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Our animals in 2014

On our farm we have dogs, cattle (the house cows being a special category) and the chickens (also guinea fowl until recently).  They all offer entertainment and learning opportunities.  This is what I wrote about our animals in 2014.


 The dogs - Cheryl and Taz
What I've learnt about puppies

Training our Taz - puppy months and dog years

Dog box update

Happy Birthday Puppy Taz!




The cattle
Cattle fencing tips for small farms
Solar electric fence energiser
How to join electric fence polywire

Branding our cattle - Part 1 - registering a brand
Branding our cattle - Part 2 - how to brand

Animal behaviour and staying safe around cattle

Keeping a bull on a small farm

Lantana poisoning killed our little bull
How to give an injection to livestock




The house cows (special cattle)
How to tell if your house cow is on heat
House cow milking schedule

The story of our house cows
The story of our cows - Part 2

And my ebook "Our experience with house cows", available over at my house cow ebook blog.



The chickens (and the last of the guinea fowl, and some guest posts about ducks)
Keeping multiple roosters
Choosing chooks - which chickens are best for you?
Raising chickens for meat
Why do we have so many chickens?

Guinea Fowl Realities

Getting Started with Ducks - Megan from Purple Dancing Dahlias
Getting Started with Ducks - Kim from Oasis Biodynamic farm
Getting started with ducks - Tracy from Sunny Corner farm

Summaries from previous years....
Everything I wrote about chickens in 2013
Beef and dairy cattle posts in 2013

Cattle for beef and dairy - 2012 Update
Chickens for meat and eggs - 2012 update




By the way, my chicken eBook is now available if you want to know more about backyard chickens and using chicken tractors.  More information over at the chicken tractor ebook blog.  Or you can get it directly from my shop on Etsy (.pdf format), or Amazon Kindle or just send me an email eight.acres.liz {at} gmail.com.




What's the eBook about?
Chickens in a confined coop can end up living in an unpleasant dust-bowl, but allowing chickens to free-range can result in chickens getting into gardens and expose them to predators.

 A movable cage or “chicken tractor” is the best of both options – the chickens are safe, have access to clean grass, fresh air and bugs. Feed costs are reduced, chickens are happier, and egg production increases. 

 But how do you build a chicken tractor? What aspects should be considered in designing and using a chicken tractor effectively? In this eBook I aim to explain how to make a chicken tractor work for you in your environment to meet your goals for keeping chickens. 

I also list what I have learnt over 10 years of keeping chickens in tractors of various designs and sizes, from hatching chicks, through to butchering roosters.


Reviews of the Design and Use a Chicken Tractor




You might also be interested in my series on getting started with homestead dairy
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Comments

  1. Kev AlvitiDecember 9, 2014 at 8:39 AM

    I've finally finished fencing so I can get some more stock (although I've got 6 gates to hang first!). Some good posts there!

    ReplyDelete

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