Many people might have the idea of being noble and rescuing a farm animal and keeping it as a pet, thus saving it from being slaughtered. Before undertaking such a rescue there are many factors that must be considered.
-Laws and Zoning
If you are considering keeping any form of livestock as a pet, you must first check to see if there are local laws against it. You cannot simply keep a cow, goat, or even a pig, as a pet in your backyard. In a very few places you can keep hens. Even if you live rurally there may be laws restricting the numbers of animals you may have.
-Space, Housing, and Funding
Make sure you can provide the proper housing, fencing, the necessary amount of space the animal needs, as well as meeting its mental needs for companionship if it is a herd animal. Buying the animal is costly, but you also need to budget for feeding and veterinary care.
-Where to Find Livestock
Typically, slaughter yards will not sell animals directly to the public. You have to beat them to it. This can be by approaching a producer, or by attending an auction at which the slaughter yards purchase animals, and out bidding them. Because farming is no different than any other job, meaning it is about making money, a producer generally will not sell an animal to you for a lower cost than they could get from their regular buyer. They may however, be willing to part with young orphaned animals cheaply. Most livestock auction facilities hold weekly auctions, and these are the best places to look.
-Types of Livestock
Laying Hens These poor birds are often kept confined in tiny cages pumping out eggs, their lifespans are cut short as they are killed when egg production declines. White birds lay white eggs, brown ones lay brown eggs, and you will still get eggs from them for several years.
Broiler Chickens These are the ones destined for our kitchen tables. They are generally white.
Roosters Roosters are generally not needed except to get more chickens, (you don't need roosters to get eggs, just to get fertile eggs). As such millions are killed at one day of age. You can keep roosters together if you have space, and no hens. Some areas have special bird auctions where you can buy roosters, otherwise you can purchase them from producers. Be aware that a rooster may not be a friendly pet, select your breed carefully.
Sheep If you truly want to rescue an animal you are best to buy an orphaned lamb. These require round-the-clock care and bottle feeding. The formula is not cheap. Producers usually try to get rid of them quick you can contact a sheep producer at the beginning of lambing season and let them know you are willing to take a bottle baby if they have any. Additionally rescuing older ewes or rams lambs would be an option. Rams may live together if you do not have any ewes, ram lambs nearly always are slaughtered.
Goats Pretty much the same thing for goats as with sheep. Look for orphaned kids, older ewes, or billies if you truly want to rescue.
Pigs The same thing applies as with goats or sheep. Just remember little piglets grow into huge pigs.
Dairy Cattle Calves of dairy cattle are destined to become veal if not kept for breeding, this means the male animals are the ones who need rescuing most. Additionally older milk cows need good homes or would be slaughtered and rendered as pet food.
Beef Cattle Steers generally are going to slaughter, but more so what is often called Bologna Bulls. Steers tend to sell much higher than mature bulls. Be very careful when purchasing these animals, remember how big they get, even the friendliest of bulls can turn aggressive without warning.
Horses Horses go to slaughter too, especially old ones, crippled ones, and foals from the PMU industry. Old rodeo stock is often sold to slaughter. The way to buy these is through the horse auctions that happen at livestock auction yards and outbidding the meat buyers. Some PMU farms have their own auctions.
Rabbits Large rabbits are sold for meat, but could make good pets.
Cats and Dogs It might surprise you to see these on the list, but many farmers do not spay or neuter their pets, and often have a surplus of kittens or puppies. These animals will be shot, or starve, if they are not rescued. Be sure to spay or neuter.
-Taming
Once purchased you must get your animal home and tame it. Most livestock animals are NOT use to being handled and are not tame. Males are generally more aggressive and should not be purchased by beginners. The easiest to tame are bottle babies, orphaned animals who will bond with you. Older animals may be scared and are befriended by offering food. Keeping them in a smaller area where they cannot hide from you, or get too far away, will help. Picking the right animal, or right breed is important, example: Some chicken breeds are more friendly than others. Do your research on breed before you buy any type of animal.
-Ethics
Keep in mind that why you buy a farm animal that was destined to go for slaughter it saves only that animal. Since there is a demand for animals to be slaughtered to be used as human food, an other animal will be killed in its place. So while you can save one animal you cannot save them all. Older animals are less desired as human food, saving them is prolonging their life and an other animal would not be killed in its place necessarily.