Chronic Respiratory Disease In December of 2010 I purchased 12 chickens from a lady on Craigslist. She was a teacher and hatched the eggs for her classroom. When the chicks were no longer cute, she brought them home and kept them in a drafty little coop behind her rented farmhouse.…
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Possum in the Hen House
Possums are Predators Every chicken enthusiast dreads the potential predator attack. Hawks and owls can pick off a chicken before you know it. Foxes, coyotes, neighborhood dogs, racoons, skunks, and even cats can be a threat to your poultry. I also knew that possums would steal eggs and eat young…
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How to Butcher a Chicken on the Cheap
How to Butcher a Chicken Do you want to know how to butcher a chicken? I butcher my home-raised chickens so that my family has access to clean meat that was raised and slaughtered humanely. I’ve been doing this for years because my family is opposed to the inhumane treatment…
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Culling Old Hens from the Flock
Culling the Flock and Butchering Old Hens Monday morning I butchered some of my old hens. The oldest hen in my flock was one of the unlucky ones. She was an Ameraucana from my very first flock of 10 purchased the summer we moved here (2010). She was about 3…
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How to Get Free Chickens for Your Homestead
How to Find Free Chickens Are you interested in getting some free chickens? In addition to hatching out your own chicks from fertile eggs, you might be able to find unwanted chickens in your area. ‘Used’, or ‘pre-owned’ chickens, might not be as hard to find as you might think.…
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How to Buy Locally Raised Meat
Buy Locally Raised Meat Are you interested in purchasing locally raised meat? Do you have concerns about the availability and safety of meat prepared by large processing plants? My family orders locally raised meat through small butcher shops for a variety of reasons. We know that the animals were raised…
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Raw Milk
See also How to Make Raw Butter, Raw Honey Butter, and an antique Butter Mold. Locally Raised Raw Milk I’ve made some new farmer friends recently. They keep Jersey cows for milk and I’m so excited to be able to purchase unprocessed milk from them. I brought home 2 gallons…
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Butchering Features - Butchery - It's Almost Winter On The Homestead - Poultry - Raise Your Own Turkeys!
How To Butcher a Turkey
Learn how to butcher a turkey from start to finish. Complete instructions with photos of each step to guide you through the butchering process!