Selecting the right livestock to fit your homestead can be a challenging decision. Once you begin the search on your local livestock pages, you will be overwhelmed by what is available. How do you decide what is right for you? How do you know what you can handle? Where do you begin?
If you are just starting out, whether you have 40 acres or 1/4 of an acre. There is a livestock animal for you.
Livestock: Chickens on the Homestead
I will always recommend chickens. I won’t go into the details of breeds. But laying chickens are THE gateway drug into the world of livestock. Once you collect your first egg, you will become hooked.
I always recommend chickens because they require minimal work. When we first started, we purchased 10 chicks and raised them for 3 years. We did not have an insulated coop, we had a small run for them to wander around outside (the also frequently free ranged when we had no snow). Our biggest inputs were purchasing chicken feed (a pelleted layer ration at our local feed store).
Chickens can be as expensive or as frugal as you want. You can have the big fancy coop, lights, heated water dishes, roll away nesting boxes, etc. Or you can have the make shift coop, with rubber water dishes and a milk crate. As long as you can give them food, water, and shelter (dry and draft free), you can raise chickens.
I was listening to a podcast about raising chickens recently. And the host made a great point about how in every impoverished country, you will find chickens. Those chickens have nothing elaborate or fancy. They don’t have any medicated feeds or Instagram worthy coops. They continue to lay eggs and grow into a great source of meat.
Chickens are a very simple livetsock animal to raise. They are a great way to dip your toe in the water of homesteading, farming and livestock husbandry.
https://breeds.okstate.edu/poultry/chickens
More than Chickens
Once you feel confident in chickens, most likely you will begin to look at quail, turkeys, guinea fowl, ducks, geese, pheasants, etc. Though they are all similar, they are also different. But don’t be intimidated. The skills and knowledge you have developed raising your chickens will help you become comfortable with your new fowl species.
Larger Livestock
Eventually you may feel the pull to have another food source on you property. This is where we need to put a bit more thought into what you can manage.
Some concerns may be, how much space can you give to this new animal? How close are your neighbors? Do you have any zoning regulations where you live? Do you need to build fencing or shelters? What feed do I have available locally? Is it economical to raise this animal? Do I want to breed and sell animals?
With all the factors to think about, don’t become scared away from the idea of a larger livestock animal.
If your property is zoned in accordance to owning livestock, then start your research!
Livestock: Pigs on the Homestead
Pigs are often the next step in growing your own food. Bacon is too delicious to pass up.
But pigs can be very intimidating. The can be very hard on your fences, they can make a huge mess of their pen and the eat A LOT of grain.
But if you have strong fences, an area of ground you are willing to sacrifice for the greater good (bacon, ham, lard, sausage), and access to grain that is economical (local farmer or feed mill), then your average pigs may suit you very well!
For some of us (me included), I did not have strong fences, I did not have access to bulk grain at the time or grain storage. We also have neighbors very close to my property that would not appreciate having a loose pig get into their gardens.
Raising pigs felt very unattainable to us. But once I started researching to heritage breeds. We came across lots of breeds and characteristics that sounded to good to be true.
Once we selected our heritage breed pigs and brought them home, they have been the perfect fit for us! Reguardless of your property size, there is a breed that will fit what you need!
https://breeds.okstate.edu/swine
If you are unsure about what pigs to start with and if you don’t feel like raising breeding pigs is the right fit. Look at purchasing barrows. A barrow is a castrated male pig. The aren’t driven by hormones which can make them much more docile (regardless of breed).
Livestock: Goats and Sheep
We absolutely love goats and sheep. They are bother extremely versatile species.
Both can produce milk, meat and fiber. The amounts of the milk, meat and fiber will depend on the breeds you raise. Once you decide what you want you largest yield to be (milk, meat or fiber) you can narrow down which breed will be right for you.
https://breeds.okstate.edu/goats
https://breeds.okstate.edu/sheep
And they will adjust to almost any property they are on. They are also small than cows, so they are a great option for smaller properties. Because they are smaller, they consume less. So if bulk feed is not readily available to you, they are a great option. 11 goats is the equivalent to 1 cow when it comes to feeding.
We do not have access to a tractor to move round bales, so all of the hay feeding we do is by hand with a pitch fork. So feeding 20 goats, has been very doable with out daily access large farming implements.
How Many Do I Need?
Goats, sheep and cattle are herd animals, so a minimum of two is ideal. Multiple of anything may be a deal breaker for some, but with the large variety of breeds, 2 can be very manageable. Both goats and sheep have miniature breeds available. The can be as small as 55lbs at full maturity. Compared to a 1200lbs cow, it would take a lot of 55lbs goats to make up the difference.
Goats and sheep require a forage (hay or plant) based diet, with a small amount of grain supplement, loose minerals and water. Along with a shelter that will keep them dry and out of the wind.
We have found a 4 foot high fence to be a good height to contain goats and sheep. Out of all of the goats we have raised (50-ish) so far, we have only had 3 escape our fencing. We have used page wire, vertical board wind fence, electric poly wire ( 3 strands) and electric netting. If your goats and sheep are fed, hydrated and have their buddy, they usually won’t be tempted to escape.
Livestock: Cattle
I like to think that the ultimate homestead goal is cattle. Cattle are also extremely versatile. In a lot of ways, I find them to be the most socially acceptable when you are discussing raising animals for your own food. Beef and milk are very familiar to most of us (living in North America).
Cattle are fantastic for the volume of milk and meat they produce. For a large family, they can be the perfect livestock animal to stock your fridge or freezer.
Because of their size, they tend to be hardier in colder weather, especially beef breeds. They do will with fairly minimal shelter especially if you have more than one. But they would do well with lots of straw and a wind break.
Some cattle can be hard on fences and gates. But the right animals can be contained fairly easily. When purchasing a cow, go to the seller and see how the animal acts. Head up, running around and snorting may indicate the animal may test your fences when you bring it home.
Cattle are great because they can metabolize less than ideal hay (most likely less expensive) very well. I would supplement that lower quality hay with a grain or ration.
Raising Cattle for Meat
When raising cattle to butcher, expect to think about butchering them at 12 months of age (the earliest), some may be 18 or 24 months old before they reach an ideal butcher weight. This time frame may need to be taken into consideration when feeding them. Can you purchase hay and grain to feed this animal during the winter? Do you have pasture during the summer? Can you buy bulk grain?
Raising Your Family Milk Cow
With a dairy cow, you need to consider the time it takes to get an animal to the stage of milking.
If you were to buy a heifer ( a young female cow), you won’t be breeding her until she is approximately 14 months old. Hopefully that heifer gets bred on her first heat cycle, she will be pregnant for 279 to 292 days (approximately 9 months). If she doesn’t catch on her first heat cycle, she should go back into heat every 21 days until she is bred. Getting animal pregnant is never guarantee regardless of if you use a bull or artificial insemination. Once your heifer has her first calf, you then have to take the time to familiarize you first calf heifer (first time calving) with her calf and also train her to become a milk cow.
There are lots of resources to help you navigate training your heifer. Take them time to research how to do this properly and SAFELY.
Buying an older, well trained milk cow may be the way to go. I wouldn’t expect to be getting a bargain on one though. The are a hot commodity.
When buying livestock, expect to get what you pay for. Most of the time, you will pay more money for the longevity of that animal and also the expertise behind it. The majority of farmers or breeders want to see you succeed. They are willing to help you long after that animal leaves their property.
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