Tag Archives: sheep

How to Find and Use a Farm Sitter to Enjoy Vacation as a Homesteader

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We don’t go on vacation much. Hardly ever, really. And our version of a vacation is usually just a 3-day weekend visiting family. Between all the packing for five people; all the prep (and cost!) to leave the animals in someone else’s hands; all the stress of getting there and getting home–and worrying about everything while you’re gone!–then all the unpacking, washing, cleaning, and catching up when you do get home…blah! There’s nothing relaxing about it! Besides–we like being at home! But we also like our family. And we like adventuring … Continue Reading…

Choosing Livestock (Part 3) …The Dollars and Cents of Starting a Small Farm

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So here we are at Part 3. You’ve already decided that you’re ready to bring some livestock out to the farm. You’ve done your research and planning and know what type of livestock you want to start with. But within each species there is a huge list of individual breeds to choose from–and each one has plenty of breeders and admirers swearing that theirs is the best breed ever! The Livestock Conservancy identifies and tracks heritage livestock breeds only, and they have lists of 22 breeds of cattle, 10 individual … Continue Reading…

How To Build a Water and Mineral Stand for Your Homestead

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There’s always big projects and small projects on the homestead. It often bothers me that we have a 1,000 things going on and nothing is ever started and finished in one big swing. But I’ve learned that the farm is ALWAYS bigger than the man and it’s best to be flexible if you want to get anything done. And every once in a while you find a small project that you can knock out quickly and move on. Our recent mobile water and mineral stand project was one. Wood pallets used … Continue Reading…

There was this Girl Farmer…the Daily Farm Adventures {101}

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I was walking down the alley with the dogs yesterday evening and ran into this girl… She was tall, and slim, and wearing a well-worn pair of muck boots like she knew something about the business of mud. Her barn coat was a little rough around the edges and shrugged comfortably across her shoulders as she warmed her hands in her pockets. Her scarf was set just so, casual and deliberate, just so to warm and breath, and there was a rosiness to her cheeks that suggested she knew the winter evening … Continue Reading…

10 Thoughts on Finding Land…The Dollars and Cents of Starting a Small Farm

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So, in the back of our minds, I think all of us small-farm-minded folks have some kind of Old MacDonald, little patch o’heaven, green pastures and babbling brooks daydream going on when we first envision our place. Or maybe it’s wide open prairies with clear blue skies and rugged, snow-capped peaks in the background. Either way, it’s beautiful. It’s perfect. And when push comes to shove, it’s really expensive. Farming begins and ends with land, and these days land is hard to come by. Even if someone was to walk … Continue Reading…

Working Sheep, Stuck Trucks, and Snow…the Daily Farm Adventures {99}

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It’s been a rough couple weeks since Christmas break ended. Speedracer has been battling dual ear infections, which means he can’t sleep, which means we can’t sleep…and we’ve just had a string of maintenance issues around here. Friday morning I started my Lee-Jackson-King 4-day weekend by waiting on the side of the road with Mr. Fix-It (who doesn’t get a 4-day weekend–or even have today off!). There was a prescribed burn at the tree farm on Thursday so Mr. Fix-It was back over there picking up the roadside caution signs … Continue Reading…

When the Weather is Gorgeous…the Daily Farm Adventures {90}

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After a steamy week in the 100s, the summer has cooled off again and this past weekend was gorgeous! Beautiful! Sunny, high 80s, Virginia hot but not humid! At least not that we noticed, we have a higher tolerance than some folks. {smile} So naturally we got a lot of outside work done. We weeded and mulched all the flower beds. (And noticed a few spots that need a little more TLC.) We scrubbed and filled water buckets for everyone. (And enjoyed a few minutes just admiring the cows.) We … Continue Reading…

The Dollars and Cents of Starting a Small Farm

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My post a few weeks ago, when I said that raising your own meat is not really “frugal”, got an interesting response. A lot of folks agreed, and said farming is not cheap. Some readers disagreed and said that “frugal” and “cheap” are not the same thing and that the long-term, intangible benefits make it a frugal choice regardless of the up-front costs. The idea of quality vs quantity. {shrug} I think both are right. It’s expensive, but it has priceless long-term benefits–they’re just not monetary. And obviously we agree … Continue Reading…

Figuring Out Food and Water…the Dollars and Cents of Starting a Small Farm

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By far the biggest line item (other than a mortgage) that you’re going to run into with a small farm is the food bill. Poor Mr. Fix-It goes to sleep at night muttering about “more mouths to feed.” Food and water are the bottom line in your small farm enterprise. If you don’t have them, everything else needs to go! Sometimes I feel like we’ve tried everything at one time or another! {smile} Here’s some of our experiences, which might help you evaluate your own options moving forward. Here’s a few feeding basics … Continue Reading…

Is Raising Your Own Meat Really Frugal?

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I read an article recently about how much it costs to run a small farm, and I have to admit, it hit me all wrong. I love homesteading and our small farm and would never want to discourage anyone from trying it–but I also think that it doesn’t help people to be successful by making it all sound easy-peasy, no big deal, throw some animals in your backyard and suddenly you have organic food for a quarter of the price of the grocery store. Because the ugly side of that is … Continue Reading…

Choosing Livestock (Part 1)…the Dollars and Cents of Starting a Small Farm

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So, now we get to the fun part of a small farm–The critters. It’s the part we tend to get over-zealous and the most impulsive about–and probably the most important that we take our time and think through! {smile} On a more serious note, it really is the part people most often get in over their head with. We’ve ended up with a lot of cast off livestock over the years. From “adopting” chickens at the animal shelter, to a goat tied to our porch rail with a note, to … Continue Reading…

Moving Lambs to New Pastures

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With the nice weather this past weekend, part of our outside chores included moving the lambs (and their mommas) to new pastures. There’s grass coming up, so the goal is to keep the animals on fresh, green grass as much as possible. That involves a lot of moving animals around from one pasture to another, from one side of the farm to the other. The older animals do fine with it. They’ve moved before and they understand the typical routes. They also know there’s good grass at the end of the … Continue Reading…

Always Building Something…the Daily Farm Adventures {92}

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I didn’t write for a good part of the late summer, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t stuff going on around here. (I love how these pictures remind me of the green-grass days!) One of the things that happens on a farm or homestead is that you collect, well, junk. But it’s useful junk, that’s why you keep it. Because someday, one day, you’re going to need it. (I’ve talked about farm junk before.) One thing you always keep is old running gear, or axles. Or any kind of trailer … Continue Reading…

Working the Sheep…the Daily Farm Adventures {85}

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Our big accomplishment for the weekend was that we worked the whole flock through the chute, worming, trimming hooves, and checking general health. Mr. Fix-It is trying a new set up for our pens and chutes–under cover instead of out in the field. Not crazy about it–too much dust and the flies are much worse in the shade. I don’t really understand that, but it’s true. The sheep don’t seem to care one way or another and we’re able to work everyone in less than 2 hours, so they’re not … Continue Reading…