Beginner Livestock for Small Acreage

[Cameron.25]

We started with chickens on our in laws 14 acre farm and i think its a good route also. Started with 10, then my mother in law and wife just kept/keep buying more, now we have about 50 and we are selling most the eggs lol. We got 10 at one point that are supposed to be good for meat and lay eggs as well, but we've decided to just get 2 seperate breeds for each purpose from now on. We are gonna get more chickens soon too. My wife and father in law also got/caught a bunch of bees, have 8 hives now and it keeps them pretty busy. Next we plan to get a couple pigs and a meat cow or 2!

 

[cnelk]

Pro tip on cattle - If you’re gonna get 1 you better get 2 because one will always be getting out.

A pair keeps each other company

 

[The Ri Guy]

Fiancé is gonna be pissed at you guys, dashing her hopes and dreams of pigs and cows. Looks like I'm gonna get my pack goats though...thanks fellas!



BTW, how much of a pain is bee keeping really? I use honey every day for various things, substitute for sugar as much as possible, so I'd like to get my own hive. Local Co-Op sells a complete gear setup sans bees for relatively cheap (to the inexperienced keeper).

I plan to put in a 1/4 acre garden to start, orchard of around 30 fruit & nut trees, and then multiple pollinator & Blacktail friendly gardens/plantings in various areas. Got a nice little 2 pt that likes to come by with his girlfriends.

 

[Wrangler13]

We have Finn sheep. They are friendly like dogs which is nice because most sheep are skidish. They are also prolific and generally have 3-4 lambs per pregnancy. We carry over 10 ewes and a couple rams each year. Have about 4 acres of pasture and 2 acres of mixed woods for half the year. They eat about 300 squares in the winter.

The guy who said sheep are born trying to die is right. It’s always a battle but after a couple seasons you get the hang of it. They are good for meat and wool. Most money is made from selling ewe lambs as breeding stock to people like yourself starting flocks. No real money to be made but they keep the land looking nice.

 

[The Ri Guy]

We have Finn sheep. They are friendly like dogs which is nice because most sheep are skidish. They are also prolific and generally have 3-4 lambs per pregnancy. We carry over 10 ewes and a couple rams each year. Have about 4 acres of pasture and 2 acres of mixed woods for half the year. They eat about 300 squares in the winter.

The guy who said sheep are born trying to die is right. It’s always a battle but after a couple seasons you get the hang of it. They are good for meat and wool. Most money is made from selling ewe lambs as breeding stock to people like yourself starting flocks. No real money to be made but they keep the land looking nice.
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At the risk of sounding ignorant, what's a "square"? Bale of Hay/Alfalfa?

 

[tylorklein]

I have had 1 - 4 pigs per year (spring - fall) for the last several years, did two lambs this year and have free range egg chickens plus periodically raise meat birds using Joel Salatin's method.

I don't have anything we cant leave for a week if needed (gravity feeders, ample water, auto door on the chicken house, etc) to go on vacation or a hunting trip.

I'd definitely recommend a pair of pigs to start, especially if you have a large garden and / or a big family. Zero food waste basically while you raise them (I don't give them pork), super easy animals and they taste amazing (plus all the pork you need for game sausage).

Meat chickens is also a great ROI if you care about the quality v. store bought.


I'm super amateur but have read a bunch and am constantly experimenting with new setups, etc. so if you have any questions just let me know.

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[tylorklein]

Also I'll third the sheep trying to die thing - definitely wouldn't be the animal I'd start with personally based on my single experience and also are tough to co-pasture because they are super sensitive to copper.

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[BAKPAKR]

Get a milk cow or two. That will make you a better man (and keep you tied to home).

 

[Billy Goat]

What do neighbors have?

That can be an issue also.


Especially dogs......

 

[Touchdown88]

We have about 20 Nigerian Dwarf goats. My girls love to play with the babies and milk them. They are a good option for a small farm.

 

[The Ri Guy]

What do neighbors have?

That can be an issue also.


Especially dogs......

Only property that borders us with animals is to the south, 6 horses & 30 chickens on 10 acres of pasture, 4 indoor dogs & 2 barn cats.

They claim to have rat problems in their coop, so my plan is a deep concrete footing w/2' high walls as the floor of my chicken coop, corrugated metal sides. Plan to backfill over the concrete footing with dirt, and install some 1/4" tubing or pipe (stainless steel) vertically through the foundation footing before it sets so worms and bugs can still enter the coop via underground and water can drain out, but rodents cannot. My understanding is rats can fit through a 1/2" diameter pipe no problem, but anything smaller is too tight for them.

I have been purposefully trying to over design the coop for the better part of a year to keep rodents & wild weasels out...the damn weasels pups love to play in the stalls behind our barn for some reason, I suspect it's because the insulated tack room was infested by mice due to neglect from the previous owner.

 

[Chesapeake173]

Haven’t read all the replies, but consider ducks for eggs. I’ve had them for years (never had chickens for eggs). The eggs are bigger and more nutritious. Bake with them and you’ll never use a chicken egg again.

Easy to care for, but they need water and that can be messy. The way is was put to me was that a chicken walks around all day trying to kill itself and a duck just survives. I’ve got one that’s at least 6 years old.

Meat chickens are super easy. Do a chicken tractor and move them every couple days. 100 doesn’t take much more work than 40. Co op with neighbors and you’ll have your feed paid for.

Start small. Consider what happens when you take a vacation, head out of town. Do you have someone to care for them.

Critters are great therapy! I love just sitting down with a beer after a shitty day at work and watching the birds go to work on all the bugs in the yard!


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[The Ri Guy]

Haven’t read all the replies, but consider ducks for eggs. I’ve had them for years (never had chickens for eggs). The eggs are bigger and more nutritious. Bake with them and you’ll never use a chicken egg again.

Easy to care for, but they need water and that can be messy. The way is was put to me was that a chicken walks around all day trying to kill itself and a duck just survives. I’ve got one that’s at least 6 years old.

Meat chickens are super easy. Do a chicken tractor and move them every couple days. 100 doesn’t take much more work than 40. Co op with neighbors and you’ll have your feed paid for.

Start small. Consider what happens when you take a vacation, head out of town. Do you have someone to care for them.

Critters are great therapy! I love just sitting down with a beer after a shitty day at work and watching the birds go to work on all the bugs in the yard!


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Ducks are an interesting option we haven't considered, we do have a small ~1/4 acre pond. A family member that has raised ducks said they can be...temperamental and defensive, so we wrote them off.

We do have the added benefit of a seemingly infinite amount of slugs on our property so the ducks would help with that I suppose.

 

[Like2hunt]

Grandpa/uncle run a few thousand head of cows and I work on the ranch whenever I can. If you get cows make sure to walk through them first and make sure they’re not super spooky. Super spooky cows are the ones that’ll tear down fences and cause lots of problems. Not a bad idea to start with some sheep/goats first (smaller and easier to get into/out of). Something to remember is the more animals you have the more hay you’ll have to feed. Hay prices can go up and down all the time, there’s never a sure set amount of how much hay will cost.

 

[Chesapeake173]

Ducks are an interesting option we haven't considered, we do have a small ~1/4 acre pond. A family member that has raised ducks said they can be...temperamental and defensive, so we wrote them off.

We do have the added benefit of a seemingly infinite amount of slugs on our property so the ducks would help with that I suppose.

Interesting. I’ve never seen or experienced that. With a pond you’re already ahead of the game. I put them in a coop at night and they’re pretty good about going in on their own.

Ducks are more of a predator. They’ll chase down a grasshopper like it’s their sole mission in life. The big reason we got them is ticks. We have (had) a ton of wood/ deer ticks in the yard. Since having the ducks they’ve gone to almost non existent.


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[Rich M]

You gotta fence the land, might as well section it off, make sure to have a good water source. Try to figure out a way to have a couple, 3 or more sections. Plant it with a hearty mix suitable for grazing. Plant the right stuff and youll be amazed at how fast it grows.

Id only get 1 cow and wife already wants a couple small goats. I’d get a weaned yearling steer or bull in the spring for about $250-$300 and let him graze a section pretty heavy, then move him and put the chicken tractor in there and let them tear it up pretty good. The chickens will eat bugs, spread cow poop, and leave their own poop. Plants will thank you.

Bounce em around like that and let the sections grow up a bit before letting the cow and goats eat it up. Of course you gotta figure out the timing or will have to buy some hay.

Not sure why so many folks are that big on handling the cows all the time. You can bring em out snacks like carrots and pet em. Then they follow you around like a puppy when the see you. Be good for switching grazing sections. Can treat em w chemicals like the advantage stuff people put on dogs.

I would also grow some meat chickens to go w 4 or so layers. Down here chickens are easy but turkeys seem to die easily. Ducks are tough and taste like liver.

If you go w chickens, get some traps and a decent .22 air rifle for the raccoons and possums and such. You will have to thin those out.

Have fun. Go easy til you figure out your style.

 

[tuffcity]

I've got 15 hens and a few roosters (segregated in their own area. Roosters are more of interest sake than practical purposes. Even one can be hard on the hens. 3 of the "old boys" are just free range yard ornaments. and I'm surprised they made the summer and fall. But the BFD (big fat dog) doesn't mind them and thats probably what has kept the foxes away.

If you free range them you'll probably be down to zero in no time. I have a large high fence run (is that ethical? lol) and a big chicken house. Got a bit carried away when I was building it. But the hens are always in by dark on their own accord.

We got Bielefelder chickens- huge beasts but good if you want egg layers and meat. Keeping a few roosters to keep the breed going up here. 15 hens are giving us 9-12 eggs a day. Even when it was -40 outside. My coop is insulted. Nice thing about this breed is that they are sex linked so you can divide the girls from the boys right out of the shell.

Electric netting will "probably" keep the weasels out of the chickens... maybe... weasel box and a #110 belisle might help too.

To add, this breed is about as mellow as they get around people, even the roosters can be picked up without fuss. Good if you have small kids (or planning on it)

 

[redwood1199]

This is a great thread I have alot of learning to do.

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[KsRancher]

I agree with the chickens. As mentioned before, it would turn into a feedlot pen with with a few bigger animals. I currently wish we had chickens again. But the hawks and coyotes loved to swing by during the day when we let them out to free range. Our family goes thru a few eggs. My 15yr old son probably averages 50 eggs per week.

 

[zacattack]

Ducks are an interesting option we haven't considered, we do have a small ~1/4 acre pond. A family member that has raised ducks said they can be...temperamental and defensive, so we wrote them off.

We do have the added benefit of a seemingly infinite amount of slugs on our property so the ducks would help with that I suppose.

Ducks needing water to swim is a myth. They just need enough to dunk their head in plus drinking water.