In Day 34 of the 100‑day homestead build, the team reviews their overall progress, noting they are about a quarter of the way to water infrastructure, 90% of access roads, and one‑third through the 100‑day timeline. They calculate that to stay on schedule they must clear roughly 1,300 sq ft of pasture each workday (six days a week). The day’s tasks focus on moving pigs into a high‑tunnel for winter, clearing a path for a trailer, and handling equipment challenges such as a cold‑start tractor and a missing 2‑inch ball with lock washer. Livestock management includes feeding a new heifer alfalfa to encourage cooperation, milking, and removing a restrictive collar from a calf. The crew discusses essential homestead tools—chainsaw, pig panels, zip ties, and a pig board—and devises a step‑by‑step process to herd, load, and transport the pigs into the high‑tunnel, using feed as lure and constructing temporary barriers. They also note time constraints (about two hours after milking) and physical fatigue, emphasizing the importance of efficient workflow and tool selection to keep the 100‑day project on track. The episode ends with a promise to document the next day’s goal of clearing another 1,300 sq ft of forest and moving the pigs fully into winter housing.
Chapters
Day 34 of 100 Days of Building a Homestead. Super organized here. Figure out where we are in our goals. Water, we're only about a quarter of the way there. Access, pretty much 90% there, just a little bit more cleaning. Days, where are we on days? We're about a third of the way through. Uh-oh, and you can see where we are caught up and where we are not. We are behind. On pasture clearing, and according to my calculations, we need to clear 1,300 square feet of pasture every working day, 6 days a week, in order to meet our goal. Today is one of those days where the obstacle isn't problems with the chainsaw while we're going at it. It's— we have a farm that we're running and we need to get our pigs off the field and into the pole barn. But in the end, that's going to save us a lot of time on chores and give us more time on this 100-day project. Okay, where are your shoes? Oh my goodness, I'm gonna faint, I'm gonna faint. They're right here. Although actually there's only one here. Okay, you're getting better about Your shoes. Here, go set the water up for two. Well, you can't because— did you set it up yesterday? For today? No, we gotta get in that habit because you can't fill up a water in the morning because the hoses are freezing. This afternoon when you put up calves, set up the next day's water because then all you gotta do is break the ice and they have water. You know what we could do? Just let's go start the tractor. Jonah, can you find a ball for the tractor? 2-inch? No answer. I don't know. It's gonna be a beast to start this tractor because it's so cold. Her name is Lucky after all, which means we're lucky it starts, especially on a 20-degree morning.
Oh my word, it's gonna be a good day.
We need a 2-inch ball on this. I don't think I need Jonah. I have a few more minutes, I can go get it myself. We have a 2-inch ball right there, worst case. Let's see if we have an extra. I really should have looked. Oh look, really? It's going out well for me. It does not have a lock washer. I probably, I probably should have a lock washer. This gigantic ball, which I don't even know we use it for, has a lock washer, so maybe we'll take that. Oh boy, plot thickens. Let's put it in the Suburban and we'll have it steady and then we can twist it. Oh my goodness, it's going Let's put this on, and it looks like Lily's probably ready to go milk. Look who came through! Jonah did it! I was betting he was saying no.
Well, we can tighten it up. Look what I just found just by the waterer.
Josiah lost this yesterday. We give them this when they turn 13, a Leatherman Wave. He's so disappointed. We got to give this to him. We're going to tell him to put my extra Leatherman in the junk drawer. Hey, will you put my extra knife in the junk drawer?
Oh, where was it?
By the spigot. How do we get into the cows?
I, I think we should go back and then down and then under there.
Above them?
Yeah, we should go up above them.
Proud of that little girl. I got sideways on this hill and we ran out of gas as a result. Oh, maybe we can go with this momentum, get fuel back in the tank. Shows we're low but not empty yet. All right, let's just see if we can't get it sideways because the, the e-brake doesn't work that great, so we have to get it sideways on the hill.
All right, we'll go with it.
Our new heifer, due in 4 months, is— we, we're gonna try to get her some alfalfa. We need to get the mamas their feed as usual and then get her some in a pan. I don't know if she's ever had it. We'll see how it goes. The reason we need to get her on alfalfa is they get addicted to that stuff and we can get them to do anything they want, including coming and getting tied to a side-by-side so they can be milked. She ain't cooperating until I give her a scoop of alfalfa, and it's all day long. She'll do whatever I want. See, that heifer has no clue what's going on right now, but she will definitely before she has this baby. Lily's gonna start. I'm gonna give this heifer some alfalfa. Shaka, come on. Shaka, Shaka. And day one, we're just gonna leave it. Let's see if she even comes to it. Oh, look! She left a little bit of this, but it's like coffee. It's an acquired addiction. One thing I noticed while we were milking is that calf that Flossy had on her still got a collar, and he's gonna grow. That collar is gonna choke him. We grab him and pull the collar off. This crook lets me get closer without getting closer. Ah, shoot. Wow. He is not going to get any easier, so we are gonna get this off. I'm having a hard time getting the leather to back up. Ah, whoo, man, who sent us other problems? We're having a great time finding solutions today, just going. All right, come on, come on, come on. Wrong way, wrong way, wrong way, wrong way. Come on, let's go.
We should tidy up a little bit before letting her.
She looks good.
Compare to the other one, they won't stay in the way.
We are finishing up milking. It's only 8:15. We got a little over 2 hours to do this. This actually may be possible. I thought this was an impossible task. I think we might actually be able to get these pigs down here this morning. You getting the saw stuff ready, my man? You want to saw and me haul brush? We're gonna have to clear a path for the trailer and the tractor. Somebody asked me once, if I could only have one Homestead tool, or what should be my first homestead tool?
A chainsaw.
Pound for pound, the most efficient use of fossil fuel ever. So we have 4 tools of the trade. A little bit of grain. I'm gonna get us a couple buckets so we have options. We have a good resource and skim milk, and we'll mix that together. And a pig cannot resist. That's a superpower right there. My deal is management. The more management we can do, even though it takes longer, it's going to be a little more peaceful. I'm a control freak. It's more step 1, step 2. He's grinning over there. He would just go take the trailer up there and just hope for the best. Tool number 2: pig board. Pigs do not herd like sheep and cows. You got to give them a physical, can't-see-through barrier that you can push them along with. Jonah, you think 2 pig panels is enough? I think 2 pig panels is enough. 4 T-posts may be overdoing it, but let's do the Boy Scout motto and be prepared. Zip ties are homesteader's best friend. Hey, Second tool, zip ties, right behind the chainsaw. You want to drive this, get us some feed, and I'll go start getting the trailer hooked up. The trailer trailer. Yeah, the goal is to get these pigs in the high tunnel. They'll be more comfortable there in the winter, chores will be easier. We need to check it out though, like, is it still set up? You never know what could happen over the season. Yeah, okay, we can smoothify this later. It's just, can we get them in there and keep them in there? I think so. Look at that, one pig fence. Shall we go get him? Yeah, let's do it. While he's gearing up for chain sawn. Let's get the pig panels up here. I'm probably walking 2 miles today just in chores. I should have put a pedometer on me. My ankle's starting to feel it.
I'm gonna clear a path right through here.
Yeah, that should get us there. Somehow we're gonna need to lure them into— I mean, the moms are here. We can probably just put feed down and they'll come and we'll capture them and get them in the trailer.
Did you bring any?
See how it's gonna go. We have another one for the other side. I might— was— might do it right now. They're all in there. I was thinking we would come back for the piglets because do you really think that we'll be able to get mamas and cousins and piglets all in one trailer without somebody trying to get out? Yeah.
Now the cousins are getting out.
The breech here, somebody could get under here and go under the trailer. Really, a little— one of these little pigs. You want a third tool?
Pig panel.
Two pig panels.
We got pig board, pig panel, and pig feed. You can do anything you want with pigs. It is not working. It's just a hair too wide and pigs can get around on one side. If one pig gets around me, there's no use putting everybody in and one pig's out, because if I go back to get that other one, other people are gonna get out.
There we go. Stay in.
Wait, got him in there.
Is there a grave? If I put feet in—
this pig likes a piece of clacket.
Wow, they are tough creatures. Come on, you're all right now.
Y'all want to be with Mom?
4 at a time is plenty.
That'll work.
Shoot them with a shoe.
This is easy, guys. How's that feel, boys?
Good.
Beefcake and Pound Cake will be easy compared. I don't know.
We're gonna sell the piglets, so we're gonna put them in here so that it's easy to catch them and stuff like that. But it's time for the pigs to go in the high tunnel for the winter, basically, is what that is.
The—
our breeder stock. And I don't know what we're gonna do with our feeders. I'm not— I'm not 100% sure what's happening, to be honest.
Hey, not going in here.
Well, we'll get him in and then bring him back out.
Okay. Look at that. It's so easy when they want to do it. So bad, wasn't it?
Okay, now try to put the momo back in.
Oh, that's right.
Come on, there it is, there it is.
There, lock that tight.
For the winter, there's nothing growing outside. We're going to bring the pigs in the high tunnel on deep bedding. They'll be more comfortable. There's no rain, there's no snow, it's a little warmer. They're going to be on deep bedding. We're gonna put in wood chips in here periodically, over there manure, and that's going to build up a compost— that manure and wood chips— for the garden that will come in the spring when these guys move out. And the big thing for us in our current project It's going to make chores easier because we're not moving them every 12 days, and we can focus more on the 100-day challenge. We'll just walk her off like this. I think it's gonna work. Take your time. I'm gonna get this footage to Dan so he can have a a weekend. Thank you guys for joining us. Part 2 of this, really, I mean, this was so successful. Now we can focus on the 100 days. Uh, today's not over, and we're gonna document it and get it to you in tomorrow's show where we're gonna clear at least 1,300 square feet of forest. That's what we got to do to stay on schedule. Oh, we got to get Beefcake and Poundcake down here, so it's going to be exciting. Do stay tuned, that's in the next one.
