Mini Farm

[BarredBuff]

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What is it?

 

[JoJo 95]

Does anyone know how this can be done.

 

[JoJo 95]

bump

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

Do you have anymore specific questions? You can raise lots of stuff on the amount of land you have. You could have a whole little herd of Nigerian Dwarf Dairy goats, or just a couple of full sized ones. You will to be prepared to provide all their hay and grain since they won't have much acreage to graze. Rabbits are extremely efficient at making meat in a small space, and quieter and more unassuming than even chickens. Don't know anything about pigeons, but I did have a chain link run where I kept a couple of chickens, a pair of mallard ducks, a pair of nigerian dwarf goats, and a silly half-blind rabbit. They all would get out and free range together and did just fine.

Add that to a good square foot garden, and you are in good shape.

 

[88Haywood88]

I think this was said once already, but just be prepared for spending a lot of money on fencing.... pigs will eat everything else you want to raise unless you keep 'em penned up good...

 

[stumble_n_mumble]

dont order any of the poultry! adopt! there are so many out there needing homes... same thing with the pigeons and dogs! its so much more rewarding! i was able to find all but one of my birds/dogs/lizards/and rabbits up for adoption. it is awesome.

 

[Boyd]

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Just to point out that with my rabbits, we just processed and boned some.. 16 lbs of finished meat done up on an $11 bag of feed.... That equates to about uh... $.68 a pound for meat.. And I am cutting weeds, twigs, brush for supplemental feed. Everything that I use the push mower goes into the bagger attachment, dried out on a screen and used as feed/bedding. Rabbits don't make a lot of noise, but really do stink if you don't keep them cleaned up

The good news is the manure is totally usable.. I put it directly on the garden for fertilizer or compost it with kitchen scraps and 1/3 straw or grass clippings to make THE most lovely compost.

 

[hipeatall]

Hobby Farming for Dummies... I found this book really helpful.

 

[TigerLilly]

Do what I did before I started: RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!
I have almost 2 acres and am just starting out with 3 mini goats, 3 chickens for laying eggs and hopefully I will be getting zebu in the very near future.
As was said before about the pigs: fencing is key. also, keep in mind that they are rutters. they will root in the ground & wallow out holes to lay in. Make sure your fencing is good or they will do this in places you may not want them to. I had pigs growing up and loved it, but am not looking to get into them now.
You do need to make sure of your zoning before you start anything with them. Wouldn't you hate to get some critters, get attached to them and THEN find out you can't keep them?
In this age of technology, you can find out just about everything on any thing!
Check out www.BackyardHerds.com too. Lots of info & lots of people to answer all those newbie questions.
Good luck with all of it.

 

[NoelTate]

Carleen Madison, who wrote The Backyard Homestead, spoke at the Decatur Book Festival over Labor Day weekend. I picked up a copy of the book for dad and had her sign it. It was nice to see such an interest and hear about the growth of the small homestead movement. People really are interested in knowing where their food is raised, how it is raised, and in raising their own. Madison got me revved up to get chickens again this coming spring-she is a huge fan of backyard chicken flocks, and she recommended this site to someone in line!