Our goals this year are:
1) get the pasture fenced
2) establish the garden
3) and yes, to get some farm animals.
The fencing project is in the planning stages. We staked out an 8×14 foot plot for raised beds in the pasture this past weekend. And now we’re contemplating the farm animal options.
We’ve done some research. Asked around. Done some Googling. Visited some farms.
Here’s our short list:
Cows Can’t stand the thought of eating an animal after caring for it and gazing out the window at it day in and day out. We don’t eat that much red meat anyhow. And I don’t have the time or desire to milk a cow every single day. Plus, fresh cow milk does not taste delicious to me. I like my milk blue and straight from the dairy section of the grocer.
Horses Are more for the seasoned animal person rather than the rooky suburbanites that we are. And the upkeep can get expensive. We’ll work our way up to that one.
Pigs The HOA is not a fan of the stinky pink swine. Plus, I don’t think they’re very nice animals.
Goats Again, not an HOA favorite. They’re stinky suckers too, especially the males.
Llamas We need a good sturdy fence first. And they tend to be skittish and can be loud. A little too big for our kids. And the spitting. A definite minus.
Alpacas I LOVE these guys. They are so cute and much smaller than llamas. But man, they’re expensive! Maybe in the future.
Sheep These are on our short list. Need a good fence first but we’re considering getting a ewe to breed.
Rabbits Okay. They’re not really farm animals but the kids really want to get some rabbits. Speaking from first-hand experience, rabbits are not very hearty animals and tend to bite. But you can leash them and take them for a walk. We’re on the fence with this one.
Chickens These may be what we’ll start with. Not to eat, mind you. But the eggs would be great to use and the upkeep is cheap.
Here’s where I need your help.
If you were me, what animals would make your short list?
And if you have first hand experience with any and all farm animals, convince me one way or the other what we should get.
Pool for sure! This one is a no-brainer!
Chickens ok, but I say bag it and put in a pool go get a tan…
Hope all is well
Spencer
http://utahcribs.wordpress.com/
I say chickens. My sister and a close friend have both done them and loved them.
I have very little experience with animals, especially farm ones.
My vote is for the pool! The animals don’t sound fun to me at all. Good luck with the decision.
Goats! They are so fun and friendly and will eat all your garbage!!!!;-) They do need to be milked though. My grandparents had goats and we loved playing with them. They were so fun.
My dad raised sheep …. and I can’t stand the meat. Mutton is horrid tasting to me.
My brother raises chickens and beef. The cute little calf now is called din~din for dinner:-) He enjoys both. they do get used to eating the meat and sharing it too.
Actually I am all for the Pool! You could enjoy wonderful family time and host awesome parties!
I say get a “farm dog” and put in a pool!!
Don’t sheep stink too… I thought they were really bad… but I am a city girl so what do I know?
ps. My unlce has an alpaca farm in Oregon so it was funny to me that they made your list… they are cute and warm… but they cost a pretty penny!
I grew up not on a real farm but more like what you’re planning. We had a couple acres fenced off and the animals were more for fun than for eating. We had one cow, that was actually totally adorable and a GREAT pet (they don’t do anything but eat, thats about it.) Different goats mean different things, we had pigme goats, they’re little. And very cute and friendly, and we didn’t have to milk them, but we got ours a little older. Horses are wonderful, but a lot of work. We didn’t have sheep, but I’ve heard they’re sort of mean. Sorry. 🙁 And rabbits are good, but also messy and stinky, you have to keep up on their hutch’s a lot! Our neighbor had a llama, that wasn’t very big at all and very calm and didn’t spit at all.
Wow, sorry this is so long! Honestly though, I would take the farm over a pool any day! So much fun, especially when you have kids! 🙂
Pool or Chickens. I think chickens. What a cool thing to have! Sheep also seem pretty dang cool. Plus your kids can rope sheep in rodeos (I think that’s a rodeo sport? Not totally sure even though I am from Idaho).
I think it is awesome that you are going to get animals.
I have Goats and Ducks!
If you only get girls or weathers (fixed males) they don’t smell at all. Mine are so cute and friendly. Sweeter than our family dog. You can even get cashmere goats and sheer them and sell the fiber or make yarn if you are really crafty.
The ducks are just like chickens, but more beautiful (in my opinion). Their eggs are much tastier and they are easier to care for than chickens. Plus, no pecking! Some breeds don’t even need water to swim in.
I would be careful with rabbits…they tend to scratch and bite. But I know some people who love them.
Good luck. It will be fun to see what you choose.
Mmm, I didn’t know a pool was a possibility…. But seriously, I think some chickens would be great! Can you have chickens? Or sheep. That might be fun too. Did you talk the kids into 4-h?
I can’t wait to see what you do!
XOXO
Jen
Ps – we are planning on coming out on Friday evening (mom has a meeting in the morning) and then we’ll leave on Sunday. Sorry such a short trip but Jeff is flying out on Monday. But we’ll see you soon for WICKED!!!
I would say chickens too.. only because I’m still ont this preparedness kick and I think they would come in handy for food storage:)
I vote for the pool and you know what that means! Loved your post. I will call you today after I get my taxes done.
Chickens are great for the eggs. But…. they stink. So, if stinkiness is a factor – which it seems to be – keep that in mind.
If it were me, I’d get a pool. But that’s just because I like to laze around on a floating chair… not because a pool is better.
Hi again, Erlyn kept chickens just for their manure for her rose gardens if that helps. Remember when we had rabbits? I tagged you with an award today. Come see! Love you.
I think chickens or rabbits for a start would probably manageable for a city girl like you. Sheep are also very useful – you could shear the wool and spin and make your own sweaters?!:)
Or, maybe you could get a pool and some animals? Just a thought.
POOL. You are a brave soul to go with animals. Especially because I just dropped $200 at the vet yesterday for a stupid cat!!!! (She got in a fight) I have enjoyed reading your blog as of late, but have been a bad commenter because I can’t type one handed!! (Nursing)
Don’t you live close to the Holmsteads?
We have enjoyed the Koefed animals very much. Got to participate in a calf birth, feed and ride horses, and we buy organic eggs from our next door neighbor. We feel pretty guilty for not having a lot to contribute but I love not having to clean up after animal droppings.
Gary is considering a bee hive so we can add honey to the preparedness of the neighborhood.
Sorry Not much help, but I can’t help but think of the water storage capability of a pool :). Let me know What you decide.
I vote for a Clydesdale horse 🙂 …….or some cute ducks and chickens.
Whales, dolphins, sharks, eels and a platypus. You’ll need a pool. Chickens smell about as bad as pigs do.
Chickens are easy and farm fresh eggs taste way better than store bought. You can build a little hen house where they’ll go to hole up for the night and lay eggs. It’s not to bad to clean periodically. You can make it so it’s easy to collect the eggs without going inside the coop as well. If the chickens grow up in the hen house and are confined to it for a month or so, you can let them free range in the pasture and they’ll do fine.
If your chicken friends wander outside of the pasture or coop, they will be eaten by the foxes and wandering dogs in the area and you have to count on loosing chickens periodically. We had an issue with this and our daughter (ask me about fluffy the chicken sometime).
Back to the pasture – chickens can wander around in a pasture, but they are not going to MAINTAIN it for you. Unless you put something that eats grass in your pasture, it will become just a big area to MOW.
Assuming you want the animals to mow, sheep or cows are a good choice. If you bottle raise a lamb, it will be your best buddy. It will follow you everywhere and endear itself to you – “everywhere that Mary went the lamb was sure to go” is very real. If you get a female lamb you can choose in the future to raise sheep.
Bottle feeding calves makes the taming and working with them much easier. Little ‘slobber face’ is doing well at our place. If you don’t want to eat beef then choose a female. You can have her become a mommy later if you want as well.
If you work with whatever animal you choose while it’s young – handling, leading, etc, it becomes much easier to care for the animal when it is BIG.
AND, since you have neighbors that have eaten every animal you’ve mentioned, if you have problems and want to get out of the mini-farm business and back to the backyard pool business – I’m sure they’ll help you out… 😉
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Even though you got the rabbits – I say go with Amanda’s idea of a ‘farm dog’ and a pool! 🙂