Hobby and profit

[tarajane]

HI, I am retired and have always loved having animals but have not been where I could have any for some time. I am looking to buy a 10 acre mini farm, It has 2 barns and a pond and pasture on it. What could I raise for a small profit and also realize my dream of once again having animals to love and care for. And, yes I realize the farm to table reality. It's ok. But if I could raise something that didn't have to be killed, that's ok too. Thank you

 

[Toddrick]

Honey bees would be profitable I think. Local honey has an added value as a "vaccine" for allergies.

Chickens quench my urge to have "livestock" and make my land feel more like a legit farm. But there definitely is no profit. I don't even try to profit, I just give my eggs away at this point. It's been a very fulfilling hobby and I am secure in knowing I have the a ability to raise a sustainable flock.

Anything you want to do has already been comoditized by industrial farmers, so profit is difficult to achieve without countless man hours of free labor to make up the difference. Unless of course you wanted to practice industrial techniques, like caging your layers for life.

 

[tarajane]

Honey bees would be profitable I think. Local honey has an added value as a "vaccine" for allergies.

Chickens quench my urge to have "livestock" and make my land feel more like a legit farm. But there definitely is no profit. I don't even try to profit, I just give my eggs away at this point. It's been a very fulfilling hobby and I am secure in knowing I have the a ability to raise a sustainable flock.

Anything you want to do has already been comoditized by industrial farmers, so profit is difficult to achieve without countless man hours of free labor to make up the difference. Unless of course you wanted to practice industrial techniques, like caging your layers for life.

Nooooooooooo thank you, no caging, I just Love Love chickens so I guess that's what it will be. I love helping them dust bathe. I have missed that so much..

 

[donrae]

Well, if you love chickens, start there. Decide what you like best--hatching chicks to sell, selling eggs, raising meat birds.....what part appeals best to you? Take that part and run with it.

With that much acreage and decent pasture I'd definitely figure out how many beef I could run there. Hanging weight here is $3-3.50/lb and if you can mostly pasture them you're not out a bunch of hay costs. Another cattle opportunity is to have a nurse cow and pick up day old milk/beef cross calves from a local dairy. Have the nurse cow raise them up to weaning age, at that point you can keep them and raise them on your pasture or sell them as weaners. Lots of folks don't want to mess with bottle babies and will pay decently for a cow-raised steer.

Myself, I like pigs a lot. If I had that much space I'd invest in electric fencing and buy/raise a boar and a few sows. Weaner piglets sell like crazy in my local area.

Pastured turkeys seem to do well in most areas.

 

[Mini Meat]

When you say hobby and profit, do you need the money to live on or are you just looking for a hobby that will help pay for itself?

I think making a living may be difficult but not impossible if you find the right nitch for your area.

For instance, my area has a high asian population, so if I wanted to make a profit I would go with black meat chickens, quail eggs and other medicinals.

The idea of black meat chickens grosses me out, but they are in demand.

In other words grow what people want.

If I just want my hobby to help pay for its self I would do POL pullets and day old quail.

 

[tarajane]

I mean a hobby that can pay for itself so I can add other animals and be able to buy the best feed and things like that. It would be nice to fill a cookie jar now and then to buy something really special for my animals. I guess eggs....I know all about Silkies and their black skin and in no way could I EVER raise them for slaughter. That's just me. Maybe I will try rabbits and take them to a live market. Maybe worms or mealworms. We have a high area of Rednecks and road kill would be fine with them so maybe rabbits to sell at a live market. Any other small animal suggestions ? I know some populations eat Guinea pigs but not here. I am from KY but hopefully not for very much longer. If you have any more suggestions please let me know. I pour over BYC every day. I love it and the people on here. Thank you all. Bees look interesting too. I love the manual slinger when all the honey just slings out.......

 

[Mini Meat]

Remember, if you breed animals their will be extra males most of which have only one use in most peoples eyes.

If you sell animals live you have no control over their fate so some WILL end up in someones freezer. Chickens have a way of helping people get over the "I can't kill mind set."
Eventually you end up with one too many roosters that you can not get rid of and then you are forced to do the deed.

If you want no kill, bees would be good. Animals that produce quality fiber like Angora rabbits and goats. Wool sheep. Fly tie breeds of chickens. These animals would all produce no perishables that could be sold on the inter webs. I don't know how profitable there endeavors might be.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Alpacas.

 

[Birdrain92]

Might I suggest Peafowl. I raise peafowl and they pay for themselves once you find the right direction. Took me a while to find the market but eventually I found a business that wants my feathers. The peacock molts/ sheds his train feathers every year. You don't have to pull any feathers, you don't have to kill the bird, you just have to pick them up. I still have the same male I've had for 3 years now. If they are free range then it's more of a feather hunt, if penned there's only so many areas the feathers will be. One of my males produced 175 excellent quality train feathers by himself. The peahens will incubate a clutch of eggs and then you can sell the peachicks. Peafowl can't breed until they are around 2 years old though. So you might spend some money before you get any.

My penned peafowl rarely call probably since they get locked up inside the coop at night. My rooster calls more often then they do. Peahens are seasonal layers and usually lay from March until August. They can turn aggressive though if you provoke them, but of course that's the way all animals are if you provoke them. If you have them free range they forage for food on their own. Though you will need a water supply for them like a pond. They can fly by the way even when they are only a few days old. Free range peafowl are just as noisy as a rooster in my opinion. If you had penned peafowl biggest nutrition to watch is Protein, needs to be at least 22%, and Calcium. If the hen doesn't get enough calcium she runs the risk of getting egg bound. When males are low on calcium they don't have good quality feathers and they will break very easily.

Mother and her babies. They were able to fly 1.5 ft. to perch up there.

Before he molted his train feathers.

175 train feathers.

After he molted all his train feathers

 

[Loc20chick]

Rabbits can be profitable if you get your breeding pair from a reputable breeder, then you sell your baby rabbits. They reproduce fast so their sale will pay for their upkeep and the initial cost.
For me chickens are great, since i'm allergic to rabbit dander. They are not as profitable as rabbits but can help pay for themselves and provide great manure for backyard garden if you are into growing some veggies

, they can forage for their food pretty well and lots of entertainment. Sell eggs & chicks on craigslist, hatching eggs too.