# Begginer Livestock Help



## Smittenroade (Sep 1, 2011)

I am from Texas and live on a 200 acre farm. I was recently looking into getting some livestock to make the land a bit more productive and make a little money. Most people keep cows out here and I was wondering how profitable are they? I know it is no walk-in-the-park because I have helped many ranchers. I'm currently clearing out 15 acres of trees and am going to put up a fence. 

What kind of livestock should I get? 
How productive/profitable are cows?
Any kind of information you think would be helpful to me would be MUCH appreciated!


----------



## kstaven (Sep 1, 2011)

:bun

Linked back to the BYC conversation so people can keep up on things. http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=7303979#p7303979


----------



## Roll farms (Sep 1, 2011)

I saw in the other post you were considering goats.

Get 'Goat Rancher' magazine.  I have gotten more wonderful information from my subscription to that than any other source, either online or in a book.  
I have a mixed meat and dairy goat herd in IN.  

There are a LOT of boer goats in TX.  Your best bet would be to talk to some people locally who eat goat and find out what they like.  I've heard some don't care for boer (too fatty).  Might want to get some Kiko bucks and cross them to Boer does (my favorite cross).  Boers take more inputs than other meat breeds (Spanish and Kiko) and won't do as well on forage alone.  Also not as parasite resistant.

I've heard there's a drought in TX right now (I know it's a big place and that may not be true state-wide), and that hay prices have gone nuts.  No matter how cheap you get the goats, if you have to pay too much to feed 'em, they're not gonna make you a profit.

I've had llamas, alpacas, sheep, goats, horses, rabbits, pigs, emu, etc. etc.  Goats are the only ones who've stayed long-term.


----------



## 20kidsonhill (Sep 1, 2011)

sheep seem to be  very profitable, meat prices seem consistant. We have goats, but from what I can tell from local farmers the sheep farmers are doing pretty well. Atleast here on the east coast.

suffolk/hampshire crosses are really popular right now.


----------



## 77Herford (Sep 1, 2011)

What part of Texas are you in?   
Though I raise cattle, I wouldn't recommend them for a novice.  Sheep would be good or Chickens for free range, you can sell the eggs for three times what the grocery store does for the factory made ones.


----------



## Smittenroade (Sep 1, 2011)

77Herford said:
			
		

> What part of Texas are you in?
> Though I raise cattle, I wouldn't recommend them for a novice.  Sheep would be good or Chickens for free range, you can sell the eggs for three times what the grocery store does for the factory made ones.


I'm in East Texas. I'm not completely novice I help alot of the ranchers around here take their herd into auction and feed them everyonce in awhile. I already have like 40+ game chickens and leghorns and sell the eggs everyonce in awhile. Can you raise sheep very well in Texas? It seems like it would get too hot for them, at least in east texas...


----------



## Smittenroade (Sep 1, 2011)

Roll farms said:
			
		

> I saw in the other post you were considering goats.
> 
> Get 'Goat Rancher' magazine.  I have gotten more wonderful information from my subscription to that than any other source, either online or in a book.
> I have a mixed meat and dairy goat herd in IN.
> ...


Thanks for your insight. Yes, we have a drought pretty much statewide right now but we are expected to get some rain pretty soon. I will be waiting until after the drought to start buying. Goats seem like a good investment right now...I'll look into them more thoroughly. I know a lady that makes soap from her goats...She should have some good information.


----------



## 77Herford (Sep 2, 2011)

Goats are a nice option but there are many breeds of sheep that could handle Texas.  Australia has more sheep than people so if the sheep can handle Aussieland I'm sure they can handle Texas.  Dorpers will shed in hot weather and are good meat sheep.


----------



## 20kidsonhill (Sep 2, 2011)

don't think goats are a bad idea, but as far as sheep in texas, I know they have some high-end farms ,which means they must do well, The gentlemen that sells us our show lambs each year, often goes to texas to purchase his main breeding stock. Sheep do seem a little hardier than goats, so you may keep that in mind while doing your research, but sheep have their own issues and extra chores as well.


----------



## Roll farms (Sep 2, 2011)

I like goat's personalities eversomuchmore than sheep.  We've had 5 difft. breeds of sheep.  They're just sorta...there.  I like an animal that will at least notice me on occasion besides feeding time.  We have an old suffolk x hampshire ewe (and I do mean old - she's 11) and that'll be the last sheep here when she goes.

Hardier?  Yup.  I've not dewormed Pokey in 6 years.  Fun?  Nope.  If all you want is profit, sheep may be better for you.  But goats make me smile.


----------



## 77Herford (Sep 3, 2011)

Yeah, never met a sheep with personality, doesn't mean they don't exist.


----------



## Smittenroade (Sep 3, 2011)

I've been researching a little bit and came down to one goat breed that I think would fit my needs...
What do you guys think of Boer goats?


----------



## Roll farms (Sep 3, 2011)

Smittenroade said:
			
		

> I've been researching a little bit and came down to one goat breed that I think would fit my needs...
> What do you guys think of Boer goats?


That's a can of worms....

Boers have earned a bad rep for being parasite-prone, bad mothers, weak legged, bad-uddered, etc.

IF you find a breeder who focuses on the strength of their overall herd, instead of the almighty dollar, and get strong healthy animals, you can do well w/ them.
Especially since you are in TX.  When boers live in wet climates, there tends to be more problems b/c of hoof rot and parasites.

I bought 3 very fancy Boer show does when I first decided to get into meat goats.  2 died giving birth, the other produced puny kids that didn't thrive.
I said, "To heck w/ this!" and sold the Boer buck I had, got a Kiko, and had some big old healthy babies.  But that Kiko buck was MEAN, and people where I lived did not care about the vigor of the kids, they wanted Boers / boer looking goats (white body / red head) to show.

By then I'd started reading goat rancher magazine and had learned a thing or 10 about the right questions to ask and qualities to look for.

If you're wanting to raise goats for meat / market alone, I would suggest a Boer buck and several Boer x Spanish and / or Boer x Kiko does, OR a Kiko buck and Boer x Kiko or Boer x Spanish does.  There's really no reason to spend the money on purebreds if they're going to market (IMHO).  And I've found crossbred boer goats are ever so much hardier than purebred for the most part.

You might also want to buy a dairy doe or two, to get extra milk to raise bummers on.  Their kids will be leaner, but can still sell as meat animals or be kept for breeding.

Keep records of which does are the best mamas - weigh the kids at birth and weaning (some weigh every 30 days, too).  Keep track of which does look the best when their kids are weaned.  If the doe loses half her condition and becomes weak during the process, you won't be able to rebreed her as fast and she's not a keeper.  If a doe gets wormy more than 1-2x a year, cull her.  If she orphans her 1st kids, give her a second chance, but cull her if she rejects her second kids, too.  That sort of thing.

I have 2 FB Boer does now.  One kidded 6 wks ago and already one side of her udder has dried up completely, I'm having to supplement her smaller kid.  The other one I bought purely for color as a baby...she is half the size of my % boer kids the same age.

All my other meat does are % Boer or Kiko and they do well.

eta: Most Boer breeders will not tell you these things, they want to promote the breed.


----------



## 20kidsonhill (Sep 3, 2011)

Smittenroade said:
			
		

> I've been researching a little bit and came down to one goat breed that I think would fit my needs...
> What do you guys think of Boer goats?


Run for you life!
Take the money and go on a nice long vacatio instead!  



Sorry haven't had my coffee yet this morning. 


If you aren't wanting to do shows and high-end breeding stock for sure look around and consider the vigor of a crossbred. and for sure purchase from a farm that is raising goats the way you want to raise goats.  There are a lot of boer farms raising their goats in pens only and worming often. I would aviod that type of stock and go for stock that is pastured and are wormed on an as needed basis.  Their stock will have way less problems and not as resistant to worms. 

That isn't to say boer goats don't need any grain supplementation, because they will. unless you have tons of alfalfa and very high protein forage and hay available to you. If you aren't wanting to feed harldy any grain, then that is another thing you need to look for in your new boers, Is the stock you are buying being fed grain all year round, or are they more pasture raised. Can the moms raise a set of twins to 50 or 60 lbs on barely any grain and only pasture and/or hay?

good luck on your decision?


----------



## Smittenroade (Sep 3, 2011)

lol thanks both of you great info! I am actually copy/pasting the stuff I need for later...
From what I've gathered a cross-breed most likely Boer/Spanish would be the way to go. I read that the cross-breeds are much hardier all around. 

But to tell you the Gods honest truth...There are ALOT of people that raise goats around me..(1 out of 5 houses) I will stop by a couple places and ask around about their breeds. I am mainly just trying to get a in-the-ballpark estimate of what I need to search for. 

From what you guys are saying I shouldn't exactly focus on the breed as much as the quality. Most people around here raise there's naturally (Not in pens) I think any meat goat would do. I know to check it head-to-toe for flaws ect and ask about the persons culling preferences and ask to see the mom and pop. (Sire and Mare?)

Is there anything else that I should ask, or pay close attention to? 
Like diet? Should I get papers on it? 

BTW...also, should I buy as kids? Or should I go for a mature buck/doe?


----------

