Never buy store eggs again.
Hover an egg to see the difference.Tap an egg to see the difference.
Chickens, bees, garden and rainwater. Four years of my Florida Keys backyard in one 38-page field guide.
By Stryder Graft, founder of Graftwild. 250K people follow the homestead on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.
Every homestead starts somewhere different.
Start with what you can't change, your space and your climate, then pick what you want first. Watch your path build as you go. You can always tap back to see the routes you didn't take.
Hey, I'm Stryder.
Four years ago I was living in one of the most abundant places in America and still buying pale eggs in a cardboard box. That bothered me, so I started with a few chickens.
Today my backyard in the Florida Keys runs as a closed loop. Kitchen scraps feed 25 chickens, the hens feed the garden, two beehives pollinate the dragon fruit, and every drop of water comes off the roof. I share all of it with 250K people on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube.
This guide is everything I wish someone had handed me on day one.
- 25Chickens
- 13–15Eggs a day
- 2Beehives
- 1,000Gallons of rainwater storedGallons of rainwater
- 4Years of real practiceYears in
You don't need a farm. You need a starting point.
Most homesteading advice assumes forty acres and a tractor. This guide was written in a backyard in the Florida Keys, where 25 chickens, two hives and a few fruit trees run as a closed loop. It isn't theory. It's what I do every day, plus the science that explains why it works.
Nine chapters. One closed loop.
Each chapter covers one part of the homestead: what I do, what it costs, and why it works.
- 01
Getting Started with Chickens
Where to buy birds, the best beginner breeds, space rules, predator proofing and a full startup budget.
- 02
What to Feed Your Flock
The 30/70 split I feed, the free scraps they love, and seven foods that can kill a hen.
- 03
The Egg Yolk Secret
Why yolks turn deep orange, the calcium question, and how many eggs to expect by breed.
- 04
The Graftwild Spice Blend
My daily flock supplement: the exact recipe and the research behind every ingredient.
- 05
The Garden and Fruit Trees
What grows in the Keys, what to plant in your zone, and how compost actually works.
- 06
Water on the Homestead
Why every drop here comes off the roof, and the five-part system to collect it.
- 07
Beekeeping Basics
The hive that changed the whole yard, the pollination math, and a startup cost list.
- 08
The Philosophy
Opting out, the closed loop, and how to start wherever you are.
- 09
Start Anywhere
Apartments and cold climates: windowsill herbs, seed starting, microgreens and hens in winter.
- +
The Cheat Sheet
The whole system on two printable pages. Stick it on the coop.
All nine chapters and the cheat sheet, ready the minute you check out.
Get off grid $37The Egg Yolk Secret
Pale yolks are a diet problem, not a breed problem. Hens can't make yolk pigment. Every bit of color comes from what they eat, so the fix shows up in days.
- The six foods that deepen yolk color fastest
- Oyster shell vs eggshell, and the calcium mistake that weakens hens
- Eggs per year for five beginner breeds
Full recipe inside
The Graftwild Flock Spice Blend
Seven kitchen ingredients, mixed in a mason jar and sprinkled on the feed every morning. It's the supplement I built to give backyard birds what wild jungle fowl get from foraging.
- Exact amounts for an 18-hen flock, and how to scale it
- What each ingredient does, with the research behind it
- Adjustments for ducks, quail, turkeys and meat birds
What it actually costs
No vague "it depends." Every chapter that involves spending comes with a line-item budget from my own homestead.
- Chickens: $475–1,220 to start a 6-hen flock
- Feed: about $100 a month for 25 chickens
- Bees: $420–715 for a full starter hive
- Eggs: what your flock produces at $7 a dozen
Every number from my own homestead, line by line.
Get off grid $37Designed like a field guide.
Not a Google Doc exported to PDF. Every page is laid out to read well on a phone and print well on US Letter.
Before you grab it.
What exactly do I get?
A 38-page designed PDF: an introduction, nine chapters and a two-page printable cheat sheet. You get the download link right after checkout. It works on any phone, tablet or computer, and prints on standard US Letter paper.
I don't live in Florida. Will this work for me?
Yes. Chickens, compost, bees and rainwater work nearly everywhere. The breed advice covers both heat-tolerant and cold-hardy birds, Chapter 5 includes what to plant in temperate zones 6–8, and Chapter 9 covers cold-climate timing and keeping hens through a real winter. Always check your local rules on poultry, bees and rainwater first.
I live in an apartment. Is this for me?
Yes. Chapter 9 is written for apartments: windowsill herbs, seed starting in cups and jars, and microgreens you can eat in 7–21 days. The herbs, compost and planning chapters work today too, and the rest is there when you get a yard. Use "Find your path" above to see exactly where to start.
I've never kept chickens. Is this too advanced?
It's written for day one: where to buy birds, which breeds to start with, how much space you need, how to predator-proof, and what it all costs. The advanced material, like the spice blend and the closed loop, builds on those basics.
How much will it cost me to get started?
The guide breaks it down line by line: $475–1,220 for a six-hen setup, under $300 for three hens with a DIY coop, and $420–715 for a starter beehive. Once the flock is laying, feed runs about $100 a month for my 25 chickens, because free scraps and the garden cover 70% of what they eat.
Is the spice blend recipe really in there?
All of it: seven ingredients with exact amounts, how to use it, why each ingredient is in the jar, and how to adjust it for ducks, quail and turkeys.
Take your food back.
We live in a system that profits from your dependency. Three hens, a rain barrel and a garden are how you start opting out, one layer at a time. Everything I've learned is in this guide.
Get off grid $37