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Small Livestock with Big Benefits

Small Livestock with Big Benefits

Small Livestock With Big Benefits

Small livestock offer benefits for people with less land or tight budgets. With the rising cost of land and property taxes, many homesteaders and aspiring farmers can’t buy a property large enough for all the livestock they want.

Returning to a simple way of life can be costly, especially if you need to stay close to town for your daily commute. Buying within your means may mean downsizing the homesteading dream, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t have livestock!

Downsize Your Dream with Small & Mini Livestock

Over the years, farmers have been breeding larger and more productive livestock to meet the demand for meat, dairy, and eggs. Larger cattle, pigs, and horses need substantially more space, feed, and water than some of their heritage counterparts. A growing number of people wish to raise their own animal products on smaller homesteads. Small livestock, heritage breeds, or mini-livestock might be just what they’re looking for.

Ponies are small livestock
Ponies don’t need as much space as horses.

So, What are Small, Heritage, & Mini Livestock?

When we think of farm animals, we tend to imagine dairy cows, workhorses, pigs, and chickens. Cattle and horses are fairly large, but there are many small livestock animals that fit nicely on the modern homestead. Some are just small by nature, such as poultry, pigs, and goats. Others are heritage livestock that tend to be smaller and closer to what our ancestors kept on their homesteads.  Mini-livestock have been selectively bred to be even smaller.

White leghorns provide eggs
White Leghorns provide a lot of eggs for their feed.

Small Livestock

Poultry, pigs, goats, rabbits, ponies, and sheep are all farm animals that can be kept on relatively small properties. They need less pasture, feed, and water than cattle and horses but will still provide your family with meat, eggs, milk, labor, and fiber.

You may also consider keeping honey bees, an aquaponics system for fish, or a dovecote for pigeons.

goats are small livestock that produce milk

Heritage Livestock

Whatever species of livestock you dream of keeping, there are heritage breeds available. These old-fashioned breeds are the farm animals our great-grandparents raised. Heritage breeds tend to be smaller and need fewer resources than their modern counterparts.

You can read quite a bit about heritage breeds of farm animals on The Livestock Conservancy website. Keeping heritage animals helps keep their genetics alive and well for future generations of homesteaders and farmers.

Random Acts of Kindness from the Homestead

Mini Livestock

Mini livestock are either small heritage breeds that haven’t been bred ‘up’, or they are animals that have been bred for smaller size over generations. Miniature horses, Dexter cattle, small heritage pigs, goats, and even mini chickens (bantams) are available for the smallholder.

small livestock like heritage pigs are better for small homesteads

Why Go Small?

There are, of course, pros and cons to keeping small livestock. Some breeds cost more than full-size farm animals, so the initial investment may be considerable. Because they are in demand, they may be difficult to locate and purchase.

In addition, you will be rewarded with less milk, meat, or fiber if you go small. However, although these animals produce less, they tend to be more efficient. Consuming less feed and water makes small livestock very attractive to the small homesteader. They are also easier to handle, transport, and pasture than full-size farm animals. Many families don’t need as much meat as a full-size beef steer provides, so smaller livestock are a better option for them.  Be forewarned that cute livestock may be harder to send off for processing if you wish to raise your own meat!

What Kind of Small Livestock Do I Need?

This depends on what you want in return from your livestock. Do you plan to raise animals for meat, milk, eggs, fiber, as pets, or to work? Here are some livestock to consider and the resources they provide:

Pigeons can be kept in a small spaces and will search for their own food.
Pigeons can be kept in small spaces and will search for their own food.
Poultry

Chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, quail, pheasant, pigeons, and guinea fowl are the most common types of poultry kept on homesteads. In general, poultry needs very little space and will provide you with meat, eggs, pets, down, and specialty feathers for crafts and fly tying. 

For the most space-efficient poultry, consider bantam chickens, quail, pigeons, and Midget White turkeys.

Pigs

Pigs may be kept in a fairly small space, but they will be healthier and happier if they have pasture. They will provide you with meat, lard, leather, or pets. Heritage breeds, such as the Tamworth, are smaller and provide excellent meat. Miniature potbelly pigs make good pets.

Small Livestock with Big Benefits - The New Homesteader's Almanac
Cattle

Miniature cattle can be pricey and, weighing in at 700 – 900 pounds, they are still pretty big for many homesteaders. However, they provide you with milk, meat, leather, and work animals. The Dexter is a heritage breed that makes a great dual-purpose animal for the small homestead.

If the price tag is too big for your homesteading budget, consider another heritage breed of cattle, such as the Milking Shorthorn or the Highland. They require less feed and are much easier to handle and care for than large cattle.

Small Livestock with Big Benefits - The New Homesteader's Almanac
Horses & Ponies

Miniature horses, donkeys, and ponies are a fun addition to the small farm or homestead. Choose the breed that suits your needs best, and you will have a great work animal, pet, or therapy animal. Shetland ponies from Britain are little powerhouses that will help till your garden, pull a wagon or sled, or make great riding ponies for children. Miniature ponies are perfectly suited as pets and therapy animals.

small livestock - goats
Goats & Sheep

Although goats and sheep are much smaller and easier to keep than dairy cattle, you can go even smaller with a dwarf breed to suit your needs for milk, meat, fiber, and pets. Dwarf Nigerian goats and Babydoll Southdown sheep are examples of small breeds that may fit your needs.

For the best meat production, many people are raising Boer/Kiko mixed goats. Both goats and sheep provide tasty milk for a small family. A good dairy goat can produce milk for a longer period of time compared to dairy cattle. Since dairy animals only produce milk after giving birth, you need to find a purpose for the offspring or sell them. Males are generally used for meat or they may be castrated and used as work animals or pets.

Small Livestock with Big Benefits - The New Homesteader's Almanac
More About Micro-Livestock for Urban Homesteads

Micro-livestock is a term often used for the smallest breeds of livestock. But we can go a step further and look at the smallest ‘livestock’ you can raise…even in urban locations.

  • Honeybees
  • Dwarf rabbits
  • Pigeons
  • Quail
  • Bantam chickens
  • Worm composting systems
  • Fish in aquaponics systems

If your space is extremely limited (think urban homesteads), you might want to consider some alternatives to traditional farm animals. Keeping bees for honey or an aquaponics system for produce and fish may be a good way to provide food for your table. You may also keep rabbits, quail, chickens, or pigeons if it is allowed in your area.

A worm composting bin may allow you to produce nutrient-rich soil and fertilizer for a container garden or community garden plot.

You may have to think outside the barn to come up with ideas for your urban homestead!

What Can You Raise on Your Homestead?

Even an apartment dweller might be able to keep a pet chicken or a beehive on the roof.

If you have a suburban homestead, you might be able to raise a few chickens, quail, dwarf goats, or rabbits.

With an acre of land, you could have goats, poultry, and perhaps fatten a couple of pigs each year.

5 acres would allow you to keep a few full-size livestock or quite a few small livestock to provide a variety of animal products for your family.

Do you raise any small livestock? What is your favorite small farm animal for the modern homestead?

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Small Livestock with Big Benefits by The Self Sufficient HomeAcre

Sources:

Modern Farmer – The Miniature Animal Farm

Hobby Farms – Go Small with Miniature Livestock

The Livestock Conservancy

My Linky Parties

4 Comments on “Small Livestock with Big Benefits

  1. RABBITS ARE THE BEST! We raised American Chinchilla rabbits. They can eat fruits and veggie peels or scraps from the garden and pellets from the store. At 10-12 pounds after a couple of months, the meat is amazing, mild and similar to chicken but better (with no plucking), and the fur is gorgeous. They make wonderful pets too. I think of them as therapy whenever I just sit and hold one

    1. They sound lovely! I raised New Zealand Whites for a few years but we eat more chicken now. I’m glad you can raise your own meat! Thanks for stopping by…Lisa

  2. Lots of good ideas here! We are homesteading off the grid in a very cold climate – Canada’s subarctic. Although we fish, hunt, and garden, recent events have us concerned for our food supply. So we have added 30 chickens (both meat chickens and laying hens) and are considering rabbits as well!

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