The best Animal Husbandry books: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Here are some quotes from former slaughterhouse workers: https://www.instagram.com/p/B0garE1AsRj/

From the book, <em>Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat Industry</em> by Gail A. Eisnitz

Https://www.amazon.com/Make-Mead-Like-Viking-Wild-Fermented/dp/1603585982

I haven't read it but I know the author goes into detail about brewing from wild yeast present in the honey and the environment. Probably how vikings did it.

One of the reasons I like mead is because I like to pretend that I'm a viking haha.

Because he’s a year old, you’ll want to treat him like a Stew Hen after butchering. The older they are, the better they taste but the tougher the meat. Let his carcass sit in the fridge on a cooling rack (with a pan underneath) for 24 hours to let the rigor pass. After that, cook him low & slow. I use the crock pot/slow cooker. Just add water, salt, & pepper. You’ll end up with a great chicken stock to use in future soups. The meat can be eaten as is, or add various sauces on it for meal variation (chicken Alfredo & noodles one night, chicken curry & rice, pulled chicken with ranch dressing on bun, etc). We then take the bones & cook them in the pressure cooker, then throw them in the blender. We add that to the dogs food or the compost pile.

Here’s a book we have & love: Butchering Poultry, Rabbit, Lamb, Goat, and Pork: The Comprehensive Ph... https://www.amazon.com/dp/1612121829/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_api_glt_fabc_RZJAXNN1BEDCESRKVWC5

We got our kill comes from www.priemere1.com. I think they carry full kits as well.

Best of luck to you.

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Mead-Like-Viking-Wild-Fermented/dp/1603585982/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&amp;keywords=make+mead+like+a+viking&amp;qid=1625266936&amp;sprefix=make+mead&amp;sr=8-1

You're welcome.

Couple of items come to mind:

1) Beekeeper's Bible - Nice book with tons of information.

2) J-Hook Hive Scraping tool. Always nice to have extra.

3) Leatherman Tool - It helps having a knife, a saw, pliers, and a screwdriver all in one. Doesn't need to be fancy.

4) Bee Tool Belt. I got one made from this guy Kevin in Wisconsin. It comes with a queen cage, which is handy when you want to make a split.

5) Nuc box from a local beekeeper supply store. Mann Lake will ship $50 wooden nuc box with everything. It is good to have one in case you need to catch a swarm or make a split with a current hive.

Hope this helps!

It takes a while for your tastebuds to adjust to a plant-based diet. I used to love dairy cheese, but eating wfpb and then becoming vegan changed my desire for it. Wfpb cheese won’t necessarily taste the same as dairy cheese, but in time, it will taste better and more flavorful as your tastebuds change. (-:

A great informative read about why dairy cheese is addictive and dangerous is The Cheese Trap. Reading this was definitely eye opening for me and made it even easier to go dairy-free.

Edit: there’s also r/vegancheesemaking if you’re interested

The Beekeeper's Bible is my absolute favorite book on the honey bee. http://www.amazon.com/Beekeepers-Bible-Honey-Recipes-Other/dp/1584799188/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1431387856&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=Beekeeper%27s+bible

This is tired old vegetarian propaganda. Factory farms are shit but there are more and more small family owned sustainable farms.

http://www.amazon.com/Meat-Benign-Extravagance-Simon-Fairlie/dp/1603583246

How about she reads The Cheese Trap by Dr Neal Barnard? Many people will change their eating habits for their own health (and it just happens to be better for the animals).

Yes. The Cheese Trap

My time to shine!

Ok so I’ll preface this by saying I’ve always been a meat eater and follow a pro metabolic diet inspired by Ray Peat.

I’ve always been a wee slip of a girl but as I got older my face got thinner and I was not happy about it- I even made some posts here complaining but since following pro metabolic and upping my calorie intake plus eating more organ meat and milk I’ve seen a cast improvement- my skin is plumper and glowier.

This woman explains how crucial progesterone is for aging and collagen

When we undereat and don’t eat enough animal products we age quicker. I do believe a small % of the population can flourish as vegans but most do not, especially people of north European ancestry.

I also don’t buy the environmental reasons given, this book explores the arguments around meat eating from an environmental pov in more detail

I don’t think you need to eat meat everyday but in Ayurvedic medicine meat is seen not as good but as a tonic. Something that gives you a pep.

Also from an animal cruelty standpoint I try to buy pasture raised grass fed beef preferably organic from small farms.

I respect others see things differently but my take is that you probably won’t age as well without meat and animal products

Yeah this was a bad take by Savory.

He does have some thought provoking ideas though that would be interesting to see the outcomes on a large scale. Implementing grazing practices to try to mimic how historical herds moved based on predation and introducing a variety of animals at planned times for fertilizer, weed, and pest control. I've read about ranchers in the US who have implemented some of his strategies with much success (building soil health and overall productivity while decreasing their input costs due to not utilizing artificial fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides). Gabe Brown is one who seems to have done this on a large scale while keeping lots historical data to back up his process (His book Dirt to Soil was an interesting look into their process).

I admittingly do not know much on all of this though, but am interested in learning.

Like someone else said: get this book! https://www.amazon.com/Butchering-Poultry-Rabbit-Lamb-Goat/dp/1612121829

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It's the definite guide in my opinion!

>Butchering by Adam Danforth

Yes, I came here to recommend this book! I cannot over-recommend it. So many - explicit - pictures, but it really helped me a lot. I did all the animals in that book, and I learned so much from it!

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This book: https://www.amazon.com/Butchering-Poultry-Rabbit-Lamb-Goat/dp/1612121829

Do you mean a book like this?

Butchering Poultry, Rabbit, Lamb, Goat, and Pork: The Comprehensive Photographic Guide to Humane Slaughtering and Butchering https://www.amazon.com/dp/1612121829/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_KB7C9KE669NDNVDATKHB

We use a kill cone & slit the throat, dunk & swish in a scalding tank, pluck, process, put the feet in one bag (dog treats), hearts/livers/kidneys go in their own bags, put the carcass on a rack that’s on top of a rimmed cookie sheet lined with foil, place that in the fridge for 48 hours, then vacuum bag it, & put it in the freezer. Feathers & guts go in the compost.

Keep your knives sharp, check your water temperature with a thermometer often, & have everything staged before starting.

These are the kill cones we have: https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/poultry-processing-cones?criteria=Kill+cone

This is the book we’ve found most helpful: Butchering Poultry, Rabbit, Lamb, Goat, and Pork: The Comprehensive Photographic Guide to Humane Slaughtering and Butchering https://www.amazon.com/dp/1612121829/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_dl_2QQGCCFVT5EX6Q9M002J

Good luck!! It’s a personal growth experience, hard at first but worth it in the end.

Get this too if you don’t already have it:

Butchering Poultry, Rabbit, Lamb, Goat, and Pork: The Comprehensive Photograp... https://www.amazon.com/dp/1612121829/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_api_i_6T4TGXKQBHZR28VVQPF1

YouTube videos are great to a degree but we found this book waaaaaaaay more helpful. Plus, an instant read thermometer for your scalding water.

It’s a heck of a learning & personal growth experience. Hard but worth it. I wish you the best!

Ive read Dirt to Soil by Gabe Brown and this sounds similar. Thanks for sharing!

Basic Butchery of Livestock and Game is probably the shortest most comprehensive book I could recommend. As far as a hands on course, there are not many to be had. The book is written by a veterinarian so it deals with the anatomy side of things very well. Here is a link to purchase the book

Zimmerman, J: Make Mead Like a Viking: Traditional Techniques for Brewing Natural, Wild-Fermented, Honey-Based Wines and Beers https://www.amazon.de/dp/1603585982/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_TGFPSTS5KCX0Y6W94ZM3

Already take care of!!!

Another potential cheesemaker from the Island :-) There are a lot of people here that are from your neck of the woods (my parents live there too and my Dad makes cheese :-) ). As long as your intolerance allows some experimentation, then I think you can definitely figure it out eventually.

A sibling poster pointed out that Gianaclis Caldwell's recipe in her book is pretty good. They also sent me Mary Morris's (I think that's the right name..) recipe. I'll try to write it out for you as soon as I can. But to be honest, I recommend buying Caldwell's book: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Artisan-Cheesemaking-Home-Scale-Producers/dp/1603583327/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&amp;qid=1630477235&amp;refinements=p_27%3AGianaclis+Caldwell&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-1

It's a bit pricey ($35 for the kindle version), but it has enough technical info to get you started. I'm trying think of a cheaper place to get the info, but I can't think of anything off the top of my head.

I think this comes down to how creative you are, how much work you’re willing to put in, how much vision you have, and if you’re willing to change the way you see things. I suggest reading the book Dirt to Soil, and then generating a game plan.

Dirt to Soil: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1603587632/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_CM6FR5NCBE6673ABMJ27

I can't reccomend this book highly enough. I discovered it via another redditor and I think it's a must have for any homesteader starting meat.

What breed of chicken are they? If it's something light bodied like a leghorn I think you will be shocked at how little meat there is. Also, at a year old you are going to want to slow cook them or braise them as it's going to be tougher (and much more flavorful) than what commercial chicken has made you used to. Good luck! I know it isn't easy but at least they had a good life.

The book I always recommend to be beekeepers is Beekeeping for Dummies. It is a very good starter book explaining the basics. I would also recommend looking into your local laws concerning beekeeping and finally, try to find a local group. They are invaluable for information that is specific to your area.

If you want to read about their behavior, Tom Seeley is the leading researcher in Honey Bee behavior and his book Honey Bee Democracy is extremely good and an easy read

Dirt To Soil: One Family's Journey Into Regenerative Agriculture https://www.amazon.com/dp/1603587632/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_eFhZFbKJP7ASQ?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1

Great insight to what it takes to prevent loss of soil and in fact generate and make healthy better more soil. From a farmers perspective and insight who went from commodity to anti fertilizer.

My favorite one is Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking by Gianaclis Caldwell, it goes well into the science aspects, explain well the processes and such, there are some troubleshooting exercises that help develop the knowledge of "what went wrong with my cheese" and so on.

It's great for everyone, from beginner to advanced.

I suggest you take a look at Meat: A Benign Extravagance

Or at least read George Monbiot's blog about it.

The takeaway is we have to farm meat better and eat much less of it. But not abandon it altogether. I don't think many people would consider a vegan life-style to be a reasonable solution.

Gabe Brown - Dirt to Soil: One Family’s Journey into Regenerative Agriculture https://www.amazon.com/dp/1603587632/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_8T9EFbBCZB20D

Judith Schwartz - Cows Save the Planet: And Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth https://www.amazon.com/dp/1603584323/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_fW9EFb7ZF341E

This one from u/slightlyrednecked is my go to reccomendation.

I also always recommend &quot;Butchering Poultry, Rabbit, Lamb, Goat, and Pork: The Comprehensive Photographic Guide to Humane Slaughtering and Butchering&quot; which is my favorite book on the subject and is a must for any homestead.

So, most of what I'm about to say is coming from Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking by Gianaclis Caldwell. I'd highly recommend picking up a copy if you're interested in cheese chemistry.

I'm almost certainly going to get at least some aspect of this wrong, so i apologize in advance.

So, rennet is an enzyme that acts on casein micelles (essentially small "hairy" bubbles containing milk fat) by trimming the kappa-caseins (the hairy bits) off which makes them hydrophobic. Since the resulting molecules are now hydrophobic and milk is mostly water they'll tend to want to clump together in order to minimize the amount of water they're exposed to.

Assuming nothing disturbs the process (as happened in your case), these casein networks will also trap milk fat (good) and whey (ultimatley undesirable). When we cut the curd that's really just trying to maximize the surface area of the curd so that more whey can be squeezed out while trying to retain as much of the milk fat as we can. That's why different curd sizes are suggested for different cheeses. They're trying to cause whey to be expelled faster/slower. Larger curds mean slower whey expulsion because they have less surface area.

So, what most likely happened in your case is that none of the milk fat was captured in this casein network. You may have also lost some mineral content, since it would have been hard to hold on to anything fat soluble.

You may have noticed that the whey was a lot cloudier than usual. That would be all of the stuff you wanted to capture in your curds.