Wellspring & Wild

Wellspring & Wild I'm Amanda - mom of 8, homesteader, homeschooler, crocheter, and follower of Christ. I raise ducks, rabbits, quail, & pigs.

Join me as I tend the garden; feed the animals; raise my children; and live life the way God intended.

02/14/2026

Living the life!

The piglets are 4 weeks old now. Fat and happy!

Good morning! And Happy Valentine's Day! How is everyone today? Any special plans with that special someone? My husband'...
02/14/2026

Good morning! And Happy Valentine's Day! How is everyone today? Any special plans with that special someone?

My husband's birthday is tomorrow. But we're homesteaders, so naturally we'll be building pig pens all weekend!

What a way to celebrate the day of love and the birthday of the one I love!

Looks like we're going to have piglets again in early June! We weren't expecting Mama to come back into heat until after...
02/14/2026

Looks like we're going to have piglets again in early June! We weren't expecting Mama to come back into heat until after weaning the piglets in about a month (they're 4 weeks today) but it turns out about 1 in 4 sows can come back into heat while nursing. We'll be keeping a close eye on her to make sure she doesn't lose condition, especially as she's still pretty young.

And let me tell you, those s*x hormones make a boar crazy! Daddy is chomping at the bit, foaming at the mouth, ready to attack anything and everything. Including the elderberry branches that hang down too low. This is all completely normal boar behavior when they're in rut, but it makes it a bit scary when it's time to go in and feed them.

Not gonna lie, I'll be glad when this phase is over and he's a little more manageable.

Use the Whole Animal. Every Time.One of the most powerful mindset shifts on a small homestead is this: Nothing goes to w...
02/12/2026

Use the Whole Animal. Every Time.

One of the most powerful mindset shifts on a small homestead is this: Nothing goes to waste.

When you raise and process your own animals, you understand the cost - in feed, time, energy, and life. The least we can do is use the entire animal with respect and intention.

🐓 Chickens & Ducks
Meat for the table.
Bones simmered into rich, mineral-dense broth.
Fat rendered into schmaltz.
Feet & heads for extra gelatin.
Blood dried and used as nitrogen-rich blood meal for the garden.
Leftover bones dried and crushed into bone meal or added back to poultry feed as a calcium source.

🐇 Rabbits
Lean, clean meat.
Pelts tanned or composted.
Organs eaten or fed to livestock.
Bones for broth, then crushed for the garden.
Blood returned to the soil.

🐖 Pigs
Chops, roasts, ribs, sausage, bacon.
Bones for broth and head cheese.
Skin for cracklings or chicharrones.
Fat rendered into lard for cooking, baking, and soap making.
Organs eaten, made into pâté, or fed to livestock.
Blood used for blood sausage or dried for garden fertilizer.
Feet, ears, and skin used in traditional dishes or broth.
Even bristles historically used for brushes.

🦃 Turkeys
Large carcasses make deeply nourishing stock.
Fat rendered for cooking.
Feathers saved for crafts or compost.
Frames dried and ground for calcium.

🐐 Goats or Lambs
Meat, tallow, broth bones, organs.
Wool spun into yarn or felted and used for hats, mittens, blankets, and more.
Bones and blood returned to the land.

Even the “extras” have value:
• Blood becomes powerful fertilizer.
• Bones become broth, then bone meal.
• Fat becomes tallow or soap.
• Scraps become compost.
• Feathers used as art .
• Fur becomes clothing.

Circular living.
Stewardship.
This is how you close the loop on a small homestead.

Using the whole animal isn’t extreme - it’s traditional. It’s how families fed themselves for generations before convenience culture taught us to waste.

If we’re going to take a life for food, we owe it that level of respect.

Good morning!!!! And happy Throwback Thursday! Today we're going back almost 10 years, to when we first began raising qu...
02/12/2026

Good morning!!!! And happy Throwback Thursday! Today we're going back almost 10 years, to when we first began raising quail.

Our first batch was hatched on July 17, 2016. Just 11 days after our second daughter (5th child) was born. And just 4 days before she was admitted to the Pediatric ICU for pneumonia.

It goes without saying, that was a tough time. Thankfully, our baby girl came home a week later, and the quail somehow survived us being at the hospital more than at home.

Did you know domestic ducks sleep with their heads tucked under a wing… and sometimes with one eye open?It’s not paranoi...
02/10/2026

Did you know domestic ducks sleep with their heads tucked under a wing… and sometimes with one eye open?

It’s not paranoia - it’s biology.

Ducks can rest one half of their brain while the other half stays alert. One eye closed, one eye open, quietly keeping watch for predators. It’s called unihemispheric sleep, and it’s wild.

And those fluffy little loafs you see sitting on frozen ponds in winter? They’re not freezing.

Ducks have a specialized vascular system in their legs and feet called countercurrent heat exchange. Warm blood flowing down meets cold blood flowing back up, recycling heat before it ever reaches the ice. The result: warm bodies, cold feet, zero frostbite.

They also fluff their feathers to trap air (natural insulation), tuck bills into wings to protect exposed skin, and huddle when it’s really cold.

Talk about incredibly well-designed animals thriving in whatever environment they find themselves in.

Nature is ducking awesome. 🦆❄️

Snug as a bug in a rug! 😍These 2 must be going through a growth spurt. 3 weeks old and still cute as ever! ❤️
02/09/2026

Snug as a bug in a rug! 😍

These 2 must be going through a growth spurt. 3 weeks old and still cute as ever! ❤️

Good morning! How is everyone on this fine Saturday morning? I'm moving slow today. About to head out and get everyone f...
02/07/2026

Good morning! How is everyone on this fine Saturday morning? I'm moving slow today. About to head out and get everyone fed. Pigs, ducks, dogs, rabbits, cats, and quail. Later, we've got to start building a new pig pen. Gotta get those porkers out of my main garden before it's time to plant! Good news is, they've tilled and fertilized it plenty! 😂

We have been raising rabbits for 13 years, but this is a first. This baby has what's called cyclopia. It is a rare conge...
02/06/2026

We have been raising rabbits for 13 years, but this is a first. This baby has what's called cyclopia. It is a rare congenital deformity and is 100% incompatible with life. Cyclopia can occur in cats, rabbits, cows, goats, monkeys, and even humans.

02/05/2026

Can't get enough of this piggy cuteness! They're almost 3 weeks old now.

This is a first for me! We've raised meat rabbits for 13 years, and I've never seen anything like this. This poor little...
02/04/2026

This is a first for me! We've raised meat rabbits for 13 years, and I've never seen anything like this. This poor little kit was born with what's called cyclopia.

It is a congenital deformity that occurs when the Sonic Hedgehog signaling pathways are disrupted in the early stages of development. As a result, the brain fails to divide into 2 hemispheres, babies often have only 1 single or partially divided eye, no nose, and a proboscis above the eye.

It is a very rare deformity and is 100% incompatible with life. This little one is going to be preserved as a wet specimen. I'll post a few more photos in the comments below.

Cyclopia can occur in cats, sheep, goats, cattle, rabbits, monkeys, and even humans. Have you ever seen anything like this?

Good morning! Little Elizabeth is ready to help Mommy crochet today! What do you think her first project should be? 🧶
02/02/2026

Good morning! Little Elizabeth is ready to help Mommy crochet today! What do you think her first project should be? 🧶

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Middle Valley, TN

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