How much land do I want?

[misfitmorgan]

@misfitmorgan you are good at this! Lol I am so going to ask for your advice when I'm land shopping!

I try to help as much as i can

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts!
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!



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.

No problem, happy to help. If you do penned pigs instead of pasture you could just include them in the 1-2house acres. Dropping down to 2 cows and penned pigs your new minimum number would be 13-15acres. You might seriously consider switching to 1 meat cow and maybe some goats or sheep, if you dont use much milk one milk goat is probly enough for your family.

2 donkeys = 3acres
1 cow = 3.25acres
1 dairy goat = 1/2 acre
1-2 acre by the house
Thats a total of 8-9acres plus say up to 5 meat goats/sheep is another 2.5acres...so thats 10.5-11.5acres plus the 25% for growth/unexspected 14-15 acres.

I don't know what your price range is but this place looks like it could be ideal both in acreage and existing structures. It is South but boy does it look like it has really really good pasture. Appears the proerty is already completely fenced for horses and has a corral and stalls etc.
https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sa...24,-98.111344,29.001534,-99.025956_rect/9_zm/

I also saw this one....it has extra land so you could possibly sell the extra and use the money to update the house. Again it is south but the pasture looks good and it has some pens/a barn.
https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sa...24,-98.111344,29.001534,-99.025956_rect/9_zm/

This place is Northwest and looks nice though more expensive. Just under 18 acres too
https://www.trulia.com/property/3235515992-101-Lost-Vly-Boerne-TX-78006

Have you thought about buying bare land and putting a house on it?

Donkey's can be guard animals as well....depending on the donkey. Are you sure you mean a donkey though and not a mule? Donkey's are much smaller and dont just have long ears.

 

[promiseacres]

Not to squash your dream, but have you ever worked with a Fjord? Lol they are independent stubborn things! To put it mildly!

in my experience so are donkeys....

LMK don't rule out a horse if you wanting a riding or driving companion. There's definitely breeds that are easy keepers and more trainable than donkeys. No offense to long ear lovers, but donkeys do take special people to work with them definitely not for everyone.

 

[Bossroo]

in my experience so are donkeys....

LMK don't rule out a horse if you wanting a riding or driving companion. There's definitely breeds that are easy keepers and more trainable than donkeys. No offense to long ear lovers, but donkeys do take special people to work with them definitely not for everyone.

Due to the donkey's conformation, the ride will be akin to a Model T Ford being driven over a old, pot holed country road.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Due to the donkey's conformation, the ride will be akin to a Model T Ford being driven over a old, pot holed country road.

Thats to keep you awake while your driving....i mean riding

Sorry @LMK17 we are only teasing a bit.

 

[Baymule]

Get a Tennessee Walker.

 

[OneFineAcre]

I'd like to get a mule.
I'm a big fan.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Get a Tennessee Walker.

Anything gaited is so nice to ride.

 

[Baymule]

I'd like to get a mule.
I'm a big fan.

I sold mine last month. Got tired of her wanting to stomp to death any and everything that wasn't a horse.

 

[LMK17]

Sorry I've been delayed in responding. We were camping for a few days, so I was away from my computer.

I try to help as much as i can ...

This place is Northwest and looks nice though more expensive. Just under 18 acres too
https://www.trulia.com/property/3235515992-101-Lost-Vly-Boerne-TX-78006

Have you thought about buying bare land and putting a house on it?

Donkey's can be guard animals as well....depending on the donkey. Are you sure you mean a donkey though and not a mule? Donkey's are much smaller and dont just have long ears.

Thanks again! We seriously considered that one in Boerne. Unfortunately, it's already under contract. Would've been nice to have 17+ acres up that way, though! And that's kinda what I mean about things up there being expensive-- That was a mobile home listed for close to $400K. And even then, that's way less than anything else I've seen up that way on so much land. Properties up north are hard to come by, it seems.

We have considered building. I still kind of like the idea, although I'm worried about unforeseen costs with bringing on utilities and such. I need to talk with someone regarding general building costs around here, but since I haven't done that yet, we're focusing on existing construction. Still keeping the building option open, though.

And I definitely mean donkeys. I have considered mules, too, but since I'm specifically trying to stay away from what I consider to be the major drawbacks of horses (spooky, expensive), I'm not keen on getting anything that's even part horse! LOL I think a large standard donkey should suit us well. I do hear mules are very good at stomping rattlesnakes to death, so they've got that in their favor!

I also like the idea of a donkey as a guard animal. I don't want to get one specifically for that purpose, as I primarily want to drive and ride and donkey, but if the ones I end up with also happen to be good guardians, I won't complain, as long as they leave my dogs alone.

in my experience so are donkeys....

LMK don't rule out a horse if you wanting a riding or driving companion. There's definitely breeds that are easy keepers and more trainable than donkeys. No offense to long ear lovers, but donkeys do take special people to work with them definitely not for everyone.

OK. I may just eat these words at some point in the future, but here goes... One of the things I find attractive about donkeys is that they're more challenging to train and work! Like I said, I'm going to be new to equines, and I actually don't want an animal that's too malleable. I have read that back in the olden days, the first animals given to a kid to train were oxen, as it takes a fair level of skill to train them. The thinking was that the kid would develop solid skills and then could move on to more easily trainable animals after he had a solid foundation. Getting a less "stubborn" beast right off the bat could lead to sloppy work and less patience... Anyway, seems like there's a fair amount of wisdom in that. I don't think I like cattle well enough to work a pair of oxen, though! LOL

 

[LMK17]

Just remember... it's all about location, and you get what you pay for. 8 acres of decent quality property might be far better than 23 acres of crap property.

True. Unfortunately, the area that I like most generally tends to have fewer available properties, smaller plots, AND crappier farmland! It's a a lot going for it, huh?

Not to squash your dream, but have you ever worked with a Fjord? Lol they are independent stubborn things! To put it mildly!

Were you planning on breeding pigs or doing feeder pigs? Sorry I can't remember. Having just feeder pigs in a pen isn't bad, breeding presents more of an issue.

The other thing is, are you ok with supplementing? You don't need that much land if you are supplementing with hay, grain, etc. It's great to not have to buy feed for a good portion of the year but if you end up spending a fortune on fencing it might be better to spend some of that fortune on hay... It's totally up to you.

I have not worked with Fjords! I don't necessarily mind working with a stubborn animal; I want a steady one, primarily. Given the choice, I'd rather have animals that don't want to move when I ask them to versus "well trained" ones who spook and bolt... I've heard that Fjords are generally not spooky and are used some places as therapy animals. So they've got that in their favor... Plus they're adorable. Honestly, though, I'd be just as happy if I end up LOVING donkeys and stick with them.

It'll be feeder pigs. Not really into the idea of breeding pigs.

I'm OK with supplementing when absolutely necessary, but in general, I'd like the land to provide enough forage to keep the animals fed. Don't want to run into an issue of needing to bring in hay in the springtime because there's no enough land for the animals! At least with fencing, I'd buy it only rarely and just have to maintain it in the meanwhile. Plus we'd have some options regarding materials, hire out or provide the labor ourselves, etc. Without the land, we'd be tied to bringing in food regularly, no matter what.