Beginner Livestock for Small Acreage

[The Ri Guy]

Since it has been mentioned a couple times, can you not use one type of chicken for both meat and eggs? I just assumed when they stop being productive egg layers you could butcher them for meat.

Our plan for this summer is chickens + 1 honey bee hive. Not sure what a good starting number is, was thinking maybe a dozen hens and a rooster? Rooster mainly because most of our neighbors already have them, and we have a population of short-tailed weasels that lives in our woods and I'm worried without a rooster they'll kill the hens easily.

 

[Wvroach]

Since it has been mentioned a couple times, can you not use one type of chicken for both meat and eggs? I just assumed when they stop being productive egg layers you could butcher them for meat.

Our plan for this summer is chickens + 1 honey bee hive. Not sure what a good starting number is, was thinking maybe a dozen hens and a rooster? Rooster mainly because most of our neighbors already have them, and we have a population of short-tailed weasels that lives in our woods and I'm worried without a rooster they'll kill the hens easily.

You can, dual breeds is what you want to research, typically barred rocks and RiR is what you will hear suggested for that.

I own 7 acres of which 2 was "pasture" now about 5 acres is grassland in WV everything is on a hill but it is "flat" for around here. The other 2 acres I haven't rotated in to yet.

We raise Nubian goats, mangalista and Berkshire pigs, rabbits and chickens currently. I strongly suggest looking in to Joel salatin on YouTube and his books and John Seymour's book the self sufficient life and how to live it. If you are looking for self sufficiency rotational grazing is a absolute must.

I disagree about pigs ruining pasture, when done properly they will enhance your soil but they need rotated weekly at a minimum otherwise yes they will ruin it and you will have a excess of waste they will be in constantly. We also use our pigs and chickens to till our garden areas each year 1 acre garden. So many uses for a pig and on our homestead (food waste compactor, manure, tilling, brush clearing, fertilizer) if I could choose only one type of animal to keep it would be our pigs with chickens in a close second place.

Do all the research you can prior to making a decision. Keep in mind butchering, fencing, enclosure requirements, summer and winter etc ..

 

[qwerksc]

We have done chickens, quail, rabbits and ducks. We are up scaling, starting over, keeping chickens, switching to a litter of pups a year, do a few runs of quail for friends and the freezer, as well as a small garden.
Rabbits are easy and once you get a few folks interested in meat, it works well. We are gonna stay away from big critters, we are looking for more free time doing other activities.

 

[jmez]

You chickens will lay an egg a day for a good part of the year. If you do the math it adds up quick!!! Have an outlet for them if you are going to get a dozen chickens.

 

[qwerksc]

Take down day is definitely a thing, no matter how many times the day comes, it is a thing…

 

[zacattack]

If you start with chickens buy no roosters. They are worthless unless you want to raise your own, which I wouldn’t recommend. Depending on climate either get Rhode Island reds or some orpingtons, orpingtons are larger and can handle colder weather better if you keep them through the winter. I would suggest buying pullets that are ready to lay and skipping the chick raising process.

 

[Jimmy]

Since it has been mentioned a couple times, can you not use one type of chicken for both meat and eggs? I just assumed when they stop being productive egg layers you could butcher them for meat.

Our plan for this summer is chickens + 1 honey bee hive. Not sure what a good starting number is, was thinking maybe a dozen hens and a rooster? Rooster mainly because most of our neighbors already have them, and we have a population of short-tailed weasels that lives in our woods and I'm worried without a rooster they'll kill the hens easily.

Some varieties of egg laying chickens are on the bony side. You can eat them you just don't get the meat you do from a 'meat chicken'.

 

[Elkfitness]

Having grown up on a small farm like this we did the following with two working parents and two kids (20-30 chickens and then moved to turkeys). We’d get the hatchlings in the spring and butcher in the fall. We had a few goats here and there and a few rabbits in hutches. We would get a calf or two every year and raise it and butcher in the fall. We had a few random geese here and there two. One year we had a few pigs in a side stall but as others may have mentioned they tear up the ground. The mainstay were the chickens for a few years and then a decade of the turkeys. I think a few years we kept the chickens going with a rooster. But, as I recall we got the hatchlings every spring. That was 25 yrs ago so not sure how it works today. But it seemed very doable and my parents both worked 45hr/week blue collar jobs. Add on that a huge garden. Busy but good eating and kept us kids out of trouble.


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[coloyooper]

I have 5 chickens. Eggs only.

Man, those ISA Browns pump out the eggs. I eat eggs everyday and still sell a dozen+ to my neighbor each week.

I use the chicken straw from the coop to fertilizer my 2 gardens every spring.

Might have to pick your brain on this. Wife wants chickens in a bad way

 

[Paradox]

I'd say goats or sheep. When you step up to large stuff like cattle or horses think about vet care. How you going to trap and wrangle the cattle to give them shots and vaccines? That calls for working squeeze chutes and corrals. At least a head catch right? Plus you gonna need a livestock trailer. With goats or sheep you could pitch them in a SUV, and they are small enough to man-handle into a corner for shots and vet work.-WW

this!
Another large animal vet here. For some reason everyone with 5 acres has to have a steer, with no idea how fast they can hurt you without proper facilities! Don’t do it!
I would make a mobile chicken house that you can move around your open space with a pen attached. Then you can put them in at night so the other critters don’t eat them.
highly recommend goats. You can buy a woven electric fence and move it around where you want to clear brush. They are very good at clearing brush. If you get 3-4 does and a billy (try to borrow a billy) you can sell the kids at 25 - 35 lbs or so around Easter. That would be about right for your acreage. More and you will end up buying hay to feed them.
feel free to pm me w questions.
Ed

 

[The Ri Guy]

John Seymour's book the self sufficient life and how to live it. If you are looking for self sufficiency rotational grazing is a absolute must.

I've got Seymour's book as well as Back To Basics by Abigail Gehring, lotta information in those tomes!

 

[Billy Goat]

You can, dual breeds is what you want to research, typically barred rocks and RiR is what you will hear suggested for that.

I own 7 acres of which 2 was "pasture" now about 5 acres is grassland in WV everything is on a hill but it is "flat" for around here. The other 2 acres I haven't rotated in to yet.

We raise Nubian goats, mangalista and Berkshire pigs, rabbits and chickens currently. I strongly suggest looking in to Joel salatin on YouTube and his books and John Seymour's book the self sufficient life and how to live it. If you are looking for self sufficiency rotational grazing is a absolute must.

I disagree about pigs ruining pasture, when done properly they will enhance your soil but they need rotated weekly at a minimum otherwise yes they will ruin it and you will have a excess of waste they will be in constantly. We also use our pigs and chickens to till our garden areas each year 1 acre garden. So many uses for a pig and on our homestead (food waste compactor, manure, tilling, brush clearing, fertilizer) if I could choose only one type of animal to keep it would be our pigs with chickens in a close second place.

Do all the research you can prior to making a decision. Keep in mind butchering, fencing, enclosure requirements, summer and winter etc ..

I'm sorry but I can't recommend Joel Salatin to anyone. He sells an idea under false premise. He chases the money, wants people to think he has organic stuff while he is purchasing stockers from the local stock sale to put out on pasture. He has had periods where his livestock is so mistreated that he should be locked up for animal abuse, but he just says it's natural. But gets people who don't know any better showing up paying big money to learn from him.


At one point his cattle broke out from their bare pasture that had been grazed to nothing. Too much along the railroad to eat instead. He didn't do anything about it for a bit is my understanding, til the train got around 50 of them.

 

[Wvroach]

I'm sorry but I can't recommend Joel Salatin to anyone. He sells an idea under false premise. He chases the money, wants people to think he has organic stuff while he is purchasing stockers from the local stock sale to put out on pasture. He has had periods where his livestock is so mistreated that he should be locked up for animal abuse, but he just says it's natural. But gets people who don't know any better showing up paying big money to learn from him.


At one point his cattle broke out from their bare pasture that had been grazed to nothing. Too much along the railroad to eat instead. He didn't do anything about it for a bit is my understanding, til the train got around 50 of them.

I'd be interested to learn more about that, his farm is about a hour from where I grew up at and open to the public 6 days a week, maybe things have changed but I never experienced that or got that vibe off of him.

The premise of what he teaches does work, daily rotational grazing. I'm nowhere near his size but we make supplemental income off our farm and it provides 100% of the meat we need in a year with the exception of wild game, we also produce all our vegetables and about 50% of our fruit intake each year.

 

[Lawnboi]

I’d start with chickens and go from there.

We got some isa browns last year. They lay eggs like crazy, are friendly birds and good in the cold. Ours have been laying all winter despite multiple negative 20 degree days. We have some other chickens as well, hard to find some that are good for meat and eggs, we are just doing egg layers for now, and have a dozen. The 5 isa browns make more than enough eggs for us and others, and consistently lay an egg a day per bird.

 

[Billy Goat]

I'd be interested to learn more about that, his farm is about a hour from where I grew up at and open to the public 6 days a week, maybe things have changed but I never experienced that or got that vibe off of him.

The premise of what he teaches does work, daily rotational grazing. I'm nowhere near his size but we make supplemental income off our farm and it provides 100% of the meat we need in a year with the exception of wild game, we also produce all our vegetables and about 50% of our fruit intake each year.

I have been around him for a long time. My home farm isn't too far away.

We were using a lot of his practices long before it became the thing to do. Intensive rotational grazing has been on use on my farm since the early 80's.


I actually agree with him on a lot of things, should probably focus more on what I do agree with than what I don't.

But he is mostly interested in marketing himself.

 

[Ucsdryder]

I have 5 chickens. Eggs only.

Man, those ISA Browns pump out the eggs. I eat eggs everyday and still sell a dozen+ to my neighbor each week.

I use the chicken straw from the coop to fertilizer my 2 gardens every spring.

I believe I talked you into getting those chickens. I haven’t seen an egg yet!!!!

 

[cnelk]

I believe I talked you into getting those chickens. I haven’t seen an egg yet!!!!

I’m not sure you can afford them

 

[Ucsdryder]

I'd say goats or sheep. When you step up to large stuff like cattle or horses think about vet care. How you going to trap and wrangle the cattle to give them shots and vaccines? That calls for working squeeze chutes and corrals. At least a head catch right? Plus you gonna need a livestock trailer. With goats or sheep you could pitch them in a SUV, and they are small enough to man-handle into a corner for shots and vet work.-WW

The obvious answer is to bottle feed it, then halter break it. Good luck eating it once the family names it!

 

[packer58]

My vote is for chickens and goats, both are very low impact on your farm. When you get into cattle your going to be fixing fences all the time due to the small acreage you have available. Cows always live by the rule that "the grass is always greener on the OTHER side of the fence" Plus, if there's any vet work that needs to be done cattle handling equipment sure is handy. The only drawback to goats is that they seem to have a taste for certain types of tree bark.......don't ask me how I know...

 

[Wetwork]

The obvious answer is to bottle feed it, then halter break it. Good luck eating it once the family names it!

My family homesteaded my place in 1908, got our first angus in 1932 and been doing it ever since. The key to naming the friends you plan to sell or eat is thus....Molly Meatball, Harley Hamburger, Sam Spagetti. Little kids are cool with it. Teenagers gonna bawl.-WW