eliminating bills - homesteading

[abigalerose]

Oooh. I could never! Lol the only creatures on this planet I can't stand are worms, grasshoppers, sloths, and llamas

 

[NH Homesteader]

I am with you on the llamas. But sloths are so cute!

 

[abigalerose]

Llamas were all fun and games until one chased me down one time. My grandmas devil llama. She still gives me the stink eye.

 

[baymule]

I have a snow white, blue eyed cremello Quarter House named Joe. He is 27. I have a 29 year old Tennessee Walker mare that has respiratory issues, I don't ride her any more. I have a mule too. Mostly they just hang out and eat. LOL

 

[abigalerose]

Sounds pretty! I had a cremello for a while, he was beautiful but he was a turd. Looked white until he got wet then you could see he had a white blaze. And isn't that what they always do? Lol things sure would be easier if they were like other animals and only had to eat once a day instead of 24/7!

 

[NH Homesteader]

Haha that happened to my daughter except it was a goose. She hates geese now!

My in laws are all horse farmers. My mother in law has a pony named Shenanigans that is allergic to grass. She has to keep him on a dry lot and he can only eat super dry hay. Poor thing!

 

[baymule]

Joe has blue eyes, pink skin, no pigment whatsoever. He is pretty smart too. He realizes that he has to stay out of the hot sun and seeks out shady places. He is such a love, everybody loves Joe.

 

[Beekissed]

With all the information given, I'd say "eliminating bills" is not in your future, no matter how much money you've been given and with a free house and land on which to live,the animals you already possess will be eating a huge hole in your fundage. Continually. All year round.

When wishing to eliminate bills one usually downsizes and streamlines what they own and pay on monthly. Getting rid of extraneous animals is usually one of those streamlining things....realistically thinking, if they don't produce food or money, they gotta go. If they can't go, adjust your thinking about eliminating bills attached to feeding animals that don't earn their keep. That's feed, vet bills, farrier, housing, fencing, machinery/vehicles for transporting said animals and other misc. expenses that come along with horses and a lot of big dogs.

If they are making enough money for you to stay in the black with their expenses, then keep 'em and expand on that idea. Bay had it right when suggesting starting small....impulse buying of animals leads to overwhelmed people who, once owning the animals and becoming attached, then cannot see their way through to getting rid of them when times get tough.

I know this because I have a sister who was given a farm and buckets of money to run it...she promptly adopted herds of "rescue" horses, donkeys, sheep and dogs and then added heritage breed cattle and hogs to it, then chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, etc. Her goal was to make a living off the "farm", with a farm store and all. Years later, many dead animals later, over half a million in debt later, with feed bills charged over $10k and a personal debt that would rival the national debt, she's yet to make a penny profit on her "farm", has killed more tractors and animals than anyone I know, and will not get out of debt in this lifetime or any other one.

No need to go hog wild when given land and money, especially if you intend to keep both and live a debt free life. Just start slow and low, see if you are actually going to be able to turn a yearly profit, then add as the land allows. Seven acres isn't much, so keeping stocking figures really low will keep you from ruining your soils and pastures. The horses alone will overwork 7 acres of pasture.

I echo Bay's thoughts of getting into chickens and rabbits, both are profitable ventures and can provide much meat, if you don't let sentiment rule your farming methods.

 

[abigalerose]

Mostly I meant eliminating my bills - like electricity, groceries, etc. and lessening then animals feed bill. I know that horses will never pay for themselves. I'll only be keeping 2/3 at my farm, and if I need to keep them stalled with feed and only turn them out a couple hours - half a day to keep my grass from going to fast I can. But a dairy cow would help provide feed for myself, chickens, and hogs (if I ever decide to get any), and can be kept out to pasture, a dairy cow won't ruin 7 acres.. I don't think anyways. And then chickens provide eggs and they can free range most of the time. I'm not against looking into rabbits, I had a family member one time that raised them and sold them for meat, so that's not a bad idea. I might be better off considering rabbits before pigs. And maybe I shouldn't do either.
And as for the big dogs, well they should easily pay for themselves, and hopefully make a little extra. But if I end up pouring buckets of money into them, even though it'd be hard, I can force myself to scale back.
So *hopefully* one day the only thing I'm really spending money on is a couple horses. And I guess like health insurance and stuff since it's mandatory.
I probably won't ever get rid of all my bills but I hope to live fairly cheap.

 

[NH Homesteader]

I think it's fantastic you want to do this! I would definitely check out what's being sold in your area and find a market before you get into anything.

I'll give you an idea of what I spend on my animals in case that helps. Of course I'm not in your state but still...My full size pigs cost me $2.50/lb to raise and process (we do it ourselves and brine and smoke ourselves). My Cornish x chickens cost around the same. This is with us buying bulk feed. We process those ourselves also. My goats cost ... Yikes um at least $50/month.

My laying hens are cheap. Thank goodness! Lol. All of this is before vet bills, dewormers etc.