Hello FG,
I have for some time been researching on the kind of animals I can keep and raise in the backyard of my apartment.
One key factor I am looking at is the ease of care for the animals. I am a very busy person so I need animals that will not eat deep into my time. I also want to test run with few animals to see how it goes and if I see some appreciable results, I would decide on increasing the number and if possible doing it on a big scale. I have been critically looking at Chickens, Turkey, Rabbits, Pigs and Goats.
I am personally looking forward to quitting my 8am - 6pm job but I need a personal business I can fall back on.
For me this is more like an experiment and I will be sharing with your my results.
So let me start like this, based on my research so far, these below are one of the easiest farmyard animals you can keep with minimum interventions and costs.
Easy and Small Animals You Can Breed At Home
Re: Easy and Small Animals You Can Breed At Home
Chickens
Chickens are possibly the most popular animal to raise and breed for profit. Chickens provide many products including meat for food and eggs. Some chicken farmers even sell chicken manure as fertilizer
Extra profit. I have got a farmer friend who does not even know what to do with his chicken waste. He's got so much of it and practically begs me to take some for myself.
Grass-fed chicken eggs command a premium. Even feed-fed chicken eggs sell for as much as 40 Naira, which offsets the cost of the feed. Chicks can be sold to other farmers if you've got quite a lot of them. (Ducks are also a great alternative, an even cheaper to raise)
Chickens are possibly the most popular animal to raise and breed for profit. Chickens provide many products including meat for food and eggs. Some chicken farmers even sell chicken manure as fertilizer
Extra profit. I have got a farmer friend who does not even know what to do with his chicken waste. He's got so much of it and practically begs me to take some for myself.Grass-fed chicken eggs command a premium. Even feed-fed chicken eggs sell for as much as 40 Naira, which offsets the cost of the feed. Chicks can be sold to other farmers if you've got quite a lot of them. (Ducks are also a great alternative, an even cheaper to raise)
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Re: Easy and Small Animals You Can Breed At Home
Rabbits
Rabbits are one of the fastest reproducing animals. I can attest to this. Rabbit meat is starting to become more popular because of its mild flavor, but many people still have emotional hesitations to eating rabbits
big deal?. They are a great meat source, cost very little to feed, and take up very little space in your backyard.
Rabbits’ gestation (pregnancy to delivery) period is about one month( just four weeks. Can you beat that?). They often have 6+ in a litter, and their babies can be eaten or sold at 8 weeks so it is a fast meat supply. I am liking this already.
They can be feed with foods you bought from the store, fodder(yes, they love fresh soft succulent leaves), extra veggies from the garden, weeds and grass clippings, and hay. Rabbits are also great for your garden because they produce some of the most amazing fertilizer in their poo.
Rabbits do usually require hutches where they stay. They can be built for very little cost or purchased. Some choose to let their rabbits free range in a bunny tractor for protection. You may also choose to raise your rabbits in a colony setting. Their housing obviously has many options that can cost as little or as much as you choose. I'll rather for the cheaper housing.
Rabbits are one of the fastest reproducing animals. I can attest to this. Rabbit meat is starting to become more popular because of its mild flavor, but many people still have emotional hesitations to eating rabbits
big deal?. They are a great meat source, cost very little to feed, and take up very little space in your backyard.Rabbits’ gestation (pregnancy to delivery) period is about one month( just four weeks. Can you beat that?). They often have 6+ in a litter, and their babies can be eaten or sold at 8 weeks so it is a fast meat supply. I am liking this already.
They can be feed with foods you bought from the store, fodder(yes, they love fresh soft succulent leaves), extra veggies from the garden, weeds and grass clippings, and hay. Rabbits are also great for your garden because they produce some of the most amazing fertilizer in their poo.
Rabbits do usually require hutches where they stay. They can be built for very little cost or purchased. Some choose to let their rabbits free range in a bunny tractor for protection. You may also choose to raise your rabbits in a colony setting. Their housing obviously has many options that can cost as little or as much as you choose. I'll rather for the cheaper housing.
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- rabbits.jpg (36.41 KiB) Viewed 7189 times
Last edited by demola on Tue Dec 17, 2019 5:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Easy and Small Animals You Can Breed At Home
Goats
Goats are good farm animals to keep on your at home.
They are great at clearing brush(they eat up all your grasses), a meat source, just ensure you do not have a vegetable garden close to them otherwise, it over for those greens. You can fence round your vegetable beds to avoid the goats from gobbling them up.
Nigerian Dwarf goats can produce anywhere from a ½-1 gallon of milk per day. Goat milk is actually easier to digest than cow’s milk and a Nigerian Dwarf normally only weighs about 34 kg so they are much more feasible in a smaller space.
Goats will feed on shrubbery and wood. They love hay, vegetables, and also store bought feed. They'll also feed off your leftovers scraps at home.
Some choose to leave their goats out to pasture. If your goats are in a smaller space it is good to give them a covered place to stay dry when it rains. They will appreciate it.
Goats are very susceptible to illness. When a goat has a stomach issue it can be a matter of life or death in only a few hours.
It is important to deworm them a few times a year. You can choose to use store-bought medication or feed them pumpkin or pine trees. If you notice they have a stomach problem start treating them immediately.
Goats are also escape artists. The only true way to keep them fenced in is to keep them happy, and consider getting proper goat fencing for this.
They are social farm animals so it is important to have more than one. If you keep them well fed and give them a buddy, they should stay happy and want to stay right where they are.
Goats are good farm animals to keep on your at home.
They are great at clearing brush(they eat up all your grasses), a meat source, just ensure you do not have a vegetable garden close to them otherwise, it over for those greens. You can fence round your vegetable beds to avoid the goats from gobbling them up.
Nigerian Dwarf goats can produce anywhere from a ½-1 gallon of milk per day. Goat milk is actually easier to digest than cow’s milk and a Nigerian Dwarf normally only weighs about 34 kg so they are much more feasible in a smaller space.
Goats will feed on shrubbery and wood. They love hay, vegetables, and also store bought feed. They'll also feed off your leftovers scraps at home.
Some choose to leave their goats out to pasture. If your goats are in a smaller space it is good to give them a covered place to stay dry when it rains. They will appreciate it.
Goats are very susceptible to illness. When a goat has a stomach issue it can be a matter of life or death in only a few hours.
It is important to deworm them a few times a year. You can choose to use store-bought medication or feed them pumpkin or pine trees. If you notice they have a stomach problem start treating them immediately.
Goats are also escape artists. The only true way to keep them fenced in is to keep them happy, and consider getting proper goat fencing for this.
They are social farm animals so it is important to have more than one. If you keep them well fed and give them a buddy, they should stay happy and want to stay right where they are.
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- goats.jpg (83.09 KiB) Viewed 7188 times
Last edited by demola on Tue Dec 17, 2019 5:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Easy and Small Animals You Can Breed At Home
Pigs
Pigs have a bad reputation for smell and messiness. In reality, pigs are clean farm animals. If you have the land available to allow them to free range then your feeding expense will be a lot lower.
The smell factor will also not be an issue because the more you move them the less they smell.
When pigs have babies their litters can often consist of as many as 11 piglets. They are obviously a great meat source, but you must raise the babies for a year to get an adequate amount of meat from them.
They eat compost, corn, other grains, milk, bread, fodder, and practically anything else you feed them. However, being such large animals they do require a lot of food which can get expensive if they are not free ranged.
They require a pen with strong fencing. They are very strong farm animals and can escape if they put their mind to it.
Pigs have a bad reputation for smell and messiness. In reality, pigs are clean farm animals. If you have the land available to allow them to free range then your feeding expense will be a lot lower.
The smell factor will also not be an issue because the more you move them the less they smell.
When pigs have babies their litters can often consist of as many as 11 piglets. They are obviously a great meat source, but you must raise the babies for a year to get an adequate amount of meat from them.
They eat compost, corn, other grains, milk, bread, fodder, and practically anything else you feed them. However, being such large animals they do require a lot of food which can get expensive if they are not free ranged.
They require a pen with strong fencing. They are very strong farm animals and can escape if they put their mind to it.
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- pigs.jpg (35.86 KiB) Viewed 7187 times
Re: Easy and Small Animals You Can Breed At Home
So what's your flavour? What is your choice? How are you preparing to go into the farming business. Let us have your thoughts.