EverGreenCoin Gardens
Animal Husbandry
Animal Husbandry is the science of breeding and caring for farm animals.
Chickens
Raising chickens can be more than economically viable. Not only can you get eggs and chickens, but chicken do a lot of work also. You can also sell eggs, chickens, or even their manure.
Your chickens can work your compost and even process your food waste. This puts some of the costs you lost, back into your farm or household. Chickens are also easy to maintain.
There are a lot of publications on raising chickens. Types of chickens, housing, fencing, production, etc. The little bit off money it will cost you to start raising chickens will surely reward you not long after starting.
A young goat jumps over a meadow during warm and sunny weather at Gut Aiderbichl in Henndorf in the Austrian province of Salzburg, Monday, April 7, 2014. Gut Aiderbichl is a place of mercy for rescued animals. Weather forecasts predict good weather conditions with mild temperatures for the upcoming days in Austria. (AP Photo/Kerstin Joensson)
Goats
Goats have been known to eat just about everything. In fact, many goats are made to swallow magnets that stay in the stomach, because they are known to eat metal. This being said, goats can clear land that you want to work on. They have also been used to manicure land and eat unwanted plants that may take over ones property
Goatherders have been known to rent their goats to help other farmers control their land. Goat manure can also be spread directly onto crops. As goats clear a field they can also put nutrients back into the soil. Clearing land with goats has gained popularity as it is cheap and less burdensome on the environment.
Milk, cheese, meat, and wool are also some of the benefits of raising goats. Goat milk and cheese are easy to make and very nutritious. Goat is also one of the most consumed meats on the planet. Though most goats don’t produce much fur, some produce enough that cashmere can be harvested.
If you want to help subsidize some of your own costs; or even make money, goats can be very beneficial.
Pigs & Cattle
Pigs and cattle are big meat and manure producers. Pigs can clean up your unwanted waste, while a single cow can provide enough milk for a single family.
Whether you only have one pig or cow; or a larger operation there is money to be made. Raising pigs and cattle can be very hard and tedious work, but it can be something that benefits you overall.
Small breeds of cows and pigs have been on the market for a while. You can buy a miniature dairy cow and see how it works for your family.
Beekeeping
Beekeeping is the maintenance of honey bee colonies, commonly in man-made hives, by humans. A beekeeper (or apiarist) keeps bees in order to collect their honey and other products that the hive produces (including beeswax, propolis, pollen, and royal jelly), to pollinate crops, or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers. A location where bees are kept is called an apiary or "bee yard".
Why would you want to keep bees? There are a few reasons to keep bees if you have the time and aren't allergic. This is an endeavor so please do a lot of research before you decide.
Sixty to eighty percent of all pollination worldwide, is done by bees. In the United States bees are shipped cross country to pollinate large farming operations. There is a lot of money in this, as farmers pay to have bees shipped to them for pollination. If you own and operate a large apiary this is a possible market.
Some states actually give tax breaks for keeping bees. Even if you have a small beekeeping operation the government may subsidize your operation. There is a decline in the bee population so even a small apiary may be worth your while.
Honey. Of course there's honey. Bees have been kept since before the Egyptians. The honey that was found in King Tut's tomb was still edible. There are paintings from over 9000 years ago depicting honey harvesting. That being said, honey is a market that is almost as old as gold.
The golden liquid also has many uses. It has and is still used in medicine. Honey has antibiotic, antioxidant, and antihistamine properties. Having allergies can be helped by adding a little of the local honey into your diet It is still used to make alcohol around the world. Mead was a common alcoholic drink in the past and can still be made at home.
If you would like to start a small or large scale beekeeping operation there are many reasons and help to get started. Just a few hives can help any farm or homestead with honey for sale or for consumption.
