I Want To Farm (Pt 1-Livestock)

     It's a theme I have been seeing more and more lately. From the farmers itching to get in the fields who are looking at snow being on the ground on Easter. From people living in town that are wanting to get out of town and grow their own food. And not to mention a few ex-hippies that sold out to "the man" and never got to experience 'living off the land' back in the 60's.
     For the farmers wanting to get into the fields, I can only say: I think it snowed on April 24 back in 1969 in Northwest Tennessee. I'm not sure about that, I'll have to ask my mom. UPDATE: I talked to Mom, it wasn't snow, Dad was trying to sow Lespedeza and my mom was trying to wait to have my little brother until after he got through.
     As for the townfolk wanting to get a 'few acres' and grow their own food. You need a plan. And then double whatever you calculate to be your needs.
     If you buy a cow with a baby calf at side today, plan on at least 14 months from now before you are going to be eating that wonderful succulent steak that you raised yourself. Say that again. 14 months. MINIMUM. That's about how long it will take to raise that little calf up to a 1100# slaughter ready animal. It might get done sooner depending on the breed and how you feed it. If you give the cow some grain to supplement the pasture she is grazing on, she will give more milk, which will allow the calf to grow faster. If you give the calf feed while he is suckling his momma he will also gain faster. You could even wind up with a calf weighing 700-800# by Thanksgiving if you're lucky. I know that's a lot of ifs, but farming is full of those.
   But back to the plan. Depending on the state you live in, it will take from 1-10 acres of pasture to support a cow/calf pair year round according to State Extension Services. At least as near as I can recall. Part of that pasture ground will have to be separated from the rest so you can cut and bale hay off of it to get the cow and calf through the winter. This isn't a necessity, but it is MUCH better to haul hay if you're not in danger of slipping and falling in a cow patty.
     A barn to store the hay in is a good thing. Especially if you have square bales. It's a pretty good thing if you have those big round bales, too. If you're only going to have 1 or 2 cows, you'll probably want to find someone who will custom cut and bale your square bales of hay. You might find a square baler really cheap and decide to bale your own, but that's not a very good idea. I once heard of 3 preachers who went into the hay baling business, by the end of a month 2 had turned to drinking, 1 had turned to drugs and all 3 had turned away from God. You'd need to get with local farmers or Ag Extension personnel to determine how much hay you will need to take your cattle through the winter.
     You might decide that 14 months is too long to wait to get some farm fresh meat to eat. In that case the next alternative might be to get you some goats. Goats are smaller and if I remember correctly you can run 8 nanny goats on the smae acreage as 1 cow takes up. Goats were one of the first animals domesticated by humans. That means they have been frustrating peoples attempts to keep them penned up longer than any other animal. Baby goats are cute, except when you walk outside to head to work and find 5 kids standing on the hood of your car. The kids are ready for slaughter earlier than a calf will be also.
     Before you decide to raise goats for eating though, buy some goat meat at the store. If you don't like the taste, don't raise goats. A pretty good rule of thumb is don't raise something you won't eat.
     Sheep are another alternative. I think the conversion chart there is 6 ewes=1cow. I'm not sure. You can probably find it somewhere on the internet if you really want to know. And it to varies from state to state. And even from region to region within states.
     Pigs are another alternative. Just make sure you have lots of patience and plenty of fence. The pigs will try both. Repeatedly.A sow can have 12-16 piglets in one litter. I even saw one have 18 in a litter. Luckily we had other sows that farrowed at the same time to even out the litters cause she only had 12 functioning teats :-(
     Poultry is another "protein possibilities" Chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, guineas and quail. Poultry are dual source of protein. The females lay eggs,  the males are good to eat. But keep a few males around if you want to raise poultry next year. Always keep in mind when dealing with poultry, "Bird Brained" is a term that is sometimes used to describe someone with a limited attention span who does bizarre things for seemingly no reason. ALL poultry are 'bird brained'.
     No matter what type of livestock you decide to raise, good fences are a necessity. More to follow on that in the next part.
    I'm sorry. I forgot about rabbits. They are another alternative. Quite tasty and you can raise them in your garage.
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