What farm animal???

Question

what farm animal requires the least amount of care?

what farm animal can you make the most money with?

what are the best grazers?

all in all what would be the best farm animal for a new farmer to care for???

Answer 1

goat

Answer 2

I think that for a begineer, roosters and hens.

If you want something more exiting, can try with ostrich.

Answer 3

ok - a lot of people said sheep..

let me tell you about sheep..

1 - there is NO money in WOOL.. you pay to shear them and often cannot sell the wool for nearly what you paid for shearing and your own time... its not worth it to raise sheep for wool.. only one breed of sheep is paying for itself wool wise - that is the columbia sheep - they are big...

2 - sheep are NOT easy to care for... (not HARD>. but not easy)  wool sheep must be shorn.. tails docked.. feet trimmed.. dewormed.. etc.. at lambing time they sometimes have problems... (not as bad as cattle) better if you select a smaller breed for sire..

I have sheep - HAIR SHEEP

they have many advantages..

http://www.scienceray.com/Biology/Zoolog...

here is a pic

http://www.picable.com/Nature/Animals/Ba...

price depends where you live and what you can sell to.. will you get rich?? NOPE.. 10 years ago the market was WAY better than it is now...

you could do well to raise veges, and free range chicken eggs.. have a few sheep too.. but diversity is the key to success..

Answer 4

I would also recommend doing some research on some of the mini-cattle.  Because of their smaller size, they're easier to deal with than the full-size and they actually produce more meat per pound than the full-size varieties.

Answer 5

Get chickens...leghorns are best for eggs.You could also get chickens for meat.

Answer 6

sheep maybe?

Answer 7

I would stay away from traditional animals until the genetic bomb threat is over . ..especially ruminants. Try cash crop for a few years. I think roses is an excellent choice , unless it is too late.

Answer 8

No one thing fits all categories listed and all animals need your care, but try chickens for eggs and for show. Meat is a consideration also but everyone who has ever eaten a fresh free range egg that comes from a bird that is feed organically or naturally will be as an addict at your door waiting for the fix. Birds are easy to get even by mail (chicks or eggs) and cost is really reasonable. See below. PS chicks generally don't eat or drink for 2 days after hatch so an overnite from a hatchery is cool.

Answer 9

I second goats.

They metabolize almost anything,

they return with milk much more

When the produce, they produce in 2's and 3's

And goat cheese is IN

Answer 10

When if comes to grazers, here's the choices.  

Horses are inexpensive right now because the killer market has dried up, they eat a lot, tear up fences, are spot grazers and can severely overgraze pastures to the point of destroying the grass.  Vaccinations are needed for such things as West Nile, they are easily cut and skinned up and vet and maintanence needs can be expensive.  In nearly all cases, there is no money to be made raising horses unless you happen to have a Kentucky Derby winner (highly unlikely!).  Unless you're a genuine cowboy or Amish, most horses are nothing more than expensive pets.

Beef cattle are expensive to purchase and because of the 9 month gestation period and time to puberty, it takes several years to develop a herd that has the potential of being profitable.  Beef cattle are tough, can tolerate adverse weather, manage on poor forages, are low maintenance and have a ready market.  Breeding causes problems, bulls are expensive to purchase and maintain and they are very destructive to fences, bale feeders, barns or anything they can butt, roll, turn over or c**p on.  Artificial insemination or leasing a bull during breeding season cuts bull maintanence costs but each has its own disadvantages.

Sheep are less expensive initially and offspring reach breeding age sooner than cattle.  With good management, the production of twin offspring lets you build a flock quicker.  They are more suceptible (particularly wool breeds) to intestional parasites and timely worming and vaccinations are more important than with beef cattle.  Sheep, hair breeds in particular, are more apt to eat undesirable weeds and brush than are cattle.  Fencing is more difficult than with cattle with woven wire needed more often and electric fencing requiring multiple wires with powerful energizers.  Wool breeds require shearing and unless you have specialty wool, wool production is usually a headache and money losing proposition.  Buildings need not be as substantial strength wise as with cattle and sheep are very tolerant of cold and rain.  Rams are much easier to deal with than are bulls.  Predators can be a problem.

Goats do well when eating brush and weeds and do an excellent job of clearing neglected land.  Bucks stink during breeding season and have disgusting habits all year long.  They are intolerant of inclement weather and when in poorly ventilated quarters, can easily develop pneumonia.  Most breeds are very suceptible to internal parasites when forced to eat grass or legumes at ground level.  They also need good fences, but the voltage requirements for electric fences are less than for sheep.  Goats are more people friendly than sheep and become pets readily.  There are meat as well as dairy breeds.

As far as the best animal for a newbie, Katahdin or Dorper sheep or Boer goats are a good choice.  The ethnic market is good for both goats and sheep and a flock is less expensive and quicker to establish.  Hair sheep don't require shearing or tail docking and have eating habits more like a goat when it comes to brush and weeds.  If you want something that will also serve as pets, goats is the way to go.  Actually, both sheep and goats can be raised together with little conflict.  Worming and vaccinating is a very important management tool with both (check sheep!.com and you will find a good article I wrote on parasites several years ago).  Housing and handling requirements for sheep and goats is much less expensive to build or convert in an existing building than for cattle.  In winter and muddy springs, large animals like cattle and horses can cause severe mud and erosion problems.

Answer 11

hogs  free range and goats

Answer 12

I'm with Bohemian Garnet!

Chickens are a good way to start for a new farmer, and I think my neighbors are closing in on that guinea pig market - LOL!  

I have often thought the same things about suicidal sheep.

I think pigs are high maintainence because if you pasture them, you need to train them to the fence and watch them pretty closely, and if you live near woods and they get out, it will be hard to find them again.  Some breeds are more suited to pasture than others as well.   The Tamworth is a nice pasture breed, but not cheap, even as weanlings.

I have been wondering about the mini cattle, especially with the new info about the A1/A2 genes for casein production in milk.  Supposedly, only goats and mini cattle are sure things, and with traditional cattle it is hit or miss.   But I digress, dairy is not a good way to go if you want less labor and to make money.

Answer 13

I'm a small farmer, on a permaculture farm.  I've been doing this for over 20 years.  I raise meat goats, and meat rabbits as my main products.  I've raise a bit of everything over the years.

Cattle are expensive to get into, and can be hard on fences.  The only way to truely make money with them is if you have the pasture to graze them nearly all year around.

Pigs are cheap to get into, especially right now.  So cheap in fact that weanling pigs in my local area (Idaho, heart of potato country) are selling for $12 each.  Weanlings normally sell for $50 each.  So good time to get into pigs, really bad time to try and sell them and make any money.

Horses...you cannot make money with horses, unless you have an extremely fancy line, and ride the show circut, keeping your name, your farms names, and your horses names out there.  In other words to make money with horses, you need to be a millionare.

Sheep....dumber than rocks.  If they don't fling themselves into any puddle of water, and drown themselves, they will seek out any thorny bush, or bit of barb wire fence they can get their wool stuck on...just so they can die of overheating.  I swear sheep spend the day looking for ways to kill themselves.  No money in wool, unless you happen to be a fiber artist, and have fiber artist friends who wish to purchase your wool.  Hair sheep don't need to be shorn, and are slightly smarter than the wool bearing breeds.  Lambs grow fast, and you can have a good market for lamb at the right times of year (Easter, or Ramadan are prime).  I'd have to vote sheep as the "best" grazers.  So good in fact, they will use their sharp little hooves to dig up the roots, so all you are left with is bare dirt.  You have to manage sheep well, and not allow them to overgraze.

Goats....great money in meat goats.  I can sell all the kids from my 100 doe herd, and all the kids from a fellow goat farmer....he has 300 does.  I sell all of my goat kids right here on my farm, and do not ever trasport to auctions.  To make money in goats is virtually impossible for a newbie.  You need fencing, and shelters, and fencing, and minerals, and fencing....did I mention fencing?  If your fence won't hold water, it won't hold goats.  Not exactly true, but close enough.  

Goats and sheep DO NOT MIX WELL.  Actually the herds can run together just fine, but you need a way to separate them every evening.  Goats have high mineral requirements for copper.  Sheep are extremely efficent at getting copper from their diet.  The copper found in the minerals for cattle, horses, and goats will kill sheep, they are so copper sensative.  So you have to figure out how to make sure the sheep do not get into the wrong minerals (and remember sheep spend the day searching for a way to kill themselves).

Geese are fantastic grazers, and require very little care after they feather out.  Unless you have a specialty ethnic market, I don't see you making much money on sheep.

Chickens require little care after they feather out.  If they are allowed to free range, they can get all, or nearly all of their food requirments from the natural environment.  Especially true, if you have an orchard the chickens can scavenge under.  Tons of bugs, and fallen fruit.  You can make a few extra dollars selling eggs, or meat chickens.  Chickens are very easy to care for.

Ducks...Khaki Campbells will lay more eggs than laying chickens!  Ducks are stupid....they will lay their eggs in water if they have access.  Not much money in ducks, unless you have a specialty ethnic market for them (usually Asian).  Ducks are very easy to care for.  

Meat rabbits....fairly easy to care for, but do require daily care (unlike say a beefer grazing in a field).  The wire cages can be pricey.  The rabbits themselves are inexpensive.  If you live near an afluent area, where people papmer their dogs, you may make a killing raising meat rabbits.  There are a LOT of people who feed their dogs only raw food, like rabbits, or chickens.  The best thing about the raw pet food market is that you don't have to have the inspections you do if selling meat to humans.  Rabbits are easy.  The cages can be a high cost right off the bat.  You can make decent money off rabbits.  Rabbits need daily care.

Llama...no money unless you are a fiber artist.

Alpaca...no money, unless you are a fiber artist.

Guinea Pigs....yes you read that correctly!  Can you believe the U.S.A. imports over 100 thousand of the little suckers each year?!  A completely untapped potential here in the States, for anyone living near any sort of ethnic (Purivian) population.  Any person who gets that off the ground stands to make a lot of money raising guinea pigs.  Guinea pigs are easy to raise, have live births, of 1-3 babies.  So they are slow to breed, but easy to care for.  Guinea pigs graze very well.  If you made portable pens to keep them safe from birds of prey, cats, and dogs, they would do well on pasture.  Guinea pigs need vitamin C, as in something like Tang is often added to their water.

Doves, pigeons, and squab type birds...easy to raise, unlikely to make any money unless you have a specialty market.

Frogs....usually too many regualtions, and very expensive to get into if you do not already have ponds.

Turttles....great money in the ethnic market.  Turttles breed well in the right areas.  If PETA ever finds out what you do, expect your farm to be picketed daily.

My advice is to start small, and with an inexpensive animal.  Chickens would be the best in my personal opinion.  You can get your chicks for $1-$2.50 each.  For not much money, and not much equipment you can start at the very least producing eggs.  If you decide you hate it, you will not be out a lot of money.

I'll also relate a story to you.  One of my Mom's good friends purchased a yearling beefer to raise at the auction.  He and his wife (proud of themselves) brought their new cow home.  They backed the trailer up to the pasture of deep, lush grass, and flung open the trailer doors.  The young beefer shoot out their trailer, and with tail held high, he ran accross his new gorgeous five acre pasture, untill he came to the fence......which he ran through, like it was the ribbon at a finish line.....and kept going.  It was the most expensive $800 steak they never got to eat.  They never saw that cow again.

Do a LOT of research, before you purchase what-ever animal you decide.  I researched meat goats for two years, before I purchase my first....and unlike most people I'm actually successful at raising them.

~Garnet

Permacutlure homesteading/farming over 20 years

Answer 14

The easiest and best for a beginner would be chickens. Free range chickens are easy to care for and you can make a little money from selling eggs. Beef cattle are the best grazers and are good for a beginning farmer, but you should carefully plan and talk with someone with experience that can be around and give advice when you need it. Your County Extension Agent is one person you need to get to know before jumping into raising beef cattle. I'm saying this for the sake of the cattle as well as for yourself. Money can be made with beef cattle and they are relatively easy to care for, but they do need a lot of care and you can't just buy a bunch of cows and expect to get rich while sitting on your porch and watching them get fat.

Answer 15

think about it was right.. and his links are good...

mixed farming.. and the kind of sheep he mentioned... stay away from wool until the market gets better.

Answer 16

1) Sheep

2) Sheep(use wool)

3) Sheep

4) Over all I raise Suffolk Hampshire cross sheep and they are multi-purpose animals. and cute

Answer 17

bikinkowboy pretty much nailed it, but just to give you some personal experience.

I have horses - they are high maintaince and the market is very low.  Not the best choice for a new farmer.

I recently aquirred sheep - I love them!  They are great grazers and pretty easy to care for - but you can walk out and just find one dead, or dying. And it's hard to tell why.

Cows - higher initial cost, need more feed and grain, but if you have pasture and you just want one for your freezer you can raise one and have some great ground beef.

Overall, I would say sheep or goats are a best first investment for a new farmer and you will learn alot before moving up to larger animals.  Good luck and have fun!