Why Should You Have Animals on Your Homestead?
Back in the day, (long ago) before there was a common currency, those who had land were generally the wealthiest individuals, but that also included the animals that live off of and abide on the land. Animals themselves were a form of currency. Animals provide you with resources for food like meat, milk or cream, fur that you can turn into yarn and clothing, or even lard or tallow for soaps and salves. Not to mention the compost! With all of that, not only are these resources available for you, but you can sell them for money.
What Homestead Animals Should You Have?
Homestead animals come in all shapes and size with needs from big to small. The homestead animals you should have would be ones that make the most sense for your current conditions, living environment, knowledge, interest and resources. They all have pros and cons associated with them, but there are ways to leverage some of those cons. The most important part about determining the types of animals you should have really comes down to whether or not you can ethically care for them.
Types of Homestead Animals
There are many types of homestead animals – typically what you’d think of as farm animals – but they all have a purpose and/or provide a resource.
Rabbits
Rabbits are easy to care for, are naturally cute, and can be used for multiple purposes such as meat, fur, and compost. Their poop is one of the only animals’ that isn’t hot and can immediately be used for compost in the garden. Rabbits are not only a great animal to practice and learn about animal husbandry with, but also for your child to work with in 4-H. And because they’re so cute and cuddly, it’s not hard to sell the babies if you want some extra pocket cash.
Pigs
Pigs are generally pretty quiet unless they get scared. With meat in mind, they are very low maintenance since you only have them for a short period of time. They will till the soil and uproot large trees and roots with their snouts. The main resource is their meat and lard. The lard not only can be used to cook with in place of another oil or fat, but it can also be used in soaps and salves. They will eat pretty much anything so you can feed them food scraps to cut down on cost. Though they are not aggressive creatures, they can bite and there is a more dangerous element due to their weight that should be taken into account when in their space. There is also no way around their smell, but at least it’s great for the garden.
Sheep
Sheep are good for meat and wool. You can raise two sheep per acre feeding on the land alone and they will eat down to the root of most plants. You can graze sheep and cattle on the same fields by following up the cattle with sheep because they will eat different things than the cattle. They’re also easy on fencing due to their compliancy.
Alpacas
Alpacas are gentle and friendly animals that are generally easy to handle. They have a soft and luxurious fleece that can be used for a variety of purposes, such as making clothing, blankets, and other textiles. Alpacas should be kept in pairs or groups. Their fleece requires annual shearings and they are prone to certain health issues.
Donkeys
Donkeys eat a lot of the same things as cattle so they can graze simultaneously. Aside from being low maintenance, they’re both affectionate and natural protectors, but they can be stubborn and require regular hoof care. Did you know Donkeys can live up to 30 years?
Chickens
Chickens are what’s known as a gateway animal into homesteading. They’re funny little creatures that you can’t help but love. Not only are (unfertilized) eggs a cruelty-free way of consuming protein due to chickens laying eggs regardless of whether or not they’re fertilized, but chickens are also a great meat source. They’re very low maintenance and will eat pests like mosquitos, spiders, and ticks. Other birds to consider would be turkeys, guinea fowl, and quail.
Goats
Goats will eat almost everything including invasive species down to the root preventing it from growing back in most cases. They’re great at clearing land from that standpoint. Goats’ milk is lower in sugar and higher in protein than cows’ milk. It reduces inflammation and acid reflux. Because the molecules are also smaller, it’s more easily digestible and you can actually wean a human baby from its mother and onto goats milk where you can’t for cows’ milk. Not to mention goat cheese. No further explanation needed. But of course, goats like to climb and will eat what you don’t want them to if they have access to it.
Cows
From heifers to bulls and steers, there are many different reasons to get a cow. A heifer is a female cow that will produce milk after she’s calved. The calves can be sold or raised. Bulls can be used to inseminate while the steers are generally for meat. Overall, there are ways to make money selling the resources the cow produces, but between milk and cream alone there’s a vast array of different dairy goods you can enjoy or sell.
Great Pyrenees
Great Pyrenees are the cream of the crop for livestock dogs. They are very gentle and kind with humans but are unbelievably vicious toward predators. From our neighbor’s experience over 30 years of owning and breeding Great Pyrenees, there’s nothing a pair of them can’t kill. They’re adaptive in all climates and you don’t have to have them penned in since they are easy to train to walk the land and come back. While they are amazing protectors, they are very expensive.
Horses
Aside from generally being amazing creatures who are like big dogs and the benefits of having an alternative transportation method, they’re expensive to care for with not much else of a return from a homestead perspective.
The beauty of these animals is that in the mindset of permaculture, they can really be used to work the land and prepare it for other animals or coexist alongside other animals that compliment one another based on their preferences for grazing and habitats.
There are many animals out there that we can find resourcefulness and purpose in – even if that purpose is found in love and companionship. To that point, it’s not just a one way street that we are exploiting for our needs alone. There is a mutual respect and care for these animals that should be heightened as a result of their provision and contribution to our needs. This distinct difference is what highlights our humanity in the first place.
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