r/homestead

17 on this drop. Keeping people in the loop on our progress. Appreciate the support and great questions. Apologize for the shaky camera . Have to mount on trap to keep cows from damaging.

Here are my numbers and notes for Cornish Cross meat chickens, 2026. This is my second year raising them and I tracked all costs. See pictures for a breakdown. Ask me anything.

I had a problem with neighbors letting their dog run loose on the property, and then another neighbor set up a deer stand(without permission naturally:rolling eyes:), but since then I got a trailcam to record everything, occasionally I get some really wild animals, this time, I caught this adorable squirrel I had to share.

My First Ever Potatoes Grown in Bags

Me and my wife are taking a very slow (>5 year) and steady approach to learning homesteading before we inevitably move farther out of town. My goal is to have as close to a 100% automated farm as possible. Time isn't a huge concerns; I just crave the lifestyle, but also the ability to leave for a couple of weeks.

We started off with chickens towards the end of last winter and we've got them just about fully self-sufficient (>3 weeks with no intervention), but I knew winter would be the last hurdle for us. Right now, I have a 50 gallon water drum with a water hose that I run to the chicken tractor, leading to a couple of watering cups.

I plan on running ~50A ran to this back area here soon (we're planning to keep expanding every year, so will need it). I'm thinking something like a heated water hose between the tank and services (cups), but that wouldn't keep the cups from freezing, so maybe using heat tape would be better.

Also, in terms of the winter, would cups or nipples be better? I see the metal parts of the nipples being a huge problem and freezing immediately, but I don't think the cups will do much better. I thinking nipples may be the better option, and making sure the heat tape is close to them. Thoughts?

If y'all have any suggestions on how to improve this, I'm all ears!

Thanks

I just survived another week of moving rocks, cutting up logs, resetting e-fence for sheep, digging sweet potatoes, hanging laundry, cooking, cleaning, cutting burrs out of spaniel fur, opening windows-closing windows-opening windows. And I loved it. That is all.

Picked up some IPPs last night and they seem quite skiddish and havent wanted food yet. How do y'all socialize your pigs and help them settle in? Set the kennel in their house last night with the gate open so they could come out when their ready and their being a bit shy.

Hello everyone,

I have a few questions about keeping miniature sheep.

My sister-in-law got three young miniature sheep two years ago. Unfortunately, she and her partner separated shortly afterwards and she moved away, so the sheep stayed at the farm. Now her ex-husband wants to get rid of them. My husband and I have been asked if we could take them in.

We have around 300 m² of grassland, including a steep section of our property that could potentially be used for them. We also have a wooden shed with a water connection that we could convert into a small shelter/stable.

However, we know very little about keeping sheep. We live in Lower Austria, in Central Europe.

How much hay does a miniature sheep need? Do they need regular veterinary care? How often do they need to be sheared, and how expensive is that usually? We don't even have a trailer to transport them.

Unfortunately, the alternative is that my sister-in-law's ex-husband would have them slaughtered, which we obviously want to prevent, because they we're Always ment to bei pets.

At the same time, I'm not sure whether we would be taking on more than we can realistically manage.

I would really appreciate any advice, especially from people who keep miniature sheep themselves. What should we consider before making this decision? Are there any costs or responsibilities that beginners often underestimate?

Thank you so much! ❤️🐑

Got a windmill stuck halfway open (tail half furled stuck , lever attached to it is stuck).

Let me preface this by saying as most windmills are, all these mechanisms are 30 feet up on a really loosely goosey windmill scaffolding.

I’ve assessed several times and it appears that when you pull down on the lever, in a functioning state the cast iron cross piece it is attached to would just slide up and down to give the chain the tail is attached to slack or tightening.

I think the problem is twofold. 1st picture shows the cast iron (?) down pull is bent on both forks preventing slider from going up or down.

Second picture shows what i think is the second issue being that the chain hooked to the tail is bound in windmill scafolding prohibiting free up and down movement of furl/unfurl mechanism

Third picture is just showing chain from tail disappearing into scaffolding.

I think first fix would to bend out two forks to allow it to move freely up and down.

The second fix being to free the chain and see if it helps with furling/unfurling.

I’d like to get others opinions please and thank you.