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Feeding Chickens

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Justin Rhodes on Youtube

One is from Venus, another screams sporadically, another has no idea what day it is. Yet another spends money like it’s 1999, and two constantly bicker like Turk and Virgil Malloy from Oceans 11. Only time will tell. Maybe I’m doomed, or maybe I’m not...One points out my blind spots, another shows me the world in a fresh perspective. Another is my sidekick, another keeps the parties going, and two push this “old man” forward with their naivety and youthful energy. I may be doomed in the eyes of the world but being at home with my wife and children most of the time feels like success to me.
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No wonder im going nuts

Justin Rhodes 12 hours ago

After a couple of weeks of curing these onions, we've braided them and hung them up in the coolest darkest spot in our house. Hopefully we'll preserve them for a few months. If all goes well we'll do improvements on our cold room and get them in there sooner than later. For now we're just making do with what we have.
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Look what we put in our utility room

Justin Rhodes July 22, 2026 7:18 pm

Popular YouTuber Slicks Stevie just got into homesteading and chickens, and he’s getting hammered by predators—hogs, bobcats, raccoons, possums, even alligators. In this video, Justin breaks down seven practical things you can do to keep your flock safe in the first place, often without going on an all‑out predator revenge hunt. You’ll see how a simple malfunctioning chicken door let a bobcat in, and then walk through concrete fixes: tightening coop and run gaps to no more than one inch with poultry wire or mesh, choosing a smart location (front‑yard chickens close to the house), and keeping coops mobile or on carbon‑rich wood‑chip “diapers” so predators are constantly thrown off by movement and scent changes. We also head out to the field to talk electric poultry netting, how predators get comfortable with static setups, and why rotating birds through nets and mobile coops dramatically reduces attacks. Along the way, you’ll see everyday family interruptions—kids lobbying for chocolate chips and yogurt—woven right into the teaching. Later, Justin shows a gravity‑fed “river‑flow” water system from a pond 40–50 feet uphill, jerry‑rigging fittings and anchors without spending a dime, and explaining how constant flow keeps chicken nipples clean, water cool, and lines from freezing in winter. Finally, we look at the last 2–5% of protection: a flailing tube‑man scarecrow for drama and a livestock guardian dog like Winnie. Since bringing Winnie in, raccoons, possums, and skunks have disappeared from the homestead, giving that near‑99% predator reduction that makes all the other systems work even better. If you’re struggling with predators or just want a clear, real‑world blueprint for protecting backyard or homestead chickens without over‑engineering everything, this episode gives you layered, practical strategies you can start using right away. Slick Stevies Video: https://youtu.be/ntsU7DLKb6s?is=7bOhxW-HzRSsS2sI Chicken Tender Book: https://www.chickentenderbook.com New Country Organics: https://www.newcountryorganics.com
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Slick Stevie’s Chickens Are Being Killed. Here’s the Fix

Justin Rhodes July 22, 2026 4:00 pm

This poor broody hen—Connie, short for “constant, consistent, persistent”—has been sitting faithfully on what turned out to be rotten, unfertilized eggs. In this video, we show how to properly set up a broody hen on fertilized eggs so you can let nature do the work and get free chicks the old‑fashioned way. You’ll see what true broodiness looks like (puffing up, growling, pecking, refusing to leave the nest), the pros and cons of letting hens hatch their own chicks, and why we sometimes have to “break” a broody when we don’t need more birds. We visit BlackBerry, a hen who hatched nine chicks on her own, to show what’s possible when you set things up right. We walk step‑by‑step through creating a broody station in a chicken tractor on grass: choosing a quiet, sanitary, secluded spot; providing water and soaked feed; placing a low nest box so chicks can easily get out; and gathering a clutch of fertilized eggs from a flock with an active rooster. Then we carefully swap Connie’s rotten eggs for good ones without breaking her focus. Later in the video we check those old eggs to show what “rotten” really looks like, talk about the risks of free‑ranging tiny chicks (predators and hidden nests), and even stumble on a surprise nest with day‑old bonus chicks hatching right then and there. If you’re interested in using broody hens to raise chicks, want to understand broody behavior, or just enjoy watching the homestead solve problems with patience and creativity, this episode will give you a clear, real‑life example you can replicate on your own farm.
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This Hen Sat on Rotten Eggs for 5 Weeks. Then We Did This.

Justin Rhodes July 19, 2026 4:00 pm

Complaining offers some relief, but no one wants to hear it. It’s selfish. And, it rarely offers a way forward. It can feel good for a moment because it takes us off the hook. It lets us step into the role of the victim instead of the person responsible for the next move. But that relief is expensive. Complaining drains power. Gratitude restores it. So instead of asking, “Why is this happening to me?” ask, “What can I do about it?” Turn the problem into a solution. Choose responsibility over helplessness. Choose fight over flight. Choose victor over victim.
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Turn your problems into a solution

Justin Rhodes July 19, 2026 2:20 pm

Everybody wants the results but few want the hard work. Let's not forget to overlook the process and then fall in love with that because you're going to spend way more time in the process than in enjoying the results
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Dont make this common homesteading mistake

Justin Rhodes July 18, 2026 9:45 pm

They may not know advanced algebra… but they built a floating dock out of pallets and farm scraps, figured out how to cook on top of it without burning it down, and they’re sleeping on it tonight. 🔥🛶 Here’s the thing — less than 12% of adults ever use algebra in daily life, and 80% of employers now say they’d rather hire for practical skills than degrees. Meanwhile, hands-on learning delivers 40–50% higher retention than sitting in a classroom. So which one do YOU think matters most? Book smarts or the kind of grit that builds a floating campsite from scraps? 👇 #
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My Teenage Sons Built a Floating Dock

Justin Rhodes July 17, 2026 9:55 pm

Garden flip pdf: Pages.abundantpermaculture.com/flip Farmer's Friends link: https://www.farmersfriend.com/justin We’re at the end of our broccoli, onion, and garlic beds, and today we’re doing the one thing you must do now if you want next year’s garden to be easier and more successful: flipping the bed and prepping it as a gift to your future self. In this episode, we race chores, prune and clip tomatoes with compostable Farmers Friend clips, clear 100 feet of broccoli, garlic, and onion weeds, feed all that green matter to pigs and chickens, pull up weed fabric, reshape beds, add compost, and show the little efficiency rules that make big differences after 20 years of homesteading. You’ll see: • Why end‑of‑season garden work (even when you’re tired and hot) sets up your spring self for success • Rebecca’s tomato trellising setup and why those compostable clips beat local garden‑store prices • Justin’s “impossible” goal: clearing 100 feet of broccoli plus garlic and onion beds, flipping the bed, and composting—all in just over two hours • Cart‑placement and harvest‑flow rules, feeding pulled plants to pigs and chickens, and using four‑wheelers and wheelbarrows strategically on slopes • Collards getting cooked with onions, bacon, and broth, portioned into SuperCubes for winter, and Rebecca and Lily’s future gratitude to their July selves • Next‑day compost spreading, why wheelbarrows sometimes beat gorilla carts, and Beauty’s tidy, flipped bed with fence reset and a tarp‑based “fancy bed‑making process” for future hydrangeas If you want inspiration and practical tips for end‑of‑season garden cleanup, flipping beds, and thinking of homesteading as constant gifts to your future self, this vlog will walk you through the process step by step.
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The Garden Chore You Can’t Skip (Or Spring Will Punish You)

Justin Rhodes July 16, 2026 4:09 pm

Decide for yourself which farm animals are overrated and which farm animals are underrated. It's really up to you. Just remember, grow what you eat and eat what you grow. It helps if you love the taste
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Underrated vs Overrated Farm Animals

Justin Rhodes July 16, 2026 11:31 am

We are at the height of the season. Look what's possible in just 1,400 sq ft: 7 raised beds, herb garden, chicken run, and a greenhouse. Still so much more could be done. No excuses.
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Tour My 1400 sq ft Garden

Justin Rhodes July 15, 2026 10:43 am

Happy day, we’re turning a stack of raw materials into a mobile walk‑in cooler so we can hang and chill our own meat right here at the holler instead of hauling animals to town. Not only are we killing and hanging on‑farm, we’re stepping into full DIY butchering and hope to save thousands by doing our own parting. Lukes Plans: https://www.doughertysbutchertrailers.com In this episode, Justin tackles an intimidating project as a non‑carpenter, leaning on Luke Dougherty’s original plans and a Perplexity‑generated step‑by‑step with drawings, cut lists, and tool lists, then wrestling through all the real‑world issues those plans don’t show—alternate flooring, measurements that don’t quite fit, and tools that decide to break at the worst time. You’ll see: • Cleaning and organizing the workspace, unloading and sorting lumber, foam, and siding, and laying out the skids and floor frame for a mobile cooler • How Perplexity helped turn “construction‑men” theory plans into step‑by‑step instructions, plus the moment we realize the original design assumed a trailer bed floor • Painting, priming, and enameling the sanitation floor, adjusting slat heights after a measurement mistake, and dealing with outlets, power cords, table saw issues, and drill‑through metal challenges • Gideon and the boys acting like men, holding boards, fixing errors, and keeping progress moving even when we have to undo and redo steps This vlog is about more than building a cooler: it’s a raw look at problem‑solving, persistence, and learning new skills on the homestead so we can steward our animals better and keep more of the value right here at home.
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We Built a Walk-In Cooler From Scratch (I’m Not a Carpenter)

Justin Rhodes July 14, 2026 4:00 pm

The secret to staying in ever-flowing eggs is to continually replace the flock but don't forget to mark each generation differently so you don't mix them up when they're older and accidentally kill a young'un
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The Secret Egg Laying Trick

Justin Rhodes July 13, 2026 8:34 pm

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