What Urban Farm Animal Will You Raise?

Living in an urban environment, obviously cows are out of the question. Goats, on the other hand, are perfect. These cantankerously sweet four-legged creatures will provide you with milk, cheese, soap, and a whole lot of love. As an added bonus, you can freak out your superstitious friends -- and make jokes about them eating your tin cans (just don't actually feed them cans).

Your urban agricultural domain could really use some chickens. These foul friends are great alarm clocks and will keep you and your family gorged on eggs and egg-related products. Chickens don't take up much space and have been known to prowl the yard for intruders. And if they find one, they'll make a lot of racket too -- although they could just be freaked out by the neighbor's dog.

Hopefully, you've got a good-sized backyard, because you're about to have some horses. Naturally, normal-sized equines won't comfortably fit into even the largest of urban plots. But miniature horses, in addition to being completely friggin' adorable, take up a lot less space. And they cost a good deal less to care for. In addition, if you've got kids, forget about it. They'll fall in love with these majestic creatures in a matter of seconds.

Hippety Hop. Hippety Hop. No, its not the Sugarhill Gang. It's Easter at your house, in your yard, every single day. Sure, you can't milk them for your cereal, but rabbits have many uses for an urban farm. They're great holistic lawnmowers, and their little pellets make great garden manure. In addition, certain rabbit breeds, such as Angolas, provide a wool-like substance to make clothing with. Most of all, they're just really cute.

In case you're unfamiliar with these South American camelids, the llama is a fantastic friend to have around the yard farm. Sure, you'll need plenty of space for them and their llama colleagues to roam, but it's your urban farm fantasy, so you've got it. Aside from being great pack animals, llamas soft undercoat makes terrific clothing, and their rougher overcoat can be made into rope. Como se llama!

Unless you have a massive backyard, raising full-sized pigs is likely out of the question. However, these mini-pigs are just the creatures to make your urban farm feel right. Pigs are highly intelligent creatures, who grow strong bonds with their owners and fellow pigs. But even miniature pigs need a friend or two to make them happy and lots of space to roam. You'll appreciate them even more as a crew.

Baaa! You wound up with the woolliest urban livestock of them all. With a nice place to sleep and a good grazing yard, you'll have a small flock of friendly lawnmowers. In addition to yard control, sheep also produce delicious milk and cheeses, as well as everyone's favorite sweater material. Accept these gentle creatures into your urban farm, and you won't be sorry. Just don't be sheepish about your lambs.

Your urban animal farm wouldn't be complete without these little foul waddling through your life. Ducks aren't just fun to watch, they also can improve your urban habitat by chasing down all those pesky pests like slugs and snails that delight in your lettuce and ravage your radishes. Not only that, they also lay delicious eggs which are rich in nutrients. You'd have to be a quack not to love having ducks in your urban landscape.