iOur mini farm began when we bought 4.5 acres just outside of Springfield, NE. in 2006. We started out with a few chickens, some ducks, a Barbados sheep, a llama and a bottle calf. My husband started a garden full of all sorts of vegetables.
The children were very big into 4H showing cows, rabbits and pigs. They won many ribbons and looked forward to fair time every year. It is still a family tradition to go to the cow and pig shows, even though the children are well past the 4H age.
Well, over the past years, we have not only watched the children grow up, but we have expanded our mini farm in many ways.
The first thing we did was a lot of reading about sheep. My husband wanted to plant some fruit trees and had heard about some special kind of sheep that were very popular in orchards. They are the Old English Babydoll Southdown Sheep. We found some in Learned Kansas and made the eight hour journey to pick up our breeding pair of lambs. Gwen and Lance have worked their way into everyone's heart. They are a miniature breed that stand 24 inches at their withers. They are a loving pair and that given us baby lambs every spring. The babies are so cute and fun to watch as they graze in the yard. Then, when it is time for the babies to go to new homes, we get just as excited sharing them with others.
Next, we added a breeding pair of dexter cows. Dexter cows are a miniature bred that stand at 36 inches at their withers. They are very docile and are considered a dual purpose animal. This means that they are used for their meat as well as for thier milk. Both of which are delicious. Darcy was pregnant when we brought her. We enjoyed her milk very much and even tried our hand at making butter. We then added Stanly. We purchased him as a four month old bull. We are in high hopes for a calf soon.
Finally, the newest addition to our mini farm is a llapaca named Larry. We bred our female llama with our male alpaca. The baby they had is such a special little guy. He is very loving and comes right up to everyone to give llapaca kisses and hugs. He loves treats and will be used a therapy llapaca. We just love showing him off. He turned out so wonderful, we are planning for the next one once he is weaned.
We would consider us homesteaders. We grow all of our own meat and vegetables. We grow at least 50 chickens each spring and a few turkeys for the holidays. We grow and sell meat chickens and eggs. We have it down to a science that we share on our chicken pages.
The children were very big into 4H showing cows, rabbits and pigs. They won many ribbons and looked forward to fair time every year. It is still a family tradition to go to the cow and pig shows, even though the children are well past the 4H age.
Well, over the past years, we have not only watched the children grow up, but we have expanded our mini farm in many ways.
The first thing we did was a lot of reading about sheep. My husband wanted to plant some fruit trees and had heard about some special kind of sheep that were very popular in orchards. They are the Old English Babydoll Southdown Sheep. We found some in Learned Kansas and made the eight hour journey to pick up our breeding pair of lambs. Gwen and Lance have worked their way into everyone's heart. They are a miniature breed that stand 24 inches at their withers. They are a loving pair and that given us baby lambs every spring. The babies are so cute and fun to watch as they graze in the yard. Then, when it is time for the babies to go to new homes, we get just as excited sharing them with others.
Next, we added a breeding pair of dexter cows. Dexter cows are a miniature bred that stand at 36 inches at their withers. They are very docile and are considered a dual purpose animal. This means that they are used for their meat as well as for thier milk. Both of which are delicious. Darcy was pregnant when we brought her. We enjoyed her milk very much and even tried our hand at making butter. We then added Stanly. We purchased him as a four month old bull. We are in high hopes for a calf soon.
Finally, the newest addition to our mini farm is a llapaca named Larry. We bred our female llama with our male alpaca. The baby they had is such a special little guy. He is very loving and comes right up to everyone to give llapaca kisses and hugs. He loves treats and will be used a therapy llapaca. We just love showing him off. He turned out so wonderful, we are planning for the next one once he is weaned.
We would consider us homesteaders. We grow all of our own meat and vegetables. We grow at least 50 chickens each spring and a few turkeys for the holidays. We grow and sell meat chickens and eggs. We have it down to a science that we share on our chicken pages.
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