Livestock food source

[okietom]

I know. The smaller animals might be best for a food source if there was no electricity. The preservation of the larger animals would be more work. I know it can be done, but a smaller animal can be consumed without worrying about spoilage.

Rabbits would be great for suburbia. Build some hutchs and raise some. They have the leanest meat of any domestic animal. The only meat that is leaner and cleaner is wild meat.

 

[0311]

Chickens are pretty good. All of mine are very old now - approaching 10 years. Have 30 or less. When they die off (I can't kill them), I'll replace them with a small breed, not bantams but nearly that small. If you have a large chicken yard that's fenced in, you will save much money on feed expenses. My chicken yard is about an acre, with two chicken houses. Straight run is good, as you can thin the cockerels which are tender when young. Chickens will lay eggs all year round, but really slack off as the days shorten. My birds, almost a decade old, are still laying. The breed I will choose to order is the Jaerhorn; a bantam sized layer of large white eggs native to Norway. I have a few of these, and they are stingy eaters, prefer to roust about for rolly pollies and are good layers. I've got Jersey Black Giants, Plymouth Barred Rocks and a few other breeds. But they are old birds now. Lucky birds - I'd say, haha! I will not allow my birds to run loose in the yard, I always kep them in their huge chicken yard, fenced in. Neighbor's dogs will kill them if they can get to them. I will not shoot a dog.

 

[GlockCop]

Wow. I didnt realize they would live that long. We have three Buff Orpingtons and three Leghorns. The Leghorns are good for one large white egg a day and are piglets.....the Buffs are good for a medium sized brown egg every other day or so and dont eat quite as much. I also agree with what was said earlier....a smaller animal is easier to process and preserve than a larger one. I guess a cow or pig would work in the fall and keep fairly well over the winter...by spring it should all be eaten.

 

[0311]

Wow. I didnt realize they would live that long. We have three Buff Orpingtons and three Leghorns. The Leghorns are good for one large white egg a day and are piglets.....the Buffs are good for a medium sized brown egg every other day or so and dont eat quite as much. I also agree with what was said earlier....a smaller animal is easier to process and preserve than a larger one. I guess a cow or pig would work in the fall and keep fairly well over the winter...by spring it should all be eaten.

I have one Buff, I did have more but gave them to one of my son's friends many years ago. And that's the reason I don't give them away anymore. They went into squalid, horrid conditions and I felt bad about it ever since. The Jersey Black Giants get real big, and dress out good, if you have the heart to kill them.

 

[turkeyrun]

BB, stay away from the MEAT chickens, just go with your egg layers and feed them natural feed. You will get much better meat. Rhode Island Reds have been our favs for egg production and meat.
We believe in variety, have cows, pigs, chickens, goats, rabbits, ducks, and turkeys. We supplement the supply with fish, deer, dove, quail, and squirrel.

As to the OP, cowadle 'plained it. If limited to cow OR pig, I would go with cows.

 

[GlockCop]

I have one Buff, I did have more but gave them to one of my son's friends many years ago. And that's the reason I don't give them away anymore. They went into squalid, horrid conditions and I felt bad about it ever since. The Jersey Black Giants get real big, and dress out good, if you have the heart to kill them.

BB's the butcher around here. Beats all I've ever seen. Don't let her fool you, she spoils her critters something awful. Names them even. She'll be lovin' and coo-ing on them all the way to the chopping block......then......WHAP! One thing I can promise you they never see it coming and they don't feel a thing. lol

 

[GlockCop]

BB, stay away from the MEAT chickens, just go with your egg layers and feed them natural feed. You will get much better meat. Rhode Island Reds have been our favs for egg production and meat.
We believe in variety, have cows, pigs, chickens, goats, rabbits, ducks, and turkeys. We supplement the supply with fish, deer, dove, quail, and squirrel.

As to the OP, cowadle 'plained it. If limited to cow OR pig, I would go with cows.

She was thinking about adding some Speckled Sussex next spring. Bet she changes it to RIRs after she sees your post. I've got one Buff that I've talked her into keeping on after 3 but I'm not gonna be able to save the rest. She's a stickler for not keeping them past three years .......

 

[Powerman620]

Meanest rooster I ever had was a rhode island red.

 

[dennishoddy]

Do you mean they don't put on weight well or they don't taste good? Not that it matters ecause the JBT says "no" ...

Actually both. A friend that got divorced had PBP that his wife wanted for a pet. She fed this thing well.

After she bailed, he gave her several notices to pick up the pig, but she never did, so he bought a keg of beer and called for a hog roast.

Took my smoker over there, and we butchered the pig. All belly, not much meat.

I've cooked a few whole hogs in my day, and this one just didn't taste right. I don't know if anybody else has the same experience, but this thing wasn't edible. Thank God we had some venison to put on on the smoker for the guests. .

 

[okietom]

That is because they are bred to do only one thing. Put on weight as quickly as possible so they can be butchered out early with the least amount of expenditure possible. We wound up butchering ours at 8 weeks, I think it was, because I was scared to death they were gonna break a leg just trying to stand up to defecate. Even then they were HUGE. The carcasses look more like turkey than chicken ...

That would be the Cornish X hybrids that are a meat only chicken. My dad would raise them sometimes.he had a lady that would dress them for him and he would take care of that between four and six weeks. Eight weeks is way to long if you are giving them enough feed. They do get you better tasting cleaner meat than commercially grown chickens do.

Some one else posted that the laying breeds will make meat too. That is right. Good meat too. There is a way to put a light in your chicken pens and leave it on just a little while at dusk to attract bugs for them to eat. It will make the eggs better too.