When I decided to learn to produce all our own food, I knew it would be difficult to raise animals who's sole purpose was to be eaten. It is never something to take lightly when you realize as a meat eater where that meat really comes from. Just in case you didn't know, meat isn't something that starts off on a foam tray covered with plastic wrap. Whether you raise it yourself or buy it already packaged, it began as a living breathing animal.
When the economy changes and meat is no longer easily bought (if at all) in the grocery store then there are only two ways that we will get meat. Either we will have to hunt for our meat or we will have to raise our own meat. Hunting for meat is fine but remember that it too may become scarce if there are more people doing the same thing. Stocking up on canned meat is good but eventually even it may run out. So you may come to the realization, like I did, that the best thing is to raise your own.
You CAN wait until you NEED to raise your own food to start looking for animals to raise but the best plan is to start now and learn what needs to be done BEFORE the stuff hits the fan.
Two of the easiest animals to raise and process are rabbits for meat and chickens for meat and eggs. They are both relatively easy to take care of and feed. Both take the least amount of food compared to other animals and they are small enough to be kept on a small property or even inside if you are an apartment dweller.
I started with 3 hens and a rooster and a trio of rabbits on an acre homestead. You CAN make do without the rooster if you only want eggs but eventually you will want to have new hens as they get older and stop laying and the rooster will be needed for that.
A few chickens will take little more then ten minutes a day. They will each provide an egg a day for a good part of the year. They do have times when they miss an egg or stop laying for a bit and then you will have to wait on them to lay again. If you are trying to survive on the eggs, the best solution is to have more chickens and when one is not laying the others should take up the slack. When the hens are through laying eggs then they will provide meat for the table. Hopefully, before that happens you will have had a hatching of chicks which will grow up to become your replacement flock. With that in mind, it is best to get a breed that is good for both meat and eggs as well as a heritage breed that will breed true. A hybrid, crossbred chicken is fine but a heritage bird is better In my opinion so that the offspring will be the best quality for your purposes. It doesn't take any more feed for a purebred heritage bird then it does to raise a cross breed bird.
Rabbits are actually just as simple to maintain as chickens. Truthfully, they may be easier. They are definitely quieter and take up less space. They produce massive amounts of meat for what you put into them and they eat very little. With just a trio you could have rabbits growing out almost constantly.
Eventually, when raising your own meat, the time will come for butchering. It is NEVER easy to eat an animal that you raised and cared for every day. It is not something I ever learned to enjoy but it has gotten easier over time to get used to doing. The first few times are learning experiences and it will take longer. You may have to have a book with directions by your side like I did. Your cuts of meat may not be perfect. You may even feel like you don't want to eat the meat. Believe me when I say I have been there. It does get easier and you can feel better knowing you have provided food through your own labor that isn't laced with unknown chemicals and was treated humanely for the time it was in your care.
If you have more land then you may decide to raise bigger livestock or more then a few chickens and rabbits. I too have branched out into other animals. Each has their own learning curve and frustrations. Each requires different things to learn. The larger the animal the more feed it will take and the harder the meat will be to process but it can be done even if you don't come up with any recognizable cuts of meat. It's all edible no matter how you cut it. I encourage rabbits and chickens to start even for people with tiny budgets and small homesteads. They are simply the easiest and most abundant source of meat for the effort you put in. They are perfect for a survival situation, quick to produce, easy to feed from forage if there is no feed store, and if there is no power then there is no reason to worry about freezers or other ways to preserve them. They are just the perfect amount of meat for butchering and cooking as needed.
Southern Wood Elf
When the economy changes and meat is no longer easily bought (if at all) in the grocery store then there are only two ways that we will get meat. Either we will have to hunt for our meat or we will have to raise our own meat. Hunting for meat is fine but remember that it too may become scarce if there are more people doing the same thing. Stocking up on canned meat is good but eventually even it may run out. So you may come to the realization, like I did, that the best thing is to raise your own.
You CAN wait until you NEED to raise your own food to start looking for animals to raise but the best plan is to start now and learn what needs to be done BEFORE the stuff hits the fan.
Two of the easiest animals to raise and process are rabbits for meat and chickens for meat and eggs. They are both relatively easy to take care of and feed. Both take the least amount of food compared to other animals and they are small enough to be kept on a small property or even inside if you are an apartment dweller.
I started with 3 hens and a rooster and a trio of rabbits on an acre homestead. You CAN make do without the rooster if you only want eggs but eventually you will want to have new hens as they get older and stop laying and the rooster will be needed for that.
A few chickens will take little more then ten minutes a day. They will each provide an egg a day for a good part of the year. They do have times when they miss an egg or stop laying for a bit and then you will have to wait on them to lay again. If you are trying to survive on the eggs, the best solution is to have more chickens and when one is not laying the others should take up the slack. When the hens are through laying eggs then they will provide meat for the table. Hopefully, before that happens you will have had a hatching of chicks which will grow up to become your replacement flock. With that in mind, it is best to get a breed that is good for both meat and eggs as well as a heritage breed that will breed true. A hybrid, crossbred chicken is fine but a heritage bird is better In my opinion so that the offspring will be the best quality for your purposes. It doesn't take any more feed for a purebred heritage bird then it does to raise a cross breed bird.
Rabbits are actually just as simple to maintain as chickens. Truthfully, they may be easier. They are definitely quieter and take up less space. They produce massive amounts of meat for what you put into them and they eat very little. With just a trio you could have rabbits growing out almost constantly.
Eventually, when raising your own meat, the time will come for butchering. It is NEVER easy to eat an animal that you raised and cared for every day. It is not something I ever learned to enjoy but it has gotten easier over time to get used to doing. The first few times are learning experiences and it will take longer. You may have to have a book with directions by your side like I did. Your cuts of meat may not be perfect. You may even feel like you don't want to eat the meat. Believe me when I say I have been there. It does get easier and you can feel better knowing you have provided food through your own labor that isn't laced with unknown chemicals and was treated humanely for the time it was in your care.
If you have more land then you may decide to raise bigger livestock or more then a few chickens and rabbits. I too have branched out into other animals. Each has their own learning curve and frustrations. Each requires different things to learn. The larger the animal the more feed it will take and the harder the meat will be to process but it can be done even if you don't come up with any recognizable cuts of meat. It's all edible no matter how you cut it. I encourage rabbits and chickens to start even for people with tiny budgets and small homesteads. They are simply the easiest and most abundant source of meat for the effort you put in. They are perfect for a survival situation, quick to produce, easy to feed from forage if there is no feed store, and if there is no power then there is no reason to worry about freezers or other ways to preserve them. They are just the perfect amount of meat for butchering and cooking as needed.
Southern Wood Elf