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Thank you, @NatJ. This provides a lot of food for thought, particularly in combining tasks.

I My goal is to make a modest living and feed myself. I've made and updated spreadsheets for sales of eggs, meat birds, goat milk, and now getting into microgreens and fruit. Theoretically they should be producing a certain revenue.

Hi, I'm finding that taking care of my livestock is taking over my day. It takes me 3-4 hours in the morning and another 2-3 hours in the evening. I know one solution is to get rid of some or all of the livestock. The chores include: refilling water bottles and buckets, distributing grain...

Thanks for the insights. Where can I learn how to ferment grain?

Hi, my local feed mill offers nongmo: 22% game bird feed for $13; 16% chicken feed for $12 14% cattle feed $11 (just crushed oats, corn, soybeans and wheat, no vitamins). I see that the chickens and baby goats prefer the 16% and 22% feed. I am trying to cut down on costs. Would it be ok, for...

Hi, I bought 20 straight run cornishes from TSC about a month ago. 15 of the 20 are already lying on their sides most of the day. They look like their might weigh 2-3lbs each average. They do get up to eat but then lie down again. Is this normal? Am I feeding them too much?

So So you're saying you kept the most agile female and bred her with heritage roosters and the result was faster growing heritage meat birds?

About 20 of my 150 chickens prefer to roost and live in the main section of the barn where the goats and dogs are. The rest stay in the section of the barn designated as the chicken coop. I will move these 20 chickens into the coop at night and they always find their way back to the goat pen the...

The only reasons my chickens would choose to roost outside are: they feel threatened by a new puppy; it's too hot in the coop; they were late to come home from foraging and got locked outside.

Hi, two questions- maybe 15 of my hens in a flock of 130 have gone broody. The eggs that were laid in the last few weeks had paper thin eggshells. (I gave them vitamin d, they already have calcium, this seemed to fix half of the eggs.) Should these eggs that are being sat on all be tossed...

You can buy single use sanitation bootie covers on amazon. They're what commercial chicken facility workers wear over their shoes before entering the chicken hall.

Ok thanks. I imagine this saves you a lot of time each day refilling those terribly designed water bottles.

How did you tell the gender of the store bought hen at eight weeks?

Is fencing in the entire pond feasible, or recommended for hobby farm production? The fence length would be at least 600-800 ft long.

Hi, there are 20 straight run Cornish crosses from TSC here. One of them turned out to be a silkie (not pictured here), and one looks like a heritage pullet. Her legs and feet are thick like the cornishes but her small body size and shape look more like a heritage bird. Do you think this is a...

Oh my goodness, thank you @Penpal @Ninjasquirrel @follys place @Yardmom! This dog really needed basic training. We practiced leash walking yesterday and she picked it up very quickly and was very proud of herself. I didn't realize how untrained she was and how important that is. She's in a crate...

Hey, thanks for your reply. There's a breeder of pilgrims 3 hours from me and he's asking $20/gosling. He raises them for meat. The only issue is that his birds do not appear to be 100% autosexing. He said there are gray-brown ones which are all female, and white ones which could be male or...

Hi, this chick was mixed in with Cornish crosses from TSC. She has fluffy feathers, a tuft of feathers on her head, and deep blue shanks with white feathers. Any ideas?

Ok. Let's say I try both, African and Pilgrim, and the African are too noisy, are they sellable, for meat or pets? What do you like about buffs, other than the low noise level?

I'm looking for a few (3-8) geese to help watch my ducks while they forage. After researching and reading reviews and seeing what's available (every hatchery is sold out, except McMurray has a few breeds) I've narrowed it down to African or Pilgrim. Although thr Pilgrim is considered quiet, the...