Our Story

I started a little backyard homestead in the middle of Phoenix in 2012 with just a few buckets of soil and some garden plants and a desire for clean and organic food. I then added three chickens to the mix, even though I wasn’t supposed to without neighbors permission. I figured it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission, lol.

Turned out they didn’t care anyway, lucky for me. After a while I was getting paranoid that my three hens were making too much noise so they graduated to the freezer and then I scored four Muscovy ducks. Three females and a male, whom I called “Big Daddy”, because he was freakin’ huge! He was the size of a Goose. Muscovy drakes are all big as it happens.

I had learned that muscovy ducks don’t quack much at all unless they are really spooked and that’s why I liked them. They make sort of low volume squeal. They were quieter than chickens, I could breed them in my urban backyard sort of covertly, and make baby ducks if I wanted. These duck eggs are fantastic too! The shells are thick and tough and even the egg membrane is strong. They’re awesome ducks but, when they poo it’s messy, lol! Very liquidy let’s say. That’s not too great for a small urban lot but I managed.

Eventually I met my wife who also loves the homesteader type of existence, lucky for me! I sold all my remaining animals from that property so we could start fresh wherever we ended up. We got married and moved to a “mini-farm” type property where we don’t have to worry about having animals because it’s zoned for small scale agriculture. Oh Yeah! No cows allowed but horses, chickens, goats, quail are all good here!

We now have have 7 egg laying chickens, 10 coturnix quail, and a vegetable garden, a Moringa tree grove and a citrus tree grove with oranges, lemons, grapefruit, and fig trees too. We love the challenge of suburban homesteading and enjoy the fruits (and veggies) of our labor. The 110 degree Arizona summers are a challenge but the winters are dreamy. No Snow, and we can grow greens all winter long! A duck pond would be awesome with some muscovy’s swimming in it would be great. Maybe in the future.

Our Boston Terriers, Samson and Buster, help us keep the animals in line. If only we could train the dogs to stop peeing on our garden plants, lol!

Our goal is to provide our family with as much healthy, homegrown (and pee free) food as possible. We are passionate about sustainable living and hope to inspire others to do the same.

Rick,

The Guerrilla Homesteader