One of our Barred Rock pullets. I called our first Barred Rock hen “Jackie O” because I thought she was dressed in such a nice outfit. 🙂 I wrote yesterday about our decision to sell the farm. You were all so supportive and caring! I couldn’t sleep last night, thinking of how we might be … Read more
How do I start? This is such a big change in our life…. This is our fourth summer raising chickens, hogs, turkeys, ducks, and geese. We raise our meat with a no-soy, no-corn, non-GMO feed (we used to use a completely organic feed, but it’s no longer available). We produce an amazing product. The people … Read more
When we first purchased our farm, we bought “about 1 year old” chickens off of Craigslist. They were adorable, and it was a fun experience, but we have learned a lot since then. If you’re thinking about buying chickens, you might want to consider the advantages and disadvantages of buying day old chicks and the … Read more
Years before we bought our farm, I was checking out homesteading books from the library. I checked out the following books, often: and They were a DELIGHTFUL read for a young mom in a neighborhood who dreamed of canning vegetables from a big garden and hand-churning butter. However, one word of caution: these books … Read more
photo credit 1 and photo credit 2 We raise pigs. We currently have 24 pigs on pasture. Needless to say, fattening pigs is on our mind. Our last pigs, American Guinea Hogs, ate way too much feed for the amount of meat we got off of them (1,000 lbs of feed each–roughly $500, and they … Read more
photo credit Let’s say you’re convinced. You want chickens. You think they’re super cute, fun, and you’re up for this new project. And maybe you’re married to someone who does not feel the same as you when it comes to the idea of getting chickens. How do you convince this person that getting chickens would … Read more
The farm is keeping us incredibly busy this time of year. My hat is off to those of you who attempt to work a full time job and raise and sell good food. We are blessed that The Farmer is home this time of year. And, because he’s home, this is the time of year where we will make … Read more
Tonight, we had a better experience at the farmer’s market! We sold some whole chickens (YAY!), dozens of eggs, and various cuts of pork. We almost quadrupled our profit from last week, and we felt WAY more encouraged about the whole experience! We changed a few things this week: My husband built an A-frame stand, … Read more
Yesterday, on the way home from our first farmer’s market experience, my husband, The Farmer, said that if things keep going the way they have been, he will have to take on a part time job, come fall. My husband quit his full time job in mid-March. He had a good paying job. … Read more
Hi Everyone! This is The Farmer writing this post. Yes, this is my first post ever on The Well Fed Homestead. Brenda asked me to take some pictures and write this one since she is out of town today. I agreed, not because I feel I am a brilliant writer or anything like that, but … Read more