It is important to just about any homestead to have livestock. However, having livestock can be challenging if you aren't quite sure what to do. You'll be surprised by how much knowing some basics can make a huge difference!

Things You Need To Know About Keeping Livestock Include:

The Birds & The Bees
Sperm wilts in Summer. This is especially true of rabbits, who already face a lot of physical stress from heat. Litters will be typically smaller and there will regularly be fewer fertile eggs.

Hens make eggs. They don’t need males to do it.

Dairy animals need “freshened”.

A.) Must have a baby  before they make milk.

B.) Only produce that milk for a period of months before it dries up, and they have to have another baby.

Animals lack sexual mores. Livestock has no qualms about inbreeding with parents, siblings, grandparents, and close cousins.

Livestock breeds early. Livestock can be breeding by 3-5 months of age.

Breeding I. Livestock will mate again as soon as they’re able. This leads to worn-down females, as well as overpopulation.

Castrating hoofstock creates options. Once altered, especially young, male animals are no longer a threat to the studs, or to our genetic lines and feed/housing budgets.

Neuter/Castrate early I. Testes will drop in a matter of days or weeks. The longer we wait, the more the at-home tools to castrate cost and the fewer options we have. By 2 months, some species are already getting too big for some of the less-invasive, non-surgical methods.

Neuter/Castrate early II. The earlier we alter male mammals, the easier it is. One, smaller is easier to wrestle. Two, there’s less time  involved in either crimping or banding a small mole.

Breeding II. Males are really into the passing down of their genetic material, and they will bloody and kill each other to do so.

Breeding III. Stud pigs and rabbits will kill off even their own young, and mothers will attack other pigs or rabbits and the young of a previously peaceful companion. They want the chance to mate again, or to eliminate competition.

Friends are fine. There’s nothing wrong with combining studs or grow-outs from different species while separating them from their original herds. They’ll gain valuable socialization.

Limit unaltered males. It helps reduce the competition.

Breeding affects female health. Pregnancy and lactation take a physical toll on dams, even with proper feed. So does egg production.

Dairy Drive-By’s
Sample goat milk before you buy. Not just any goat milk; that doe’s. If it’s not possible to sample the milk of the doe you’re getting, sample her mother’s and sisters’. While some breeds vary hugely animal-to-animal, most will have some similarity to their nearest relatives.

Bucks effect milk. Bucks really do contribute hugely to that goaty flavor.

Milking. If we want to milk once daily, we can separate overnight after the first milks finish. If we want to milk twice daily and bottle feed numerous times a day, we can separate as soon as the colostrum finishes.

Weaning. Livestock will not usually forcibly wean their own young until they are near birthing again or naturally dry off.

Triplets are trouble – the birth. Sheep seem to handle triplets like champs, but goats and especially cattle regularly end up needing help with them.

Triplets are trouble – the kids. One of the triplets is sometimes seriously stunted, and due to competition for colostrum and high-fat milk, is likely to lag behind and be more susceptible to illness for life.

Triplets are trouble – the dam. I know people who won’t burden a doe with a third kid, because even if she has enough milk early, it will put enormous strain on her body and she may not be able to maintain that production when they get to the pre-weaning stage and are taking quarts off her.

Chickens Are Vicious

Roosters are lean & active. The earlier we harvest our male birds, the less tough and “gamey” the meat will be.

Roosters are rough lovers   Roosters break and pull feathers as they mate.

Hens Peck Injuries. Chickens will keep after a flock mate with a visible wound or bare patches of skin, reopening and enlarging injuries.

Chicken Saddles & Blue Dot can help. We can cover a love-torn or injured bird in a chicken saddle and we can treat with a spray (which leaves blue dots) If all (or half) of the flock also sports saddles or blue dots, the flock won’t focus its attention on the oddball.

Injuries. Chickens especially may need separated if they have a serious injury.

Chicks need protection. Chicks commonly need heat lamps, special food, and water they can reach. They also slip through smaller cracks, are susceptible to damp grass and cold ground, Whether we incubate and box chicks, or provide them with a broody hen, they need some help.

Chicks can be left in a flock. If a broody hen is of high enough seniority, and a flock is relatively small, hens can raise their nests right there in the existing coop.

Pecking Order. It’s when birds use pointy beaks to peck others and establish their dominance.

Integration of flocks takes time. One, separated and new birds need to be exposed to the flock through a fence or crate for days and weeks, not hours. Two, new and re-introduced birds really need to be of compatible size with flocks, especially big flocks. Otherwise, birds will be injured and-or killed.

Roosters don’t share well.

A.) Fight through the fences.

B.) Crow challenges constantly.

C.) Find new and creative ways to get inside the fence to the hens/rooster.

D.) Regularly become aggressive/more aggressive with other living and inanimate beings.

Down the Rabbit Hole
Some rabbits get along. Many don’t, especially rabbits accustomed to life in their own cages, and rabbits that aren’t spayed and neutered.

Breeding pairs need introductions. You arrange hutches so that a male can ideally be between two females, so his hutch slides and overlaps two females’, or leave empty spaces he can occupy for at least a couple weeks.

Bunnies need buddies. Adjoining hutches allows for social interaction, as well as the potential for combined body heat.

A male entering a female hutch can lead to…

A.) Distraction, with the male sniffing and marking

B.) The female taking offense to a male rushing right up to her.

C.) A female taking offense to a male poking through all her private spaces.

Bunnies need watched. Even if introductions and mating went well, sometimes you want your own space back, or somebody’s toes get stepped on.

Feeding – Them & Us
Feed is expensive. Whether we’re feeding off forage that takes time to recover, or buying sacks, there’s a cost associated. We need to know how much animals eat.

Harvest meat by size/age, not season. Big animals might lend themselves to waiting until after frosts, but when we’re feeding ourselves or other livestock off what we raise, we don’t have to wait for some magic season any more.

Eat some early. Doing so can save money on feed and wear on pastures, lower water hauling in late summer, and prevent aggression or breeding.

Nutritional needs change. As animals progress through their life-cycles, the nutrients they need change, as do the amounts of feed they need.

Feed type matters. Nutrients in bagged feeds & supplements and in pasture/forage/fodder vary, and affect health.

Not everybody grazes. Ducks aren’t really grazers at all.

Worms steal nutrients. Parasites take from our animals. Regular deworming can prevent it.

Forage-based eaters are different. Free-range, pasture-fed animals that forage significant portions of feed are slower by as much as half-again or twice the time it takes commercial-diet fed animals to reach target weights.

Predators eat, too.  Proper housing and fencing – before we bring home livestock – is vitally important.

 

There are many basics to know about taking care of and breeding livestock. You need to know how often each animal breeds, how they behave when breeding and how they react to their young. You need to know what to expect from animals such as cows and goats and about when is the best time to milk them. You need to know how to prevent injuries and overpopulation. Finally, you need to know about what kind of nutrients each animal needs. If you want livestock on your homestead, knowing these basics is a great start to being able to succeed.

To learn more about caring for livestock on your homestead, you can visit:

The Prepper Journal