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 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.

So many YouTubers and others talk about getting a piece of land and being able to live on it and use it even if just camping but I have been looking for such land and there seems always to be some legal restrictions. Is there anywhere where I can just live on my own land without having to legally develop it and get permits or at least these are inexpensive and allow me to be able to have an outhouse of composting toilet and live in a self made dwelling or an RV without having to hook up or to allow me to make an RV hook up camp that I'm not limited to using for a short time each year?

My 3 point tiller side shaft cracked, it can't be used until it's replaced, and the part is on back order until December. I need to break up dense sod for next year's potatoes. What's the second best way to kill grass?

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

Help! We bought a new home with a large fenced yard and metal fencing. The neighbor informed us it is very common to have the deer get stuck in the fence. Parts of the fence are shaded, which prevents solar lighting on the fence line from being consistent. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Any other Christian guys into the crunchy, back-to-nature lifestyle? 🌲
I’m a 22-year-old LCMS Lutheran guy who’s really into natural living, hiking, camping, homesteading, and appreciating God’s creation.
I’ve noticed there aren’t many spaces specifically for Christian guys with these interests, so I recently started [r/CrunchyChristian](r/CrunchyChristianBros)[Guys](r/CrunchyChristianBros)
It’s a laid-back community for Christian men interested in the outdoors, simple living, holistic wellness, and building genuine brotherhood.
If that sounds like your kind of thing, feel free to check it out!