Mark Payton

I keep them as a move toward self-sufficiency, but they are definitely multi-purpose!

We sell and eat the eggs (and give them to our kids every chance we get). We have butchered a few and will again when we need to cull, though that is not a task I enjoy. I use deep bedding in one coop and that goes as mulch/compost elsewhere. I have a portable coop I hope to use to move around and fertilize future growing spaces.

Our favorite part, though, is the "chicken TV" we get to enjoy in the summer when it is warm enough for my wife and me to sit out in the evening after work and just watch them doing their chicken things.

While I see there is a thread about them, I am surprised no one has mentioned Darn Tough socks in this thread. They have become my go-to sock brand for year-round wear. They come with a lifetime warranty, and I have proven that they make good on it a couple of times. They make everything from ultra-lightweight no-show runner's socks to ultra-heavyweight boot socks with dressier socks thrown into the mix as well. Made in VT, USA.

https://darntough.com/

I carry a butane lighter in my pocket along with some lip balm. I always carry some cash on me, preferably $60-100 but usually a bit less. On my belt I always have my Leatherman Wave and a MagLite flashlight, both of which I use multiple times a day most days.

This is just to get me through the workday and the morning/evening chores. If there is a chance of getting stranded somewhere, I do try to supplement with essentially a get-home bag containing dry socks, something for shelter, a water straw, etc., including a bunch of winter gear from late fall through late spring.

Tom Brown proves that this is certainly possible, but then he has been doing it his entire life and has the extremely broad skill set to pull it off.

I have always had the same interest and have worked on some of the skills necessary but haven't been able to practice any of them enough to go out for a week (though I might do it if I took a fall-back kit with me).

Some of the skills I have or need to work on are fire starting, identifying types of tinder, making a fire drill, identifying rocks that could create a spark, making cordage for the drill, making a cutting tool sufficient to create the drill board, etc. It is really a sequence of skills, many of which have predecessor skills required as this list shows. I'd encourage practice, practice, practice if you don't have these mastered.

Same for making traps, identifying wild edibles in your region, making fish traps or trotlines, etc. for food sources.

Are you concerned about purifying water? That's another area where any head knowledge I have has NOT been translated into practiced skills.

There are just so many aspects to this. I wish like anything that I had had a "grandfather" to teach me these skills when I was a child, like Brown did, and the opportunity to grow up practicing them far more regularly than I did. My family thought I was weird enough even from the little I did.

Welcome Patrick and Truly Garden. Hori Hori Knives are one of the best garden tools ever! What a great giveaway!