want to add more animals, need advice on self sufficiency!! #43

[KimberlyJ]

Why not check out BYC's sister site SufficientSelf.com

 

[dinahmoe]

you sound like us.we have chickens and this spring,plan on getting a few pigs and hairsheep.i think we are just going to split a cow with my neighbor for the freezer.i do need to get a greenouse tho.
good luck

 

[Ema]

wow thank you for your responses, I have been wanting honey bees for several years now, and Dh said as long as I took care of that he wouldn't have an issue with it, he likes bees...from a distance...and loves honey, lol.

rabbits are a good choice, but I found myself confused as to what breed of rabbit to get. they would obviously have to be meat rabbits. When I ordered my chicks I wasn't really sure what dual purpose meant. After some research while I waited for them to be ready for pick up I found out.

I forgot all about the sister site, thank you for reminding me

the people that own the goat farm here in town have informed me they can be a handful and a half and that they do not sell goats on their own but in pairs.

hair sheep would be great, though I think I would have to master my shearing skills, the last time I sheared anything was my long haired dog, she didn't look too good afterwards

good thing that hair grows back in!!!

 

[Beekissed]

That's the beauty of hair sheep...they don't need to be sheared! They shed their wool each spring and grow it back in the fall! Easy-peasy!

 

[kla37]

I love the plan of having an orchard. Way back in the day a long time ago, my grandparents and great grandparents kept the chickens in the orchard. It was the best worm and insect control they could have. They grew clover in the orchard, kept the chicken house down there, and they kept the ground clean of insect pests and fertilized while they were at it.

 

[Hound]

Something important to remember about small scale farming: for the most part you're not going to actually 'save' money compared to buying food at a grocery store. The savings usually come in the form of how much an equivalent product would cost. For example, when you take into account the costs involved in raising just two pigs, your pork will be far more expensive per pound than the pork produced by huge commercial operations. You will be eating better, you probably won't be eating cheaper. Now if you're currently buying organic free range pork then the cost comparison will be more favourable. Not to say that homesteading is a bad thing by any stretch, but 'living off the fat of the land' can actually be more costly.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Quote:
We started our little farm here with chickens, then rabbits. Rabbits are quiet, easy to care for, don't need much space, cute, and have good feed conversion ratio. I wanted meat rabbits, but also ones that were pretty.

I decided on Californians, and actually found a lady on Craigslist that was selling them, but decided to GIVE me a bunch to start my own rabbitry. I started with 2 boys and 3 girls. You can easily start with 1 boy and 2 girls. I can sell them to the 4h kids, sell them for show, sell them for pets, sell them for meat... anything I don't sell will go to freezer camp. I just had my first litter. I have a thread on here about them and here are some pics. I haven't made any money yet, but were working on it; I have three pregnant does due next month!

 

[Mattemma]

Quote:
This sounds good. The pigs weren't too bad either if you do pork.All day afair to process a pig.Atleast it was back in Hungary...but so worth it. My one relative had rabbits. I was little and did not realize they ATE them. I just loved all the bunnies. Lots of meat and poo for the garden!

For the the bees I read about top bar hives. Easy to make.You get less honey but overall good.

 

[Mattemma]

What method is used to kill those rabbits? I have seen pigs and chickens killed. Rabbits are a cheap source of meat,but for me killing them would be hard to do.

 

[Lifesong Farm]

Quote:
I use a method called broomsticking. You place the "broomstick" (I really do use the handle of mine) behind the rabbits head over the neck, clamp it down and pull. The neck will then be dislocated, hang it and finish it up.

If you look up rabbit wringer the product manufacturer has some videos that show how to kill.

ETA: the type of rabbit you want may also be decided by the fur. I personally want rabbits that are not white because I want to use the fur also without having to dye it. I currently have Americans and am planning on trading some of them for Silver fox. I can see a fur coat in my future from the Silver Fox hides. Their fur really does look a lot like the fox fur. That way when I skin out my rabbits I am using the carcass for our meat, the fur for clothing or crafting and the barn cats and chickens clean up the mess.