Introduction to Livestock

Livestock farming systems produce milk and meat for human consumption. On this page, you’ll find everything you need to know if you want to start livestock farming. Topics covered include rearing livestock basics concerning dairy and beef cattle, poultry, sheep, goats, hogs, and other domesticated animals. Learn how to apply livestock best practices, and more.

Raising Livestock Resources

You can raise poultry in a range of locations and for different reasons. It’s become an increasingly popular pastime for urban residents, for example. Poultry can be raised for their eggs and meat, and a small investment can yield an income for several years.

If you’re a beginner in personal meat production and homesteading, raising small groups of pigs might interest you. Resources are available to help you learn the basics of raising hogs, from feeder to finish, swine management, breeding evaluation, animal welfare, and meat production.

Bovine farming encompasses a broad range of farming methods. You can raise beef cattle for meat or dairy cattle for milk and other dairy products. To be a successful cattle farmer, you need to learn the basics of good beef husbandry practices.

Raising sheep or goats for profit can be a satisfying enterprise. To raise them sustainably, you have to manage resources such as land, labor, capital, feed, and management. When starting a new sheep or goat enterprise, the first step is what type of animals to raise.

Horses are considered livestock because they can be kept or raised in a farm or ranch setting and used in a commercial enterprise. You can use horses for farm work or riding.

Raising Livestock: Best Practices

If you plan to raise livestock for the first time, you must understand and follow best practices. This applies whether you are raising them on a few acres or a much larger enterprise.

The first step is to acquire livestock. There are several things you should consider before you make a purchase. Did you realize that your livestock could be a source of danger? Livestock handling injuries are often the result of poor judgment and a lack of animal behavior knowledge.

There is always the hidden risk of livestock disease. Where possible, you should test newly purchased animals two to four weeks before you transport them to their new home. Biosecurity management practices help minimize or prevent disease transmission.

Poultry farmers should learn about the best breeds to raise for laying eggs and how best to handle any eggs that are produced. The basic principles of poultry health and diseases and their control will help you raise a productive flock.

To keep your livestock healthy, you must provide the correct nutrition for their needs in different growth stages. Animal feed is regulated under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Preventive Controls for Animal Foods rule. If you operate predominantly on a pasture-based housing and nutrition system, you can determine forage quality with feed analysis.

Body Condition Score is a tool that you use to describe the relative fatness of beef cattle or other livestock. It is a good indicator of whether your cattle are getting sufficient nutrients as well as their general health condition.

To run an efficient and profitable sheep or goat operation, you must understand the importance of lambing and kidding. Lamb and kid survival is critical to the overall success of a flock or herd.

The living conditions you provide for your livestock are also key if you want your animals to be healthy, happy, and disease-free. To evaluate and quantify a farm animal housing environment and ventilation system, you can use various tools. There are relatively inexpensive instruments for detecting ammonia gas concentration.

Pennsylvania law requires that farms and properties with animals develop and implement a manure management plan.