Farm Size?

[BarredCametLaced]

If I wanted to have a farm with 5 horses, 2 draft horses, 30 sheep, 2 goats, 40 chickens, 2 pigs, and a turkey or two PLUS some woods for trails, how big of a farm would I need?

 

[Alice Acres]

This hugely depends on where you live. What one acre of land will support can be several animals, to just a fraction of one animal per acre.

 

[ksalvagno]

With that much, I would want a minimum of 25 acres. But that also depends on where you live.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I'm on 10 acres, and it would be enough room BARELY for those animals... however that would be assuming I am providing 100% of their feed.

 

[BrownSheep]

How much supplement are you thinking? How many trail?
I would say 30< depending excess land you might want.

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

Lots because no matter what you get, you will never have enough.

Like Alice Acres said, it really depends on where you live. Where I live in Maryland, or extension office suggests that for pasturing animals, assume 2 acres for the first and 1 acres for each additional animal. However, if you are willing to provide Hay all year long, you would need less pasture. We have two draft horses, 2 sheep and 10 goats on 3 acres of pasture, but they have hay available all year long, the female goats are supplemental during pregnancy and lactation. As for the chickens, you need a good size chicken house, again build it twice as big as you think, because you will always want more chickens. Will you want them to free range or will you keep them in a yard.

Good Luck.

 

[Shelly May]

You need to think about the prices of hay and grain, they are really high because no rain this year, if you put
a pencil to it a Land payment is cheaper for pasture arces, and you will own it in the end. If you buy more then
you need for the livestock to eat, you can hire someone to hay it for you for your winter feed. You know they say
grass fed animals are better tasting meats. NO not the Horses.

 

[20kidsonhill]

I think it is like 4 or 5 sheep per acres of good grazing land. So the sheep alone would be 6 to 8 acres, minimum.

I was thinking at at least 30 acres, with at least 10 being good pasture. Like already mentioned depends on where you are located. How much feed you are wanting to supplement.

I would think for trail riding you would want more like 80 or 100 acres. We had 80 acres when I was a kid and it was not through the woods, all crop land, but fun for riding around it. I would think 30 would be a minimum for trail riding.

Good luck. We have 6.5 acres. I would love 30 or 40. And a place to ride one horse. One of the reasons I never got my kids a horse, is there is no place by us to ride one. The roads are way to dangerous. I used to ride on the side of the road when I was a kid. But the roads by us now are narrow and windy and no side to them. Virginia compared to Wisconsin.

Hope you find the perfect farm. The land by us is crazy expensive.