what to get

stevend · Jan 10, 2006

HI i am wondering what to get this spring sheep, goats, or rabbits.
I was going to get a goat but my dad says they stink.
He said rabbits are messy
SO he wants me to get a sheep but i am not sure.
Could you tell me what they eat expenses and housing and all of that thanks.
.

Bird · Jan 10, 2006

( I was going to get a goat but my dad says they stink )

The nannies (does) don't, but the billies (bucks) sure do. I only had 9 goats when I got rid of them, and I'd still rather raise goats if I had the proper fencing. I kept mine in too small a pen and fed them too much.

( He said rabbits are messy )

I raised over 300, and had 15 cages, before I got out of that. There just wasn't enough market for them in my area, although I do like eating rabbits myself. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif And my barn was too warm in the summer; had to run fans to keep the rabbits from overheating. I didn't consider them messy. I had something like a vinyl tarp suspended under the cages, and tilted to one end for everything to run down into 5 gallon buckets at the end. It's the best fertilizer in the world. As with a lot of animals, you need to be there because you need to feed them twice a day and learn to feed the right amount. If you overfeed them, they'll get fat and won't breed.

And I've no experience with sheep, so I might like it, but I think I like goats a lot better. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

shepherd · Jan 10, 2006

we raise sheep and their real easy to keep if you have the right fencing for them.

MF1455v · Jan 11, 2006

I don't know anything about sheep or rabbits, but our neighbor has a nannie goat. She doesn't smell and roams the fenced yard with the dog. It is funny to pull up to there gate and have both greating you when pulling in. I'm not sure if the dog thinks he's a goat or if the goat things she's a dog. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

As for billies, they like to find the highest point around (round bale of hay, trailer, truck cab, tractor hood) and stand on it, leaving more dents and scratches than a house cat.

MossRoad · Jan 11, 2006

As a kid I remember a sign in front of a house on a local country road...

Eggs, Vegetables
Rabbits, Live OR Dressed

For the life of me I couldn't figure out why somone would put clothes on a rabbit. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

There was another sign further down the road that just said...

Rabbits, Live OR

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Bird · Jan 11, 2006

David, when I was raising rabbits, I sold some both live and undressed, but I had one customer, native of France, who wanted me to kill, skin, and gut rabbits for her, but to save the blood that she used in some kind of recipe. I declined; told her she'd have to do the job herself. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

dmccarty · Jan 12, 2006

Bird,

How did you kill the rabbits, break their neck?

I think I will have to search for a recipe that calls for rabbit blood. Some sausages are made from blood but I won't eat them. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Kinda curious what she was going to cook. Don't think I want to eat it though. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Later,
Dan

Just searched. Found the blood was used in "puddings" which was not a suprise but also as a thickener for the sauce for
HASENPFEFFER. Run Bugs RUN!
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Bird · Jan 12, 2006

( How did you kill the rabbits )

One sharp blow at the base of their ears with a heavy half inch (or was it 5/8"?) steel rod about a foot long, and then cut their throats to bleed them out.