In today's video I talk about Caprine Arthritic Encephalitis (viral goat infection). We drew blood, sent it in to the lab and received a negative result and were able to get our doe bred. The blood draw was simple but not easy. This was our first time doing it and that is why we struggled a bit. Watching a video (looks easy) and then doing it yourself is always different in reality :) we figured it out and succeeded. To prepare we bought a testing kit with 13 needles and blood vials for around $15 from www.biotracking.com. We prepped our doe by shaving the area around the jugular vein; cleaned it with rubbing alcohol; found the vein; and drew the blood. After a few sticks...success! Fortunately, our girl didn't mind too much since she was getting some snacks. We sent the blood via USPS (following very specific instructions contained in the kit) to Sage Ag Labs in Idaho. About a week later, we received the results via email and we were off to the buck service as soon as she went into heat. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcPprtBKbUk

How much food do you need to grow and store in order to subsist for one year? I use a scenario based on a family of 4 but this can easily be extrapolated higher or lower. In this scenario I explore growing some of your own food, hunting, wildcrafting and then buying the rest in order to sustain a family of four for one year. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUSxslzsWec

Ben Franklin’s quote, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail” is pivotal in understanding the importance of preparation or planning. Even though there is nothing wrong with failure, we should drive to fail better. As in our failures come from deliberate plans that may not work in some way. We obtain feedback and learning from taking action. Ol’ Ben’s quote is a good one and it highlights at least three things: 1. Preparation (planning) is aligned with purposeful action not indiscriminate busyness . Busyness without purpose is laziness. 2. Preparation (planning) gives us control over our actions. It’s hard to be in control if you don’t know what’s going on. Hint: most people think they know what’s going on but do t actually know what’s going on. Life is a black box with inputs and outputs. The key is to cutting windows into the black box. 3. Preparation (planning) helps hold things together. All things fall apart or tend toward disorder eventually. Systems, routines, processes, buildings, gardens all move toward chaos (it’s the very rare exception that doesn’t). Preparation guards against this tendency. How can we be more prepared? Think things through then follow through. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPhttW7gvwI

This wonderful fruit has all the goodness of a blueberry without any of the finickiness. I guess I should say that for a lot of people growing blueberries requires ph modification with acidity. Honeyberry grows in less acidic soils. It is a really good producer, very cold hardy, early ripening and a prolific producer. Check out our website: https://www.thepreparedhomestead.org ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHLpicWtMcI