May seem crazy

[Coolguy222]

Hello everyone I’m new here, I have between .65 acres-1 acre lol I’m not sure when I bought the house I didn’t see where it said so online it says those on different websites. I have chickens and quail right now and have for about 8 months now, I’m interested in getting an animal for dairy however with this small amount of land I’m not sure how it will work. I have tried goats milk and I find it okay but I don’t like the cheese and I would like to be able to make butter or yogurt aswell so I’m looking into mini zebus, mini jersey, or Dexter aswell as sheep for dairy. I’m in Louisiana and understand that I would have to feed them heavily to sustain them does anyone have recommendations?

 

[Mini Horses]

Buy more land!

Goats milk tastes different for different breeds and how it's handled. Chill fast! Cheeses differ in taste with type. Butter, never compares to good cow cream. Cow milk differs in taste by breed & feed. Even a mini cow, you'll need to hay year round -- good hay, not just any old dried grass, on that lot size.$$

There ya go! So welcome to the land of enablers. Glad you chose to consider our group. We're pretty friendly.

 

[Coolguy222]

Buy more land!

Goats milk tastes different for different breeds and how it's handled. Chill fast! Cheeses differ in taste with type. Butter, never compares to good cow cream. Cow milk differs in taste by breed & feed.

There ya go! So welcome to the land of enablers. Glad you chose to consider our group. We're pretty friendly.

Haha well I just got this house in January and I’m only 21 so I’ve been very fortunate to have even this small spot. And yes you all seem very friendly, I posted in another group on Reddit and people were so rude and basically told me I could have zero animals and how it’s barely enough for even chickens lol

 

[Mini Horses]

Zoning may be a problem. Quietly research that for your home location. Don't want to ask, find out chickens aren't allowed and be in trouble already.

Congrats on new ownership

 

[Coolguy222]

Zoning may be a problem. Quietly research that for your home location. Don't want to ask, find out chickens aren't allowed and be in trouble already.

Congrats on new ownership

I’m outside city limits and there is no zoning restrictions where I’m at, I did look into that before I got the house.

 

[SteepedInSheep]

Haha well I just got this house in January and I’m only 21 so I’ve been very fortunate to have even this small spot. And yes you all seem very friendly, I posted in another group on Reddit and people were so rude and basically told me I could have zero animals and how it’s barely enough for even chickens lol

Lol, so many people on the internet are armchair experts. I think you'll find some decent opinions here. There's a surprising amount of things you can do with an acre of land!

 

[SageHill]

If you're outside the city check the county regs.

 

[farmerjan]

Welcome to BYH. First thing... congrats for the foresight and the smarts.... to invest in a house/piece of property. Starting with anything, this gives you equity... and a way to go forward. In the meantime you can do some things to provide for yourself, get some experience and learn what you like to do... without breaking the bank.
I am not that familiar with LA weather, etc... but honestly, a dairy animal on less than an acre is just not very practical... Goats would be the way to go, because of the size.... because dairy goats are a tried and true source of milk.......
But @Mini is very right... the cost will way overwhelm what benefits you get. It will make your milk cost twice what the most expensive organic product in the store will cost...
BUT..... are there other like minded people in your area... who have some sense and want to be even a little more self sufficient? Maybe one has more land, and you can form a small private co-op..... to share some of the costs... and if close enough to each other... possibly share some of the work.... vacations... days off...

A word to the wise for the "mini breeds" of cattle.... DON'T.... until you have some real life experience. Regardless of the ones that espouse the "wonderful benefits"... mini breeds come with their own set of problems... First off... many are genetic mutations...... or have other inherited problems. If they are really small... health issues abound. BUT for starters, they cost out the wahzoo.....and the life expectancy is much shorter than the "normal sized" animals of a breed. Then, there is breeding them... they are often hard to settle, there are limited possibilities for AI (artificial INSEMINATION) NOT Artificial Intelligence.... so then a bull is needed for cattle... that has it's own set of problems... This is not to be condescending... you do realize that a mammal has to have a baby to come into milk.... and that they will produce xxx amount and the longer they milk, the amount of milk decreases... and you have to breed them, milk for 8-10 months, give them a break (cattle need 60 days dry at least)... then they will start to make milk again after calving. Cattle can milk for 18-24 months but greatly diminished amounts... goats can milk for a good amount of time... but they will not milk forever... and amounts are less...
There is the COMMITTMENT to milking... every day.. at least once a day.... there are ways to "milk share with the kids/calf".... but it takes some experience with milking animals to know who will tolerate it and how to do it...
Honestly, you would be better to find a producer that you can either buy directly from... or do some sort of a herd share with... and if you are interested enough... offer to help, want to learn... and give them some FREE HELP....
If you want something to turn over into "food"... besides the chickens, I would suggest pigs... get 2, they like company.... and in 6 months they can go in the freezer in most cases... Do NOT get pot bellied pigs... they are very fatty.... I do not have any experience with the smaller breeds like KunneKune or the American guniea hogs...
Pigs can be used to till/dig up any plot of ground that you want to make a garden... they will make a mess of pastures... but their noses are the ultimate in "tillage equipment" .

If you like to read.... try finding a book called " 10 acres enough".... by Edmund Morris... written in the 19th century... it has some very practical things to do to provide for a big family.... but the principles of things to do and how to do them is timeless.... It is probably out of print...

There are countless magazines and such dedicated to the "small homestead" life... READ them... If you learn 1 thing... you are progressing...

I am a dairy person... milk tester for over 35 years, milked cows all that... but your amount of land is just not going to support it. The other thing is, if you did have a milk animal, even a small sized one.. the land will become one big "sacrifice" lot with no grass or vegetation... just dirt lot and weeds.....that is not judicious use of the land you have invested in. Learn all you can, do some things you might not have wanted or thought of... and all these steps will give you a chance to do more and hopefully find some place with several acres to expand and grow...

SOOO Glad you are here... nice to have a young person that believes in self sufficiency to some degree.... too bad you aren't in VA... we could use some help on our operation.... and a young person to mentor would be a real plus..... DS (my son... how we designate... D(dear or darling etc...)Son , DDaughter, DH-husband... you get the gist....) and I have a bigger operation that most on here... but I am a "homesteader at heart"...

 

[Baymule]

I'm in east Texas, much the same climate as your location. Putting livestock on small acreage can reduce it to a dry dusty lot, then a mudhole when it rains. I have 25 acres, but pen my sheep at night due to coyotes. I have 2 Anatolian Shepherds to guard them, have never had predator losses, but I still pen them at night. In the winter rains, the night lots turn to poop soup. I have brought in loads of dirt to build up the areas so they have dry places to lay down in their shelters. I've been here 3 years and still haven't got the back field fenced, hopefully next year.

I have a friend that has 2 LaMancha does, they are quieter as far as goats go, than some of the other breeds and they will milk through for up to 2-3 years. They keep a buck and alternate breeding the does. With such a small acreage, it might be hard to keep the buck far away from the does. That buck smell will taint the milk. So you could buy 2 does and a young buck, after they are bred sell or butcher the buck and you wouldn't have to worry about it again for awhile. But it does require a daily commitment, that means going nowhere overnight. Nowhere. Something to think about. That's why I don't milk my sheep, I'm just not that dedicated. LOL

In other news, a big TEXAS WELCOME to the forum. Delighted to have you join us. A house on a bit of land is a step in the right direction and congratulations to you for making that decision. Your head is in the right place. We will give you our honest opinions, but not in a harsh way. Just know and understand that if you are doing something stupid, we will tell you, there's that honesty part. LOL We will encourage you in whatever decisions you make. You are wise to study the situation first and gather information. My opinion for what it is worth is not to get a cow. Consider goats and look at it from all angles, learn all you can, and make an informed decision. You may decide that your best bet is to continue with chickens, quail and a garden. Maybe add rabbits for meat and their valuable manure for the garden. If you do get goats and it doesn't work out, then at least you learned something and can apply it later when maybe you buy a bigger place. We all are learning constantly from our own experience and we have each other to share information with.

Feel free to post all the pictures you want. This is the place where you can post pictures of baby chicks and we will admire them. This is the place where you can post pictures of bare dirt, ready to plant and we understand all the hard work that got that bare dirt. Welcome!

 

[Mini Horses]

Notice this -- we all started in limited ways, like you. We have all run the gamut of issues. We're all "still in it"!!