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I used to name our chickens things like, Alfredo, Cacciatore, Stew, Cordon Bleu, etc.
We name ours old fashioned lady names.... and we choose names that start with one letter alphabetically each year, so we can remember how old they are. A names (Alice), B names the next year (Betty, Blondie, Bart), etc. We didn't start this system right away so we're currently at D names for our last batch... Deloris, Dottie, Daphne, Delaney, Daisy.... and so on.
We try to only have one hen of each kind, so we can tell them apart. We have one of each of the varieties commonly found in the feed stores... plus those mutts that have been bred and born here.
My wife and I are currently living on our 65 acre homestead, gave thought to livestock many times over, realized that was just a fantasy, heck, I can barely keep up with the groundwork.
I’ve come to realize, homesteading / farming is a young persons game, if one doesn’t have a good support team forgetaboutit.
We gave up only 16 acres due to the maintenance. I’m thinking perhaps we might have had it easier with some sheep or goats to graze the field, instead of constant mowing. We gave 7 acres of hay away to the farmer down the road, so we might have used it ourselves. Coulda, shoulda, woulda.
I'm not talking about a major operation. Just a dozen sheep or so, some chickens, a horse, maybe a couple of goats. We have been talking about selling a few of our properties to buy a farm and getting some livestock.
How many hours daily would you estimate it takes to care for the animals listed above?
If you have a farm with livestock, what do you do when you have to leave home for several days?
What do you wish you knew before getting livestock?
One horse is a lot of work if you take care of it right and it has a job.
Wow I think a lot of people commenting here are really unhappy with their decision to have livestock! Like Diana Holbrook, this would be a hobby and the animals treated as pets with the benefit of eggs/milk as a bonus. I'm not looking for a big farming operation. But I do appreciate the very detailed feedback. I spent a lot of time in a rural setting as a teen with horses and cows, so I have seen the level of effort with those animals. I was more curious about smaller livestock. It's very interesting how people gravitate towards certain animals while others can't say enough about how much they hated having them.
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So, no. I am not unhappy with my decision to run a small farm on my own. I'm not at all unhappy about taking care of my horses and my chickens and other animals. You wanted the reality of it, that was it. That was my experience. I wouldn't give up my horses, ever. However it does suck in the winter to have to haul water when everything is frozen. You wanted to know how much work it was. It kind of sounds like you just wanted everybody to say that it is all unicorns and rainbows. Unfortunately, that's not the case with anything. There are absolute reasons for doing this, knowing where your food comes from is the biggest. Since you won't be using them for food, these will literally just be your pets? Pets are a different thing than livestock. With all due respect, I'm not a hundred percent sure you can see that distinction. Those of us who raise livestock do it for our own Survival and for income. That's very different than just raising pets to have.
The coop needs cleaned out once in awhile, and their food and water needs to be checked every morning, but you can set it up to where the coop and the nestboxes are close and easy to get to. I think they're a good thing, and chickens are more fun than you think!
The daily chores, whatever the livestock, don't take that much time once you get a routine going. The main thing is finding someone reliable to take care of them when you want to go away.
My H's family used to own a cattle ranch in Texas. The day to day stuff was not bad at all, only took a couple hours. If you included things like the never ending fencing maintenance it was probably the equivalent of a part time job. A couple times a year when you had to move the herd, brand, and do medical care it was more than 8 hours a day.
If you grow what you feed them, you then also have a farming operation to run, maintain, and care for. And of course that takes time too. And expensive equipment. You also have to have a place to store the hay and silage. A part time job daily but a lot more than part time at planting and harvest.
An operation like this marries you to the land. You can never go away unless you have the luxury of having a responsible person to take care of your animals. You will almost never get to take a vacation or a long weekend!
You might want to spend some time watching You Tube videos by Justin Rhodes. His Great American Farm Tour went all over the country and visited many farms. I recommend watching them on the big screen TV if at all possible.
There are so many good videos on You Tube that cover a wide range of farming issues and practices, especially small homesteading operations.
Best wishes for great success and fun if you do venture into any aspect of farming.
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