Over the years we have had our share of animals here! Many of them have been pure joy. Others, not so much. But they all bring something that will provide brush control, compost, friendship, wool, eggs, and meat. 

I must say my favorite are the chickens! They are sweet, beautiful, provide us eggs, and truly help with gardening!

Sheep are the most darling little lambs when you first pick them up! But by the time you are driving them to the auction, you can’t wait to see them sell! Although I love wool, and in theory, sheep should a huge help on a homestead. But they give a lot of headache too!

Angora rabbits are my favorite wool animal! I absolutely adore them! They have their troubles too. It can be really difficult to breed them. And here in our high desert, heat is a real problem in the summer. It literally will kill them. 

When I was a young 30 something fresh here on our ranch, my idea was to have the rabbits in hanging cages, earthworms underneath, and allow the chickens to browse through to control flies. Then I would take all of the vermi- compost out to the garden and it would complete the cycle by giving the chickens and rabbits more to eat and the whole thing would keep turning. That was the plan! it did not quite work out that way, and many times with animals they don’t go according to plan.

I will be posting so much more about homestead animals, which are far far different from pets, here on the blog. Stay tuned for so much more! I can’t wait to go over milk goats, horses, Turkeys, and pigs.