Category: Livestock, Feed, & Fencing

I love my chickens. They are the most easy to care for and more rewarding of all farm animals, in my opinion. However, I am also a pragmatist. My chickens are here to DO something, and that something is lay eggs. These are not pets; they are food producers that I also find beautiful and entertaining. I provide them with a clean living environment, free-ranging fun, food, and protection. In turn, they provide me with eggs. When they stop laying eggs, my family eats the chicken. Some chicken owners may wince at this outlook, but my family lives on a …

When new preppers begin planning their retreat or bug-out location they often first visualize an abundant garden, overflowing with fruit and vegetables, and focus their food production efforts on learning to garden. This is a wise approach indeed, but perhaps a disproportionate level of attention is paid solely to the labor-intensive task of annual gardening, which produces primarily carbohydrates, versus the less labor-intensive task of livestock grazing, which produces a perennial supply of primarily protein, fat, and pelts (if desired). Also, unlike most plants, protein derived from animals is complete and includes all nine essential amino acids (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_protein). Now, please …