprang a leak.  So we currently have three.  This means I am putting chlorinated city tap water in my jugs to bring home to drink.  It makes me cringe.  But it's safe, and better than paying for water at the store.  Once or twice a week I refill them before I leave work.  I still use our filtered water for cooking, but if the water isn't going to be heated, I use the water I collect at work.  This is usually when I make ice tea.  My husband hates seeing me tote this water home.  But I do it none the less. 

Thinking back, I decided I did the water test wrong.  I used the hose pipe next to the miniature fish pond to collect the water sample.  I think the hose pipe was contaminated from being in the animal troughs, etc.  I did another test this past week, using our kitchen faucet.  I cleaned  and sterilized it first, and let it run for 5 minutes before testing.  Daughter #1 took the test to the health department for me.  Now the wait starts.  I hope the test results are back in a week or so.

If the water results are still bad, we'll have to run bleach though all the faucets and water lines, starting at the pump.  We'll have to continue to test until the tests are good.  If the test results are good, we just know we need to drink the water in the house, where the filter system is.

One day I hope to get the Berkey Water Filter.  But I hope I can wait a while.  If I need to though, I know that we could drink our water with the Berkey now, and we would be safe.  We may have to plan to make that a family Christmas, anniversary, and everything gift for the coming holidays if our water fails.  I hear that Berkey sometimes send out models to bloggers to try in exchange for a review.  If you are out there, Berkey, we may need you!

I know some of you may wonder about the filter system on our home.  There is a big difference in filter systems.  Some are made to remove chlorine and chemicals from tap water.  Some only remove sedimate.  And some are made to make water safe to drink.  I just don't know what the one we have is designed for, so I can't say.  It was on the house when we moved here.  They sell them at home repair stores, and they don't talk about "making pond water safe", if you know what I mean. 

When we first moved to the farm in 2001, we had well pump problems every year.  It was awful.  But a few years ago, we got a newer model, and it has been great since.  Hardly any trouble at all  My husband told me recently that when our water pressure is bad, it usually means that the filter on the water filter system needs to be changed.  Or sometimes it means that "someone" forgot to cut off the pasture water, and it may be flooded out there, taking all our water!  But as far as I know, there is only one company that works on well pumps here.  And when I call them, they rush to get here as quickly as possible.  The man says, "There is nothing madder that a woman with no water!"

Now we store about 300 gallons each of water, in two above ground water storage tanks my husband built.  When we had the tornado this year, we used this water to take baths, wash dishes, and cook, and we were fine.  We were without electricity and water for about 10 days.  My husband said a man should have to tote water for a woman for a week before he marries her, then he'd know for sure if the marriage would last.  I guess I'm worth it, cause we've been married 30 years this December!

One of our water storage tanks

Since we've lived on the farm, I knew one other family who were on a well.  But their well wasn't spring fed like ours.  When the summers were long and hot, the draught season, they would need to measure their water each day at the hottest parts of the summer.  The husband would measure the water with a yard stick, and tell the wife if the six children could take baths that day!  Our spring has never gone dry, and for that I am thankful!  Our catfish pond may get low, but we have never run out of water yet.

Our pond, one Christmas

 

We rent several pastures for cattle.  Some of those may not have water on site, and when that occurs, my husband has to carry water to those fields as needed.  That is another aspect of homesteading water that may need to be addressed.  Animals have to have water.  But I have recently learned that there are grants in our community to run water to animals.  I think we'll check into some of that. 

If anyone has any water questions, I'll try my best to answer them.  Thanks for stopping by!  Honey


NOTE:  Each day a new segment will be added to this series, so check for that days updates by going to the bottom of the page and clicking "older" or looking on the right side of the page and pick the appropriate day.