Hello from OHIO

[jhamblin]

Hello everyone, Its nice to find something like this on the Internet, I have a wife and 3 kids (2 sons and a daughter) and a very well behaved pup (German Shepherd, Lab, Collie mix) in my herd.

As far as any knowledge I have had goats in my later teen years (fainting Goats) as well as chickens as far as farm life goes, other than that I have raised and bred numerous species of reptiles and amphibians (ball pythons, leopard geckos, crested geckos, leaf tailed geckos, jackson and veiled chameleons, bearded dragons, marsupial tree frogs, Poison dart frogs) and my dad raised and bred fish (african cichlids)

My wife and I recently moved into a small house with two acres. I am so exited to have some land and I am really considering Investing in some livestock again, I really don't know what would be best for me, as goats are really my only experience, I will be getting a nice flock of chickens this coming spring, and I currently have three hives of bees and harvested some really nice wildflower honey, But you know the saying "don't go into the grocery store hungry", well thats what I am afraid I will do especially by seeing all the great animals out there!

We have really been thinking of getting some of the following (I have done research on them but experience you can't get from research alone) :
Alpacas ( my wife's Boss owns three and loves them)
Pygmy Goats
Sheep ( My uncle raises them in Kentucky and cards and spins his own wool)
Cow (My father In-law had a Jersey cow and loved it)

I don't want all these animals, these are just the options we've been discussing, if any one could I really would like as much input and opinions as I can get
Thanks, James

 

[autumnprairie]

I am also new, I live in Arkansas. I have meat rabbits, goats( boer and nigerian dwarf), and chickens. I decided to start raising my own food as much as I can for a couple of reasons that I will share.

It seems like in this day and age we are too busy to feed ourselves or our children healthy foods.

1.) Most food is mass produced since we americans have to have everything NOW. so most crops are hybrids to get the best crop with the least effort, to the point some crops are made with round up already built in.

2.) our meat is stuffed with hormones and antibiotics to make them grow bigger and faster.


The results of these things can be seen everywhere.

The other reason is to get back to my roots, and to be self sufficient as much as I can. This has been the most rewarding decision I have made.




decide what your goal is and go from there.

Good Luck on your journey James and you will get some awesome advice here and also on their sister sites that are located at the bottom of the page

 

[Roll farms]

 

[Ms. Research]

from New Jersey

Having fun researching what livestock we want too.

 

[20kidsonhill]

from virginia.

sounds like you have been doing a lot of good research. Good luck on your choices. Sorry, but I don't have too much input on those specific animals nor experience, it really comes down to what is most important for a hobby for your family, spinning wool or fresh milk from a cow, ect....

Congratulations on the move and the room for some livestock.

 

[crazyturkeydesigns]

Hello fellow Ohioian!! Welcome to BYH, it's pretty awesome here

Oh, btw....I think you should get RABBITS!!! :bun and a cow

 

[elevan]

The first step imo is to figure out what the end result is that you want from your animals and then go from there.

 

[DKRabbitry]

I agree that you need to know what you want your animals to provide you and then go from there. We wanted meat, but at the time had limited space, so we ended up with rabbits. That is one of the best investements I have ever made Once we got land, I wanted to be a little more self-sufficient than just the rabbits could provide. So we got dairy goats (for both milk and meat), chickens (for eggs and meat), ducks (for eggs and meat... p.s., duck meat is AMAZING!) and a few turkeys, guineas and geese (eggs and meat as well). On top of that, we get venison and do trades with our relatives for beef. I haven't got meat from the grocery store in over a year Next step... GARDEN!

Things to consider (that I can think of because they are things I was forced by DH to considered when getting stock):
Fiber animals need to be shorn. Which really bums me out because I LOVE angora goats, but don't have the time/need for shearing or doing fun stuff with the fiber.
The bigger the animal, the more you get, but the more it eats & more space they need. Why we don't have a cow even though I really wanted a little Jersey. They cost more initially and produce more than we could ever need. A little herd of goats suits our needs well in terms of dairy, and it is just the two of us, so what little meat they provide is sufficient.
Pigs can be messy LOL The End (kinda tired and not really thinking well...)

 

[77Herford]

 

[ksalvagno]

from Ashland County, Ohio

Alpacas ( my wife's Boss owns three and loves them)
Pygmy Goats
Sheep ( My uncle raises them in Kentucky and cards and spins his own wool)
Cow (My father In-law had a Jersey cow and loved it)

Alpacas - just got out of them, if you want fiber to make your own products, they are great. They are standoffish but gentle. They MUST be shorn once a year. They are pretty hardy and are gentle on the land. I'd been raising them for 14 years and just wasn't interested in the fiber end. The meat is excellent if you would want to go that route but most people still aren't of the mindset to put them in the freezer.

Pygmy goats - They are primarily for pets or meat. If you want a small dairy goat then you may want to consider Nigerian Dwarf.

Sheep - don't know much but they would need to be shorn at least once a year if you get a wool breed

Cows - considered Zebu cattle since they were small but the cow manure is just more than I want to deal with. Also, have you seen a cow urinate? That could be a big puddle in a barn if they have barn space. But many people love their cows and you would certainly get lots of milk.