Rabbits, Poultry, Sheep, Goats, Small-breed pigs
When you are thinking about getting animals, consider these three questions:
- Where will you keep them?
- How and what will you feed them?
- What is the service they will render you?
Use the following quick guide to help you make an educated determination about which type of livestock really may be a smart idea and good investment for your money and time within your specific situation.
Rabbits
Pros
- Small and simple to care for
- Does not require much space
- They are very productive
- Eats green forage, grasses, and/or hay
- Requires moderate levels of protein
- Likes to hide (they are burrowing animals)
- Normally mothers well
- Very easy to breed
- Nesting goes well in cold weather
- Rabbit manure makes an excellent fertilizer
- Quick and easy to dispatch and dress out
- Very lean meat
- Often cheap to buy
Cons
- Needs shelter from sun and sometimes heat, susceptible to sunstroke
- Does not tolerate loud noises
- Can be ‘scared to death’ (heart attack)
- They often require daily grain in their diet
- Can be sensitive to dietary issues
- Does not do well when wet
- Very Lean Meat
Chickens
Pros
- Small and pretty simple to care for
- Will remain contained with very flimsy enclosures
- Requires very little space
- Can eat almost anything
- Will consume bugs as protein
- Resilient against pests and diseases
- Healthy birds will shed rain moderately well
- Requires very little care in winter
- Can roam free and will come back at night
- Consistent protein through eggs for years
- Broiler chickens grow super fast and efficient
- Cheap to buy
Cons
- Hens are not defensive
- Chickens are normally very vulnerable (and dumb) at night
- Will peck at everything
- Will eat any green plants, especially tender ones
- Attract birds of prey
- Require more calcium and calories in their diet than most animals
- They need both grain and fat in their diet
- Chicken manure isn’t quite as good a fertilizer as some
- Messy to butcher
- Annoying to pluck
Sheep
Pros
- Easy to contain
- Easy-going mentality
- Thrives on grass and simple green forage
- High-protein, lean meat
- Fairly resistant to disease
- Does not require much grain and little to no fat in their diet.
- Meat can be marbled with fat
- Meduim-sized animals
- Fertile manure, but it’s better when aged a bit
Cons
- Most breeds need regular shearing as adults
- Births only one or two young in a year
- More susceptible to gut parasites
- Sensitive to copper-toxicity
- Males should be castrated before butchering
- Expensive to purchase
Goats
Pros
- Resistant to parasites (browsers)
- Prefers woody and stemmy forage (including thorns)
- Does well on almost any fresh fodder
- Requires little grain
- Can be nearly ignored in a decent pasture
- Larger breeds can stand up against predators well
- Small, resilient animals for a dairy
- Breed well on their own
- Very good manure that does not need aging before using in your garden
Cons
- Rough on fences
- Can climb and jump
- May require extra copper
- Like to get out (get bored easily)
- Bucks can be fairly aggressive
- Only one or two young per year
- Males really should be castrated before butchering
- Expensive to purchase
- Less efficient as a meat animal, but can handle lesser forage
Pigs
Pros
- Sows easily give 2 litters in a year with good feed
- Prolithic (6-12 piglets per litter
- Grow fast with a decent feed
- Can have well-marbled meat and lard at 6 months old
- cannot get over a low fence (with exceptions)
- Will enjoy almost any feedstuffs
- pigs are happy as long as food is plentiful and bellies are full
- Will make good use of swill (kitchen scraps)
- Very efficient at producing meat
Cons
- Can be very hard on a fence (lift them up)
- They love to root in the soil
- They can make a mud pit
- Normal farm hog diets make a nasty manure.
- All males require castration (surgical process) by 12 weeks if they are going to be butchered (unless females are not anywhere near.
- Boars can get aggressive at times
- Large-breed pigs can take all day to butcher
- Fertile manure but it may harbor more disease and often stinks. Best if aged before use.
Cattle
Pros
- Very disease-hardy
- Very little predator concern
- Does not like to cross fences
- Will eat all manner of green feeds and starchy fodder
- Highly efficient at extracting energy from roughage
- Produces gallons of milk a day
- Very efficient dairy animal
- Cattle manure is very fertile, contains very few weed seeds, and may not require aging
Cons
- Requires significant space
- Very large and dumb
- Will eat anything it can reach (including tree bark if pasture is low)
- has only 1-2 calves every 12-14 months
- Least efficient animal for meat
- A very large chore to butcher (multiple people or a skilled butcher recommended)