We have laying hens, meat turkeys (at least 2-3 for now), meat chickens (50ish per year), dairy goats for milk and soap, a kune kune breeding pair with their first feeders being processed this spring, we purchase a half beef every year from our hay guy... All this and we do not buy any meat for at least 5 yrs now, we do buy raw milk and cream from an Amish friend periodically but zero pasteurized store milk, and we grow about 50% of our fruit and veggies... Working on the other half! We grow our own culinary and medicinal herbs too.
We have raised and butchered our own meat for over 40 years and kept records for each year. The following is an average. We butcher beef at approx. 1200 to 1300 lbs. live weight and end up with a wrap weight of 48 to 50%. Hogs are butchered at 250 to 265 lbs. live weight and end up with a wrap weight of 60 to 62%. Sheep are butchered at 120 to 130 lbs. live weight and end up with a wrap weight at 28%. We trade beef with a friend that raises rabbits and he claims that rabbits wrap out at 65%; these are 8 to 10 week old rabbits. Everything I've listed is wrapped bone in. Hope this helps. All good info in video, keep up the info stream
@@joerambo4977The difference between lamb and mutton is age. Sheep under a year old are lambs while fully mature, (one to three years are considered mutton. We harvest lamb at around 90 lbs so at 120 lbs, it's most likely more than a year old, so technically mutton. However, it probably hasn't developed enough to gain the texture or flavor of good mutton.
Folks always keep the bones. Soup stock and bone broth can be made from those, and if you are industrious bone meal for your garden can be made. I make broths from any animal I process, beef, pork, chicken, venison, bear, and so on.
We have 30 egg layer chickens for eggs, split a hog and a cow with a friend and we raise and butcher 60 meat chickens and 3 meat turkeys and I hunt and usually bag a deer or two and that lasts our family of 4 all year. We always have some ground pork and ground beef left at the end of the year.
As a Canadian I can strictly say we will not be laughing at you we understand what cold it is. As well as the serious hardships that comes with it every year. Like trying to heat your home without power. Especially in the city to have a wood-burning stove is illegal due to fire hazard. It's a great channel that you have great information channel is probably more important today than it was years ago do to hyperinflation. People are struggling to pay their rent and buy food and get the vehicle back and forth from work to keep the Vicious Circle going. As a Canadian I'm Envy of what you're doing. Because when the world comes crumbling down you'll be standing in the ashes.
Well said. I'm from Canada as Well and what you wrote rings so true, I'm just so glad that me and my family live in the country with land enough were we can be somewhat self reliant, it is so important to be or to get the least dependent on the every day things that are so readily available in the stores because they might not always be there someday soon.
Illegal to have a wood burner?Should be illegal them -****** ******** making it illegal for you to survive.. you probably can’t own a rifle to shoot your predators threatening your livelihood=livestock either if you don’t live in the city… you (Canadians)lost when you didn’t stand up for your rights up there.(along with Australians and many many others), just as we are on the brink of here. . I wish you all the best up there… we are all one no matter where you live.. ps soon it’ll be illegal to buy any meat from the guy down the road Has to have the stamp Good luck out there y’all, stay strong
This is something EVERY HOME needs to do. Whether a homestead or an apartment. It can give you a good idea of what you need for your home. Thank you Josh & Caroline. Greatly appreciated.
We have been following you, guys, for couple of years, members of the STS... We admire you and your children so much.We have been homesteading for about 24years and still learn so much from you. We have been exploring ID for 3 years, starting from South , going up North. Last October my daughter and I ended up in Bounders Co. Stayed for a week at Deep Creek Farmstay😊 and lost our hearts there... It will be a miracle if we will be able to move our homestead there, but our God IS the God of miracles 🙏 Keep up the good work you are doing and blessings on you and your family 🙏🙏
We are older, retired and family is all grown up. My goal is to raise all of our meat and have some for our two sons, four grandchildren, spouses and great grandchild. Now I'm not talking all the meat for all of them, but at least some beef, pork, chicken and turkey for everyone. I was just using the "grandma" averages and decided if we could do two beef cattle, four hogs, about 100 chickens and a dozen turkeys, we would have plenty to share. Your math is so much more thoughtful than my "grandma" averages. I also "guessedamated" we would need about sixteen to twenty acres depending on amount of trees on property, pond areas and how good the pastures are. Not scientific by any means, just years of cooking and buy food! God bless y'all and keep growing. Laugh often, especially at yourself!!!!
Good starting point that over time can be fine tuned. Although I use 1/2 pound per person for red meat, I use 3/4 pound (bone in)per adult person or large child for poultry. Something to consider when raising the poultry to fill your poultry requirements is that if you raise you meat chickens a few pounds heavier, you will require fewer birds. Also do not discount turkey - they can be kept on the "hoof" till needed but when processed they can be parted out, ground, made into cutlets, etc and can be helpful in filling the meat quota. Much the same as old laying hens - they can be parted out and canned to offset the protein requirements one requires. Good chat!
In this day and age where meat is seen as the devil himself I am so happy to see a family that eats a lot of meat. Good for you! Hope to follow your example soon.
I think something to keep in mind, is that you won't get that full amount of meat for the weight of the animal. If we're talking chickens, you may have a 5 or 6 pound bird, but that's with the bones. You won't get 5 or 6 pounds of chicken meat with that one bird. You'll probably get half that or just over half. So, a 5 pound chicken may render 2.5 - 3 lbs of meat. Something to keep in mind. Like the Thomases said, give yourself a buffer. And don't forget to render those chicken bones into stock! That's worth a lot. 😊
With the bones you can pressure cook it in jars, which will soften it, break it up really small and dehyrated it and ground it into bone meal for planting gardens
I have started using my chicken bones, after making bone broth and then soup, for my dogs. They are so soft that they are easy to mash/grind to add the extra bone marrow to their raw feeding as a topping or as a treat. They love it!
We are moving to a 10 acre property in a few weeks…how did you decide what to do first and how to set things up? I know these guys have a video of “7 things to do on your new homestead” ….useful, but it’s all things like ‘unpack’ and ‘ buy bulk foods’ ‘pick a pantry spot’ etc which are not specific to homesteading (you could do the same in an apartment. I am planning on starting my seeds and building the raised bed first. Then planting the perennial vegetables and flowers. Then later in the fall putting in the fruit trees. I am planning to wait on larger livestock until early next year when I hope to buy a pregnant milk cow. We may get some Nigerian dwarfs this year….we’ll see. What are you doing first? Did your property already come with fruit trees etc?
@@searose6192I also have 10 acres that we moved to a few years ago. Chickens are super easy for eggs. We lock them up in the evening after they put themselves to bed. So easy! Next was rabbits. Rabbits are almost as easy as chickens, but still more work. Very easy to butcher, but they are adorable which also makes it difficult. I have a nice pond that we had built. About 3/4 acre cost us $9k. We stocked it and I’ve eaten some bluegill and catfish out of it. Cost me about $400 to stock, but I haven’t had any problems and they reproduce so fast. I love fishing, so it’s an expense that I worked hard for. I planted a few hundred native pecan trees. I live in North Texas, but Arkansas Agriculture is the best deal ever. I picked them up and they are bare root. I also got a hundred Shumard Oak. I have planted about a dozen fruit trees so far too (peaches, figs, plum, mulberry). We have Muscovy ducks, but so far every predator out there loves to eat them. Quail are easy and inexpensive. Their eggs are awesome, but takes about 2-3 eggs to equal a chicken egg. We have goats that are very nice, but a pain in the butt. I just finished a new area for them, which costs a lot of time and money. Well worth the costs! They now stay in. Other than the trees and pond I am only using a small portion of our land. Under an acre. I am about to fence off a pasture for a couple of calves. You can really do a lot on 10 acres.
We have 8 kids, and entertain my parents and 7 siblings families almost monthly. About 35 ppl, I think y’all’s numbers for your family would be a pretty good start for me
We raise meat chickens and turkeys every year. Mostly enough for us only. We raise a steer per year and sell half keep half, 6 pigs which we sell 5 and keep one and then we lamb out 20 some ewes and keep 3 lambs for ourselves and sell the rest or keep ewe lambs back for future. We buy almost no meat off farm. Our biggest concern up here in BC is drought!! Last summer was terrible and this coming is supposed to be worse. We may have to look at going into only drought hardy products in the garden and stay away from the heavy watering plants that we just can’t keep up with. Also looks like next winter will be a colder one so harvesting more firewood this summer to have a year and half worth as we are wood heat only. I’d sure like to visit your place! And have you visit ours lol! FYI our lambs which are a kind of “commercial” cross breed finish around 100-120 pounds live weight at 7-8 months old.
I am from Remond Utah. I babysat for the original owners and went to school with the current owner. It is what I am most proud of coming from central Utah.
My husband and I started growing out and processing our own meat birds last year. It was a hit. We have now moved on to pig, goat, sheep and rabbits this year. Bought a breeding pair of each. We just keep adding freezers in the garage haha
I’m thinking 600# for us two - definitely extra but gives us plenty to entertain and share. Half in beef (with extra to share with family there), 25 chickens, 25 rabbits (probably quite a bit more here to share too), and 1 hog. Some fish in there occasionally fresh too.
I have a question. Is the magazine on facebook that features Homesteading family, Melissa K Norris and others real or a fb scam? I want to purchase it but scared.
I was so blessed too have found and old blue book canning book and it has a chart for 1-4 person servings of meats ,veggies and fruits and soups and stews and how many lbs. And jar counts too.
Another consideration to how much one needs is how it's raised! For example, I can easily down 4 or 5 pieces of KFC before I'm full, and then be hungry again a few hours later, whereas my own free-range heritage birds or pastured meat chickens (same breed as KFC birds) I'm lucky if I can finish just one thigh, and I'm satiated until the following day! Same goes for our pastured (in the forest, their natural environment) pork vs grocery store pork: we only need 1/3 to 1/2 to get the same level of nutrition! The grass-fed dexter beef from our neighbour, same story: it takes me three days to eat a regular-sized steak, and that's due to the quality; like, this meat is a dark purple, whereas grocery-store steaks are a light red - kinda says everything right there! So, the amount of animals one would need to raise depends not only on breed, but what those animals are raised on. One whole chicken of ours - carcass weight of ~5# - lasts my husband and I half a week, and we are primarily carnivore, so that's literallyALL we're eating; one 3# roast of our neighbour's beef lasts us 2-3 nights. The pork we raise goes equally as far, because of the pasturing aspect providing all those necessary nutrients, densely-packed and in perfect ratios :)
This is so well timed. We are buying a side of beef from my sister this year. It is just my husband and I so 200 pounds of beef will definitely do us for the year. We will not be getting the meat until June. I will be busy cleaning out the freezer for his arrival. Great video!
This just blew my mind as ive never actually calculated what my family's needs were and have 15 people so when she says dont worry your familys probably not this big 😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😂😂
I just had my 2 red wattles butchered and can’t believe how huge these girls were! Biggest pigs I’ve ever raised. Hanging weights 332 and 338……we opted for lots of different sausages…..220 lbs of sausages. Needless to say we will be eating a lot of pork for 18 months or more!
Along with how many animals for meat, what about do you want to breed them yourselves or buy young stock, what size animal (adult/slaughterweight) fits your capabilities / facilities, all are herd/social animals, you'll need more then one if you want to keep them on the hoof for a while. I don't want the production breeds due to size and more vulnarable to mistakes. My rabbits are small (i just grow them out a little bigger if needed), but a size i can still handle 30-40 years from now. Sheep where smaller to (Shetland and Shetland X Soay) and already had or cross bred for rooing coat. Clippers are costly (needed battery one there) and hiring someone for handfull of sheep may mean last in line about july when winter wool is way to hot. From what i understand mostly one person does the lifestock on a homestead, plan accordingly.
We are a family of 5, our freezer gets filled twice a year with half a beef. When we get another freezer we can order a full beef at a time. This year we plan to raise egg layers and a few meat chickens to learn about the process and how to do this long term.
I am planning on 2-3 sheep this year. I overdid it the last two years and have more than enough beef and pork in my freezer for this year. I can't seem to make chicken cost effective enough for me to raise and process them. I'd like to do turkeys or geese. I need a bird that will reproduce to make it more affordable.
We are down to 3 people in our house now , I will be ordering our meat birds for this year :) 25 chickens and 5 turkeys :) going to bring two or three of the turkeys for meat :) it should last us the year :) I plan on doubling the garden ! I want to grow as much as I possibly can !
@Pnwelkhunter we get a bigger swing than actual temperate climates but our swing is only like 90 degrees from lowest low to highest high. A lot of the us will have 130 degree swings or more and that just blows my mind
Hey! I did the rough math and we need about 1500 pounds of meat for the year. With taking out the chickens it drops to about 720. We eat a lot of chicken, I didn't realize that until I started doing the math. ❤ yall, thanks for another great video!
@@sykotikmommy It's a placeholder for a follow-up comment after I finish watching the video, nothing more. Which makes your comment look a little silly now.😊
Good morning. My wife and I have been truly homesteading for just a few years. We're a little older than you and Carolyn. I'm a subscriber and love your channel. This was very helpful. A friend told me about fermenting chicken feed. When I looked it up on RUclips your channel came up. So of course I watched it. Watching this video I see you have very cold winters as do we. We live in Indiana. My question is, in the winter do you ferment the feed in a heated building? Thanks, have a good day and God bless!
If you have large temperature fluctuations, try moving your ferment into the barn, garage, or even a mudroom where the temperature is more stable. Ferments really do best with a slightly warmer climate, anywhere from about 68-76 degrees Fahrenheit. This doesn’t mean your feed won’t ferment in colder temperatures, it will just take longer.
I had to google - 24 F, but that’s - 31 C and yes us Canadians would also deem that quite cold! Especially if mixed in with any wind chill! Brrrr any colder than that and we get pretty upset, but dips that low aren’t uncommon up here except this year… extremely unusually mild and barely any snow. I live in NB, Canada and the ski hills here barley open :(
Very thought provoking. I've just known how much meat I needed per year by what and how i cook for the family. It was interesting looking at it from the numbers you gave and seeing it give me the same values I was already using. With the exception of chicken. That one surprised me. Thank you
Don't just count meat in the freezer. Your meat on hoof, that is animals you have rasied for food but have not slaughtered. I feel that meat on hoof can be as valuable as in the freezr. Live meat does not care if the power goes out for a few days of if the freezer fails. On the flip side frozen meat does not get sick or injured.
Do you have any videos on raising geese? Do your sheep eat pine trees? I'm on property covered in baby pine trees and looking for animals that will not eat them.
Iv been working on this subject. I'm at, 100 straight run chick's. 2 pigs , 1/2 a beef, 2-3 deer, all caught fish. Meat is simple to figure. (2people) I think the garden is a matrix I haven't figured out just yet
For the animals in extreme weather, don't you need to provide them with more calories so they can keep themselves warm? Extra hay, silage, or grain prevents them from losing condition in winter.
That was very interesting. The question I have is where do your laying hens come in? If they are also the chickens that are used for meat do you buy another 25 once you've killed 25? Or, are there different hens for laying and eating?
Yes, certain varieties are better for laying and others for meat. More on it here: homesteadingfamily.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-raising-meat-chickens/
Listening to this I had a question, how long is the shelf life of the meat you put in your freezer? Basically, from the initial time of butchering to freezer what is the average shelf life you give your meat?
We plan on a year. We've always hunted deer for venison and that season is once a year so we harvest what we need for a year. That goes for chicken and beef as well. We take inventory a few months before the next season or harvest and adjust meal plans based on what we have left.
I think for me it would be better to know how many chicken I need for a family of 2 and that way I can scale it up per person.I raise my chickens to 10 lbs. That way I am garenteed a 8 lb chicken. Then I estimate how many dishes I can get out of each bird. That for 2 people is 20 male chicken that I raise. Would you say that is about right? Thank you for all you do for us - bless all the family and friends.
Are there any good resources that you are familiar with in regards to stocking rate in North Idaho? I'm just curious, as I'm sure others stock enough cattle to feed there families.
Ok I’m glad you posted this because this is the only thing keeping me back from creating a homestead. I know I would not be able to raise animals for butchering, let alone butchering them myself or on my land. How do I overcome this? TY
I would start with rabbits. Buy Californians or New Zealand’s because they are harder to tell apart, the kids won’t find one they just have to keep lol! Biggest thing with rabbits is no feathers, so easy to butcher and they taste just like chicken! Buy what’s on sale and can it up for now, I know it’s not the same, but you will be hard pressed to raise an animal for what the sales price is. As we speak I’m canning 150# of ham that was .49 cents a pound! The Rabbitry Center has great videos!❤❤❤
Don't overthink it. That animal will have one bad day. You will be making sure they are treated well. If you have ever seen a chicken hauling truck, you will know your own animals will fare better than grocery store animals. I could do chickens by myself, but for larger animals, I really like my husband to dispatch. We were both raised in large cities, so we weren't used to this. Our friends butcher animals they feel like they can physically handle, and the larger animals go to a processor.
Hi Carolyn, Josh and team. Yet another great educational episode! I love your pantry chats. Thanks so much for sharing with us all! Your fellow Canadians are not laughing at you regarding the weather! As a Canadian living in the country, I can relate. However even though we are living outside of the city for 12 years now, my other half still has a city living mind and very reluctant to store up food that is "readily" available at the store. It can be tough to convince another of our actual needs when they resist the education piece! I do my stocking up anyway and try to do a daily dinner rotation of one beef, one chicken, one pork, one fish, and one vegetarian (not necessarily in that order) then start over. I notice that you don't include fish or eggs in your meat needs total. Is that because you consider fish as an extra rather than as a requirement? And is your meat total for dinner needs only?
I believe they are working with animals that you can raise yourself and most people can't raise fish. I live in alaska and we are allowed to net 75 salmon every summer and so for us we can use that as part of our meat equation.
Thankyou. I have plans for beef and pork. I find processing meat chickens doable yet more hassle than I have time for. Rabbit fill that void. And bonus of pelt crafts.
I am curious about raising rabbits. I have never eaten rabbit and have tried to find a place that sells meat so I can try it. It seems like a pretty cost effective meat supply but I wonder why more homesteaders avoid it. Is there a reason for that? Cute factor maybe?
Great information as always. My wife and I have been thinking of getting half a cow and maybe 1/4 pig to start. What's holding us back a bit is we aren't sure if we have the freezer space. How much freezer space would you recommend for the family of 4 figures?
Did you mention turkeys? We are thinking about turkeys and maybe trade with friends for some chicken. Interested in combining ground lamb and venison as well! 🏹
I hatch my own chicks. We eat the roosters lol. I have hogs but they're not producing... we're thinking it's time to get rid of them(eat them).. we raise goats for milk, and we are about to get a couple katahdin sheep! Just to start off. Then a ram to go with them. Also i raise rabbits.. They're delicious and i prefer them over chicken lol
my thing is im in south arizona and have 10 acres and want to rotate animals every year to raise for food. natural food for animals is low here so buying feed is crucial but gets crazy expensive and during the plandemic finding feed became scary even finding dog and cat food was kinda rough. still planning but lots to learn and think of. local butchers here have a 2 year wait on butchering an animal so trying to figure out some way to learn animal butchering on my own.
This is the first time I am seeing this broken down this way. I am developing an RV Park and I want to see if it’s possible to grow enough food to be self sustainable. I have 38 acres and looking at 60 parking spaces.
So for meat animals do u have to buy them every year or r they young from your other animals how does that work? What if u didnt want to have to buy every yr how would you go about having ur own like with meat chickens?
How fast do turkey grow? I don't eat so much meat, I can also live for months without it but if I eat it I prefer to know that they eat GMO free and can free range. I have in mind to grow a flock just for meat for me.
The acronym for food poisoning we taught in the food industry is FATTOM Food Acid Time Temperature Oxygen Moisture... Food poisoning need All of these things!
We're completely off-grid, almost 2kms into the woods. Our animals don't get the luxury of liquid water during the freezing temperatures, and neither do we 😂 Those that aren't free-range or out in the field get buckets or water dishes of snow and/or ice. As for keeping pigs warm, not an option here. We did just have a successful farrowing right at the onset of a nasty nor'easter, and the piglets just turned 4 days old a few hours ago and they have already survived temperatures below -15°C!!!
I am thinking I am a big meat eater. I eat around a pound a day give or take. My husband probably doesn't average that much each day but I think maybe at least a half a pound each day for him. So to feel like we are a little above what we need I would say we need 2 pounds a day x 365 days = 720 pounds cut weight each year. We would want pork, a little poultry, ideally mostly ruminant animals like sheep, goats, deer, cow. Hopefully would be able to hunt some of these animals. The amount of meat doesn't include any of the animals that we would have on the farm that eats meat too.
That goat weight must have been an adult nigerian dwarf, or a 6-month old standard breed. An adult standard-sized male goat can easily be 150-200 pounds.
Not an expert, but here’s my take- Meat canned with fat will simply not keep as long. It can be done, but you need to consume it more quickly. If you can meat without fat, it will store longer. Lard will go rancid, too, if stored on a shelf for a long period of time. In this talk, Caroline assured us botulism isn’t an issue. But it will go rancid, that’s a different thing. So to store lard for a long time, freeze it. When kept on a shelf, consume it quickly. If you don’t consume shelf-stored lard quickly, it won’t be spoiled with botulism but it won’t taste very good either.
@@doubles1545 Hi! If your lard starts to turn (you can tell by smell) you can still use it to make lye soap. And lye soap is good for cleaning just about anything! Hope that helps!
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We have laying hens, meat turkeys (at least 2-3 for now), meat chickens (50ish per year), dairy goats for milk and soap, a kune kune breeding pair with their first feeders being processed this spring, we purchase a half beef every year from our hay guy... All this and we do not buy any meat for at least 5 yrs now, we do buy raw milk and cream from an Amish friend periodically but zero pasteurized store milk, and we grow about 50% of our fruit and veggies... Working on the other half! We grow our own culinary and medicinal herbs too.
How big is your family size?
You’re loving my dream!
Wow! Congrats!!!
What kind of dairy goats do you have and how much milk do you get a day on average?
How many acres
We have raised and butchered our own meat for over 40 years and kept records for each year. The following is an average. We butcher beef at approx. 1200 to 1300 lbs. live weight and end up with a wrap weight of 48 to 50%. Hogs are butchered at 250 to 265 lbs. live weight and end up with a wrap weight of 60 to 62%. Sheep are butchered at 120 to 130 lbs. live weight and end up with a wrap weight at 28%. We trade beef with a friend that raises rabbits and he claims that rabbits wrap out at 65%; these are 8 to 10 week old rabbits. Everything I've listed is wrapped bone in. Hope this helps. All good info in video, keep up the info stream
I prefer your way of calculating how much meat is needed per year. Thank you.
Boy, you guys are wasteful! Every ounce of an animal can be used for something. Bone, skin, offal, fat, hoof and horn...not just meat.
When you harvest a sheep at 120 lbs it the meat considered mutton or lamb
At two years old it's considered mutton, size has nothing to do with it. Hope this helps.@@joerambo4977
@@joerambo4977The difference between lamb and mutton is age. Sheep under a year old are lambs while fully mature, (one to three years are considered mutton. We harvest lamb at around 90 lbs so at 120 lbs, it's most likely more than a year old, so technically mutton. However, it probably hasn't developed enough to gain the texture or flavor of good mutton.
Folks always keep the bones. Soup stock and bone broth can be made from those, and if you are industrious bone meal for your garden can be made. I make broths from any animal I process, beef, pork, chicken, venison, bear, and so on.
Bone broth is super nourishing!
We have 30 egg layer chickens for eggs, split a hog and a cow with a friend and we raise and butcher 60 meat chickens and 3 meat turkeys and I hunt and usually bag a deer or two and that lasts our family of 4 all year. We always have some ground pork and ground beef left at the end of the year.
As a Canadian I can strictly say we will not be laughing at you we understand what cold it is. As well as the serious hardships that comes with it every year. Like trying to heat your home without power. Especially in the city to have a wood-burning stove is illegal due to fire hazard. It's a great channel that you have great information channel is probably more important today than it was years ago do to hyperinflation. People are struggling to pay their rent and buy food and get the vehicle back and forth from work to keep the Vicious Circle going. As a Canadian I'm Envy of what you're doing. Because when the world comes crumbling down you'll be standing in the ashes.
Well said. I'm from Canada as Well and what you wrote rings so true, I'm just so glad that me and my family live in the country with land enough were we can be somewhat self reliant, it is so important to be or to get the least dependent on the every day things that are so readily available in the stores because they might not always be there someday soon.
So true! As a fellow Canadian living in the country, I can relate.
Illegal to have a wood burner?Should be illegal them -****** ******** making it illegal for you to survive.. you probably can’t own a rifle to shoot your predators threatening your livelihood=livestock either if you don’t live in the city… you (Canadians)lost when you didn’t stand up for your rights up there.(along with Australians and many many others), just as we are on the brink of here. . I wish you all the best up there… we are all one no matter where you live..
ps soon it’ll be illegal to buy any meat from the guy down the road
Has to have the stamp
Good luck out there y’all, stay strong
I don't know what I would do if I couldn't heat our home with wood... 😭
This is something EVERY HOME needs to do. Whether a homestead or an apartment. It can give you a good idea of what you need for your home.
Thank you Josh & Caroline. Greatly appreciated.
We have been following you, guys, for couple of years, members of the STS... We admire you and your children so much.We have been homesteading for about 24years and still learn so much from you. We have been exploring ID for 3 years, starting from South , going up North. Last October my daughter and I ended up in Bounders Co. Stayed for a week at Deep Creek Farmstay😊 and lost our hearts there... It will be a miracle if we will be able to move our homestead there, but our God IS the God of miracles 🙏 Keep up the good work you are doing and blessings on you and your family 🙏🙏
We are older, retired and family is all grown up. My goal is to raise all of our meat and have some for our two sons, four grandchildren, spouses and great grandchild. Now I'm not talking all the meat for all of them, but at least some beef, pork, chicken and turkey for everyone. I was just using the "grandma" averages and decided if we could do two beef cattle, four hogs, about 100 chickens and a dozen turkeys, we would have plenty to share. Your math is so much more thoughtful than my "grandma" averages. I also "guessedamated" we would need about sixteen to twenty acres depending on amount of trees on property, pond areas and how good the pastures are. Not scientific by any means, just years of cooking and buy food! God bless y'all and keep growing. Laugh often, especially at yourself!!!!
Good starting point that over time can be fine tuned. Although I use 1/2 pound per person for red meat, I use 3/4 pound (bone in)per adult person or large child for poultry. Something to consider when raising the poultry to fill your poultry requirements is that if you raise you meat chickens a few pounds heavier, you will require fewer birds. Also do not discount turkey - they can be kept on the "hoof" till needed but when processed they can be parted out, ground, made into cutlets, etc and can be helpful in filling the meat quota. Much the same as old laying hens - they can be parted out and canned to offset the protein requirements one requires. Good chat!
1/2lb red meat per person per...day/week/month?
@@BonaFideWildLife per meal. Depending on the people eating, this may give you some left overs.
@@dhansonranch Per meal! Ahh gotcha. Thanks!!
In this day and age where meat is seen as the devil himself I am so happy to see a family that eats a lot of meat. Good for you! Hope to follow your example soon.
I think something to keep in mind, is that you won't get that full amount of meat for the weight of the animal. If we're talking chickens, you may have a 5 or 6 pound bird, but that's with the bones. You won't get 5 or 6 pounds of chicken meat with that one bird. You'll probably get half that or just over half. So, a 5 pound chicken may render 2.5 - 3 lbs of meat. Something to keep in mind. Like the Thomases said, give yourself a buffer. And don't forget to render those chicken bones into stock! That's worth a lot. 😊
With the bones you can pressure cook it in jars, which will soften it, break it up really small and dehyrated it and ground it into bone meal for planting gardens
I have started using my chicken bones, after making bone broth and then soup, for my dogs. They are so soft that they are easy to mash/grind to add the extra bone marrow to their raw feeding as a topping or as a treat. They love it!
🤔 I dont understand why people wouldnt want the chat part of the pantry chat?🤔 I for one appreciate the real talk. Keep up the good work,guys!👍
Loving my dream! We just moved to a 10 acre property in an Amish neighborhood, so we’re just getting started.
*living
@@rockstarmommie13and loving, I’m sure ;)
We are moving to a 10 acre property in a few weeks…how did you decide what to do first and how to set things up? I know these guys have a video of “7 things to do on your new homestead” ….useful, but it’s all things like ‘unpack’ and ‘ buy bulk foods’ ‘pick a pantry spot’ etc which are not specific to homesteading (you could do the same in an apartment. I am planning on starting my seeds and building the raised bed first. Then planting the perennial vegetables and flowers. Then later in the fall putting in the fruit trees. I am planning to wait on larger livestock until early next year when I hope to buy a pregnant milk cow. We may get some Nigerian dwarfs this year….we’ll see.
What are you doing first? Did your property already come with fruit trees etc?
@@searose6192I also have 10 acres that we moved to a few years ago.
Chickens are super easy for eggs. We lock them up in the evening after they put themselves to bed. So easy!
Next was rabbits. Rabbits are almost as easy as chickens, but still more work. Very easy to butcher, but they are adorable which also makes it difficult.
I have a nice pond that we had built. About 3/4 acre cost us $9k. We stocked it and I’ve eaten some bluegill and catfish out of it. Cost me about $400 to stock, but I haven’t had any problems and they reproduce so fast. I love fishing, so it’s an expense that I worked hard for.
I planted a few hundred native pecan trees. I live in North Texas, but Arkansas Agriculture is the best deal ever. I picked them up and they are bare root. I also got a hundred Shumard Oak. I have planted about a dozen fruit trees so far too (peaches, figs, plum, mulberry).
We have Muscovy ducks, but so far every predator out there loves to eat them.
Quail are easy and inexpensive. Their eggs are awesome, but takes about 2-3 eggs to equal a chicken egg.
We have goats that are very nice, but a pain in the butt. I just finished a new area for them, which costs a lot of time and money. Well worth the costs! They now stay in.
Other than the trees and pond I am only using a small portion of our land. Under an acre. I am about to fence off a pasture for a couple of calves.
You can really do a lot on 10 acres.
I love my Amish and Mennonite neighbors!!
We have 8 kids, and entertain my parents and 7 siblings families almost monthly. About 35 ppl, I think y’all’s numbers for your family would be a pretty good start for me
We raise meat chickens and turkeys every year. Mostly enough for us only. We raise a steer per year and sell half keep half, 6 pigs which we sell 5 and keep one and then we lamb out 20 some ewes and keep 3 lambs for ourselves and sell the rest or keep ewe lambs back for future. We buy almost no meat off farm. Our biggest concern up here in BC is drought!! Last summer was terrible and this coming is supposed to be worse. We may have to look at going into only drought hardy products in the garden and stay away from the heavy watering plants that we just can’t keep up with. Also looks like next winter will be a colder one so harvesting more firewood this summer to have a year and half worth as we are wood heat only. I’d sure like to visit your place! And have you visit ours lol! FYI our lambs which are a kind of “commercial” cross breed finish around 100-120 pounds live weight at 7-8 months old.
I am from Remond Utah. I babysat for the original owners and went to school with the current owner. It is what I am most proud of coming from central Utah.
Love that you get the whole family in on what is working, what is not, and everyone's preferences. Thank you for sharing it with us!
My husband and I started growing out and processing our own meat birds last year. It was a hit. We have now moved on to pig, goat, sheep and rabbits this year. Bought a breeding pair of each. We just keep adding freezers in the garage haha
I now use Redman's salt because of your recommendations. Thanks, guys, you are the dream couple.
I’m thinking 600# for us two - definitely extra but gives us plenty to entertain and share. Half in beef (with extra to share with family there), 25 chickens, 25 rabbits (probably quite a bit more here to share too), and 1 hog. Some fish in there occasionally fresh too.
I have a question. Is the magazine on facebook that features Homesteading family, Melissa K Norris and others real or a fb scam? I want to purchase it but scared.
Children that want less screen time?!?!? That’s amazing!
I was so blessed too have found and old blue book canning book and it has a chart for 1-4 person servings of meats ,veggies and fruits and soups and stews and how many lbs. And jar counts too.
I started sowing my seeds in my green house so this year garden will be a good one! I don't sell anything I have a group that we trade 😊
I just started participating in a local bartering group!
Another consideration to how much one needs is how it's raised! For example, I can easily down 4 or 5 pieces of KFC before I'm full, and then be hungry again a few hours later, whereas my own free-range heritage birds or pastured meat chickens (same breed as KFC birds) I'm lucky if I can finish just one thigh, and I'm satiated until the following day! Same goes for our pastured (in the forest, their natural environment) pork vs grocery store pork: we only need 1/3 to 1/2 to get the same level of nutrition! The grass-fed dexter beef from our neighbour, same story: it takes me three days to eat a regular-sized steak, and that's due to the quality; like, this meat is a dark purple, whereas grocery-store steaks are a light red - kinda says everything right there!
So, the amount of animals one would need to raise depends not only on breed, but what those animals are raised on. One whole chicken of ours - carcass weight of ~5# - lasts my husband and I half a week, and we are primarily carnivore, so that's literallyALL we're eating; one 3# roast of our neighbour's beef lasts us 2-3 nights. The pork we raise goes equally as far, because of the pasturing aspect providing all those necessary nutrients, densely-packed and in perfect ratios :)
We love ID!!! Your channel is great and there is so much information available to us. Thank you❤❤
This is so well timed. We are buying a side of beef from my sister this year. It is just my husband and I so 200 pounds of beef will definitely do us for the year. We will not be getting the meat until June. I will be busy cleaning out the freezer for his arrival. Great video!
This just blew my mind as ive never actually calculated what my family's needs were and have 15 people so when she says dont worry your familys probably not this big 😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😂😂
I don’t watch a lot of videos multiple times, but this is one I’ve watched several times. Thank you for the good information.
Glad it was helpful!
I lived 1 mile from Redmond’s mine for years. ❤
Thank you for all your wonderful teaching and sharing!! Love y'all and your sweet family!! God Bless!!!!
I just had my 2 red wattles butchered and can’t believe how huge these girls were! Biggest pigs I’ve ever raised. Hanging weights 332 and 338……we opted for lots of different sausages…..220 lbs of sausages. Needless to say we will be eating a lot of pork for 18 months or more!
I know for my wife and i, one cow would be more than enough fir 1 year...but i want chicken and bacon too so id want quite a few animals for variety
I wish you could raise a bacon
@@ian5780 omg that would be a dream come true hahah.
Along with how many animals for meat, what about do you want to breed them yourselves or buy young stock, what size animal (adult/slaughterweight) fits your capabilities / facilities, all are herd/social animals, you'll need more then one if you want to keep them on the hoof for a while.
I don't want the production breeds due to size and more vulnarable to mistakes. My rabbits are small (i just grow them out a little bigger if needed), but a size i can still handle 30-40 years from now. Sheep where smaller to (Shetland and Shetland X Soay) and already had or cross bred for rooing coat. Clippers are costly (needed battery one there) and hiring someone for handfull of sheep may mean last in line about july when winter wool is way to hot.
From what i understand mostly one person does the lifestock on a homestead, plan accordingly.
We are a family of 5, our freezer gets filled twice a year with half a beef. When we get another freezer we can order a full beef at a time. This year we plan to raise egg layers and a few meat chickens to learn about the process and how to do this long term.
I am planning on 2-3 sheep this year. I overdid it the last two years and have more than enough beef and pork in my freezer for this year. I can't seem to make chicken cost effective enough for me to raise and process them. I'd like to do turkeys or geese. I need a bird that will reproduce to make it more affordable.
Quail and rabbits i hear are good reproducers
my wife and I, are Carnivores (Only eat meat). we consume just under 1500lbs a year :)
We are down to 3 people in our house now , I will be ordering our meat birds for this year :) 25 chickens and 5 turkeys :) going to bring two or three of the turkeys for meat :) it should last us the year :) I plan on doubling the garden ! I want to grow as much as I possibly can !
Down here in southern AZ I get physically agitated knowing that it gets that cold in places. Im happy living in such a temperate climate
You’re funny man😂 My version of temperate is temps between 45-50 in the winter and 60-75 in the summer….
@Pnwelkhunter we get a bigger swing than actual temperate climates but our swing is only like 90 degrees from lowest low to highest high. A lot of the us will have 130 degree swings or more and that just blows my mind
excellent info... thank you!! .... Stay warm you guys!!
Hey! I did the rough math and we need about 1500 pounds of meat for the year. With taking out the chickens it drops to about 720. We eat a lot of chicken, I didn't realize that until I started doing the math. ❤ yall, thanks for another great video!
What an excellent video with the needed formulas for any beginner homesteading family!
Every time I see comments like this, it reminds me of kids in elementary school.
@@sykotikmommy It's a placeholder for a follow-up comment after I finish watching the video, nothing more. Which makes your comment look a little silly now.😊
Glad it was helpful!
Good morning. My wife and I have been truly homesteading for just a few years. We're a little older than you and Carolyn. I'm a subscriber and love your channel. This was very helpful.
A friend told me about fermenting chicken feed. When I looked it up on RUclips your channel came up. So of course I watched it. Watching this video I see you have very cold winters as do we. We live in Indiana. My question is, in the winter do you ferment the feed in a heated building? Thanks, have a good day and God bless!
If you have large temperature fluctuations, try moving your ferment into the barn, garage, or even a mudroom where the temperature is more stable. Ferments really do best with a slightly warmer climate, anywhere from about 68-76 degrees Fahrenheit. This doesn’t mean your feed won’t ferment in colder temperatures, it will just take longer.
Thank you for the break down. The rest of your pantry supply can be figured out the same way. #eggs per day/week. #of a specific fruit/veggie ect.
I had to google - 24 F, but that’s - 31 C and yes us Canadians would also deem that quite cold! Especially if mixed in with any wind chill! Brrrr any colder than that and we get pretty upset, but dips that low aren’t uncommon up here except this year… extremely unusually mild and barely any snow. I live in NB, Canada and the ski hills here barley open :(
Incredibly helpful video!! Thank you thank you thank you!! Just what i needed to see, delivered in your classic realistic style! ❤❤
Glad it was helpful!
Very thought provoking. I've just known how much meat I needed per year by what and how i cook for the family. It was interesting looking at it from the numbers you gave and seeing it give me the same values I was already using. With the exception of chicken. That one surprised me. Thank you
Just found your site. Wow I needed this so bad!!!!Thank you!!! Cape Cod Mass
Don't just count meat in the freezer. Your meat on hoof, that is animals you have rasied for food but have not slaughtered. I feel that meat on hoof can be as valuable as in the freezr. Live meat does not care if the power goes out for a few days of if the freezer fails. On the flip side frozen meat does not get sick or injured.
Do you have any videos on raising geese? Do your sheep eat pine trees? I'm on property covered in baby pine trees and looking for animals that will not eat them.
Red man salt tastes so different ❤
I remember it from when i was little at my grandparents on my moms side.
My grandpa was born in 1888
skip to 14:00
Iv been working on this subject. I'm at, 100 straight run chick's. 2 pigs , 1/2 a beef, 2-3 deer, all caught fish. Meat is simple to figure. (2people)
I think the garden is a matrix I haven't figured out just yet
So the real question is, how many and what size freezers does a family of 4 need?
For the animals in extreme weather, don't you need to provide them with more calories so they can keep themselves warm? Extra hay, silage, or grain prevents them from losing condition in winter.
You can wire up a car remote starter to the generator and just start it from inside
I wouldn't necessarily call that underdressed, more like it's your trademark ❤ (the hat).
Redmond salt comes from my neck of the woods!
That was very interesting. The question I have is where do your laying hens come in? If they are also the chickens that are used for meat do you buy another 25 once you've killed 25? Or, are there different hens for laying and eating?
Yes, certain varieties are better for laying and others for meat. More on it here: homesteadingfamily.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-raising-meat-chickens/
20:52 In Brazil se use the term arroba (@)for the hanging weigth and assume thats 1/2 of the living weigth when selling a bull or cow to the meathouse
Thank you so so much.
What online curriculum do you use, and how long are your kids on there doing school?
We homeschool and its a lot of hands on for me.
Are you using a Charter school? It’s more freedom and less pressure if you can homeschool independently in your state.
EXCELLENT video. Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it!
Listening to this I had a question, how long is the shelf life of the meat you put in your freezer? Basically, from the initial time of butchering to freezer what is the average shelf life you give your meat?
Thank you. I was wondering this, as well.
We plan on a year. We've always hunted deer for venison and that season is once a year so we harvest what we need for a year. That goes for chicken and beef as well. We take inventory a few months before the next season or harvest and adjust meal plans based on what we have left.
I think for me it would be better to know how many chicken I need for a family of 2 and that way I can scale it up per person.I raise my chickens to 10 lbs. That way I am garenteed a 8 lb chicken. Then I estimate how many dishes I can get out of each bird. That for 2 people is 20 male chicken that I raise. Would you say that is about right? Thank you for all you do for us - bless all the family and friends.
Are there any good resources that you are familiar with in regards to stocking rate in North Idaho? I'm just curious, as I'm sure others stock enough cattle to feed there families.
Ok I’m glad you posted this because this is the only thing keeping me back from creating a homestead. I know I would
not be able
to raise animals for butchering, let alone butchering them myself or
on my land. How do I overcome this? TY
I would start with rabbits. Buy Californians or New Zealand’s because they are harder to tell apart, the kids won’t find one they just have to keep lol! Biggest thing with rabbits is no feathers, so easy to butcher and they taste just like chicken! Buy what’s on sale and can it up for now, I know it’s not the same, but you will be hard pressed to raise an animal for what the sales price is. As we speak I’m canning 150# of ham that was .49 cents a pound! The Rabbitry Center has great videos!❤❤❤
Don't overthink it. That animal will have one bad day. You will be making sure they are treated well. If you have ever seen a chicken hauling truck, you will know your own animals will fare better than grocery store animals. I could do chickens by myself, but for larger animals, I really like my husband to dispatch. We were both raised in large cities, so we weren't used to this. Our friends butcher animals they feel like they can physically handle, and the larger animals go to a processor.
Visit farmers to observe and help during their process.
Very great info!
Hi Carolyn, Josh and team. Yet another great educational episode! I love your pantry chats. Thanks so much for sharing with us all!
Your fellow Canadians are not laughing at you regarding the weather! As a Canadian living in the country, I can relate. However even though we are living outside of the city for 12 years now, my other half still has a city living mind and very reluctant to store up food that is "readily" available at the store. It can be tough to convince another of our actual needs when they resist the education piece! I do my stocking up anyway and try to do a daily dinner rotation of one beef, one chicken, one pork, one fish, and one vegetarian (not necessarily in that order) then start over. I notice that you don't include fish or eggs in your meat needs total. Is that because you consider fish as an extra rather than as a requirement?
And is your meat total for dinner needs only?
I believe they are working with animals that you can raise yourself and most people can't raise fish. I live in alaska and we are allowed to net 75 salmon every summer and so for us we can use that as part of our meat equation.
Do you have this information for meat rabbits? We don't have sheep abilities.
I'm curious why more don't do meat rabbits...
I get about 2.5-3 pounds dressed weight (meat + bones) per rabbit.
Thankyou. I have plans for beef and pork. I find processing meat chickens doable yet more hassle than I have time for. Rabbit fill that void. And bonus of pelt crafts.
I am curious about raising rabbits. I have never eaten rabbit and have tried to find a place that sells meat so I can try it. It seems like a pretty cost effective meat supply but I wonder why more homesteaders avoid it. Is there a reason for that? Cute factor maybe?
Very helpful. Thank you
Great information as always. My wife and I have been thinking of getting half a cow and maybe 1/4 pig to start. What's holding us back a bit is we aren't sure if we have the freezer space. How much freezer space would you recommend for the family of 4 figures?
We use Redmond salt ... sometimes I even take some for myself 😂... just dab your finger in!
I want to know what flannel he's wearing. My husband would probably like it. It looks very warm and thick.
Did you mention turkeys? We are thinking about turkeys and maybe trade with friends for some chicken. Interested in combining ground lamb and venison as well! 🏹
What do you guys do with the bones, organs, etc? Does it hold some practical use?
Really Good Vid, TY TY
I hatch my own chicks. We eat the roosters lol. I have hogs but they're not producing... we're thinking it's time to get rid of them(eat them).. we raise goats for milk, and we are about to get a couple katahdin sheep! Just to start off. Then a ram to go with them. Also i raise rabbits.. They're delicious and i prefer them over chicken lol
my thing is im in south arizona and have 10 acres and want to rotate animals every year to raise for food. natural food for animals is low here so buying feed is crucial but gets crazy expensive and during the plandemic finding feed became scary even finding dog and cat food was kinda rough. still planning but lots to learn and think of. local butchers here have a 2 year wait on butchering an animal so trying to figure out some way to learn animal butchering on my own.
This is the first time I am seeing this broken down this way. I am developing an RV Park and I want to see if it’s possible to grow enough food to be self sustainable. I have 38 acres and looking at 60 parking spaces.
What do people do for older chickens, like 6 to 7 years old when they need to process them.
I was told soups are better to do with the older ones..
Just subscribed, had subscribed for a long time on Rumble, .,,, hate the censorship of uTube
That minus ° weather ? Came on thru here also.but balmier at 3° 4° 10° etc.but windchills reached minus 27.
So for meat animals do u have to buy them every year or r they young from your other animals how does that work? What if u didnt want to have to buy every yr how would you go about having ur own like with meat chickens?
How fast do turkey grow? I don't eat so much meat, I can also live for months without it but if I eat it I prefer to know that they eat GMO free and can free range. I have in mind to grow a flock just for meat for me.
Most meat turkey breeds will mature between 14-22 weeks of age. Heritage varieties can take a bit longer.
Costs? Cost of feed, vet bills etc?
The acronym for food poisoning we taught in the food industry is FATTOM
Food
Acid
Time
Temperature
Oxygen
Moisture...
Food poisoning need All of these things!
With that lard talk does that fat only come from pig or beer could you also use chicken or turkey fat?
We're completely off-grid, almost 2kms into the woods. Our animals don't get the luxury of liquid water during the freezing temperatures, and neither do we 😂 Those that aren't free-range or out in the field get buckets or water dishes of snow and/or ice. As for keeping pigs warm, not an option here. We did just have a successful farrowing right at the onset of a nasty nor'easter, and the piglets just turned 4 days old a few hours ago and they have already survived temperatures below -15°C!!!
What about leftovers?😊
I am thinking I am a big meat eater. I eat around a pound a day give or take. My husband probably doesn't average that much each day but I think maybe at least a half a pound each day for him. So to feel like we are a little above what we need I would say we need 2 pounds a day x 365 days = 720 pounds cut weight each year.
We would want pork, a little poultry, ideally mostly ruminant animals like sheep, goats, deer, cow. Hopefully would be able to hunt some of these animals.
The amount of meat doesn't include any of the animals that we would have on the farm that eats meat too.
So I never hear you talk about tallow ?? I am not tolerant of pork so I use tallow …..
A half hog half a beef 20 meat chickens and three or four laying hens
That goat weight must have been an adult nigerian dwarf, or a 6-month old standard breed. An adult standard-sized male goat can easily be 150-200 pounds.
Little confused about the lard. Why do we need to skim fat off of meat so it won't go rancid but we can preserve lard? Is it because it's rendered?
Not an expert, but here’s my take-
Meat canned with fat will simply not keep as long. It can be done, but you need to consume it more quickly. If you can meat without fat, it will store longer.
Lard will go rancid, too, if stored on a shelf for a long period of time. In this talk, Caroline assured us botulism isn’t an issue. But it will go rancid, that’s a different thing. So to store lard for a long time, freeze it. When kept on a shelf, consume it quickly. If you don’t consume shelf-stored lard quickly, it won’t be spoiled with botulism but it won’t taste very good either.
@@doubles1545 Hi! If your lard starts to turn (you can tell by smell) you can still use it to make lye soap. And lye soap is good for cleaning just about anything! Hope that helps!
Do you do turkeys? We eat a lot of ground turkey.
Yes 😊
We just bought 5 acres with a trailer and dont even know how to start.
Do you raise ALL your own meat?
If not what do you buy (meat wise)?
i definitely need some land
Way back when people used to preserve meat in rendered lard.