To answer your question
I am by no means an expert but I have had a conversation with someone whom I consider to be one. A friend of mine spent her childhood on a homestead and learned quite a bit. Cows vs. Goats: Cows being heavy hooved animals will inevitably trample your soil down and that combined with rain will make it very difficult to use for anything else. Cows eat alot and they drink alot too. You have to put way more food into a cow than what you get out of it if you plan to butcher it eventually. I milk cow will provide milk but you still have to feed it quite a bit. On the oher hand goats do not eat as much, especially if you let them do some of your yard work. The term "the grass is always greener" come from raising goats. They will lean on a fence until it breaks to get to another food source, So you would need to keep your fences well maintained. They like wild plants, weeds and such but you still have to suppliment thier diet with feed. Also the lighter hoof of the goat is less damaging to the soil which you may want to use in the future for growing. As opposed to the cow or goat, what was recommended to me for meat is rabbits. Rabbits like goats will eat any green trimmings from garden waste, You still have to suppliment there diet with feed but not nearly as much per pound of meat as other animals. Also they taste wonderfull. Keep them in what is called a hutch, and like the saying goes they will multiply. You have to be very carefull not to let them escape or you will quickly have a "rabbit problem" Even if you only keep females, they will breed with wild rabbits. Another great animal to keep is chickens. They will provide you with eggs even without a rooster contrary to popular belief, and they are easy to take care of. Rabbits and chickens both also provide excellent manure for your food growing op. A chicken is best kept alive because the amount of protien the eggs provide is far more than the chicken itself. I hope this helps.
I am by no means an expert but I have had a conversation with someone whom I consider to be one. A friend of mine spent her childhood on a homestead and learned quite a bit. Cows vs. Goats: Cows being heavy hooved animals will inevitably trample your soil down and that combined with rain will make it very difficult to use for anything else. Cows eat alot and they drink alot too. You have to put way more food into a cow than what you get out of it if you plan to butcher it eventually. I milk cow will provide milk but you still have to feed it quite a bit. On the oher hand goats do not eat as much, especially if you let them do some of your yard work. The term "the grass is always greener" come from raising goats. They will lean on a fence until it breaks to get to another food source, So you would need to keep your fences well maintained. They like wild plants, weeds and such but you still have to suppliment thier diet with feed. Also the lighter hoof of the goat is less damaging to the soil which you may want to use in the future for growing. As opposed to the cow or goat, what was recommended to me for meat is rabbits. Rabbits like goats will eat any green trimmings from garden waste, You still have to suppliment there diet with feed but not nearly as much per pound of meat as other animals. Also they taste wonderfull. Keep them in what is called a hutch, and like the saying goes they will multiply. You have to be very carefull not to let them escape or you will quickly have a "rabbit problem" Even if you only keep females, they will breed with wild rabbits. Another great animal to keep is chickens. They will provide you with eggs even without a rooster contrary to popular belief, and they are easy to take care of. Rabbits and chickens both also provide excellent manure for your food growing op. A chicken is best kept alive because the amount of protien the eggs provide is far more than the chicken itself. I hope this helps.
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