Sustainable Homestead Ideas

[Life is Good!]

I have to give you a hard time. lol I would assume you could keep a ton of guinea pigs,, guinea hogs on the other hand the animal you are interested in http://www.livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/guineahog

require about 1 acre per 5 hog

good luck,

Ok, may I join in on the fun?! You couldn't keep a ton of guinea pigs on pasture - have you seen the way they dig?! They'd be out in no time flat! LOL!!!

 

[HeritageGoose13]

I was going to say something but didn't haha! But in all seriousness... you could raise guinea pigs if you wanted to, that's what they were bred for (meat).
Not sure you would find much of a market for this meat however...

Courtesy of the internet, here is a picture of a South American farm, showing how they are traditionally raised. Looks like you could fit quite a herd in a small space!

 

[chickadoodles]

I have read on some of the Face Book pages that people are raising these guinea pigs for food with rabbits.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Yes it's becoming more popular. The meat is called cuy.

 

[chickadoodles]

I suppose that people with small farms or yards might find them attractive. I personally like pork, beef and chicken and large animals.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

A lot of people, from what I've read, raise them as food for other animals... dogs, cats, snakes, ferrets, anything. All guinea pigs (also called cavies) eat is grass, so people can make a good profit off of it in a short amount of time.

 

[chickadoodles]

A lot of people, from what I've read, raise them as food for other animals... dogs, cats, snakes, ferrets, anything. All guinea pigs (also called cavies) eat is grass, so people can make a good profit off of it in a short amount of time.

That makes sense anything to save money.

 

[DarkhorseFarmer]

Thanks everyone! I love all of your thoughts, and humor..

I think starting with a smaller garden makes sense. We'll probably get started planting a few of those apple trees this summer. I may even have an opportunity to pick up some small landscaping jobs with a new front end loader that i'm getting for my John Deere. I could potentially even do some of those side jobs with a friend of mine who has a ton of equipment, but no skid yet..

Keep the thoughts coming as the arise! Wish farm land was cheaper...

 

[HeritageGoose13]

I think starting with a smaller garden makes sense. We'll probably get started planting a few of those apple trees this summer. I may even have an opportunity to pick up some small landscaping jobs with a new front end loader that i'm getting for my John Deere. I could potentially even do some of those side jobs with a friend of mine who has a ton of equipment, but no skid yet..

That sounds good!

I've been thinking you may be able to raise goats in the woods, too. There are some breeds of goats that had gone feral on islands and thrived, sometimes for hundreds of years before being removed. The only thing is these breeds may be hard to find.

One thing we don't always realize is, most animals do not live in open fields but in woods. Even cattle originally came from forests. But to raise these animals in the woods, you would need one with primitive genetics that can survive there.

 

[1cock2hens]

Did anybody say grow mushrooms?, with all that wood all you need is to buy spore plugs,, once you had some spores you could make more of your own. any fallen trees and branches could be used along with trees you have to cut to clear your property.