5 Surprisingly Simple Homesteading Tips

This article will give you 5 simple homesteading tips you can use to save a bit of time and money on your own homestead.

When it comes to raising animals and growing your own food there are so many things to learn and know. I have found over the years that tips from others really have helped me in my own homesteading journey. I hope to do the same for you by sharing what I have learned along the way.

It’s true that not all of my simple homesteading tips are life-changing and need to be shouted from the rooftops. In fact, quite a few of my tips are surprisingly simple. But those tips, the simple ones, are sometimes the tips that make the biggest impact. 

Surprisingly Simple Homesteading Tips 

Homesteading Tip #1 For Your Chickens

When you free range your hens calling them into the safety of the coop at the end of the day can be hit or miss.

Free-ranging simply means allowing your chickens to roam a specific area or your entire property if you are able. Free-ranging is a great way to allow your chickens the ability to scratch up bugs, worms, and other tasty treats.

The good news about allowing your chickens to free-range is that it encourages them to eat for free. The better news is they do a great job of keeping down pests that can invade and even harm your vegetable garden. The downside is your entire flock will be more easily reached by any predators in your area. 

For this reason, teaching your entire flock to come when called is a great way to keep everyone safe. 

You can teach your chickens to come when called by repeating a word and sound every time you feed. These will be their “cues” and ones they will begin to associate with food. 

Chickens are very food motivated so this is great news for us as we are working to train them. 

Each time you feed your flock, repeat a word over and over along with a sound. I like to use “chick-chick-chick” while shaking a bucket of grain. The sound the grain makes can carry quite far catching anyone’s attention that might have wandered off. 

Using this call at night. 

It’s true that chickens will usually return to the coop at dusk, but sometimes not everyone makes it back safely. If you happen to notice that one of your girls did not come back try doing a quick hen call, “chick, chick, chick” while shaking a bucket of seed.

If it is not too dark out, this tip will usually work pretty well. If it doesn’t work, your next step is to take a walk around your home and do a quick search.

Hens naturally prefer to be off of the ground at night, so take a peak in your trees to see if she is there. I have found many a hen this way.

Homesteading Tip#2 Cooling Treats

On hot summer days, it is nice to have cool treats for your chickens. This can help them to cool off along with keeping them hydrated. 

Chickens and heat.

Chickens can tolerate the warm weather quite well they tend to do the best in temperatures around 74 degrees. A long stretch of very warm to hot days can cause your chickens’ heat stress and slow down their egg production. 

This is why offering cool treats on those hot days can be so beneficial. 

What do chickens like? 

Vegetables seem to be at the top of every chicken’s favorite list. I like to freeze leftover veggies from dinners that just aren’t enough to save for ourselves. You can keep freezer bags of frozen scraps or a freezer basket that fits nicely into your freezer. 

My girls love frozen snacks to munch on in the summer and it really does help to cool them off. A few ideas are, vegetable peels, watermelon or cantaloupe finds, apple cores or peels, even squash ends and corn cobs. 

But don’t stop there!

You can save overly ripe fruit or rinds, extra vegetable soup, rice without sugary sauces, just about anything that isn’t enough to save for your family can be frozen for your chickens.

Food never gets thrown away at our home. There is always someone or something that will eat what we have.

SLCG PRO TIP: Remember to only feed foods that are good for your hens. Salty snacks, processed meats, sugary items such as cookies or cereal are not good for your chickens. Also, rotten foods or moldy, spoiled foods are not a good idea either. 

Homesteading Tip #3 – Healthy Plants

Do you have planters of beautiful flowers or veggies on your porch or back deck? If you forget to water those plants you can easily lose them in the hot summer sun.  

Need a reminder?  

Set my alarm on your FitBit, Amazon Alexa, even your Smart Phone to go off every day at 8 am. This is my gentle reminder will be just what you need to make sure your plants stay healthy all summer long.

Watering my plants is part of my morning routine. Taking a walk around all of my planters as I drink my coffee allows me to not only check their water level but to also check their health as well. 

To check a plant’s health I like to inspect the leaves. Touch them and turn them looking at the underside as well. If I see any spots, eggs, bites, or bugs I can take action before things get out of control. 

SLCG PRO TIP:  Very hot sun can really damage a potted plant. If you know the day ahead will be a hard one, take time to move your planters under a lawn chair or table on your deck. This will give your plants a break from the hot sun. 

Homesteading Tip #4 – Goats and Milk

One of the biggest things I learned when I first started raising goats is fresh milk in a barn will absorb any smells or odors that are around at the time.

There is nothing worse than drinking a glass of milk that has a slightly off-taste. One of my favorite tips is also a super easy one and a great fix if you find your goat’s milk tasking off from time to time.

If you milk goats and you want to make sure your milk always tastes fresh, cold is your friend. My tip for getting that milk cooled down as quickly as possible it to toss some mason jars into the freezer without the lids on the night before you head out to milk. After a few hours, they are chilled and ready to go. Take the mason jars out to the barn in a soft cooler to keep them cold.

After you fill your pail you can filter the milk into the very cold jars and start that cooling process right away. The quicker you cool the milk down the better it will taste.

SLCG PRO TIP: If you only milk 1-2 goats you can also milk directly into the cold jars. Remember to filter the milk before you drink to remove any dust or debris.

When you bring your fresh milk into your home you can filter it into another frozen jar keeping that cooling process going. 

Once filtered you can put that jar into an bowl of ice water in your fridge. I know this sounds like a lot of extra work, but actually, it isn’t and the result is the best and most delicious milk ever. 

Getting that milk cold as fast as possible is the best way to make sure it tastes great every time.  This one tip really helps get that milk cold and fast.

Homesteading Tip #5 – Chicken Eggs

Did you break an egg while out collecting in your chicken coop? I think that might just be as bad as spilled milk in the life of a homesteader. 

Or, even worse, did you wait too long in the winter, and now some of your eggs have frozen solid? 

Don’t throw them away! 

Scramble them up, and give them to your hens for a healthy snack. Add a few fresh herbs to give your gals a nice treat. Eggs are an excellent source of protein and a wonderful snack for your hens.

READ: How to Keep Eggs From Freezing in Winter

Since I have a larger flock I will put any crack broken or heavily soiled eggs into a glass mason jar and store them in my refrigerator. Once a week I will scramble the eggs up and take them out to my hens.

My chickens love scrambled eggs and it’s funny how they always seem to know I am bringing some out. They run around my legs as I am walking to the coop just so they can be the first to snag a treat. 

Hot scrambled eggs on a frigid cold winter morning is a great way to warm up your hens. 

When you are homesteading it is important to think outside the box.

This outlook can help you find new uses for worn-out things that you may normally throw away. “Use it up, wear it out and make do” will go a long way to saving money and becoming a more self-sufficient homesteader.

It is all about living on what you have and really thinking outside of the box. Gather up useful advice so you have those tips ready to go when you need them. 

Do you have any simple homesteading tips that have helped you? Leave a comment below, I would love to hear from you!