What Should You Raise?
It's too easy to ignore the benefits of raising a little of everything for yourself. While buying a turkey from the grocery store for Thanksgiving is easy, it's more rewarding to have a pair of turkeys on your farm providing you with a handful of poults and plenty of eggs that are great for cooking. Likewise, having a trio of ducks will provide you with "beef" for those times when you have had enough chicken. If you are wanting to become more self sufficient while having a variety of animals then this is an easy way to determine what you probably need.
You will need to decide how much you will be eating of each animal, and whether you are going to let the mother raise it naturally (cheaper, but with more risks to the offspring and with fewer babies born in a year), or use an incubator or brooder. Some small livestock, such as pigeons and rabbits, will have to raise their own offspring while poultry and waterfowl can either be hatched by the mother or in an incubator and raised by the mother or in a brooder. What you decide will determine the maximum potential.
You will also need to decide if you are going to raise everything for yourself or trade and sell extras to neighbors and relatives. Trading, even at a very low level, is preferable since it allows you access to fresh, homegrown foods that you either have no interest or ability to raise.
Since breeds vary in what they can do (a Leghorn will lay tons more eggs than a Cochin), the following numbers are for the breeds we offer and to give you an easy break down for what you need.
In a single year this is what you can expect from a single pair of each of the following animals:
| Animal | Breeding Age | Breeding Season | Art. Incubation Art. Brooding | Nat. Incubation Art. Brooding | Nat. Incubation Nat. Brooding | Average Processing Age (Weight) |
| Chickens | ||||||
| Ameraucanas | 6 months | Year Round | 300 eggs | 25-30 eggs* | 15-20 eggs* | 18 weeks (3lbs)** |
| Dorkings | 6 months | Year Round | 250 eggs | 25-30 eggs | 15-20 eggs | 18 weeks (4lbs)** |
| Ducks | ||||||
| Welsh Harlequins | 6 months | Year Round | 300 eggs | 25-30 eggs* | 15-20 eggs* | 8 weeks (3lbs) |
| Muscovies | 8 months | April-Aug | 75 eggs | 30-40 eggs | 25-30 eggs | 12 weeks (10-12lbs) |
| Gamebirds and Pigeons | ||||||
| French Pearl Guineas | 8 months | April-July | 170 eggs | 74-90 eggs | 25-30 eggs | 10 weeks (5lbs) |
| Jumbo Coturnix Quail | 10 weeks | Year Round | 350 eggs | N/A | N/A | 8 weeks (1lb) |
| Texan Pioneer Pigeons | 4 months | Year Round | N/A | N/A | 12 squab | 4 weeks (1.5lbs) |
| Geese | ||||||
| Pilgrims | One Year | Feb-May | 30 eggs | 10-12 eggs | 5-10 eggs | 12 weeks (12lbs) |
| American Buffs | One Year | Feb-May | 30 eggs | 10-12 eggs | 5-10 eggs | 12 weeks (12lbs) |
| Rabbits | ||||||
| New Zealands | 6 months | Year Round | N/A | N/A | 50 fryers | 10 weeks (5lbs) |
| Satins | 6 months | Year Round | N/A | N/A | 50 fryers | 12 weeks (5lbs) |
| Silver Fox | 6 months | Year Round | N/A | N/A | 50 fryers | 12 weeks (5lbs) |
| Standard Rex | 6 months | Year Round | N/A | N/A | 50 fryers | 12 weeks (4.5lbs) |
| Turkeys | ||||||
| Beltsville Whites | 8 months | March-Aug | 60 eggs | 10-30 eggs | 5-10 eggs | 15 weeks (10-15lbs) |
| * For the most part, the broodiness has been bred out of this breed. However, 2-3+ year old hens will set. ** Cockrels can be eaten at 1lb at 8 weeks of age and cooked like quail. Or they can be castrated at 8 weeks and raised as capons, fattening up until 20-24 weeks of age. At that point the Ameraucanas are 6lbs and Dorkings are 9lbs. |
||||||
Once you have decided what you have space for and what you would like to raise, make sure you have the proper housing. For babies, is the area warm, dry, and free from drafts? If it rains will the pen become a muddy pool or will the area flood, leaving a few inches of water? Are there any places where predators can sneak in? Will it be easy to clean?