Month: February 2026

Raising, Hunting, and Harvesting Animals – Part 4, by Lodge Pole

(Continued from Part 3.) Pros and Cons of Raising Animals for Food As with anything in life, there are pros and cons. Below, I have compiled a list of my personal pros and cons when it comes to raising animals for food. Pros You can control what variety/species of animals you want to raise to give you the most amount of meat. You can choose the type of meat you want to have in your household. If you like peacock meat, you can raise it. If you like ostrich eggs, you can raise it. With chickens, you can control the …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds …


The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. And the glory of …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — February 13, 2026

On February 13, 1633, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome for trial before the Inquisition for professing the belief that Earth revolves around the Sun. — February 13th is the birthday of Robert Charles “R.C.” Sproul (born 1939, died December 14, 2017), a well-respected American Calvinist theologian — Today is also the birthday of General Chuck Yeager (born, 1923), the first man to break the sound barrier. He passed away on December 7, 2020. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First …


Raising, Hunting, and Harvesting Animals – Part 3, by Lodge Pole

(Continued from Part 2.) Water for the Flock For the first several years of raising fowl, I had a 20-gallon rubber water tote in the chicken coop. Every couple of days, I would have to dump all the water out and refill it because the chickens would sit on the edges of the tote and defecate into the water. In the heat of summer, the water would turn green within a day or two, spoiling all the fresh water. I was wasting more water and time than necessary. I began designing a gravity fed water system with a livestock auto-feeder …


Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers.  This week:  A graphic showing countries with the highest levels of household debt. The thumbnail below is click-expandable.         (Graphic courtesy of Reddit, based on IMF data) Economics & Investing Links of Interest WSJ: U.S. Budget Hole Set to Deepen by Trillions”.  A key quote: The U.S. is projected to run a deficit of $1.85 trillion, or 5.8% of gross domestic product, in the year that ends Sept. 30, and then stay about level …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — February 12, 2026

February 12, 1935: The 785-foot long rigid airship USS Macon (pictured above, at Moffett Field, Sunnyvale, California) was downed in a storm off Point Sur, California, with the loss of two lives, and 64 people rescued. — On February 12, 1873 US Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1873, abolishing bimetallism and placing the country on the gold standard. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, …


Raising, Hunting, and Harvesting Animals – Part 2, by Lodge Pole

(Continued from Part 1.) The following are the basic tools I use to harvest and butcher fowl: Large stainless steel bowl. I put several quarts of water in the pot (the amount of water varies on how many birds I am harvesting) to keep the meat from drying out and to help keep flies away if they are present. I also butcher where running water is easily accessible to wash my hands when necessary. Sharp knife. My preferred knife for cleaning and butchering is a medium-sized, antique, high-carbon steel butcher knife with a very thin blade. This knife is from …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, Washington state’s knife ban legislation. A Knife Ban is Planned in Washington Reader D.S.V.  spotted this: Draconian Knife Ban Bill Rises from the Dead in Washington. A pericope: …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — February 11, 2026

On February 11th, 1812, Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signed a redistricting bill. This was the origin of the word “Gerrymander”. — February 11, 2016: Confirmation of gravitational wave theory (through the observed collision of two black holes) announced by physicists from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is …


Raising, Hunting, and Harvesting Animals – Part 1, by Lodge Pole

In late 1929, when the stock market crashed and the Great Depression began, the population of the United States was around 121.7 million people. All through the Great Depression, it was unheard of to leave roadkill on the side of the road left to rot. With high unemployment,  the hunting pressure was heavy. Small game, like rabbits and squirrels, nearly went extinct in large parts of the United States from being over-hunted, to feed desperate families. Today, in 2026, the estimated population of the US is 348.3 million. If animals were being hunted to near extinction when the population was …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — Reader M.B. mentioned this Stars & Stripes article: Navy pilot who shot down four Soviet fighter jets during Korean War to receive Medal of Honor. Royce Williams will celebrate his 101st birthday on April 4th, 2026. Here is an excerpt: “On Nov. 18, 1952, Williams was piloting an F9F-5 Panther when he …