Anybody else ave livestock?

[Chicken lady]

At the moment I'm paying for the simplicity of fresh milk after vacations and during snowstorms with the non- simplicity of trying to reintroduce two doe kids to their mothe after having to rescue them from the sub-zero temperaturessh chose to birth in.

Wondering if anyone else has livestock.

[Songbird]

Chicken lady, a great place for you to talk with others that have livestock are the www.homesteadingtoday.com (http://www.homesteadingtoday.com) forums. I'm a member and there are several different forums. Some are specific to different kinds of livestock from chickens, rabbits, sheep, goats, cows, to horses, with whatever info you might need to know about them....lots of friendly people there too.

[Chicken lady]

Yes, I'm familiar with them. I used to hang out there but haven't been back in the last year or so, just drifted off.

I was just curious if there was anyone here since it said "gardening and farming."

Also a little sleep deprived as you can see by my not so amazing typing.

[Songbird]

I've not heard of anyone here that has livestock other than chickens, but there are a lot of gardeners...

[goldensmom]

Yes, cattle as a business and we've had goats in the past just for fun.

[Chicken lady]

Are you calving? My neighbor had a wet calf in his machine shop last week.

I'm a hobby farm - I lose money every year since the government doesn't count eggs, milk, etc you eat as profit, and the sale of extra kids never covers my feed.

I've been contemplating wether this really counts as part of a "simpler" lifestyle. I'm sure I'll be less cynical when the snow melts.

[goldensmom]

No. Some still calve in the spring but most around here calve in June when there is less chance of illness and loss. We make a profit most years but occassionally have a loss. Yes, a hobby farm can take a loss every year but to be a agricultural business for tax purposes you have to make a profit at least every 5th year. I don't think about profit/loss as our accountant takes care of the farm business and it just worked that we have had a profit for at least the last 6 years.

[Chicken lady]

yeah, we looked into it. If I could legally sell cheese I could make a profit, but the investment required to comply with the regulations to legally sell cheese would then require me to scale up to the point where this whole thing would be (as my dad puts it) "too much like work."

the chickens are borderline profitable - if we sold more eggs instead of eating them they'd be solid, the goats are a loss, the alpacas are leaving soon, and I give up the tax advantages but am free of the paperwork. If I ever get back into the farmer's market thing I may take another look. I did it for a few years and really enjoyed it, but then dh wanted our Saturdays back.

[boss mare]

Not livestock as if in cows, sheep and chickens ... But I do have horses... I have three. We have 10 acres with 2 barns and an indoor arena. We have been here since 2003 and I am so ready to move to a smaller place and board out them out.

[Packy]

Do Catts Count as livestock, or do only exploited animals count as such? Catts, will not allow themselves to be taken advantage of. I now count bird seed as an expense. Y'see, my indoor pack o' cats must have entertainment, just as couch potatoes need their spectator sports on the big screen. So, I have a "bird bath" and bird food right out front, where my herd o' cats can sit n' watch. Nobody gets hurt, a good time is had by all. But, it is too badd the birds don't clean up the mess of sunflower seed shells out there. Not trying to be funny. I never was an "A" student, if you get my drift. Hope that helps you some. Thank Mee.

[Chicken lady]

Well, I think if you're going to call them livestock you have to get some use out of the cattts. Maybe you could brush them and knit Catt sweaters and sell them on etsy? Otherwise they are just pets.

Boss mare, everybody who hears that I have land tries to talk me into horses. I have seen enough of that in my family - horses are so much work! And they are bigger than I am! If I want to ride a horse I'd rather pay to ride someone else's horse.

[Packy]

Well, I think if you're going to call them livestock you have to get some use out of the cattts. Maybe you could brush them and knit Catt sweaters and sell them on etsy? Otherwise they are just pets.

Thankk Youu very much, C/L. I agree--cats must pull their weight, do their fare share, and be a direct part of an economic gain, to be considered livestock. I may do the Kitty Wool thing, as you suggested. And, I might build little harnesses and gang them together to pull a plow, and till the soil. Another possibility is to build a turnstile, and couple it to an electric generator to power the equipment and lights and appliances on the farm, and sell the surplus current to other farmers for a nice profit. I've got the wheels a-turnin', I sure do.

[iris lilies]

Thankk Youu very much, C/L. I agree--cats must pull their weight, do their fare share, and be a direct part of an economic gain, to be considered livestock. I may do the Kitty Wool thing, as you suggested. And, I might build little harnesses and gang them together to pull a plow, and till the soil. Another possibility is to build a turnstile, and couple it to an electric generator to power the equipment and lights and appliances on the farm, and sell the surplus current to other farmers for a nice profit. I've got the wheels a-turnin', I sure do.

I thought we determined on another recent thread that cattts are not trustworthy employees. You will be disappointed in their performance.

[Reyes]

We have chickens and I recently started considering two pygmy goats. We live in an urban area and can have up to six livestock.

[Chicken lady]

Hi Reyes,

Why pygmys? I am always curious about why people choose pygmy goats because they are a little like packy's catts - very few people actually eat them and they don't produce much milk. they do make good lawnmowers, but they mostly end up as pets. how much space do you have for the goats? Do your chickens count the same as a goat? (I recently got involved as a "friend of" in a zoning dispte about counting "livestock" where cow=goat=chicken. the livestock owners gained some ground. I won't say they won.