Raising animals is exciting, but it comes with huge responsibilities. The most important thing is to make sure your animals are in good health. Regardless of whether you choose to raise chicken, sheep, cows, or goats, good health is essential if you want to benefit from them. From eggs to milk, these animals can be a source of income. You can only maximize their produce by keeping them comfortable. Apart from feeding them, there is much more that you must do.

Image via Shutterstock by Miriam Doerr Martin Frommherz

How to Raise Healthy Animals

• Know what is marketable

 

Before you buy animals and stock them up, you need to carry out research. You should know who will be purchasing the meat, eggs, or milk. Apart from your family, there should be a potential market; otherwise, you will not make any money. With so much competition in the market from big food companies and other small scale producers, you cannot risk rearing animals whose produce has no definite market. Otherwise, you might end up being the sole consumer of your animal products while giving out the rest for free.

• Take care of your animals

 

Your animals cannot be healthy unless you take proper care of them. Start by building a nice place to sleep and a field shelter. These are just the basics but remember you need something that will come in handy all year round. Most farmers are extra keen on keeping their animals warm and forget about the hot season. It is essential that we are able to provide the best quality products for our animals as well so that they are safe, well-fed and looked after. There are lots of options to choose from but Little Peckers have good quality shelters and feed, so you can get all your supplies at once.

During summer, you should have the shelters built under shade to protect them from the simmering heat. In fact, animals have a natural mechanism of staying warm during winter but can easily succumb to high temperatures. The heat can also cause the accumulation of humidity due to the manure and urine of the animals leading to respiratory health problems.

• Cull unproductive animals

 

One of the key things you should keep in mind when raising healthy animals is getting the best breed. But, you can still end up with some less productive ones. A few chickens might not lay eggs daily, and they will still feed like those that lay more eggs. Such animals are not worth keeping. You should identify the animals that are not giving you good returns and take them for slaughtering. While this may sound cruel, it works for farm owners. After all, meat is always in high demand.

• Always have all animal records

 

Paperwork is essential on every farm. You must have the right papers showing that you are the owner. Additionally, you need records that show when the animals were born, vaccinated, or got specific treatments. This comes in handy when you want to sell and when to give them certain vaccines or medication. Animals are fed according to their age.

Bottom Line

Rearing animals is one of the best ways to improve your garden. Ensure that your animals are healthy at all times. Whether you’re keeping animals for commercial purposes or for companionship, ensure that you give them the best. Otherwise poorly reared farm animals cannot fetch you good money. Just follow these four commandments, and you will enjoy keeping your favorite livestock.