Abundance Plus

Pigs

DIY Pig waterer nipple.

DIY Pig Waterer

This automatic DIY pig waterer using a blue barrel and a hog nipple works better than the hanging PVC pipe design. Use this tutorial to make your own!
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Head cheese being pressed into a mold.

Head Cheese

Unlike American or string cheese, a head cheese recipe contains no cheese, is made from boar or hog meat, high in nutrition and easy to make.
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Pigs behind a gate.

Castrating Pigs

Save on the cost to call a vet. Learn the proper age a baby male pig should be and the best techniques used for castrating pigs. No band
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Watch

Justin Rhodes on Youtube

Watch the Rhodes family homestead kick into high gear as we get ready for our big chicken butchering day, from Jonas’ homemade plumbing “masterpiece” to our brand‑new cool room build. In this behind‑the‑scenes tour, Justin walks you step‑by‑step through the entire on‑farm processing setup: stainless steel kill cones, scalding and plucking station, evisceration table, cold plunge tank, and the insulated cool room where birds chill before heading to the freezer. You’ll see: • How we built a simple, efficient butchering line right on the homestead • Jonas’ DIY hose and poly‑pipe system feeding the plucker and rinse stations • Our 100‑gallon chill tank and why we stagger birds into the freezer over three days • The walk‑in cool room we spent weeks building for processing and storage This video is all about making humane, small‑farm poultry processing doable, showing the real systems that keep a busy homestead running during harvest season. If you’ve ever wanted to raise and process your own meat birds, or just love seeing how a working family farm solves problems with creativity and elbow grease, you’ll enjoy this one. Hit like if this setup gave you ideas for your own homestead, drop your questions about butchering day in the comments, and subscribe to follow along as we put this system to the test. Order New Country Organics Feed: https://www.newcountryorganics.com
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLmRXcC1zUjdiMkNr

The Ultimate Chicken Butchering Set Up Just Got Better

Justin Rhodes 7 hours ago

Look at our DIY walk-in cooler. Built this for half the price of what we would've had to pay. It's hot outside but inside this air conditioning with a cool-bot cooler, it's 37 degrees. Let's harvest and hang some meat
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLjJhZXc2QVFnNUk4

Guess What I Built

Justin Rhodes June 27, 2026 5:54 pm

I built this walk-in cooler from the Luke Doherty plans. We'll hang our beef, sheep, and pigs, plus cool off our chickens. Built it in our butchering shed for convenient access. Can't wait to use it. Can't wait to share the entire video with you on YouTube soon
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLi1VcThXM2lOM1dB

DIY Walk In Cooler Tour

Justin Rhodes June 26, 2026 6:56 pm

We just completed the missing link for keeping our homegrown meat completely on the farm. Now the sheep and lamb and pork are conceived here, born here, harvested here, cooled here, and butchered here, feeling a little more food secure tonight.
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLlprNExXU05Nc0V3

Conceived, Born, Harvested and Butchered

Justin Rhodes June 25, 2026 6:42 pm

Join us for an eye‑opening tour of Polyface Farm with legendary farmer Joel Salatin, as we explore one of the most innovative and productive farms in America. From rebuilding depleted soil without chemicals to composting with pigs, deep bedding systems for cows, and game‑changing pastured poultry, Joel shows how regenerative agriculture can heal land, grow nutrient‑dense food, and create real opportunity for young farmers without massive debt. You’ll see: • How Joel turned bare, eroded ground into thriving, fertile pasture • His compost “fertility factory” using cows, pigs, and carbon • Pastured broilers that one person can move—4,500 birds in 60 minutes • Why mobile, modular infrastructure lets you farm without owning land • How “moving, mobbing, mowing” cattle can build soil and sequester carbon Whether you’re a homesteader, aspiring farmer, or just curious where your food comes from, this tour will challenge conventional thinking and inspire you to see animals, land, and food in a whole new way. Hit like if this farm tour fired you up, drop a comment with your biggest takeaway, and subscribe for more regenerative farming, homesteading, and family‑farm life videos. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro – Why Polyface Farm is different 1:40 Building soil without chemicals 9:30 Deep bedding, pigs, and compost 24:00 Pastured poultry and mobile infrastructure 40:00 Cows, carbon, and regenerating the land
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLnBDN3M0d3NpRjlR

Joel Salatin on Soil, Cows and the lies We’ve been Told (Polyface Farm Tour)

Justin Rhodes June 25, 2026 4:00 pm

The most underrated homestead animal needs no grain, just grass. A simple mobile pen moved daily. There's something special about something that can live and produce meat just from the land, with no external inputs
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLkJmT1BNNTFyVFFN

The Sound of Food Security

Justin Rhodes June 24, 2026 8:22 pm

We give the sheep good soil and in return they make that soil even better
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLm10djZUWUZnU1VN

Sheep Restoring Soil

Justin Rhodes June 23, 2026 6:16 pm

This is how you keep it real while traveling and have little mini adventures: 1. We're sleeping in a dome. 2. It's in Amish country. 3. We're sourcing some food from the locals.
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLnpMVVNoZzRWYVk4

Grabbing Cream in Amish Country

Justin Rhodes June 22, 2026 6:41 pm

You start Father’s Day before everyone else, trying to cold‑smoke 12‑day‑cured bacon with a finicky pellet tube and empty torch tank, and decide to talk through 15 things you’ve learned in nearly 20 years of fatherhood—things like teaching kids to care for themselves and others, letting them fail when the stakes are small, and above all genuinely wanting them with you. Between relighting pellets and loading bacon slabs, you pull Gideon into the project, tease him about the old days of never finding his shoes (the inspiration for your children’s book), and share how sometimes you break your own rule about not helping with tasks they can do when the relationship moment matters more than total independence. The day swings from philosophy to farm chaos: you check on a drained pond and admire the boys’ DIY pipe repair and budding YouTube entrepreneurship, get a “hurry!” call from Lily that turns out not to be dead piglets but a surprise farrowing, and quickly reorganize pig pens so the sow can eat heavy while keeping older piglets safe and nearby. You talk about not being a dream‑crusher—remembering your own dad telling you permaculture chickens would never sell five copies—and contrast that with your kids’ experiments, choosing to encourage them instead of protecting them from every possible failure.[Attachment] Homeschooling and work blend together: you and Rebecca explain how you’ve moved toward “immersion learning” on the homestead—kids doing real chores in the morning, then free to pursue interests later—pulling from unschooling ideas but keeping structure and hard work so they don’t grow up soft. You give Henry reality‑based rewards (chores first, then his police video game), have the kids help string‑trim around pig nets, set a new Premier fencer to power the high‑tensile, and show how doing hard things—from pulling old wire in tall grass to turning compost—builds character the same way your dad’s firewood jobs did for you. Amid fried‑chicken‑and‑biscuits brunch, World Cup matches, and Father’s Day gifts, you and friends reflect on the best things your own dads gave you: horses, unconditional love, faithful love for your mom, and simply being wanted and taken along, even when it was inconvenient. The cold room and ice machine finally kick on, locking in future butchering plans for chickens, pigs, and the steer, and you close the day with black‑raspberry crisp, Leah and Asher visiting from the “Eden’s Promise” goat dairy, and your two core rules boiled down: truly want your children, and when you inevitably blow it, look them in the eye and apologize so they know you struggle too and it’s not all their fault. Apprenticeship map: https://justin-rhodes-8b6f01.lpcontent.net/childapprenticeship
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLmNDUk9saXNsZ19J

18 Years A Dad. Here’s What I Tell Every Father

Justin Rhodes June 22, 2026 4:00 pm

YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLjVIelFhMU5UQjlF

1,400 square foot front yard abundance

Justin Rhodes June 22, 2026 1:59 pm

Daniel Salatin cooking for nearly 300 people at Polyface Farm, all on a salvaged piece of steel and cinder blocks. Don't overcomplicate things.
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLlNTeUhmOUo2VTRN

Cheap DIY Grill to Feed 300

Justin Rhodes June 20, 2026 6:39 pm

I hesitate to try new things at my age but when I do and they work out, it's extra fantastic. Like these vacuum seal bags on a roll where you can custom cut them to any size. They worked out great. Thanks, beautiful one
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLkpYNTQ1bXBQaEJV

I Hesitate To Try New Things

Justin Rhodes June 19, 2026 7:44 pm

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