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Posted: 11/7/2015 12:47:10 AM EDT
[#1]
Tag for INFO
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Posted: 11/7/2015 12:55:48 AM EDT
[#2]
None
I refuse to have children |
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Posted: 11/7/2015 8:21:24 AM EDT
[#3]
Chickens, rabbits and pigs.
We have a small property as well. So far, the rabbits and pigs are the easiest. If you want to go the bunny route, New Zealand White is the way to go. Pigs? We've had Hampshires, Duroc, Landrace mixes and now Tamworths. Tamworths are the easiest of the bunch, but grow a bit slower. they do eat a lot, so be prepared to buy feed. If you plan to go about it like our ancestors did a hundred years ago, get some American Guinea Hogs. That's what I'm looking into now...cut down on the feed bill, raise them a bit longer though. |
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Posted: 11/7/2015 9:32:41 AM EDT
[#4]
Our family is very big on chicken. I have a friend who will typically raise meat chickens twice a year. I love the thought of day old chick to freezer in 6-8 weeks and being done for the year, so I will almost certainly be doing that in the late spring/early summer of next year.
The downside to that is storage failure. Our deep freezer failed over this past summer, so we lost all of our meat that was stored there. This led me to the desire of something that could produce fairly consist meat, such as rabbits or goats. I have looked thoroughly at breeds like the Nee Zealands, and I think you're right, it may be the way to go. Pork would also be something I'm interested in. How potent is the smell of a pig's pen? My neighbor's are a few hundred feet away separated by a tree line. We are technically not allowed to have farm animals on our 4 acre property due to deed restrictions even though we're heavily wooded and surrounded by fields and dairy farms. That was poor judgment on the original owner who subdivided the lots in my opinion. Needless to say, it would be a favor and a courtesy if my neighbors agreed to letting me do this. |
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Posted: 11/7/2015 12:30:34 PM EDT
[#5]
Just a few house cats
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Posted: 11/7/2015 12:58:53 PM EDT
[#6]
A pig pen can get nasty, especially when it rains for a few days. We have ours out in pastures and it realm doesn't smell. W have a total of 17 pigs now. 5 hogs and 12 piglets. The 10 remaining hens we have, smell worse.
If you free feed your pigs, most breeds will go from birth to market weight in about 7 months. |
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Posted: 11/7/2015 1:00:38 PM EDT
[#7]
Storage failure sucks. We lost half a hog to that. We got freezers that have a light on the front so we can see whn they aren't operational.
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Posted: 11/7/2015 2:52:38 PM EDT
[#8]
Currently we are raising chicken, and quail.
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Posted: 11/7/2015 3:21:45 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Currently we are raising chicken, and quail. I forgot all about quail. Do you have a breeding stock that you then routinely hatch, grow, butcher, then repeat? |
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Posted: 11/7/2015 4:52:12 PM EDT
[#10]
Sorry for the FB link, can't remember the login to my photobucket acct. Raising these piggies for the freezer, they're almost 300lbs now. Slaughter saturday after Thanksgiving.
Day I got them: 
6 weeks ago: 
The Cur in the photo is one I rescued right here on arfcom 3 years ago. Couple weeks ago: 
Raising these chickens, guinneas and 2 ducks as well. Plan to put the mallards in the pond once I feel like they will survive without a cage. 
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Posted: 11/7/2015 4:52:30 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I forgot all about quail. Do you have a breeding stock that you then routinely hatch, grow, butcher, then repeat? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Currently we are raising chicken, and quail. I forgot all about quail. Do you have a breeding stock that you then routinely hatch, grow, butcher, then repeat? Yes, we do. We are just on our 2nd round. We bought our eggs and incubated them to get started. Now it is moving along fairly well. I leave the wife to gathering and putting the eggs in the incubator now, as she is a stay at home mom and we have a schedule for this. there are pics of our grow out pen in my thread in this forum. It is new to us, but so far we haven't hit any snags. |
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Posted: 11/7/2015 8:54:41 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Sorry for the FB link, can't remember the login to my photobucket acct. Raising these piggies for the freezer, they're almost 300lbs now. Slaughter saturday after Thanksgiving. Day I got them: https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10256578_10101626914946704_4541783014858809152_n.jpg?oh=f0c2b8362da78aba03425331994db9e1&oe=56BD9ACF 6 weeks ago: https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/11986926_10101648260679684_6752320128938697425_n.jpg?oh=497946f24c6aa52d49510a98834ff49a&oe=56AD8100 The Cur in the photo is one I rescued right here on arfcom 3 years ago. Couple weeks ago: https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/v/t1.0-9/12208866_10101718251372774_4034447201334510252_n.jpg?oh=88b750f4810da551ef18630d4ccf2f44&oe=56F4320B Raising these chickens, guinneas and 2 ducks as well. Plan to put the mallards in the pond once I feel like they will survive without a cage. https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/12038061_10101666856877754_4982393612206807700_n.jpg?oh=11599ac6a1a5e3fbe6cf58b794015b7e&oe=56BE5084 That looks like a great set up! I'm sure it will be nice when your hard work pays off at the end of the month. We have a dozen egg laying hens and four ducks as well. The chickens stay in an outdoor run and we let the ducks free range during the day and lock them in an enclosure at night. I've been debating on hatching some ducks and seeing what the meat tastes like since I've never had it. We have Pekins which are a meat breed, so it would be simple. It will have to wait until winter is over now though. |
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Posted: 11/7/2015 8:55:53 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Yes, we do. We are just on our 2nd round. We bought our eggs and incubated them to get started. Now it is moving along fairly well. I leave the wife to gathering and putting the eggs in the incubator now, as she is a stay at home mom and we have a schedule for this. there are pics of our grow out pen in my thread in this forum. It is new to us, but so far we haven't hit any snags. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Currently we are raising chicken, and quail. I forgot all about quail. Do you have a breeding stock that you then routinely hatch, grow, butcher, then repeat? Yes, we do. We are just on our 2nd round. We bought our eggs and incubated them to get started. Now it is moving along fairly well. I leave the wife to gathering and putting the eggs in the incubator now, as she is a stay at home mom and we have a schedule for this. there are pics of our grow out pen in my thread in this forum. It is new to us, but so far we haven't hit any snags. Once they are cleaned, are they fairly decent in size? |
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Posted: 11/7/2015 9:47:09 PM EDT
[#14]
near useless dogs
and catfish |
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Posted: 11/7/2015 10:16:33 PM EDT
[#15]
Chickens for eggs
Have done meat chickens, will do more Pigs, just picked up 2 more this morning |
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Posted: 11/7/2015 10:28:28 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Chickens for eggs Have done meat chickens, will do more Pigs, just picked up 2 more this morning My wife is a health nut, so the pig raising conversations sometimes never go my way. What type of cuts and how you process your pigs? |
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Posted: 11/7/2015 10:38:58 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Our family is very big on chicken. I have a friend who will typically raise meat chickens twice a year. I love the thought of day old chick to freezer in 6-8 weeks and being done for the year, so I will almost certainly be doing that in the late spring/early summer of next year. The downside to that is storage failure. Our deep freezer failed over this past summer, so we lost all of our meat that was stored there. This led me to the desire of something that could produce fairly consist meat, such as rabbits or goats. I have looked thoroughly at breeds like the Nee Zealands, and I think you're right, it may be the way to go. Pork would also be something I'm interested in. How potent is the smell of a pig's pen? My neighbor's are a few hundred feet away separated by a tree line. We are technically not allowed to have farm animals on our 4 acre property due to deed restrictions even though we're heavily wooded and surrounded by fields and dairy farms. That was poor judgment on the original owner who subdivided the lots in my opinion. Needless to say, it would be a favor and a courtesy if my neighbors agreed to letting me do this. Try canning your meat instead of freezing. A bit more work on the frontside, but it won't spoil, freezer burn, and is already cooked, saving you time at mealtime vs frozen raw meat. We did 80 some chickens this summer, as well as beef and venison. |
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Posted: 11/7/2015 11:09:46 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
My wife is a health nut, so the pig raising conversations sometimes never go my way. What type of cuts and how you process your pigs? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Chickens for eggs Have done meat chickens, will do more Pigs, just picked up 2 more this morning My wife is a health nut, so the pig raising conversations sometimes never go my way. What type of cuts and how you process your pigs? I take them to a butcher that process them for us. we get sausage, pork chops, roasts, and whatever else my wife gets. i am considering doing one myself, but the price is reasonable and I have been happy with what we get back |
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Posted: 11/8/2015 4:40:05 AM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Chickens for eggs Have done meat chickens, will do more Pigs, just picked up 2 more this morning HA! I sold 2 this morning! |
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Posted: 11/8/2015 11:44:02 AM EDT
[#20]
Pigs were an overall good experience. From piglets to slaughter (@300lbs.) took 5 months. With bulk feed and processing myself, came to 91 cents a pound in the freezer.
The only hitch was with the pen. My 12×20 pig pen was half covered. The mud and shit was 14" deep at slaughter. I had to build a second pen to have a workable area to kill them. Could u imagine trying to deal with a dead 300 lb hog laying in 14" of mud and shit? And the smell was terrible. I'll pay $600 for concrete before I do it again. No room for pasture here. Paying someone else to process will likely more than the total cost though. |
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Posted: 11/8/2015 1:11:23 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Pigs were an overall good experience. From piglets to slaughter (@300lbs.) took 5 months. With bulk feed and processing myself, came to 91 cents a pound in the freezer. The only hitch was with the pen. My 12×20 pig pen was half covered. The mud and shit was 14" deep at slaughter. I had to build a second pen to have a workable area to kill them. Could u imagine trying to deal with a dead 300 lb hog laying in 14" of mud and shit? And the smell was terrible. I'll pay $600 for concrete before I do it again. No room for pasture here. Paying someone else to process will likely more than the total cost though. That's interesting. I knew they loved mud of course but never thought it would be that bad. 14" of anything is pretty rough. How many did you have in that pen? |
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Posted: 11/8/2015 1:26:28 PM EDT
[#22]
Long pig.
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Posted: 11/8/2015 5:08:49 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
That's interesting. I knew they loved mud of course but never thought it would be that bad. 14" of anything is pretty rough. How many did you have in that pen? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Pigs were an overall good experience. From piglets to slaughter (@300lbs.) took 5 months. With bulk feed and processing myself, came to 91 cents a pound in the freezer. The only hitch was with the pen. My 12×20 pig pen was half covered. The mud and shit was 14" deep at slaughter. I had to build a second pen to have a workable area to kill them. Could u imagine trying to deal with a dead 300 lb hog laying in 14" of mud and shit? And the smell was terrible. I'll pay $600 for concrete before I do it again. No room for pasture here. Paying someone else to process will likely more than the total cost though. That's interesting. I knew they loved mud of course but never thought it would be that bad. 14" of anything is pretty rough. How many did you have in that pen? 2. Bubbling, fermenting, biohazard, health issue before it was over. Concrete needed. Finished product was fine, but I was seriously concerned about the cesspool situation a month before it was over. I'd suggest completely covered pens (roof over the whole thing) concrete, or pasture. On the upside, digging the pen out for concrete has resulted in awesome garden dirt. My pepper patch has done awesome this year. We also raise chickens for eggs and meat. And sorta jokingly, raccoons. I put out corn and apples for deer twice a week. Get game cam pics of deer maybe twice a year. But there is a horde of corn and apple fed coons out there. 3 or 4 times a year I shoot one and cook it. I just haven't gotten over the "cat in the roaster" look of cooked coon. Tastes delicious, but looks off. Makes awesome sausage. Without the presentation issues. |
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Posted: 11/8/2015 5:20:03 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Long pig. What's wrong with that? Seriously asking, raised pigs from time to time, but certainly not an expert. They are 1/4 Yorkshire, 1/2 blue butt, 1/4 duroc. |
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Posted: 11/8/2015 9:40:45 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What's wrong with that? Seriously asking, raised pigs from time to time, but certainly not an expert. They are 1/4 Yorkshire, 1/2 blue butt, 1/4 duroc. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Long pig. What's wrong with that? Seriously asking, raised pigs from time to time, but certainly not an expert. They are 1/4 Yorkshire, 1/2 blue butt, 1/4 duroc. Google "long pig"
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Posted: 11/8/2015 10:25:16 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Google "long pig" Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Long pig. What's wrong with that? Seriously asking, raised pigs from time to time, but certainly not an expert. They are 1/4 Yorkshire, 1/2 blue butt, 1/4 duroc. Google "long pig" Just don't hit images
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Posted: 11/8/2015 11:00:46 PM EDT
[#27]
the ultimate combo to start with is rabbits and ducks IMO
Slowly add too that. Geese, chickens, meat goats, etc I have egg chickens (no rooster) , but I breed a lot of rabbits, and then ducks and geese. I raise enough rabbits to eat one a week and a duck every other week. That takes zero time and nearly zero space. |
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Posted: 11/8/2015 11:02:41 PM EDT
[#28]
adding
I do this in a backyard, which we all should do as soon as I have acreage I'll have pigs and meat goats next, and increase my waterfowl population significantly. |
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Posted: 11/8/2015 11:41:53 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
adding I do this in a backyard, which we all should do as soon as I have acreage I'll have pigs and meat goats next, and increase my waterfowl population significantly. Going to be hard to beat rabbits for meat in the back yard. Quiet, easy to keep, small footprint, extremely good fertilizer for your garden and they don't eat a massive lot. We got a NZW breeding pair and had them in the same cage for 30 minutes...BAM! 5 kits. Don't let them get close to each other if you don't want a wabbisplosion
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Posted: 11/9/2015 EDT
[#30]
Right now we are only doing eggs, chicken and pigs, hope to expand next year
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Posted: 11/9/2015 7:07:01 AM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
the ultimate combo to start with is rabbits and ducks IMO Slowly add too that. Geese, chickens, meat goats, etc I have egg chickens (no rooster) , but I breed a lot of rabbits, and then ducks and geese. I raise enough rabbits to eat one a week and a duck every other week. That takes zero time and nearly zero space. What type of duck do you have for meat? I assume you incubate the eggs or put them under a chicken since many duck breeds aren't notorious for going broody. |
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Posted: 11/9/2015 2:44:16 PM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Just don't hit images Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Long pig. What's wrong with that? Seriously asking, raised pigs from time to time, but certainly not an expert. They are 1/4 Yorkshire, 1/2 blue butt, 1/4 duroc. Google "long pig" Just don't hit images lol got it, jeez, threw me for a loop. |
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Posted: 11/9/2015 4:42:13 PM EDT
[#33]
Chickens, Goats, Turkeys, Ducks, Geese and Gold fish.
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Posted: 11/9/2015 7:40:22 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Chickens, Goats, Turkeys, Ducks, Geese and Gold fish. What goat breeds have you raised? Do you mainly pasture them or do you have to supplement a lot? How long from birth to butcher? |
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Posted: 11/9/2015 8:40:46 PM EDT
[#35]
   Non-Meat stuffs    Desperate meat stuffs   Seasonal Meat Stuff:  Poop where I walk again and they might become meat stuff:   |
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Posted: 11/9/2015 8:50:02 PM EDT
[#36]
Was raising rabbits and quail. My male Coturnix pecked the eyes out of 5 of my females on Saturday. Had plenty of 29% protein feed and water, not sure what the hell brought on the attack, so I had to put them all down. Don't think we'll be venturing down the route again here in town.
Rabbits on the other hand are easy. Feed, water, and the occasional romp around the yard to stretch their hocks. |
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Posted: 11/9/2015 9:11:02 PM EDT
[#37]
Mostly Brangus on the hoof with a few others "West Texas Crazies" we bought to help an old Rancher get out from under his herd that was eating him out of hose and home. They turned out to be very productive. |
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Posted: 11/9/2015 9:19:28 PM EDT
[#38]
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Posted: 11/10/2015 1:05:09 AM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What goat breeds have you raised? Do you mainly pasture them or do you have to supplement a lot? How long from birth to butcher? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Chickens, Goats, Turkeys, Ducks, Geese and Gold fish. What goat breeds have you raised? Do you mainly pasture them or do you have to supplement a lot? How long from birth to butcher? Dwarf dairy goats and I have a hippie couple I let camp on my land that like to play shepard and walk them so only pasture. I'm to busy to mess with them so they do the work and share the milk which isn't exciting at this point but I not that involved yet. I am still in the developing infrastructure stage. |
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Posted: 11/10/2015 9:09:14 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What type of duck do you have for meat? I assume you incubate the eggs or put them under a chicken since many duck breeds aren't notorious for going broody. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
the ultimate combo to start with is rabbits and ducks IMO Slowly add too that. Geese, chickens, meat goats, etc I have egg chickens (no rooster) , but I breed a lot of rabbits, and then ducks and geese. I raise enough rabbits to eat one a week and a duck every other week. That takes zero time and nearly zero space. What type of duck do you have for meat? I assume you incubate the eggs or put them under a chicken since many duck breeds aren't notorious for going broody. Jumbo Pekins are the only way to go for meat ducks. Order day-old chicks and there's no need to incubate. If you are looking for "sustainability" then have two parts to your flock. First part is Jumbo Pekin breeding stock to produce pure blood eggs. The other part should be some muscovies to incubate the Jumbo Pekin eggs. |
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Posted: 11/14/2015 10:33:05 AM EDT
[#41]
Beef
Lamb Pork Chicken Eggs Tilapia |
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Posted: 11/14/2015 11:57:09 PM EDT
[#42]
I cleaned two turkeys today. They are 39 and 41 lbs cleaned out. Had to halve them to get them in the freezer. Three more still in the coop. Also lots of chickens and pekin ducks. I'd like to do coturnix quail. I'm going to get a hutch setup.
Next year... Bacon! |
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Posted: 11/15/2015 12:17:34 AM EDT
[#43]
Quoted:
Chicken, rabbit, pig, goat? Let's hear it. Unfortunately our property at the moment is just too small for cattle, so I'm more so looking at small to medium animals for meat production. I'm looking to add a meat source or two to the homestead and would like to hear your input in terms of ease of growing/processing, taste, etc. Here is a thought. Turkeys are easy. Don't need a ton of space. Feed, water, and watch them grow. Get broad breasted bronze for meat machines. I get mine from Cackle Hatchery. Great birds but you have to order them every year. Or get a Heritage bird for sustainability. Getting hens to lay and hatch isn't real easy (as ducks and chickens), but can be done with a little practice. Pulling eggs for incubation is the easiest. Heritage birds will never produce as much meat as efficiently as broad breasted turkeys. Get Stories guide to raising turkeys. If you don't like cleaning them, find a duck picking service. They'll pluck them for you for a few bucks. About $5 per turkey here. Or $20 for a full clean on a turkey. The broad breasted bronze runs about 3-4 lbs of feed for 1 lbs of turkey. So 90 lbs of feed for a 30 lbs bird. Five sacks of feed can run $55-$90. If you can free range them a little, you can save a little. But they need high protein diet. They aren't as efficient as raising pigs, but I think raising 6 turkeys is easier than a pig. And you can kill off a few at a time to eat. |
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Posted: 11/16/2015 10:32:05 PM EDT
[#44]
New Zealand and Californian rabbits.
Hair sheep (Katadins). Nigerian Dwarf goats for milk (and to sell for $). Chickens for eggs. Haven't tried meat birds yet. |
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Posted: 11/16/2015 11:12:35 PM EDT
[#45]
Chickens, Goats, Scottish Highlands
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Posted: 11/18/2015 2:46:13 AM EDT
[#46]
Chickens, egg and meat. Dairy cow. Horse if he pisses me off much more. Going to do turkey next year.
Need more acreage, then beef and pork, both would be on pasture. |
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Posted: 11/18/2015 12:36:54 PM EDT
[#47]
Beef Catlle. Mostly Angus with a few BeefMaster Angus crosses. This time around I'm going to AI them all to Wagyu.
Grove |
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Posted: 11/21/2015 10:05:22 PM EDT
[#48]
Pigs
Grassfed Kathadin lamb
couple chickens Young whitetail doe Non meat: Honeybees(4 colonies) alpine dairy goats(2) layers (12) |
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