I never cease to be shocked and amazed by the wide range of homesteading skills that I use on a daily basis. A few are things I had learned over the years, but many have been picked up just in the last few years of living this country life. I narrowed it down to my top ten, so here you go!
- Roping and Herding Animals. Let’s face it. The animals are rarely where I need them to be. We herd various animals where we need them to be on a semi-hourly basis. Ducks to the coop, goats back into the fence, separating cows, it’s always something. When the herding isn’t working though, we go ahead and start roping. You just haven’t lived until you’ve seen two adults attempting to rope a pig. Good times.
- Knot Tying. I thought I had gotten enough of this during my Girl Scouting and sailing days, but apparently not. The ability to tie a good knot is still a useful skill, and remember: a not neat knot is not worth knotting!
- Animal Midwifery. Nope we don’t call the hospital when the contractions are 5 minutes apart. Sitting with animals who are about to give birth is my job, and it’s a rare treat that I (almost always) enjoy!
- Veterinary Skills. Although we would love to call the vet for every little problem, let’s face it, as homesteaders, that wouldn’t be financially feasible in the long run. Diagnosing and treating animal injuries and illness has become an important skill. Knowing where to get information, what types of problems may occur, and most importantly, when we really do need the vet are vital to the health of our animals.
- Administering shots. We aren’t big on vaccines here, but we have still given more than our fair share of shots since we moved in. We have had to give everything from antibiotics (for life-threatening illness only) to B12 shots for perking up pitiful goats. Then there is the tetanus shot needed when we “band” little boy goats, and insulin shots for my mom’s dog when I dog-sit. This really scared me at first, but now I am much more confident, and I find it fairly easy to do!
- Shooting. (Yes, I moved from shots to shooting. Funny, right?) I know not everyone believes in guns, but when something attacks a member of your barnyard, you’ll appreciate your ability to fight back! From shooting snakes in the chicken coop, to sneaky coyotes, the protection of the homestead is on your shoulders, and pepper spray isn’t what I would recommend.
- Milking. OK, this one isn’t for everyone, but if you are going to keep dairy animals, you need to learn to milk them.
- Gardening. Growing your own food is empowering! It is one of the best homesteading skills I can think of. Even if you think you have a black thumb, keep trying! You’ll get better!
- Basic mechanic work/starting ornery equipment. Fine. I’ll admit that I don’t possess this skill. My first and only instinct is to beat malfunctioning things with a wrench. (No, it doesn’t help, but it makes me feel better!) Luckily, Eric does have a lot of skill in this department, and can fix most of our equipment himself, which is good, because it is rare that anything works right the first time around here!
- Enjoying the rain and ignoring the pain. I guess I could sum this up as attitude. If you get stinkin’ thinkin’ every time the cow puts her foot in the bucket, you will learn to hate this lifestyle. But, if you can learn to roll with the punches and accept the bad with the good, this is more important than the rest of the skills on this list combined. Above all, homesteading is a mindset. The other skills will come with time!
Ultimately, I would love to turn this into a list of 100 homesteading skills, which ones do you think I need to include?
If you enjoyed this list, you might also like my “Self-Sufficient Living” Pinterest Board. And be sure to sign up for Beulah’s Moooooosletter, so you don’t miss a minute of the roping, herding, and other animal antics!
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This list is so fun! I definitely have a lot to learn before starting my own homestead, but I’m most excited to learn roping. Just from visiting and helping on some local farms, I know how difficult it is to wrangle up the farm animals, so that will be a good skill to add to the list 🙂
It must be awesome to trace your progress through the last few years!
The roping is tricky. I wish I could dedicate more time to practicing, but it really does help!
Roping is hard…… and trying to keep one farm animal in one place and put another one in a seperate place….. and sheep have a mind of thier own…. one here one there they are everywhere…..we do our own shearing…so this is a feat that is very interesting…. my husband shears and my son helps hold the sheep… I am in charge of the stop watch and the tetanus shot…. never a dull moment…. and when it is all over… we do have soft hands…
Smiles and Blessings to each of you…. thank you for sharing your farm life with us…..
Oh! Sheering sheep! Wool! Yarn! You just sent me down a very expensive worm hole! 😉 Do you spin?
Death. It happens even with the best care.
Knowing how to use tools
Having an excellent toolbox
Yes, yes, and YES! I’m currently focusing on trading out pitiful rusty tools for better models, but it’s slow-going and we are HARD on tools!
Using power tools to build things!! Basic carpentry, electrical and even plumbing! Ive seen some pretty azing things made out of scrap and recycle!
Yes! Building always starts in the scrap heap here! And if I called a plumber every time something broke, he would just have to move in! Thanks for the suggestions!
My list wouldn’t be without food preservation! After things start growing I start canning and freezing. Fence building also seems to be high on that list. (sigh)
Food preservation and fencing! Those are great ones (even though I hate fencing!) 🙂 Thanks!
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On the list of 100 you could add: putting up food, pest control for things too small to shoot, water collection, fire/flood fighting, asking for help, being a good neighbor, secondary income, animal shading/sheltering, composting, repurposing, basic first aid including cpr and basic physical therapy, soil fixing, and erosion control. Love the topic. Best of luck!
Those are GREAT additions, thanks!
Fencing. Now there’s a skill every homesteader type needs to be comfortable with.
Great site, keep up the oood work!
Fencing! I think I was trying to block that one out of my memory! Learning to fence has been a challenge. I have to say I would rather scoop poop all day than run fence, but I’m getting better at it! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Fencing
Canning!
Canning! Of course! That’s one of my favorites!
Wildlife identification and tracking; learning to build the soil & wisely use the existing trees, shrubs, etc on your place; tracking (because you need to know who’s visiting); learning to live in harmony with the wildlife, nature and weather, instead of wearing yourself out swimming up stream.
Getting along with and accepting the various quirks and customs your specific neighbors and community have. If you move somewhere and hope to impose your “how it should be done” on them, you’ll get no help and be struggling much more.
Saving money for future emergencies. I’ve seen many homesteaders come from the city, used to living on credit and/or spending their last dime, and run out of both well before they’re really established enough.
Thinking ahead — waaay ahead! If the Almanac says a hard cold winter is coming, waiting until November to start preparing is too late. You have to pay attention to everything around you, try to determine what the activities of the animals and how the plants are acting means both short and long-term, and plan accordingly so you can be prepared for whatever comes your way if you want to stay.
Those are all FANTASTIC skills to have! I agree about the tracking and saving money especially! Some things are cheaper out here, but the big expenses add up fast! Thanks for reading and commenting!
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I would like to have much better emergency human and vet emergency med skills! construction skills: from simple livestock pasture shelters, dog house, poultry shelters to full blown coops/houses, etc. Very important to learn to build and repair fence by myself! Tire repair for everything from wheelbarrow and bike to riding mower – the big stuff and vehicles I leave to professionals”! Web site design and maintenance! Accounting! Small and large appliance repair! Electrical and plumbing, ….
Wow. Think I could add to this all day!
what a stellar list!!! funny and true too….
I’m glad you liked it, thanks for stopping by!
So happy to have found your blog! Lots of good tips, laughs and above all else HOMESTEADING!!!
Be a good neighbor, especially to the elderly, they may teach you a lot.
Learn to sharpen tools correctly.
Learn to rehandle tools.
Learn to use hand tools.
Care of hand tools – BLO and Turpentine will keep wood handles well for a long time. I rigged a pvc pipe and fittings at an angle against the shed so I just have to soak the long handle tools when they are new. After that, a quick wipe with a rag soaked in BLO and Turpentine keeps them. And although some would disagree – a 5gallon bucket filled with sand and some used motor oil keeps the rust off of shovels, hoes, rakes, mattocks. Just keep a stiff brush nearby for cleaning off the soil before and the sand after.
Old files can be remade into a number of items, knives for instance, with a can furnace. Learn some basic Blacksmithing skills.
Learn to store rainwater for those long summer days.
Oh and have some plants in your garden or landscaping for first aid purposes lambs ear does wonders with cuts. Stops the bleeding faster than a bandaid! Peppermint oil is good for all sorts of things, even headaches!
Awesome list, thanks for sharing!! Great tips on the tools and blacksmithing too, and you’ll be happy to know I successfully treated a headache with peppermint and lavender today!