What's the most efficient livestock you can raise to be more self sufficient? Why?
#meatingoftheminds #grownostr
Discussion
I like sheep, they eat off the land & only require water as an input.
Definitely! If you have space and pasture ruminants are hard to beat.
Rabbits are a great option, especially on smaller holdings! My climate is too warm for it to make sense most of the year, but they are an excellent choice for many. I also opted out of quail because I'm tired of raising things that have to stay in a cage all day, but if I was in town or on a smaller place I'd definitely go with rabbits. And growing fodder trees is just a no brainer if you have the ability to!
I have rabbits too, weβll rabbit. I have only one left after the raccoon came though. Sheep do stand up to predators better
You know my answer!!
Bun buns fed with mulberry! I was blessed to already have mulberry including a white, and tons of willow, plus cottonwood and other junk poplars before everyone started interviewing Nick on their shows. Through experimentation, Iβve also discovered #rabbit love of elm, maple and wild grapevine, three things I have in abundance. Since Iβm established already, I can peek into the future with my existing trees and see clearly, the tree fodder movement is the ez button for people if they plant the trees and wait.
Pros:
I love that you get a meal sized carcass. Perfect if refrigeration is nonexistent or at a premium.
Their offal isnβt awful. That liver is plump and isnβt subjected to contaminated/odd feed.
Near zero feed bill if done with tree hay.
HOA Karens are loud, but Rabbits are silent.
Adults handle harsh winter like champs.
That poop!!!
Cons: have mild summers or keep your bucks inside or in a root cellar so they donβt shoot blanks.
Rabbits here too! Still working on having good fodder for them. We have a ton of mulberry trees around so thatβs our top thing. Also, followed
Followed back. I thought I had tapped follow on you before, but Snort and Damus arenβt always playing nice for me.
Iβm serious about the elm. I donβt know if itβs as nutritious but I put examples of all the tree species out for my rabbits and they all went straight for the elm. This year, Iβm trying black locust. I want to feed out a litter to butcher weight on nothing but elm and black locust. I think I can do it. Some people say locust is toxic to buns, but after I dug deeper I found out those people were force feeding locust with no other input. Itβs a legume and rabbits canβt survive on pure legume.
I have a hard time getting past all the warnings we got when we first got rabbits. That they are so sensitive so I get nervous introducing new stuff. We do feed them comfrey and they love that
Probably depends on your property and infrastructure.
So far, Rabbits have been the easiest for me on 1/2 acre. I have breeders in cages, grow-outs in tractors.
Right now I sell a few kits for covering my feed costs, so feeding them is free.
I add Biochar to the bins under the rabbits to super charge the Biochar and make even better fertilizer. That fertilizer will be going to feed fodder trees from Nick Ferguson. Those fodder trees will be going to feed the rabbits and limit my reliance on outside sources. Eventually it'll be a closed system.