Minis???

[messybun]

Start by learning about agricultural units. Then cross that with your land. If you want to get into farming read some books, not just forums. On forums you can get some amazing advice, but there’s also a lot of information you’ll miss. I suggest mini farming on a 1/4 acre. Or something like that. With your acerage you may actually be better doing birds and bunnies for animals and a lot of gardening. You could possibly do a few goats if your area is lush. Keeping in mind you will have to buy hay in the winter no matter what. As far as livestock I’ll let people with more experience speak.
Start small. Do not despise small beginnings. Chickens are common to start with because you can do a lot wrong and they’ll still be okay. I love my ducks personally.
Keep in mind you can also trade and sell. If you get bees (you definitely have room for them) you can trade wax and honey for meat. Similar with veggies.
If you just want meat in the freezer this year get a hunting tag and a mentor.
Let me not forget to hammer in check your hoa and laws. Little sucks more than getting your dreams to have to get rid of them because of laws.

 

[Baymule]

How many animals do you think could be kept on a one acre property

Not many. Large animals need 3-10 acres each. Small animals, goats or sheep, I would recommend 2 females and one male. Animal units for small animals can be as much as 5, but you must allow for the young. And at that, you will HAVE to feed them daily and keep hay out 24-7. One acre is not going to raise a lot of animals for you.

An acre may look big, but animals will eat the grass down to the roots and trample it into a dust/mud hole.

JMO I think you would have better results with poultry and meat rabbits.

 

[messybun]

I’d like to mention that Pygmy goats are a thing. Most mini livestock has problems, like other people have mentioned, but small breed goats tend to do fine. They say that Nigerian dwarves are for milking and pygmy goats are for eating. I can tell you my Pygmy mama produced some serious milk though. They just won’t stay in milk as long as a lamancha or toggenburg will. If you just want your own livestock and don’t have that many mouths to feed look at small goats perhaps. I would not want to eat mine, but they are well muscled and have some good flesh. You can also milk them if you want to keep a milking mom and eat/sell the offspring. When I get the ability to I want a full sized milk goat personally, but that is because my goat would have to have a long milk through to make her worth it.
For me I look at logistics and add Murphy’s law to everything. Or maybe Macdonald’s law (he had a farm you know) and assume things will be twice as expensive as I calculated. For instance, someone was selling a standard donkey, big enough for me to ride and cheaper than a horse. I found that a donkey eats about 1.8 to 2.5 % of its body weight per day in hay. At least that’s what the internet said. This was a young donkey and I would make her a work animal so I always assume top number. I also assume she’s the max weight for a standard donkey. I found that with the bales my local farmer grows I would need about 36 for a year. Five dollars a bale unless he goes up with gas prices. The internet also said donkeys do not need grain, but can use some extra food something. I, again, assume that the donkey would need this. Because I do not have enough grazing land to feed the animal I assume I will have to pay for 100% of the feed. The grass I do have should offset this, but I already have goats and other animals and don’t want to assume anything in my favor. Trust me, it’s better to assume nothing will go your way. From there I look at farrier costs and assume this animal will need frequent trimmings. Multiply the most expensive farrier times 5. That’s four times a year and an emergency trip. Then, I take medicine and wormer costs. Assuming this is the sickliest donkey who ever walked my path, and that it will need antibiotics and heavy wormers and vaccines and something else. I also assume two vet visits. Basically, this donkey should be assumed to be the sickliest, poorest, wretch of an equine by my assumption.
Then, I look at possible problems. Like the fact that donkeys don’t often like dogs as would probably kill my old ones. I’d have to fence off a dog yard separate from the donkey. Donkeys are also smart and destructive. Add expenses for toys. Then add expenses for shelter and extra fencing. Because I’ve never had a donkey I figure in costs for a trainer in the first year too. While I would not expect to need one, if I do I want the budget for it. Whatever isn’t used up one way will be used another. I then add $1,000 extra Just because. Now, if I can’t afford that I can’t afford the animal. Oh, and to laugh harder; multiply by two because donkeys need a friend. This is at least how I talk myself out of animals.
Don’t forget to calculate the work increase too, including emergency work hours too. If the animals gets sick or escapes guess who’s responsible...yeah welcome to animals.
You’ll notice I don’t have a donkey.
Good on you for doing your research first. Sorry it’s not the answers you wanted.

 

[Blackgold05]

I’d like to mention that Pygmy goats are a thing. Most mini livestock has problems, like other people have mentioned, but small breed goats tend to do fine. They say that Nigerian dwarves are for milking and pygmy goats are for eating. I can tell you my Pygmy mama produced some serious milk though. They just won’t stay in milk as long as a lamancha or toggenburg will. If you just want your own livestock and don’t have that many mouths to feed look at small goats perhaps. I would not want to eat mine, but they are well muscled and have some good flesh. You can also milk them if you want to keep a milking mom and eat/sell the offspring. When I get the ability to I want a full sized milk goat personally, but that is because my goat would have to have a long milk through to make her worth it.
For me I look at logistics and add Murphy’s law to everything. Or maybe Macdonald’s law (he had a farm you know) and assume things will be twice as expensive as I calculated. For instance, someone was selling a standard donkey, big enough for me to ride and cheaper than a horse. I found that a donkey eats about 1.8 to 2.5 % of its body weight per day in hay. At least that’s what the internet said. This was a young donkey and I would make her a work animal so I always assume top number. I also assume she’s the max weight for a standard donkey. I found that with the bales my local farmer grows I would need about 36 for a year. Five dollars a bale unless he goes up with gas prices. The internet also said donkeys do not need grain, but can use some extra food something. I, again, assume that the donkey would need this. Because I do not have enough grazing land to feed the animal I assume I will have to pay for 100% of the feed. The grass I do have should offset this, but I already have goats and other animals and don’t want to assume anything in my favor. Trust me, it’s better to assume nothing will go your way. From there I look at farrier costs and assume this animal will need frequent trimmings. Multiply the most expensive farrier times 5. That’s four times a year and an emergency trip. Then, I take medicine and wormer costs. Assuming this is the sickliest donkey who ever walked my path, and that it will need antibiotics and heavy wormers and vaccines and something else. I also assume two vet visits. Basically, this donkey should be assumed to be the sickliest, poorest, wretch of an equine by my assumption.
Then, I look at possible problems. Like the fact that donkeys don’t often like dogs as would probably kill my old ones. I’d have to fence off a dog yard separate from the donkey. Donkeys are also smart and destructive. Add expenses for toys. Then add expenses for shelter and extra fencing. Because I’ve never had a donkey I figure in costs for a trainer in the first year too. While I would not expect to need one, if I do I want the budget for it. Whatever isn’t used up one way will be used another. I then add $1,000 extra Just because. Now, if I can’t afford that I can’t afford the animal. Oh, and to laugh harder; multiply by two because donkeys need a friend. This is at least how I talk myself out of animals.
Don’t forget to calculate the work increase too, including emergency work hours too. If the animals gets sick or escapes guess who’s responsible...yeah welcome to animals.
You’ll notice I don’t have a donkey.
Good on you for doing your research first. Sorry it’s not the answers you wanted.

This is all really good advice tho! I’m glad I’m hearing all of this BEFORE i take the plunge. This definitely talked we out of a lot of different animal choices and I think it would be financially and physically better to stick to birds, rabbits and small goats and sheep

 

[Alaskan]

I would recommend 2 milk goats, no more goats than that, and then whatever from the following that most floats your boat: geese (most economical meat I have ever raised, and I love goose meat!), rabbits are also very economical meat, bees, chickens, ducks, quail, and a permaculture type garden and orchard.