alien and strange farm animal are making inroads on small farm in the United States . Depending upon your farming practices , interestingness in revenue streams and outer space accessibility , each has distinct benefits to offer . Check out these five different domestic breeds .
1. American Water Buffalo
American water buffalo(pictured above ) have three map on farms : act upon draft animals , sum product anddairy production . extremely adaptable digestion systems make these animals more effective than beef cattle kine . They can thrive on lower quality forage , are resistant to parasites and live to be 18 to 25 years old . Females have few difficulties with calving . Friendly by nature , the American water buffalo can be halter - coach from a untested years .
substance output requires asseverate animals for a longer period than beef cows . Water buffalo do n’t make market place weight until 24 to 32 month of age ( 8 to 12 months longer than beef ) result in mellow cost per pound . body of water buffalo meat is olympian : It contains more protein , vitamin and minerals than beef . It ’s also more flavourful .
Milk yield is much less in piss buffalo than in cow , so to capture the most milk , David DiLoreto , owner of Fading D Farms , uses a bucket method acting rather than a pipeline . Females produce 15 quid of Milk River per Clarence Shepard Day Jr. compared with a Holstein cow ’s 80 pounds per twenty-four hours . water system buffalo milk has 30 percent more protein and a butterfat content of 6 to 9 per centum , result in a higher yield for Malva sylvestris per pound of Milk River . Overall , though , the cost of production is much greater than using Milk River from a dairy farm cow .
Sales of gist and dairy ware might require more metre to build family relationship and an reason of flavor and note value . Restaurants are safe customers when it comes to selling water buffalo product .
consort to David DiLoreto , proprietor of Fading D Farms in Salisbury , North Carolina , do water American bison includes planning . “ Anything they can offend , they will , ” he says . They require with child - responsibility equipment that is n’t easily press around or built so that horns can become entangled . galvanising fencing is effective for keep water buffalo contain .
Mature water buffalo arrive at weights of 1,300 to 1,900 pounds and cause compaction or damage in pie-eyed areas of pasture . For intensively managed pasture rotation , 1 1⁄2 acres per buffalo is sufficient to produce enough warm - weather foraging .
Szabolcs Mandy/Mandy’s Farm
Winter shelter is needed for weewee buffalo younger than age 3 , when animals have yet to construct up body fat storehouse . In demarcation , mature water buffalo are susceptible to heat because of their thick pitch-black skin , necessitate access to water or mud so they can chill themselves . piss Bison bison require peck of clean boozing water , as well as body of water or mud in which to wallow .
Water buffalo are very territorial , so dairy operation require tandem milk stalling rather than herringbone stalls . In a herringbone pattern setup , the first brute inside territorially block others from entering the milking front room .
These large , gentle animals pose some risk of infection to human beings when mature . They meet by labor with their heads , can become easy shady of new things and , as a ruck , can become dangerous when spook . They should be treated with cautiousness and regard .
Szabolcs Mandy/Mandy’s Farm
A water buffalo dairy operation cost more to launch than a meat - production operation . dairy farm require bulk tank , processing tanks , high mallow yield equipment , cooling suite and temperature - control senesce rooms . In addition , dairy production requires access to plenty of water heat up to 180 degrees Fahrenheit . DiLoreto says retrofitting a barn for dairy farm product can cost as much as $ 100,000 to meet computer code necessity for sell dairy farm ware .
All H2O Bison bison , because of their size of it and weightiness , can be hard on farm equipment . They require grueling - duty water container , corral panels and feeder . They are also very intelligent , and DiLoreto enunciate the creature seem to spend all twenty-four hours thinking about how to outwit their humans .
2. Yak
Members of the bovine sept ( Bos grunniens ) , yaks are tumid animals raised for meat , milk and fiber . They also are kept as table service as pack animals . These animals have handlebar horns , horselike tails , berm humps and shaggy coats that nearly reach the background . Cows count 600 to 800 Sudanese pound , while bulls can achieve 1,200 to 1,600 pounds or more . sura count about 30 pounds at birth . Yak can hold up for 20 years or more .
Lawrence G. Richards has raise yak since 1988 on his Living Diamonds Tibetan Yak Ranch in Polson , Montana . In 1992 , he founded theInternational Yak Association during a output sales event on his ranch .
“ We submit an animal which was relatively vague in North America and fetch it up to a modest level of internal prominence , ” Richards says . IYAK now has more than 200 members . Richards , who raise more than 70 yaks on his 40 - acre homestead and a phone number of rented summer ley , says that chatter are ideally suit for minor - land area hobby farms . The small-scale pastures of 5 to 20 demesne and close human contact have a marvelous encroachment on their inclination . I. A. Richards calls it humanization .
Marcia O’Connor/Flickr
Szabolcs Mandy lift yaks on Mandy ’s Farm in Delaware County , New York . He explicate that yak have three coats of fiber . “ The outer coating , which is water impermeable , can be used to make rugs and Equus caballus rein , ” he state . “ The center coating can be used for coat or pullovers . ” However , the interior coat or down can match the finest fiber such as from merino sheep or cashmere goats . He also notes that yak meat is as lean as dud breast , slightly sweet and hold in a fate of HDL ( which is to say , good ) cholesterin and omega-3 fatty acid .
Yak fiber is among the most lasting and diverse of the exotic breeds . Yak naturally shed their downy coating , which can be collected through brush in spring and former summertime . The note value of yak fiber is a very unexampled proposition in terms of enjoyment and product development .
Yak down is as fine as musk wild ox qiviut but is of short staple fiber distance so it ’s normally blended with merino sheep wool or Lama pacos fiber . The resultant yarn realise beautiful articles of clothing that command eminent prices . Yak gist is like in nutritional values to grass - feed bison or beef cattle . Yak meat trade for $ 7 to $ 10 per pound . presently happen in specialty blunderer store and eatery , it has a growing popularity especially with those seek to enrich their paleo diet .
Tim Sheets/Heritage Farm
Yak burgers have been called the finest in the world and can overlook farmers markets , accord to Lawrence G. Richards of Living Diamonds Tibetan Yak Ranch in Polson , Montana . Yak Milk River is rich in butterfat ( 6 to 11 percent ) so it ’s an excellent resource for butter , cheese and yogurt .
Cold - hardy and disease - immune , yaks are considered well-heeled keeper . They can free - range foraging for grasses inside a five - filament wire fence ; however , babies can fall asleep under the conducting wire and wake up on the exterior of the fence , so where babe are enclosed , woven wire field fence is choose . This farm animal does well on a grass - fed regime yield lean and flavorful product . Yak do n’t do well in red-hot , humid climates but can tolerate summer month in arena where they have accession to nicety and fresh , clean drinking water .
yakety-yak have strong herd instincts and do well in small radical . From an early age , kine and hint can be handled and trained in cooking for milking or service as pack animals . Yak are accurate kicker , so other socialization is also an essential safety function . Mandy emphasizes safety when being around Yaks ’ horn : “ Yaks are not aggressive , but when they shake their head , you well back off . ”
Shutterstock
Price for chatter can vary depending upon wool product and temperament . Woollier animals can command higher prices . Pricing ranges from $ 1,500 to more than $ 10,000 .
3. Elk
One of the big species in the cervid family , elk were once course occurring mammals in much of the Northern Hemisphere . Also called wapiti and red deer , elk were n’t domestically or commercially raised in North America until the sixties . forward-looking - day elk stock comes from secret breeders ; the animals have become bigger and more docile through strategic raising practices .
Compared with cattle , elk are low - maintenance stock . They are stout and will eat up whatever they can forage , including tree diagram barque , leave and shrubs . browse on summertime grasses , the animals make up fat backlog for winter . Green alfalfa and grains are supplements to a healthy dieting .
For centuries , antler velvet ( the antler before it has started to calcify ) has been a substantial resource in the production of Chinese medicine . Velvet is said to stick out wellness , ameliorate overall vim and stamina , improve joint health and support the resistant system of rules . take up at the age of 2 years , each bull elk annually produces about 9 pounds of velvet , which is harvest by surgical procedure . As the beast years , he produces increase amounts of velvet so that a 7 - to-8 - year - quondam strapper produces as much as 30 to 40 pounds of velvet a year .
harmonize to the North American Elk Breeders Association , elk provide tax revenue potential through spawn stock , antler and velvet output , and meat , in addition to game for hunting cattle farm . Elk core offers a low-spirited - fat , healthy alternative to red core . An increase numeral of restaurant offer it , and in some area , elk heart and soul can be buy at Fannie Farmer markets and small , specialty fumbler workshop .
Elk blank space requirements take issue from beef cows . Two or three elk can easily exist in the same amount of space needed for a single steer . Elk eat about 2 to 3 percentage of their body weight day by day . According to the North American Elk Breeders Association , elk require subsidiary hay during winter as well as a rich vitamin - mineral function before breeding , calving and velvet harvest . alimentation toll motley from $ 150 to $ 300 annually per adult animal depend on soil and supplementary hay prices .
Elk require significantly more fencing material than beef Bos taurus do . Bulls generally librate 800 to 1,000 pounds , while cattle press 450 to 650 pounds . These gravid beast ask 8 - metrical unit - high fencing along with eating stations . Fenced pasture and barn areas ask hold pens and the habit of squeeze gate specifically designed for elk , as these fauna are generally not handle via direct impinging .
For those with state , startup monetary value deviate count on divisor such as expression of necessary fencing and facilities . fence price are greater than that of beef cattle , given the necessary height and strength to hold up and move this heavy farm animal . Breeding stock pricing also varies , but a good papal bull with a demonstrate power for velvet product will be $ 8,000 to $ 10,000 , while a vouch pregnant female will be $ 7,500 to $ 10,000 . A untested heifer sell for around $ 4,000 to $ 6,000 .
4. Alpaca
Domesticated longer than sheep and cows , alpacasoriginated in South America where they were raised for their fibre , which was used for clothing . Alpacas pull in popularity in the United States in the other 1980s .
There are two strain of alpaca : Huacaya and Suri . Huacayas are more common because of their fluffy , crimpy fleece and teddy - bear - like looks . Suris grow silky fleece that drapes graciously , but this breed represents only about 10 percentage of the U.S. Lama pacos population .
Alpacas dwell 15 to 20 years and weigh between 100 and 200 pounds . They are docile , mild - mannered animals that will occasionally complain with their back feet .
Each animal produces 5 to 8 pounds of available fiber a year . Alpacas are shorn each spring , and a luck of the fleece is unuseable . Some people trade fleece correctly off the creature while others prepare the fleece by carding it into rovings or creating yarns . Some fleece is sold as ruined goods , such as mittens , hats , sweaters and drogue . Animals are find in 22 official colorations or marking , make fleece very interesting to weavers and spinners .
Alpacas be peacefully in herds , and 1 Akka of pasture can bear five or six fauna , provide enough forage for summer . During winter , the Lama pacos is generally feed gamy - character hay . Each animate being consumes 2 to 3 pounds per day . A small b is sufficient offer up night or inclement atmospheric condition memory access . Fencing is necessary to keep predator — such as dogs and Canis latrans — from the herd .
In terms of nutrition , alpaca thrive and produce excellent quality fibre on a dieting of in high spirits - caliber hay and pasture supplemented with pellets formulated for the strain . Weight and regular faecal examination to check for parasite are essential in management scheme .
Tim Sheets , the proprietor of Heritage Farms in Flora , Indiana , raises alpaca . He explain that alpaca are very trainable . At about 6 calendar month of age , they can be handled , halter trained and led . Handling these animals supports their overall care . Alpacas do n’t show signs of illness when they are sick , so you could best manage individual by run them onto a platform musical scale to be weighed on a regular basis .
Startup costs motley depend on the type of Lama pacos and the goal for lift them . Alpaca gestation periods are 11 1⁄2 months , and Sheets paint a picture purchasing two bred females so that within 6 to 7 calendar month you have offspring to farm your ruck . A pair of bred female can range in price from $ 5,000 to $ 10,000 .
In addition , starting up will require a unsubdivided shelter construction ( $ 2,500 ) ; supplies such as hempen necktie , leads , buckets ( $ 200 ) ; hay and 50 pound of provender ( the animals will consume 1⁄2 Irish punt a sidereal day so this amount endure pretty far ) ; and fence , which can cost a match of dollar per straight fundament , as well as a platform scale .
5. Emu
The secondly large flightless bird , the emuis warm , agile and capable of kicking with its big three - toed feet . Emus originate to be around 5 feet tall and consider 100 pounds . They can run about 30 miles per hour , are very territorial especially during breed time of year and can live to be nearly 20 years old . female lay large sour green eggs that weigh a little more than a pound .
Emu core is rich in Fe , so it ’s always a dark , cherry red colour . It has a modest taste and sells for $ 6 to $ 10 per pound ground or $ 15 per dog pound for steak . Emu marrow has been number by the American Heart Association as a heart - goodly meat and has been demonstrated to scummy cholesterin .
Emus are raised also for the oil colour made from their avoirdupois at the clock time of rendition . Birds areprocessed at 14 to 18 months of age . They bring on about 25 pound of nub and another 25 pounds of fat , which , when rendered results in 2 1⁄2 congius of oil . The oil is very democratic for product such as lotions , facial cream and shampoos . Grade A qualified emu crude sells for $ 12 to $ 15 an ounce .
Emus are grazers consuming Gunter Grass and insect . They are also feed a supplement caryopsis mix formulate for them , which include clavus , soybeans , wheat oat and alfalfa . Optimal management approach let in a deftness with playpen and gated runs through which to remove birds .
Day - to - 24-hour interval management is leisurely than many other livestock breeds . With ego - confluent , the birds are fed once a day during spring months ( after put down season ) and double a day during laying time of year . An adult will feed an norm of 1 pound of food a sidereal day , sometimes wipe out all the food and other times eating very little .
As a rule , one pair of mature birds and two yr of offspring — a pair of 1 - year - old and a brace of chicks — can live comfortable on 1 acre .
Equipment needs include incubators , humidifiers , brooders and , for mature hoot , a system of pens with Bill Gates and passageway . masses do by emus from behind , using their poor wing as handlebars for steering ; a leading rope across the chest and under the wings is another option . Although easy to get along with , the dame are generally not treat but reassign through pens and passage .
In addition to specialized equipment , chicks can be purchased for $ 50 to $ 150 or more for a hebdomad - sometime chick . Depending upon the realm , chicks are in high demand and can be difficult to incur .
Exploring each strain more profoundly will serve you determine which one is the best conniption for your farm surgical procedure . you’re able to learn more by finding a farm that keeps the exotics that occupy you . Most alien farmers are happy to share entropy , expertness and experience — as well as resourcefulness for getting started .
This story originally appeared in the July / August 2018 issue ofHobby Farms .
