We have two amazing dogs, and they help us out so much on the homestead!

Our white husky mix is our bird wrangler and general enforcer. Whenever a bird gets loose from it's enclosure, she leaps into action. She has learned to catch them and hold them so we can get them back into the chicken tractor.

She is insanely useful. Yesterday, a pheasant got loose on the way to the kill cone, and immediately flew off. I yelled the magic phrase and watched her tear off after it. She chased it through the woods and caught it just on the other side.

Perfection. I thought that bird was long gone. Not with our beauty on duty!

She also kills groundhogs and other pests. She got at least 9 groundhogs this year, several raccoons, a flying squirrel that was living in the house and some other assorted critters.

Our chocolate lab is our rodent patrol. He is so good at it. He is always on the job. A flying squirrel woke me up at 3 am this summer by jumping on me, and across the room, and he was ON IT.

He catches mice and other pesky rodents constantly.

They killed a skunk a few weeks ago, that's why the white dog was all red in those pictures. Tomato sauce....lol.

What jobs do your pups have around the homestead? Got any good stories to share?

not talking about building a house from scratch or anything crazy lol

more like preserving food, drying herbs, saving seeds, making basic stuff at home...

things that used to be normal but now most people have no idea how to do

if you could teach someone just ONE practical skill what would it be ?

Majority is 6-7ft tall trees. Originally planned on burning but was told the trees are a little big for that and I’d be left with a ton of half burnt stumps. Seems too tall for a bush hog. Bulldozer would work but expensive. Thinking about letting goats go through it, chainsawing whatever’s left, then letting pigs rip out the roots to make sure none of it comes back. Thoughts?

We are really looking forward to having pheasant stew in a couple days! The dogs have had a great day of butchering scraps and organs. Is there any better feeling than raising and processing your own meat? It feels like a great accomplishment to put away food for the winter.

I keep trying and burning through different brands of muck boots to wear on the farm in the PNW. They always crack in different spots which makes them worthless within months of doing chores. Looking for a durable pair of boots I can wear daily for a few hours a day and maybe last a year at least

We have a 1200sf chicken run that we can't really put a roof on for our chickens. I can keep the chickens in but can't really keep the bobcats out. We have had a live trap out for 6 weeks with all kinds of bait, including chickens, and nothing. Our flock has been hit pretty hard (6 of 40 gone in those same 6 weeks) and we have other animals that I want to protect (cats mainly, but also slightly concerned about small children).

Camera is going up tomorrow to track times the cat(s) is/are coming around, but I'm ready to post up in a ground blind with a .223. Anyone ever have to take down a bobcat over this? I've hunted deer a few times, but never a cat. We are very rural and have safe backstop and ample ground to take a clean shot.

I recently picked some field corn, but I’m not entirely sure how to process it to make it safe for long term storage or how to pick through it properly. Does anyone know any guidelines for processing? I do plan on nixtamalizating it for tortillas

Bull was introduced January 1. She's swelled considerably since yesterday, more swollen than when she had her calf last year (picture 2 was the morning before her calf came last year, calf was out by 4pm) and i swear I was watching contractions. Praying for a healthy baby & momma!!! 🙏🏽🙏🏽

Right now she's kinda refusing to lay down, just standing and lifting that tail out the way

Do yall carry on your properties? If so what do you carry? Just a knife, axe, pistol, rifle? Just asking cause I feel like I should have a weapon with me but i dont want to go overkill.

There’s a creek with apple, peach and pear trees near by that look large and healthy. Then there’s a garden that is very grown up with weeds but the owner said under and inside are perennials which I’ll list below. If she accepts then we would be moving in November or December in kentucky. I would love any advice on how to bring the garden back to life in the spring, advice on using and taking care of a wood stove, and hopefully getting chickens and bees in the spring. Thank you!

Grape
Elderberry
Fig
Strawberry
Blackberry
Blueberry
Asparagus
Oregano
Flowers
Hydrangea (White and Pink/Blue)
Asian Lilies
Peonies
Rugosa Rose
Wisteria
Never ending
Day Lillies
Iris
Lilac
Knockout Roses

I’m hoping someone here has some insight into building alternative structures in San Bernardino County in California or point me to a Reddit group that is more appropriate. I know there’s some strict building laws but I’m curious if anyone has ever built a Quonset hut there? That would be curious to hear about your experiences with permitting.

Here come the babies

Found a cool little piece of history behind the farm today. It’s a broken piece of stoneware from the Union Stoneware Company in Red Wing, Minnesota. Since it carries the company's original logo, it was made sometime between 1893 and 1906, before several Red Wing stoneware manufacturers merged in 1906 to form the Red Wing Union Stoneware Company. I got skunked pheasant hunting, but I still came home with a pretty neat find and a history lesson.

I had plans of my own when I purchased this Tractor, but life changes everything. I would love to see someone that needs and values good American iron reliability put this machine to use!

Located in Raleigh, NC and runs great!

Does anyone have experience with running a subsoiler in the rocky soil that we have near the Rocky River outside of Charlotte NC?

I want to plant some trees in Feb and I would like to break up the hard pan before planting.

Not sure if I can buy a Cat1 subsoiler of DIY it or if I need to hire someone because of how rocky the ground is.

Finished up the bean harvest last night! Between the heavy rain and soggy ground, we couldn't quite get 100% of it done in one go, so we had to head back out to grab the last bit. While walking around enjoying the quiet morning after, I stumbled across this lonely little stem.

I've had a skunk living on my property for a few months now. It hasn't been a problem yet, but we've had some close calls where it definitely could have sprayed us or the dogs if it wanted to. My livestock is safe from it, I'm mostly just concerned about the spray and the rabies vector issue.

I want to get rid of it. I just don't know how. Google says I should not shoot it because it will definitely spray everywhere and stink up my property for months. Is that true? I have a live trap (have-a-heart type) but haven't used it because I don't know what to do with it if I catch it, and it is illegal in my area to catch an animal and release it elsewhere. Local animal control is no use, they only deal with pet animals, not wildlife.

I'm not 100% sure where it sleeps during the day but I have some ideas, it's possibly the storm drain under my driveway. Google suggested waiting for it to come out and then blocking it off, and it will leave and move on, but I kind of think it'll just make a new home still somewhere on my property, maybe under my deck or something.