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Today we are going to look at producing meat and eggs on the homestead. This was something not so uncommon in America just half a century ago. In that time, the practice dwindled as people had smaller families, many small-town Americans moved to larger cities, and fiat money made meat cheap for a time.

Over those five decades, though, the quality of our animal-based foods continuously declined while the cost skyrocketed. Even traditionally “cheap” meat cuts have become expensive today. Chicken wings, chuck roast, pork ribs, etc., used to be hidden gems of value. Today, they sell for what ribeye sold for 10 years ago, and ribeye can cost more than luxuries like lobster. And this in a nation with billions of acres of rangeland, known for “cowboy culture.”

On top of this, much of the beef we do raise goes to Europe, domestic pork is often processed in China, and our chicken facilities are, quite honestly, horrific in both the treatment of the animals and the cleanliness of the products. What is a meat- and egg-loving American to do? Well, one of several steps would be growing at least some of your own.

Today, we take a deep dive into the five best protein sources for your backyard. Even if you live on a quarter acre or less, we’ve got you covered. The key is finding the balance that works with your lifestyle, diet, and the amount of time you want to dedicate to your food production. Animals are more complex to care for than plants, and it takes good planning and infrastructure to ensure you get profitable production and can still take a vacation once in a while.

Today, we cover how to choose the right animals for your needs, setting up a system that keeps everything running smoothly, how to turn waste streams into gold—or even a profit—and above all, how to eat better while spending less money. We will even spend a bit of time talking about how to keep the neighborhood Karens at bay.

Join Me Today to Discuss…

• Hey why do we even care, prices are coming down even on eggs
  • Everything runs in cycles, it will all happen again and again and again
  • The quality of most mass produced protein is crap especially poultry and eggs
  • The ROI on animals is better than on vegetables especially over the big garden crops
  • Animals can be “stored on the hoof” eggs can be stored very long term
  • Animal waste systems super charge gardens and even produce sellable products
• My “Big Five” and why I love them
  • Chickens (Layers and Meat Birds)
    • Almost everyone eats chickens and eggs
    • Super easy to care for, they have been bred for the purpose
    • Without roosters they are super quiet
    • Will eat almost anything humans will
    • Easily kept in small areas (especially egg flocks)
  • Quail (Eggs and Meat)
    • They really do “taste like chicken”
    • Very productive, often give two eggs a day
    • From incubator to plate or egg laying is 60-67 days (vs 105-174 for chickens)
    • Can easily be raised in indoor (hidden) environments
    • 3 Quail eggs equal one chicken egg, very easy to keep a couple dozen layers
    • Meat processing is quick, 30-60 seconds
    • Breeding, brooding and rearing are super easy to do
    • Very easy to automate for say 5-7 day periods
    • Coturnix have been bred for the purpose for over 1000 years
    • Can be cage raised but also easy to tractor or house in an aviary
  • Ducks
    • Honestly they are just fun to be around
    • Muscovy ducks are very quiet if you live in a neighborhood
    • Duck eggs are simply better than chicken eggs and sell for 2-3X as much
    • Far less likely to damage most garden crops then chickens
    • The meat is also a premium product though more difficult to process
    • If you grow a small orchard the “daily dump” is magic
    • Very trainable “all ducks go to bed”
  • Rabbits
    • Can be sold for more money as breeders/pets than for meat
    • Processing can be very fast once you get the hang of it
    • The meat is delicious like chicken with some flavor
    • Mothers do almost all the work of raising young
    • They breed like well rabbits, a trio can produce more meat a year than a boer goat
    • They are super quiet and fly under even the most annoy Karen’s radar
    • Can be kept indoors, in sheds, etc, but can also be tractored or colony raised
  • Fish
    • Your fish farm can look like a yuppy water garden, honestly it likely should (no Karens)
    • By using local fish your stock is practically free and very resistant to local diseases, etc.
    • Super easy to automate so you can get away, honestly if you don’t feed fish for a week nothing happens
    • Fish lends itself very well to being “stored on the fin” and chosen for a last minute meal late in the day
    • Everyone likes fish tacos, if you don’t you should lean to like fish tacos
    • Most fish that are good for aquaculture will easily train to pellets, like catfish and sun fish
    • Easy to create supplemental food with worms, minnows, BSL, etc.
    • When you run out, just restock
  • Not everything is a bed of roses though
    • Animals do “tie you to the land” and require smart design
    • They can at times attack Karens and the department of making you sad
    • They are living things, and you can’t ignore them
    • Tractoring has challenges with heat, cold, etc. (you “put them in a box”)
    • For some people processing animals is hard to do emotionally, most will get over it though
    • Do not get two or three different animals at once, nail down your system before adding another
  • In the end there is a “war on meat” and on food freedom, if you want to “fight” this is a very meaningful way to do so
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Resources for today’s show…

• Find Me on Nostr
• Article Explaining the GrowNostr Initiative
• Join the Members Brigade
• TspAz.com
• TSPC on Discord
• TSPC Group on Telegram (group chat)
• TSPC Telegram Channel (just messages from me)
• Jack on MeWe
• Join Me on Odysee
• All My Recommend Bitcoin Tools and Resources
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Sponsors of the Day

• Join the MSB Here
• K9 Academy
• Antons Land of Biltong
• This Weeks Items of the Day
  • ThermoMaven Instant Read Meat Thermometer
  • Victorinox 6-Inch Semi Stiff Boning Knife
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