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Living the Homesteading Life 🐓👩🌾|Gardening|Sourdough|Chicken Keeping
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items I started this journey wanting to be more self sufficient. I wanted to know where our food came from and I wanted to learn more efficient skills. Listen it did start with chickens and then progressed to gardening, getting quail, getting bunnies and w...
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All things chicken
Gardening/Canning
Gardening Tips
All things chicken
Im always trying to stay in my budget when it comes to homesteading but when it comes to animals you cant always go cheaper. I have some medical supplies, treats and chick raising items listed below. Your tiny raptors will love you if you get them so...
This is one of the few good table top incubators! It holds the temp and humidity pretty well. I have great hatch rates with this. I find this one a lot easier to clean than the maticoopx. Only downside is certain eggs might not fit too well in the tu...
[2024 Upgrade] 25 Egg Incubator with Auto Turner
Automatic feeders for the win!! I use these for all my pens. These are a cheap and easy way to diy a chicken feeder. All you need is a bucket of your choice and a tool to drill the holes.
Chicken Feeders No Waste 6 Ports 4 inch DIY
These are not necessary but I use them to keep track of birds for breeding purposes. It helps me identify what hatch they came from and how old they are. You could also use them to try and tell your birds apart if they all look the same 😅 Its just a...
XINGO 1400 PCS 4 Inch Multicolor Zip Ties
My birds go feral for these! Black soldier fly larvae are a lot like mealworms except they are a little cheaper. This is a good idea to give to them if they are going through a molt or you just need to up their protein in their diet. Some breeds need...
FLYGRUBS 10 lb Dried Black Soldier Fly Larvae
Same exact product as above except in a smaller size, but trust me they will go through them fast! Your birds will absolutely love you for them! A great way to add extra protein for when they are molting.
FLYGRUBS 5 lb Dried Black Soldier Fly Larvae
These are great for reinforcing your chicken run. They are a lot stronger than using a nail gun for hardware cloth or winter proofing with tarps.
250 Pack 1 Inch Galvanized Round Cap Nails
Guess what?!?! I have never used a heat lamp and I never will! With these heating plates you dont have to worry about your house burning down. These closely mimick a mother hen. For that reason I think chicks that are raised with these do much better...
RentACoop 10x10 Adjustable Heating Plate
This is the exact same one as above except its a little bigger. Still holds heat really well and you dont have to worry about anything catching on fire as you would with a heat lamp. Happy chick keeping 🐣✨️
RentACoop 12x12 Adjustable Heating Plate
I always keep some medical supplies on hand for my birds. This is one of them. If I see any of my birds with swollen feet/bumblefoot I will soak their feet and put this on afterwards and wrap it.
Hyland's PRID Drawing Salve for Splinters
Had my first case of round worm with my chickens this year 🤦🏻♀️ Luckily we caught it early and started using this. Worked amazing and got rid of them! A good thing to have on hand especially if you are free ranging birds.
Safe-Guard Aquasol Dewormer for Chickens, 3 mL
Automatic waterers are life changing! We have a 16 gal barrel and drilled holes for these. I will say if you put them to low dirt and poop can get into them easily. I have mine setup on some cinder blocks. Have had these for about 8 months now and so...
Lil'Clucker Large Automatic Chicken Waterer Cups
I use this for candling quail eggs. Sometimes its hard to see any cracks on the eggs before incubating and this helps. Its also rechargeable so no batteries!
Cyahvtl 2000m Green Laser Pointer Tactical
I love using these for putting fruits and vegetables in. Keeps it off the ground and makes it a little more challenging for birds to get their treats. Helps keep bored birds occupied and keeps me entertained 😂
LBTVO 4 Piece Chicken Vegetable Fruit Feeder
This is a great way to keep mites out of your coop and run! I just sprinkle some in and around my coop/run. I male sure to put it in their dust bath area as well. It is a preventative not a treatment for mites.
First Saturday Lime Insect Repellent
The exact same one as above except you can purchase it from amazon. First saturday lime is a great way to keep mites and other unwanted pests out of your coop/run area. Does not kill mites but is good to use as a preventative.
First Saturday Lime Insect Deterrent 20LB
This is great to have on hand if you lose power a lot. You just keep your incubator plugged in to this and dont have to worry about when the power goes out. Where I live we lose power quite often 😅 If this is something you cant get right away I have...
EF ECOFLOW RIVER 2 Portable Power Station 256Wh
Love love love this incubator! I always have great hatches with it. Holds the temp and humidity really well. I also love that it comes with a water bottle so you dont have to be constantly checking if you need to add more water.
MATICOOPX 20 Egg Incubator with Humidity Display
This is great to keep on hand for your birds! If you notice any swelling with their feet you can soak them with some epsom salt. Usually bumblefoot is the main cause of feet swelling so epsom salt alone wont cure it.
Member's Mark Epsom Salt, 7 lbs., 2 pk.
If you have silkies they are more likely prone to vitamin deficiencies. I keep this on hand and mix in their water every so often. You only need to use a little of it at a time.
Rooster Booster B-12 Liquid, 16-Ounce
I use this along with the vitamin b-12 and mix in water. I actually had a silkie who had wry neck and she made a full recovery after using this and some selenium. I also love that it has probiotics in it helps keep them healthy 🐓
Rooster Booster Vitamins and Electrolytes with Lactobacillus Poultry ...
Still my all time favorite incubator! This one is a little larger than the one listed above. Sometimes if you have smaller sized eggs you can even fit more than the max! I love using these for hatching out my quail. Does an amazing job of holding tem...
MATICOOPX 30 Egg Incubator with Humidity Display
Gardening/Canning
Just some things I use for my garden 🥕 I do try to diy as much as I can. Most of my seeds I get from bakers creek or botanical interests they have some really cool varieties. The dollar tree can be really cheap for seeds if you are on a budget!
If you need new canning lids these are awesome! Ive never had any issues with them sealing.
Lids And Canning Products
I get all my jars from walmart! If you keep an eye out sometimes you can get a good deal on them. Never had any issues using ball jars. I also prefer using wide mouth over regular mouth because they are so much easier to clean!
Wide Mouth Mason Jars
Love using this brand of lids! Never had any issues with them sealing. Also a great price considering how many you get.
FORJARS Canning Lids Regular Mouth 100-Pack
Where I live my growing season isnt as long so I get a good bit of my plants started I indoors. I love using these lights! They are adjustable to. If you need them longer than 2ft you can join them together and make them 4ft long.
Barina Led Grow Lights
I use these when getting plants started indoors. This is a great way if you are on a budget. Especially if you plan on selling some started plants. I have a soldering iron I use to put holes on the bottom to allow water to pass through.
Member's Mark Heavy-Duty Red Cups 18 fl. oz., 240 ct.
I like keeping this on hand for tieing up any unruly branches. I do make my own trellis for my peas out of sticks and twine. Its a cheap and easy way.
PerkHomy Natural Jute Twine 600 Ft for Crafts
Throw this over a patch of strawberries or a blueberry bush. Keeps the birds out of them 😅
POYEE 7.5x100 FT Garden Bird Netting
Gardening Tips
Just some things I learned along the way. I would like to clarify I dont know everything as I still consider myself a novice when it comes to gardeing.
Marigolds make for a great pest deterrent! I always plant these around my garden. We have a lot of ants and this seems to help.
How to Plant and Grow Marigolds
I know getting tubers can get expensive at times but have you tried growing them from seed? I did 2 years ago and was so impressed by some of the blooms I got. The great thing about dahlias is each seed will be a surprise you wont know what they will...
8 Tips for Growing Better Dahlias
My bunnies love basil! Next year once it warms up I plan on focusing more on herbs. I always plant these around my tomato plants. This also helps deter pests 🪲
How to Plant and Grow Basil
I lovvvee the smell of dill. This is one of my favorite herbs to plant. I also plant this around my tomatoes. It helps bring beneficial bugs to the garden that prey on pests.
How to Grow Dill: Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Guide
Mint is another great pest deterrent! Just be careful because it spreads easily 😅 You will just have an unlimited supply if you plant this in the ground.
Growing Mint