Species Selection
Part of Animal Husbandry
Choosing the right livestock species for your climate, terrain, and community size determines whether animal husbandry feeds your people or drains resources you cannot afford to lose.
The Three Selection Criteria
Every species decision rests on three factors: temperament, feed requirements, and climate tolerance. Get one wrong and the animal becomes a liability rather than an asset.
Temperament
Temperament dictates how much labor an animal costs you daily. A docile goat that follows a child to pasture requires one person-hour per day. An aggressive boar that charges handlers requires reinforced pens, multiple experienced handlers, and produces injuries that consume medical resources.
Rate temperament on a practical scale:
| Rating | Behavior | Handler Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Docile | Approaches humans, tolerates handling, follows routines | Children or elderly can manage |
| Manageable | Tolerates handling with training, occasional resistance | One competent adult |
| Difficult | Requires experienced handling, may injure careless handlers | Experienced adult with tools (prod, rope) |
| Dangerous | Unpredictable aggression, territorial, powerful enough to maim | Multiple experienced handlers, reinforced containment |
Temperament Varies Within Species
“Goats are docile” is a generalization. Individual animals and feral populations can be aggressive. Assess each animal individually and cull those that pose consistent danger. One aggressive ram in a small flock creates daily risk.
Feed Requirements
The critical question is not “what does this animal eat” but “can I produce enough of it year-round, including winter and drought?”
Feed conversion ratio (FCR) measures how efficiently an animal converts feed into useful output (meat, milk, eggs, work). Lower numbers are better.
| Species | FCR (kg feed : kg meat) | Primary Diet | Supplemental Needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 2:1 | Insects, grain, scraps | Calcium (crusite shell, bone) for egg layers |
| Rabbit | 3:1 | Grass, hay, leafy scraps | Salt, woody browse for teeth |
| Goat | 5:1 | Browse (shrubs, weeds, bark) | Mineral salt, hay in winter |
| Pig | 4:1 | Omnivore — scraps, roots, grain, acorns | Protein source for growth (insects, whey, meat scraps) |
| Sheep | 6:1 | Grass (grazing) | Hay in winter, mineral supplement |
| Cattle | 7:1 | Grass (grazing) | Hay/silage in winter, salt |
| Horse | N/A (draft) | Grass, hay, grain when working | Grain essential during heavy work periods |
Carrying capacity is the maximum number of animals your available land can feed without degrading pasture. Overstocking destroys grassland within a single season — and recovery takes years.
Rough carrying capacity per hectare of decent grassland:
- Cattle: 1-2 head
- Horses: 1-2 head
- Sheep: 6-10 head
- Goats: 6-8 head (browse, not grass — can use marginal land)
- Pigs: 8-12 head (with supplemental feeding)
- Chickens: 50-100 head (ranging)
- Rabbits: 50+ head (with hay/forage provision)
Climate Tolerance
Animals evolved for specific conditions. Forcing a tropical breed into subarctic winters kills it — or forces you to build heated shelters and provide caloric supplementation that may exceed the animal’s productive value.
| Climate | Best Species | Workable Species | Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cold/subarctic | Sheep (wool breeds), goats (cashmere), hardy cattle | Chickens (with shelter), pigs (with shelter) | Tropical poultry breeds, thin-skinned cattle |
| Temperate | All species viable | — | — |
| Hot/arid | Goats, donkeys, chickens, camels | Cattle (heat-adapted breeds), sheep (hair breeds) | Wool sheep, heavy draft horses |
| Tropical/humid | Chickens, pigs, water buffalo, goats | Cattle (zebu types) | Wool sheep, cold-adapted breeds |
| Mountain/high altitude | Goats, sheep, yaks, llamas | Hardy cattle, horses | Pigs (struggle on steep terrain), heavy breeds |
Species Comparison Matrix
This matrix compares the seven most practical post-collapse livestock species across all critical factors.
| Factor | Chicken | Rabbit | Goat | Pig | Sheep | Cattle | Horse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary output | Eggs, meat | Meat, fur | Milk, meat | Meat, fat | Wool, meat | Milk, meat, draft | Draft, transport |
| Time to first output | 5-6 mo (eggs) | 3-4 mo (meat) | 12-18 mo (milk) | 6-8 mo (meat) | 12 mo (wool) | 24-30 mo (milk) | 3-4 yr (work) |
| Space needed | Very low | Very low | Low-moderate | Moderate | Moderate | High | High |
| Skill needed | Low | Low | Low-moderate | Moderate | Moderate | High | High |
| Danger level | Minimal | Minimal | Low (bucks butt) | Moderate (boars) | Low (rams butt) | Moderate-high | Moderate-high |
| Feed flexibility | High (omnivore) | High (herbivore) | Very high (browser) | Very high (omnivore) | Moderate (grazer) | Moderate (grazer) | Moderate (grazer) |
| Cold tolerance | Low-moderate | Moderate | Good | Moderate | Excellent | Good | Good |
| Heat tolerance | Good | Poor | Excellent | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| Breeding speed | Fast (21-day hatch) | Very fast (30-day gestation) | Moderate (150 days) | Fast (114 days) | Moderate (150 days) | Slow (283 days) | Very slow (340 days) |
| Minimum flock/herd | 6-12 | 4-8 | 8-15 | 4-8 | 10-20 | 6-12 | 2-4 |
Decision Framework
Use this decision tree to select your first species based on your situation.
If your community is fewer than 10 people: Start with chickens and rabbits. They require minimal space, reproduce fast, and provide protein within months. Add goats when you have the labor for fencing and milking.
If you have open grassland: Sheep or cattle are efficient grassland converters. Sheep give you wool (critical for cold climates) and meat. Cattle give milk, meat, leather, and draft power but require more feed and take longer to produce returns.
If your land is marginal (rocky, brushy, steep): Goats. No other domesticated animal matches the goat’s ability to thrive on scrub brush, weeds, and terrain that cattle and sheep cannot use. They climb, browse, and produce milk with remarkable efficiency on poor land.
If you have kitchen scraps and forest: Pigs. They convert waste into meat faster than any other large animal. Acorns, roots, spoiled food, whey from cheesemaking — pigs eat it all. But they need shade in heat and shelter in cold, and boars are dangerous.
If you need transport or heavy labor: Horses, mules, or oxen. These are long-term investments — years before productive use. Only pursue once food production is stable.
Stacking Species
The most resilient operations run multiple species together. This is not about variety for its own sake — it is about complementary resource use.
- Chickens follow cattle: Chickens scratch through cattle manure, eating fly larvae and parasites, spreading the manure as fertilizer. Both benefit.
- Goats and sheep share pasture: Goats browse shrubs and tree leaves above sheep grazing height. Both get full nutrition without competing.
- Pigs process dairy waste: Whey from goat/cow milk cheesemaking is excellent pig feed. Nothing is wasted.
- Ducks patrol gardens: Ducks eat slugs, snails, and insects without scratching up plant roots like chickens do.
Seasonal Planning
Whatever species you select, plan for the hardest season, not the easiest.
- Winter feed: Calculate total hay/grain needed for the months when pasture is unavailable. Harvest and store starting in late summer. Running short in February means slaughtering breeding stock.
- Summer water: A lactating cow drinks 50-80 liters per day. In drought, that water competes directly with human needs. Size your herd to your dry-season water supply.
- Breeding timing: Schedule births for spring when pasture is abundant and temperatures are mild. Count backward from your target birth month using the species’ gestation period.
Common Mistakes
- Starting with cattle or horses: These are prestige animals that require enormous feed resources. Start small, scale up.
- Ignoring local feral populations: Feral animals already adapted to your climate are better foundation stock than breeds from distant regions.
- Selecting for maximum output: The highest-producing dairy cow or laying hen is also the most fragile. Select for hardiness first, production second.
- Monoculture herds: One disease can wipe out a single-species operation. Multiple species provide redundancy.
Key Takeaways
- Match species to your climate, terrain, and community size — do not force animals into unsuitable conditions
- Start with chickens and goats for the fastest return on minimal resources; scale to larger animals when stable
- Feed conversion ratio and carrying capacity determine how many animals your land can actually support
- Stack complementary species to use every ecological niche and waste stream
- Plan all livestock numbers around your worst season’s resources, not your best