Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

I saw a great program on the BBC about how you could actually give a specific type of livestock with charity money instead of just giving it to a faceless organization:

http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.204586/

I want to give up to one big animal or the equivilent $ in small animals. I could give one llama, goat, sheep, or pig. Or, a combination of rabbits, chicken, ducks, or geese. What do you guys think is the best value for my livestock dollar?


Boring sappy explanation below if you want to know WHY I would give to charity.


The reason why I am doing this is to do something nice for people who are less well off simply by chance. Life seems about 90% arbitrary these days -- I was born here through no merit and they were born there through no fault. It's strange, but lately I have felt very blah about Christmas because (for me) it is essentially about giving meaningless things that I could buy anyway but I don't.

So, I am going to donate a sweet goat (or something) to make up for a bit of life's arbitrariness.

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

the reason I ask is that a llama, goat, sheep, and pig are all the same price. This seems fishy. I want some villager to get the best use out of my dollar, and the least % lopped off to pay for expenses.

DrPublo, a very smart guy, has said that sheep seems the most renewable. I am thinking maybe 2 flocks of chicks, geese, and ducks (which cost the same as one goat) might be better since it is diversified.

Flame away.

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

It seems clear that a heifer does the most good, but is pricey. I think for the less expensive options, the combo baskets with various chicks, rabbits, etc, are the way to go.

Every person reading these words has something to be thankful for, and I'm guessing many if not most of us had a lot of advantages served to us on silver platters. I commend you for giving back.

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

Rabbits breed like...well rabbits, so that will amount to a lot of food. Chicken lay eggs, more protein. A single pig eats a lot, but produces only [censored]. But it tastes so good.......!

A few fornicating rabbits, a couple of egg-laying chicks and a good fishing rod, you're pretty much set for life;-)

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

a poor person with some livestock skills would do best with a female goat carrying.

you get milk, cheese and they can eat, live without suplimental feeding. you can use their hair for yarn. they can travel with you on foot.

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

Well don't get them a panda. They will literally rip your face off.

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

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http://www.outofthefryingpan.com/rec...n.finished.jpg

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Ha I was waiting for this type of thing to start.

The reason I thought a sheep was most worthwhile is that they are hardy, have two or three lambs at a time, produce wool (obviously) and from what I hear are pretty easy to tend. And goats smell bad.

The Doc

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

[ QUOTE ]

Ha I was waiting for this type of thing to start.

The reason I thought a sheep was most worthwhile is that they are hardy, have two or three lambs at a time, produce wool (obviously) and from what I hear are pretty easy to tend. And goats smell bad.

The Doc

[/ QUOTE ]

Not to mention mutton is awesome to eat!

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

[quote

The reason I thought a sheep was most worthwhile is that they are hardy, have two or three lambs at a time, produce wool (obviously) and from what I hear are pretty easy to tend. And goats smell bad.



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you are forgetting the obvious lamb chops too...mmm mmm mmmmmmmmmmmmm

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

I have no specific advice to add. I just want to say, hats off to you, man.

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

Your money would be put to better use at Feed the Children. 91.5% of FTC funds go toward program costs as compared to only 71.7% with Heifer. Then again, it would be fun to purchase a water buffalo for someone.

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

Goat all the way. Goat Cheese is delicious, I'm going to go eat some right now.

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

Mooooooooooooooo?

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

cubs-

Where are you getting that stat? I'm always curious about what percentage a donation actually reaches the target.

For instance, I love the idea of "Adopt-a-Minefield" to help with mine removal, but as a UN organization, I wonder about the possible bloat.

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

A couple of us pooled our money together last year and donated 1 goat and 2 chickens. Not sure why we picked those but we had our reasons at the time. Seems like a fine organization and it gives me a warm fuzzy to think I just fed a family for a lifetime.

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

The Better Business Bureau has reports on the different charitable organizations. Check them out here:

http://www.give.org/reports/index.asp

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

I've given chickens to an orphanage before, so I vote chickens.

Re: Help me pick an animal to give to the poor
 

This can feed a family for a month.

http://www.questmedia.net/images/SallyStruthers.JPG