Part of the Homesteading Habits: Old Skills, Modern Life series
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If you’ve been following along in this series, last week we talked about carbohydrates — the first food category worth focusing on when you’re trying to feed your family from your own land. (If you missed it, go back and start there.) This week, we’re talking about protein.
And I want to be honest with you before we go any further: this isn’t about a lifestyle trend. It’s not about being the most self-sufficient family on the block or checking boxes on some homestead scorecard. It’s about knowing that if things got hard — really hard — you could still put a real meal on the table for your family. That matters. That’s worth building toward.
Your body needs protein. Not just a little — it needs the specific amino acids that make up complete proteins to repair muscle, support your hormones, keep you healthy through a long season, and carry you through the kind of days that don’t stop coming. The days when the calf is sick and the kids still need lunch and the laundry is still there. You need to be fueled for that. Your family does too.
There are plant-based protein sources — lentils, beans, legumes. And if that’s the direction you prefer, I respect that completely. But I’ll be straightforward: most legumes are labor-intensive to grow in meaningful quantities. Whatever protein source you choose, make sure it’s something you can actually grow enough of where you live. Practicality matters more than idealism when you’re feeding real people.
So let’s talk about what actually works — at every land size, in every season of life.
Chickens: The Gateway Animal (For Good Reason)
No matter how much land you have, chickens are almost always the right place to start. Even if you live in town, most municipalities allow a small backyard flock — just check your city ordinance before you build a coop and buy your chicks.
Here’s why chickens earn their keep on any homestead:
Eggs — A hen starts laying around five months of age. Some breeds will lay consistently year-round. If you also raise meat birds — like a Cochin cross, which can be ready in as little as 6–8 weeks — you can have both protein streams running at the same time, each on its own timeline.
Meat — When a hen’s productive laying years are behind her, she still has something to offer. Stewing hens make rich, deeply flavored broth and pulled chicken. Nothing goes to waste.
Bone Broth — This is one of my favorite things about raising your own chickens. The bones from a home-raised bird make a broth that has nothing in common with the watery stuff in a cardboard box at the grocery store. Rich, gelatinous, mineral-dense. Good for your gut, your joints, and your soul on a cold Nebraska morning.
Pest Control — Chickens are relentless bug hunters. Even if you can’t free-range them on your property, you can build moveable pens (often called chicken tractors) so they can forage safely while still being protected from predators.
Garden Fertilizer — Chicken manure is nitrogen-rich and wonderful for your soil. One important note: it’s also powerful enough to burn plants if it’s applied too fresh or too heavily. I always recommend adding chicken manure in the fall so it has all winter to break down before spring planting. Compost it first if you can.
Chickens are low-barrier, high-return, and they fit almost any situation. If you’re just starting out, this is where I’d tell you to begin.
A Step Up: Goats and Sheep
If you have a few acres to work with, goats and sheep are worth serious consideration.
Goats are incredibly versatile. They provide meat, yes — but dairy goats can also supply your family with fresh milk. From that milk, you can make cheese, butter, soap, and lotion.
Two things I’ll tell you from the outset, though. First: your fencing has to be exceptional. Goats are escape artists in a way that will genuinely test your patience, and a goat that gets out is a goat that gets into everything. Don’t cut corners on the fence. Second: before you invest the time and money into raising a dairy goat, taste the milk first. Goat milk tastes noticeably different from cow’s milk, and not everyone loves it. Jeremy took one sip and that was the end of that conversation at our house — which is part of why we don’t have goats. That, and our fencing situation just isn’t built for them. Know your situation before you commit.
Sheep offer meat and, depending on the breed, wool. If you’re the kind of person who wants to learn wool spinning, carding, and fiber crafting — sheep open up a whole creative world beyond just the dinner table. (And yes, we raise sheep here. Our kids show lambs through 4-H, and there is something about watching your children learn stewardship of an animal from birth that I wouldn’t trade for anything.)
Beef: The Big Investment
Beef cattle are the most space-intensive protein option, but for the right homestead, they are also one of the most rewarding.
A grass-finished steer needs significant acreage and quality hay or pasture. A grain-finished steer can work in a smaller setup. The method you choose will affect both your costs and your end product — and both can be done well.
I’ll be honest about where we land on this: we’re in crop country, not pasture country. We’ve never had the space or resources for grass finishing, and that’s okay. For years we raised a dry lot, grain-finished steer for our family’s beef, and right now we’re finishing out a Jersey-Angus bull calf in our backyard alongside our dairy cow — alfalfa and cracked corn, keeping it simple and practical for the land we actually have. You don’t need a pasture operation to raise good beef. You need to work with what you’ve got.
Pigs: A Short Commitment That Fills a Freezer
If you want a relatively quick turnaround on a significant amount of meat, pigs are worth serious consideration. They’re a short-term commitment — typically six months from feeder pig to freezer — and one hog can fill your freezer with pork chops, roasts, bacon, sausage, and ribs in a way that makes a real dent in your grocery bill.
Pigs are also efficient. They’ll eat scraps, garden waste, and surplus milk from your dairy cow, which makes them a natural fit if you’re already running other animals. They don’t need a lot of space, but they do need solid, secure fencing — pigs are strong and they will test it. Plan ahead on that front.
One thing we’ve found that works really well for us: we run our pigs in our windbreak. They root up the underbrush, turn the soil, and improve the ground under the trees — without killing the big trees the way goats would. It’s a practical way to let them do what pigs naturally do while getting some real land improvement out of it at the same time.
They’re not a year-round commitment the way a cow or a flock of chickens is, which makes them a great entry point if you’re not sure you’re ready for a permanent addition. Buy in the spring, harvest in the fall, and evaluate from there.
Dairy: A Different Kind of Protein
Dairy deserves its own mention because it often gets overlooked when people think about protein sources — but raw milk, cheese, butter, and cream are all meaningful contributors to a whole-food diet.
Dairy goats are a lower-space option, but you’d need several to produce the equivalent of a family cow. Generally, you’re looking at seven or eight does to match what one cow produces.
A dairy cow requires more space and more feed investment, but she’s one of the most productive animals you can add to a homestead. Now, you’ll see numbers thrown around about cows producing six or seven gallons a day — and some do — but a lower-producing family cow is a perfectly realistic and manageable option. Ours typically gives us around two gallons a day when we’re milking once a day or calf sharing, and that is more than enough for our family. The surplus goes toward butter, cheese, sour cream, cream, and kefir — and yes, we make beef tallow soap and lotion here too.
But here’s something people don’t talk about enough: a dairy cow’s milk doesn’t just feed your family. That extra milk can supplement nearly every other animal on your farm. We use ours to feed barn cats, the dogs, chickens, ducks, and even the pigs if you have them. Raw milk from a family cow stretches further than you’d think, and it pulls the whole operation together in a way that’s hard to explain until you’re living it. Our milk cow has changed how I think about food on this homestead more than almost anything else we’ve added.
The Part Nobody Likes to Talk About: Tracking the Numbers
Here’s the truth: any livestock animal can become a money pit if you’re not paying attention. Feed costs, vet bills, equipment, fencing — it adds up faster than you think. And an animal that costs you more than it produces is not moving you toward self-sufficiency. It’s working against it.
I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it: stewardship over hustle. That applies to your animals too. Know what you’re spending. Know what you’re getting. Make decisions with your eyes open.
That’s exactly why I built a dedicated livestock profit and loss tracking section into the Homesteading Planner. It’s not glamorous, but it’s one of the most important tools on my desk. You can check it out on Amazon before you buy — the link is below.
→ Check out the Homesteading Planner on Amazon
Whether you start with six hens in a backyard coop or a steer on five acres, protein production is within reach. The key is starting where you are, choosing what fits your land and your lifestyle, and tracking what it actually costs you.
You don’t need a 40-acre farm to feed your family. You just need a plan — and the willingness to start.
Did this help you think through your homestead protein plan? Drop a comment below and tell me what you’re raising — or what you’re hoping to start with.
As I’ve grown as an entrepreneur, mom, gardener, and livestock owner, I struggled to find a planner that met my needs and kept me organized. So, I MADE MY OWN. You can look at it on the link below and buy it on Amazon.
Don’t want the whole calendar part? I got you! I pulled the gardening and animal care pages out and put them in a book all their own.
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