Livestock Worries? Easiest Farm Animals to Raise
Our path with livestock started with a brood of six egg-laying hens in a converted backyard wood shed at our old urban quarter acre home. Before the hens, we just had a grazing garden. But when the ladies moved in, we took our time, watched and learned how the they behaved, fed, and established a pecking order. When we were comfortable in our knowledge, we added a few more and watched as our first hens gently settled into pet status with the their laying years behind them. We have since raised countless chickens, including this year's successful foray into a meat bird flock.
Easiest Farm Animals to Raise
Easy Animals to Breed for Profit
Meat birds can definitely be easy animals to breed for profit with a careful eye on expenses, and for us, the cost of processing our organic birds doesn't add that much to the price, relatively. At the supermarket, commercially grown whole chickens go for around $1.50 per pound, meaning a 5 pound broiler will run you about $7.50. For us, we sell our processed organic chickens for $5.00 a pound, meaning a customer expects to pay around $25. This may sound excessive, but not only is the meat universally tastier than the commercial birds, they are much meatier as well. On average, we get 4 meals out of a single bird in our farmhouse kitchen. Day 1 we roasted the bird, day 2 is a chicken pot pie, day 3 means lunch sandwiches and day 4 is soup from the stock. We would be paying per meal, for a family of five, just over $6. Try doing that will a breast-heavy, body scarce supermarket bird. That's not even mentioning the quality of life that bird had before being harvested. On our farm and most homesteads in general, meat birds live a relatively pleasant life in the happy world of free-ranging and comfy coops before their clock runs out.
Best Farm Animals for Pets
Goats are an anchor farm animal for agricultural clubs like the New Hampshire 4-H Goat Project and are a great way to start your children on the path to connecting with their food and the world around them. As with those animals raised for profit, the best farm animals for pets are the ones you know and have the space and proper equipment for. If you're interested in adding pets to your farm, seek out someone local who does the same thing and ask their advice. Spend some time with their animals and learn what you can before dedicating your time to a new addition to your livestock collective.
Making Money on a Small Farm
Aside from the direct products from your animals, you can be making money on a small farm by teaching others how to raise their own food. Put an ad in the local paper offering hands-on classes for raising chickens, harvesting honey or milking goats. Trust us, there is an interest out there for people not only thinking of having their own homestead but simply wishing to connect with where their food comes from. Set a reasonable price and a schedule with some planned talks and demonstrations. One bonus of having students on your farm is all of the extra help with the chores!
Small Farm Animals
Small farm animals come in all shapes and sizes. Those that make you money will be the ones you put the most effort in to learn more about in order to increase their value. However, keep in mind that the easiest farm animals to raise are the ones you know the most about and have the time, infrastructure and desire to keep. If they don't fit into your life neatly then they simply aren't worth it, no matter the price.
We love the choices we've made concerning our off grid homestead and the small farm animals we have decided to raise, and we would love to hear from you on your insights to the easiest farm animals to raise. Please join the conversation adding your voice in the comments below.
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