Poultry conservationist Marissa Buchanan knows that Chinese geese are excellent guard animals, weed eaters, and all-around useful homestead birds. When looking for a goose breed for your farm, consider the Chinese goose. One of the most popular breeds, it has an amazing and culture-rich history, and makes an excellent addition to the homestead. This popular […]

Everyone agrees that geese are loud and make good homestead guardians.  Learn more about some of the different breeds of geese and their intriguing characteristics. Breeds of Geese Like cats, dogs, horses, and chickens, geese come in many different shapes, sizes, and temperaments. While a goose’s behavior can be greatly shaped by how it is raised, […]

Lately I’ve been reading a lot about companion planting. It’s a gardening technique in which different species of vegetables and flowers are planted together and they work as a group to benefit each other. In the Mother Earth News article Companion Planting With Vegetables and Flowers, the author Barbara Pleasant gives an example of the […]

Goose Breeds: There are about 15 breeds of domesticated geese. Basically, the goose is raised for meat. Personally, I like goose meat much better than turkey. Whatever breed of goose you prefer, you’ll probably want to separate breeds or choose only one, because purebred geese are more marketable than those that are crossbred. An exception […]

We all like to spoil ourselves with undeniably tasty treats from time to time, so why would it be any different for our chicken & poultry flocks?  Here on 25 Acres, we like products that can easily be stored in the coop year round. While nutrition is key, treats can also be a great tool […]

In this incubation guide, I will take you through the common terms, temperatures, times, and humidity levels for common, assorted backyard poultry.   Often times, when people new to hatching are researching how to carry out the process, seasoned breeders will throw out terms that perhaps not everyone is familiar with. Hopefully this will act […]

The term anthropomorphism is to assign human traits to animals or inanimate objects. Being active in many livestock forums, farm Facebook groups and other animal specific online communities, I’ve often heard this term used in an accusatory manner. Usually in the comment section of some article or post…people get upset when you claim that animals […]

The social understanding within a flock is a complicated issue. Chickens are social creatures who thrive in group settings. Pecking order is how your flock establishes hierarchy.   It might seem brutal to us as chicken keepers who only want peace and harmony for our chickens, but pecking order is a necessary communication for your […]

We weren’t expecting to raise ducks or geese this year. But the little ones found a way into our hearts and onto our farm.         I am so glad we decided to bring our Toulouse gosling and our Pilgrim gosling home. Not just because they are adorable, but because they serve a […]