If you live in the suburbs, there’s a good chance that not too many people around you have farms in their backyard. And most of my neighbors would never know that I hatch out chicks year round in my kitchen. In Suburbia, there are so many rules and regulations when it comes to what types of animals you are or are not allowed to keep. Which is why choosing the right types of animals for city living is crucial. So here are the absolute best livestock for urban homesteading!
Best Livestock for Urban Homesteading
- Hens
- Quail
- Rabbits
- Bees
- Pigeons
- Worms
- Ducks
- Muscovy ducks
- Goats
- Jersey cows
- Sheep
- Fish
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Homesteading is all about being self-sufficient and living sustainably. And what better way to do that than to raise your own meat?
And just because you don’t have tons of space to work with, doesn’t mean you can’t raise livestock. Below are the best animals to raise in a small space!
1. HENS
Hens are the most popular livestock for urban homesteading because of how productive they are. An average hen can give you 4-5 eggs per week!
And when that chicken’s egg laying slows down around the 2-3 year mark, you have a great meal for the table.
But notice I did say hens, specifically. Not all chickens.
Because chances are if you live in the suburbs, there’s some sort of regulations on what type of animals you can keep. And oftentimes, roosters don’t make the cut!
And while roosters can be super noisy, your neighbors probably won’t even know if you have chickens – they are actually super quiet!
Plus, they have so many uses – pest control, garbage disposal (yes, we feed our chickens table scraps), compost maker, and garden cleaner.
So if you’re looking to get started with backyard livestock, hens should be at the top of your list!
And don’t forget to check out our articles all about getting started with chickens.
2. QUAIL
Quail are some of my favorite animals for urban homesteading!
Not only are they adorable and have funny personalities, but quail eggs are also an excellent source of protein.
And, quail go from hatching to maturity in only 8 weeks – which means meat production is super quick!
We raise quail for meat and eggs, plus dog food. They take up way less space than chickens, and lay almost an egg a day.
Plus, they are super quiet and don’t cost a ton to feed!
So if you don’t have a lot of space to allocate to livestock, quail are a must on your list.
Oh and did I mention most city regulations don’t specifically ban quail? So perfect if you’re not allowed to keep chickens!
You can watch our quail journey over on our YouTube channel 🙂
3. RABBITS
Rabbits are common pets in this country – and for good reason. They are so freaking cute!
But rabbits have so many other uses on a homestead.
First of all, rabbits are good for eating. One rabbit can produce between 3-4 pounds of meat. And the turnaround time is only 8-10 weeks!
I mean, that’s insane for meat production!
Plus, rabbits reproduce – well, like rabbits.
So if you have both female and male rabbits, chances are you’ll have quite a few bunnies really soon – like 30ish days soon!
And did I mention that rabbit manure is a great fertilizer? It’s what we call a cold fertilizer, meaning that you can put it directly onto your plants without composting it first.
Which means that you can use basically every part of the animal – even it’s poop!
Oh and don’t forget those rabbit hide gloves after butchering!
4. HONEY BEES
When we hear the word bees, we think of honey and the painful, sometimes severe stings.
But most people wouldn’t consider adding them as pets.
However, adding them to your homestead can be a great idea.
Not only do you get honey – which is a great incentive in and of itself – but you also get resident pollinators for your garden!
And I, for one, will take more pollinators and beneficial insects any day.
As a word of caution, though – it might be worthwhile to find a corner of your property that doesn’t get too much foot traffic. The last thing you want is to get stung!
5. PIGEONS
I bet you’ve never thought of pigeons as a valuable addition to your homestead. But hear me out!
Pigeons are great for both eggs and meat. And take up very little space!
Plus they are low maintenance and taste amazing!
And as an added benefit – your neighbors will barely notice them since there’s a good chance they’re used to seeing pigeons around anyway.
Which means that no one will know you’re producing tons of high quality meat in your backyard. Although they might call you the crazy pigeon lady for a while!
6. WORMS
Right about now you’re probably wondering why in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks you would want worms.
Well, I’ll tell you – and no, they’re not for eating!
Worms are amazing at breaking down organic matter and turning it into worm castings – aka garden gold.
These worm castings are the perfect fertilizer for gardening and improving your soil health!
So not only will your garden thrive, but you will reduce food waste as well because – you guessed it – worms can eat leftover kitchen scraps!
But if you’re going to add worms to your homestead, make sure to get red wiggler worms. These are the best worms for vermicomposting.
They live in a worm bin which takes up barely any space (this one is the one I have), make no noise, and don’t smell. I don’t know about you but that’s a pretty good deal for something that lives off garbage and gives you super-fertilizer for free!
7. DUCKS
Ducks are a common homestead animal because they have so many uses!
Not only can you raise them for eggs, but duck meat is beyond yummy! And they can be butchered early – like 8 weeks!
And maybe this is just my preference, but I would eat duck over chicken any day.
Plus, adding ducks to your homestead helps a ton with pest control. They are naturally great foragers and aren’t nearly as destructive as chickens!
And of course, if you have fertilized duck eggs you can always hatch them to get some uber cute ducklings!
8. MUSCOVY DUCKS
Muscovy ducks are technically not ducks. They are their own species and are actually closer to geese than ducks.
And I’ve actually had lots of experience with Muscovies – but not by choice.
You see, where I grew up in South Florida, there are tons of Muscovy ducks. You can find them at any park, in your backyard, and literally anywhere else.
In the springtime you see them walking around followed by about 10 little ducklings each. They are great at hatching and raising ducklings!
So when I started hearing that Muscovies are great for a small homestead, I was intrigued.
This animal doesn’t actually quack – it hisses. Usually when they’re being protective of their young. But either way, they’re way less noisy than other livestock! So no one would really be able to tell you have ducks.
And while they don’t lay enough eggs to keep them as good egg-layers, they make excellent meat birds.
Not only are they larger than other ducks, but the meat is, well, meatier too. Plus, Muscovies pretty much take care of themselves!
9. GOATS
Okay, so let’s move into the “bigger” livestock.
Starting with goats.
Goats are awesome for producing milk, meat, and hides. However, most people use them specifically as the source of dairy on their homestead.
With goat milk you can produce cheese, butter, cream, and yogurt which makes goats super valuable for people with smaller homesteads!
Plus, you can also produce soap and lotions from goat’s milk. It produces a mild, soft soap, often used by people who have sensitive skin.
And the benefits don’t stop there. Breeds such as angora and pygora goats produce fine fiber that can be used for hand spinning to make yarn.
And even though they are so.freaking.cute, goats are pretty low maintenance and easy to handle. As long as they have dry, clean, and warm pens to keep them from extreme weather conditions.
Plus, how cute would it be to take your pet goat for a walk? Sooo cute!
But, there’s one caveat when raising goats for dairy.
Just like in other mammals, goats will only produce milk after giving birth. Which means that you will need to breed her in order to get that amazing chevre cheese.
Which is definitely something to consider, but so worth it in my opinion. And you know, baby goats!
Plus, selling the baby goats is common practice to bring in extra homestead income as a bonus!
10. JERSEY COW
Yes, a cow. And I know that at first thought cows might now seem like a great livestock for urban homesteading.
But hear me out.
If you have a bit more space, or even a larger backyard, you might consider adding a milk cow to your homestead.
Jersey cows are a smaller breed of cattle which produce tons of milk and have a calm disposition.
In fact, one of my neighbors has a Jersey cow who lives in their front yard and she always comes to greet us when we go on walks!
And of course, once you have milk, you can make so many other dairy products to go with it!
Buttermilk anyone?
11. SHEEP
Raising sheep is on our homestead goals list for the upcoming years! Mostly for meat.
Although people also raise sheep for wool and even milk.
Plus, sheep are generally easier to raise than goats are since they don’t try to escape through the fencing as much.
Sheep are great for a suburban environment since they’re pretty quiet and generally docile animals. And you don’t need that much space if you plan to supplement their feed.
But, they also make great lawn mowers if you give them space to roam!
12. FISH
Yes, you read that right. Fish.
But I’m not talking goldfish here. I’m talking about the types of fish you would go fishing for.
Fish are one of the best livestock for urban homesteading because you’d be hard pressed to find any regulations against keeping fish.
Oh and the fact that they make no noise and can live off of the ecosystem (once you build it) makes fish perfect if you’re willing to give up a small amount of backyard space.
Just imagine having a small pond stocked with fish. The ducks could swim in it, bees would have a water source, and you could even decorate it with some nice landscaping!
And there are many different types of fish to choose from, depending on your climate.
So if you really enjoy eating fish sticks, keeping backyard fish is a great way to go!
BEST FARM ANIMALS FOR BEGINNERS
All of the animals listed above are great for small urban homesteads.
But some are definitely easier than others!
For example, setting up a beehive is more on the advanced side of homesteading. It requires a lot of research, preparation, and can get very expensive.
On the flip side, I’ve outlined a few of the best farm animals for beginners.
Chickens – chickens are super easy and it’s no wonder that most homesteaders start with chickens – myself included!
Chicks are pretty inexpensive – only a few dollars for common breeds – and they don’t require much.
Oh and they can forage for their food, so if you have the space to let them roam free, you don’t have to feed them as much!
Quail – quail is another super easy animal to raise. They are small, first off. So you can keep them in a small space.
And they are pretty cold hardy and heat tolerant.
Plus, they grow fast so you’ll have meat within two months. And butchering them out is so simple!
Worms – even though this animal isn’t something you can eat, they provide tons of value and require very little investment – both time and moneywise!
Worms require feeding on a weekly-ish basis. They take up almost no space. And they make no noise whatsoever.
They can literally live in a corner of your garage and no one would ever know!
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