Designing a 1 acre farm

Coppice.

First, check with your local zoning department to see if you are allowed to have livestock.

I have a place that is just over 1 acre with half wooded with a stream and steep bank in the middle of the woods leaving that part pretty much unusable. But I have found you can keep poultry and raise a decent garden on less than 1 acre if you supplement feed, fence the gardens, and give the mowed grass to the birds. Rabbits would be easier but I like my eggs. One thing I am considering is a bee hive. We have lots of clover and plenty of wild bees, a bee hive just seems like the next natural step.

'The Backyard Homestead' was going to my book recommendation as well. It contains several lay outs for different sized small homesteads and gives basic information about many, many different plants and animals.

It would help most to know what you want to include in your farm. Just plants? Plants and animals? Does your family have meat preferences?

Was it you who asked on the hog forum about sound so as not to disturb neighbors? If so rabbits may be your best bet for meat. Small and quiet.

Yes I am the one with the pig thread. I've about ruled out pigs due to the proximity of the neighbors. Not given rabbits much thought. I already have a few chickens. Is it feasible to put some fencing in the 1/2 acre wooded lot and let them free roam in there? Maybe let them roam in a 1/4 acre of the wooded lot and clear the rest of the lot for chicken feed?
Thank you for all of the positive responses.
Jim

You can absolutely fence in a portion of the wooded lot and let the rabbits roam. A little shelter from the elements and you're set. Personally, if I were fencing it in anyway, I'd fence it in at least 4 adjoining sections and rotate them through. I'd build two identical, mobile shelters -- chicken tractor type -- for simplicity and use one for the birds, the other for the rabbits. I'd move them through with the chickens following the rabbits.

With only 6 or so chickens you should be able to produce most of the food they will need on about 1/4 acre. We tried an experiment a couple years back with drying mowed grass to save for winter greens. If you have a large enough area and dry small enough amounts at a time you can dry enough grass to keep 6 or so chickens supplied with dried grass all winter. Grass, grain, and some frozen Japanese beetles and pillbugs or worms from a worm bin would keep 6 chickens well fed. Fish scraps would be another good source of protein, although it might make the eggs taste fishy.

I like my bugs and woodland plants. I wouldn't let the chickens have free range of the entire woodlot just because I wouldn't want it all torn up. 1/4 acre of open woodland, maybe divided in half and one half sown with deer browse mix where the chickens occasionally forage is what I would do. On the open half I would put the family garden and the grain fields. You also could let the chickens forage in the fields and the family garden areas when there are no crops growing or when the field crops are too big for the chickens to dig up. Chickens eat corn earworm moths and other pests but wouldn't be able to tear up the corn plants once they are about 3 feet tall.

About rabbits, I would be very hesitant about letting them roam on that much open land. Chickens ould be easy to put in a secure building overnight. Rabbits, not so easy to catch. Do some research on colony raising and think about how you would protect them from night thieves.

If you put in a large garden, and say 1/2doz fruit trees, and a couple lines of grapes, your not going to have any room for a grain field that would amount to anything. If u like sweet corn, grow lots of it.Buy a chipper shredder. After the ears is picked off, Wait till the stalk is bone dry, and then run it through the CS. Build yourself a small silo, say 8ftdia, and that much tall ought to be plenty. Put a cover over it and feed it to a cow in winter, along with hay. Feed good alfalfa hay free choice while milking, and then run her out into a lot, say 50ft sq, and have an outside mainger and feed her the shredded corn stalks so that with the alfalfa hay she eats twice a day, your feeding her, a Jersey, a 1/2 bale of hay a day. If you make her lot hog tight, u could also keep a pig min there, and it might find anything in grain that might pass through the cow. If u dont want to do that, then feed the cow ground corn. It wont pass through, or, if it does, u wont recoginize it lol. If u do keep a cow, build yourself a small shed, say 5 X 5, and keep up with her manure, putting it daily in the shed to keep it out of the rain and weather. Thatll give you some good fertilizer for your garden next spring. U can also turn your cow loose on your lawn. She wont eat the flowers, bushes ect, but she will eat the grass. She needs as much green stuff as u can give her. Specially if you feed a low grade of alfalfa.

Friends,

I can actually visualize my existing 5 - chickens on this plot. Do you think I could raise up to 10 on a 1/4 acre wooded lot with the other 1/4 acre for feed? I have my other 1/2 acre yard for the family garden. It is already about 3/4 full with buildings and a driveway though.

This has been a good thread. Thanks for all of the replies.

Jim

You could definitely do 10-12 chickens. You could probably sell a few dozen eggs a week too and that would make them pay for themselves if you need to buy feed.

We raise our rabbits on pasture and they do fine. You may want to think about a portable range shelter instead of fencing though for them. Costs less and it is more secure.

If you appreciate the wooded lot, be very careful about your trees. Many types of animals will kill trees quite easily and turn your space into a dry lot. Larger animals will pack around their base and strip the trunks in a short time and that nice shade spot will be dead. I would guess pigs would root around the base which wouldn't be good for valuable trees either. This happens when the animals are concentrated enough or prefer a particular spot. It sounds like your one acre might get concentrated. Be sure to fence animals away from the trees that you value. You can have the tree just outside the fence and still provide shade to the fenced area. I think the key is to keep it balanced and not overpopulated. Good luck with your venture. Sounds like a lot of new learning experiences.

Just my honest opinion...........If you're wanting to have a mini-farm on 1/2 acre......Raise chickens. There's not a whole lot of all natural raising abilities on 1/2 acre of timber. Like TK04 said, lots of critters will destroy your timber by chewing off the bark. Also, on a lot that small you'd probably have a major manure problem. Just my two cents.

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Francismilker

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" James 5:16

Probably your best bet is to grow 1/2 acre of Cockleburs and 1/2 acre of Canadian Thistle. From my experience, you need to buy no machinery, fuel, seeds, or put any effort into it. On top of that, they are quite compatible with each other and get along well together. You are guaranteed to never have a crop failure plus you don't have to worry about your farm income pushing you into a higher tax bracket.

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Dear Math, it is time you grew up and solved your own problems.

poppy, have you been looking at my yard?

I have never heard of Cockleburs and Canadian Thistle and I like them already. Will Obama pick them for me?
I will look this up on the internet, thanks.
Jim

I thought manure was a godsend for farmers?

Hello,
The help from this forum has been priceless. I am still in the design stage but have come to realize that I will always be in the design stage when managing a 1 - acre farm. I am trying to get top dollar for my trees even if I have to buy a sawmill and rip planks myself. I have not decided on a livestock yet so I am trying to be happy with my existing chickens. My feed price is too high, $13.09 for a 50lb bag of Purina Layena so I am trying to find a cheaper feed source. Maybe go with soybean and cracked corn supplemented with oyster shells and grit. I am also trying to add more hens, 1 - rooster for 4 - hens is 1 too many.

Thanks for all the helpful replies.
Jim

Hello,

I am going to start clearing my 1/2 acre wooded lot soon and was wondering if someone would recommend taking the cut down brush and stacking it along the border (perimeter) of the property. I am afraid it will attract alot of bugs, but that will help the chickens. I am also afraid that it might be an eyesore for us. I could rent or buy a chipper shredder but do not want to invest in one. Does stacking it along the perimeter sound like a good idea?

Thank you,

Jim