Don't have a farm, not much property, or live in an apartment? Perhaps dreaming of moving out away from the city, away from honking horns and sirens, away from persnickety neighbors that feel a need to monitor everyone else's property. Maybe you're a long time camper who longs for that last campsite where you can plant a garden and call it home. "First Harvest," (Countryside 85/1) written by Heather Grothaus is an excellent article I would suggest reading, especially for those that have not yet joined those of us that live on the wild side. She states in all their reading, researching and planning, they didn't even know what aphids looked like. They started their garden and have learned a lot from it. Bravo! They make a good point. There are some that will not take the crucial moment to realize what they don't know.
If you want to homestead complete with animals, don't procrastinate. You can't afford procrastination when you homestead, especially with animals. Centuries of selective breeding for specialty plants and animals, either by nature or man, has left us with a wide range to choose from. Tiny tomatoes, tiny carrots, bush beans and squash plants perfect for flowerpots on a terrace. Rabbits are quiet and easy to care for and are available in a variety of sizes and breeds. Certain types of quail are also quiet, vary in size according to breed, the eggs are edible and so are they.
Depending on your neighbors, you may be able to get away with a really fancy-built aviary or enclosed gazebo housing beautiful show pheasants, awesome sultans or silky hens (more acceptable to city folk than Rhode Island Reds). An herb garden or flowers surrounding it would complete the picture. Stay away from roosters unless neighbors don't mind hearing them sounding off straight through a moonlit night or at four in the morning. Knowing zoning laws or what your state will allow is something you'll be checking out even if you have lots of land. In some areas you may be able to get away with something like a pot belly pig (considered pets by a lot of city folks!) Mini sheep, a dwarf or pygmy goat might also be accepted-again, it depends on the neighbors. Being respectful of neighbors: keeping animals clean, healthy and quiet when neighbors are sleeping, a nifty neat pen area and not butchering animals in front of them will go a long way in whether you're given a thumbs up or not. A privacy fence is a wonderful investment in these endeavors.
Rabbits could be kept in an apartment with no one the wiser (keep them clean). In the military I snuck a dwarf rabbit in and out of the barracks for almost a year before moving off base.
There are a few farm-type animals that are considered pets by agricultural and city people alike, giving an open door to possibilities and a chance to learn about animal husbandry and care.
Raising parakeets, cockatiels, finches, rabbits, guinea pigs or even hamsters will teach a lot. It will give you the experience of breeding quality stock; get you familiar with line breeding, cross breeding and inbreeding; anticipating new arrivals; babies; and sitting up all night with the sick. You can learn about mites, lice, fleas, bacterial disease and infections, problem births or egg laying difficulties. You become familiar with giving shots and/or medications to heal or keep the animals healthy. Learn about specialty food requirements and supplements. You learn to keep proper records and get an idea of sales and marketing. You learn what it is to come home and find yourself hunting, chasing down and re-caging escapees-either because you forgot to close a door or they figured out how to open it. Best of all is the lesson of how well the animal kingdom works hand-in-hand with Murphy's Law. If you don't know Murphy's Law now-you will! ("If something can go wrong, it will!")
The male hormone can turn the most docile, timid animal into a creature with the strength of Superman and skills superior to Houdini; and in some creatures, you'll find the same to be true of the female. When you find your male sitting in the female's cage with a big smile on his face, knowing you left him in his cage, you'll get a reality check on the intensity of that "hormone." Especially when close inspection reveals that his cage door is still latched shut. Another example of the male/female hormone is the surprise litter of kits a female rabbit produces when she had not been bred. You learn not to put the male's cage too close to the female's cage, go through the aggravation, check your records and try to figure out how they pulled that off. Then take a moment to think what if these were large farm animals. Barbed wire means nothing to a male (sometimes female) when they catch the whiff of opportunity on the wind.
Something else you may learn is the rule of predator and prey, and just maybe how to deal with it, understand it, or accept it. Neighborhood dogs, the house cat, feral dogs or cats, foxes, owls, hawks, etc. No matter where you are, it's up to you to keep your critters safe.
When you acquire that bit of land, you will take with you a library of knowledge, wisdom and "experience" that cannot be obtained by reading a book. No book can teach the pure joy of watching an animal you raised giving birth and gently tending to her newborn. Nor can a book teach the devastation of sitting with a prized animal as it takes its last breath. When you buy your flock of chickens it will be different from the fancy silkies that taught you. Your Rhode Island Reds can free range complete with rooster and you won't have to have a fancy pen with flowers growing around it. You'll be familiar with picking them up and recognizing parasites, and what to do about it. You may even know what it is to hatch out eggs from quail, pheasants or even parakeets. Remember the escapee you spent time hunting and catching? It is not furniture that will be obstacles now, but trees, barns, hills, valleys and creeks. Instead of watching the birthing miracle in the comfort of your home, you'll be watching and maybe helping in the cold barn with-or without- much thought to your own discomfort. That small project in the city may have also taught you that a garden in a pristine wooded lot is a better choice for you.
I've read it in Countryside and other publications more than once, and heard it as much as I've read it-start small. Even in gardens it is suggested you start with a small plot and add on each year. A small flock of chickens, a couple of ducks, or one or two herd animals will give you a good indication of what is in store for you with that particular breed or creature, and whether you want to expand or not. You may find a preference for the dwarf or mini breeds instead of the full-size breeds. Nubian goats are a good example. The reason people do or don't have them: they're too noisy, they're too large, they're too active, they are sweet and have good personalities, the milk is richer and tastes better, they produce a good quantity of milk, they have cute ears-I've met every one of these people. While cute ears would not prompt some to invest in Nubians, to others it's the main reason. You might decide those ears can be cute on another farm so you don't have to listen to them. It's easier and less costly to get rid of one or two than an entire herd.
Homesteaders are a hardy lot, but it is constant hard work that gets them there, for some of us anyway. They are also pretty versatile. For many of us it is desire of the heart, mind and soul. The desire to put into practice knowledge and experience already acquired. But also to meet challenges head on and keep on going, though I have had my moments. It may also be the need or desire to give our families something better (in our eyes) and children seem to help in more ways than one.
Seven years before we bought this beautiful piece of Earth, a mother and father uprooted their family from a local town to move here. They built a house poorly, let the fields go wild, including the area around the house, and fences were allowed to rust and rot away. The barns were filled with six to seven years' worth of accumulated garbage. The pond and woods were also subject to the dumping of trash. They were not happy here, and the land itself tells of their unhappiness. Unfortunately, after selling the farm they went to divorce court. Whether or not it would have happened regardless of the farm is not known. They have moved back where they belong, and that's okay. I am where I belong, still cleaning up after their costly mistake, and that's okay too!
Take time to really think things out. Heather Grothaus makes a very good point, not just in her article, but also in the fact that they took a moment to reflect on what they knew and did not know. That in itself can make all the difference in being successful or not. People are different, having different desires, hopes, dreams, abilities and backgrounds. The beauty about homesteading is that you can set yourself up to suit your needs and abilities, going at your own pace-you make the rules. Get whatever experience you can (a little can go a long way) even if it means sneaking a bit, or testing your neighbors a little. If possible go camping to get some experience with the wildlife that will share your farm, despite all the obvious signs saying, "keep out." Start your garden in flowerpots or a small plot in your yard. Start a small animal breeding program so you have some clue to what it entails (steer away from dogs and cats, there are too many already being put to their deaths daily). You want to live without electricity and cook on a wood stove to get away from the high-tech world? Turn off your electricity, stoke the fire and start cooking. Use a camp stove if you need to. If two months later you are still cooking, then go for it. If not, change your plans to suit you and the family.
You read about mistakes, the wonderful successes, inquiries and information on do's and don'ts. You don't read about the horse that decided to take a field trip all around the countryside or the animal that got out and was hit by a vehicle, making the owner liable for the wreck. You don't hear about the farmer that stood on the porch of the house and watched a cougar down a deer. Remember the articles about the all-night vigil over an animal giving birth? What was not in the article was that the pregnant mother waited for the night after a full day's work had been put in hauling hay or cleaning out barns. Once in a while a stray dog will run up and leap in our arms as if we were its long lost buddy. Then there are strays that leave gruesome remains of their presence, giving us no choice but "shoot to kill."
Out here we live with mice, snakes, scorpions and lizards as much as the livestock-something else not often heard about. I am pretty certain the mice on this farm are related to those mice on the movie "Babe"-always off in a corner putting on a show for me. In the house I dust around lizard tails, being careful not to clue them in that I can see them. After studying "who's who" of the snake world, harmless snakes get moved to heavily populated mouse areas. Studying "snake language" even more intensely I know whether a venomous snake is posing as a threat or not and pray no one ever accidentally steps on one. Harmless snakes that are on the endangered species list are given leeway or placed out of harm's way so they can multiply. We share the woods with cougars, bear, fox, coyotes and deer, just to mention a few. Hawks, eagles and owls rule the skies. To some we are blessed, to others it is a nightmare. To us, it is more than a blessing.
