Ladies with mini farms.

bumpuser5078523

How many acres do you utilize? I would love to have free range chickens for eggs and meat, meat rabbits, maybe a pig or two, and a few head of beef. I could do without the beef and pig, but I really want the chickens and rabbits. Also a decent garden space and a green house.

We are looking for a new house with acerage and I'm wondering how much we should look for.

Thanks!!!

jcwinsto

The rabbits, chickens, and garden are easily done on just 2-3 acres. It's when you get to the pigs and cows that it gets a little more complicated. How are you wanting to feed them? Where (what kind of climate) do you live? Pigs are usually grain fed so they don't require a lot of space but they require shelter. Beef cattle require different amounts of room depending on if you are strictly grain/hay feeding or if you want them to do some grazing. The acres you need per head will depend on where you live.

SkyBee

We don't have pigs or rabbits, but we have cows, chickens, and honey bees. We have done pigs before, but we don't like pork. We are on 9 acres, which is excess. I think cows would be fine on a few acres, but you would probably have to buy feed. Our garden is about 1/4 of an acre in size and it is plenty for our family right now. I would aim for atleast 2-3 acres... you could definitely be self sufficient with that.

bumpuser5078523

I forgot to mention we are in Montana.

I think having beef and pigs would be more hassle than its worth. (regulations and hoops to jump through so we could sell them.) I would maybe have one of each for our meat, but I'm not sure I could eat them if I raised them from babies. I would like the cows to be grass fed and we would probably grain finish them.

Mandmeesh

If you're unsure if you could eat the meat after raising them...I would not try. Seriously. You know yourself- my mom tried this and ended up with WAY too many pets.

Rrrrrachel

We have chickens and a good sized garden on one acre and it's plenty.

Rrrrrachel

I had this book a long time ago that talked about homesteading on small acreage.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1603421386/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?qid=1399207860&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

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bumpuser5078523

I would sell them to other people for meat. Probably family or friends. I'm not sure if I could eat the adorable baby I raised. I might be able to, but I don't know.

countrycotton

I can't add much to what is already said here, as we are not "mini" or small by most standards. I did want to add that eating the meat of your animals is actually easier the bigger they are. Most small stuff like chickens and rabbits you kill and butcher your self. These are the critters you generally play with. The big stuff ( cows and pigs) you generally take a live animal to the butcher, say good-bye, then later come back and pick up packages like you would get at the meat counter of you grocery store. For me it's why less personal. And i don't spend time hugging and loving our cows. Even as calves they are pretty big.

jcwinsto

countrycotton said:

I can't add much to what is already said here, as we are not "mini" or small by most standards. I did want to add that eating the meat of your animals is actually easier the bigger they are. Most small stuff like chickens and rabbits you kill and butcher your self. These are the critters you generally play with. The big stuff ( cows and pigs) you generally take a live animal to the butcher, say good-bye, then later come back and pick up packages like you would get at the meat counter of you grocery store. For me it's why less personal. And i don't spend time hugging and loving our cows. Even as calves they are pretty big.

I spent time hugging and loving my 4H bottle calves but that didn't stop us from eating them. Lol! For us it was always a given that the animals are going to get eaten. We could play with them and what not but we always knew they were getting eaten. Somehow chickens didn't hold as much appeal when I was younger as the big animals did. But yea, it is easier when you don't do the butchering yourself.

hollyfp

I would say more like 5 acres.  We have 6 and currently chickens, mini donkeys and goats.  The only productive things are the chickens - the rest are big pets.  We have gone back and forth with pigs - as someone said they do grow fast but they also destroy pasture with their rooting (if you want them pastured).  We would set them up in the wooded portion of the property.  2.5 ish of our acres are hay field; one cut keeps all our animals fed year round.  Something else to think about - getting hay from your property for the winter esp if you go with cows.  Chickens are easy & rotational pasture if you're doing free range is def key.

Rrrrrachel

That's how I feel about it, too.

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TJ1979

I keeps reading this title as ladies with mini firearms. And then I think of MK's purple pistol. Or lavender lady, or whatever it was.

bumpuser5078523

I will have a pink grip on my Beretta one day soon!

hollyfp

SecretAgentKate said:

I feel like being involved with the processing of my food (even if i leave a lot of the dirty work up to my husband) gives me a much greater respect for the meat i'm eating and also makes me care a lot more about the treatment of animals and how our food is produced as a society.  

Definitely!  We currently buy all our meat from local farmers, so I see the pigs, cows and chickens that will become dinner enjoying each day in the pasture when I drive by.  It gives a new perspective and greater appreciation for it, for sure.