We moved onto our little 14 acre farm the first week in
January of 2012, with 2 horses, 1 dog, and 2 cats in tow. Previously we were living in the city and
boarded our horses at a friend’s farm.
By February, I had my first chicken that I found listed for free on Craig’s
List. Within a couple more months, I had
a Rooster, adopted a stray Pit bull, bought a goat and ordered 25 chicks from
the hatchery. Oh, and not to mention the
cute baby Easter ducks I couldn’t pass up at Tractor Supply. I only wanted two, but they had to be sold in
lots of six or more, by law. So now I
had six white Peking ducks too!
"Buffy" the first chicken on the farm... |
Then, I decided I wanted to start hatching some
eggs. So I bought an incubator and
started hatching chicks, for fun. It was
fascinating. It still is! Then my husband brought home another horse,
and then my friend gave us a horse.
You can see where this was going, right?
So this year I slowed it down. We started butchering chickens for food,
which was the plan from the beginning. And
I added a Boer Buckling, with the intent on raising our own goats for meat and
sale. I also have two heritage turkeys,
which I am learning as much as I can about before adding more. I still hatch chickens, but only because we
continue to eat them (and also support the local predators)...
We did eat the
original ducks. We have three ducks at
the moment that someone gave us, but they are likely on the dinner list as well.
I am still arguing with the husband over this one. He likes the ducks and wants
to keep them. I could care less about them. They shit all over the place. I’d rather eat them.
My new Bourbon Red and Blue Slate Turkeys |
What are my thoughts for next year? I’d like to work on building up a line of
Heritage Breeds. Chickens, Turkeys, and
hell, maybe a four legged variety as well (rabbits?). I do want to increase the size of my orchard
and garden too. But that is about
it. One main goal will be to get some
additional fencing and shelters in place.
There you have it. As far as livestock goes, these are some of my thoughts from my first year and half of owning a farm. So if you plan on buying a farm, for your own sanity please try (and it will be hard, I know) to contain yourself and start SMALL!
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