Most versatile livestock?

I won't lie, they're a pain in the asters at times, but they're also some of the most entertaining livestock I ever raised. I had one that had been a bottle kid who hung with my dogs, and would chase my truck with them too. They'd bark and she'd bleat, big ears and tits flopping all the way. Seriously, seeing that in the side view mirror never got old. The biggest headache for me was I didn't start out with good goat proof fencing and so it was a constant one upmanship of me vs the goats figuring out how to get through my most recent attempt at patching and upgrading. If I'd simply started out with something superior to what they use on say, a maximum security penitentiary, I'd have been golden, but I started out with barb wire and that woven "goat fence". 150 head of goats, 148 of them were meh on escaping, but there was always the 1 or 2 who would get bored and start mining the fence for weak spots. And, much like teenagers, once one figures out a way to get away with murder, they quickly teach the skill to all their buddies. Nothing like getting a call while you're at work to let you know that your entire herd is merrily running down the interstate and the troopers are not pleased about it.

 

For most versatile I would say chickens. They'll eat anything too actually, just like pigs. They're small, you get eggs, meat if ya want. And you can let them eat pesty bugs too.

Next would be rabbits, because they also have a high turnover rate for breeding like chickens, but you also get pelts out of them. If you're in a place with bad winters, having a source of furs is very helpful.

 

Stock panels were the only way, same with pigs. Very expensive option. But, with goats, if there is no hole in your fence, they will make one. Even had them enlarge a hole in 'goat fence' one time and forget where they got out to find their way back in. Once caught and put back in, they worked on my patch for days trying to get out again.

 

I disagree on chickens. They get sick pretty easy, need electricity to hatch eggs, and what do we feed in the winter? I grind corn and acorns for them and gathering acorns is a real pain. The problem is feeding them in the winter. What if you have no feed mill? Rabbits eat grass hay . Goats also eat grass hay and other stuff like pig weed and sasafrass but as Ditch says hard to keep them penned. For us Rabbits are the answer. We live on a lake so we have fish and water birds to eat as well. We have chickens and I see long term feed as a problem. Heirloom corn is the answer but what if you have a bad year? grass always grows . Now reproduction is a no brainer with rabbits. Chickens require a broody hen or an incubator we are hatching eggs now but if we had limited power?? not going to work. Broody hens should be considered priceless. Rabbits are much easier. W e stock heavy on carbs to go with rabbit meat. Rice, Potatoes, carrots etc.

 

I've never had sick chickens, and as mentioned, you don't need electricity to hatch eggs. A broody hen or a consistent heat source for 21 days.

 

When I was a kid, in the sticks of Northern Nevada, we had to supplement our venison diet. Given that there were more predators than sagebrush around, chickens just didn't have much life expectancy! Rabbits did the trick! Much smaller pen, up off the ground and dad built they're hutch so nothing short of a bear was getting in! The pellets fell to a box for fertilizer so nothing wasted! Mom braised them in what became the gravy, boy were they good! We were able to sustain them for years with a four year old doing most of the care taking, that's me! Anyway, cheap, fertilizer, easy care and defendable!

 

If you have dehorned goats you can get away with the cheap stock panels with the big 6"x12" gap. Kids will go through that but the adults won't so for the most part you're good. The problem is with the ones with horns. They'll huff and they'll puff and they'll shove their heads through, and then be completely stuck. If you find them in time, great, you too can experience the joy of trying to bend their head far enough backwards to get their horn tips down to the sides of their neck so it'll go back out like it came in. If you're half as lucky as me you'll get to do it over and over again, mostly when it's hailing outside or tornado sirens are going off. I had one manage to stick her head through one hole, then turn it and stick it back through the one beside it. I had to cut the panel and never did figure out how she managed that. One time I came home to find a dead goat with her head through a stock panel with her throat ripped out courtesy of the neighbor's dog on the other side. The more expensive ones with the 4"x4" squares were the next I tried. I thought I'd fixed the problem... until the kids with horn buds just starting to erupt started getting stuck. I had a lot of kids running around with an uncapped horn or two. Finally upgraded to the horse panels... the $60 each ones with the 2"x4" holes, for any area where kids were gonna be.

I used 9 strand hot wire on one paddock. Kept finding these junior does out and wires busted, was mad at the young does until I saw three of the older girls hanging out by the fence looking evil. Watched them long enough to see they'd wait until one of the younger, prettier girls sashayed by, and the bitter old bags would ram the teenager straight through the wires. Women.

Never had a sick chicken. Got one, once, with an impacted crop. A razor blade, super glue, and 20 minutes later she did not have one. Dummy had been eating the bedding straw and had a big ball of straw wadded up in her crop. Nasty.

 

Like Kingfish says, a broody is priceless. I have a little blue laced red Wyandotte hen who started laying her first eggs in early April and immediately decided it was time to set. No, sez I, I have enough chickens. Go scratch the dirt or something. She wasn't having it. I'd take her eggs and take her eggs and she did not care. I tossed her in the yard. Did not care. I put her in a dark stall for a few days. Broody busting, my grandmother called it. Well, that broody did not bust, not even after three months. Instead, she quit the nest boxes and set up shop in the farthest back corner of the coop, where I cannot frikkin reach, and laid her some eggs and gave me the middle wing feather. Saw a chick pop out from under her today.

She's officially chicken coop royalty now.

 

Within the last month, I've seen a virus go through a mixed flock and wipe it out! What virus I don't know, but the goofus that owned it got six more and guess what? They're gone too! I tried to tell her, "disinfect, disinfect twice!"

 

When YOU ALLOW a sicknesses to come in , & they will if your not in the mind set , My shoes / boots clothes are in quick changes . BIO farm aware is always needed.
I look like a old coveralls cotton & rubber boots around the birds & the ranch here , Im leaving right now because neighbour farmer has got his cow walking down the road & the bull IS his concern !!
I strip on the run & im in off my ranch stuff & into outside farm cloths & shoes & quick wash station for the body , I help & get covered with poo , & spit plus have a few beers & we laugh about the crazy stuff & Im sent to the wash station on his farm , I have a spare shirt & pull ups / sweats but shoes are just washed or rubber boots normally .

See that is one way we all protect each other . I NEVER LET a stray person around till I know there a city folk or farmer but still ask the questions . where were you B4 here???

 

Ditch is right, chickens can be free ranged, you get eggs, and you can butcher the old ones and they are easy to hatch.

Rancher

 

Yes, and chickens are easier for us old goats to handle from the back of our scooters while wearing a horsehead mask.

 

If your in a dry area , chickens , ducks in the wet is my choice , Ducks you can train a bit .

 

I posed this question to a normal person, basically a city person. They said a cow for milking and meat but then they went on to say that you could train a milk cow to haul a plow plus you can ride them. I have seen pictures of oxen with plows but ride and plow with a milk cow?

 

Nope.

 

NO , You will not have both , Your a female , had kids ? Remember & Think .
There is more BS & stuff not known , but the lip just runs amok with ones who know squat .
Eggs are an embryo , Unfertilized have no red dot , rooster / drake (male) they should have a dot of red .(if there are an accepted male & preform)
Nothing WRONG , but just ready to create (in the correct environment) . eat both .

If you don't have any critters , start with a khaki campbell ducks, they are wet fertilizers in their areas ,
cost 5 each at ducklings/ swap meets , they don't climb or fly , give eggs & duck meat .
They are ez to hand raise & pet / stroke and they can be somewhat trained with repeating the same day .
6-8 months for meat , 10-14 for eggs & they can be trained to drop eggs in AM before 9AM ...
If you have a dog , MAKE sure the doog smells each one & licks it as a new pack member , and tell the dog it there job to look after the birdys & pay special dog time for doing so. Dog is above bird in rank so less trouble .
Sloth
Farmer in old age

 

A cow is a female. It relaxes so it can have babies, produce milk, and be fat when the knife comes. An Ox is a castrated bull, cut between 1 and 2 years, that is specifically trained to be a draft animal. They can pack twice the muscle mass of a herd bull, but kind of like the tractor that replaced them, ain;t good for much but working.
And while you can sit on top of a cow while it's moving (sometimes), you don;t get to steer or adjust speeds, so it isn't riding.

Sorry for my short answer, but I was busy.

 

Thank you @Cruisin Sloth and @AxesAreBetter this person that was telling me you could train a cow and ride it in to town was very sure and tried to convince me. We had a cow and as much as I loved Ruby, I couldn't imagine her being much of a worker, much less riding her.

 

Dexter Cattle great Milk, easy going, great beef, don't tear fence up. And they can be easily trained as Oxen. They are aslo high value homestead cows, we sell 8-10 weans every fall for $500-$800 per head which is always a nice little chunk of bonus money going into winter.

 

@ditch witch OMG that post was way too useful. I am hoping to get into homesteading (sooner the better) and am a noob city girl who doesn't know shit. Your post sure did help more than one person, that is for sure!!