Comments on Crunchy Chicken: What kind of critters would you raise?

Hogs, certainly hogs recommended my bro-in-laws. I...

2011-05-03T11:26:55.323-07:00

Hogs, certainly hogs recommended my bro-in-laws. I can never tell when these southern relatives are pulling my leg! But I saw a glimpse of deception when one said his pet hog would ride in the back of his pickup like a dog. I went with hens.

Nik, Hogs are interesting critters. They do well...

2010-03-15T20:09:16.419-07:00

Nik,

Hogs are interesting critters. They do well, following behind cows. I haven't seen them with other livestock.

The thing with hogs is fencing. They root, they seem to think the bottom wire on a woven wire fence (don't even think of trying with barbed wire only) is a simple tree root - something to push aside or burrow under.

They graze, they eat grass. But they also dig out any hollows, soft spots, or burrows in or under the grass.

They don't sweat; in the heat (or most other times) they will glory in any damp or wet dirt - or droppings or urine collection. Mud is their sun-block and their recreation.

When you work with them, hogs can be very personable, they learn quickly (especially bad habits) - and they are omnivores. Chickens don't usually do well around hogs.

Dad pastured his hogs, for better meat quality and healthier animals. But the winter farrowing, in NW Iowa, didn't get to spend much time in the pasture - snow made getting water and feed to the pasture a problem, and especially keeping the water from freezing. So the winter farrowing was usually kept in closer quarters - and he clipped the tails to try to avoid tail-biting/chewing, that could extend to ears, and cause infections to tail stubs, and possibly crippling spinal infection. He also threw a couple bowling balls in, for them to play with. Some batches were problems, other years nary a hair was turned nor nibbled.

Expect hogs to get into everything at their level. There will be no "this pan is for goats, and this for hogs." With my horses I pen them for 45 minutes twice a day for feeding time; other livestock can get used to that, too. Even my Hackney Pony - that took a half-hour to 45 minutes to get in from the pasture at first, now pens up like a trooper. After five (5) years. No, really, it took a couple of weeks to settle everyone in. YMMV.

Keep a close watch on the fences, get busy with extra t-posts and wire boards/posts onto the bottom of the fence when they get to turning dirt next to the fence, keep the gate closed, use a sturdy gate and good latch (Dad used a length of 2/0 wire chain with good snaps). And you shouldn't have a lot of trouble.

It can be useful to run an electric wire fairly low, to keep the hogs from messing with the fence, but it has to be pretty reliable and you need to check operation almost daily. And only use electric fence with a permanent fence - Stuff Happens, and pigs will take advantage.

has anyone tried to raise hogs, goats and donkeys ...

2010-03-15T17:05:31.216-07:00

has anyone tried to raise hogs, goats and donkeys in the same fenced area? We are going to get hogs this spring, but don't know if we should build a new enclosure for them.

I have chickens for eggs (in a suburban backyard)....

2010-02-10T12:19:08.913-08:00

I have chickens for eggs (in a suburban backyard). I am interested in getting bees for honey so will be looking into that in the next little while.

We have bunnies (just for pets) and I am going to ...

2010-02-10T10:20:37.174-08:00

We have bunnies (just for pets) and I am going to get some chickens this summer. Just a few as we live in an urban environment too, but they are allowed! I would love bees, but they seem like you have to know so much about them.

Since we don't eat animal products, we thought...

2010-02-10T06:27:49.963-08:00

Since we don't eat animal products, we thought for a long time we would never have "livestock" animals. Now, we are re-thinking this as we worry that feeding our dogs should TSHTF might prove challenging. So, here are the critters we are contemplating raising & why:

Worms - garden. Already have these.

Chickens - garden pest control; garden amendment (poop); dog food -eggs & meat (gotta do something with the old hens when they stop laying)

Fish - garden (fertilize with poop); dog food

Agricultural Cavies - dog food. We just found out they have these large meat guinea pigs at the County Fair. These are the ones raised & eaten in the Andes. We fear, however, they'd end up as pets in our home because we wouldn't be able to deal with slaughtering them for the dogs. So, probably won't get any.

Guinea fowl - pest control; security. Only practical if we end up on rural property.

I have the mix I want: A2 milk cow, hopefully pre...

2010-02-09T20:11:49.043-08:00

I have the mix I want:

A2 milk cow, hopefully pregnant with a heifer.
Beef cows
Laying hens
meat chickens
guard dogs

Wish list: calves for to train for oxen. Had drafters, cattle fit our landscape better.

Btw.... (I didn't know where to put this). Tre...

2010-02-09T19:36:43.354-08:00

Btw.... (I didn't know where to put this). Treehugger is having their nominations for Best of Green 2010 ((hint hint!)). I didn't know what catagory to fit you in so I chose culture and celebrity.

I will have bees once my youngest child is old eno...

2010-02-09T19:28:45.863-08:00

I will have bees once my youngest child is old enough to respect the hive (our land is not big enough to keep the hive out of her scope). I can't wait!!! I think both my daughters will love it.

Honeybees are great for smaller tracts of land. We only have a half acre. But the bees will travel miles for pollen/nectar and we have many farms and designated parklands around us.

My grandpa has always wanted a goat (though, I thi...

2010-02-09T18:42:50.270-08:00

My grandpa has always wanted a goat (though, I think it has more to do with his taking over the lawn work than anything else).

I've had the privilage of caring for a friend's chicken while they were out of town. I would get so excited when I'd show up and find a brown egg.

We have a small flock (4) of laying hens, and we&#...

2010-02-09T15:58:20.043-08:00

We have a small flock (4) of laying hens, and we're starting bees this year. This is *just* within the limits of the zoning laws where I live.

If I could do whatever I wanted and had the space, I would also have:

-a few Nigerian dwarf dairy goats
-a breeding trio of meat rabbits
-a larger flock of mixed (meat and layer) chickens and khaki Campbell ducks, and probably quail too
-and then maybe I'd think about some fiber rabbits.

We have seven hens kept for eggs. My husband has ...

2010-02-09T15:20:37.610-08:00

We have seven hens kept for eggs. My husband has a trio of ring-necked pheasants that I think he would like to get to procreate to provide birds for hunting dog training. I think that when the time comes to actually have to sell them to the dog trainers, they will become his pets instead, as I see he has a soft spot for them. We also have a foster rabbit that wandered into the garden about a year ago that no one in the neighborhood has claimed. Her only usefulness, other than being cute, is to help fertilize the compost pile. I would like to have some bees, but the rest of the family is resistant to those.

Have 2 dogs and four cats... would LOVE.... pond ...

2010-02-09T15:18:53.323-08:00

Have 2 dogs and four cats...

would LOVE....
pond with ducks, few goats and cows for milk and MY FAVORITE a few miniature piglets for their understanding and intelligence.

Growing up on the farm, we've raised just abou...

2010-02-09T14:49:51.036-08:00

Growing up on the farm, we've raised just about all the traditional farm animals over the years... draft horses, pigs, goats, cows, sheep, chickens, turkeys, bunnies, and lots and lots of farm dogs. Even once had a baby deer named Bambi that we rescued and took care of for a year before letting her run loose on the farm, but she still came back to visit and to this day we don't allow hunting on the farm because it might be Bambi's descendents.

My husband's family raises pigs, turkeys, chickens for meat and has Scottish Highlander cows as pets.

Us? We have nothing! Not even a fish at our house, but fortunately we live close to our families. We have plans in the works to get chickens for eggs and maybe a duck. We'll also get a dog someday when our kids are old enough to enjoy him.

In an ideal world, I'd have a dairy cow to milk each day, but I wouldn't have to work so I would have plenty of time. I'd also have horses on my own land, instead of at my parents' down the road. A sheep, a pig, a whole little barnyard. But our life doesn't work that way right now!

I would like to have chickens for laying and bees ...

2010-02-09T14:16:42.260-08:00

I would like to have chickens for laying and bees for honey and wax. Right now I only have worms and fiber cats.
If I had lots of space, I would like to raise other fiber animals, like heritage sheep or wooly dog.

1. Do you already raise animals? If so, which ones...

2010-02-09T12:15:41.062-08:00

1. Do you already raise animals? If so, which ones and why (companion, meat, fur, fiber, milk, etc.)?

I currently have Nigerian dwarf goats (for milk and because I love them), and chickens (eggs) and rabbits (pet mostly, thinking about turning to meat).

2. If you had the time/space/ability, which animals would you raise and why?

I'd love to have bees, but can't right now due to phobia from one person, and allergies from another. I'd like to keep pigeons for meat, muscovies for eggs, meat, and bugging; sheep for meat and wool. Maybe cows for meat and milk (and easy butter!), and horses for light work.

If we had the space we would have a little bit of ...

2010-02-09T11:51:37.216-08:00

If we had the space we would have a little bit of everything but definitely pigs. We have a picky eater under the age of 4 and it would have been really nice to have an animal to feed all the leftovers too. The worms do the best they can but sometimes just can't keep up!

1. We have dogs and cats. Not exactly a farm envir...

2010-02-09T11:50:07.016-08:00

1. We have dogs and cats. Not exactly a farm environment wher eI live
2. I want alpacas so bad! Of course I don't have the room for them but I love them for their fiber. I have a duffel bag full of raw alpaca fiber from my cousin-in-laws farm just waiting to be processed (I don't have access to a spinning wheel right now) if anyone has any ideas on where to get it processed I would love some direction. I would also love some angora rabbits but my husband is against any more animals at this point.

I would have chickens again, I really miss having ...

2010-02-09T11:41:25.078-08:00

I would have chickens again, I really miss having chickens for both their hilarious antics, their proud announcement of laying and the abundant eggs.

I loved having duck eggs and the ducks were cute, but very messy, so I'd have to have a lot of space to have ducks again.

I'd like to have rabbits to raise for meat and their pelts.

In my fantasy of fantasies I would like to have a dairy cow, to love, enjoy her milk and her big beautiful eyes.

Goats are sweet, wonderful at clearing blackberries, and I would consider having them in order to make goat cheese. I just don't like goat milk on it's own though or goat yogurt.

At this point I'm not interested in caring for any other livestock.

I really enjoyed this question :) thanks for posting it.

None at the moment, but planning on getting chicke...

2010-02-09T10:43:19.920-08:00

None at the moment, but planning on getting chickens soon. We wanted to do it this spring but won't be able to start coop building till June so might have to wait.
Would love bees.
Do worms count? =)

I toyed with the idea of goats...but it seems like too much work just for me to make goat cheese (don't like goat milk).

I hadn't thought of rabbits, but after reading Farm City I'm intrigued!

I have chickens, and love them. I'm limited t...

2010-02-09T10:33:41.486-08:00

I have chickens, and love them. I'm limited to 3 where we live, and I'd like to have several more. I'd also really like to have goats, but my partner's not thrilled at the idea! And I want bees, but I have a family child care in my home and think that's not the best combo.

Ooh, pp Ed reminded me that my husband and I would...

2010-02-09T10:23:14.168-08:00

Ooh, pp Ed reminded me that my husband and I would love to have two donkeys (I understand they're very social and like to be with other donkeys)!

Chickens are allowed here, so that would be my fir...

2010-02-09T10:19:38.332-08:00

Chickens are allowed here, so that would be my first choice. We're hoping to do that in a few years, when the kids are a little older. But I would really like to raise goats for milk and cheese. Also, goats are popular here in So. Cal for brush management in the backcountry. But they're not allowed in the city. :-(

I have a few Bantam chickens. Initially they were ...

2010-02-09T10:14:03.401-08:00

I have a few Bantam chickens. Initially they were intended to keep down flies behind the barn, but predators got out of hand and they stay nicely penned, pretty much. I am not home as much, so I cannot follow the "turn out at noon, pen by dusk" rule that seems to be the only way to manage it.

I would like a couple of geese for guard duty. And maybe to entertain the pony.

If I could, I'd have a dairy goat, laying hens...

2010-02-09T09:19:36.976-08:00

If I could, I'd have a dairy goat, laying hens, and honey bees. I'd also like a friendly pig.