Rural Gardening: Calling all experienced homesteaders - input needed!, 1 by MaypopLaurel

MaypopLaurel wrote:
Thanks Jay. The kitchen garden looking at the house.

We've had ducks, rabbits, and horses as well. I think animals should be part of the final plan as they are not necessary for sustenance. I'd opt for chickens first and then dwarf goats like Nubians for milk and meat. Poultry is hard to keep in the country if you can't protect them at night. Preventing predator damage, even when penned, can be a job. That's what happened to our ducks and rabbits. The raccoons and possums chewed through fences. The rabbits were penned as well and killed by neighboring dogs left to roam. The fences were unbelievably secure. It's easier, and cheaper, to keep vegetarian animals (deer) out of the vegetables than to keep carnivorous animals away from the livestock.