Is there an animal that will provide me with meat, milk and fiber?

[Guitartists]

OMG! Those are sooo cute

I have lots of reading to do for sure. I got 2 turkey poults (is that the right word?) today.... and all I can say is.... I hope they get meaner as they get older... because otherwise I think my 2 meat turkeys just became PET turkeys!

 

[NOnuggets]

Turkeys can't give us milk or wool...or do you know something we don't???

just kidding...
I know what you mean about pets...we started with a neighbor's extra tom, who fell in love with me...and since I'm not suitable as a turkey bride, we tracked down a wife for him...now they both follow me like lovesick teenagers...We'll never eat the two of them - but their children...well...how many turkeys can you have??? DON'T ANSWER...really I don't want to know (here is where I would insert that hands over ears "not listening - la la la la la" smilie, if we had one) Haven't had any mean ones yet...

 

[kitchwitch]

Yak.

Yak meat is lean

Yak milk is rich

Yak fibre is warm

Yak is the wave of the future

<<<Future Yak farmer and thus very partial.

 

[bulldog-girl]

Meat, milk and fiber? I thought thats what men were for?

 

[NOnuggets]

Yaks take a couple of years to finish though...but you are right -

and VERY cool fiber...Here we don't feed our meat over the winter, we keep it in freezer camp. Chicken, pork and lamb. Can't deal with extra critters with the hard winters...
Guitartist...if you get a yak...I want to know!!!

 

[MissPrissy]

Yak is very expensive too.

 

[NOnuggets]

Yes it is...raising cattle, yak and buffalo are all expensive...and hard to fence

(there should be a smilie for jumping the fence) That's another good thing about sheep! Grass-fed are on the more economical side...and don't take long to finish. Ours are good with fences, and come when they are called when we let them out to free-range - "don't try this at home"

- not all sheep are like Icelandic...if you don't have a trained flock...you better have a good herding dog!

Guitartist...if you are in Michigan, try Laurie at the Lavender Fleece...she is a wonderful shepherd (tell her I said so and I sent you

) of course you are always welcome to come see me in Idaho!!!

 

[Guitartists]

DH saw the YAK recommendation and said... NO way on a Yak... was I crazy? Was it a joke? LOL But he also thinks that you get like a cup of milk from a goat

He knows even less about livestock than I do.... and crazily enough.... I don't know much

I can tell you plenty about pet critters, as I have had just about everything over the years..... but I have NEVER owned any mammalian livestock.

A Yak would be cool....... I could just see all of the puns we could come up with at home...LOL I LOOOOOOOVE those Highland Cattle.... there's a breeder not far from me and I want to go visit this spring. AND... I do KNOW a Buffalo breeder

Hmmmmm..... LOL I doubt we could keep anything though that needed that much room and that strong of fencing. I want to keep it small and intimate enough that when they see me, if they were to get loose or let out by forgetful kids etc, that they would come running or just lounge around the place. We're about 1/2 a mile off US 12 and I'd hate to end up on the evening news

IF I can get everything ready for them ahead of time and show DH the benefits of keeping a little of each... I'm leaning toward 2 goats for milking and 2 sheep for fiber.... and then eat any extras

Just need to figure out how much room..... what kind of shelters they need for summer/winter. There IS a barn, but we no longer own it... the family sold it off when my FIL decided to be a truck driver instead of a pig farmer.

The current owner doesn't use it except to store his camper.... we're going to approach him about selling it back to us, and maybe with an acre or two.... but maybe I will approach him about lending it to us in the meantime. I think given his position in life.... that if he sees we are serious about having a hobby farm, that he will be fair and maybe even helpful. He did say I could have all of that wood to build my coops this spring..... and he could have taken it for himself.

 

[NOnuggets]

Depending on your goat, you can get 2 gallons a day...Never fear...it makes great yogurt and soft cheese...maybe if you supply your neighbor with lots of eggs and milk they'll be inclined to let you use the barn....We trade a lamb every year to a neighbor to allow our flock to graze his gorgeous pasture...

On another board I saw a hubby referred to as a "third generation sidewalk dweller"

and this woman was gradually reforming him to country ways....

On your goat milk, it needs to be chilled immediately (like in the freezer for 30-45 min) and you need to watch what they eat or you won't be able to persuade your family to drink it.

If you wind up with too much, people are always looking for it...I can't supply enough at $3 a quart.

Keeping both goats and sheep - they have different mineral reqs - goats need copper - the samount of copper goats need is toxic to sheep...can be done, just some extra management

 

[MissPrissy]

One area of my property has a huge barn that separates 2 of the pastures. I keep goats on one side and sheep on the other. They never meet except over one small area of fence. They can't get to the others feed or stock tank. One thing that is very rare but can happen - sheep and goats in the right conditions can cross breed. Usually the 'chabin' are still born or die soon after birth.

There are some test tube type cross breeds (geeps and chimeras) but those have other names and their own issues. I believe there is one small herd of naturally cross bred goat/sheep but I beleive the research I read said they were agressive and over active sexually.

Rare but it can happen. I keep mine fenced separate because I am not willing to even risk a short term pregnancy that will abort in either of my ewes or does.

Some people might find me and my thinking ridiculous but you never know when you will have the right combo for weird things to happen. Even if it is a long shot 100,000,000 to 1 chance it could happen.

I don't like dealing with weird.

I like plain ole predictable!

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- I have 2 saanan x nubian does that milk 2 gallons a day.