My wife @arlingtonarmsx and I have been discussing future plans for our homestead and animals we plan to have on the farm. We don't feel exactly the same about farm animals, I see them in a more practical and functional way (food) and she sees them as cute cuddly pets and friends. Neither of us can have exactly what we want but we both compromise a little.
Current Animals
So far we have 8 chicks which we will not be turning into delicious chicken nuggets but instead will supply us with pretty eggs for breakfast. She as agreed that next spring we will get a rooster and a hand full of chicks for the purpose of meat and laying more meat birds.
we also have Luna the Leaner which you have all probably seen before. She isn't really a farm dog, more of a nusense but we still like her.
Also recently showing up on our porch randomly this spring was Gandalf the Grey tomcat. I call him Gandalf, she calls him Tom. I guess you could call him a barn cat but he doesn't really do anything except lounge around sleeping or rolling in the grass purring at his own cuteness.
Future Animals
Goats... We plan to get some goats in the late spring pending my completion of an effective fence. Naturally she wants cute little ones and I want bigger ones. We don't have any specific breeds picked out. We will probably both get what we want, it's no issue to have 3 or 4 goats.
We are considering in the more distant future 2+ years on getting a family cow, either a Jersey or a Dexter. My plan is for milk and when we breed her we will either sell if calves are heifers and raise the bulls for freezer meat.
fence plans:
This photograph came with the house when we bought it and was taken by plane in the early 80s we were told. It shows what the place looked like back then and how well taken care of it was. Today There is no fence and the forest has grown crazy.
here are the current plans on where to put the fence for the goats in the spring almost exactly as they had it before. The area is about 2 acres and still needs some trees cleared out. This project will most likely start in the fall when the weeds have died off and I can select the right trees to come out for the fence line and it won't be so hot! I will be using a mix of railroad ties and wood from our lot for posts and 4 board with wire between the posts.
Thank you for reading! Upvote, follow and resteem to support my family as we become homesteaders!
Great idea to research and plan ahead. I wasted a lot of money just jumping in and getting animals first and then trying to house them. Before building your fence, please do research on local predators and find out if you need to go higher or dig your fence down into the ground. You might also want to research livestock guardian dogs. Skip the chicken wire and go straight to woven wire field fencing. Anything less will get torn up or wear out in a very short time. One final tip: never name your food animals. I have 20 chickens that have names and they are layers, roosters (to protect the flock) and pets. The other 30 are simply called "Meat Bird." Good luck on your adventure.
wow awesome advice, thank you! I laughed at "meat bird" haha. Good tip on searching predators too, The plan is this type of fence:
you could run a few piggies in that space too. Good planning and that looks like a bullet proof fence! Thanks for a good read :-)
I've thought about it but no definite decision on hogs yet :)