Money Making Livestock for a Hobby Farm

[silverfilly]

We have been there, Got plently of horses with very good lines and yet cant sell them fo much these days. We are tring to get into meat goats as we only have 19 acres. We are buying a really nice meat buck and cross him on some commercial does and keep evey doe we get. then we will get a fullblood boer buck to cross back on the does. We are hoping to make a little profit but we know we will not be able to quit our day jobs. I am also tring to get a couple nigerian dwarfs for milk and sales but to much came up and I had to put that off for a couple months.

We also have the chickens and by the end of the year I will have a couple different breeds to set up and sell hatching eggs from as well as farm fresh eggs to the locals. I think its better to have a couple different options incase something happens in one market or something happens to your stock. We are also going to be planting fruit trees so we can sell fruits and such.

What ever u decide good luck

 

[Cara]

Hobby and profit are usually mutually exclusive. In order to be profitable, it needs to be a full-time venture with a significant investment of time and often money. If you want a hobby, you're more likely to just break even.

 

[Beekissed]

That depends on what you consider profitable. I consider any profit as being profitable. I would consider a hobby something you don't plan on making a profit upon...unless of course you can sell the end result of your hobbying. Then I would consider that a profitable hobby.

Money over and above expenditure of money and time is, to me, profit. Every little bit counts!

 

[username taken]

To the original poster:

I may be jumping in a little late here, but on a small property the best way to make money is by having registered breeding and even show stock. Having commercial stock, to make money you need to have it on a large scale.

Since you are well versed in breeding horses, you know about looking at pedigrees, conformation, breeding choices, nutrition to grow them out to their potential, handling, showing etc. I would take your knowledge from this and apply it to whatever species and breed you choose.

If you are particularly interested in the St Croix sheep, I would say go for it! Its a good choice to start off with a hair breed because you dont have the hassle of shearing. I'd also suggest you look at the Katahdin, mainly because the Katahdin come in a wide variety of colours, whereas the St Croix is white. Being a hobby farmer, much of your market will be selling to other hobby farmers, and I have found a big selling point is to have many different types of colours in your flock. Much like horses. Its one of the reasons I got into Damara sheep, which are another hair breed.

Whatever breed you choose, I'd suggest you find a registered breeder and explain what you are looking for, get the best bloodlines and conformation you can possibly afford. Buy a small flock, ideally look for four or five older ewes (4 to 6 yrs old) that are currently pregnant, and an unrelated ram that you can use on the older ewes and their lambs. Go with registered animals, become a member of the breed society yourself, and register the lambs. I would also suggest showing your stock as the best way to make money off a small acreage is to have elite animals, and a reputation for top quality, show winning stock. As you know from horses, this will take a while to develop but it is the best way to make the most money off a small acreage.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

(And here is a pic showing some Damara hair sheep and the multitude of colours you can get!)

 

[yoker]

Boy lots of info and Ideas floating around here.
And for chickens, Goats, Sheep... You can get meat and eggs that you don't have to buy at the market.

 

[beak]

Quote:
They are becoming more popular in my area with small herds popping up here and there. (not very pretty though) Will

We looked in to Alpacas when we first bought our property. The going price was 30-100k. That was the price for a bred female. The breeder explained that they have a no import restriction and they are just like show dogs. The more they place the more they are worth. A lot of people use them for a tax write off. You can claim 33% per year for three years. If I bought one they would lift the import restriction and drop the tax write off and they would be worth the same as a Llama. I think they're cute.

 

[Whispering Winds]

Quote:
ABSOLUTELY!!!! I have seven, four of them was a bargain for $1300. I LOVE them, and they hum when they are happy and poop in a pile, HOW good is that??? I have three more in Missouri, along with two great pyrs that are high end, and I did pay $8000 for a stud

and $6000 each for two females,

but should have two good babies next year out of them, and the female I just bought for the bargain isn't registered, but she has wonderful fleece!!! They are definitely work looking into. Try alpacanation.com or alpacaregistry.com and see what kind of info you can see on there. Or just type in alpacaranching and you will be amazed at what comes up. Gosh, did I get carried away? Sorry!!! Guess you can tell I really really love them!!!

 

[NOnuggets]

We would suggest that whatever you choose, it is edible...so if you can't sell it - you can eat it instead of feed it

That way no matter how much you lose, you won't starve.
We started with Angoras...switched to Icelandic Sheep. Still have incredible fiber, but a broader market for lamb than goat (chevon) plus, there is a niche market for milking sheep, pelts and horns.

 

[beak]

Quote:
ABSOLUTELY!!!! I have seven, four of them was a bargain for $1300. I LOVE them, and they hum when they are happy and poop in a pile, HOW good is that??? I have three more in Missouri, along with two great pyrs that are high end, and I did pay $8000 for a stud

and $6000 each for two females,

but should have two good babies next year out of them, and the female I just bought for the bargain isn't registered, but she has wonderful fleece!!! They are definitely work looking into. Try alpacanation.com or alpacaregistry.com and see what kind of info you can see on there. Or just type in alpacaranching and you will be amazed at what comes up. Gosh, did I get carried away? Sorry!!! Guess you can tell I really really love them!!!

They must be dropping in price. The guy we talked to offered to sell us a non registered fiber only. I knew a guy that I dealt with on a regular basis. He owned an alpaca ranch and said he sold one for 250k. I figured that they would eventually drop just based on the rate of breeding and the number of people getting in to it. Do you show yours or just collect the fiber? Is there a market for the fiber?