Being able to raise livestock is one of the biggest appeals of homesteading, and it’s very rewarding too! Livestock can bring so much reward, from delicious byproducts, to valuable contributions to gardening and even landscaping, as well as companionship.
Here are some of the best animals to raise on a homestead, and why.
Chickens
Chickens are just awesome. They’re cheap to feed, can be put to work in a number of ways, can easily be tended to using natural remedies, and produce delicious eggs and meat for you. Chickens are a globally popular animal to raise, for good reason to. If you had to have one animal on your homestead, chickens might really be it. They’re great.
Pigs
Pigs might seem like a lot of work, but they’re actually quite cost effective for raising for meat. Plus you can throw them scraps, probably my personal favorite reason to raise pigs as I hate throwing out leftovers! They don’t take up much room, they grow very big very quickly, and they’re very cheap to buy as piglets. You can easily fill up your freezer with pork for a whole season in just a few short months.
Goats
Goats are great for homesteads for many reasons. They’re relatively easy to care for, eat almost anything, can provide delicious milk which can pull a nice profit for your homestead, and you can also raise them for meat as well. If you’ve got lots of ungroomed land on your property that you want cut back in a totally sustainable and eco-friendly way, goats are the ideal laborers for this task, trust me.
Rabbits
Rabbits are a great starter animal for meat. They require relatively simple habitats, can also be fed fruit and veggie scraps, have delicious meat, mature quickly, and breed…well, like bunnies! They’re a great sustainable meat crop if you want to raise something that produces quickly and doesn’t require a lot of space.
There are of course many more homestead animals you could raise, these are just at the top of the list because they are easy, affordable, and produce quickly. Try your hand at one of these types of livestock to try your hand at animal husbandry and see if it’s for you!
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