Food can mean many things to a homesteader. It could mean buying canned goods or canning your own food. Perhaps hunting and freezing or drying and salting it. You may grow your own food or have chickens for eggs and meat. Either you have to have money and a close location to buy your food, or you need a way to create your own food source.
Having backyard chickens is a great way to get started with your own homestead food sources. Other kinds of birds like quail, pheasant, grouse, pigeon, turkey, and others make a great source of steady meat and eggs. You have to have a good safe place for them to browse and sleep at night. They can be quite entertaining as well. Every bird has a completely unique personality. Follow the links below to see what kind of birds you may like to have, and ways to keep them safe. Follow this link to see a great site that helps you understand regulations against backyard chickens and why you may run into trouble. Chickens in USA
Food
Boost Egg Production in Winter
Protect Your Chickens
Other Fowl as Food
If you are going to raise your own food you have to protect them from predators. If you are planting crops you need to protect that from wildlife and your own animals. When you raise birds like chickens or others you must make sure it is legal in your area. Chickens are a great source of protein and eggs, they are quite entertaining as well. But you must provide them a safe place at night so they can sleep in peace and not get eaten. Growing your own food requires tools as well. At a bare minimum, you need a shovel, a hoe, and some kind of trimming tool. You can rent a tiller or do it by hand.
Thinking about tools for food production you need to remember that this can be very difficult work with manual tools. Hand hoeing and hand tilling can be quite taxing on whoever does the work. This can take away energy for other jobs. You must remember too that if you get injured you will not be able to keep your homestead safe and working. You could quickly freeze or starve to death if you are in a remote location or alone. Keeping healthy and uninjured is all important on the homestead.
Keep in the back of your mind that some tools can be so loud or pollute so much it may cause problems with your neighbors and may even be unlawful to use at certain times and places. Before you buy or rent any tool check first for sound or pollution ordinances. This is true of burning as well. you must have permits to burn trash or yard debris. Be sure to do it safely and only with permits when needed. You do not want angry neighbors or fines.
Food & Tools
Homestead Gardening
Food & Fire
Food and fire are also related to homesteading efforts. To cook food you need some form of fire or heat. This can be a fuel/gas based or it can be electrical. Keep in mind if you are cooking outside some towns require permits for open fires. Be careful if you have an open fire inside your shelter. A fireplace or cookstove is safest as they have exhaust. Always keep a Carbon Monoxide detector in your shelter any time you cook.
There are many ways to heat and cook food. Gets permits for your burning or any stove you want to use. Get a professional to clean and maintain your chimney. Or, learn how to do it correctly for yourself. Especially if you use gas for heat or cooking. Get permits and get it professionally installed or inspected. In some places, you cannot run your own gas lines. They will even cut off the gas and make your remove your fireplace or stove and have it plumed again by the gas company or a professional.
Off-Grid Cooking Stove
Food & Land
Food is related to land with homesteading. You need some land to grow any food to feed yourselves or your livestock. The land is needed if you plan to hunt locally. or you could get permits to hunt whatever game is in your area. The land is necessary to have chickens for eggs or meat. Just remember you have to have a safe area for your food growing or livestock. Predation is always an issue when making your own food sources. Also, remember, you have to do things that are legal. Backyard chickens are not legal in all areas.
The land is right up there with water as a need for homesteading. If you do not have land you cannot grow crops, you cannot have livestock or fowl. You may rent someone else's land to do this but it makes it time-consuming and wastes energy you could use elsewhere on your homestead. Keep in mind that there are land use regulations that may affect what you are able to lawfully do on your homestead. Check the regulations before you buy or rent.
Grow all the Food you Need for your Homestead