Welcome to March!

When I think of March, I get a tingling hope of Spring. This past week has given us a glimpse of Spring with new life. Two of our does freshened, each with a healthy set of twins.

Mary cleaning one of her kids

Ruby cleaning one of her kids

 The first doe, Mary, one of my first two originals, freshened with a buck and doe. Ruby followed the next day with a beautiful set of twin does. Thankfully, I was able to be present for their births. Ruby did wonderful delivering her first doe, but the second one took her sweet time and then ended up being stuck in the wrong position. I had to reach in and rearrange her a bit so that she could make her grand entrance into the world. As nervous and impatient as I get around kidding season it also gives me feelings of joy, hope, wonder, amazement, and awe. I can't put into words how blessed I feel to witness these births and each time it is so special to me.

Mary and her kids

Ruby and her kids

I am eager to for Spring to get here, as we have decided to once again raise a small flock of chickens for eggs and this year will dabble in raising meat rabbits as well. Our garden last year produced so much that I had wished I knew how to can. This year my goal is to do some research and learn to can so I can save our harvest and lower our grocery bill. I am also very excited for the apple trees to fill once again. I found an awesome recipe for apple pie last year and it tasted especially divine using our very own apples. We also have a cherry tree, which I didn't take advantage of last year but I hope to figure out something to do with the cherries as well.


What are your plans for Spring? Leave me a comment and tell me all about it, plus I'd love some tips about raising rabbits!

Have a wonderful day dear followers!

I've briefly introduced you to my goat adventures, but I figured I would give you all a glimpse of my whole starter herd of Nigerian Dwarf Goats, which includes 2 does and 2 bucks. 


"Dyna" as we call her is the Diva and the spunky one out of the group. She loved to run and play and kick up her heels. She is bold and doesn't seem to be afraid of anything. Dyna tends to do pretty well at shows, she placed 2nd in her class at our first show and 1st in her class at the second show plus was awarded Reserve Champion Junior Doe. She seems to mature faster than my other doe and I hope that she milks well in the future! Big Sister insists that Dyna is "HER" goat.



"Mary" is a sweet quiet girl. She is go with the flow and easy to get along with. She loved to run and place but seems to be more interested in her surroundings and exploring. She seems to be a little slower to develop than Dyna and hasn't placed as well as in her first two shows. The older she gets it seems like her body is catching up. I plan to breed her much later than I will with Dyna, so that she has plenty of time to mature into a great milker. Little Sister insists that Mary is"HER" goat.


"Joey" is my shy boy. He isn't too wild about human contact, but will tolerate it. I wasn't sure if I would like him when I first bought him, but he is really growing on me, I like him build and his resilience. His dam raised triplets, so I am hopeful that he will pass on some nice milk genetics.

"Johnny" was a bottle baby growing up and boy can you tell it. He is like a puppy dog and will follow me everywhere. He is very friendly and just loves Big Sister. He will eat ANYTHING that a human gives him, even icky medicine that the other goats fight me with. He appears to have more of a dairy build than Joey and his dam was a good milker, so I am hopeful that he will pass on nice milk genetics as well. 

I would like to get another doe, maybe a yearling, after winter to round out the herd a bit. I plan on breeding my girls next year for summer kids. If I am blessed with a doeling I will be keeping a doeling from each of my does and selling any other kids (assuming I can part with them, I know I will fall in love!) I can't wait to start milking and making soap and cheese! I have been doing a lot of research so that I am prepared once the milk starts flowing.

We have a show coming up mid September and this time we will be taking the boys as well. I am new to goats so I am curious as to what the judges think of my little bucks!

Have a wonderful evening dear followers!

The fields are growing thick with grass and the weather is staying consistently warm. I am so very glad that Spring has finally decided to arrive! I know that the girls are loving it too, since we can go outside pretty regular now. They love playing outside and visiting the horses. A lot has been going on at the farm and I figured that I would give an update, since I can't remember the last time I did one.

We tore down the little red barn next to the house, it was a sad sad sight, but it had to come down before it fell down and hurt someone. The good news is that we salvaged some of the exterior red pieces of wood and decorated the office and med room in the main barn with it. It looks amazing and so rustic!

We still have several really nice horses that are looking for homes. We adopt anywhere in the US, so if you are looking for a horse to love, check out some of ours, here.

The goats are no longer coming into the house at night. They are outside 24/7, doing great, and enjoy it. The girls and I take them for walks as often as we can. They are both learning to walk on a leash, I hope to take them to a couple shows in June, but we will see if I can get them ready in time. I have no idea what I am doing so we will either rock the show or at least provide the entertainment.


Speaking of the goats, I decided to name my little hobby farm Twinkle Little Farm. Big Sister is learning Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Old McDonald and sometimes mixes up the words. She was singing one day and said "Twinkle Little Farm" and I just fell in love with it. So, because my daughters were such a big part of my decision to get goats and more specifically Nigerian Dwarf Goats, I decided that it was only right that the girls be a part of naming the farm.

My geese decided they wanted to sit on their eggs, so I let them. I wasn't sure if they would actually hatch, but I figured I would let them try. Well, Mr. Goose is fertile and all my Girly Geese are great brooders because I now have three little goslings under a heat lamp on my porch. I was afraid they would get snatched by wildlife so I decided they were safer on the porch then outside with mom. There probably should have been 6 of them, but 2 were either squished or attacked by the geese and the one egg was busted before it was baking. The girls love playing with the goslings, Little Sister is a little too rough and I really have to watch so she doesn't squeeze their little necks too hard. Big Sister is great with them and I am pretty sure they love her too, or at least think she is "Mom."

We are still working on the new house, it seems to be taking FOREVER! I never knew how hard it was to find GOOD Contractors and good construction workers. I hope and pray we are in the house by Big Sister's 4th Birthday. Most of the drywall in the new section is in, so God willing I will be choosing paint next week. Any suggestions?

Wow, if I were a super blogger, I probably would have been able to split this post into several, but that is not how I roll, hehe!

God Bless and have a wonderful day dear followers!

Please give a warm welcome to my new babies!

A couple posts back I introduced the idea of getting goats. Well, I am proud (I think) to inform you all that I am just a couple days away from beginning my journey to become a crazy goat lady. I bought 2 adorable little doelings from a farm in New Mexico. I had planned on them arriving in late May, however oddly enough it was going to cost more for them to be shipped ground by a transport company than by air, so they will be here Friday. Crazy, right?

I have been reading everthing I can get my hands on about raising goats. The poor breeder is probably wishing she never agreed to sell the doeling to me because I have been emailing her several times a day with questions. I have been gathering supplies and such to make their arrival as comfortable and stress free as possible. I still have a few more things to get done, but I feel confident that this is going to be a great experience.

Check back soon because I plan on sharing lots and lots of photos!

Have a wonderful day dear followers,

It may not be surprising that my husband affectionately calls me "Ellie Mae" from the Beverly Hillbillies when I bring up wanting to add a new addition to the farm. My adventures in poultry raising has been...interesting. Rural King is my worst enemy in the spring, as they faithfully have the cutest day old chicks, ducklings, and goslings, every year. Don't get me started on auctions, I brought home a calf in the back of my dear sweet husband's van once, as well.

So, when I admit that I have been researching goats for a while now, this will probably not be surprising as well. I am really interested in making goat's milk soaps, especially after purchasing some online. I became even more intrigued as I learned about raw milk benefits for my girls.

Well, a couple days ago, I decided to bring up goats to my husband, again. You see, this isn't the first time we have discussed it, last year's adventures at the Petting Zoo really brought the idea to the forefront of my mind. As we get closer and closer to finishing the house, I feel like it is something we need to do, for our family. Maybe I caught him on an off day, because my husband said yes and he even is making suggestions on where to put their pasture and shelter!

I have decided that I want to start with a pair of Dwarf Nigerian does for milking and as pets. I chose this breed for their ability to produce a nice amount of milk for their size and because I think that they will be small and docile enough that the girls can enjoy them as well.

So, I am in the planning process, trying to decide on pasture/shelter size (alloting for babies in the future) that won't put too much strain on our budget.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Have a wonderful day dear followers!

Both of my daughters have a love for horses, however they both have an infatuation with donkeys. Whenever I take them to the barn, they casually look around, check out the horses, play with the barn cats and then ask me to go see the donkeys. We currently have two donkeys that live at the farm, Samuel and Solomon. Both came from not so great pasts but both have made great improvements. This summer we learned that Samuel would accept a young rider, which is saying a lot since when he arrived he would just assume kick you as look at you. He just LOVES kids and after several months of coaxing from our friend's 10 year old grandson, Samuel decided life was okay here and that he could trust us (okay the kids at least). Big Sister was the first to "ride" Samuel, that first day, he acted like he was carrying precious glass that could be broken with the wrong move. I was amazed! I think that that day was the day Big Sister REALLY developed her infatuation with donkeys.
  About a month ago I was contacted by Cheryl Pollak, the producer of a children's animated series, "Jasper the Mule." I was excited and honored at the opportunity for us to review "Jasper the Mule" , espeically since the girls love horses and donkeys so much.

 "Jasper the Mule" is a series of holiday-based 22 minute specials following a young mule named Jasper and his best friend, a Jack Russell Terrier named Moxie, on their adventures.

Screen shot from JasperTheMule.com

I knew that my girls would love these specials and boy was that an understatement. There isn't a day that goes by that my girls don't ask me to watch "Donkeys" as they call it. They don't quiet get the concept that a mule is a cross between a donkey and a horse, yet. To them, are the same thing. Anyways, "Jasper the Mule" was a HUGE hit in my home! My girls are 3 and 1 1/2 now and just get a kick out of Jasper and his adventures. I have to admit that they are addiciting to watch for adults as well, my favorite is the Valentine special. Althought, after the girls fighting over and pulling out the "Jasper the Mule" DVD out of the drawer constantly for me to play, it has scratches now that affect our Valentines special a little bit.

 As a parent, I found it very neat and educational that during each special the animals discuss the "meaning of" or the "reason" people celebrate that particular event/holiday. The language and conversations between characters are poliet and not contriversial. The subjects are relevent, up to date, and enjoyable for the whole family. The colors are also vibrant and attractive for children.


Have a wonderful day dear followers!

My hens have started laying eggs!
Just thought I'd share my lovely first 1/2 dozen eggs from the chickens I bought at the end of April!
Waaahooo!

I am so over grocery store eggs, they just aren't the same. I know, I know, they all come from chickens (or ducks) but farm fresh eggs are just, better! I especially LOVE baking with duck eggs, everything is SUPER moist! I can't wait until my duckies start laying, right now I have 3 female ducks!

Any one else as excited as I am to find eggs in the coop? Its like hidden treasure!

Have a nice night dear followers!

All of my birds are fully feathered now, and I decided I would highlight one every once and a while to teach my readers a little bit about the birds that I own and my experience with raising them.

The Embden Geese are by far my favorite bird that we bought this year, so I chose to highlight them first! I had gotten a new camera for Mother's Day, so I was able to document their growth pretty regularly with photos. In order to keep this post from getting too long, I've selected just a few for your viewing pleasure!

5/1 - Embden Goslings the day we brought them home!

5/2 - I had them outside in a pen enjoying the grass and nice weather.

5/3 - Into the water they go!

5/18 - Growing like a weed.

5/22 - Geese are natural grazers and boy do mine LOVE their grass!

6/5 - Feathers covering about 50% of their body   7/12 - Fully feathered!

Since the day we brought them home, I have been feeding all of my waterfowl Purina Flock Raiser. The geese and ducks also have access to pasture grass. Here and there I try feeding different veggies, they all seemed to enjoy head lettuce that I let them sample from the garden. On days where they aren't allowed to graze on grass, they require more grain, but when I let them out to graze they eat considerable less grain at night. When the geese were small I would keep grain in front of them 24/7, however, as they got larger I changed to twice a day, and now their main diet is pasture with grain only at night. The main reason why I chose to feed grain at night, was to entice them to stay close to home and go back into their pen at night. This method worked really well and at times they are waiting at the pen before I even get out to feed!

I personally LOVE the sound of all my birds, but I thoroughly enjoy my honking geese! When young, the geese made a cheeping noise, but now they are full on honkers. They are very smart and know me by sight as well as by my voice. I think they even know what I sound like when I come out of the house because they will start honking even before I open the porch door. For the most part they are only vocal when they see me with food, someone approaches them, or a car pulls in the drive, otherwise they are quiet around the farm.

Most people think geese are mean tempered birds that will hiss and chase people. My Embden geese are complete opposite, unless you are a cat, they don't seem to like the barn cats too much. They are very curious and friendly birds, mine will nibble on my clothing while I fill their water buckets and I can stroke their necks and backs while they drink. They will also follow me around if I call and scatter back down to the barn if I scold them. I would have to say that the Embden geese by far have the most personality of the flock.

These geese love to jump in the water for a swim. I keep several containers of water around so that they have access to swimming water. They don't seem to want to stay in all day, they just like to jump in for a quick cool down and then back to grazing they go. They are also much less messy with their water than the ducks.

The Embden Geese seem to really hardy when it comes to hot weather as well. We have had temperatures 110*F+ and they seem to have no problems with it at all. They do pant and require more water, but are very good at finding shade and just lay around until temperature drop in the evenings. Since we just got them in May, I don't have any personal experience with them in cold conditions, but I imagine they will do just fine as well.

I hope you enjoyed my introduction to Embden Geese! These are great farm and family birds and I would encourage anyone interested in getting a goose, to choose an Embden!

Have a GREAT Day dear followers!

While picking Blackberries by the woods, I heard a something moving along the wood line. Of course, since my natural curiosity overpowers me a great deal of the time, I felt the need to find whatever was making the leaves move about. Luckily, it wasn't anything that could jump out and eat me.

H e l l o!

She totally digged him!

Big Sister has seen cartoon turtles on movies and books, but had never seen one up close before. I asked her what it was and she said "Turtle!" What a smart girl! She liked the turtle and giggled when she touched its legs and shell. After we oohhed and aaahhhed over the Turtle, it was time to take him back to his home. So, we placed him back where I found him and was surprised at how fast he scooted off into the woods!

Going home...

Have a wonderful day dear followers!







P.S. When handling any wildlife, like turtles, always remember NOT to touch your face and mouth and wash your hands thoroughly! Many wild animals can carry diseases that are harmful and dangerous to humans.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have a wonderful day dear followers!







Disclosure: In order to provide this review, I was given a gift certificate to sample the food at First Watch. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions in this review are mine based on my experience with the First Watch Restaurant in Indianapolis. I, nor First Watch make any guarantees about their restaurant, services,  or food items. 

Well, I realized tonight that I haven't updated my followers on my lovely Peacocks in a while... so here is the latest, including some photos of Mr. Handsome Houdini, as I affectionately call my Peacock.

In case you had no idea I have a Peacock, here is the short story on how I got him: I went to an auction and bid on two peachicks and a turkey (they were in the same lot). I won and was giddy to bring home my new peachicks, that was about 2 years ago. About a year after I figured out that I had a matching pair of Blue India Peafowl. I was SO excited to have a pair and was excited about hatching eggs in the future. (You can read a little about my Peacocks in these other posts!) One night a predator got into the coop and killed several of my chickens AND my peahen. I was devastated but relieved to still have the peacock. I put him in a more secure location and he faired well, until this year.

I made him a nice outside pen attached to his coop and he would come out for about 10 minutes a day. I figured since he was so shy I would open the pen an let him roam to yard for bugs...

Well, he took off on me. He went MIA for about a  WEEK AND A HALF! Then, then about a week ago I spotted him walking down the road in front of our house. I ran out and caught him (Side note: I got REALLY bad poison ivy/oak from chasing him into the woods, but oh so worth it). I put him in his coop pen and he attacked the sunflower seeds and Flock Raiser that I had set out for him. It was like he hadn't eaten the whole time he was gone (I know he ate, but he sure did miss his normal feed!).

Well, I had to run to town and shut him up in the pen. When I got back he was walking around the yard. It was dark so I didn't want to chase him to catch him and then loose him in the woods, so I herded him towards the coop and he roosted on the roof for the night. Then next morning he was gone. A day later I herd him in the trees down the road. I tried to get him but he was too far up. So, I left him alone and left his food out next to his old coop. The next day he was back in our yard hanging out.

It's been about a week since he came back for good and he enjoys relaxing by my turkey's pen by the woods, he seems to have taken a liking to my Royal Palm Tom. He will walk around the yard and eat bugs and weeds around 5:00PM every night and go down to the area around the coop to get his feed and then up in the trees he goes for the night. I was sure that he was GONE for good the first time he left me and now I am SO excited that he has stayed with me even though he is loose. I am planning a LARGE (more secure) coop and flight pen for him and I can't wait to get a couple peahens for him. I know he misses the peahen I lost a year ago.

I am SO thankful to God that he came back. I was praying that he was safe the entire time he was gone! I know it sounds kind of silly to pray for a peacock, but he is proof that God does answer prayers, even the silly ones! I hope to have MANY MANY more years with him, he is by far my FAVORITE bird that I own!

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Have a wonderful day dear followers!

Bantams - 4 Silver Laced & 2 Gold Laced Wyandottes and 2 Arucana

Okay somebody shake me! My crazy poultry obsession strikes again. Spring is a very hard time of year for me. Why? Because all of the farm stores have tubs of cute chicks and ducklings and such for sale. I've purposely tried to avoid going into these stores but have failed. I originally went in to see if they had ducklings. I've lost all my ducks and REALLY miss using duck eggs. Well, I ended up with 8 chicks, but I still wanted ducks so I decided to check another store. I think I should enter some kind of support group... PAA, Poultry Addicts Anonymous... By the time I got home, I had acquired a total of 18 chicks, 4 geese and 9 ducklings. Somebody shake me!

2 Rouen, 3 Pekin, 3 Khaki, & a mystery duckling 2 African Geese, and 2 Toulouse Geese

Here is the BEST part, we are in the process of moving (same property, just different part of the farm) AND I have no where built at the new place to house my new charges. Currently, they are living in large troughs on my covered porch and go outside in exercise pens during the day. I also have a kiddie swimming pool that I put the geese and ducklings in so that they get some swim time in every day. So, I am making it work and it's working well right now since they are small. I just have to plan and figure out my new Poultry pens at the new place before they outgrow the troughs.

Big Sister holding a Toulouse Gosling!

Like I said, somebody shake me. My CRAZY POULTRY OBSESSION STRIKES AGAIN!


Have a GREAT Day dear followers!