Abiding Pastures FarmFeb 6, 20202 minIt is STILL RainingWe have had more rain that we can remember. The picture above is of one of the fields on our road. Ours is not nearly as bad, but the...
Abiding Pastures FarmFeb 1, 20204 minCan you raise enough meat on a homestead to be sustainable?We are able to be sustainable on our farm with meat. Because we concentrate on larger animals for our meat, sustainability is possible....
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 30, 20202 minWhat eats chicken?Lots of animals eat chicken! We have discovered that over the years. We are so thankful to have such a wonderful Great Pyrenees livestock...
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 30, 20202 minGreat Pyrenees protect us and our livestockOne day a few years ago, someone came to deliver something Mike needed for a building project. Ellie, our first Great Pyrenees (our...
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 30, 20202 minOur Great Pyrenees are part of our farming teamEllie usually joins me when I am milking. She will lay right down beside the milking stanchions, keep the cows and me company, sample a...
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 30, 20201 minBottle Feeding GoatsThis was written by one of our 11 year old girls. I have always wanted to have goats. I would beg my mom constantly. Finally, one day my...
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 29, 20202 minRabbits: Is the Easter Bunny Really Worth It?This post is from my 13 year old grandson. He says it well. In this past century, rabbits have exploded onto the scene of homesteading....
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 29, 20202 minWhere's the Guernsey? That's a HolsteinBack in the day, I had decided that maybe we should switch to guernsey cows. I had been doing my “research.” I had decided maybe...
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 29, 20202 minA Bull on a Small Farm“Don’t keep a bull.” “For heaven’s sake, don’t keep a dairy bull.” “If you’re going to keep a dairy bull, don’t ever keep a jersey bull.”...
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 29, 20201 minMy Cow Is Sick There are always times when you will need a vet. But we have found that onsite visits for our small homestead are very expensive....
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 28, 20203 minCow Body TypesIf you look at a typical dairy cow these days, they are bred to stand on tall, spindly legs. The picture above is one of my very first...
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 28, 20202 minA True Breech Birth. Losing a calf and a cow.We checked Val the day before and knew she was close to delivery. I headed out super early the next morning to check on her. What I saw...
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 28, 20202 minHand Milking vs Machine MilkingThere are pictures that you start to see when you start thinking about getting a milk cow. You see the old pictures of the milk maids...
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 28, 20201 minTreating a Cow Naturally with MastitisOur cow Claireabelle had just calved. Cindy was adorable as you can tell in the above picture, and it was a fabulous day. I love the days...
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 28, 20202 minA2A2 MilkGrowing up I was always lactose intolerant. It was often worth it to just tough it out for yummy ice cream, but I always regretted it...
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 28, 20202 minTick Killing MonsterEverything loves guinea or hates them. Their sound is some of the most annoying noise ever. It is SO LOUD!! We have had guineas for years...
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 28, 20201 minWhy You Really Need a Lactating Animal on the HomesteadThe single most dynamic change to our homestead has been the adding of the milk from our cows. One gallon a day will fatten a pig to...
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 28, 20201 minHow We Built Our SmokehouseWe built our smokehouse from trees we cut and had milled on our property. It will hold 18 hams plus middlings, bacon, fatback. At...
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 28, 20202 minDeveloping PastureOur plan for pasture development is rotational grazing and trying not to overgraze the grass. We want the grass to still be tall enough...
Abiding Pastures FarmJan 28, 20202 minWhat We Feed Our Cows and SheepGrass. Just grass. Grass is what we feed our ruminants. When we bought our property, the pasture was neglected, over grown, and full of...
