Farming: goats, chicken, sheep, other?

I'm currently pulling together information about the best animals(breeds) to raise on a small farm. Wondering who is currently raising animals for food, and what breeds they have luck with.

I've helped out on farms when it comes to milking, birthing, hoof trimming and slaughtering, so I have a good grip on animal care/ upkeep, but I've never actually owned anything other then chickens and horses. I feel confident, but would love to hear some peoples experiences/ opinions on raising your own meat.


Chickens... 100% yes. No clue on breed yet. I had black star chickens in the past, and really loved them. Good layers, but did not like the meat that much. Anyone raise meat birds?

Goats or sheep... We are going to go with one or the other, and whatever we pick need to be for milk, and meat. I'm leaning towards goats right now, but I really haven't looked into sheep that much yet. Hoping to make cheese one day♥

Pigs... no never. just no.

Bison... I wish. I've always wanted to raise these epic beauties, but I really don't think we'll have enough land for them, and even if we do. I don't think I'll convince my other half.

Other animals?

Goats are better than sheeps i think, they have more "meat" and they are stronger with rain / ice etc. But sheeps produce woal, so .. Thats also a good point !

What about miniature cattle? I heard the meat is super tender and tastes better than regular cows. They are cheaper to feed than large cows and still offer the same substances with lower methane as well.
I've only had chickens and we loves our Rhode Island Reds, great brown eggs they taste good as well but you have to find a breeder who specializes in producing meat birds because they tend to be skinny.

I'd recommend goats. Hardy little critters. The breed depends on what you want. For example, nubians are excellent for yielding milk, while angoras are good for spinning yarn.

I raise animals on my 5 acre farm in California. I LOVE it! So do my kids. I run the 4-H program here and we have started raising more animals for the youth to raise and show at fair.

Currently we raise the Cornish x chickens for meat birds, however we dont enjoy the meat. So after we did research we decided we wanted a heritage breed that we could reproduce ourselves so we switched to Delewares and are culling the x breeds. Best tasting meat and they have excellent egg production so they are a great dual purpose. No they do not yield as much as a Cornish but Cornish are not natural in my opinion.

We have a Jersey Heifer who provides us with milk which we can pasturize ourselves. When kept calving she provides constant milk and we choose meat bulls, Angus to be exact so the calves come out more meaty. Jerseys have very flavorful meat and so the cross is great. She is like a pet to us she is very friendly and loves to be groomed.

Then we have a Nubian goat who when old enough to breed will be a milk goat. Kids love raw goats milk and it goes great in my homemade soaps, lotions and salves. Her babies will be used to show at fair as she has champion lines.

Than we have a Duroc x Sow. Also hasn't had her first litter yet, but we are on a breeding schedule for her to provide us with hogs for our 4H members. I have raised hogs before and I personally believe the Duroc has the best yield and flavor.

We also do Turkeys, ofcourse the go to is the white broad breasted but again, not natural. So we are trying Royal Palms and Chocolates this year.

I have ducks and get a dozen eggs a day, I don't eat my ducks they are my favorite pet and their eggs are delicious. The geese are well just for looks lol.

We also have rabbits, people love the meat but I dont. I just raise and process for clients.

I've been doing agriculture for years. Our family is trying to be more concious and do a regenerative lifestyle. As we also grow veggies and fruits. One day we will not be relying on commercial commodities.

We raise Boers for meat and they would probably be your best breed for the "meat" route. Oberhasli's, Alpines, or Nubians would be your best bet for the "milk" route. A Boer/Nubian cross could do both milk and meat potentially.

PM me if you have any questions about raising goats :)

i have lamancha goats
they're meat and milk goats (though we dont eat ours)

our lines are multi-national championed lined animals though as well so they're high end goooooats.

Cadillac- I want your farm!! I'm hoping to get Zane into 4H one day. I did it as a kido and really loved it, but the leaders were....kinda poo.

Around here I see a lot of Boers and Nubian goats for sale, but almost all are high end champs, and I don't really want to buy champions lines to eat.. lol... actually the idea of eating champions is kinda funny
......anyways

Staying away from cows of any kind right now. My plan is to keep our operation small, and keep the animals easier at first. Down the road I want to be able to add more animals, but not more types of critters. As much as I would love to have every animal I can fit on the property I want to make cheese, and really focus on the animal we pick for it.


This next part is more of a question... I don't want to raise alpacas for anything...
So the man of the house suggested alpacas last night. I said no before he could finish the thought, but we ended up doing a little googling on alpaca meat?! Has anyone had alpaca before?

Yeah our 4H club went through 7 leaders in 3 years before i came along. Ive added a bunch of projects to it; sewing, cooking, shooting sports, gardening and poultry. It was mainly horse & pony and archery. I enjoy the kids being actively involved in something rewarding and educational.

Yeah for meat i wouldnt do anything of showing lines, champions etc. like you said your eating it. Our goat isnt for meat, im not fond of goat meat. Shes for show. Im able to pasteurize milk but im learning how to do cheese lol. Its so gratifying do this type of stuff. My friends kids think everything comes from the market, i wish i could educate many.

And yes start small so you dont overwhelm yourself. You are bound to fail somewhere along the way and it can get discouraging. We did with our garden big time, its a huge learning process. We did an animal at a time, cow first, then goat, then pig. Each is a process but well worth it!

As for Alpacas i have no experience what so ever, curious to see what others say :)

I'm a cattle kid myself with a preference for Angus and Herfords. One of the local Farmers does mini Herfords though and I can say they are adorable and taste great! It's definitely more of a side venture for their family, but it's doing fairly well as a local commercial herd paired with their Wine and Nut businesses.

Goats are really awesome though and I'd totally recommend them over sheep, in my opinion they're much smarter and easier to keep, and if you want to get more into cheese without going into cattle there's a larger market and support system for Goats than sheep simply because there's more people in it. The Goat Dairy we visited in college used mostly Nubians and Alpines with a sprinkling of La Manchas as their goats, but started outcrossing with Boers for more meat quality when their herd got too large and they couldn't sell the babies as quickly for dairy. I'm not sure how well it worked out for them as they were just starting it when we visited.

I know nothing about Alpacas except that they're pretty and their wool is really nice. They seem to be used mostly as decorations rather than for industry around here. There's little demand for their products and what they do produce tends to be higher end expensive things so it doesn't seem to be a lucrative market unless you have money to burn.

In any case Good luck with the animals! I hope you find some you like and that are easy to keep. And DO 4H! I did 10 years as a kid and came back as a leader after College and I still love it. The politics and some of the parents really suck, but to me at least the experience is so worth it. If you find a good group and some projects your kid really likes it can be a really fun and rewarding experience, and a great network for getting in touch with more people interested in the same things you are.

Cows are awesome, but everyone around us raises dairy, and beef cows so it's very easy to get my hands on fresh meat/ milk.

I personally feel like Alpacas are kinda useless for the road I wish to go down. I'll eat them(if it moves I'll eat it), and of course the wool too... yet they seem like a money pit right now.

I went out to a few local goat farms that make cheese, and they had a lot of good info for me. It's exciting to see it, and know I have some help when things do start up.

Sheep are not our of the picture just yet. I like goat meat, but the hubby has never tried it yet, so... that's going to play into it big time.

What does goat meat taste like??

Out of curiosity, why not pigs? They're cheap to buy and feed, and have high yield. They're easy to train, too, so that working with them doesn't have to be a chore.

Sounds like you've got some great plans. I'm jealous!

No pigs mostly because I hunt boar, and like the taste of boar over pig meat anyway. I was raised on everything but pork, and now we both only eat bacon.

Goat taste... goatish. It's hard to explain because it is indeed a different meat. Most recipes for goat are loaded with spice, and for good reason. They are trying to hide the taste XD It's really not that bad, but I've only been able to have it a few times. Lamb is better♥

Ididntreadeverythingsorry

Alpines, saanans and toggenburges would be my go to milkers. And boers are your best bet for meat.


As far as chickens go I VOTE RHODE ISLAND REDS. they're also a meat and egg chicken. I loved my rhodies, granted we never ate them but still ♥3