What would you 2.5 acre farm include?

[Doglover]

If you had a 2.5 acre farm and wanted to be as self sufficient as possible what animals would you own and how many? (thinking of Midwest USA climate)

[greenacres]

In a few years I'll be buying a few acres of my own, so I've been thinking about this lately.
I try to take it easy and do as little work as possible. I also like the freedom to travel when I want, so that means no milk cow. But if I had some children I would buy a Gurensey cow. I prefer Gurensey because they are very docile and give lot's of rich milk with very little grain.
I would have a few Aracona chickens for eggs and meat. Why Aracona? Just because I think it's so neat to eat colored eggs.
I would have some ducks for meat, not sure what breed.
Every spring I would go to the local sale barn and buy a couple beef calves. Angus and Herford are the common breeds in this area. I would fatten up one for myself and the other I would sell the meat to some city people who pay a high price for home grown organic beef.
If I had a small stream or pond I would stock it with catfish which I would harvest for food.
I would keep a few bee hives for honey.
I would have a bird dog to help me hunting pheasants.
I think any more than that would create more work than I want to do.

[lsg]

Keep in mind that on 2.5 acres you can quickly become too crowded by adding too many animals and too much equipment. If you plan on having a garden that can take up quite a bit of land.
Before you get animals make sure that there is a shelter for them. Chickens will need some kind of housing; and if you have a goat or cow you will need a milking area and shelter for them in really bad weather. I would start with a few chickens. If you want your own milk you need a goat or a small cow. Dexters have become popular because they don't need as much feed as other breeds and don't overload you with milk. If you have a cow, you will probably need to buy hay in the winter because 2.5 acres is too small for grazing a cow and raising hay at the same time. If you have a cow you can then buy a couple of feeder pigs to raise with the extra milk. With pigs will also come need for extra housing and a small fenced area for them.
Homesteads usually have cats to keep down the rats and mice; and a dog is a nice addition also.
Go slowly and add housing, animals and equipment as you need it. Don't jump into full scale homesteading too quickly. If you want to be self-sufficient, a garden is a good start. That will take up a lot of your time at first.
Good luck.

[Doglover]

good advice...thanks.

[greenacres]

I agree with Isg that if you are brand new at this, go slow as there's a lot to learn.

Personally I like to make as little work for myself as possible. I have my eye on a three acre parcel that is mostly all pasture with a small stream and a decent fence all around it.

My garden would probably be 1/2 acre or less.

I would only keep a few chickens year round, just enough to provide eggs. Twice I have built chicken houses out of scrap lumber, it doesn't have to be fancy. In the summer I'd raise a few more to fatten up and butcher. I like eating duck more than chicken so in the spring I would buy a few ducklings to fatten up over the summer. Probably also buy one or two baby geese and and a baby turkey to fatten up over the summer.

Around here you can easily raise a calf on one acre of pasture, and if the fence is not the greatest just put a single strand of electric fence inside the regular fence. In the winter you have to feed the cattle hay, and the farmers around here will sell a few hay bales cheap, so there is no need to grow hay. I would butcher my calf in December to avoid the extra work involved with; building and maintaining a suitable barn/shelter, furnishing clean bedding in the shelter all winter, and then having to fork out all the old manure. But if I had some children then I'd keep a milk cow, and then I'd need a good barn to house it in the winter. I'd use the extra milk to make butter and cheese and ice cream.

A pig requires a much sturdier fence and a pig digs up all the grass and turns the whole thing into a big stinky mudhole. Also a pig has to be fed more grain and the price of corn is going way up. For me it's just not worth it. Besides I don't like eating pork that much.

My passion is hunting and fishing and I supplement my diet with a lot of wild game animals, wild birds, and fish. I also enjoy foraging for wild food in the woods and fields.

[clawhammerdan]

Somewhat depends upon how many mouths you're trying to feed, but I would think for a family of four: 5 or 6 does and 1 buck (rabbit). This would give you approx. 60 rabbits to eat per year...(av. once a week)

A flock of a dozen - a dozen and a half chickens to keep you in eggs and meat.

A milk goat (if absolutely necessary) though I would perhaps try to barter with a neighbor for eggs and meat or labor on his spread, in exchange for some milk.

2.5 acres becomes quite small when you begin adding livestock. How are you planning on feeding them? Summer? Winter? Pasture? Grain? Chickens and rabbits are relatively easy and provide foods that make their tending worthwhile. Other critters don't give as much of a payoff, once you take into account the effort required IMO.

[mountainspinner]

We have almost 2.5 acres and half of that is taken up by the house, fruit trees and a garden. The other half is pretty open with the exception of one huge maple tree. We just got a dozen and a half silky chickens and that's about all we can handle at the moment. Maybe later we will add a milk goat. We have a dog that is pure family and we are getting a small breed beagle to use as a guard for the garden( lots of critters that love to eat my garden). Just the garden and the fruit trees keep you really busy in the summer. The chickens we got because eggs are 3 dollars or more a dozen here and grocery store chicken tastes terrible.