# Out of all the animals you have ever raised, what was the easiest?



## Stubbornhillfarm (Jun 13, 2012)

Thus far for us  = pigs.


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## SheepGirl (Jun 13, 2012)

In terms of livestock, I've only ever raised sheep. And they're pretty easy to raise


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## manybirds (Jun 13, 2012)

easiest with the most profit? ducks or goats. i here quail are easy too


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## secuono (Jun 13, 2012)

Sheep with ducks a close second.


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## elevan (Jun 13, 2012)

Bob white quail.


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## Stubbornhillfarm (Jun 14, 2012)

Hmmmm....interesting that sheep are making the list.  I would have thought that with shearing, they would not be easy.  Maybe a consideration some day.


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## SheepGirl (Jun 14, 2012)

Stubbornhillfarm said:
			
		

> Hmmmm....interesting that sheep are making the list.  I would have thought that with shearing, they would not be easy.  Maybe a consideration some day.


Sheep are pretty easy to get sheared. Just pen them up the night before shearing (grain is a great bargaining tool lol) and then hire a shearer to come out and shear them  The shearer just has to take them off all four feet and they stay still (though some do try to fight). It's only once a year and this is a great time for them to have their hooves trimmed, checked for parasites, vaccinated, etc. It's like a one-stop shop lol. That's really the only labor intensive thing about them. You can just leave them be the rest of the time and they'd be happy.

You should definitely get some sheep  (They also come in a non-shear model if you don't want to deal with it )


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jun 14, 2012)

The easiest to raise? It would have to be geese. You don't need to do anything with them. If they have water then they will survive. You don't really need to get them shelters or give them feed. They love the rain, but if it gets to hard then they just go under something, like a tree or anything they can find. They don't need feed because they just eat grass. They are very easy. Just buy 'em and turn them out!!


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## manybirds (Jun 14, 2012)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> The easiest to raise? It would have to be geese. You don't need to do anything with them. If they have water then they will survive. You don't really need to get them shelters or give them feed. They love the rain, but if it gets to hard then they just go under something, like a tree or anything they can find. They don't need feed because they just eat grass. They are very easy. Just buy 'em and turn them out!!


i might have to change my answer and add geese, waterfowl are either dead or alive, they don't really get sick (unless its a production strain of pekin ducks) there easy to tame, a good duck produces more eggs in a year than a chicken, extremely entertaining just need some water deep enough to dunk there heads in and a little bit of food with no special supplements or anything and they come in such a variety


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## greybeard (Jun 24, 2012)

Hm--geese are easy, IF you can keep them out of your yard. They poop and poop a LOT, don't care where they poop, or in front of who, walking standing, or running--it's just 'squiiirt!" and 10 min later it's "squiiiirt!" again. and they do need clean water to rinse with everyday. 

I've had cows, pigs, horses. geese and chickens in my life. For me--cattle win hands down.


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## boykin2010 (Jun 24, 2012)

I would either say ducks, chickens, or hair sheep.  You don't have to shear hair sheep.  The only thing I do for them is give them grain while they are pregnant and lactating.  I do not even have to worm mine because they are parasite resistant.


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## Rebbetzin (Jun 24, 2012)

I think next to my desert tortoise, Chickens are easiest for me. Takes me just a few minutes each day to feed and water them and clean the coop.


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## KinderKorner (Jun 24, 2012)

My goats are pretty darn easy to raise. But I'd have to say my pig. Throw her some table scraps, and water and she is good to go. Never seen her sick.


Of course she is a pet, and I've never tried to raise more than one or any for consumption, so it might be quite different.

Chickens, are a pain. So are horses. 

I hated raising ducks. Too much poop and mess. They would get water everywhere, and it just wasn't a pleasant experience.


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## boykin2010 (Jun 24, 2012)

My chickens I have an automatic Waterer and an automatic feeder for. The only thing I have to do is grab the eggs and clean the coop once a week.  Cleaning isn't bad unless you skip a week then when you decide to clean it is pretty strong.


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## Cricket (Jun 26, 2012)

I'd say cows that have been born on your farm from a good mama that respects the electric fence.  Their mom teaches them everything, feeds them, watches out for them and lets you know if any predators are around, and you seldom have to worry about the weather/temps.


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jun 26, 2012)

manybirds said:
			
		

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I find that hard to believe, sorry . While i will admit we dont have good layers THIS year (new flock) but we had our ducks, and they were horrid layers. They were campbells, if that makes a diff. 

As for the geese - (dont take this offensively ^^, its purely a joke) Really? I want to see goose who you dont need to feed in 3 feet of snow ! Thats AWESOME!!


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jun 26, 2012)

Ive only ever raised waterfowl, chickens and goats, so I'll say chickens. All you have to do is feed, water (which when it rains helps,lol) and grab eggs. Cleaning isnt much of a chore.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jun 26, 2012)

CochinBrahmaLover=) said:
			
		

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I have had Khakis that laid an egg every single day. Some ducks do lay better than chickens, and it's a bigger egg.


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jun 26, 2012)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

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Hm, must've been our ducks, 

From what Ive read tho, chickens are better, but we havent gone too deep into waterfowl , so i dunno


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## boykin2010 (Jun 26, 2012)

CochinBrahmaLover=) said:
			
		

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My ducks are great layers. I have red sex-links and White leghorns from McMurray that just turned 8 months old. My ducks are out laying them. I have 2 pekin ducks and I get 2 duck eggs every single day. They rarely ever skip a day. The good thing about the pekin duck eggs is that they are 2x the size of chicken eggs. So it is really like they are laying 2 eggs a day without eating THAT much more food than a laying hen. My ducks easily pay for themselves. I sell 6 duck eggs for $2 to people who like to bake.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jun 26, 2012)

Yeah you have both sides saying they are better, of course. lol I like both ducks and chickens but I do like chickens more and I only like ducks now if they are for meat. That's a long story.


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## boykin2010 (Jun 26, 2012)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

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I agree. You cant beat my Pekins. Although I have never tried Khakis


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## Stubbornhillfarm (Jun 27, 2012)

Wow!  Look at all the comments.  A lot of bird comments.  Maybe, just maybe,  someday we will have a pond and I will investigate into the world of ducks.  I went to a friends house this past weekend.  She has some and they were a riot to watch if I do say so.


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## greybeard (Jun 27, 2012)

Got rid of both my geese yesterday and don't regret it.  Too much goose poop to deal with, they run the dog off his water and waddle around in it even tho they have both a big farm pond and a smaller garden pond to play in.  (my wife had significant input on this decision as well) I think I'll just build duck boxes to place on the trees around the big pond and try to attract wild wood ducks instead of getting anymore domestic waterfowl.


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## manybirds (Jun 27, 2012)

CochinBrahmaLover=) said:
			
		

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it is hard to believe for most people but true. the things with ducks vs chickens is with ducks u need the right breed/strain. a good strain of khaki's is known for good laying and taisty duckling meat. and lol it depends on where u live, up here in north WI we do feed our. one of the biggest things with waterfowl is proper housing. i here many people say they don't like there geese but those are the people with improper houseing. you must keep them contained if u don't want your yard to have goose poop or them to wander on the road you have to fence them in just like a goat or a horse or a cow or a duck or a chicken. thats what people don't understand they are animals and just like all other animals they need to be penned if you don't want them in your yard. we get hog pannels for fenceing and then lock them up at night in various forms of housing.food and water don't make to big of a mess (though it does make a mess) if you place it right, we put food/water on seperate sides of the pen and we place the water somewhre where it can run downward or run into the drive way wehre the gravel will help. also don't forget that flavorful meat and big eggs and the fat and wonderful down and entertainment and those wonderful sweet ones! ok now i'm done contaminating ur thread with boring facts! (my waterfowl our my babies so its hard not to defend them!)


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jun 27, 2012)

manybirds said:
			
		

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Cool to know. I loved my goose, but he was just a wee baby when the fox got him.  

Lol, i know what you mean!


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## Stubbornhillfarm (Jun 28, 2012)

greybeard, that would be really cool if you could attract some wild life like that.  No responsability in regards to anything, just offer them a place to hide.  If you build them...they will come!


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## EllieMay (Jul 1, 2012)

I have to say the "easiest" for me are my sheep - by far.
And, of course, I have hair sheep; so there is no shearing at all.
I just turn them out onto pasture and that's it.

I want to get a pig to run with the sheep eventually, so I'm hoping a tame pig would be easy to keep.

Chickens are easy, but more maintenance. You have to make sure feeders/waterers are filled and lock up the coop at night.
I use a deep-litter method in my coop, so there's no cleaning involved for me, but I still like to rake the litter on occasion.

I'd like to get ducks or geese, but am still learning about them and will need to figure out a way to keep them and their poop away from the house.


This is a great thread.
I'm actually reading it in order to find other "easy" animals to add to my farm!


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