What animal is best for me to start with? Please post!!!!

[patandchickens]

I am thinking, hair sheep and "pastured" broilers. I will have to cultivate a market for the lambs

Probably good to see if there IS a market, first before getting attached to the idea or even getting sheep. There isn't a market for that kind of lamb everywhere.

Be aware that sheep classically do not do well indoors unless it is not "really" indoors but more like a 2- or 3-sided shelter with the remaining side/s totally open. They need DRY FRESH air, not stale humid indoor air. So how well this would work for you depends what your barn is like.

but broilers should be slightly eaiser.

You could also look at what the local market is for turkeys. Either heritage, or free-range-humanely-raised commercial BBW/BBB.

Pat

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Goats are clearly, from reading all the hoohaw on here, not about to make anyone money and you will surely be in the hole with all the medicines and dewormers you will have to buy just to keep them alive. They appear to have enormous birthing problems, high kid fatality rate and require specialized feeds to keep them in condition...from everything I read on this forum.

This is just my opinion of course, but goats are not that hard to raise. I do believe that some people tend to freak about every little thing that could possibly ever go wrong. Plus, this forum has many many brand new goat owners who have never owned livestock and have no clue about how to raise them, so you tend to see more threads about "I NEED HELP WITH _____" than you may see in a forum based more on production and not just pets. This may not exactly be the best forum to get a good basis of raising goats for production (be it meat or dairy).

 

[theawesomefowl]

What is a good breed of hair sheep? Now I'm all interested in them.

Here is my plan: During the last year I have done much research on many species and breeds of animals. I think I will try raising some different species until I find one that makes money, I enjoy, and that works for me.

 

[freemotion]

You said you don't have much pasture. That means you'll have to purchase most/all food for your livestock. Yikes.

However, there may be a good market for pastured broilers and pastured eggs, especially if you are willing to cull your laying flock. I could sell pastured eggs here for $4 a dozen to a small but growing market if I wanted to...I have sold my excess in the spring to a long waiting list of people. You do have to do some searching and some educating to find those people, though. Do some research on any local (maybe a two hour radius) chapters of the Weston A. Price Foundation. The members are very educated as to what really good food is and are willing to drive for it in many cases. Educate yourself as to exactly what they are looking for, too.

Read all you can by/about Joel Salatin, as he uses many methods of sustainable farming that work nicely on a small acreage. I am amazed at the improvement in my little two acres of pasture by implementing only a few of his ideas. I use no chemicals on my land and it is new pasture (forested only a few short years ago, so not much topsoil) but improves by leaps and bounds each year. The pastured chickens made a huge improvement in my soil.

 

[theawesomefowl]

Thanks for replying. I am doing some research, and will def. do pastured broilers.

 

[theawesomefowl]

I inter-library loaned Pastured Poultry Profits!!!! Can't wait till it comes!!!!

I may do them with sheep and eventually COWS. I loooooooove cows!!!!
:bun

 

[jodief100]

You biggest hurdle with pastured poulty is processing. Research the laws in your state. There are restrictions about selling processed animals. Some state require all need to be processed by an approved facility. Other states have excemptions to allow home processing for small numbers.

 

[theawesomefowl]

Maybe i can home process, or we have friends who have the equipment at a farm.

 

[jodief100]

Check to see if it is legal to sell home processed chicken. Here in KY it is not. Some states allow it up to a certain number, usually 100 or 500 per year.

KY requires it be processed by a federally inspected and licensed facility in order to sell it.

All of this varies by state so check your local laws.

 

[mully]

What ever you choose investigate all your options and remember you do this out of love because unless you raise the goose that laid the golden egg it is difficult at best to break even. Good luck !!