Animal Husbandry...Can it be learned?

[MoniDew]

I'm a city girl, from LA (Los Angeles,) and grew up in concrete. I never spent much time around animals, other than the family dog, and a pet fish (that I managed to kill.) I don't know nothin' 'bout raisin' no animals.

Even after having moved to Oklahoma, which certainly must be the farm/ranch capital of the known universe, I still have lived in suburbs, cities, tracts of homes, etc. And, other than a couple dogs, cats, parakeets, etc, have still not had any exposure to livestock.

I hear all your stories about raising your chickens, rabbits, goats, etc, and I'm so inspired, and think, "they are so brave" to raise your animals. But I admit - I am terrified to try!

Oh, I see Patti's set up, with her chicken tractor, movable rabbit hutch, etc. And it makes sense to me. I get it. I get the whole cycle of life, biodynamic system. Mentally - I get it.

BUT emotionally? What if I hurt one of these cute little furry things? Just out of ignorance? What if they get sick, and I can't fix them? What if I fail to keep them from preditors? What if?

How do I learn how to keep and care for these creatures, without running the risk of screwing up badly? (Yes, I freaked out about becoming a parent, too. And a grandparent. But my children TELL ME when I'm screwing up! So do my grandkids! An animal can't tell me!)

Where do I begin? What are the most important things to know?

[Garden Green]

Raising animals that have feathers or hooves isn't all that much different from having a dog. They have their own dietary requirements, their own habits and their own needs. Just like if you dog or cat gets sick, you would follow a certain pattern of thinking. Ok, if they eat grass, their tummy must be upset or they aren't getting enough of something. If they are continually biting at one area, or they keep scratching, you'd investigate and see if they have fleas, ticks, mange and take steps to remedy. And if it was really bad. Parvo, feline luek, you'd see a professional, a vet.

Having chickens, goats and any other number of critters is the exact same thing. Read up on what you're looking into. If you want to start with some chickens, hit your local library up and read up on chickens. If you had a family dog as a child, you had to be taught how to care for him. Talk to people like Fred who have tons of experience with them. Make friends with a local farmer who raises them, ask questions, read books, research on the net. There are tons of associations for all manner of livestock that have FAQ's about them. Universities devote entire websites to farm animals with pictures of them at different stages of life, breed information, need to know things to get started, diseases, how to treat them and when to call a vet and how to avoid disease and avoid pest problems.

Since you're looking for a place to start, start with where is the best place to house the critter of choice? Then what do you house them in? What is easiest to feed them out of and to provide clean water at all times? That will probably lead to what do they eat and how much do they need? Which will lead you to a breed. Just like a wolfhound will have different needs from a beagle, so too will your new fuzzy.

Sometimes bad things happen. Just because your dog got his parvo shot doesn't mean he can't get parvo (speaking from experience here). Precautions don't always work and if the lightning does happen to strike, don't let it stop you. Let it be a learning experience. If you make a mistake, you've learned from it. If you didn't make mistakes, we'd all really like to know if you put some of that magic in your tea because we'd like to be perfect along with you.

[Kittikity]

Of course it can be learned! There are lots of things written about it.. I agree with what Garden Green said.. Read, read, read.. Even then you won't be completely prepared, but you'll have a good base.. Here are some sites I would suggest for reading material..
For goats:
http://fiascofarm.com/goats/index.htm - Tons of info on goats.. So much there I'd suggest reading it in sections.. Or you can read it as the need arises for the subject.. Like you won't need to read about keeping a buck unless you need to have one..

For chickens:
http://www.fredsfinefowl.com/ - Need I say more?
http://www.feathersite.com/ - A huge list of lots of different kinds of fowl and breeds..

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/ - This is a site that I frequent quite a bit.. Lots of helpful people.. And forums on just about every kind of livestock.. Poultry, rabbits, goats, pigs, horses, sheep, etc.. Mind you, these are forums where people go to ask about questions about their animal's health.. So don't be discouraged if you see a lot of problems that CAN go wrong.. Does not necessarily mean they happen all the time.. A lot of things can be delt with just by picking healthy animals.. They even have a search option on each forum, but I can't remember if you have to be a member to use it..

When you do get livestock, I've found the "one day at a time" approach works well for me.. If you think about all the things you will need to do for your livestock for a whole year, you might get overwhelmed.. Like I milk my goats every morning.. But if I think about the fact that I'll be milking them for months, can be a little daunting.. But I just make it part of my daily routine.. Some people have a cup of coffee every morning.. I feed the babies and milk the goats, then feed all my animals.. Only takes me a couple of hours every morning, and that usually goes by before I know it.. But I am a creature of habit so routine works well for me.. Goats also like routine.. See, you learned something new right there.. There is a lot of information out there.. Just take it in a bit at a time so it doesn't overwhelm you.. Its just about knowing what you need to do, and asking questions or getting help when you don't..

Oh, I also second the going and visiting another farm.. Maybe follow them around as they go about their daily routine.. Maybe even volunteer some time to help out so you can see how easy the daily stuff is.. Ask lots of questions.. And also like Garden Green said, nobody's perfect.. You will not get everything perfect.. There are many different ways to do things from, what to feed them, to housing, etc.. So there is no "perfect" way.. But things will go wrong occasionally.. The only thing you can do is your best to fix them.. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.. But as long as you try, you know you did what you could..

[MoniDew]

thank you both for bolstering my courage. sounds like I've got some research to do! Don't think there's much I can do in the city, but I really want to move out of the city, anyway. maybe this will be my motivation.

[Kittikity]

Hey, anything I can do to infect people with the disease, I mean passion.. = )

[Garden Green]

So what ya gonna read up on first?

[swoop]

and you've been there, done that. s'all i've to say. you'll do fine - read "storeys guide to chickens" and also check out backyardchickens.com - nice folks from everywhere you could imagine keeping chickens - i also like fredsfinefowl - he posts alot of very straight forward stuff. you will be a great chikenista or what ever we are - cheep herders - mother hens - chick magnates

[Aspen]

You can do it. Start small, maybe just a couple of rabbits. I think it can be a problem if you try to do everything at once. I started with chicks and then rabbits. This fall I will be ordering bees. In the spring I hope to get a couple of goats. Baby steps!

Is there someone with critters you can visit to become comfortable with animal care?

[MoniDew]

you will be a great chikenista or what ever we are - cheep herders - mother hens - chick magnates

rtflmao!!!!