Housing multiple species of livestock together

[marvun22]

I haven't raised livestock since I was in high school, and I'm getting back into it again. I was planning to raise cows, pigs, sheep, and possibly goats and a horse or 2. I don't have my pastures for another year, so everything will have to be in corrals. I can dedicate specific corrals to specific animals if needed. So, which kinds can go with who? I know sheep are poisoned by copper.

 

[secuono]

My sheep, goats, horses, pigs and dog are all together.
Individual personalities matter more than what they are.
If you can make the goat mineral so the sheep can't get it, then they can be together or just give them copper pills 2x a year.
Haven't had cows, most horses freak out over them. Anything with horns can easily kill or injure another animal w/o horns. Horses can kill sheep/goats. Pigs can kill/attack other animals.
Keeping worm load low and pastures clean is also important...

 

[Azriel]

Horses can be a PITA with other animals if they haven't been raised with them. Mine are real brats and have gone after goats, they will chase the dogs, and would love to bite the cows and charge the dividing fence all the time.
I think the cows would be fine with the goats and sheep once they have gotten used to them, and unless they had a very large pasture I wouldn't put pigs with anything.

 

[MDres]

What size are your "corrals" going to be? Most livestock do not thrive in confinement. They survive, but they can have stress issues and illness/parasite issues due to crowding.

If it were me, I would get ONE species right now, and give them all the room I currently had. If I only had an acre, I'd probably get goats or sheep. And only a few of them.

This also would give you time to properly set up your pastures to accommodate all the animals.

And, as always, don't overload your land. It's just ugly in every sense of the word. If you don't know the carrying capacity of your property, talk to a local county extension agent. You can't take the advice of anyone here about YOUR carrying capacity, because it can vary so widely from one area to another, even within a state or county!

 

[marvun22]

Based on all your people's advice. I'll probably just raise either cows or sheep to start out with, or maybe a small combination of both. What I'm not getting for a while is a bull. I have a neighbor who said I could "borrow" one of his bulls for the few cows I would have until I get enough money to buy one myself. My cows and sheep would be just feed bales for the first year, and then I get my haying and grazing pastures back. I'm thinking I will just keep most of my baby heifers as a way to build up the numbers at first.

 

[Azriel]

You might think about just getting a few calves or yearlings and a lamb or 2 until you have some pasture. A bull is a huge waste of money unless you have at least 10-15 cows. Borrow the neighbors bull while you can after that think about AI. You can have 10 cows AI'd for less than a 1/4 of what keeping a bull year round will cost. Your money is better spent on getting real good cows.

 

[marvun22]

And I would rather spend my money on the money makers, not bulls. Maybe I'll just keep one of my young bulls until adulthood. And I was talking with my dad yesterday, and he said I should have one color of cows, because they sell better. Is that true? Me, being creative, would have lots of different colors.

 

[Azriel]

To some degree your Dad is right. If you are taking your calves to the auction, buyers like to see a uniform group of calves. But if they are in very good condition and uniform in size that counts more than color. Altho you do tend to take a hit on price with spotted and roan calves. Here the buyers like black, I like red and white. I have watched the auctions and good calves of any color bring good prices as long as they are preconditioned and feed lot ready. Feedlot ready means they have been preweaned and are eating well, not pulled off the cows the day before you ship so they are milling around, not eating and bawling for their Moms.

 

[marvun22]

Okay, so if I was going to send my cows to market, I go for size and condition first, then uniform color. I can understand why people would want the same color. It would be better to buy 10 black instead of 3 red, 3 white, 3 black, and a mix. And have you had any luck keeping one of your calves to be your future bull.

 

[Bossroo]

Just how much land do you have ? What type of soil, soil depth, grasses, terrain, trees, shelter, etc. Bulls can be very destructive of fences and other types of animals as well as you. Using a neighbor's bull is very generous of the neighbor, but just what is the true QUALITY of this bull as a bull is 1/2 of your herd. I would recommend AI. Make sure that your life as well as liability insurance is in full force. I would consult your county farm adviser for specifics as we know very little about your specific situation .