Hatching eggs in an incubator at home is one of the most addictive parts of the backyard farming hobby. There are few things more satisfying than watching new life spring forth from the eggs you’ve been carefully incubating for weeks. One of my favorite types of poultry to hatch and raise myself are geese. Geese...
Backyard Livestock
Backyard farming is considered to be a movement in which average folks who live in urban environments turn a portion of their backyard into a food-producing garden, complete with fruits, vegetables, chickens, and anything else that will fit!
Backyard farming is for anyone with a backyard! It doesn’t matter how big your backyard is, if you have one, you’ve got space for a backyard farm!
Whether it’s keeping a few chickens, growing some tomatoes in buckets, or putting in raised beds, a backyard farm is perfect for city dwellers as well as rural folks.
The size of the backyard doesn’t matter much! Even if you have a small backyard, you can still have a backyard farm. One of our mantras is make good use of the space you have!
Backyard farming provides tons of benefits for you, your health, your environment, and your local economy. A garden can be started any time of the year. There’s even gardening work that can be done in the winter most places!
Backyard farming also improves the biodiversity of your community and helping native species thrive, improving the environment, and relieve challenges created by urban and rural food deserts.
Setting up a backyard farm can even be profitable if you have extra! Keeping a few more chickens than you need and selling their eggs, or growing high yield crops like tomatoes and zucchini, you’ll have plenty to sell to friends and neighbors. If you’re the extra charitable, your friends, family, and neighbors will love your fresh, backyard farm produce as a gift!
Knowing what to feed your chickens from the day they hatch all the way to adulthood is important for having healthy chickens and nutritious eggs. Chickens have feed requirements and a list of treats that are okay to eat. Some foods that may seem just fine for chickens may potentially be toxic. So in this...
Backyard chicken keeping is an increasingly popular hobby that is experiencing a resurgence. More and more cities are rolling back ordinances that prevent keeping chickens on your property, leading to an uptick in interest. There are hundreds of different types of chickens to choose from – hybrids, heritage breeds, crosses. One of those breeds is...
Backyard chicken keeping is an increasingly popular hobby that is experiencing a resurgence. More and more cities are rolling back ordinances that prevent keeping chickens on your property, leading to an uptick in interest. There are hundreds of different types of chickens to choose from – hybrids, heritage breeds, crosses. One of those breeds is...
Backyard chicken keeping is an increasingly popular hobby that is experiencing a resurgence. More and more cities are rolling back ordinances that prevent keeping chickens on your property, leading to an uptick in interest. There are hundreds of different types of chickens to choose from – hybrids, heritage breeds, crosses. One of those breeds is...
When you think of breakfast, baking, or holiday meals, chances are, eggs come to mind. For the most part, the eggs we consume come from chickens. Other birds, like quail and ducks, also produce eggs that are edible. But why don’t we ever see turkey eggs made available at the grocery store? Do they not...
Incubating and hatching eggs yourself is a fun and rewarding practice. It’s the least expensive way to acquire new poultry for meat and eggs and is an exciting hobby for homesteaders and urban gardeners alike. But there are few things more disappointing than hatch day coming and going and finding that none of your eggs...
We recently wrote a guide on how to hatch duck eggs, but not all breeds of duck are the same! Incubating Muscovy duck eggs is a little bit different, and the differences involved I think are worth writing a separate piece on. If you’re getting ready to hatch your own Muscovy duck eggs, you should...
Quail are becoming an increasingly popular type of poultry to keep for people who live in rural and urban places, particularly the latter. Someone living in the big city who wants fresh eggs, meat, and an overall easy to care for and discrete bird find that quail are the best of all worlds. They are...
Hatching eggs in an incubator at home is one of the most addictive parts of the backyard farming hobby and it’s hands down the most cost-effective way to start or grow your flock of chickens. There are few things more satisfying than watching new life spring forth from the eggs you’ve been carefully incubating for...
New Zealand rabbits are among my favorite breeds to keep, whether you’re an enthusiastic pet rabbit owner or work on a full-sized farm. These rabbits are friendly, intelligent, and tame. My New Zealand rabbits love being pet, and held, and have a lot of fun running around their playpen in the yard. Rabbits produce little...
Novogen chickens are one of my all time favorite types of chicken, not just because they’re pretty much the best egg laying hen around, but because they’re hardy, durable, docile, and generally pretty quiet. These chickens are a little bit new to the scene but are making a big splash due to their prolific egg...