Dan Grogan

which is easier raise - hair sheep or goats.... meat and milk and attitude - keeping them in a pen

Agreed... the next animal we will be adding is rabbits... going to raise an endangered breed ... American Chinchilla Rabbits. I found a local breeder who is also a regional rabbit judge - she is helping get a starter pair of bunnies who meet the breed standards and help to upgrade fur and body standards. Then I need to dig a pond and get some ducks - guess I have my work cut out for me.

I have followed the path of the above authors by starting my animal empire with a small flock of chickens and two goats - all rescue animals obtained for free (local paper has a 'giveaway' section in the want ads).
I've now added a young male pot belly pig named Max - who is indeed a happy little guy when he see's me heading towards him with a bucket of kitchen scraps ... there is very little he won't eat (goes for the chickens as well). My next step is to get a couple of female pigs and raise "BBQ porkers' .... need to keep the herd small enough to not have issues with smell. Always great to learn more from all of your postings - thanks! Dan