Everyone who wants a healthy flock should learn about Pullorum and how testing can help perpetuate a healthy poultry population.   Who needs to be concerned with Pullorum and the NPIP? The NPIP is technically a voluntary program, however, if you want to sell, move or show your chickens legally, you must be NPIP clean. […]

I recently attended a class at Michigan State University and became a Certified Salmonella Pullorum Tester. This certification allows me to test chicken flocks for Pullorum Typhoid which is required for NPIP certification.   Over the next few posts I will take you through the experience and explain:   What is Pullorum Typhoid and the […]

I would raise fiber goats whether I made money on them or not. I love our goats, and I love working with fiber in all its forms. It is incredibly interesting to me to work with a product from its very roots (the goat) to a finished usable product, (a pair of socks, sweaters, blanket […]

Going to the fiber mill is one of my favorite things to do. We always go to the fiber mill after the second shearing in September. We bring our fiber to the Woolen Mill in Frankenmuth, Mi. There is a large chicken show held the second weekend of October, so we try to make a […]

Angora goats produce a fiber called Mohair. It is one of the warmest natural fibers in the world. Mohair is not to be confused with Angora which comes from Rabbits of the same region of Ankara, Turkey.   Turning mohair into a finished, usable product takes about 7 steps. Luckily, the fiber is sellable in […]

Basic Facts About Raising Angora Goats   When I was a girl, I was fascinated with the process of spinning yarn. I’m not exactly sure where the notion came to me. I faintly remember watching a children’s program that showed the process, maybe Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood?   I remember taking the dog’s 2 slicker combs […]

It’s hard for me to quit things. I always feel like I’ve failed somehow. But I’ve learned that commitment isn’t true commitment if you can commit fully. Eventually, if you spread yourself too thin, all your endeavors will suffer.   I’ve read somewhere that successful people “do one thing at a time and they do […]

As another year draws to an end, it makes good business sense to take some time to reflect on what we’ve done with the past 365 days. Many times as homesteaders we’re used to plowing ahead. This life can be hard at times, so if we quit every time something wasn’t easy we wouldn’t be […]

Every year Zach and I take a tractor ride around the property gathering greens for holiday décor. I used to buy them. Then it dawned on me that we are lucky to have a pretty large selection of wild conifers around our property.   We have some pine trees in the front yard, some bristly […]

We live in Michigan where the lake effect snow can bring in several feet of the white stuff and temperatures often dip below zero. But you won’t hear me complaining.   Don’t get me wrong, I love our life on the farm. Even that hardest days like bringing in the hay crop in 95 degree […]