Need a Change? Best Farm Animals for Beginners

For us, our lessons were learned and honed on a little 1/4 acre urban homestead in south-central New Hampshire. We had enough land for a struggling garden, a few animals that the neighbors didn't mind and a whole lot of shade to deal with. It's not that unique of a situation, but it helped teach us the importance of knowing our property and what the best solutions were for it.
Best Farm Animals for Beginners
This meant we would be faced with a choice once the girls stopped laying. We could move them into the stew pot or we could keep them as pets, where they got to live out their days as matrons and do nothing but cluck, entertain, teach and eat. I suppose you know which choice we went. I think I could have gone either way at this crossroads in our homesteading education, but my wife was adamant. They would be pets and that was all there was to it.
Self Sustaining Farm Layout

Much of the property was overgrown with random wild flowers. The pattern was so erratic that after asking the previous owner what the deal was, we learned of his distaste for lawns and gardening, leading him to buy bags of wildflower seeds and scatter them about the place. This will come back as a benefit for us with the bees coming in this spring, but it took a lot of energy to clear out the spaces for the paddock, coop and garden. I mean A LOT.
The idea was to have the garden close enough to the house to be seen and visited frequently. The chicken run was moved from beside the sheet-metal garage to the garden bed simply for a healthier and safer scratching period in late fall and winter. They will return to the garage-side coop when spring arrives. Below the solar panels, with their fronts facing south and towards some fallow pastures in the woods, the bee hives will be placed. There is little chance of their foraging to cross the paths of neighboring homes, but we will just have to see when the time comes.
Best Farm Animals to Raise to Make a Profit
In general, however, the best farm animals to raise to make a profit are the ones with little overhead, minimal care needs and simple to prepare for a market. These generally tend to be small animals like rabbits or chickens, but if you are thinking of running a small pig yard with 3-4 heritage breeds, those could work as well. Just remember, the larger the animal, the larger the investment.
For backyard chickens, because that's what we really know, we are able to eek out $2-3 a pound profit per processed bird. That includes everything from initial purchase to feed to paying a local poultry butcher to dispatch, clean, process and pack. A larger flock means more birds and a decrease in costs, so we will be looking into that this coming season.
Easy Animals to Breed for Money

Let's say you specialize in registered Nigerian Dwarf goats. Your care of these animals means you can market them not only for meat and dairy, but also for 4-H programs, yoga studios (yes, I said Yoga studios) or any other niche where that particular species fits nicely. Rabbits, again make great pets. Chickens do well in new flocks and can be desirable if their genetics are good. Do your research and find the animal that works for your situation and see if there is a local market.
Cheap Farm Animals for Sale
We love sharing our homesteading solutions with all of you, and love hearing your perspective as well. Add to the conversation below with your thoughts on the best farm animals for beginners. What do you raise? What lessons did you learn that made you take a second look at your livestock selection? Let us know in the comments below!
Comments