Small meat animals-opinions?

[RosieTR]

I would really like to raise some sort of small meat animal that can provide at least meat and compostable feces. We live in the county but it still is mostly suburban (so a largish yard by current construction standards but not a mini-farm or anything like that). There's no HOA but we do want to be considerate to our neighbors regarding noise and smell. Also, I don't have a ton of time to devote on a daily basis, so something that doesn't require a whole lot of daily work would be great. I could devote some weekend time to cleaning pens, moving animals, etc. and I'm not squeamish about the butchering process. Climate is moderate in summer but can be cold in winter; however I could concentrate on a summer stock and freeze meat for winter if I can find a stock of young to supply each year.
Given all this, those of you who have or have had breeding animals for meat: do you think there are any that would work? I have thought in the past about quail, chickens, ducks, rabbits or guinea pigs. Any ideas in terms of space, noise, smell, ease? DH is not super-keen on the idea but he does keep bees so we're a little familiar with non-traditional uses for the yard.

[Float On]

Rabbits are very quiet and easy keepers. One buck and two does will keep you in more than enough rabbit meat. Rabbit poo is also very good for gardens. I know they eat guinea pigs in other parts of the world but we've had them as pets and their little squeeks and whistles are just too cute.
I'm hoping to build a couple rabbit hutches this summer and have some in the fall. Winter they can stay warm enough, maybe add a light on super cold nights. They do over heat easy and we always put frozen milk jugs of water in with them during hot weather.

I'd love to get into raising quail as well and sell them to restaurants or at farmers market.

[sweetana3]

Chickens have always been the first choice for subsistence farmers. Heck, we are in a downtown of 1 million and have new chicken neighbors. Lots of advice and books on the subject since it is the new thing, at least here. We even had a chicken coop tour of 12 new spots where urban home owners were raising chickens.

Eggs
meat
insect control in garden
improvement of soil
etc.

[Yossarian]

Have read Possum Living yet?

http://www.shtfinfo.com/shtffiles/books_and_reading/Possum%20living.pdf

[Float On]

I currently do egg and meat chickens. The meat chickens I do are cornish because they grow super quick. I just got my spring order 2 weeks ago and I can start processing in another 3-4 weeks. I also ordered more egg chickens and over ordered what what I can really keep in my rural neighborhood. I think I've got 9 roosters that will all go 'in the pot' and probably 20 pullets. I may sell some of the extra pullets (hens) on craigslist when they get a bit bigger and that will pay my food bill for my chickens for awhile. I had 6 egg hens last year and I'm down to just 1 from that group. Racoons, fox, and bear are a problem where I live. I free-range my egg chickens during the day which makes cleaning the coop easier. Their poo is very high in nitrogen and takes longer to compost for garden, if you directly put it in the garden without composting a while it can burn or kill plants. Rabbit poo you can directly add to the garden without composting.

[The Storyteller]

Depending on your elevation in CO, Cornish Rock Cross for meat could be problematic. They do not do well in high altitudes. Should be cool enough where you are though. But they do grow fast and so only require a few weeks of work to get a nice batch of meat. Most folks butcher at between 6 and 8 weeks of age. If you tractor them, you could pack 50 to 100 into a single tractor and move it once a day, and feed once a day. Easy peasy.

If you are high elevation, I would encourage you to try Freedom Rangers or one of the other Poulet Rouge lines of red broilers. They take a little longer than the CX at 12 to 14 weeks, and don't have near the breast meat, but they are much hardier and tastier, because they grow a little longer, which adds to the taste.

But meat rabbits in a relatively cool climate can work very well. I'm no rabbit person, because of our heat here, but they can crank out the babies that's for sure. My big problem is you can't really raise them on the ground due to cocci and burrowing, so you have to cage them, and I hate confining animals like that. But if I lived in town and only had a garage to raise my meat in, rabbit would be my go-to choice for meat animals.

And ditto what Float On said about composting. Chicken poo is way too "hot" to put directly on the garden, while rabbit is fine. But chicken is great for grass.

ETA
Oh, and if you are worried about smell, CX are poop machines. That is why the tractor must be moved daily.

[The Storyteller]

Have read Possum Living yet?

http://www.shtfinfo.com/shtffiles/books_and_reading/Possum%20living.pdf

And then there is Garden Girl Patti Mareno
http://www.urbansustainableliving.com/backyard_livestock_Pets.html

And Novella Carpenter
http://ghosttownfarm.wordpress.com/

[RosieTR]

Thanks for the advice! I have read "Farm City" which made me certain I would not be raising pigs, ha ha. Rabbits seem like the most feasible since it would just be feeding/cleaning daily vs moving chickens plus noise. I would like to have a bunch of chickens because I love chicken meat, but that might violate the neighbors' tolerance. They've been nice about the bees so far so I don't know if I want to push the envelope, KWIM? I'd also potentially use the fur since we are big hikers/campers.
As far as temps: roughly -15F to 105F, depending on the year and season. This year I think it got down to maybe 10F or so because of the warm winter but not sure how the summer will go. But we have plenty of shade in the backyard and some nice microclimates due to a hill and various other features.

[early morning]

We have chickens for eggs currently (I will skin a rabbit, but I will not voluntarily pluck chickens!), and we have raised a lot of rabbits in the past. Rabbits are quieter - even without a rooster, my hens can raise a ruckus! There are plenty of rabbit breeds out there, but Californians and New Zealands -or a cross between- have the best feed to meat ratios in our experience. And the manure is really wonderful stuff, especially for manure tea.

[Suzanne]

Among chickens, Silkies and Araucanas are supposed to be quietest. However, I'd plump for rabbits - usually soundless, delicious, and their manure can be used fresh without burning any plants - plus it comes ready pelleted.