Homestead Calculators

Feed the Family

Meat, Eggs & Milk

Pick an animal to see how many to raise, the feed it takes and your cost per pound.

Start with Pigs →

Homestead Calculators

Pick an animal or bird for its own feed, meat, eggs, milk, breeding, cost and medical calculators — or pick a crop for canning, freezing and drying.

Put Up the Harvest

Canning & Freezing

USDA process times for your altitude, plus jars, canner loads and pounds you need.

Can Green Beans →

Animal & poultry calculators

Choose an animal or bird. You’ll get the calculators that animal needs — feed or hay, meat or eggs or milk for your family, breeding, cost per pound and medical.

Animal types you add yourself (ox, mule, llama…) show up here when you’re logged in.

Goats calculators

Forage crops to grow for your goats

Browse plantings: willow, mulberry, hazelnutGoats are browsers — they prefer leaves and brush at head height to grass.
ChicoryDeep-rooted, drought-tolerant and loved by goats.
ComfreyHigh-protein leaves; feed in moderation.
White & red cloverAdds protein and fixes nitrogen. Mix with grass — lush pure clover can cause bloat in ruminants.
AlfalfaThe protein crop for hay or careful grazing; introduce slowly to prevent bloat.
Turnips & forage rapeFall and early-winter grazing; introduce gradually and keep hay available.
Cereal rye, oats or wheatWinter and early-spring grazing when perennial pasture is dormant.

Change feeds slowly, keep hay available when turning animals onto lush or new pasture, and check with your county extension office for the varieties that suit your area.

What your goats can forage near you — and what to keep them away from

Your location is rounded to about 7 miles and never saved on our site.

Sightings from iNaturalist research-grade observations. Photos © their photographers via iNaturalist, used under Creative Commons licenses.

Food preserving calculators

Choose a vegetable or fruit to see whether it can be canned, frozen or dried, the USDA process time for your altitude, and how many jars, canner loads and pounds you need for your family.

Figures are typical estimates to plan with — change any number to match your own animals, breeds and prices. Always follow the label and your veterinarian for medicines, and the current USDA guide (nchfp.uga.edu) for canning.

Plan From Your Family's Table

Start with what your family eats — pounds of meat a week, eggs, milk, jars on the pantry shelf — and the calculators work backward to how many animals to raise, how much feed and hay to buy, what it costs per pound, and how many pounds to grow and put up. Every number is a typical starting figure you can change to match your own animals and prices. Members also see their own harvest totals beside the canning calculators.

Back to the Calculators