The Best Livestock for Small Farms?
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- Опубліковано 28 січ 2024
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I just found your channel about a week ago and I'm hooked! All of your videos are loaded with info and I especially love the shorts on your pigs ❤ They are so smart!
I'm currently a city dweller saving to buy my own homestead someday. Thank you for explaining the difference between the care and feeding costs for a variety of animals and birds plus the difference between personal use vs profit. I've learned a lot from you already and appreciate your channel very much! Thank you!
Thanks for the feed back and welcome aboard! Let me know how the move to a farm or homestead goes!
There is nothing that can come close to goats on a profit scale. Only have 500 does. They kid every 9 months and I wean 2.3 kids per doe. At 4.00 a pound for kids at last sale. They don't need the grain and if run right now imported feed or hay unless in snow country. Pigs are second in profit but only because I can buy feeder at auction way below what it cost you to produce. I gave 15.00 last weekend for weined 50 pound feeders
Goats and sheep are more profitable per acre I suspect, I dont have the experience with them.
Consider installing a Screech Owl nest box. Owls will eat rodents which host ticks and attract pit vipers.
We have various owls in the area. Never thought about looking for nest boxes though.
Hi Rob, my wife and I have been enjoying your videos after recently discovering your channel. We are interested in raising pigs on our 40 acres in southern Missouri. We were wondering what you would recommend as a breed to start out raising, if we should get registered pigs, and what the best way to acquire them would be. Our goal would be to raise pigs to butcher and sell straight to consumers, and to possibly experiment with breeding either to provide ourselves with more feeders to raise or to sell outright.
Thanks for your time and keep up the good work on your videos.
Hey (Nolan?), I highly suggest raising pigs. Let me start off by saying what not to do initially.
1. Do not start breeding pigs until you are really familiar with raising standard feeder pigs to market weight, especially if you have an off farm job. I'd start with some feeder pigs first. Try some different things outs like durocs, berkshires, chester whites, etc. You will get an idea of what breeds you like there.
2. Do not start with a specialty breed like mangalitsa, kune kune, IPP, pot bellied, or one of their crosses. They take longer to grow out, cost more to raise, usually have specialty feed requirements, and despite what most people say, they aren't as profitable unless you have a really specialized market. I have a podcast episode about mangas on the pastured pig podcast where we talk about that issue specifically. If you don't know your market for standard pigs, its hard to know the market with specialty pigs.
3. Do not register. The cost is higher and people want good pork. Most don't care about your registrations. If you are selling breeding stock, registration may matter. Buy you need to know more about pigs before you know what is good breeding stock. If your purpose is meat production, the traits you select for in breeding will likely cross breed lines and will most certainly be different than breed standards.
How I'd start if I were you. Get a few feeder pigs to try. Traditional, lean meat breeds like berkshires, durocs, hampshires, chester whites, even cross like blue butts or more nuanced heritage breeds like tamworths and large blacks. Stay away from lard breeds and their crosses initially.
Ideally you'd get them from a farm that is doing what you are doing, but frankly, you probably won't be able to find any exactly like that. That's ok for feeders. Just look for good looking, healthy pigs. After you have raised a couple batches, it might be worth considering breeding. At that point, genetics are more important than breed. You want pigs that are good mothers, raised on forage, etc.
I hope this helps. While looking for piglets you will hear a voice on your shoulder telling you that a manga or IPP ore kune kune will be ok or even one of those breeds crossed with a meat breed. Squash the voice. You will thank me in the long run! lol. I wish I had squished that voice. It would have saved me thousands and thousands of dollars and frustration.
@@DowdleFamilyFarms This helps a lot thank you very much for the reply!
We are coming on two years with our layer chickens(about 10). And are wanting to expand to a livestock that we can make a little money with. Pigs seem to be the most profitable option, especially comsidering breeding and turn around time. You mentioned you would not suggest a lard pig breed. I have been looking at Meishans. For many reasons but mainly because of their high litter rates. However, buying Meishan breeders is a little bit pricey. And i believe they are considered to be a lard pig breed. But i know that those that raise Meishans also sell the lard....so obviously im back and forth on the idea. Do you (or anyone else here) have any thoughts? Im open for suggestions.
Meishans are a lard pig and are quite fertile. From what I understand they don't have some of the problems associated with a lot of lard pigs. I suggest get a couple feeders of a standard meat pig and maybe a couple meishans to compare how they do and how you like the meat. Under no circumstance would I suggest breeding to start out with.
@@DowdleFamilyFarms thank you, sir. I appreciate the advice. That sounds like the way to go.
You may not want huge litters as a beginner.
A decent sized litter that can be raised on your available land may be better.@@DowdleFamilyFarms
I've been looking for pigs, but in my area, it seems like the only options I have are kune kune and potbellies. Sometimes even a hybrid of the two. I really want to get a couple of Berkshire pigs though. Any ideas on how I can order some?
where do you live? thepasturedpig.com is one resource where you might find some.
Gulf Coast ram/Sheep 🐏
How about growing rabbits for meat ? it is very easy to grow in cages, need mostly glass for feeding. I grown it in the summer in my summer home and it was very easy and fun (I had to walk each morning with a big bag to collect fresh grass but it was very fast )
My family doesn’t like to eat rabbit. So we don’t raise it. From a profit standpoint it doesn’t cut it for me. Not enough demand for rabbit meat.
Rabbits are awesome. They taste better than chicken, they multiply quickly, they cost less to feed, they make zero noise or smell, are easier to butcher, their manure can go in the garden without aging, and are perfect for small spaces.
@@unnamed2737 and they eat mostly glass (and 10% pellets)
I'm new here.🥰. Is your property tax situation set up so that, if you make the BARE minimum required, you are eligible for , much lower
property taxes.......?? I believe this has destroyed small serious 2:51 2:51🎉
Our land is zoned for agricultural use and it’s reflected in property taxes. I’m not sure what you are asking.
I got rid of the idea of hogs when one tried to eat my stupid kid who was told to not go in the pasture but can't follow directions.
Wow
Is that a pelvis at 13:47 ?
i dont think so
@@DowdleFamilyFarms behind your back on the right. That has to be a cow's pelvis!
Oh, yes. It looks like one that is several years old at the time this video was recorded.
Feed the chickens cayenne peppers and they'll lay every day.
ok
Sorry to say we can't do pigs where we are but we can do chickens. The reason people start with chickens because of where they LIVE. It gets you started until you can find a larger property to move to. The main problem is affording and finding at 10 to 20 acreage so people are starting where they are with chickens. It isn't about profit, it is about growing or raising your own food. You aren't addressing their problems or their life style goals.
I understand that some people aren't in a place to raise pigs. Some people are more interested in raising their own food while others are starting a small farm to be profitable. There's a difference between those two goals and both goals are worthwhile. This video is meant for small farms and farmers who are looking to make a business out of it, not just provide their own food. Perhaps, I should have articulated that better in the video.
You hit the nail on the head with finding land to start farming on. Its a challenge for most people, including people who have farm. Many times, the value of farm land is so high because of people building homes in those areas. Thats why farm land is so expensive and disappearing in the area around our farm.
@@DowdleFamilyFarmsActually at about the 1:00 mark you say this video isn’t for homesteads, it’s for making a profit. Pretty clear to me.
@Ark-ys2up Did you know their name was Nancy before you wrote that? Either way it’s a hoot! 🤣
Can we stop throwing around the term “homestead” it’s not 1798 and if you paid for your property or have a mortgage you don’t have a homestead no matter how cool it makes you feel.
🤓
I do not use the term for myself and don't find it particularly meaningful. That said, language, evolves over time. Vocabulary takes on new meaning depending on how it is used. Whether it should or not has been debated for centuries.