Meat Animals (long)

[peeps7]

Miss Prissy, I ordered pure cornish and pure white rocks.

I'm gonna look into some of the breeds ya'll have mentioned. I won't actually be raising the turkeys, just raising 1 or 2 for thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanks!!

 

[OurLittleFarm]

I agree that rabbits would be very good to have. They are easy to maintain and you get a great return on your investment. We raise New Zealand rabbits for food. Boer goat are excellent meat goats but if you want milk for cheese, yogurt and ice cream you may want to get a dairy goat too. As far as cows go or nieghbor has Black Angus. They calf very easily and are pretty well mannered. The only thing you have to watch is that you dont breed them to anything with Holstien in it or you will run the risk of having babies that are too big to be born.

 

[TheOLDNewChick]

Raising rabbits is a very good idea. They're fairly easy to keep up with and the meat breeds are usually very well tempered and not too much upkeep is required. Good luck!

 

[mom'sfolly]

I buy pasture raised Berkshire pork at the local farmers market. It is by far the best tasting pig I've ever had. More marbled fat than modern commercial breeds, but if the animal is pastured the fat is higher in omega-3s and other good things than convential pork. Yummmy!!!!

 

[MRNpoultry]

One day I want to be able to raise all my food to. Here is a link to all the different breeds of livestock http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/swine/

If you go down on this page there is heritage breeds of livestock under meat and poultry - http://www.slowfoodusa.org/ark/ark_list.html

 

[hcammack]

I want to raise all of my own food eventually but may be when I graduate from college I can move onto that.

Henry

 

[peeps7]

Thanks everybody!!! I think I'm gonna look around locally to see what I can find and then let a'll know. I'm saving up for a fence for my goats, the reason I have to save is because I'm doing a wood fence with wire between the slats. EXPENSIVE!!! But it looks great, lol!!

 

[kstaven]

if you are going to look at a highland cross I would recommend a Highland Dexter cross. Very good meat yield, a good capable forager, not grain dependant, and can be used as a milker also. They are docile as the average dog and easy to train. Overall better characteristics than either breed on its own. Feed conversion rates are excellent.

 

[First To Hatch]

Durocs are pretty good for slaughter pigs although I've also heard they can have structure problems, boer x spanish goats are a good idea for meat as well and if you want goat milk might not hurt to get an extra la mancha or saanen doe. Heritage turkeys are probably the best choice for table fare, good job on the cornish and white rocks prolly the best meat breeds you can get. And as for cattle if your raising them I'd reccomend to get some angus/red angus heifers and a hereford bull or some hereford heifers and an angus/red angus bull I'd think the best if you tryed to stay with the british breeds for beef. Also nothing wrong with getting rabbits for meat a 30'' x 36'' cage would house a doe and her kits (I think thats what baby rabbits are called? been awhile since I had them) rabbit meat is great if you get any get new zealend whites or californians I love rabbit meat personally but they multiply to much lol (I had trouble sexing them so would accidently mix up genders) but I usually do buy a couple rabbits ever summer to feed out and usually slaughter by the end of summer. Also if your raising your own meat then if you already don't have it then buy Barnyard In Your Backyard by Gail Damerow I have it and its a book you can pick up and find the info you need it tells you about raising/keeping/housing rabbits, chickens, ducks, geese, cattle, veal calves, sheep, and goats.

 

[Carolina Chicken Man]

Peeps7,
Not sure what part of NC you are from. My father in law raises cows and pigs in Wayne County. He has about 50 cows, calves and steers right now. Most of them are angus mixed. He sells off some heifers now and then, not sure how close you are.

I got the impression that you are not just going to feed out animals, but have your own breeding stock?

The one thing I was going to offer as far as cows are concerned, is that he has improved his stock over the last few years by renting a registered angus bull. He pays someone a certian amount, and then keeps the bull for a few months to breed the cows. Then he takes him back. Next year he gets a different one.

As far as pigs, he cycles a few in and out after a few litters. A lot of times, he'll just go by a couple of feeders at the auction, raise them, breed a few litters then sell. Most of what you find at the auctions is similar to the commercial pigs, which is a comination of about all that have been recommended Duroc, Yorkshire, etc.He has a boar now and is going to get a couple of guilts from the swine unit at NC State. My wife was the nursery manager there and has a connection, but they sell excess to anyone. Guilts are selling for around $.30-.40 per pound right now I think. Feeders are selling for $10-$15 each. Because of the high cost of feed producers are selling off stock so pigs are selling dirt cheap. Seems odd since it's so high at the grocery store.