small homestead ideas

[funnyfarmmom]

Not sure where to put this . Hubby and I bought our current home in March. I was a little unsure about it, but we were out of time to find a place to live, and have you ever tried to rent a place with 7 kids? It doesnt happen. At least not here. So anyway, we have a 1/2 acre. The house sits in the middle to one side, garage behind and to the side again. The garage is right on the property line. So we really only have usable land on 3 sides. The property is in a tiny housing addition out in the country. There are 2 dead end roads about 3 city blocks long. Theres no HOA or covenants. Our county has no zoning. All the way around this housing addition are big farms.

Now keep in mind, our neighbors already dont like us. Shortly after we moved in, without ever introducing themselves to us, they went to a county commissioners meeting to complain about my hubby working on cars in our garage, that I had tilled up a garden spot, that I have chickens and too many noisy kids. They actually insisted the county make us move. This was all in the local newspaper the next day. County told them there is no zoning out here, nothing they can do.

So obviously, I dont care about making my neighbors mad . I currently have 41 chickens, 6 rabbits, and a large garden. I want to grow or raise most of our food. I wouldnt mind using most of what I spend on groceries now for feed, I just dont want any animals I have to live in bad conditions because they are too crowded. Also, hubby wont eat anything thats not what he considers "normal", so goats and sheep are out. Although he has said he may be willing to try goats milk. So Ive been thinking about a few turkeys (turkey is his favorite meat), and possibly raising a feeder pig at a time. What do you all think? Any suggestions?

When I read the newspaper article we did start looking around for a place with more land and fewer neighbors, but we cant realistically sell our house right now. Soon as we can, im all for it!

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Would your husband consider meat ducks normal? How about muscovy ducks? They're bigger, but quiet and lots of people love their meat. I haven't raised them myself, but there's more info on this site. Only thing is they are big- about the size of a large Candada goose. They don't need a lot of water like other ducks.

Also you could consider quail- not sure if that's "normal" or not. These could be raised in the garage if you have enough light in there.

Oh, and you could consider raising fish. It seems a little more difficult than raising land animals, but it could perhaps be done in a basement or garage if you had a way of getting water in and out easily.

Aside from meat, tell me about the vegetables and fruits you are currently growing; I could give more suggestions.

By the way, what chicken/rabbit breeds are you raising? Some are more productive than others so it's good to take a look at that.

 

[funnyfarmmom]

The chickens I have currently are: 9 Cornish X for meat, 4 Black Sex Link hens, 1 Americauna hen, 3 White Leghorn hens, 1 Buff Orpington roo. Then I picked up 10 buff orpington chicks, 10 Barred Rock chicks, and 3 Jersey giant chicks yesterday. All straight run. Any boys will be processed except 1 Barred Rock if I have any, the girls for eggs. As soon as I process the Cornish X next week I plan to order another batch of 25 then no more til Spring.

As far as the rabbits, I have no idea on the breeds . Hubby brought them home from the feed store which just lists them as "assorted breeds". I dont know that I will actually get him to eat them or not lol.

My garden- now keep in mind that we just moved here in March and the soil isnt the greatest. Hard clay. I mixed a lot of bagged soil in and have compost started to put over it this fall. But I have tomatoes growing like crazy, green beans, corn, and potatoes. Next year I plan a lot more once I get the soil in better shape. I can a lot and we do have a root cellar here.

Im not sure I could get him to eat duck. He wants a pair for pets . I have eaten goose before and loved it. Quail would definitely be a no-no.

I think Im going to check into the ducks you mentioned, as well as turkeys. I know nothing about raising either . Hubby just told me to buy a duck at the grocery store and let him try it before I invest in raising them haha.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Okay, but just so you know- muscovy ducks taste different from other breeds. So try and check the label to see if it says "muscovy" on it or not.

Here's a couple old threads on the topic:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/708532/best-meat-duck-muscovy-vs-pekin-vs-mulard

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/281366/pekin-vs-muscovy

A lot of people seem to prefer muscovy but it seems they take longer to grow than say pekins. I've never raised ducks for meat but I have some for eggs. Some duck breeds, by the way, lay more eggs than chickens. Check out Welsh Harlequins and Khaki Campbells, they can lay 300 eggs a year- that's almost every day with just a short break.

The rest of what you say sounds good. One thing to consider is, if you were to raise all of one pure breed, you would be able to sell offspring for a much higher price. I don't know if that is useful to you however, since you said you're just planning on eating the extra males.