There are a few reasons why you might want to raise animals as part of your homestead. If you’re concerned about the ethics and cleanliness of commercial farms, raising your own livestock solves this problem. You’ll decide what your animals eat, what medications they take, and what their living conditions are like.
Breeding animals on your homestead also helps you become self-sustainable. If grocery stores stopped selling meat and dairy or had a low supply, you would still have access to farm-fresh food. Depending on the animals you raise, you could also produce your own honey and textiles.
The best animals to raise depend on your goals for your homestead. If you’re interested in selling what you produce, you’ll need to breed animals on a larger scale. However, homesteaders who just want eggs and milk may be content with a much smaller operation.
Keeping animals is a lot of work, so it’s essential that you think through every aspect of care before you invest in them. Usually, it’s best to start small and then grow this homesteading operation over time as you gain connections and experience. Here are 15 animals you can breed for your homestead.
1. Chickens
If you’ve never kept animals before, chickens are a good place to start. They’re inexpensive and easy to care for. You can also butcher all your chickens without losing too much of an investment. Before you get chickens, it’s very important to check whether it’s legal to raise them in your area.
Chickens come in different sizes, which means they need varying amounts of space – between 5 and 15 square feet per chicken. They generally do better with more space rather than less. Some popular breeds include Orpingtons and Barred Rocks.
Most homesteaders keep hens for meat and laying. If you want to raise new chicks of your own, you’ll need a rooster. Chickens will help to eat the veggie scraps from your table and you can use their poo as fertilizer for your garden.
2. Ducks
Ducks are another easy option for homesteading. Duck eggs are larger than chicken eggs and they contain more protein. They’re excellent for baking and you may be able to sell them at a higher price than chicken eggs.
Because they’re not as destructive as chickens, you can let ducks roam your garden. They’ll eat slugs, harmful insects, and even small weeds. Because ducks like water, it’s important to have a place for them to paddle around. You can use the dirty water to fertilize your garden.
Although ducks can be loud, they won’t wake you up early in the morning like chickens. Their meat is mostly dark, but it’s delicious and can be butchered at 7-8 weeks. They are much healthier when allowed to live free-range rather than kept in a confined coop.
3. Quail
If chickens and ducks aren’t right for you, consider raising quail. These birds are small but delicious and have been hunted for many generations. Because of their size, they don’t require as much space in a coop. They’re inexpensive to raise compared to many other animals.
Many homesteaders breed quail because local regulations forbid chickens. Because quail are technically game birds and much quieter than chickens, owning them doesn’t usually break local laws. However, it’s important to check the game laws in your area before investing in quail.
These small fowl each lay one egg a day – a number that adds up quickly if you’re raising enough quail for meat. It usually takes two quail to feed one adult per meal. Because these animals are sensitive to cold temperatures, you’ll need to provide them shelter over the winter.
4. Worms
Yes, you read that right. Worms are amazing for creating healthy soil and are definitely something you should consider breeding on your homestead. Many homesteaders start worm farms to break down compost and improve the soil structure in their gardens.
When worms travel through the ground, they create tunnels that bring air and water closer to plant roots. Properly aerated soil leads to a larger and healthier harvest. Worm castings also benefit the soil – they’re filled with important minerals and increase the amount of organic matter in the soil.
Redworms are best for farming. They should be fed once a week with veggie scraps, coffee grounds, eggshells, and several other kinds of food from your kitchen. Once you’ve established your farm, the worms will quickly create rich compost material and compost tea to use in your garden.
5. Rabbits
Many homesteaders start their farm animal journey with rabbits because they’re so easy to raise. They eat mostly hay and vegetables and can handle a wide range of temperatures. After you set up their hutch and pen, rabbits require little care.
Rabbits are inexpensive and will quickly multiply until you have more animals than you know what to do with. Each doe can have between seven and eight litters a year. At an average of seven babies a litter, you could go from two rabbits to 58 in just one year.
A lot of predators eat rabbit meat, so it’s important to keep your animals in secure cages and securely screened areas. If you’ve had a rabbit for a pet, you probably shouldn’t try breeding this for meat. Otherwise, rabbits can be a great, low-cost option.
6. Pigs
Pigs are a step up for small farms. They take a larger initial investment and require strong fencing. However, they’re low-maintenance and can be butchered about every six months. You can use almost every part of a pig, including its meat, fat, and organs.
Because these animals are very social, it’s important to keep at least two all the time. If you’re planning to breed them for piglets, you should invest in one boar and two sows to get started. Breeding pigs takes more equipment, but you’ll be able to raise and sell the piglets.
Many cultures avoid pork because of the way pigs process their food. Pigs collect toxins throughout their body and also carry parasites. If you love bacon, raising your own pigs is the best way to ensure they’re as healthy as possible.
7. Goats
If you’d like to have milk but don’t want to invest in a cow, goats may be perfect for your homestead. These animals come in a range of sizes, including some dwarf breeds that are easier to handle. It’s not recommended to raise goats for their meat.
Because goats can jump fairly high, they need tall fencing. They like to sample many different foods, including paper, flowers, nutrition-packed weeds, and dried grass. If you don’t have a lot of space for them to forage, you can supplement their diet with goat feed.
A good milking goat can produce two and a half to three quarts of milk a day. That’s 10 to 12 cups of milk a day or about three-fourths of a gallon. If your goal is to feed your family, one to two goats should be plenty.
8. Sheep
Sheep are a stellar choice for homesteaders. They require very little work and forage for most of their food. During the winter, you will have to supplement their diet. To keep them extra healthy, you can also consider giving them a supplement like kelp.
Different kinds of sheep are best for raising meat or wool. In wooly sheep, meat tends to be greasy and tastes gamey. Breeding sheep is incredibly easy because they’re very good at raising their own young.
Their feces is also amazing for regenerating land or fertilizing your garden. It’s packed full of probiotics because their food ferments in their stomachs. Over time, the grass in your sheep pasture will get more nutritious and plentiful because of their droppings.
9. Dogs
If you raise sheep, dogs are another must-have on your homestead. Livestock guardian dogs are sometimes called “LGDs” for short. Specific dog breeds like Great Pyrenes, Anatolian Shepherds, and Kangals are perfect for protecting sheep and other animals from predators.
LGDs live with the animals they’re protecting. Although they’re very friendly to people they know, they are not house dogs. For larger herds of animals, you can get several LGDs and train them to work together.
Some types of dogs will also kill raccoons and other critters that may disturb your chickens. However, some dogs will kill birds. Different dog breeds are suited to different tasks, so it’s important to know what role your dog will play on your homestead before you start looking at puppies.
10. Honeybees
As a homesteader, you should also consider investing in honeybee hives. Honey is much healthier than processed sugar and you can use beeswax for candles and homemade cosmetics like lip balms and creams.
After they’re established, a beehive can produce between 30 and 60 pounds of honey per year. However, the bees will need some of this honey to survive the winter. If you’re worried they’re running out of food, you can supplement their diet with sugar water or by returning some of the honey you’ve taken.
Raising pollinators on your property can also increase your garden yield. Bees are another important part of a healthy ecosystem and their numbers are low across much of the country. If you decide to invest in bees, it’s essential to ensure there are no chemicals sprayed within at least three miles of your hives.
11. Cows
Many homesteaders also invest in a cow or a small herd of cattle. A large cow like a Jersey can feed about eight people for a year. However, you can also buy smaller cows like Dexters that are easier to handle and pasture.
Unlike many smaller animals, cows are expensive to purchase. They eat about 24 pounds of dry hay a day, which adds up to a lot of hay bales over the winter. You’ll also need to provide shelter, a large grazing area, and secure storage for their feed.
Cows can be raised for milk or meat and you can also breed them to raise new calves. A good dairy cow needs to be milked twice a day and can give you six to seven gallons of milk every 24 hours.
12. Fish
If you have poor soil quality on your homestead, you can also consider using fish to set up an aquaponics system. With this setup, you can breed fish to eat and nourish vegetables without needing any soil at all.
Aquaponics systems are designed to balance so that they need little maintenance. Most people use tilapia fish for these systems because they taste good and won’t overpopulate their tanks. The fish droppings feed the vegetable plantings.
At the same time, the plants clean the water so it can be returned to your fish tank and reused. Aquaponics systems can be very simple or more complicated, but they usually require little maintenance once you get started.
13. Alpacas
Instead of sheep, you can also raise alpacas for their wool. These animals don’t take much work apart from setting up their pasture and feeding them. They even keep their pasture clean by designating one area for a restroom.
Alpacas are herd animals, so you need to get at least three to start keeping them. To prevent constant breeding, they should be all girls or all boys. It’s very important that your alpacas are raised as part of a group – otherwise, they may develop aggressive behaviors later in life.
These animals won’t test your fence line, but they have several predators, so you’ll need a strong fence. You shouldn’t place electric wiring anywhere near alpacas, as they’ll shock themselves repeatedly. Alpacas need warm shelter in the winter and must be sheared once a year to prevent heatstroke.
14. Horses
Many homesteaders want horses because they’re beautiful and you can ride them. However, horses are a huge responsibility. They’re expensive to care for, live for a long time, and can be dangerous if you don’t know how to handle them.
If you’ve never owned a horse before, you should try leasing a horse or working with them before considering getting one of your own. Your first horse should be an older gelding – young horses and high-spirited breeds aren’t a good choice until you have more experience.
On your homestead, horses can be used to ride the property and give tours for visitors. They’re not typically used for farm work anymore because machinery is less expensive. If you buy a horse, you’ll need to contact a local farrier and vet for periodic checkups.
15. Cats
Cats are another animal you should consider keeping on your homestead. If you train them to live in your barns, they’ll protect your animal feed from rodents and any other small critters that try to move in.
Because cats can breed quickly, it’s important to spay and neuter your animals. A small population of cats will be healthier. If you have food available, stray cats may show up from time to time and try to breed with your animals.
Cats can be trained to kill certain animals and care for others. For example, you don’t want your barn cats to kill baby chickens. After they’ve been trained, barn cats can make your homestead more secure – and you can bond closely with them because you won’t be eating them.
What’s Best for Your Homestead
Adding animals to your homestead contributes to your goal to be self-sustaining. Animals offer a healthy source of meat, dairy, and other products like wool and eggs. You can also breed them and sell the offspring to help support your homestead.
When you bring animals onto your homestead, you’re trading convenience for personal knowledge of where your food has been and how it was raised. Animals are a huge responsibility because they’re dependent on you for food and shelter.
However, you can successfully raise animals with little to no experience if you’re willing to do research, talk to professionals, and put in hard work. It’s a good idea to begin this journey with small, low-risk animals like chickens and quail before you consider owning a cow or a horse.
To choose the animals you want for your homestead, start by considering what needs they would fill. Use this list to get a better idea of which animals would be best suited for you. For many homesteaders, raising animals is worth the hard work for the enjoyment and provisions that they bring.
Author Bio:
Jane is the editor-in-chief of Environment.co. She is passionate about sustainability, gardening and homesteading.
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