Category: Livestock, Feed, & Fencing

Letter Re: How/Where Can I Learn About Fiber Arts?

Dear Memsahib: In your biography, I noticed that you wrote: “I also have taught Fiber Arts. I can shear a sheep, angora goat, or angora rabbit and wash, card, dye, spin, knit, weave, (and/or felt) the wool into socks, mittens, a hat, scarf, or a sweater.” Speaking for those who happen to have a small herd of Angora goats, but no practical knowledge of shearing or weaving/knitting, to say nothing about “wash – card – dye – spin,” are there any books you can recommend? Or perhaps, alternatively, a DVD? Thanks, – Pete M. The Memsahib Replies: I think hands-on …


Letter Re: Advice on a Whole Life Insurance Policy and Firearms

Jim, I’m a newbie to your site and I love it! Read it every morning instead of the newspaper. I’m a single female horse rancher living in Alabama (not originally from Alabama). I attend a home church and have been preparing for our future events for several years before reading your blog. After reading the blog I realize how much farther I have to go. Especially in the home defense area. I own two .22 rimfires and a BB gun. LOL! Thank you so much for all the time and information your providing us. I’ve referred many of like mind …


Letter Re: Guinea Fowl for Bug Control in Your Garden

After reading yet another article about how guineas do no harm in the garden, I thought it was time to toss in my thoughts on the matter. First, guineas do not do nearly the damage a flock of chickens will do. However… When mine were free to roam the garden, they dug their dust pits right at the base of plants because the soil under plants is cooler from both shade and watering. Be prepared to sacrifice plants to exposed roots. They walked up and down the rows of strawberries and pecked at all the green strawberries, which then just …


Letter Re: Guinea Fowl for Bug Control in Your Garden

Hi Jim, In an e-mail, you had asked me “can guinea fowl can be kept in the garden or do they exhibit the same characteristics as chickens?” Our guineas free range into our open gardens all summer. They will eat small shoots, such as garlic and chives, and they do eat bean plants so we do need to protect them while young. They don’t seem to bother either tomatoes or squash/pumpkin plants. Once the garden plants reach mature height, they tend to leave them alone. I think they go after the small plants early in the season because there is …


Four Letters Re: The Home Chicken Flock for Self-Reliance

Hi Jim – I am a “ten center” and read your blog every day. Just wanted to say that I thought Keith in Minnesota’s article on “Survival Chickens” was outstanding. A really good example of maximizing what you have (and leveraging Mother Nature) without spending huge amounts of effort or money to get a major benefit. – John   Jim and Memsahib, Regarding the recent blog entry “The Home Chicken Flock for Self-Reliance”, I have a few comments. I have been raising chickens since I was young and continue to this day. Having a source of fresh eggs is great …


Two Letters Re: Thoughts on Overseas Retreat Destinations

Mr. Rawles, In looking through your great web site I can’t tell if you’ve ever addressed the issue of having a non-US retreat. There are some notable characteristics of the USA that make it a less then optimal location in a TEOTWAWKI type scenario. I think specifically of very heavy reliance on personal vehicles and fossil fuels, a general ignorance about growing food, preserving food, raising livestock. There is a tremendous demographic heterogeneity (“diversity”) that in a crisis situation would become a very sore spot and possibly a source of violence. Also a Federal government that has shown an inclination …


The Home Chicken Flock for Self-Reliance, by Keith in Minnesota

The little details in being prepared for self reliance are often the most important ones. Often people think, chickens would be a good thing to have in a survival situation, after all they produce free eggs, right? Unfortunately they are not free, they cost feed. How can you pay less? Breed survival chickens. Store and feed mill bought chickens are typically ridiculously inbred, and solely dependent on you providing them food. I got started raising survival chickens for meat and eggs about five years ago. My goal was to end up with a breed of chickens that were both adept …


Self-Sufficiency in Northern Nevada

Over at the Bison Survival Blog (formerly called the Bison Newsletter), editor Jim Dakin recently posted an interesting piece titled “Economics of Self-Sufficiency.” I recommend his blog, although it is with the caveat that there is a lot of foul language posted there, especially in some of the comments posted by readers. For several years, Jim Dakin has advocated the low cost retreating approach of buying an inexpensive piece of land (what he calls “junk land”), and living very frugally, with a large used travel trailer for shelter. Jim Dakin presently lives in Carson City, Nevada, in the rain shadow …


The Big Picture — Grid Up Versus Grid Down–Oil, Soil, and Water

Before selecting retreat locale, It is crucial that you decide on your own worst case scenario. A location that is well-suited to surviving a “slow-slide” grid up scenario (a la the deflationary depression of the 1930s) might not necessarily be well suited to a grid down situations. As stated in my post on August 15, 2005, a grid down situation will likely cause a sudden onset variation of TEOTWAWKI with a concomitant mass exodus from the big cities resulting in chaos on a scale heretofore never seen in modern memory. My own personal “best case” scenario is an economic depression, …


Two Letters Re: Is Grain Sold as Seed or Animal Feed Safe to Eat?

James, A reader asked about “deer wheat” in a video posted on Youtube. The intent of the video was to show how someone could inexpensively pack their own dry goods, not to argue the merit of “feed” wheat. Just to clarify though, the wheat in the video was purchased from a feed store selling it as “feed” wheat not as “deer wheat.” As you mentioned there is essentially two types you’ll find at feed stores- seed wheat and feed wheat. Down in the southern parts of the country there are more insect problems, so much of the “seed” wheat is …


Three Letters Re: Frozen Livestock Water Tank Woes

Hi Jim, I have not tried one of these yet. But it seems like a good idea. – Paul D   Jim, I came across this interesting product while surfing the Internet a couple of weeks ago. It is one possible solution to the problem of freezing livestock tanks. The web site also mentions that insulating the sides of the tank helps retain the heat. – Jeff   Good Evening Mr. Rawles; In reference to the posting regarding heating a livestock tank, please review this web site. I purchased one of these tubs and stoves several years ago but not …


Letter Re: Is Grain Sold as Seed or Animal Feed Safe to Eat?

Mr. Rawles I got a You Tube link that shows “Five gallon bucket storage techniques” and was wondering if the “deer wheat” mentioned in the video was edible or able to sprout and also make wheat berries? I went to my local feed store and they can get the “deer wheat” in 50 pound bags either as “seed” or “feed”. If this “deer wheat” is okay for human consumption, then which would be the better buy, “seed” or “feed”? JWR Replies: Typically “seed” grain is treated with insecticides and fungicides, but “feed “grain is not. Any whole grain (without fillers, …


From the SurvivalBlog Archives: Start With a “List of Lists”

Start your retreat stocking effort by first composing a List of Lists, then draft prioritized lists for each subject, on separate sheets of paper. (Or in a spreadsheet if you are a techno-nerd like me. Just be sure to print out a hard copy for use when the power grid goes down!) It is important to tailor your lists to suit your particular geography, climate, and population density as well as your peculiar needs and likes/dislikes. Someone setting up a retreat in a coastal area is likely to have a far different list than someone living in the Rockies. As …


Letter Re: Frozen Livestock Water Tank Woes

Hi Jim, I wanted to ask the vast readership for their help with winter water needs for livestock when we don’t have the luxury of electric tank heaters. I had done some research in the past and the only way I found to keep a livestock tank from freezing up with arctic winds was a wood fired Chofu, (Japanese), tank heater. The capacity much too small to handle the trick. We have just survived another arctic blast with buckets and stock tanks freezing over immediately. The thought of relocating the livestock to open water does not seem viable unless it …


Prepare or Die, by J. Britely

Throughout my life I have been caught unprepared several times and while nothing seriously bad happened, it easily could have.  I have been lost hiking.  My car has broken down in very bad neighborhoods – twice.  I have been close enough to riots that I feared they would spread to my neighborhood, been in earthquakes, been too close to wildfires, been stuck in a blizzard, and have been without power and water for several days after a hurricane.   I managed to get myself out of each situation, I thanked God, and tried to learn from my mistakes.  I could have …