Reviews, guides, and insights for small farms and homesteads
Coturnix quail are one of the most practical additions you can make to a small farm or homestead. They reach laying age in six to eight weeks, produce eggs almost daily, require a fraction of the space chickens need, and make considerably less noise. A male Coturnix makes a soft, low call that most neighbors … Read more
A power outage at home is a major inconvenience. A power outage on a farm or homestead is an even larger problem. Well pumps stop. Stock tank heaters go cold. Refrigerated medicine or feed supplements spoil. Electric fencing goes down. If you heat with a forced-air furnace, your house gets cold. The list goes on. … Read more
Hatching your own eggs is one of the more satisfying things you can do with backyard chickens. Watching a chick work its way out of a shell is genuinely something. And once you do it once, you usually want to do it again. The challenge is that incubators range from $50 countertop units to commercial … Read more
When you set up a brooder for the first time, you need to decide on how to heat it. Heat lamps have been the standard for decades. Heat plates are a newer option, gaining significant ground among backyard keepers in recent years. How Heat Lamps Work A heat lamp is a reflector fixture with a … Read more
A good pair of work boots is one of the most important purchases you make. You’re often on your feet for hours at a time, in conditions that range from muddy barn alleys to dry gravel drives to frozen ground. The wrong boot isn’t just uncomfortable. It can become a larger problem over a long … Read more