Raising and keeping livestock and farm animals has been one of the oldest known practices humans have been doing for thousands of years. Like farming and cultivating plants, raising livestock was one of the best ways to have a steady food source or increase farmers’ productivity by having a helping hand.
Even after hundreds of years, raising organic livestock and farm animals is still considered a lucrative business model. However, there’s more to raising livestock than just waiting for them to grow and selling them off to clients and potential customers. Most forms of livestock are investments, and for certain types of investments, livestock will require a good amount of maintenance, supervision, and security to ensure the best return on investments.
Various factors need to be considered right before raising livestock and keeping animal farms in secure facilities.
Integrating Livestock into the Farming System
But before discussing some of the factors that you need to weigh in, you must first outline your mode of operations and what could be the intention of raising livestock.
It’s important to keep in mind that livestock husbandry is more than just simply picking what kind of animal you want to raise and waiting for them to grow. Animal husbandry is a relationship between livestock, plants, and the land surrounding your farm. Different types of animals will have their own needs and behaviors, which could significantly influence your daily operations and maintenance.
If you’re looking at raising livestock, you first need to acknowledge and respect that each type of lifestyle will need to have its own physiological needs for its health. For instance, chicken, pigs, and calf will have different dietary needs.
In certain situations, some farm animals can also be used as capital in producing crops for farms. For many regions around the world, animal husbandry is known for playing a key role in creating fertilizer. Some countries, like the Philippines, use water buffaloes that carry heavy tilling hoes as a means of streamlining the farming process and increasing the quality of the soil. Some farmers also use pollinators to increase the fertility rate of many plans close to beehives.
But to do this, there should be careful training and nurturing of these animals. Although this might seem like a “simple” process, professional help is needed to ensure that animals are properly trained for a fully functional farming system.
That said, the best way of having a sustainable farming system is by choosing the right kind of farm animals for the best return on investments. However, the process isn’t easy as there are many factors to consider.
Placing Emphasis on Health and Safety
One of the most crucial things to consider when raising livestock and maintaining farm animals is emphasizing and focusing on their welfare. Many companies and organizations build housing facilities that can streamline the process of feeding animals to accelerate their growth process. This is especially true when it comes to poultry. However, this has resulted in health problems among chickens and other forms of livestock.
The best way of ensuring that these animals are healthy is by supporting the “naturalness” of their environment. This means that human care is essential in ensuring that they are safe and healthy. This means that they will need to be free from predators while having ample resources, such as food, begging, and water.
It’s also important to invest in proper safety equipment for certain types of animals. While some animals won’t leave the farm and are free to roam wherever they want, others need to be tied to a rope, or they might start exploring elsewhere. This is true when it comes to calf and horses since they might roam towards different areas. Fortunately, you won’t have to look far since a high-quality and durable breakaway rope can ensure that your horses and any other livestock are safe and secure.
As you can see, there are many things that you have to consider when it comes to raising livestock and farm animals. Still, it’s important to keep in mind that this will take a good amount of time, money, and resources when you’re raising livestock since it is an investment. Proper training, essential information, and the right equipment are just some factors that can help maximize your investments for these animals.
If you’re not quite sure how you can raise these types of animals, you can always hire professionals that can ensure that they are in tip-top shape. This way, you’re certain that you’re maximizing your capabilities of caring for these animals.
