Running The Numbers On Raising Livestock

I was raised on the farm where we raised cattle, pigs, and chickens. We hunted wild rabbits but did not raise any. Now as an adult I am limited on space and resources. So..

when running the numbers what livestock is the most economical to raise?

Cattle

Depending on the breed of cattle you raise Holsteins we butchered out at 18 months and Hereford or Angus we butchered out at 24 months. In most places they require at least 3 acres to raise livestock but if you only have 3 acres that is enough area to grow the alfalfa and grain to support this animal. To raise a steer to butchered weight requires 2 to 4lbs of grain and 3% of body weight per day in pasture or hay. Gestation is 9 months so you will have 1 calf per year.

Pigs

Dealing with pigs is a whole different thing. They usually reach butcher weight in 6 months and they need between 2 to 4lbs of grain per day but they will forage or root and they will eat a variety of things. They are also to me like a composting machine and can devour most anything. The down falls is the space along with when they get out they can make short work of a garden in no time. Their gestation is 114 days and usually have 8 to 12 (or more) per litter and usually have 2 litters per year. On the farm we put them in farrowing crates to have their babies because some sows will eat their young and they will also lay on them. My personal opinion is I really can't stand raising these animals.

Goats

I never had goats growing up on the farm but I had them as an adult on a previous farm. I cannot say enough good things about raising these as livestock. They are will eat about anything and even when my goats got out they never went anywhere except the front and back yard. I even had 2 does were the best babysitters for my son when he was playing in the yard. If he wandered where they felt he shouldn't be they would gently butt him into going back in the direction they wanted. You get both milk and meat just the same as cattle but with a fraction of space and grain a cow needs. Also the make up of goats milk is about as close as you can get to a humans mothers milk so in a survival situation this can mean life or death for an infant. From a good doe I would get about 3 quarts a day and I had 3 sons living at home so I would mix it 50/50 with instant milk. I fed my goats 1lb of grain and 1 leaf of hay per goat per day. A goats gestation period is around 150 days and they usually have 1 to 2 babies (kids) per birth. When raising for meat some will breed a doe back in about 30 days of giving birth.

Rabbits

I hunted wild rabbits (and still do) as a kid on the farm but I never really considered or ran the numbers on them as livestock in a survival situation until I listened to Nick Klein of the Hostile Hare during the Survival Summit. I had no idea that in a 20x20 space you can raise 3100lbs of meat! I knew rabbits reproduce at a high rate but I never really ran the numbers regarding space and feeding costs. A single doe can have up to 64 babies per year and that is alot of meat in a survival situation. Their gestation is 31 days and butcher weight is 5lbs or more and usually at 10 to 12 weeks of age.. According to Nick his choice of food is barley sprouts/fodder. Feeding alfalfa can produce kidney and reproduction problems so Timothy or Orchard grass is preferred.

Chickens

Most of us know about chickens that produce meat and eggs so I won't go in to this.

My personal opinion is the most economic as far as space and resources is a combination of goats for the dairy and meat, rabbits for meat, and chickens for eggs and meat.

Tell us about your experiences in raising the above livestock

Be prepared, not sorry

Survival Fishing Button/Bug Out Bag Item

This is a great item to have in your bug out bag and in your cashes. It costs all of about a $1.50 to make and in a survial situation could mean eating or not.

To watch the complete video you can watch on my You Tube Channel

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Prepping On A Budget

Being a single woman and lately on the roller coaster ride of unemployment I have to prep on a very limited budget. This next statement is very sexist so I apologize but men tend to want the shiny new, things that go boom, explode, and or cause great bodily harm. But women tend to gravitate more naturally toward the practical and go for the needs versus the wants. Men may be the hunter gatherers but women are the hoarder, storer, and preparer for the next critical moment. I think it is that mother bear instinct where we are always thinking ahead. The problem with all this which I have seen in the prepper world is that the man tends to allocate most of the prepping budget to what he wants and the woman tends to go with the flow. But believe me you can prep on a limited budget and here are some of my favorites.

Yard/Garage Sale

I have purchased most of my prepping supplies at these little treasure chests. Canning supplies, camping equipment, fishing and hunting equipment, and the list goes on. When my sons were young I purchased a military cabin tent that could house 6 men and had a vent opening that a wood stove pipe could run through for $100 that normally run used for about $800. My sons and I wore that thing out,  it took all of use to put the it up but there was so much room that it was incredible and made out of the heavy canvas and not the flimsy nylon. I have purchased a $79 fishing rod and reel for $6, a water bath canner for $1, a -20 degree sleeping bag that look absolutely brand new for $2.50, the list goes on. One word of caution sometimes you are getting such good deals that you buy more stuff than you actually need. Always look at something and say to yourself "Do I really need this?"

Estate Auctions

I LOVE THESE! What I love about these is the variety of things you can obtain. I tend to lean toward the auctions that are farm. I purchased a counter top hand crank meat grinder for $5.00, a whole box of mason jars and canning supplies for a $1.00, and the best thing about these auctions is you will not have to drag your prepper man kicking and screaming to them because majority of the time these auctions have tractors, farming equipment, hunting/fishing equipment, and ............GUNS. A word of caution here also, because these are auctions and you are bidding against others you may get carried away and spend more than you intended. What I normally do is I go early and scope out everything that I want, write it down along with the limit I will pay for it and that keeps my spending in check.

Part 2 will look at some other ways to prep on a budget.

Be prepared, not sorry.

Food Prices Increasing....Backup Plans Part 1

Food prices have skyrocketed since 2010 and now as we near the end of 2011 from January 2010 to December 2011 the price of eggs rose a total 24.8%, milk 12.2%, Beef 14.6%, Vegetables 14.9%, Fruits 16.9%, and grains are at 13.8% but are expected to skyrocket in 2012 due to the many droughts of 2011 and the increased consumption by foreign countries along with the demands of bio fuels.

Only 2% of the United States population produce food.

From my perspective in 2010 to now the price difference in some of the things I buy..

    2010                                                                Now

Totinos Pizza $.98                                               $1.59
1 gal of 2% Milk $1.29                                       $2.89
Bread $.99                                                          $1.89
Eggs $.99                                                            $1.89
Beef Roast $9.90                                                $14.69

I have like most of you had to make that dollar stretch farther than I ever have. I find myself shopping at the Dollar Store more, use more coupons, and really search for deals. When you factor in the price of fuel it may seem like a losing battle. Here are some of the things I am doing to help with these prices and also try to prep.

The store that I do much of my grocery shopping at offers customer rewards each week, like 1 free item (this week it was a free box of pasta) They also award points for every dollar you spend and you can use these points to trade in for free groceries. They always have the buy 1 get 1 free and lately they have been offering soups, box dinners, and meat buy 5 get 5 free (this really helps on the prepping) They have their own gas station and when you spend so many dollars on groceries you get a discount on gas. (usually between 3 and 5 cents per gallon)

Make A Grocery List

I am a compulsive list maker and I always go to the store with a list and very seldom do I buy extra. By making a list and sticking to it you will find that you can keep your spending in check. Most grocery stores send out a weekly deal flyer, you can make your list and coupons accordingly. Also if possible try not to take your children shopping with you because as you mothers know your kids are victims of the advertising world and want what they see on TV so you will tend to spend more if you have them along.

20% For Prepping

Because I am single I spend $100 every two weeks for groceries and 20% ($20.00) of that goes toward prepping. Now mind you I will make a pot of chili (or large batch of something) that will feed me all week plus freeze a few containers.

Pack A Lunch

It amazes me how many people I know that will eat fast food or run to the corner convenience store and buy their lunch? $5 to $10 a day adds up! I have always packed my lunch just to save that money and also I like my stuff better than some heart attack in a sack.

Let me know how you save on the price of food and prepping.

Be prepared, not sorry

Childrens Role In The Retreat

Do your children have a role in your retreat?

I grew up on the family farm. What that means is "everyone" contributes to the operation of that farm. I remember I was driving tractors before my feet could reach the pedals. I remember driving the tractor and the baler while my brothers stacked the bails on the wagon.

When I was in my teenage years my brothers had left home and so it was my job to wake before school and take care of steers, chickens, pigs, and my horse, then I repeated this in the evening. Also it was my job to take care of treatments, wounds, and on many occasions emergency situations where I had to "wing it".

This taught me responsibility, work ethic, and the most important.......self-reliance...

When I was in Alaska I was impressed by the kids with their skills, self reliance and the best example of this is the "Junior Iditarod". These kids as young as 9 compete in a 125 mile out and back course which is a overnight run. They are out there alone in sub zero temps with their teams and they just take it in stride very naturally.

They know how to survive, hunt, fish, drive quads, snowmobiles, and avoid danger. It is second nature to them.

I have heard several parents say they want to shelter their children and I think this is the absolutely worst thing they can do to their children. Children can be an important asset to the retreat. They can tend livestock, gardens, food preparation, and depending on age and skill they can contribute to security.

Teach them now.....

Teach your children to use weapons, prepare food, fish..etc. Use this as family bonding time. Go camping, teach them to build fire, build shelter, fish, navigate, etc. It doesn't have to be gloom and doom it can be lasting fun family memories.

Valuable memories that can contribute to the retreat and maybe save their lives...

Be prepared, not sorry.

Economy Makeover

Please watch and chime in....

Gear And Knowledge

I think as preppers we are always looking for newest ideas in gear and of course more knowledge. But how do you sort through it all? I don't know about you but I am at times overwhelmed buy the opinions and sometimes contradictory information out there.

I have purchased gear that looks great in the pictures and someone says "this is a must have" and when I received the gear it had plastic parts that I know in a long term survival situation it will never last. Then you have people saying "you get what you pay for so you have to buy the most expensive to get the best". Well all I can say is I have to prep on a "budget" so huge purchases are out of the question. I will honestly say I have picked up gear and supplies at garage and estate sales.

There are also individuals that are conducting survival classes throughout the country that I would really love to attend but again I'm on a budget so that is really something that has to be saved for or I have to work on my own to gain that knowledge. So I would really like you to share your experiences with myself and the readers on

What gear, gadgets, and knowledge sources

You have used and were worth the money?

What wasn't worth the money?

What isn't out there now that needs to be?

Knowledge is power.

Be prepared, not sorry

Guns And Goddesses

This is a subject that that most women either are intimidated to approach or they are dependant on their men and feel they will leave it up to said partner. I can't stress this enough........

You are responsible for your safety and that of your offspring...

I lived in Alaska for a couple of years and there is nothing more pure or dangerous than a grizzly protecting her cubs. Her whole existence is to protect them and with her instincts, brute force, and.......NO FEAR.. she will defend them to her death.

I was raised with a father who was the Great White Hunter/Fisherman and three older brothers. My first experience shooting a gun I was 6 years old, standing on a bucket with a 12 gauge resting on a fence post with my father next to me. When I pulled that trigger it knocked me off that bucket and on my ass. As I lie there trying to regain the wind that had been knocked out of me my father came and stood over me and said...."Always respect what a gun can do"...and I always have.

Now living on the farm with said Great White Hunter there was a family of six to feed so we hunted. We hunted rabbits, squirrel, pheasant, turkey, and deer. I learned how to field dress a rabbit before I knew my times tables. I thought everyone ate that way until high school and a friend came over after to school and raided the refrigerator and ate what she thought was chicken and was squirrel and she informed me that "squirrel was something you fed in the park and not ate"....

Over the years I have come to embrace bow hunting. In Alaska I was even on a women's league and it really does give you the sense of empowerment. Every women needs to know how to use and be accurate with a weapon/weapons when it comes to prepping and when SHTF.

Take a hunters safety course or sign up for a shooting class at a local range because you need to be that mama grizzly that will protect herself and her family no matter what. Another piece of advise my father gave me which women have a hard time with and you MUST get over is..........

"If you point a weapon at another person you MUST be ready to kill them"

If it comes to the point of you or your family being harmed or killed and you have pointed that weapon there must be no hesitation or conscious wrestling to pull the trigger.

Be prepared, not sorry