Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 1: Raising Small Animals
101
Whether you intend to have a few chickens in your backyard or you are thinking of opening a
dairy farm, there are some basic things to know about raising animals. You need to be pre-
pared before you go out and buy any.
About Small Animals
No matter what kind of animal interests you, all animals require shelter, containment, and
feed. Without these basics, your animals will be in trouble. Take time to make sure you have
these requirements in place before bringing home any animals. This topic describes housing,
pens and fences, and feeding for all of the animals, so do your homework before you start.
You will need to know the laws as they apply to keeping animals in your situation. Laws vary
widely by location and by animal. You will find some laws described in this topic for each an-
imal but laws change rapidly, especially at the local level. For example, a town council can
meet in just two or three sessions and change the law about whether you can keep chickens in
your town. You will need to check carefully to make sure you are able to keep the kind of an-
imals you are considering where you live.
Talk to your neighbors. This is a key piece of advice that can spare you a lot of trouble later.
Although you may find your honking geese fascinating or think that your pigs are adorable,
your neighbors may not share your views. Even if your neighbors are normally animal lovers,
they may change their mind if there is a manure pile within sight of their front door or runoff
from your farm into their stream. Take time to talk to them, and go over your plans. Work out
any difficulties before you bring animals to your property. You may want to offer your neigh-
bors something to make them more agreeable to your plans such as a share of your meat, a
