how much livestock per acre

[KristyHall]

so i've been reading different things on different animals and i have run into a lot of disagreements.

so if you have a small mixed herd of chickens, horses, cattle, sheeps/goats etc, how many animals per acre is a good combo to insure good grazing?

i've always been curious and wonder what everyone here thinks?

 

[Katy]

Quote:
It all depends on your location, the weather that year, the type of grass you have, and the type of animals you intend to graze.

Here it takes about 7 acres in a good weather year to graze a cow/calf pair for six months out of the year. In other areas it's going to be much more or less depending on the above that I listed.

 

[KristyHall]

that makes sense.

it probably also depends on the breed. i'm sure an angus bull would need more than say a cracker heifer.

 

[Orchid]

Yep, it all depends on soil type, precipitation, foliage/grass...in short, location. And yes some breeds within a species are more efficient than others (mini horses vs. Thoroughbreds, for instance), and obviously some species are more efficient than others.

 

[thekid]

500 chickens for acre is what i have been told...

 

[deerman]

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION ....here in Ohio more head per A than say like out west.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

There are places in the southwest where it takes almost 30 acres to support a cow-calf unit.


Rusty

 

[PotterWatch]

The land we are moving to was being used for raising beef steers (brought in around 500lbs and grown out to butchering size). They could put 10 on in the winter and 4 in the summer without needing to supplement feed or water too much in the summer. It is a total of about 7.5 acres.

 

[Anarchy82]

For me I've learned even though it looks like good land, its not always the case. Once we get rain about 3 of our 14 acres is just a mushy mess. So obviously the land is good when not raining. But horrible for a couple days after a storm.