How-To Guides

Step-by-step guides for every animal, the garden, orchard, pasture and compost: getting started, housing, feeding, daily care, breeding, health and harvest.

See the Guides Raising Chickens

Poultry

Raising ChickensChickens are where most homesteads start: a few hens give eggs every day, meat birds fill a freezer in eight weeks, and…Read the guide →Raising DucksDucks are hardy, quiet, lay well through cold weather and eat slugs and bugs. They need water — lots of it —…Read the guide →Raising TurkeysA few turkeys raised from spring poults fill the holiday table and the freezer. Broad-breasted birds grow fast; heritage breeds forage, breed…Read the guide →Raising GeeseGeese are grazers: on good grass they need little feed, they weed some crops, and they sound the alarm at anything strange.…Read the guide →Raising QuailCoturnix quail are the fastest return on the homestead: eggs at 6–8 weeks old, meat at 7–8 weeks, all in a small…Read the guide →

Small livestock

Raising RabbitsMeat rabbits are quiet, fit in a garage or shed, and turn hay and pellets into lean meat efficiently. Their droppings go…Read the guide →

Livestock

Raising GoatsGoats give milk, meat and brush clearing. They are clever, social and famously good at escaping, so fencing and company come first.Read the guide →Raising SheepSheep are grazers that give meat, wool and sometimes milk. They are calmer than goats and easier to fence, but they need…Read the guide →Raising PigsTwo feeder pigs raised from spring to fall fill a family’s freezer with pork, ham and bacon. They till ground, eat garden…Read the guide →Raising CattleA family milk cow or a few beef steers are the biggest step on a homestead. They need good pasture, steady hay,…Read the guide →

Bees

Keeping BeesA hive or two gives honey and wax and pollinates the garden and orchard. Bees need regular checks, mite control and enough…Read the guide →

Garden

Growing a Vegetable GardenA good garden starts with soil, timing and a plan for what your family actually eats. Start smaller than you think, and…Read the guide →

Orchard

Planting an OrchardFruit trees and berry bushes take a few years to start bearing, then feed the family for decades. The right varieties and…Read the guide →

Pasture

Managing PastureGood pasture is the cheapest feed on the homestead. Moving animals often and letting grass rest grows more grass, healthier animals and…Read the guide →

Compost

Making CompostCompost turns manure, bedding, leaves and kitchen scraps into the best garden food there is. A hot pile is fast; a cold…Read the guide →