Rabbits might be the best bet.

They make almost no noise, and their manure makes good fertilizer for your garden. Personally I would go with a rabbit / garden combination. That rabbit poop will grow some nice tomatoes.

 

Well, rabbits could feed on scavenged grass, etc rather than the purchased grains. So its doable. Raising mainly in raised pens with mesh floors, running around the yard in nice weather.

BUT - my Dad killed 4 neighborhood dogs in 4 years of my Mom raising rabbits. They do attract any hungry predators in the area. Lucky our town was in the midst of ranch territory, and rules were you could protect livestock.

You'll need a way to deal with the crap. As its herbivore, the crap can go in the compost for a while then into the garden.

Breeding - you guessed it, they breed like rabbits.

 

Well, rabbits could feed on scavenged grass, etc rather than the purchased grains. So its doable. Raising mainly in raised pens with mesh floors, running around the yard in nice weather.

Can I really feed them grass clipping? Would that provide enough nutrients? Good thought.

 

We just recently moved in. The previous owners left some large planters in the yard. I am considering using them for tomatoes. I am not real handy gardening. I suppose I should learn. Not to concerned about dogs in the neighborhood though. I have a six foot fence around the back yard. Besides, I work from home and could easily "fix" a predator situation. I would gladly take the ticket for discharging a firearm within city limits....

Any suggestions on easy to garden edibles?

 

Here are a couple of links that might help you. One is for container gardening and one is for edible landscaping. . .

Container gardening http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1647.html

Edible landscape http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1255.html

 

hmm - not just lawn clippings, not enough nutrition. But scavenged grasses that include seed heads, and brush clippings, and garden weeds.

plain grass and lettuce will kill most herbivores from malnutrition eventually.

 

Rabbits are super easy to care for, they can be housed in a all wire hutch (inside or outside) (all wire is more hygenic and easily cleaned) or as a group in rabbit run. They reproduce every 30-31 days and usally have a litter of 5-8, they will breed every chance they get (even minutes after the birth of the litter). The breed that you want that gets a better weight gain with less bone weight would be a New Zealand or a Californian rabbit or a cross of the two. I would recomend the book Story's Guide to Raising Rabbits, it is easy on the pocketbook and contains alot of useful information whether you are raising for home use or commercial production. Please do a search on eating rabbit as your only source of meat, it can lead to some problems as rabbit meat is very very lean. Rabbit feed can be anything from grass clippings and flowers & vegetables to pellets. Pellets are cheaper but if you want organic meat feed alfalfa hay, cracked corn, BOSS, sweet feed and scratch grains +plenty of fresh clean water.

PM me if you have any others Q's about rabbits- we show and raise them for food semi-commercially.

 

With them being so lean. And could cause protine poisoning. Is there a way to add fat to their diet?

 

No you cant add fat tho their diet, but you could add fat to the meat. Ie pork sausage. Dont know if I would want a bunch of rabbits, especially in a "neighborhood", as that makes you the guy with food.

 

what if you dont eat pork. beef I guess?

 

Fish, deer, squirel, turtle, possum, chicken, game bird, goat, sheep,- you just need to vary your meat intake (protein) add Omega 3 fish oil, even adding cooking oils can help (short term).

 

Due to the leaness of their meat, living on rabbit alone (over time) can lead to a condition called rapid starvation. The lack of fat (which you need) causes your body to in essence, eat itself.

Definately have a balanced diet---or cook it in bacon fat! :

 

I eat everything but pork. (no not what your thinking i am) (ok ill say it not a terrorist) LOL j/k

Sorry. I just dont like it well I do, But I feel better when I dont eat it. And in the summer it makes you hotter. Non topice but........

I take fish.flax,borage oil Supper suppliment everyday helps with the finger joints.

How much rabbit could you eat befor this becomes a problem.

 

You can eat it daily as long as you have some fat in your diet.

 

i was thinking about mini cows and milkers set up for urban land farming
i county i live in you can have small livestock typles but not pigs but mini cows are ok and mini milk cows and chickens are ok as long as you do not have more than 5 chickens total or two milk cows or something like that here in the county i live

 

Ive never heard of them thats cool!

 

Definitely rabbits, my grandfather raised them for food during the depression. I had a pet rabbit a few years ago. I used its droppings as fertilizer for tomatos one summer. Best crop of tomatos I ever had.

 

mini-cows ? I wouldn't.
Although I much prefer the taste of cow dairy products over goats, goats are far hardier than mini-cows. Able to survive poor food and weather that would kill mini-cows.
Given wide open range, like my home area of the Cariboo-Chilcotin, sturdy cattle are great. But given limited land and the breakdown of law, goats are more versatile.

 

i have to be far out in the county to have some farm livestock
i live right on the county and city line with my street is in the city and my house in the country line
i looking at buy a lot across the street that is 3.acre sized lot to feed and gaze them on
with garden area for us with fuit and nut tree stand
its across the alley way form my house so it would be easly to put up a small fence system to keep poeple out the area as need

 

Why not goats? Goats (fresh not canned) milk tastes the same as cows, they eat less (10 goats = 1 cow feed wise) and definately smell less (little rabbit size pellets-good for fertilizer-can use fresh too)! Fresh goats milk does not have a goaty taste, only canned milk as it ages-in addition most commercial goats are housed male with the female (females udders absorb the smell from the males smell which makes the milk taste goaty) I have 1 male housed about 50 foot away and no odor exchange. Most canned goats milk is a couple of months old by the time it gets to the grocery store (YUKKKK). I have 6 female dairy goats and it costs me less than $25.00 a month to feed them if I provide all of there diet (hay, sweetfeed mixed with cracked corn, scratch grains and Black oil sunflower seeds), if I let them graze (I have 1.99 acres) they only cost me around $10.00). The goats provide me with at least 12 kids a year and sometimes 18-24 depending on whether they have doubles or quads. The dairy gosts provide me with more milk than my family can use (each doe gives at least 1 gallon a day), we hand milk and it is very easy-takes about 3-4 minutes per doe. A goat only costs about $65.00 and can be purebred or mixed. A very small compact but great milk producer is actually a n i g e r ian (sorry it ****me out if I spell it right) dwarf (pygmy size). When they are done producing milk if you needed food you can slaughter and get on average around 70% meat (thats a good ratio). People often over look goats for meat and milk but they are very good at both. Raw goats milk if handled properly (sanitary) can last 5-10 days in your frig and stay fresh tasting. To learn more go to

www.goatworld.com

www.fiascofarm.com

 

I only have maybe 1/3 of an acre with the house on it. Even putting city ordinance and HOA restrictions aside, 1/3 of an acre does not leave much room for goats or mini cows. Thats why I am considering rabbits.

I would love to have some acreage with livestock. Unfortunately, any acreage close enough for me realistically drive to on a daily basis is pretty expensive ($ 3000-30,000 and acre). It would simply be to cost prohibitive.

 

My six goats have a pen that is 24 x 24 with a 8x6 shed, before we got the other 5 my main girl was in a 8x10x 4high dog lot with a dog house-tiny living quarters but she was perfectly happy for 8 months (and fat). Goats don't take up alot of space, if you know the amount of space a med dog takes up that is how much room a goat takes up. If you have a privacy fence-who would know:? My goat fence is 2 foot away from our property line and the next door neighbor (we keep them next to there house on the backside and in the woods) didn't know I had goats until 3 years after I started keeping them and she stays outside all the time.(she was asleep at the wheel)

 

Rabbits are quiet, and the manure is ready for use immediately. They are also cheap to feed and easy to care for. They have trouble with heat, though - the Storey's book that someone above recommended is a very good start.

 

Rabbits get my vote as well... Quiet, dont eat too much, and very tasty.

Oddly enough, pigeons were originally raised as a food bird. That would be another good option if there is room for a roost somewhere. I hear they taste better than Cornish game hens and they are very robust animals.

 

Pigeon---Feral Rock Dove. Tastes like morning dove. de-breast it, bacon wrap with some monterray jack in the middle and grill over low heat. mmmmm.

 

Rapid starvation come from eating rabbits only, fact is you'll be eating ramen,egg noodles,rice,or other things with fat in it( I hope). My suggestion is get a large stock tank( larger the better) and stock it with jews carp and catfish. I had a uncle who did this and raised nice sized fish, he fed them dog food. just a thought.:

 

I know you said you have a small yard and dogs, but you could still grow a very small garden. All you need is a SMALL area for things like tomatoes and banana peppers. I once grew 5 wheelbarrow loads of tomatoes in an area that was only about 10x12 foot. Obviously, you probably don't want that many...

Where I am living now, people grow tomatoes in flower pots on their balconies. Many people have 2-4 of these. They harvest a few tomatoes each week all summer. Next year, I'll be planting tomatoes, peppers, and mint on my balcony. It's not much but it's the stuff I miss the most from not having a garden.

If you live where it's warm enough for bananas, then you may be able to consider other tropical plants, as well. Would avacodos grow there? I'm not sure if they'd grow where you are but when I lived in Central America, they sure produced like crazy. They were so common that no one cared if you just picked them off their land. They also have the benefit of providing needed dietary fat.