Raising Chickens, Cattle, Goats, and Bees: Homestead Livestock Guide

Plants are great. But if you really want to level up your homestead, animals are where things get interesting. And a lot more complicated.

This is part two of Chapter 6 from Backyard Farming: Homesteading by Kim Pezza. Last post covered gardens. This one is all about livestock. Specifically chickens, cattle, goats, and bees.

Fair warning. This is a meaty post (pun intended). There is a lot to cover.

Chickens: The Gateway Farm Animal

If homesteading had a mascot, it would be a chicken. They are by far the most popular farm animal for small-scale homesteaders. And for good reason. They are relatively easy to care for, they produce eggs almost daily, and they have genuine personality.

Choosing Your Breed

Not all chickens are created equal. Different breeds serve different purposes.

Meat breeds grow fast and big. Delaware, Plymouth Rock, and Orpington are popular choices.

Egg breeds are laying machines. Rhode Island Red, Leghorn, and Ameraucana (the ones that lay blue and green eggs) are solid picks.

Dual-purpose breeds give you both meat and eggs. Jersey Giant, Barred Rock, and Dominique fall into this category.

And then there are Bantams. These are miniature chickens. Great for small spaces like urban backyards. They still lay eggs, just smaller ones.

Here is something cool Pezza mentions. Heritage breeds are endangered chicken varieties that have been around for generations. Small farmers are actually helping preserve these breeds by raising them. So keeping heritage chickens is not just practical. It is conservation.

Housing and Space

Each chicken needs about 4 square feet of indoor space and 10 square feet of outdoor space. So a flock of ten birds needs a 40-square-foot coop and 100 square feet of outdoor run.

You have three main approaches:

• Containment: Birds stay in the coop and run at all times
• Free-choice: Coop is open, birds can come and go as they please
• Free-range: Birds roam your entire property during the day

For urban chicken keepers, chicken tractors are worth looking into. These are portable coops you can move around your yard. The chickens get fresh ground to scratch, and your lawn gets free fertilization.

Feeding by Age

Chicken nutrition changes as they grow.

• Chick starter (18 to 20% protein) for the first 6 weeks
• Grower feed (14 to 17% protein) from 7 weeks onward
• Layer feed (16 to 17% protein) once hens start laying, plus calcium supplements like crushed oyster shells

And all chickens need grit. These are tiny stones they swallow to help grind food in their gizzard. No teeth, so they need the mechanical assist.

Cattle: Big Commitment, Big Reward

Cattle are rare on small farms. They are more of a rural homestead thing. And honestly, they are a serious commitment.

Breed Categories

Just like chickens, cattle come in different categories.

Dairy breeds like Ayrshire, Jersey, and Holstein are bred for milk production. Jersey cows are smaller and popular with homesteaders because they are easier to handle.

Beef breeds like Black Angus and Hereford are raised for meat. Some breeds serve dual or even triple purposes (milk, meat, and draft work).

Before You Get Cattle

Pezza is pretty straightforward about this. Think hard before adding cattle to your homestead. Consider:

• Time. Cows need daily care. Every single day.
• Barns. They need shelter. Real shelter. Not a lean-to.
• Costs. Purchase price, feed, veterinary care. It adds up fast.
• Fencing. Cattle fencing is expensive. Very expensive.
• Handling. If you are a beginner, stick with docile breeds. An aggressive cow is dangerous.

Cattle make sense if you have the land, the budget, and the time. For most small homesteaders, they might not be the best starting point.

Goats: The Barnyard Clown

Pezza calls goats the “barnyard clown” and that tracks. Goats have huge personalities. They are curious, playful, and surprisingly smart. They also come in a ton of sizes and colors.

Dairy vs Meat Goats

Dairy goats include Toggenburg, Nubian, LaMancha, Saanen, and Nigerian Dwarf. Nigerian Dwarfs are especially popular for small homesteads because they are compact but still produce quality milk.

Meat goats include Boer, Spanish, Tennessee (the “fainting” goats), and African Pigmy.

Space and Housing

Each goat needs 15 to 25 square feet of indoor space and about 200 square feet of outdoor space. Ten goats fit in the space that would only hold two steers. So goats are a much more space-efficient option for small properties.

The Fencing Problem

Here is the thing about goats. They escape. Everything. If there is a weakness in your fence, they will find it. If they can climb over it, they will. If they can squeeze under it, they will try.

Goat fencing is critical. Budget for it. Build it well. And then check it regularly, because they are always testing it.

Feeding Goats

Goats eat hay, grain, and alfalfa (in moderation). They also need salt and mineral blocks.

But here is an important warning from the book. Goats will gorge themselves on grain until they literally eat themselves to death. They have zero self-control with grain. So you need to control their portions. Free-choice grain is not an option with goats.

Bees: The Buzz-Worthy Addition

Beekeeping is growing in popularity. And Pezza makes a strong case that honeybees are not significantly harder to manage than other livestock. Just different.

What Bees Need

Bees eat nectar and pollen from flowers. They drink water. That is basically their diet. But sometimes you need to supplement, especially during winter or dry spells.

Supplemental feeding options include:

• Dry sugar mix
• Moist sugar cake
• Sugar syrup

Hive Options

You can go with natural or artificial hive setups. The standard hive (called a Langstroth) has specific components that stack together: bottom board, brood boxes, honey supers, frames, and a cover.

But there are alternatives. The Warr\u00e9 hive is a more natural, low-intervention design. The Top Bar hive is simpler to build and manage. Both are popular with hobbyist beekeepers.

Hive Placement

Where you put your hives matters. Keep them away from paths where people walk. Position them in a spot with limited wind exposure. Make sure there is a water source nearby. And aim for a good balance of sun and shade.

Bees in full, blazing sun all day get stressed. Bees in full shade get sluggish. Find the middle ground.

Picking Your Livestock

You do not have to raise all of these animals. Most small homesteaders start with chickens and maybe add goats or bees later. Cattle are usually reserved for bigger operations with more land and more experience.

Start small. Learn as you go. And remember that every animal on your homestead is a daily commitment. There are no days off when something depends on you for food and water.

But if you are willing to put in the work, there is nothing quite like collecting eggs from your own chickens or harvesting honey from your own hives. That is the kind of thing that makes homesteading worth it.

Previous in the series: Garden Types and Growing Methods for Your Homestead

Next in the series: Preserving Your Harvest: Canning, Freezing, and Drying

This post is part of a 12-part series reviewing “Backyard Farming: Homesteading” by Kim Pezza (Hatherleigh Press, 2015, ISBN: 978-1-57826-598-5).