New to the Forum! How's my set up look?

[Concrete_Cowboy]

Hey all!

I recently have the opportunity to build a farm on my family's 50 acres of land in Northern Alabama. It has always been a dream of mine to build up the farm to it's glory days or at least into something functional that will allow my family to eat fresh and maybe make a few on the side. One note: The white line is the road i'm planning to construct up the mountain from the main house to the barn.

I put together a picture diagram of what I think I want, but I have minimal experience with livestock. I do have a green thumb and have the knowledge for larger scale farming. My questions have to do with animal housing, fencing and if my set up makes sense. I'm also looking for anything to keep in mind when developing the layout of the homestead.

For a little bit more information about the property... The main living house (for humans) sits at the bottom of a foothill (or in a valley), at the top of the hill is a 20+ acre pasture. The bottom of the hill gets some pretty bad flooding if rains are heavy (separate topic) but the top of the hill is all pasture that is currently used for hay production. It has been surveyed and has previously grown cotton/corn crops in the past. Because it has less flooding and more space this is the space I would want to use for animal housing/pastures.

As you can see in the picture I have split up the cow pasture to allow for separation if needed and to rotate food sources for the cows. The Horse area would include a outdoor riding area for ground work then a larger fenced in pasture for the horse to chill with access to barn when needed. The Goats would use the same barn as the horses but at the opposite end with their own fenced in area. To the left we have a wooded area that has a swamp which I want to dig out and fill with a pond (ideally populated with fish). Next to the pond I would like to put a place for ducks. Closer to the Main House we would have a place for chickens/rabbits.

It dawned on me that I could reverse the pastures and put the cows where the horses would be. That would give the cows access to the Pond making feeding a bit easier but then again I'm not sure how the Pond ecosystem would hold up with cows using the space.

A few direct questions.
- Any Barn layouts people have access to they like for multi-animal barns (looking at 2 horses, 3/5 goats, maybe a donkey, dogs)
- Thoughts on how animals get a long. Can I put the horse with goats for socialization?
- Thoughts on having your animal barn a 10-15 min walk away or a 5 min 4 wheeler drive?

Any suggestions/thoughts/etc would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Baymule]

Welcome to the forum! I’m in East Texas where it is heavily wooded and lots of pastures, hay fields, mainly cows and some horses. So naturally I have sheep. LOL

My late husband was born in Killen Alabama and family moved to Florence when he was 10 years old. North Alabama is some beautiful country. What town do you live near to?

Now let’s get down to livestock. I think you are getting too many too fast. I have 25 acres, I only have sheep and dogs. I still have to finish fencing, building a barn, so I don’t overwhelm myself, it’s just sheep and dogs.

Cows. How many? What breed? Dairy or beef? Do you plan on keeping a bull? How many of that 20 acres will be set aside for the cows?

Goats. Dairy or meat? 3-5 goats, plan on breeding them? They have twins, there will be a population explosion. The bucks stink during breeding season. If your goats are for dairy, you will have to keep the buck far away from the does or the milk will taste like the buck smells. After raising those adorable babies, can you eat them?

Horses. They need room. Plus feed and hay, plus a farrier to trim feet every 6-8 weeks. Check on the cost of that.

Dogs. What breed? Farm dog and companion/pet or livestock guard dog?

Donkey. Brilliant smart animal that has you figured out. Notional. They have been known to kill newborn goats and sheep. Some are wonderful, some are not. A mini donkey is a prey animal just like the goats, too small to fight off a dog pack or coyotes. A standard size is big enough, but is still a prey animal.

Socializing the horses and goats…. Sometimes that works. Horses are big, they play hard, one kick and you’d probably have a dead goat. Some do just fine together, just know the risks.

Chickens, rabbits and ducks. Each has different housing needs. You can’t put them all together.

Fence. Goats are notorious for being escape artists. They jump, climb, wiggle and outwit your best attempts to keep them in the fence. They are smart, have personality plus. The fence must be sheep and goat wire with the 4” holes.

Horses are easier to keep in a fence.
Cows can be held in a pasture fenced in barbed wire. But then it won’t hold goats or dogs should you want to move the animals around.

Each animal has its pros and cons. All are a lot of work and a lot of fun. All can give you tremendous satisfaction and happiness.

My advice is to pick out 2 or 3 different animals to start with. Get your fences built, shelter and have water readily available. Pick the animals that mean the most to you.

20 acres is not going to hold the cows, horses and goats. It will be over stocked. Large animals need space. Maybe get goats instead of cows, or raise a single steer for the freezer. Goats could give you milk and meat and be a whole lot easier to work with. Cattle need working pens, a chute to run them through, a head gate to hold them so you can give them shots, etc. Are you ready to work a 1800 pound pissed off bull?

Predators. What are the predators? They will come to the buffet dinner.

I’m throwing it out there to get you to think things through. In your excitement, don’t run out and get everything you have dreamed of. You will get over your head real quick. Go slow, get 2 or 3 animals, add others slowly. Learn as you go, ask all the questions you want, we will try our best to help you.

 

[Concrete_Cowboy]

The property is in Eva not that far from Florence at all!

This is exactly the kind of post I was looking for. I'm putting the cart before the horse (pun intended), as you can tell i'm excited to see where this new adventure takes me. I am very aware however of the negative impacts I can have by gathering animals without a clear plan of action and abilities to make that plan actually work like skills, resources, money, time, etc.

I will think more about your questions and perhaps respond back with more details

Thanks for your quick and thoughtful response.

 

[Mini Horses]

Agree with @Baymule ...and I've had all of them!! Currently goats & chickens, plus 4 old, retired mini horse mares. They stay as are last of my yrs ago mini horse, mini donkey, goat farm.

Slow .... And consider... Build a house in a flood area? Swamp, into pond? Be sure the planning dept in your county will allow these things before you go further. Insurance costs? 15 min walk to barn? Not great but, ATV will work. Cost of road to this barn? You'll need to carry hay/feed, building supplies there....big trucks? Buying tractor?

It's a project you have there!

 

[Baymule]

More than anything, we want to see you succeed. We don’t want to dampen your enthusiasm, farming is a journey.

I’ve made many mistakes with my sheep. Unfortunately my mistakes usually cost the life of the sheep. I had twin lambs die in my arms because I fed them milk while they were cold. Sounds reasonable that cold lambs need warm milk, right? Wrong. They must be warmed up first, then they can take a bottle. When cold, they cannot digest the milk and it kills them. I learned that after feeding the cold lambs. They were dying. So I held them in my arms until they died. I couldn’t take the poor babies to the barn and leave them to die. There were lots of tears over that.

Know this up front; if you have livestock, you are gonna get dead stock.

Let that sink in. Everybody here has lost animals for various reasons. We grieve, we are sad, but we don’t quit. We go forward. For me, it’s like this, if I quit, I would miss all the joy, and the joys outnumber the hits. I’ll take the hits so I can have the joys.

Now, start educating yourself. There are massive amounts of information here in the forums. Pick the #1 animal you want, go to that forum and start reading. Come up for air, and ask questions. There are no stupid questions.

I studied the forums. I wanted small livestock so I studied goats and sheep. I chose sheep, I discovered hair sheep that didn’t have to be sheared. Even better. So now I raise Katahdin hair sheep.

North Alabama is beautiful country, hilly, forest, green grass and clear water in the creeks. It sounds like you will have some challenges with the terrain on your land. DO NOT put your home on a flood plain. You will have nothing but heartache. Talk to neighbors, get their experience and advice. Talk to family that may have experience with the land. A home is a costly permanent structure and you gotta get it right the first time.

 

[Concrete_Cowboy]

Agree with @Baymule ...and I've had all of them!! Currently goats & chickens, plus 4 old, retired mini horse mares. They stay as are last of my yrs ago mini horse, mini donkey, goat farm.

Slow .... And consider... Build a house in a flood area? Swamp, into pond? Be sure the planning dept in your county will allow these things before you go further. Insurance costs? 15 min walk to barn? Not great but, ATV will work. Cost of road to this barn? You'll need to carry hay/feed, building supplies there....big trucks? Buying tractor?

It's a project you have there!

The house already exists as well as poll barn at the foot of the hill. The house is over 75 years old.

The farm area would be self contained and would be able to produce hay for the animals. Road already built just needs some Regular use. I will have to build a road on top of the mountain where the farm will be however.

Thanks