Ethical Carnivores

[NH homesteader]

Oh, and 40 chickens for a cat??? Wow! Ok, so say you raise Cornish X meat birds for your cat, say you butcher them at 4 lbs, that's 160 lb of meat. It costs about $2.50/lb if you butcher them yourself with the average cost of grain (around here) so that's $400 worth of chicken. I think I would skip a cat too!

 

[JoyfulGoats]

The 40 chickens was based off of people saying they gave about 200g of meat per cat per day. That is way too expensive! I guess I'll stick to my future goats as being "pet dogs". Anyways, they should be fine. They will be sleeping in an enclosed shed, and during the day there aren't any predators (except cats, but I would only be worried about the chickens for those).

 

[Baymule]

I just got rid of my mule because she wanted to stomp to death everything that wasn't a horse. Make sure the mule you buy gets along well with other animals.

 

[JoyfulGoats]

Wow, really? I hadn't heard of that happening. Did you get her as an adult? (Maybe if the mule grew up with the other animals...). Have you had any donkeys before?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I had a mini-jack that also tried to kill everything...everything! He picked up my PGCH pygmy doe and tossed her through the air then tried to stomp her to death. He got cut the next day...didn't help enough so he was re-homed to someone who was warned!

 

[JoyfulGoats]

Wow! I guess I'll cross them off my list then. Not worth spending that much on an animal that might not behave. I guess I'll just stick to goats and sheep as my mammals. Those of you who have LGDs, are your animals in 3 sided shelters? Otherwise, is it because you have a lot of predators during the day?

 

[OneFineAcre]

Wow! I guess I'll cross them off my list then. Not worth spending that much on an animal that might not behave. I guess I'll just stick to goats and sheep as my mammals. Those of you who have LGDs, are your animals in 3 sided shelters? Otherwise, is it because you have a lot of predators during the day?

I have LGD's because they are cool too.

 

[Bruce]

I don't think a donkey or mule will keep mice and rats away

Raising meat chickens to feed your animals shouldn't be terribly expensive. Especially if you have them free ranging, feeding themselves and can replace from within rather than buying chicks every 8-10 weeks. BTW, you don't need to raise "can't stand on their own after a month or so" Cornish Cross meat birds like the ones you buy in the store. Don't stuff them with food so they grow fast. Let them range, they can breed and raise chicks same as a layer breed.

 

[NH homesteader]

Yeah you can't really do that with Cornish Crosses, they can't live that long. And no, you don't need to raise them, I was just giving an example.

 

[BrendaMNgri]

Once we move to our farm, I am considering the possibility of getting a cat for mice/rats, or a dog to guard the animals. However, I don't feel comfortable giving them standard dog or cat food, since the animals in it come from industrial farms that don't treat the animals right. Since one of the reasons why I want livestock in the first place is to have animal products from happy animals, then it seems wrong to then get a cat or dog that wouldn't eat the same way.

Do any of you feed your cats or dogs with the animals you raise? If so, how many animals do you need and how does it work?