People purchase livestock for many reasons. Some might want them as a pet. Others see them and buy them because they’re cute. However, when you’re living on a homestead, livestock is necessary. As a homesteader, it’s your goal to live a sustainable life while providing for yourself and your family in the best ways possible.
Caring for livestock is no simple task, but they provide a wealth of benefits. Besides giving you meat on the table or milk in a glass, you can use their manure as fertilizer, grazing animals aid in pest control, and others can help you better manage your land. They take a lot of work to care for them properly, but the benefits you reap are worth it.
If you’re just starting with some new livestock, you’re thinking of purchasing a cow or goat, or you’re an experienced homesteader and just need to brush up on your knowledge, then you’ve come to the right place. Here’s your guide to caring for livestock on your homestead.
Ensure You Have the Finances to Support the Livestock
A single animal costs more than you might think. Think of all of the things you need to care for it — including housing, feed, water, veterinary care, and transportation. It all adds up fairly quickly, so you need to fully ensure you have the necessary finances to support however many animals you want to purchase.
Set aside ample income for your livestock. They are an investment that is highly beneficial as a homesteader, but they will cost money over time. While owning livestock can bring in revenue, it may take a few years of barely breaking even to support your homestead.
Livestock is not significantly more cost-effective than store-bought meats or dairy products. You’re paying to care for them, whereas at a grocery store, all you have to do is pay however much a pound of meat or gallon of milk costs.
The cost of care and butchering is, of course, included in that price, so in reality, you break even more than make a profit. However, homesteading is all about sustaining and providing for yourself, and by raising livestock, you’re doing just that.
Decide How Much Livestock You Need
Before investing in livestock for your homestead, you should decide how many cows, sheep, pigs, goats, or other livestock you need to sustain your family entirely. Determine what it is you’re looking for in livestock. Some animals provide you with food, and others can provide you with milk. If you need both, then you may need more than one animal.
For a single person, you likely only need a few animals. However, if you want to make a living off of your livestock, you’ll probably need more than one in that case as well. For example, a dairy cow can provide you with a calf each year for meat purposes as long as you breed the dairy cow. For profitable income, you will more likely need a herd of dairy cows. It’s wise to start small, though, until you fully understand what it takes to raise and care for livestock.
In addition to deciding how many animals you need or how many your homestead can support, you need to figure out which breeds will be best. Ask breeders in your local region, because they can give you helpful information and suggestions for an excellent first breed for each type of livestock. For example, Jersey cows are great for beginner homesteaders.
Set Up a Shelter and Fencing
Once you get the livestock, you’ll need to set up a shelter and fencing for them. Shelters like barns are necessary for animals to stay safe from the elements and safe from any potential predators. Additionally, setting up a small sheltered area similar to a pavilion in your pasture allows the animals to rest from the sun in a larger shaded area.
During the first week of getting your livestock, you might want to keep them in a smaller pen, especially your cows. Doing this will help them get used to the land, and they won’t be completely shocked when entering the new area. Plus, providing them with a little treat every day in the pen will help in the future when you have to round them up.
Additionally, you’ll want to add fencing around your barn and pasture area. This ensures your livestock stays on your property and that they don’t wander off to the neighbor’s house. The fence should be a few feet high and sturdy enough to hold in your livestock.
Provide Pasture Land
Livestock needs ample room to graze and stay active. Pasture land is essential for any type of livestock, whether it’s a pig or a steer. For cows, most farmers recommended that you have at least one acre of good land per cow. However, with multiple cows, you should have numerous acres per cow. That way, you can do rotational grazing with your animals.
Other animals, like goats and sheep, don’t need super-high-quality grazing land as cows do. Make sure you have enough land for however many animals you plan on caring for on your homestead. You can plant things like clover, legumes, or alfalfa to improve your pasture land if needed.
Gather High-Quality Feed
The animals that live on your homestead deserve the best care. They’re part of your self-sustaining efforts, so you should gather higher-quality feed for them. Food packed with the correct nutrients will keep your animals as healthy as they can be. In addition to regular feed, you should also provide them with forage and silage. Silage is a mixture of green, leafy crops meant for ruminant animals like cattle, goats, and sheep.
Before gathering food for your animals, set up a storage area. Be sure you have safe storage for your hay, silage, and feed, as well as any supplies used to feed your animals. Without proper storage, the food can go bad. If you notice any spoiled, moldy, or musty feed or hay, do not feed it to your animals. Your animals can get sick from spoiled food. If you wouldn’t eat it, don’t make your animals eat it.
There are many different storage options available, so it might be good to do your research or test the storage containers yourself. You can use anything from a garbage can to a metal rain barrel to store your feed. Just ensure that pests cannot enter and seal the containers tight to prevent any water from entering.
For hay, you’ll generally need a large shed or barn, depending on how many animals you have.
Keep an Ample Fresh Water Supply
Just as important as having food, your animals must have access to a fresh water supply. Wherever your animals are staying, they should have access to water. Water is essential for any animals that you milk so that they can continue to produce.
When an animal drinks ample water, it fills them up. In turn, this means they require less feeding. If you notice your animals want food more often, try providing them with more water. Additionally, water helps animals maintain their internal body temperature. Cold water may shock them, so fill up water sources in the morning and let the sun heat the water throughout the day.
In wintertime, you’ll have to manually heat the water to prevent cold shock. If an animal drinks cold water, its body temperature lowers. To increase their body temperatures to normal, the animal has to burn more calories, which means they’ll eat more than average. Providing the correct amounts of water at the proper temperature will keep your livestock in good health and decrease their colic and dehydration risk.
Clean the Shelter Often
Depending on how much livestock you’re caring for, the shelter you provide for them can get dirty fairly quickly. Manure and mud may coat the floor, which is dangerous for the animals. You may have a sturdy, slip-resistant floor in your shelter, but if it has a layer of manure and mud on it, that makes it unsafe for your animals.
Having a shelter that is clean and comfortable helps your livestock stay calm. In turn, they are happier and easier to handle when you need to maneuver them. Plus, a clean shelter improves the meat and milk quality and ensures your animals are safe. When a barn is not kept clean, bacteria and viruses spread more quickly, which means your animals could get sick.
Additionally, a clean barn also lengthens the barn’s life. A barn that’s full of excess moisture or dirty often may experience wood rot. Plus, insects easily find their way in when wood rots out. Once you remove all of the manure and mud, spray it down with hot water and a detergent, followed by a disinfectant. Ensure there are sufficient drains and a handwashing station for yourself or anyone else who maintains the shelter.
Keep Up With Their Health
Regular veterinarian visits are an essential part of keeping up with the health of your livestock. Look over your animals every day to spot any issues with them. You can also keep track of how much your animals are eating and drinking and note if their intake is increasing or decreasing.
If your animals lack an appetite, they may have an underlying illness. Though it can be difficult to tell how much your animals are eating, especially if you have several, you can look at their physique. If they don’t have a nice, rounded stomach, they could have a health problem.
Weather is something that can have a significant effect on your herd’s overall health. Livestock has a difficult time maintaining their body temperatures in the intense heat. Your livestock may be experiencing weather stress if they have reduced milk production or a rapid respiration rate, if they seek shade often, or show other telltale signs.
Devise a Plan for Natural Disasters
If you live in a region that experiences natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, or tornadoes, you need to devise a natural disaster plan for yourself and your livestock. Usually, there are warning signs of a natural disaster. Don’t wait until it starts storming to put your plan into action for your animals.
In some cases, you may need to evacuate your home. You may not be able to take your livestock with you. In that case, you should have tags or some other kind of identification for your animals so you can locate and identify them. Additionally, if you decide to evacuate, provide them with enough food and water for a few days.
If you’re able to take your livestock with you or relocate them to higher ground, plan an evacuation route. You may even want to practice that route with them a few times so they have a general idea of where you’re taking them. This will make the process calmer and more comfortable for your animals in the event of an emergency. Otherwise, if you’re able, take your livestock with you.
Have a Mode of Transport
When you get your livestock, or if you have to transport them to a veterinary clinic, you’re going to need to be able to get them where they’re going. Your mode of transport should be safe and sturdy enough to hold all of your livestock.
You can purchase a trailer or rent one for transportation. If you know you’re going to be moving your animals often, it may be a better investment to buy a cattle trailer. Each time you transport your animals, inspect the trailer and hookup to ensure it is secure.
Additionally, before loading your animals, inspect the trailer for cleanliness, especially if you’re using a secondhand one. Livestock can pick up germs left behind from previous users, so give your trailer a thorough cleaning before your animals enter it.
Also, just like the shelter, install a skid-resistant floor and put down a layer of straw for a cushion. Ensure that you open the air vents or windows as well to provide plenty of air circulation.
Healthy, Happy Livestock Starts With Caring Providers
Homesteading gives you the opportunity to spread out and live your life off the land. One of the most incredible possibilities a homesteader has is caring for animals that they can use for meat, dairy, or other purposes.
Caring for your own animals is a huge step towards sustainable living. If you want healthy and happy livestock, then be sure to follow this guide!
Author Bio:
Jane is the editor-in-chief of Environment.co. She is passionate about sustainability, gardening and homesteading.
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