>>354211>>354610We raised Nubians and little Spanish goats when I was a kid. Nubians for milk, Spanish for meat. They'd be my go-to breeds because I'm familiar with them and I know they do well in our kind of weather, which is pretty much 100F plus and dry in summer with a spell under 0F every winter. I'd probably consider a different breed of milk goat, but that'll come in a couple of years anyhow. Boers are the most common breed around here, everybody who can't afford a $700 pet shows them instead of sheep when they're kids. I don't like them, and it may just be a bias because they're show goats. Or it may be that I find their faces unappealing. I'm not sure.
I still think a small milk cow, something like a miniature Jersey or Dexter, might be a good idea. Nothing huge like a Holstein. I should be able to feed a smaller milk cow and a few goats on about two or three acres of dedicated forage (sorghum sudangrass grows so well here it's commonly referred to and about the only thing used as hay grazer) and letting them graze the garden in the fall. I'll rotate in some black eyed peas and let them forage on those as well.
As to the pig issue, they're tasty and I can see raising one or two a year.
Remember that our goal at the present time isn't to become completely self-sufficient, it's to be largely so with less maintenance than complete self-sufficiency requires and have the ability to become fully so should the need arise.
The reason I want at least 10 contiguous acres is Texas local government code chapter 229. Not that it's likely for anything in the country here to become incorporated, but better safe than sorry.
