Common Livestock Species To Consider

If you are thinking about getting into livestock or upgrading your herd, there are a variety of animals to choose from when considering which one is best for your hobby farm or livestock operation. The type of goods your animals produce depends on the breed of the species of livestock. Whether it be for meat production, egg production, fiber production, milk production, or just as a guardian for your prized livestock, these are the most common species of livestock to purchase from anywhere.

Goats. These animals are browsers. This means that they enjoy eating greenery that is off of the ground. 2 advantages to this is that they can clear unwanted vegetation and brush to prevent fires, and it helps prevent them from internal-parasite infestation. They have three stomach chambers. Goats can produce meat, fiber (mohair and cashmere), and milk products.

- Adult, intact male: Buck/Billy

- Neonate: Kid

- Adult, intact female: Doe/Nanny

Pigs. These animals can't sweat, naturally; and, they can sunburn. This is why they roll in mud in the shade. Their bodies are the closest to a human, biologically. Most of the organs and bodily functions of a pig are equivalent to how the human's body functions, which is why most human-organ transplants are from them. Pigs can produce a variety of meat.

- Adult, intact male: Boar

- Neonate: Piglet

- Adult, intact female: Sow

Sheep. These animals are grazers and only eat grass, and they eat off of the ground and only have one stomach chamber, unlike the goat. Sheep cannot tolerate copper and will develop copper toxicity (which is fatal for them) very quickly, if they eat any form or amount of copper. They are great at trimming the ground forage but can easily overheat. Sheep can produce fiber (wool) and meat.

- Adult, intact male: Ram

- Neonate: Lamb

- Adult, intact female: Ewe

Cattle. These animals are grazers, like sheep, and only eat grass from the ground. They have four stomach chambers, which is more than most of any other livestock. They are prone to finding a fallen piece of metal (wire, nuts, bolts, screws, nails, etc.) and accidentally eating it with their forage and foodstuffs. There is a device specifically for cattle, that have eaten any magnetic metal, called a cow magnet to treat or prevent hardware disease in cattle. Cattle can produce meat and milk.

- Adult, intact male: Bull

- Neonate: Calf

- Adult, intact female: Cow

Donkeys. These animals are thinkers. They protect mainly larger livestock from predators that are looking for a snack. They are easier to handle, because they think first before running away or kicking at humans. Plus, they require less feed than a dog (in the warmer months); and, donkeys can be bred to sell their offspring (or rent out the jack or sell AI services) to pay for their foodstuffs in the winter months. Donkeys can produce meat and are considered guardians of the larger livestock.

- Adult, intact male: Jack

- Neonate: Foal

- Adult, intact female: Jenny

Horses. These animals are the opposite as donkeys, naturally. Horses do not think before they act on instinct. A trained horse will think before he acts depending on pressure, release, and dominance (moving their feet, not getting bucked off, making the horse watch out for you with patience {without metal bits, without being rough with the horse by pulling the horse's mouth harshly, without coaxing the horse with treats, without talking to the horse, without harming the horse, without treating the horse like it is a piece of trash}, etc.). Naturally, a horse will run from anything that looks like a predator, instead of thinking about if it is a human (AKA predator to any herbivore) or not. This makes them a little more difficult to handle. They make good companions, and you can make money at horse shows, if you have the time to let them figure out you aren't trying to harm them in any way and money to buy all of the equipment to train them yourselves (having another person train your horses is going to be more expensive and have no effect on how the horse treats you). Horses also require less food, relatively like the donkey, and you can have your horse bred (if your not attending horse shows) and sell the offspring (or rent out the stud/stallion or sell AI services) to pay for their winter feedstuffs. Horses can produce meat and can earn you money either in the show ring/recreation (if you train them persistently and correctly) or by selling a foal (trained or not) with the best pedigree on the horse market.

- Adult, intact male: Stud/Stallion

- Neonate: Foal

- Adult, intact female: Mare

Rabbits. These animals can overheat, like the sheep, pig, and chicken, Rabbits drink a lot of water and need access to water all of the time, even in the winter. However, they do not require much space, food, care, and are easy to handle. They can be bred and sold to pay for their upkeep. One rabbit can produce up to 20 kits/kittens every month, depending on the breed of rabbit. Rabbits can produce meat and are easy keepers that can be sold as a pet.

- Adult, intact male: Buck

- Neonate: Kit/Kitten

- Adult, intact female: Doe

Alpacas. These animals spit as a defense mechanism. They are one of the domesticated species in the Camelid family. They tend to look like their close cousin, the llama. There are a few differences between the two species. Alpacas produce more fiber than meat, have a finer fiber, herd mentality, and are not as big as a llama. They were domesticated by the early Incas. Alpacas can produce meat and fiber (fleece).

- Adult, intact male: Macho

- Neonate: Cria

- Adult, intact female: Hembra

Llamas, These animals spit as a defense mechanism, They are one of the domesticated species in the Camelid family. They tend to look like their close cousin, the alpaca. There are a few differences between the two species. Llamas produce more meat than fiber, have taller ears, a longer face, and are bigger than an alpaca. They were domesticated by the early Incas. Llamas can produce meat and fiber (fleece).

- Adult, intact male: Macho

- Neonate: Cria

- Adult, intact female: Hembra

Fowl/Poultry (chickens, turkeys, guineas, ducks, and geese). These animals can lay eggs all year round, if they are fed correctly. They require very minimal care to survive. They eat pests and parasites in the feces of other animals and livestock. These birds scratch with their feet to scatter feces to fertilize surrounding vegetation. Guineas are the only bird (of these bird species) that are guardians of the littler livestock. Guineas have a high-pitched voice to alert of any danger in the area. Guineas are considered guardians of the littler livestock. All of the bird species can produce meat. The other bird species (excluding guineas) can produce eggs, which egg size depends on the size of the bird.

Chickens.

- Adult, intact male: Rooster

- Neonate: Chick

- Adult, intact female: Hen

Turkeys.

- Adult, intact male: Tom/Gobbler

- Neonate: Poult/Chick

- Adult, intact female: Hen

Guineas:

- Adult, intact male: Guinea Cock

- Neonate: Keet

- Adult, intact female: Guinea Hen

Ducks.

- Adult, intact male: Drake

- Neonate: Duckling

- Adult, intact female: Hen

Geese.

- Adult, intact male: Gander

- Neonate: Gosling

- Adult, intact female: Goose

As a friendly reminder, always keep in mind that a few of these animals will need annual or even monthly upkeep depending on the animal and breed that you decide to purchase and raise for your hobby farm or livestock operation.

Sources:

https://modernfarmer.com/2015/09/difference-between-llama-and-alpaca/