I recently read You Can Farm by Joel Salatin (http://amzn.to/1mwMEIi) and wanted to experiment with raising chickens exclusively for meat (I already have egg-laying hens). I purchased 12 Cornish Rock Broilers on February 28th, 2014 from the local farm store and put them in a brooding bin. The birds are now one month old and…
Category: Permaculture Farming
Using a Fodder System to Feed Chickens and Rabbits
While we supplement their diet with our leftover food scraps, the animals at the farm still eat a lot of store bought feed. In an attempt to become more sustainable and save money, I’ve been experimenting with a fodder system (which is basically another way of saying sprouting wheat seeds). Sprouts are supposed to be…
We Are Officially Goat Owners
Julie had been researching Kiko goats for a while now and finally wanted to start our own breeding operation. She took all of the initiative on this project while I took the backseat role. She lined up our first goat purchase months ago and now that the weather cleared up we could get up…
Our Initial Attempt to Purchase Land for a Permaculture Farm
This past weekend, the lady and I were out in rural Washington scouting some properties we had found online. We were so excited that our dream was so close to becoming reality! Unfortunately there were some major obstacles with the property. Water access in the area was limited to drilling a well into the side…
My Favorite Way to Compost
After checking out all of the different composting ideas with the local Master Composter Program, this one was my favorite. I’ve made a compost rotator, a moveable bin, and a worm bin, but was looking for a better alternative that was affordable, and that my readers (you) could easily duplicate. Here is how it works:…
Feeding Bamboo to the Rabbits
The bamboo at my parents’ house is taking over and needs to be cut back. In permaculture we say “the problem is the solution,” which is basically a way of saying “we have excess amounts of this resource; let’s figure out how to use it to our advantage.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); In this…
Farm Truck
If you run a farm, you need a truck. Luckily friends have helped me transport things up until this point but the logistics have been complicated and it was time I got a truck of my own. I picked up this 86’ Ford F150 for $1100. It needs a bit of TLC and sure isn’t…
Winterizing the Bee Hives
Last year I lost my hive mid-winter. I’m not sure if it was the cold weather or a disease. It wasn’t a lack of food because the bees left several full bars of capped honey. Bees cost about $100 for the initial hive and then it takes them time to build comb and to reproduce…
Harvesting the Quail
Prior to this experience I had never killed an animal before. Taking a life is not something I take lightly but I realize it is a necessary part of our food system. I try to give my animals a decent life but I have to remember the reason I raise them is for food. When…
Quail Feeder Prototypes
Some of you may be wondering, “Why don’t more people raise quail?” Here is why. They are a pain in the butt. The main issue is that they are extremely messy eaters and throw feed everywhere which makes them inefficient. Due to the way the cages are setup to catch poop underneath for easy cleaning…
Sustainable Craig 