Category: Livestock, Feed, & Fencing

Home Chicken Flock Management by B.D. in Tennessee

Chickens are one of the most important yet overlooked purchases in the preparedness world. Chickens are relatively low maintenance, a joy to watch, and they offer a significant return on investment for the backyard homestead and small farm. Because they will eat anything from table scraps to fish heads, they are also very economical pre-collapse. On average, most chicks cost around three dollars each purchased from local co-ops and feed stores. They can also be bought online for reasonable prices (shipping costs are high, however, due to Postal Service regulations) and delivered to your local post office. Chickens of a …


Letter Re: Wool Carding Questions

This is in response to the recent question re wool cards for angora fiber. Please let me add a few important facts on this subject. Angora fiber needs to be processed on cards with a fine tine. The fibers are comparatively short and incredibly soft and fine. Buy cards referred to as cotton cards or recommended for carding exotic fibers or cotton. Yes, one can pluck and spin the fiber off a rabbit in one’s lap, but that’s generally a trick for fiber shows. Really, please, just pluck the rabbit and let it down to run around while you spin. …


Direction of Force: Working Safely Now and at TEOTWAWKI, by Arizona Slim

We all accept basic firearms safety rules and know that if we were able to carry them out flawlessly, there would be no such thing as an unintended injury or what we pitifully refer to as an “accidental” discharge. [JWR Adds: Properly, this is termed a Negligent Discharge.] There is another much more broad concept that, if we can also just hone it to a fine edge, we can employ it across a broad array of activities to greatly reduce the chance of damage, injuries and even death. Activities as diverse as cutting a project out of construction paper, opening …


Letter Re: Some Experience Raising Geese

Captain Rawles, I’ve some info that might be of interest to the visitors to your blog. What started out as an impulse buy by my wife and daughters 10 years ago has resulted in our discovery of a creature that has a very long life span, is a good watch or alert critter, is easy to keep, provides good entertainment and lays eggs.  It is African geese. We bought two of these as goslings and raised them to adults. By doing this, we discovered that they will be very loyal to their caretakers and friendly. Anyone that has been around geese know that …


Letter Re: Rabbits for a Stable (and Staple) Protein Source

Hello Mr. Rawles, Regarding the recent blog article Rabbits for a Stable (and Staple) Protein Source, by S.F.D. in West Virginia: I too have chosen meat rabbits to be my SHTF meat source. Raising, butchering, and of course eating domestic rabbit has become a great learning experience for myself and my family. The one problem I foresee is providing food for my rabbits. But one possibility, of which I have a friend who has much success with, is growing a substantial plot of dandelion. My friend from northern Maine has a 90 foot-long plot of dandelion which he harvests and then dries …


Letter Re: Rabbits for a Stable (and Staple) Protein Source

Hello, I enjoyed the recent blog article Rabbits for a Stable (and Staple) Protein Source, by S.F.D. in West Virginia.  With all the rabbits running around this year I have been thinking about giving this a try.  I had a couple of questions after reading though and hope you or S.F.D. can answer them.   1. Food pellets won’t be readily available after the stores shut down.  What would you recommend for easily replenishable year-round rabbit food? 2. The temperature swings here in the South between seasons can be drastic.  Is there special care needed in extreme cold or heat? 3. Is there …


Rabbits for a Stable (and Staple) Protein Source, by S.F.D. in West Virginia

What if you could have a protein source that is inexpensive to maintain, that would not draw attention the attention of prying eyes and ears and it actually produces valuable bi-products that can be used/traded/sold to help offset remaining costs?   Consider the common domestic rabbit. Rabbits have been kept as a meat animal since before the times of the Roman Empire.  They have fed people during good times (as a farm or ranch animal) and in bad times such as: wars, famines, even in America during the Great Depression and both world wars.    Today you can find rabbit meat in …


Letter Re: Donkeys and Mules

In response to Crazy As A Fox’s recommendation of donkeys as a potential multi-purpose survival animal, I would argue that everything positive aspect of donkeys noted can also be said of mules (the product of a male donkey and female horse).  They have the additional benefit of being less stubborn, faster, and more intelligent than donkeys. Working at a Christian dude ranch in Colorado, I had the opportunity to ride mules on a daily basis and can vouch for their amiability as well as their refusal to put their rider or themselves in danger which makes them particularly suited for …


Am I Crazy?, by Crazy As A Fox

I am a Vice President o a very successful company in the western side of the Midwest.  I am in my early 60s, and after 30 plus years with the company – I will retire in next year or so with no debt, a good retirement plan, stable lifestyle – no worries, right?  So, why do some of those around me think I’m crazy (even me sometimes)?  Here’s my story.   I grew up a farm boy working the family farm with my grandma and grandpa, old school Swede – German homesteaders – milking cows, slopping hogs, baling hay, walking beans, driving tractors, gathering eggs, and yes, shoveling S#%*.  Small rural …


Letter Re: Animal Food Sources in TEOTWAWKI, by Michael H.

JWR, That was an excellent article By Michael H. about chickens. (Animal Food Sources in TEOTWAWKI.”) One thing to consider is that raccoons can reach though chicken wire and dismember the chickens. Small weasels can easily get through chicken wire. It’s better to use 1/4 or 1/2 inch (at the largest) metal hardware cloth for chicken coops and runs.


Animal Food Sources in TEOTWAWKI, by Michael H.

The prepper has many preparedness areas to consider. Obtaining and managing food, water cleaning and storage, security, communications, and efficient transportation, are only some of the areas that a good prepper will be concerned with. Finding, cooking, and storing food rightly seem to be the focus of many preppers preparedness strategies.   With food and water survival becomes much more likely.   While you may be cold or wet, uncomfortable, cut off from the rest of the world or in an unsecured location , you will at least have the essentials that will allow survival. Everything else can be worked out later.  …


Letter Re: Questions on Gardening, Livestock and Dogs in North Idaho

Dear CPT Rawles, My wife and I, along with our three teenage son’, are now eyeball deep in prepping, and have reached that stage where we pretty much have most of everybody’s personal gear needs met, with the exception of a few small items here and there.  We opted to take care of that first, as we are stuck temporarily east of the mississippi, in the southeastern US.  Our intent when we began our prepping journey a couple years ago, was first & foremost to be able to make a hasty exit from this area if the SHTF.  Thus, our …


Two Letters Re: The K9 Question

Jim, The ‘information’ provided to you by Jennifer is false.  Please consider these:   The Pit Bull (a combination of four breeds: American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier, American bulldog and any other pure bred or mixed breed dog that is a combination of these dogs) has it’s reputation as a dangerous breed for a reason.  Since 1851 there has not been any decade in which pit bulls did not account for at least 50% of dog related human fatalities.  For the past 30 years pit bulls have account for 65% of human maulings and deaths, fairly consistently, even though pit …


Letter Re: The K9 Question

Hello. As an American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) owner, I felt compelled to address the inaccurate information in the post titled, The K9 Question. Since the reputation of the ‘pit bull’ type dog has been shredded by the media and various myths, I ask that the information be corrected.   The post states; “On the other hand, if children are not necessarily a consideration and your needs are for a one purpose guard dog you might decide on one of the BULL TERRIER breeds commonly referred to as Pit Bulls.  They are easy to find.  Every dog shelter is overflowing …


Letter Re: Harnessed Animal Power

Dear JWR: There is an estimated 250,000 animal-powered farmers in the U.S. doing all or part of their farming with animals. I’d recommend http://smallfarmersjournal.com/ for some good reading and information and a visit to Horse Progress Days to view the latest in modern equipment. Almost anything can be done with animals that can be done with tractors, even combining with a motorized forecart. Horse Progress Days has some interesting support equipment, including well made coal stoves and manual transplanters. If it’s in reach of you, I suggest attending for an eye-opening experience. The food is good, too. – James L.