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Raising more than you can eat?

4K views 38 replies 20 participants last post by  hunter63 
#1 ·
I'm moving next July on between 5-10 acres to start living my dream of a hobby farm. The land is an empty slate for the most part so I'm definitely wanting to start out slow and not over work myself, but over the next few years I would like to raise dairy goats, meat and laying chickens, feeder pigs, and rabbits for healthier food. I'm planning to start out with Laying chickens as I've had a few before and know pretty well how to care for them. I would also like to get my dairy goats pretty soon after. My question for other small homesteaders, do you raise just enough to support you/ your family, or do you raise more to sell also?
Should I raise 3 hens or 15 hens and sell the eggs? Raise a few more does and sell the milk? Raise more meat chickens and sell them when they are older? I like the idea of living off the land but also know that's not really realistic on 10 or less acres, but it would be nice to make a little bit of an income to pay for some bills.
 
#3 ·
http://www.amazon.com/Five-Acres-Independence-Handbook-Management/dp/0486209741

http://www.amazon.com/Ten-Acres-Enough-Classic-Independent/dp/048643737X

Are good reads for people on small steads. I know that last one is pretty old but it's still good to read.

With modern science and management one can really pack a lot into 5 acres and still keep things clean and renewable for the environment.

My big advice would actually be to start with the garden and work from there. Chickens, especially if you can free range them are pretty easy and rabbits are a great return for what one invests, in my opinion too. Chicken poop tea is excellent for plants and if you grow worms in your rabbit poop then you have bait and more loveliness for the garden. The dairy goats... well I love mine but if you go really small, like 5 acres, I might keep two does and rotate who is milking but not keep a buck on site. Oh, and you can pop the goat poop into the worm bins too.

Good luck!
 
#4 ·
In my case 17 families were gifted with meat. My goats are very productive with high multimedia births some had five babies..twins and triplets are more normal than single births. If the timing will allow them to be raised on just browse on the land I can donate the cost of a bit of feed in the fall till a person comes to harvest the goats. I have a few guys that will take six at a time and he and his friends care for the meat for the elderly, vets, and working poor.

Just had to get the names of the people in need to the man he gets the guys to do the work.

People helped last year are now helping the man for others and learning at the same time.

I get the milk and it is nice to give back to the community..This year I have milking culls to turn too burger. Any doe that is not an improvement to the herd goes to in in two weeks. That looks like six more. It is a win win.

Note my community helped me and I know what it is to go without. Plus the laws are such that too sell holds too many risks.
 
#5 ·
Fact is most folks won't utilize 5 acres of a 20acre homestead or 10 of a hundred acre homestead. You can grow a tremendous amount of food on an acre. 2 acres properly managed can support a family income. 5 acres could be a huge undertaking. This is not to say you can't let a horse waste a 5 acre paddock.


I'd suggest you learn about Plasticulture and high tunnels. Protected culture produces 10 times the yield of field grown. You use less resources and inputs and generally have less pest issues. You can grow more in an 1/8 acre under plastic than you will eat.


Livestock will in most cases cost money. Eggs? ours cost about 3.00 a dozen. Without labor.
Goat milk will run you about 5 dollars a gallon if she is a great producer and has no health issues.
Don't take this to mean that I don't encourage you to keep livestock. Do so. There is no better fresher meat and milk. Making money on it?
 
#6 ·
I would start slow , doing what you dreamed of and what you like the most , work on supporting your self before worrying about potential excess.

Eat fresh in the summer then start working on preservation, your goal being to provide for yourself during the winter. Then share excess with family and neighboors. Time will tell if you might eventually start selling , or if you even want to .

Plant fruit and nut trees and work on fencing first

Welcome to the forum!
 
#8 ·
Start out with a goal of producing just for you and your family. Once you are able to do that and have a good handle on it, increase your production.
But, start small and add one project at a time, I.e., get hens, then plant a garden. Then add rabbits, then meat birds, then pigs. Dairy goats will be last.
Once you have all of that under control, maybe increase garden space.
But, I will say, it doesn't take any more time to care for 30 hens than it does 6 hens. And if you are going to raise one pig for your family each year, if you have the fence area, might as well raise two or three, same time to care each day. Sell the extras.
 
#9 ·
All the above is good sound advice. Start small with a garden you can manage to properly care for. Consider weather patterns where ever you live. We switched to garden beds and have a spruce hedge to shelter them from the wind here. Beds are easier to manage, rotate crops, water in a drought and drain if too wet, mulch and can be fenced with a solar electric fence or othe kind to keep deer out. We were glad our garden was in beds and sheltered when a hurricane hit here this summer.

Here we have cut back to a dozen hens which gives us plenty of eggs and some left to barter with. We are reducing the goats to three does and eventually two. This is so we can provide our own mowed hay for them and grow feed for them. Buying good hay here is almost impossible and grain is too expensive. Every year we have at least three or four goat kids raised from Spring to late Fall for meat. We keep one for us and sell the rest of the meat.

Our other cash crop is garlic and rhubarb. Occasionally we sell eggs but usually give them to neighbors who are kind enough to help us get around as we don't have a vehicle anymore. We give away excess vegetables when I have enough stored for us. What goes around comes around the saying goes. We give vegetables and many times people bring us apples and fish.

To us the farm has always been a way of life not a business.To eat well here would cost too much money wise and everyone needs to eat. So raising a few goats and chickens and growing food is as natural as breathing air or drinking water to our way of thinking. It is just what we do. Have a nice day.
 
#12 ·
A
Here we have cut back to a dozen hens which gives us plenty of eggs and some left to barter with. We are reducing the goats to three does and eventually two. This is so we can provide our own mowed hay for them and grow feed for them. Buying good hay here is almost impossible and grain is too expensive. Every year we have at least three or four goat kids raised from Spring to late Fall for meat. We keep one for us and sell the rest of the meat.
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So Bill would process (butcher) the goats himself, I guess?
 
G
#10 ·
As I've posted repeatedly, we have a garden and an orchard both combined are about a quarter of an acre. We were going to farmer's markets, selling excess fruit and vegetables, along with canned leftover vegetables as salsa, and fruit as jam, jelly, and preserves. We also sold homemade bread, both sourdough and slicing bread, and fruit bread, sort of like the ubiquitous banana walnut, but always with fruit we grow here. Couple hundred pounds of flour goes a long ways.

Anyway, we grow more than we can eat, and generated about 250-400 bucks a week. However, there was the packing stuff up, getting up at an insane hour, driving to the farmers market(all the ones around us are at least 25 miles away) setting up a tent, getting everything out, and so on. Took time away from tending the garden, and my job(which is living. My job is living). I think that it's worth the effort in you need the money, but if you don't, its too much work. All I ever need was the extra bucks to cover the real estate tax for the year, but it was nice to get $3 a pound for organically grown vegetables, instead of spending the afternoon canning, or feeding it to the chickens. You'll have to try it for a few weeks, to know. I've never cared for people coming to the house to buy vegetables and fruit, so I never got into that.
 
#11 ·
The first thing I would do is talk with the local authorities, especially the agricultural department, and find out how to legally sell your produce. (In some areas it takes a very expensive stainless steel set up.) I would especially check on what is needed to sell milk and meat. Veggies are usually not problematic.

Also, check your local flea markets because, as Zong said, that is a nice way to get a few extra bucks. (Sometimes you can sell your meat products "on the hoof", i.e. sell the animal and charge the buyer extra for preparing it the way they want it. Some people I know get around legalities doing it this way.)
 
#16 ·
People want the Big, pretty Grown Roosters to eat. I have sold grown roosters for $22 each, but most of the time they go between $10 and $15 here. Other than the spring when everyone wants Layers---Roosters always beat the Laying hens price. I called a Guy a few days ago---he wanted all my 6 month old roosters but did not want the 6 month old hens. I got a friend that makes a lot of money Buying Roosters---he Buys 100's per week if he can and I have seen him pay $22 for a Rhode Island Red---the Roosters HAVE to Look good---not a lot of missing feathers---the prettier the color the more he is willing to pay. He Hauls them in crates in Large Livestock trailers or has a 18 wheeler back up to his place on Monday morning. The Buyers of these will Buy ALL he brings---he said he gets about $28 to $30 each and that buyer sells to his buyer whom sells to the consumer LIVE. I never seen that end.
 
#15 ·
$20 a hen? does she lay golden eggs or is she Organic fed? That's quite a market you have there. We have about 40 acres of trees, not big enough to sell. We have been clearing and processing them as fast as we can to make room and sunshine for our garden. Hiring the excavator is the most expensive part to get the stumps out, and then there's 30 to 100 pound rocks.. . I don't see a market for anything were I live, so we are just trying to have fun with it for now. No critters yet, I haven't settled on anyone type...
 
#17 ·
$20 a hen? does she lay golden eggs or is she Organic fed? That's quite a market you have there. .
Before the "bird-flu" scare I hatched 1000's and raised 100's to Point of Lay to sell and 100's of roosters---Most sold at Auction, but some at Home. The grown roosters have always sold good/decent. Yes, things went crazy after that the scare---Auctions were shut down and we had 3 in driving distance that closed completely--did not re-open---In the last year, 3 more have re-opened in my driving area and they were selling pretty good---close to what they were selling for before the scare.
 
#20 ·
Like Rabbit?? I been eating rabbits I raise for Many, many years----even the 2, 3 yr old ones are very tender after laying in a heated crock pot over night.

As far as eating a Rooster---I never tried to eat my home-grown roosters or hens----which a lot find "interesting" being I have raised and sold 100' and 100's of grown ones. The last one I eat off the yard was probably 50 years ago.
 
#19 ·
Lots of folks here raise goats and chickens for meat.. there's a huge ethnic population in NWA..They like to buy the small animals for butcher...Young roosters do sell well at times, other times theyre on CL for free.

I think I'd starve plumb out if I tried it...

I've put pen to paper on pastured broilers and believe that I could come out OK....But still haven't tried..
We have layers, who free range mostly and we keep a feeder with 20% pellets in it.... but in all honesty I lose $$$ on them to the extreme...We enjoy having them around... And they're good at hunting up bugs and critters.
 
#21 ·
We have layers, who free range mostly and we keep a feeder with 20% pellets in it.... but in all honesty I lose $$$ on them to the extreme.
Its for sure easy to loose $$$ to the extreme and as I have found out its easy to make $$$$$$$ if things with the economy are right and you do Like the song says---"You gotta know when to hold them, know when to fold(sell) them". Example, if you got 20 layers and they lay you 15 fertile eggs per day, hatch 100 chicks per week and if you only get $1 "profit" each---that's $100 per week, if you got the right breeds---you might can make $2 or $3 each profit per week, even $5, or $6 or $7---so that can be from $100 to $700 per week---for sure does not cost much to feed 20 layers per week. But the catch is you Got to Have a Place to sell them and Have the ones that sell. Some Locations do not have a place or the demand I Know.
 
#23 ·
We never intended to sell eggs... We've got layers because we want to eat our own eggs...
My son works part time as a Maintenance man for some folks with two commercial laying houses. And the mother in law has two also... They'll give him all the eggs he wants... We use ours...
However we do take the culls (cracks, double yolks, ECT) and feed em to the pig's...
On the Rabbit..I love rabbit meat.... I'm wanting to hang 6 cages in my chicken tractor... The chickens will clean up and spread and break up the rabbit waste...
 
#24 ·
Well, I have a very pretty rooster that has cost me probably $20 to feed that is going in the pot sometime soon.

As hubby pointed out, we are not saving money on eggs. But I told him "I've wanted chickens all my life, I'm working to get them in the black, and in the meantime I've supported every single project you've ever done, so you can just shut it about my chickens."

That stupid rooster is quite a glutton though. Hope he tastes good.
 
#26 ·
Your live, the prettier the better, roosters aren't ending up in someone's soup pot. Nor are they living out their days guarding a flock of hens. Your roosters, my friend, are being supplied to the cock fighting world. Illegal, disturbing, and to me, unethical world of torturing an animal in order to see them fight, and make money off it.

That's how a rooster gets to be worth that much.

Think about it.
 
#28 ·
Your live, the prettier the better, roosters aren't ending up in someone's soup pot. Nor are they living out their days guarding a flock of hens. Your roosters, my friend, are being supplied to the cock fighting world. Illegal, disturbing, and to me, unethical world of torturing an animal in order to see them fight, and make money off it.

That's how a rooster gets to be worth that much.

Think about it.
If you are replying to me---You got it wrong. Cock Fighting roosters are sold too---More at a Auction I do not attend. They are a Different type rooster and its not unusual for them to sell for over $100 each. I know several that raise those for that purpose. The roosters I raise are usually bought by one of two meat buyers at the Auction, I know for a fact they ship to meat buyers that sell them to "china town". If you do a research---those people are attracted to the Beauty of the bird---they buy them, tuck them under their arm or a carrier---carry them to their home and slaughter them In their Special way. I have seen a Couple that attend the Saturday Auction weekly--that buy the prettiest chickens---like one day they got 2 Lavender Orpingtons--almost $60 and eat them for Sunday Dinner the next day. They do not even have a chicken yard or a place to keep them. They go out on Sunday Morning---take them out the boxes, slaughter them "their way" and cook them for dinner. I have 2 other buyers that come to my home and buy---mainly for the Mexicans. They eat them---they have bought them from a couple Auctions that do not have crates to put them in---the Mexicans take them to the edge of the parking lot and slaughter them there----two different Auction Owners had to stop them because of others getting upset. They are eaten.

I do know people that fight the "Fighting Roosters" I do know that some of them have gotten caught and spent some time in jail.
 
#27 ·
Nope, the kind of roosters that are used in cock fights are not the same kind anyone would raise as a byproduct of producing meat birds, or layers. That's like saying your goldfish will end up a trophy on someone's wall.

We have a fair-sized community of central American migrant farm workers in this area and I can count on them to come around if I have extra males, or depleted females listed on Craigslist. And if I were a steady seller, or were to bother setting up at a certain flea market, I would be able to get a price similar to Fire-Man.
 
#29 ·
So Bill would process (butcher) the goats himself, I guess?
Hi Shea; I was blind for so long and didn't get on this site much. Now I can see again I see all the questions I missed! Yes Bill did all our butchering while we had the whole farm. He killed the goats and chickens for meat. We were allowed to sell meat by the side but not cut up and packaged. He butchered his last goat this year. Our one goat we kept we plan to sell the kids at ten weeks old once they are weaned. We just want the milk. Bill hurt his shoulder and it was hard holding his arms up which was necessary when skinning the animal. Also we stopped eating meat. Bill is getting more tender hearted with age. He doesn't want the messy business of butchering to do any more. Personally I never like killing anything.
 
#30 ·
Good to hear from you. This forum lets me find all your posts, and read through them one at a time. My mother in law is 77 I have told her some of your stories, I told her it is like reading someone's autobiography.
I wonder why you had goats in stead of a cow? Quicker seasonal turn over of butchering? We have never tried goat meat..we like venison tho.

Sorry to hear about Bills shoulder. I can clean a fish no problem, but I don't take to the blood and guts of butchering chickens, processing beef, pork or goat can be speedy for sure..

No more meat??? Maybe go out for some kosher hot dogs...I'm not Jewish but I can appreciate kosher. So if someone gave venison or a turkey already processed wood you eat that?

We saw this movie on Netflix fork over knife, it basically says humans should not. Consume more than 5% animal protein, or you greatly increase your risk of. Cancer and other diseases... We actually don't eat so much meat as most Americans...

I am waiting for my daughter to finish piano lessons, as I peck out this letter from my phone...You and Bill must be in the apartment now...[emoji4]

Mike Shea
 
#31 ·
Welcome! And it sounds like you have a solid plan for getting started. We started just growing/raising food for us. Of course, its super easy to produce more than you need. Before you start planning on raising extra chickens to sell or have more dairy goats to sell the milk, you need to check with your state to see how you can legally sell products from your farm. For example, our farm was in TN; for me to legally sell chicken (processed), my birds had to be processed by a USDA processor. That meant a 70 mile drive one way to have the birds slaughtered, inspected, and packaged. And, I had to store them in a separate freezer away from my personal food. Selling raw milk was illegal unless I did a "Cow Sharing" program. When I first started selling eggs, I also had to have my farm inspected by the USDA to ensure I was handling the eggs correctly (that has since stopped if you sell under a certain number of eggs per year). My point to all of this is that you need to get to know that folks at your State's Department of Agriculture and/or the Extension office to find out what you can do legally. (of course you can sell under the radar BUT if anything happens, like someone getting sick, you stand to loose it all).
 
#34 ·
Where we live in Nova Scotia there are all kinds of laws regarding farming. You can't sell eggs to a store unless you belong to the egg marketing board. Of course there are rules concerning that too. You can keep 199 laying hens but it would be hard to sell all the eggs without selling to a store. There are laws pertaining to selling milk and meat to. Raw milk is not permitted to be sold from the farm anymore like it was 20 years ago. Although we raised our children on raw milk and my husband's family and the neighbors drank it we quit selling it when told too because we were going to be fined $700 every time we got caught selling it. We had 17 goats at the time the law changed so we sold off most of them and just kept goats to milk for our own use. I understand why the government wants raw milk pasteurized because we have seen in many a dairy barn and so many of them are not clean as they could be. I would not drink raw milk myself unless I saw where and how the milk was handled and what conditions the dairy animal lived under. Same goes for meat . Commercial meat is inspected but if you ever saw what happens in a slaughter house it might make you sick! Animals are loaded and shipped to slaughter houses which that alone stresses them out which affects meat quality. If you are going to butcher the animal should be happy right up to the end and the end should happen quickly before they know. Of course in the big industry of selling meat this isn't going to happen and can't on such a large scale.
Even on a small scale some animals know when it is butchering day. We had a goat here who lived to about 16 yrs.. When butchering day was at hand some how she knew it and headed for the woods to hide! Even before Bill would get tackles up to hang a carcass, or put on his oil clothes this goat sensed what was going to happen! There was no way she would go anywhere near the barn. It would be a couple of days before she would settle down again. Some how animals know such things. Have a good evening.
 
#32 ·
Making money isn't the only benefit to producing more than you can consume.
When we had way too many chickens, I'd give my neighbors the extra eggs.
They would often come back to me in the form of a custard pie or a few bushels of fresh corn.

I enjoyed raising animals more, and they enjoyed gardening more.
We all enjoyed pies ;)
 
#35 ·
July and August is the only time we have to lock our cars in town. If you leave your car unlocked it will be full of cucumbers zukini (sp)and tomatoes. Gardening is time consuming and expensive. we now raise our meat and buy our seasonal vegetables from a local Mennonite couple. We free range our chickens and it cuts down on the crawly critters without using chemicals. Free range in our case means boiled chicken they get very chewy working every day in the fields.

Selling meat involves the government and agencies of the county both of which I avoid as much as possible. I will let people buy a live animal and use my equipment to butcher and vacuum pack their meat. It is amazing how many wives dive right in gutting and trimming the animals. Killing is something I let them do but most prefer I dispatch the animal and they take over from there.

Canning and putting up Jellies and Jams is very expensive and time consuming. having said that if you love it then it is like fishing or hunting the time and cost does not count.
One last note the Brand inspecter has to be involved in the selling of a cow not so for sheep and goats.
 
#37 ·
Selling meat involves the government and agencies of the county both of which I avoid as much as possible. I will let people buy a live animal and use my equipment to butcher and vacuum pack their meat.
That would be illegal here unless they take your equipment with them.

Slaughtering can be done for yourself on your own property, but you can't do it and sell the meat, or allow others to use your property for that purpose.

I suspect letting them use "equipment" for butchering would be illegal here too if it means more than a knife or hand saws and cleavers due to sanitation concerns.
 
#36 ·
I'm wanting to hang 6 cages in my chicken tractor... The chickens will clean up and spread and break up the rabbit waste...
Won't the rabbits be peeing and defecating on the chickens?
Is your tractor large enough for you to enter and walk around?
Will it support multiple meat rabbits that can weigh 10+ pounds, along with the added weight of cages, food and water?
 
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