PreppingToSurvive.com

Most preppers put a lot of time and effort into planning ahead for the care of their family members.  We store food staples, first aid items, clothing a size or two ahead, ammunition, and so on.  That’s definitely a wise plan.  But how well stocked are you for your animals? Some medical skills are multi-species, […]

“Ugh, this is like eating a boiled tennis ball.” That was our first experience with eating one of our own chickens. It wasn’t Laura’s fault though; it had nothing to do with her cooking. She’s got excellent culinary skills. Over time we learned what was going on. Books Smarts vs Experience When we first began […]

Several of our chickens have developed a really bad habit: they’ve begun eating their own eggs. It’s a nasty habit that’s hard to break. In fact, we’ve seldom rehabilitated an egg-eating chicken, so I don’t hold out much hope that this time will be any different. But we’ll see. Egg-Eating Chickens How can you tell […]

If you have made the decision that you would like to try your hand at keeping some chickens in your backyard, there are a few considerations that you might want to make first, and although you have probably thought of some of these, there just might be a few that might come as a surprise.

January has its icy fingers in us after a couple of rather mild days.  Now the time has come in earnest when we will have to bundle up when we go out and take special care with the animals. How is wintertime flock management different? 1.  Keeping drinkable water available While you may have struggled […]

As I mentioned in some previous pieces, we have raised turkeys for about 5 years.  We’ve enjoyed them to some extent, but we have decided they are not a species we would recommend for preparedness. A Little History Turkeys are considered to be indigenous to North America.  They were found in wild flocks by explorers  hundreds […]

Most of the time, if your poultry has appealing nesting boxes, they will contentedly leave their gifts for you and go about their business scratching for insects and seeds, bathing in the dust, etc.  Occasionally, one or two will develop a very bad habit of eating eggs. How does this happen? It usually starts with […]

Hopefully, your backyard flock of poultry is paying dividends now with daily gifts of healthy protein.  If you are fortunate, you are now spoiled by the delicious difference between anemic store-bought battery hen eggs and golden-yolked, nutrient-dense free range chicken eggs. But what to do with all those eggshells? One of the things that preparedness […]

The change of the seasons often bring welcome reminders of times past.  That crisp fall air with a hint of woodsmoke may remind you of campfires and marshmallows.  The piles of pumpkins at roadside stands may bring to mind Thanksgiving pies and extended family rarely seen.  The first frost makes me giddy with the possibility […]

What Is Diatomaceous Earth? If you are not familiar with DE, it stands for diatomaceous earth.  It is composed of the remains of microscopic aquatic organisms that formed layers that can be mined.  The safe, multi-purpose kind is a white powder (“amorphous silica”), labeled as “food grade.”  It contains minerals like iron and silica and […]