Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts!
How many acres does your county consider the minimum for claiming Ag? It might be a good idea to buy at least the minimum.
Even pastured pigs will roll up a pasture if there isn't enough grass. We currently have 4 pigs on 3/4 an acre and they utterly destroyed it in less than a week. We have 8 acres and don't have enough pasture to rotate pastured pigs. A neighbor has Kune Kune pigs, supposedly the ultimate pasture pig, but he doesn't rotate them and they have stripped all vegetation in their pen.
It depends on the county. One county we're looking at has no actual minimum acreage, but there is a functional acreage, so to speak. For animals, they require about 4 AU regardless of species, so I figure there's no point in trying for an ag exemption for them unless we have >20 acres. Another county requires 15 acres for cattle and most other animals.
I really don't see myself getting into pastured pigs, as much as I like the idea. They're just way too destructive. I think I'll need to give any hogs a nicely sized pen that I'm OK turning to mud, run them other places when practical, and just call it good.
Not sure why 3 Dexters vice 2... one pregnant and one lactating...
That's a good point. I had been thinking 1 brood cow for milk + her calf + buy another calf to put on her. We don't need all that much milk, so I think we'd be fine sharing with the babies, and then I would have an extra beef or perhaps a heifer to sell... You know what, though? I'll bet that would work better with full size cattle. AND I'm probably grossly overestimating the availability of newborn Dexters! LOL Also, since space is maybe an issue for us, we're probably better off foregoing the 3rd cow. Thanks.
I'm thinking that if carrying capacity is 1 animal unit per five acres, it's not 'lush' pasture?
LOL OK, you got me there! Still, some pasture around here is, of course, better than others. That's what I was thinking of. Even around here, I suspect that a donkey might get overweight on the best local pastureland. The typical pasture around here is probably right up a donkey's alley.
That was my thought as well Norse. "Lush pasture" on land with a carrying capacity of 0.2 AU/acre seems like it would be an oxymoron. Especially so since that carrying capacity is dependant on "some level of improved pasture". Not sure how easy it is to "improve" sand, rock or clay when you are talking acres, not square feet of garden for personal use where you can afford to dump quantities of whatever the soil needs.
Once again, you guys got me there... Not exactly lush... But by improved pasture, I meant not native pasture. Stocking densities for native pasture here are like 1 AU/15 acres or something. I meant, for example, a pasture planted in coastal bermuda, which is common enough around here... Maybe there's a better term I should've used?
We are considered to have LUSH pasture here. Our recommended stocking rate is 1.33AU(1,333lbs) per 1 Acre but even here a pair of donkey would require at least 2 acres of pasture in order to not tear it up or graze it down to a crisp.
...
Also i would prefer clay to sand so would probly go north or west. From looking at satellite maps north and west also look a lot more green then south and east.
Wow! Thanks so much for all the work you put into that! I really appreciate it! Your numbers and recommendations seem spot on. The only thing I adjusted down for my own purposes was the 4+ acres for pigs... I just don't see myself pasturing the pigs. I'd love to do that for them, but they'er just SO HARD on pasture. If penning them doesn't work for one reason or another, I'll probably just go back to buying my bacon from the grocery store! LOL Really, thanks again!
A donkey is not very cost effective animal to keep. I have neighbors that had jennies and gelded donkeys that harrassed as well as maimed./killed other farm animals that were pastured with them. Consider swaping them for a beef, sheep , or goat for a better return on your investment.
Oh, I'm being totally selfish in wanting the donkeys! I've wanted a horse pretty much my whole life, BUT I have very little equine experience, and I can't get past the idea of horses as money pits. However, larger donkeys can do pretty much anything I'd like a horse to do (pleasure riding, some driving), and they're generally considered to be easier keepers with maybe more sense than horses. I figure if I'm going to get an equine, longears are a good place to start. My dream, though, would be a matched pair of Norwegian Fjords. Anyway, pretty much all my animals need to earn their keep, but the equines can be a splurge, far as I'm concerned! And I've known horses and goats to chase and harass other animals, too, so it's not just the donks. You make a good point, though.
So, my husband and I sat down for a good long while tonight and went back over the potential properties. We've pretty much scratched anything under 10 acres from our list. Actually, we sent our real estate agent a list of our top 5 or so places. They range from just a hair over 11 acres to 23 acres-- Hopefully something in there will work out! Unfortunately, they're all south of here, and I'd rather not head down that way. But up north, the biggest tract in our price range right now is only 8 acres.
