How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It - James Wesley Rawles [53]
The survivalist might also consider triple-purpose breeds. These are breeds that produce meat, milk, and fiber. They may also be used for transportation. Nomadic tribes have built their culture around certain of these animals. Some of the more unusual are the reindeer, the camel, and the yak. The reindeer, though it does not produce fiber, is used for milk, meat, transportation, and hides. The camel not only provides transportation, milk, meat, and hides, but it also grows a wooly coat each winter, which it sheds. The fiber can then readily be felted. Or the itchy guard hairs can be removed to produce a luxurious yarn. Of the aforementioned animals, the Tibetan yak is the easiest to acquire and the easiest to handle and fence. They can be raised exactly as cattle are, with the added benefit of producing milk extremely high in butterfat, calves with low-fat carcasses, and incredibly soft under-down that sheds every spring.
A triple-purpose breed of horse is the “Bashkir,” or Bashkirshy, of the Volga and the Ural mountains. They have been known to produce three to six gallons of milk a day. Some of the Bashkir have a curly coat, which can grow four to six inches long. It is shed each spring and can be spun, woven, or felted. (American Bashkir Curly breed, though it took the name Bashkir, seems to be an unrelated breed, from a distinct coat mutation. American Bashkir Curly breed does have a curly coat, but not the milk production.)
Icelandic sheep are the quintessential triple-purpose breed. They are valued in Iceland for their milk production, their fiber, and their ability to raise twins lambs to market weight in four to five months on grass alone.
Because of prolonged drought in some parts of the United States causing high hay costs, livestock prices are at an all-time low in certain parts of the country. If you can afford the hay, now might be the time to purchase livestock. Heirloom varieties are normally extremely expensive, and the best breeders will still be holding out for top dollar and butchering, rather than lowering their prices. But many small hobby farmers love their heirloom livestock like pets. They tend to keep far too many lambs/calves each year because they are all so cute. These hobby farmers would rather sell their animals to you way under value than send them to market. If you are not prepared to purchase animals now, keep in mind for next year that fall is always a good time for buyers to get lower prices.
Survivalists who love animals, like I do, and marvel at mankind’s ability to selectively breed so many varieties, will enjoy visiting the Oklahoma State University animal breeds Web page (snipurl.com/hrm3r).
Buyer Beware When Purchasing Livestock
While most of my livestock purchases over the years have been satisfactory, buying livestock can be full of pitfalls. I will share some of my mistakes in hopes you can learn from them. Livestock sellers may not outright lie to buyers but they often do not volunteer important information, so it is very important that you get a detailed book for each type of livestock you plan to purchase, and do some research, so you’ll know exactly what questions to ask. Make certain the book has a chapter about choosing healthy stock. It ought to give you signs of unhealthy or poorly conforming animals as well as questions to ask the sellers about the health of the animals. Some books that I recommend are: Small-Scale Pig Raising, by Dirk Van Loon, Raising Rabbits the Modern Way, by Bob Bennett, Raising Sheep the Modern Way, by Paula Simmons, Ducks & Geese in Your Backyard: A Beginner’s Guide, by Rick and Gail Luttmann, The Family Cow, by Dirk Van Loon, and Raising a Calf for Beef, by Phyllis Hobson.
The first time I bought sheep, I did not know to ask if the yearling lambs I was buying had been wormed. Unfortunately the five lambs I bought had