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Weekends

Ultimate Blog Challenge – Day 8

So today’s question is do you work on the weekends? I would love to say that I don’t, but that would be a lie. With animals on the property, I work every day, rain or shine, heat or cold. It doesn’t matter what the weather is, my animals expect to be fed every day twice a day so yes, I have to work weekends. However, I don’t mind because my animals (even though they are mostly raised for food) are treated like pets.

 

 

If you ask my husband he will tell you that I spoil my animals. I just want to ensure they are getting the best life possible before they go to the freezer. I want to make sure that my animals know they were cared for and loved while they are here. And I do love my animals. I guess I would even have to say that yes, I do spoil them a bit, but shouldn’t they be?

So when I need or want to go out of town for anything more than a day trip, we have to find someone that can care for the animals and the garden for us when we are gone. Of course, that means we really don’t leave very often, but most of the time I don’t mind.

We just work every day to ensure that these animals have all they need and that they know love and care before their time come up. They eat well and we groom them most days, or well I do, I have a brush that the goats just love when I pull it out for them. These are my pets, even though most of them will feed us later on.

Have a great day!

Renee

 

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Resource List

Ultimate Blog Challenge – Day 7

This post contains affiliate links. Please know that if you make a purchase I will receive a small commission at no cost to you.

Everyone has certain resources they use all the time and I am no different. There are certain websites, books, and even people that I always go to when I need help or have a question. So for today’s challenge I will provide my resources that I use often.

https://homesteadingfamily.com/ – This is one that I found shortly after we started our journey and I have it bookmarked. This family has been homesteading for a while now so if I have a question, many times I can find my answer on this site.

Holistic Goat Care by Gianaclis Caldwell – This can be found here on Amazon. This is my go to book for everything goat related. I love that this book has natural ways of helping your animals. She does however say that one should have a vet they can call to ensure treatment of the correct issues.

Another website that I go to quite often is the USDA website. I love this site because it has so much information on it for farmers and ranchers. This is where I found information on becoming registered as a farm and information on organic gardening.

I think finally, the other website I use a lot is the Dept of Agriculture.  This is another one that I have used for information. You can contact the State’s Veterinarians office and the livestock inspectors through this site. I believe every state has their own Dept. of Agriculture site. The one listed above is for Arizona. Just do a search for your state’s Dept of Agriculture site and it should have some of the same information on each state’s site I would think.

Are there resources that you use that you feel should be added to this list? Leave me a comment below and let me know. I would love to see what resources you use.

Have a great day!

Renee

 

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Spotlight

Ultimate Blog Challenge – Day 6 – Spotlight

So I guess the spotlight needs to go on my husband, Aarron. I can’t tell you how much I love this man. I know he doesn’t believe it right now, but he is the strongest man I know besides my Dad.

Things have been so hard since Corona Virus started and then losing my Dad. I don’t know what I would have done with this man right by my side.  He is the back bone to this homestead/farm. Nothing happens without his help. He is the one that has built everything we have needed for the animals. He is the one that takes care of the garden. He is the one that keeps me going when I feel like I want to quit.

This man works so hard for us that I wonder how he does it at times. Even when he is down, he is always there for me. Losing my Dad last year was the hardest thing that I have ever been through so far. I don’t think I would have made it through with him by my side. I don’t think I would have stayed when my brothers didn’t want me to without him by my side. I would have given up. I know I would have, but Aarron pulled me through.

Honey, I know that things are rough right now, but I also know your heart. We will get through all of this and things will eventually get better. I just want you to know how proud I am to call you my husband. I don’t know what I would do without you. I love you Aarron and we will prevail!

Have a great day!

Renee

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Best Piece of Advice

I feel like the best piece of advice that I can give when it comes to homesteading/farming, would be to start small but just start. I feel like we jumped in with both feet and then were a bit over whelmed. I believe that if we had started smaller, maybe that wouldn’t have happened.

We started with about 20 chickens, 2 ducks,  2 goats and a large garden. When we didn’t have any idea what we were doing. Of course the first summer we lost several birds due to predators and the heat. That was a heartbreaking and expensive lesson learned the hard way.

 

I would recommend finding someone close to you that does some of the things you would like to do and learn from them, even if it’s while working your own plan too. Having someone who knows what they are doing on stand by would have been a big help to us. We didn’t know our neighbors when we were first starting but since getting to know them, they are probably my go to source for most information that I don’t already have.

We now have chickens, goats, turkeys, pigs, and cows that we tend to on a daily basis. I wouldn’t give up this lifestyle for anything but if we had started smaller than we did, things would have so much easier to begin with. No matter what you do, research it first and make sure you know what you are getting into. However, with that said, even the best research cannot prepare you for the actual experience.

Getting to know your animals and your land is the best way to learn for anyone, but I would suggest having some research information first  just to make sure you know what to expect from whatever it is that you plan to do on your homestead/farm.

Have a great day!

Renee

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Good Things Come in 4s

Ultimate Blog Challenge – Day 4 – Good things that come in 4s

Today’s topic is good things that come in 4s. I think this topic came at just the right time because we have a goat that will be kidding soon and I am hopeful that she will be having quadruplets. I have several pictures of her belly so hopefully someone will be able to confirm this for me.

I thought that she wasn’t due until the end of June, but the ligaments by her tail are just about gone, which tells me that it will be much sooner than June. Unfortunately, this also tells me that when one of the boys escaped the pen, he got to her rather than the one I thought to begin with. This is alright but I didn’t write down the date that my boy escaped so I wasn’t aware that she would be due this early.

However, over the last 2 weeks she has really gotten pretty big. I was thinking two at first but she continues to grow and get wider so I’m thinking there will be three or four now. This will only be the second year we have had anyone kid on the homestead so I am still unsure of myself but we had a successful delivery last year and hope for the same this year.

How many kids do you think she is hiding in there? I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Leave a message below and let me know.

Have a great day!

Renee

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Holistic Goat Care by Gianaclis Caldwell

Ultimate Blog Challenge Day 3 – Book Review

I got this book about a year ago and it is my go to for everything goat related. It was recommended to me by a friend that also raises goats and he lives by the information in this book. I have used several of the treatments and so far everything is good.  The information in this book comes from years of experience from the author so I feel I can trust it. Of course I would always recommend talking to your vet to make sure that you are treating the right problems and not just a symptom.

Your vet will still be the first place you turn when you have an issue with one of your animals, but once you know what is wrong, treatment doesn’t always have to include chemicals from the laboratory. There are so many ways that things can be treated with your animals without vaccines or medications. However, I will say that there are times these are needed and it is best to consult with your vet before starting any treatment on your own.

If you would like to purchase this book you can do here.  I would love to hear your thoughts on this book. Leave me a comment below and let me know what you think.

Have a great day!

Renee

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Bath Mat


I received this Bath Mat for free or at a discount for my honest review. If you would like to see my full disclosure click here.

I wish I had something like this when my kids were young. However, it still comes in very handy for my grand son who lives here with us.

 

This is two pieces, one for the knees and one for the elbows. This also has some pockets on both sides of the tub (in the tub and outside the tub). The elbow part goes over the edge so that one of the pockets go inside the tub and the other set of pockets are outside the tub.

 

I know that it can be difficult on both the knees and the elbows when giving the little one’s a bath, or at least it is for me. This has been so nice to have because my knees actually get a break and my elbows don’t hurt after the bath either. The material this is made of is fairly soft. I’m not sure what it is but it works well and feels good against the skin.

 

If you need this, go here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0898X2MFS to purchase one. I would love to know your thoughts on this. Leave me a comment below and let me know.

Have a great day!

Renee