Rookie Homesteader Vs. Everyone Else - The Difference

As the Rookie Homesteader, I often find myself in situations that many farmers or homesteaders don't.  Most people swing on luck.  For most, the very season they set out to raise a garden, they have the biggest crop known to man.  The instant they decide to raise chickens, they get them and receive 20 eggs a day.  If they want a pig, they get one and it is at butcher weight within 2 months!

And now for the reason I call myself the Rookie Homesteader.  When I grow a garden, no rain;  When I get chickens, my neighbors dog eats them; when I get a pig (Well read about my first Pig experience here).  Ya...that is my luck with farming.  However, I cannot stop!

I do feel like I am making so much progress.  I have canned goods in my cabinets, pork in the freezer, and a ton of ideas LOL.  I got 20 chickens in the room in their brooder.  These will be raised for meat and will be butchered.  However while they are here they will enjoy the full life that a chicken possibly could and fed healthy food for my family.  As you can see from the pictures below my mom was not as excited :)

I know she is thinking these will end up like the hundreds of others that I bought you....food for a dog!  I have a plan this time.  LOL  It will be chronicled here keep watching.  As of now they are safe in my house chirping away.....Katie will be complaining on facebook in 2 days of the noise LOL.

I mentioned in the last post that Arthur was butchered.  He provided plenty of meat.  I cannot wait to get another one.  My friends Amber and Chad Bishop cooked the first meal off of him and since then I have made ribs along with Pinto beans from the neck bones.  DDEEELLLIIICCIIOUUUSS.  Loved it.  The taste was so pure and cannot be described.  The best part was I didn't feel disgusted after I ate.  I knew the food was wholesome and knew where it came from.  Much better to give to your family.

It is Amber's birthday today.  I am going to give her a shout out on here and wish her a happy birthday.  Hope it was great.  Here she is in her birthday suit LOL If you are new to the blog please read the past posts...I am sure you will find them entertaining.

A Life Well Lived.

My goal has and always will be for my family to have food that is free from toxic junk.   I started with the simple yet productive hen providing very healthy eggs for us.  I loved it.  I thought I was on top of the world. As you can read from my previous posts I had so much trouble sustaining them it was pathetic.  That hobby is still growing to this day.  Just recently my hens have started laying again.  Emma was as excited as me and I am sure Noah will love it this year because he will understand it more.

Emma and the first egg of the season!

My kids are total farmers.  Even though "Biga Boy" is little he still has it in his eyes just like his sister did.  Before long he will be out with me gathering eggs, butchering, etc.

Thankfully, we are in full swing with the growing season.  I love winter more than anything or anyone can, but it does make me excited to see life coming about.

We began this year with a bang!  Last October we purchased our first pig.  Emma of course named the pig Arthur The Pig and Biga Boy just looked on. 

We grew the pig ourselves.  We know every ounce of feed that went into the animal.  No hormones, No steroids, No antibiotics....pure....healthy.....complete!

This past Saturday we decided to butcher the pig.  Everyone was horrified that I was doing it.  Thankfully, my dear friends Chad Bishop came to my rescue!  I had never done it.  However we succeeded and he is being packaged this week.  We will eat great and healthy.  I do plan to get another one! 

Do you guys remember the blog co-star SERENA?  Here she is....Now she will never admit it....would die first but she has a special bond with pigs!  She had one in her house she kissed on all the time.  She was trying to train it to use a litter box, but as you can tell she isn't as "educated looking" as us country folk.  She comes from the city and didn't understand they belonged outside.  So I imagine she is hurt over the pigs death.

My pig however had a great life.  She wasn't confined to a concrete pad that took away it's rights as a natural pig.  She played and ran just the way it was meant.  My dad is afraid of animals.  She got out often and rooted up my entire yard and my dad being the total opposite of me hated the fact that his son's yard was destroyed by a nasty pig. 

However Dad thought he was big...was gonna put the pig back up for me because she only got out while I was at work. He was so scared of her but would never admit it.  LOL.  He was running at the pig with a Hoe trying to defend himself and finally he gave up.  HE was furious and I had to call my friend Keith Carter from work to put it back up. He got her up with one single cup of feed.  :)

I will be updating this often.  There are always something that happens.  Always a laugh.  I am going pickin this summer and getting much more on the farm I am sure.  Another pig is a given!.....