Most Profitable Farm Animals to Raise on Your Homestead

New to homesteading? Find out the most profitable farm animals to raise on your homestead!

This list includes some of the most common farm animals. We chose to stick with animals we raise ourselves in order to give the most accurate picture. By “most profitable” our focus in this article is more on saving money by raising it yourself on a small scale to feed your family, as opposed to raising animals on a larger scale for income.

 

Most Profitable Farm Animals to Raise on Your Homestead

 

Farm animals are a blast to raise yourself, but you can also save a lot of money!

For this article, we ranked 9 different farm animals that we have personally raised, according to the percentage of money we are saving versus buying a similar product in our local store or from another local farmer.

There are many variables when it comes to costs and yields, any many different ways to calculate which are the most profitable farm animals. We have included the math for each animal so you can fill in your own numbers and adjust accordingly. For example, if you don’t have your own pasture and have to lease one, grass fed animals will cost more for you. Feed costs and the costs of baby animals can vary drastically depending on where you live, as can the cost of buying a similar product in the store.

For animals that eat grass, our numbers assume that you will need to buy hay for roughly 6 months out of the year in the winter. If you have pasture available year round in your climate, or are able to make your own hay, you might be able to skip those costs entirely.

 

A Note About Veterinary Costs

We did not include veterinary costs when discussing the most profitable farm animals, first because they are so variable and unpredictable, and second because we normally treat our animals ourselves and rarely have a vet bill.

If you are homesteading as a hobby, you may be able to afford to take a chicken worth $15 to the vet and pay a $100 bill, but if you want your homestead to be profitable the math simply doesn’t work. Even if you are raising the most profitable farm animals, you’ll end up in the red this way. To run a profitable homestead, you’ll need to learn how to treat your animals yourself.

On our homestead, we treat every animal ourselves if we know what to do. If the injury or illness is more than we know how to handle, the next step depends on the animal’s value. If it is a more expensive animal like a horse or cow, or an issue with the entire herd, we will call the vet. For less valuable animals we rely more on internet searches or just do the best we can to save them.

If you can find a vet who is willing to help you out over the phone, this will save a ton of money! Our veterinarian has been great about this. Many times we have gone into his office and described the problem, and he was able to simply give us some medicine and directions without an expensive house call.

 

Most Profitable Farm Animals

#9 Honey Bees

Although one of my favorite homestead animals, bees are number nine on my list of the most profitable farm animals to raise. That is because of the extremely high startup cost and the hundreds of fatal errors a newbie can make with their bees. Compared to all of the other animals I have raised, bees have by far had the highest learning curve, and after a few years, I still frequently lose hives.

The good news is, that once you have a hive established, they find their own food and the maintenance costs are next to nothing, leaving you with gallons of free honey.

You can get into bees cheaper if you can find a deal on used equipment or start out with a package of bees rather than a nuc. Honey yields can really vary depending on the nectar sources where you live. You can also build your own hive or capture a wild swarm to start with!

The Math

Startup Costs: $400 for a basic hive and a “nuc” of bees, not including a bee suit, tool set and any extras

Yearly Costs: $10/year for miscellaneous supplies, sugar, etc.

Products: 1-3 gallons of honey per colony per year

Product Value: 1.5 gallons of honey @ $45/gallon = $67.50ish per year

At these numbers, it takes roughly 6 years of honey harvests to pay off the cost of the hive and bees.

 

#8 Laying Ducks

Laying ducks are so much fun to have around the homestead, although they are not the one of the most profitable farm animals we have raised. Ducks eat more than chickens, and are more finicky about laying.

We have kept the two highest producing purebred duck breeds: the Welsh Harlequin and the closely related Khaki Campbell. Although these breeds are capable of laying over 300 eggs a year, we have found that 100 eggs is more realistic in a homestead setting.

If you are willing to put more effort and special feed into your flock, you can improve the numbers you see here!

Our numbers are based on Khakis and Welsh Harlequins of mixed ages, getting a diet of local non-GMO poultry feed soaked and with fish meal added to take the protein up to 18%.

 

The Math

Startup Costs: $10-$25 per duck for common breeds. Infrastructure if not already set up.

Yearly Costs: 1/3lb feed per day = 121lbs/year. At $20/50lb bag, that is roughly $45/year per duck. Adding in $8 per year for replacement ducks every 2-3 years, makes a total of $53 per year per duck.

Products: At 100 eggs per year, you will get 8.33 dozen eggs per duck.

Product Value: 8.33 dozen eggs divided by $53 = $6.35/dozen

Price comparison: In my area, duck eggs sell for around $8/dozen. That makes the homegrown duck eggs about 21% cheaper.

#7 Meat Chickens

Next on our list of the most profitable farm animals to raise on your homestead is the meat chicken!

These numbers are based on a hybrid meat chicken such as the Cornish Cross. Heritage roosters are slower growing and take more feed.

Believe it or not, to get the best feed conversion, broilers should be confined in a small space and not on pasture. Pasture raised broilers actually use more energy nibbling at grass and searching for bugs, and require a bit more feed to raise to maturity. Pastured broilers are still healthier and happier, though! We raise ours in small chicken tractors, where they are confined to restrict their exercise, but still get fresh air, bugs and grass.

The Math

Startup Costs: $3-$5 per chick, plus infrastructure if you don’t have it already

Cost to Raise a Meat Chicken: $4 per chick, plus about 3lbs feed per 1lb body weight, so 15lbs of feed per 5lb chicken. At $24/45lb bag of feed, that is $8 of feed, for a total of $12 per bird.

Products: Depending on the breed, a meat chicken can finish anywhere from 2 to 15lbs. For a Cornish Cross, 5lbs is a nice finished weight to shoot for.

Product value: At 5lbs dressed out, your $12 chicken will cost $2.40/lb.

Price Comparison: In my store, organic whole chicken is selling for $5/lb. That makes the homegrown chicken 51% cheaper.

 

#6 Laying Chickens

 

Although not the most profitable farm animals to raise, chickens are perhaps the easiest farm animal to get started with. And with all the egg shortages of late, we still think they are well worth it!

The non-GMO local feed we use is $18.50 a bag, plus a little calcium. Chickens are also great at turning kitchen scraps into compost, bug control and prepping new garden areas.

Chickens can also earn their keep twice if you are willing to butcher older hens.

 

The Math

Startup Costs: $3-$10 per chick for common breeds, or $15-$25 per pullet (young female). If you don’t already have the infrastructure, you can get a checklist of everything you need right here!

Yearly Costs: A hen will eat about 1/4lb of feed per day, or 90lbs per year. At $18.50/ bag, plus a little for calcium, that is roughly $35. If you add $5 a year for replacing your hens every 3 years, that comes to $40 per year, per hen.

Products: A good laying breed will give 240 eggs per year, or 20 dozen.

Product Value: At $40 per year in feed and replacements and 20 dozen eggs per year, the eggs are costing you about $2/dozen.

Price Comparison: In my local store, non-GMO eggs are selling for $5/dozen, making the homegrown eggs 60% cheaper.

 

#5 Lamb

 

Sheep are one of our favorite animals to raise on our homestead. While they are not the cheapest meat, homegrown lamb is a fraction of the cost of buying lamb in the store.

In my area, buying a spring lamb or feeding a ewe over winter to produce lambs for you is similar in price. Lambs can go for hundreds of dollars. We get ours from the same breeder every year for $50 each. For the sake of this article, I went with a purchase price of $100 per lamb. If you are feeding ewes through the winter, you can do the math based on local hay prices to find out which is cheaper!

If you are raising a breed that has nice wool, you can also shear them before slaughter (or after) and sell the wool as a byproduct. I wash and sell my Icelandic lamb’s wool for $20-$30 per lamb, which actually brings the cost down by about $1 per pound of meat. Between the lower purchase price and the wool, lambs are one of the most profitable farm animals we raise. You can see our complete cost breakdown for lambs here!

To avoid losing some of your lambs, you’ll need to pay close attention to predator control and to parasite control.

Since lambs are normally kept on pasture all summer and butchered when the grass dies back in the fall, there is no feed cost listed here. You can feed lamb hay through the winter and butcher the next spring, which gives you more meat, but a stronger flavor and a higher cost.

I have listed two prices for lamb, one for butchering yourself (that is what we usually do) and one for taking them to a butcher.

Finally, keep in mind that lamb has a low yield ratio compared to other meat. A 100lb lamb will yield around 35lbs of meat.

 

The Math

Startup Costs: $100ish per lamb, or $200-$400 per breeding ewe to start a flock.

Yearly Cost: $100 per lamb plus $10 for deworming = $110 per lamb. If you hire a butcher, add an additional $150, for a total of $260 per lamb.

Products: Wool depending on breed. 20-45lbs of meat depending on breed.

Product Value: At a 30lb yield, your lamb will cost $3.66/lb butchered yourself, or $8.66/lb if you hire a butcher.

Price Comparison: Lamb in my local store averages $15/lb depending on the cut. Organic lamb is not available in my area, so there isn’t a perfect comparison, but this makes the home butchered lamb 76% cheaper or the professionally butchered lamb 43% cheaper.

 

#4 Beef Cattle

 

Like lamb, you can raise beef cattle by buying a calf, or by keeping a few breeding cows to produce calves every year. Check prices in your area to see if it is cheaper to feed hay to a mama cow or purchase a calf from someone else. For the purpose of this article I am assuming you will butcher both males and female calves. If you choose to sell the female heifer calves, you may be able to come out a little more ahead, but will need twice as many breeding cows.

Unlike sheep, cattle are normally butchered their second fall, when they are at least 1 1/2 years old. That means you will need to feed hay for one winter.

The Math

Startup Costs: $600 per calf, or $1000-$2000 per breeding cow.

Cost to Raise a Calf: $600 to purchase a calf or feed the cow that will produce the calf, 2 tons hay to feed the calf through winter @$200 per ton = $400. Worming =$20. Total $1020 to raise a meat calf. If you use a professional butcher, you will be paying around $1.20/lb, or $600 for a steer that will yield 500lbs of meat. That would bring the total  to $1620.

Products: Yield will vary with the age and breed, but a good number to go on is 500lbs of meat from a beef breed steer.

Product Value: At 500lbs of meat, you are looking at $2.04/lb. butchered yourself, or $3.24/lb. butchered professionally.

Price Comparison: Grass-fed beef in my local store averages $10/lb. depending on the cut. At that price you are saving $79% butchering yourself, or 68% butchered professionally.

 

#3 Turkey

 

Turkeys are the most profitable farm animals we have raised for meat, but not the easiest. We often lose a high percentage of turkeys, be it from bad weather, predators, feed that doesn’t have the exact percentage of nutrients they need, or even the turkeys somehow drowning themselves in 1″ of water!

One benefit to turkeys over chickens is that they can replace up to 25% of their diet with grass. We have had good luck raising them in chicken tractors, where they cannot fly away and don’t get too much exercise, yet are able to access fresh grass and bugs every day.

There is a drastic difference in heritage versus Broad Breasted turkeys. A heritage breed will take longer to grow and will finish anywhere between 8lbs for a Royal Palm or Midget White hen, up to 25lbs of meat from a large White Holland or Standard Bronze tom. A heritage breed takes roughly 4lbs of feed to make 1lb. of meat. The biggest advantages of raising a heritage breed are that they are a little smarter, and that they can naturally breed, giving you the option to hatch your own poults each year.

A BB turkey, such as the Broad Breasted Bronze or Giant White, will produce about 1lb. of meat per 2.5lbs. of feed. They can be butchered small at a young age, or allowed to grow to maturity where they can dress out at more than 35lbs.! These breeds tend to be a little less hardy, and cannot reproduce naturally because of their large size, meaning you can’t breed your own turkeys and will need to buy the poults each year.

Turkeys have a very high meat yield of 75 to 80% from live weight to finished product.

 

The Math

Startup Costs: $15ish per poult, plus infrastructure if you don’t already have it.

Cost to Raise a Turkey: $15 per poult. A heritage turkey will need 60lbs. of feed to reach 15lbs. At $20/50lb. bag of feed, that is $24 of feed for a total of $39 to raise a heritage turkey. A Broad Breasted turkey will need about 62lbs. of feed to reach 25lbs. At $20/bag, that is $25 of feed for a total of $40 to raise a Broad Breasted turkey.

Products: 8-25lbs. of meat from a heritage turkey. 12-35+lbs. of meat from a Broad Breasted turkey.

Product Value: A 15lb. heritage turkey will total around $2.60/lb. of meat, while a 25lb. Broad Breasted turkey will total closer to $1.60/lb.

Price Comparison: My co-op is selling non-GMO whole turkeys for $8/lb. That means I am saving 67% on a heritage turkey, or 80% on a BB turkey.

 

#2 Dairy Goats

 

Our most profitable farm animals have been our dairy animals.

The following numbers are based on a full sized breed such as Nubians, LaManchas, Saanens, or Alpines. If you are raising a smaller breed such as a Nigerian dwarf, your feed bills and your milk production will both be lower.

Goats are lots of fun and are one of my children’s’ favorite farm animals!

The downside to dairy animals is the time commitment. If not milked twice a day at about the same time every day, a goat will soon dry up and stop making milk.

 The Math

Startup Cost: $100-$400 for a good milking goat

Yearly Costs: Hay 3/4 ton @$200 = $150. Grain 1 lbs./day x 6 months/year = 180lbs. At $16/bag that comes to roughly $57. Add $10 for worming and $50 for breeding and you come to $267/year.

Products: 1-4 baby goats, 1/2 gallon milk a day x 180 days a year = 90 gallons of milk.

Product Value: If you sell 2 goat kids at $100 each, that leaves your net cost at $67/year, or $.74/gallon of goat milk.

Price Comparison: My local store sells non-organic goat milk for $23/gallon. That means I save 97% by raising my own!

 

#1 The Family Cow

 

The number 1 most profitable farm animals we have ever raised have been our dairy cows. The calf pays for most if not all of the family cow’s feed, and the surplus milk can be preserved, sold, or used to raise other animals such as pigs and chickens.

A dairy cow is a big commitment, though, requiring twice a day milking at the same times every day.

The figures in this article assume you have pasture in the summer and have to buy hay for 6 months out of the year. A dairy cow can produce anywhere from 1.5 gallons to 15 gallons a day depending on the breed. A good heritage cow like the Jersey/Brown Swiss above will give 5 gallons a day, so I am going to go with that number. A cow is typically milked for 10 months out of the year, giving her a 2 month break before calving.

In my area, a dairy calf will sell for $500-$900, so I am using an average of $650 per calf ( you could instead keep the calf for beef). The added value of the calf is what makes dairy cows one of the most profitable farm animals out there!

 

The Math

Startup Cost: A good family cow will cost $1500-$3000.

Yearly Costs: 3 tons of hay @$200 = $600. 2lbs. grain/day x 300 days a year = 12 bags of grain. At $15/bag, that comes to $180. Allowing $100 for breeding and $50 for wormers and any other medications, the total comes to $930/year to keep a family cow.

Products: A cow will give a calf every year. At 5 gallons of milk x 300 days a year, you will total 1,500 gallons of milk per year.

Product Value. If the calf is sold for $650, that leave you with a net feed cost of $280. Divided by 1,500 gallons, your milk will cost roughly $.19 per gallon.

Price Comparison: In my area, raw milk sells for $8 a gallon or more. That means by producing my own, I am saving approximately 97.6% on milk.

 

I hope you enjoyed this list of the the most profitable farm animals to raise on your homestead! Please understand that there were a lot of assumptions included in this article. Although they were accurately based on our own experience, and data available from other farmers, they numbers are going to be different for everyone depending on your climate, livestock and feed prices in your area, the breed you choose, how well you care for your animals and more!

Feel free to share your experience and your most profitable farm animals in the comments!