Advice

Setting up for your first backyard chooks
What to sort out before the first chooks come home: coop, nests, feeders, bedding, predator-proofing and a day one checklist. Read more...
First tools for a new rural block
Walk the place, list the jobs, then buy only what they call for. Hand tools, a sprayer, hose and fittings, gloves and how to look after it all. Read more...
What to have ready before bringing goats home
Fencing, shelter, feeders, water and handling gear to sort out before your first goats arrive, plus why you should line up a vet early. Read more...
Raising day-old chicks: setting up a brooder
What to have ready before day-old chicks come home: the brooder box, heat, bedding, feed and water, and how to tell if they're comfortable. Read more...
Watering your first flock
Chickens drink more than new keepers expect. Here is how to choose a drinker, where to put it, and how to keep the water clean and cool through summer. Read more...
Setting up stock water for paddocks and yards
How to choose between troughs and drinkers, keep float valves working, and set up water that holds up through a hot summer. Read more...
Getting ready for lambing on a small farm
A practical checklist for the weeks before lambing: where to put the ewes, what goes in the lambing kit, feeding gear for poddy lambs and when to call the vet. Read more...
Keeping rats and mice out of the feed shed
Rodents follow the feed. How to cut off their food, block the way in and use traps or bait stations safely around chooks, pets and kids. Read more...