About the Author
Janet Garman
Articles by Janet Garman
Wool-Yielding Animals for Yarn and Fiber
Yarn weights are considerations when deciding which fiber breed or species to raise for your yarn. Wool, fleece, and fiber can be harvested from a number of wool-yielding animals, including sheep, goats, rabbits, camels, llamas, alpaca, bison, and yak!
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Best Barns, Chicken Coops, and Hutches for Homesteads
Building the best barns, chicken coops, hutches, and other shelters adds value to your homesteading land. How do you know what to pick for housing your animals?
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Sheep Breeds for Fiber, Meat, or Dairy
There are numerous breeds in the world and raising sheep serves many purposes. Some sheep breeds lend themselves to provide the whole range of products, Rambouillet sheep, Dorset sheep, and some other sheep breeds are good providers of wool fiber, lambs, milk, and eventually, meat.
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Is a Livestock Guardian Dog the Right Choice?
Using a livestock guardian dog dates back more than 2,000 years. Dogs bred for the purpose of protecting livestock from predators and thieves were necessary when nomadic people roamed thousands of acres while raising sheep and cattle.
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Raising Miniature Goats, Cows, Chickens, and Sheep
What is driving the recent trend in raising miniature goats, cows, chickens, and other livestock? As more people move toward a simpler way of life, and are living in a more self-sustainable way, they may be interested in having a family milk provider.
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The Dorper Sheep: A Hardy Adaptable Breed
Would you like to raise Dorper sheep, one of the fastest growing breeds in the United States and many other countries? There is good reason for the popularity of the Dorper sheep breed.
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Cattle Shed Design for a Small Herd
The lure of the wide open range and the romance of ranching may entice you to search cattle breeds and cattle shed design ideas. You live on the east coast or some other busy area of the world.
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6 Pig Farming Equipment Essentials for Your Farm
There are not a lot of must-have pig farming equipment items for homestead hog raising. Besides the infrastructure needed for almost any livestock, other tools are rarely used. Shelter, secure fencing, and a container to hold plenty of fresh water are the bare bones of hog raising.
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Sow Care During Farrowing and Lactation
Sow care during gestation, farrowing and lactation is the key to healthier piglets. When piglets have a strong start in life they are more likely to thrive, develop quickly, and wean easily.
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Pink Eye in Sheep: Treat or Let it Run its Course?
During show season, pink eye in sheep can be a common livestock issue. Small ruminants easily transmit pink eye from one animal to the next.
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Picking the Best Tractor for Small Farms
Buying the best tractor for small farm work requires searching for the right tractor for the job. Tractors can be used for many reasons.
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Flystrike Treatment for Livestock and Poultry
Animals and flies seem to go hand in hand on a farm. So what is flystrike? If you have livestock, you most likely battle the common stable fly, and you’re always on the hunt for effective fly deterrent strategies.
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Canning Green Beans to Enjoy Later
Canning green beans fresh from the garden, preserves the taste of summer. Once you know how to grow green beans, you will want to enjoy the fresh beans all year long.
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Raising Pigs for Profit
Finding the best return on your investment when raising pigs for profit is the ultimate goal. Piglets are cute and fun to watch, but they grow quickly and require a lot of grain to grow to market weight.
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How to Start Raising Pigs on Pasture
The latest project here on our farm is raising pigs on pasture. In the last year and a half, seven litters of piglets have arrived, showed off how cute they can be, were weaned, and fed for a few weeks (and even months in some cases).
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