Eight Acres

If you haven't seen it already, I've written an article for FarmStyle with six reasons why you should consider chicken tractors.  This includes: No more cleaning coops Better eggs Protection from predators Less likely to attract rodents (and snakes!) Simpler and cheaper to build Take it with you when you move Find out more on this link .  FarmStyle has a range of useful farm articles and a forum for small farm discussions. By the way, my chicken tractor ebook is now available if you want to know more about designing and using chicken tractors.  More information over at the  chicken tractor 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 ex...

At this time of year I like to summarise my posts on various topics.  See my posts about cattle and cows over on my  house cow ebook blog .  I'll leave you with a series of cute calf photos... You might also be interested in my series on getting started with homestead dairy Interview with myself Interview with Mark and Kate from Purple Pear Permaculture Interview with Kim from the Little Black Cow Interview with Rose Petal Interview with Marie from Go Milk the Cow Interview with Ohio Farmgirl Buy my ebook "Our Experience with House Cows" on  Etsy ,  Lulu  and  Amazon , or email on eight.acres.liz at gmail.com to arrange delivery.  More information on my  house cow ebook blog . Reviews of "Our Experience with House Cows" Kim from the Little Black Cow Blog Fiona from Live at Arbordale Farm Marie from Go Milk the Cow Renata from Sunnyside Farm Fun Gavin from Little Green Chees...

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...

After months and months of procrastination, I have finally published "Design and Use a Chicken Tractor"!  It is available on Etsy and I will add it to other platforms soon (ran out of internet!). 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 trac...

We have been keeping chickens in homemade chicken tractors for nearly ten years. I have written a few blog posts about chicken tractors, and they are some of my most popular blog posts, so it is clearly a topic that many people want to know more about. I am currently writing an eBook to explain more about how you can design, construct and use a chicken tractor to suit your needs.  I haven't included any particular designs because I don’t believe that there is a one-size-fits-all solution. The best chicken tractor for your needs is going to depend on your property, your climate and the type and number of chickens that you want to keep. I hope that I will cover most of the aspects that you need to consider so that you can design, construct and use a chicken tractor that is most suited to your individual requirements. I don't know why my chicken tractor posts have been so popular! I'm sure plenty of others have written about them too. When I realised that the fi...

I know I keep saying this, but if you want to get a house cow, you need to read every book you can find on cows.  Even if you don't agree with everything in every book, the more you read, the more you will understand what your options are.  And some books cover different topics in more detail.   Milk Cow Kitchen has excellent step-by-step photos and discusses topics that I haven't seen in other books at all.  Its definitely worth adding to your house cow reading list. Read the rest of my review over at my  house cow ebook blog . <br /> You might also be interested in my series on getting started with homestead dairy Interview with myself Interview with Mark and Kate from Purple Pear Permaculture Interview with Kim from the Little Black Cow Interview with Rose Petal Interview with Marie from Go Milk the Cow Interview with Ohio Farmgirl Buy my ebook "Our Experience with House Cows" on  Etsy ,  Lulu  and ...

We brought Bella and Molly home in May 2011.  I wasn't convinced about getting a house cow, it was actually Pete's idea!  But now I wouldn't want to live without the company, the milk and the manure that a house cow provides.  Although I could do without the drama... Read about our house cow story over on my house cow eBook blog. You might also be interested in my series on getting started with homestead dairy Interview with myself Interview with Mark and Kate from Purple Pear Permaculture Interview with Kim from the Little Black Cow Interview with Rose Petal Interview with Marie from Go Milk the Cow Interview with Ohio Farmgirl Buy my ebook "Our Experience with House Cows" on  Etsy ,  Lulu  and  Amazon , or email on eight.acres.liz at gmail.com to arrange delivery.  More information on my  house cow ebook blog . Reviews of "Our Experience with House Cows" Kim from the Little Black Cow Blog Fi...

Before getting a house cow, I recommend that you read every book you can find on the subject.  You should also visit people with house cows if you can, and spend some time with cows, so you know what to expect.  I am still reading books about house cows, and I was very excited to find Keeping a Family Cow: The Complete Guide for Home-Scale, Holistic Dairy Producers , by Joann S. Grohman in the Brisbane City Library.  You really never know what you're going to find there!  Joann has 60 years experience with dairy cows, so who better to get you started on your house cow journey?  Joann also has a website about Real-Food and started the popular Keeping a Family Cow forum , which I have found useful for cow advice from time to time. This book includes the best ever explanation of house cow nutrition and digestion processes that I have ever read.  She writes that you can't buy poor hay and expect to make up for it by feeding more grain, your cow will just ...

I have published "Our Experience with House Cows" on lulu.com in ebook format.  Personally I think it looks better in .pdf ( buy from scribd ), but if you prefer ebook format , you can buy it here instead .  If you just want me to email it to you, send me a message on eight.acres.liz at gmail.com. If that is too confusing, just look at this photo of lovely Molly, now don't you want to know how to get a house cow of your own?

My house cow eBook "Our Experience with House Cows" is  available for purchase on Scribd .  Its only US$4.99, and it includes lots of information about keeping a house cow in Australia.  If you don't want to go through all the Scribd/paypal effort, just send me an email on eight.acres.liz at gmail.com and I can arrange to email it to you instead, with either a bank transfer or I can send a paypal invoice. If you would like  see it on another site, just let me know where you like to download ebooks and I'll investigate. photo shoot with Molly cow this is how you buy from Scribd

Our Experience With House Cows , by Elizabeth Beavis Available from  Scribd here  for only $4.99 in .pdf format. Have you ever thought about owning a house cow but don’t know where to start?  Do you dream of unlimited raw milk, manure and beef to complement your small farm activities?  “Our experience with House Cows” is an eBook written by a house cow owner to help other small farmers get started with a cow of their own.  The eBook is written for Australian conditions, particularly sub-tropical Queensland, but much of the information is applicable to cows and cow owners all over the world.  This eBook covers the basics of getting a cow, getting her in calf, milking her and caring for her calf, all using natural methods.  The final sections explain how to use all that milk to create delicious dairy products!  The eBook references several other cow, cattle and dairy books which are useful to the new cow owner and explain some aspects in more de...

I'm very nearly finished working on my house cow ebook and very soon it will be available to purchase on scribd with details coming soon! In the meantime, check out my blog Eight Acres for lots of house cow information .