Category: Livestock, Feed, & Fencing

Sheep: The Original Homesteading Livestock, by S.C.

It is my opinion that survival in a long-term, system-down situation will require a lot more than stored food and water. Survival may boil down to being able to produce food in a sustainable manner with little more than natural resources. Many people seem focused on “bug out” plans, food storage and gardening, with seemingly little thought to the long-term survivability of their plan. While gardens will provide sources of nutrition which are very necessary, the higher calorie and protein needs cannot be satisfied by gardening alone.   Eggs, milk and meat are good sources of protein with caloric benefits …


Horseback Riding for Children and Beginners – A Primer, by Elaine M.

Many children today are ill prepared to safely conduct themselves in a variety of natural settings. Watching all the parents around me twist themselves into knots dropping off and picking up their children, running them constantly to practices and clubs and using all their vacation days to be with the precious children on every field trip, it is apparent that wrapping children in steel wool is still strongly favored. The world is a harsh place and many of these children are ill prepared for a really bad situation. Older but still useful skills can encourage independence in a child and …


Rabies – Coming Your Way? by Dr. Cynthia J. Koelker

Rabies – a legitimate concern or fear-mongering?  As I watch my pet Golden Retriever “Doodles” cautiously sniff at the curb sewer, I believe the threat is real.  A family of raccoons lives in the sewer pipes, and just a few months ago a local dog died of raccoon rabies.  Could my children be next? Ohio is on the frontier of raccoon rabies, but despite yearly aerial and ground baiting programs for oral rabies vaccination, the uniformly lethal infection is moving westward.  Bat rabies, the other common threat, is distributed more evenly across the United States.  (If you’re wondering about your …


Stuff Hits the Fan 101, by Mrs. S.

I grew up in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. I was raised by a single mother who didn’t have time for much besides working to pay bills. I wasn’t lucky enough to grow up on a farm or learn canning or learn any useful survival/life skills besides how to cook Hamburger Helper and I was doing that at the ripe old age of 10. I did become a pro at making stew though and I could probably tell you 101 ways to use pasta. And thanks to my grandmother I could even crochet you a scarf if you’re lucky and …


My Vacation in War Torn Yugoslavia, by C.N.

My family is from the former Yugoslavia and it had been a family tradition to go back and visit the homeland of my grandparents. Unfortunately for me, by the time I could go, my father had passed and I found only one cousin willing to do it again. As luck would have it, it was the summer of 2000 and I thought the war had been long over. It was only recently I discovered that the horror continued right up until just before my arrival there.   After a short stopover in Frankfurt, we boarded a smaller plane to Zagreb. The …


Letter Re: How to Make Homemade Dog Food

Captain Rawles, I wanted to add my two cents to the award-winning December, 2011 SurvivalBlog post How to Make Homemade Dog Food. This post was great to educate people on the fact that it wasn’t that long ago that dog food wasn’t purchased at the store and that the store bought “dog food” really isn’t that great for “man’s best friend”. I learned this after getting my third dog. The other two did great on store bought dog food, and in fact, my Lab lived for almost 15 years on the cheapest dog food from Wally World. When I bought …


Some Transportation Alternatives, by Douglas H.

Transportation is so easy today, its laughable.  I can take a flight from Seattle, Washington to Hong Kong and arrive 13 hours later.  Before oil was processed to produce fuel, a trip from Seattle to Hong Kong took several months on a boat in cramped conditions and meager rations.  Millions, if not billions, of people take our current methods and modes of transportation for granted.  What if these modes of transportation were suddenly not available because of (insert scenario here)?  If you can’t think of a scenario, I’ll list a few:  Peak Oil, World War III, End of the Petro …


The Care and Processing of Small Livestock on the Gulf Coast, by Jessica S.

The following are my observations based upon my experience with the care and processing of small livestock, living in a hot and humid climate on the Gulf of Mexico Poultry: Chicks of all species need warmth for their first few weeks, but on the Gulf Coast, and anywhere else with a hot climate, it’s easy to overheat them. If you’re keeping the birds outside, and it’s anything over 80F or so, they probably do not need additional heat from a heat lamp or other source. Generally, I would take away a heat lamp and use a regular incandescent bulb if …


Letter Re: Profitable Homesteading: How to Thrive in a TEOTWAWKI World

Good Afternoon,  As someone who has tried playing the big stock market as mentioned in Profitable Homesteading: How to Thrive in a TEOTWAWKI World, by Dusty, I’d like to add the following caution.  Don’t quit your full time job if you want to try this option.  For the past year or more we in Central Texas have been in  exceptional drought conditions.  I have a small herd of Dexter cows.  Due to the lack of grass in my sixty plus acres of native pastures I have been forced to rely on 1000 lb bales of hay and local co-op 20% …


Profitable Homesteading: How to Thrive in a TEOTWAWKI World, by Dusty

The idea of homesteading is not a new one.  As a species, we humans have mastered the art of living off the land better than any other species, learning along the way to capture fire, clothe ourselves and even preserve food that we grew to later nourish us. We weren’t content to stop there though.  Mankind “evolved” to reassemble natural materials into unnatural materials such as plastic and combine countless ingredients produced or grown by man into processed foods such as Twinkies, which we figured we might as well wrap in plastic.  Although the modern age has brought many possibilities, …


Letter Re: Keeping Chickens in a Backyard Flock

Mr. Rawles, I very much enjoyed reading the article about Keeping Chicken in a Backyard Flock, by Nightshade. I have 58 hens and seven roosters and I enjoy every one of them. I did want to address one statement, however. It’s concerning the comment about the presence of a rooster and his ability to produce a hormone that turns bad cholesterol into good cholesterol. Perhaps the author of this author could verify that claim? I have contacted the nutrition experts at our state’s university research center on the matter, and they have informed me that there is no scientific evidence to support that claim. They …


Keeping Chickens in a Backyard Flock, by Nightshade

In a SHTF scenario, already having a small flock of laying chickens will be of great benefit for everyone from an urban backyard to a rural, backwoods bunker setting. They are easy to care for, provide eggs and eventually, can grace your stewpot once they have stopped laying. Given the opportunity, they are also resourceful, and will scavenge for insects, grubs, and their favorite greenery. Be warned, they absolutely adore strawberries and kale, and will eat it right out of your garden! A laying hen reaches maturity and begins laying eggs at around 4-6 months of age. She will lay …


Letter Re: 2012 National Agricultural Classification Survey

James: I got one of the USDA’s surveys, too, and had an interesting discussion with whoever responded to their “contact us” email address. I noted that my paper form claimed very clearly that response was required by law, but the web site version of the survey said it was voluntary. So I asked which was true, and was told that Public Law 105-113 “authorizes the [USDA] to conduct an agricultural census every five years,” and explained the form was to help them save time in some further census process. The response said nothing about whether my response was required or …


Raising Guinea Pigs as a Survival Food, by Lisa F.

A range of considerations come into play when selecting food to cache at your retreat for survival post-TEOTWAWKI: caloric load, shelf life, storage space required, price, ease of preparation, etc.  This article will deal with a topic I hold dear to my heart: fresh meat.  Depending upon where your retreat is located, hunting may or may not be a viable option; space, facilities, and season impact animal husbandry choices as well.  While pork and beef are preferred sources of meat for many Americans, there is no argument against the fact that pigs and, even more so, cattle require a fair amount …


Horse and Rider, by D.O.

After reading “Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse”, I thought I would share a few experiences with horse ownership. I really enjoyed the book, a real page turner. And I wanted to weigh in on the techniques and experiences outlined in the book concerning horses. Let me first say that what was portrayed in Survivors is indeed real and doable, however the techniques and experiences in the book require a good deal of experience and training. For the beginning first time horse owner who isn’t sure how tight to cinch a saddle, I would say getting a horse to …