Raising our own meat.

This week we made our much dreaded trip to the grocery store...And I just could not do it...I could not bring myself to buy the over priced, questionable in quality meat from there...Not to mention knowing the questionable practices on Factory Farms and in Abattoirs. Not just here in the USA but from around the world...Come on we have all seen the disturbing  and cruel images and videos from these places...

So we took the leap and called the butcher and this morning dropped off "Lamb Chop" the first of 3 ram lambs we intend to use for food for our family.

I should point out that "lamb" is anything under 12months old...Our rams are 9 to 10 months old...So those freaking out at the idea of a "little lamb" being food this is not the case.

So many people are shocked when we tell them we intend to butcher and eat our sheep...(well not all our sheep, we of course intend to keep our breeders)...These same people have no problem walking into the store and grabbing a packet of meat or buying a steak dinner at a restaurant...SO why is it different for us to butcher those we have raised ourselves?

Yes we have put a face on the meat, but they all have faces to begin with, just because you have not looked in their eyes or scratched their chins while they nibble treats from your hand, does not make the animals that end up in the stores anymore or less living creatures than those on my farm....The difference however is...Mine is healthy, chemical free and raised in a safe, loving environment...they are not neglected, tortured or crammed into little crates or dry lots where they are force feed food that was never meant to be eaten by any living creature.

My sheep know mine and hubbies voice and will come when we call...We talk to them and will scratch the offered ear, feed them treats from our pockets if they approach us out in the fields and make sure they well taken care of...I appreciate them and that their body will become good food for my family, so to honor that, I treat them with love and respect while they are here on the farm.

Eventually we hope to get to the place were we do it all ourselves...from birth to plate...In the meantime we have a wonderful butcher just 2 miles from here...Today Lambchop made that very short drive with us, I gave him one last scratch and an apple flavored horse treat and said goodbye...he was a little confused but certainly not stressed or upset...I know they will handle the job swiftly and humanly. To me this is a much better option than sending any of our animals off to auction where we have no idea the conditions in which they will life or die.

Next yr we hope to add a bully calf and maybe a pig or two to our property...With the money we are saving on our red meat we can afford to switch to buying from the Laughing Chicken Farm in the future when we want chicken.

Blessings Kelsie

Getting on with this Sheep Business

This week has been all about the sheep.

So much going on and we take the next step.

PRODUCTION.

On Wednesday a dear sweet lady, friend and mentor, came out to visit our little farm..Her husband and her have a very long history in the development of Hair Sheep to Florida and our sheep are decedents of ewes from their flock. We got lots of great information and pointed and a thumbs up on the condition of our ewes. And found out that our young growing ram lambs require 2x the feed to put on as much weight as the girls. So we have doubled their evening rashions. Can't wait to get one of those bad boys in the freezer...YUM

Ruth did a  FAMACHA test and found them to look good and health, which of course is great news for us as the less you have to worm the better the health of  your stock is.

Young Ewes at Evening Feed Time.

Katahdin/St Coix 

As I mentioned before we are taking the next step and starting production....So hubby and I build a new "love shack" in the north pen...For the next 35 days (2 heat cycles) Rocky the Ram Lamb and the 6 2yr old ewes will be housed in this pen....It is going to be a long 5 months (gestation period of a sheep) to see if this was a successful interlude.

Farmer Brown and his goatie helpers working on the love shack.

Rocky the Ram Lamb inspecting the work so far...That Lamb loves Farmer Brown 

And of course there is the never ending feedings...So when ever possible I use child labor lol.

Hey as long as I don't actually pay her it is not illegal *wink*

Yup, that is the "wee one" totting the buckets of feed out to the "meat sheep"

Meat, Lambchop and Jr are very excited to see her. 

The goats are less than impressed the sheep are being feed first.

Other news, we had a 4H meeting this week at school and Sara is loving it...She is half way thru her activity book already and has a whole month to do it lol.

It is that time of yr again, having been hanging out with a couple of my fave ppl painting backdrops for the Kids Choir Christmas program...Though the wee one opted not to be a part of the choir this yr I still love to do the backdrop.

I will be back tomorrow with a very special post. Until then

Blessings Kelsie

Linking up to

The Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop #134

Two ladies came to visit...

Yesterday morning they appeared out the back near a hay bale...

Then in the afternoon under the oak tree....

Then again that evening in the front tree line...

This morning they were back? (still here) and spent much of the morning on top of the old barn...

They were hanging around the chicken house when I left for town at 2pm...Have not seen them since I got home...I hope they come back (stay?) tomorrow too.

Blessings Kelsie

Farm yard animal update...

Picked up these today at The Tractor Supply Co...Friday I will get 3 chicks from the local Ace store because TSC does not carry the breed of chicks I want...though those itty bitty bantam chicks they do have were hard to resist.

Talking of resisting, after tossing and turning most of the weekend, I decided I am just not up to the commitment of a bottle baby (sound familiar??)...So we may still get lucky and find a baby lamb to borrow for Saturday's photoshoot...if not...well we will still have Ducklings, chicks and the goats...and the booth setup is adorable...so we good :)

I guess while I am here I should give a quick Rocky update...he is currently laying quietly at my feet like a good dog, he even returned today with a cat present...He is making great strides with just one lesson...I am sure by the time we finished the 6weeks he will be the dog we know he should be....If only the 3yr old child was so easy to train lol.

Blessings Kelsie

Sharing For

Thursday Favorite Things @  http://katherinescorner.com/ 

Farm Girl Friday @
http://deborahjeansdandelionhouse.blogspot.com 

A visit to Calovine Farm

 Last Thursday we had the opportunity to visit Calovine Farm just down the road (about 40minutes) from us in Williston...Lady Farmer Ruth was wonderful and gave us a tour of her farm and all her lovely animals...We came away with a better understanding of how much more we need to get done before we bring sheep onto our property....But this was not the only reason for our visit...Ruth has generously agreed to allow me to use one of her lambs in an upcoming photo event I am hosting at my place.

 She breeds St Croix...A meat breed that has hair not wool and more suited to the Florida climate...They not require shearing because they shed their winter coat in the spring.

 She also breeds St Augustine hybrid sheep, but alas I did not get any photos of those lovely ewes because,  wally that I am, I left my camera backup battery in the car.

This is one of her very Handsome Rams.

And her new  Great Pyrenees  puppy...yes puppy, he is but 12months old and just as sweet as can be...that is unless you are an intruder or predator then look out....I dream of the day we have enough sheep to warrant owning such a wonderful animal to protect them.

Anyone that knows me knows I am a sucker for a Jack Russel...

This little guy a wire hair was just too cute for words..

We had picked up Sara straight from Head Start and headed over to the farm...I did pack her a change of cloths but she would only agree to switch to her boots...She was so funny, climbing up on the hay bales and yelling..."Take a photo of me"....makes me wonder if I spend to much time pointing cameras at this kid hehe...Notice the disheaveled hair and dirty knees...She had a blast running (crawling) around with all the dogs...Picking flowers for Miss Ruth and just loving being on a true working farm.

Can't wait to visit again....So inspired and encouraged that my dream of raising sheep in FL WILL indeed come true..

Blessings Kelsie

Sharing for:
Outdoor Wednesday

http://www.asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

Farm Girl Friday

http://deborahjeansdandelionhouse.blogspot.com/

Around the Farm update....

I know I have kinda been neglecting my farm related updates...Not because I am neglecting the "farm" but because I am trying to juggle all my regular chores, the extra attention needed for Rocky and trying to get my ducks in a row for the photography...so anyway here is a quicky off the top of my head update.

Thursday afternoon we are head over to visit Callview Sheep Farm to get a tour and meet some lambs...This is a double duty trip because we are going to be looking at their set up and what it takes to raise hair sheep...possibly adopt a bottle baby 4month old lamb who is to small for breeding and needs to be culled from the herd...Plus looking at the new born lambs for me to borrow for my Easter Photo Booth next month...so it is both farm and photography related...excited much?? you better believe I am...Will be sure and take a camera :)

Oh our boy Rocky...Snapped this photo of him last night with my phone...he has 2 favorite toys...the chicken "dolly" shown and a pink Disney Princess ball he has laid claim too...such a manly dog lol....He has also been a little naughty about chasing cats and chickens still...and yesterday to be honest I was ready to find him a new home...Instead...He (we...the entire family) will begin Dog Obedience classes next Thursday....Then if (when) those have been completed and we are all bonded and well trained we can think about going to a sheep herding clinic later in the year...Here's hopin'

Chickens are still laying well and roaming our 5acres and the neighboring 55 acres of hay field...truly free range chickens at our house...Bless her little heart, yesterday Sara was so excited to find 8 eggs in the nest she came running back to the house to show me...stumbled up the steps, scrapped her knee and egged my front porch...OH how she cried over those broken eggs...she did not even care about her bloody knee...that girl is a true farmer.

Hubby has already put 150 corn seeds in the starter trays...we have about 20 pks of organic tomato seed that was given to us to also get started....also cucumber, squash (zuc) and peppers...think I am going to plan to just keep to these basics this yr with a few herbs thrown in for good measure....oh and lots of onions...I think hubby plans to put them in the ground tomorrow.

Poor hubby has mountains of trees to put thru the wood chipper (Nancy) and still plenty more clearing to do.

Not sure where our fencing budget lies right now...or if hubby is going to talk with the neighbor about this project or not...Sometimes you just got to stop asking because the non-commital answers of the other party is likely to drive you nuts.

I would be so happy if we could get the feed shed and new chicken coop built...Maybe the photography $$$ will help get this project under way...it really just requires the wood to build the frame because I would like to recycle the materials we are pulling off of the old barn...slowly slowly.

ummm I think that is about it...the front gardens are a mess, my herb garden is stripped bare....why??...one words...CHICKENS....Oh how I dream about fences lol.

Blessings Kelsie

Rocky and the goats.

A little Rocky update for you...

For those who missed the earlier posts about Rocky.

He is a 2ish yr old Blue Heeler...(Australian Cattle Dog)...His mom and dad got divorced and he is(was) looking for a new family/home...

So far he has proved good with the chickens and allows them to eat his food, share his water and even wander in and out of his kennel.

Nardia hates him...Every time he sniffs at her or comes near her, she yelps and falls to the ground kicking her legs...Rather odd behavior I must say since usually she loves the opportunity to play with another dog...She is not speaking to any of us adult humans either and has taken to sleeping in the teenagers room lol...I guess at 13yrs old she is allowed to behave strangely and jealous.

Boots was uninterested in Rocky, like always he just wanted to know where the food was.

 So the big test was how he is with the goats...Though he was raised with goats, he has not been around any for 6 to 8 months, plus these are not the same goats he was bonded to as a puppy...He was not bad with ours and I am sure it was his herding instinct making him want to nip at their ankles...When there is a fence between them he will take his ball to the fence trying to get them to come out and play...but truly showed no aggression towards them.

Deenie was not happy with the intruder and actually worked very hard to keep him away from Boots as much as possible...She is going to be a good mummy one day.

But I would still not feel comfortable just yet leaving him alone with the goats, and really would prefer there is 2 of us in the pen when he is in there with them...He is young and new to us (and again not worked with goats for a good while), so will need a little work to get him where we need him and to respond immediately to our voice commands...

We are going to build a secondary pen next to the goat yard for him, and then we can rotate him and the goats so they can graze both pens...Right now we are forced to keep him on a runner which is not ideal, but better than where he was before...It also means more work for me since I have to take him and let him run in the goat yard each morning before I let the goats out of their smaller pen. Walk him on a lead because we do not have boundary fences up yet and he loses his head when he sees a cat...Another example of the work we need to do with him to turn him into a good working dog as he grows up...but all in all he is a good dog so far.

Blessings Kelsie

Sharing for:

Farm Girl Friday @

http://deborahjeansdandelionhouse.blogspot.com

Chickens without boundaries....

For those that missed this mornings post...

http://kelsie74.blogspot.com/2012/01/this-is-rocky.html

Can anyone tell me the problem here??

A little closer look...In the middle of all those chickens is Rocky's food dish...

Then moments later one of those naughty hens decided to investigate Rocky's kennel too...

Think it is safe to say, Rocky has passed the chicken test...

Blessings Kelsie

Taking him for a test drive....

This is Rocky...He is a 2ish yr old Blue Heeler...(Australian Cattle Dog)...His mom and dad got divorced and he is looking for a new family...

If he is a good boy and gets alone with the rest of the animals then he very well may become our new Goat Guardian Dog.

Rocky was raises with goats, chickens and children (and other dogs)...So we hope he will be a good fit 

Here he is bonding with Farmer Brown this morning.

He really...I mean REALLY likes Lil Sara's Disney Princess ball.

Blessings Kelsie

Random Chicken Post

I love taking photos of the chickens...Don't ask me why, I just do.

We walked around the side of the house the other day and was spotted by the chickens, one second they where at the goat pen, the next second making a bee-line (or should I say a chicken-line) for us.

They love Lil Sara, she usually brings them food...Sometimes they will even eat directly from her hand.

I really do love seeing such happy chickens, making happy chicken noises around my house.

Providers of hours of endless entertainment and yummy eggs.

And oh so pretty

Blessings Kelsie

Sharing for

Outdoor Wednesday @
http://www.asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

Thursday Favorite Things @
http://katherinescorner.com/

Farm Girl Friday @
http://www.deborahjeansdandelionhouse.blogspot.com/

Goin' on a Bug Hunt!!

Saturday we went ladybug hunting...

I guess Sara must have heard they like bright colors when she got dressed this morning...NOTE the gloves, I was told you need these incase you find frogs, "cause they is gicky" 

We looked under the front steps at the old house...Nope, no bugs...perhaps these chickens ate them all.

We checked at "Sara's Tree"...A gift from a neighbor while I was pregnant...NOPE no bugs there..

We found Diablo the stray cat that...yes we feed....was abandoned on our property a few months back....He might have bugs but I was not going to get close enough to find out.

After all the walkin' and huntin' we needed a break...So we sat on the back of daddy's 1958 Volvo to rest.

Nardia was like...That is enough 'laxin' let's go !!!

So we headed over to the veggie garden.

Hmmm...Something has been nibbling on the cabbages...I think it might have long ears and a fluffy tail.

It also bounded thru the Romaine lettuce and snapped them off...I think I would prefer to see them eaten than wasted.

Carrots are looking good...Thank goodness no bugs here.

Seems the cold snap (18F) two nights in a row has taken care of all the bugs...It also took care of the pepper plants as well...Our temp greenhouse did allow us to harvest another basket of fruit before this happened though.

Well if we can't find bugs...Let's go play in the goat playgound instead.

Boots says "Don't forget about me"

Maybe when it gets a little warmer we will see the Ladybugs at our house again.

Blessing Kelsie

Goat Playground

Today I moved a few things around in the goat pen hoping to create some interest in playing rather than eating...Deenie did seem pleased with the dog house move and explored inside and out.

 I enticed Boots on top with some oak leaves...Yes I know, kinda counter productive since it is supposed to give them something to do rather than eat 24/7.

Even with Boots showing the way, Deenie was less than impressed with the "balance beam"

Seems Boots will do about anything if you show him food, he crossed the beam a couple of times..

Now doesn't that all look like fun to you...I have a feeling Sara is going to be very excited by it after school today.

Blessings Kelsie

Sharing today for:

Farm Girl Friday @

http://www.deborahjeansdandelionhouse.blogspot.com/
Outdoor Wednesday @
http://www.asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/