Farm Animals Guide to Raising Livestock: Feeding, Housing, Diseases

Raising farm animals so that they are healthy and productive means a lot of hard work, and some basic knowledge on what to feed them, good housing, and a good health care management system.

Here is information on how to care for your pigs, rabbits, cows, orphan lambs, goats, ducks, horses, turkeys, alpacas as well as raising chickens.

Looking after farm animals and good animal husbandry can be daunting if you are new at homesteading. There is lots to think about in animal care and even knowing what to do with that horse manure that you will have as horse owners. It will soon add up, and unless you have a good management program in place your farm could become a stinky mess that is an ideal breeding ground for diseases.

What you feed your livestock is the most important aspect in maintaining their health and fertility. For us, there is no doubt that planting herbal pasture grass is the only way to go when keeping sheep and cattle. You are planting feed that will medicate your livestock naturally, give them a daily tonic, as well as keep internal parasites and worms down.

Besides the information below on farm animals and animal husbandry, we also have some free farm videos for you to watch on a number of different subjects, including farm safety.

FARM ANIMALS - ALPACAS

Keeping Alpacas is probably easier than farming sheep or goats due to their character and habits.

FARM BEES

Bee Keeping for Beginners - everything you need to know on how to keep bees. A Beekeeper's Calendar Hive management throughout the year.Urban Beekeeping is becoming a popular backyard hobby.

FARM ANIMALS - CHICKENS

Here you will find quite a lot of information on Raising Chickens.

Coccidiosis in Chickens and how to treat naturally.

Free Chicken Coop Plans.

Advice on chicken keeping and their care, housing, feeding and Chicken Breeds for Layers.

Also see Chicken Articles on the Following:

Raising chickens naturally by allowing free range.

FAQ on Raising Chickens

Chicken Pens & Animal Pens: Use Fire to Prevent Disease

Chicken Breeds & Hatching Eggs

How to Caponize Chickens

Backyard Chickens Q & A

Natural Home Remedies for Sick Chickens.

FARM ANIMALS - COWS

See information on Cattle Breeds, Dexter Cattle.

You may also be thinking of getting some cows for milk, butter and cheese, but you have no idea how to milk them by hand, and you don't have enough to warrant buying expensive milking equipment. See our very popular section on how to milk a cow that also comes with two entertaining videos on the subject.

Milking cows and how to get more milk through better animal management.

Cow calving, the signs to know when your cow will calve and what to do.

FARM ANIMALS - DUCKS

Information on raising ducks for either meat, eggs or just as backyard pets. Know how to feed, house, take care of your duck and what breeds will suit your needs.

How to raise ducklings naturally or with an incubator.

FARM ANIMALS - GOATS

Learn all about raising goats as well as raising urban goats in your backyards.

Nigerian Dwarf Goats are ideal for this purpose because of their size.

Use brush goats to clear your land instead of chemical herbicides.

FARM ANIMALS - KEEPING HORSES

Are you ready for your first horse? Learn everything about Keeping Horses .

Grooming Horses is an important task, not just for the care of your horse, but also as a way to bond with your new addition to your ranch.

FARM ANIMALS - LAMBS

Raising Orphan Lambs, so that they survive. Information on what to feed, how much to feed, and a colostrum recipe included.

FARM ANIMALS - PIGS

Pet Pigs miniature pigs or just farming pigs are easy to keep. Pigs are intelligent creatures that need a strong gate to keep them in. Pet pigs are easy to keep with some basic animal health care.

FARM ANIMALS - RABBITS

Raising Rabbits for Profit. Everything that you need to know about raising rabbits for fur or meat.

There are also a number of free farm videos on alpacas, building a chicken coop, sheep shearing, keeping chickens and sheep, among others. There is also an excellent 6 part series on the emotional world of farm animals that is well worth watching if you have any, or are thinking of keeping livestock or poultry.

FARM ANIMALS - TURKEYS

Raising turkeys. How to information on all things needed for good turkey care.

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Other Resources for Farm Animals

For those of you who would like to learn about home-butchering we have an article on this subject, including pictures of how to go about it. Once you have cut up the carcass you may also be interested in the article on meat cuts and carving to get the best out of your animal.

There is also a section on butchering chickens and ducks humanely.

And another on how to cure a ham.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY and LIVESTOCK RESOURCES

If you are looking for more information on certain types of farm animals, or keeping livestock, we have an online Country Living Bookstore and Products Store for all your livestock and farm animal needs.

You can Add your Own Comments and Pages on Farm Animals and Animal Husbandry Here!

We have lots of pages where you can contribute to throughout this homesteading website. We love hearing from our readers, and hope you will be one of those we hear from too. Look around our homesteading website. If you have any comments or questions on raising your homesteading animals, please feel free to add your comments below.