Welcome to our small family homestead, located in SE Kansas. We raise Barred Plymouth Rock and Buff Orpington chickens, Indian Runner and Khaki Campbell ducks, as well as some very noisy lavender Guineas. We are in the process of building our sheep flock, but for the moment we have our East Friesian dairy ram Nigel, a Southdown Babydoll wether named Wally, and a yearling Oxford/Shropshire ewe named Rosie. Last year we added Beady, a one year old Shropshire ewe, and Hallelujah, another yearling Shrop/Oxford ewe to our flock, bringing our sheep population up to five. Our plan is to cross our dairy ram to the larger ewes in hopes of producing good sized milkers, and at this time I am hopeful that our three ewes are pregnant. All were sheared this past spring, and my dear friend Alice has spun some of it, while the rest awaits my attention. We will be processing the remaining wool into felt and yarn, dying it, and then knitting, crocheting, felting, and weaving all sorts of projects.
UPDATE 1/28/2013: Holly really seems like she is going to have kits! French Lops usually have 5-12 babies, so come back and see what is happening! She is due Feb. 2nd.
GOOD NEWS!! We have added three dairy goats and a breeding pair of rabbits! We have one La Mancha goat, one Nubian, and a little Nigerian Dwarf goat for her cream. The rabbits are lovely French Lops, which are not meat breed but a pet/show breed. No bunny killing will be happening here. :) In addition, we currently have ten young guineas; four lavender, three pearl grey, and three white. We plan on keeping a breeding trio in the broody house/run so they can produce young for us. We lost all but one guinea last year, and I don't want to buy new keets evey year!
Our goal is to provide good food for our family, teach our children responsibility, compassion, and a love for getting their hands dirty. We want to enjoy our surroundings, and our lives together. We also wanted to prove to everyone that even if you have no experience with gardening, or chickens, or livestock, or any kind of homesteading kind of life, you CAN do it. We hope to be an inspiration to others who want to escape to the countryside but just don't think it is possible. It is.
We will be adding to the things we sell, such as cheese, yarn and seasonal produce, so check back often to see what we have. We do have gardens, fruit trees, and herbs planted all over the property, but many are very young and not producing much yet. My ultimate goal is to have a little mercantile at the road to sell whatever it is we have available at the time.
It is a challenge to set up a homestead while transitioning from city mice to country mice, but we are determined to make it work.
Now you can see more info and photos on facebook!
UPDATE 1/28/2013: Holly really seems like she is going to have kits! French Lops usually have 5-12 babies, so come back and see what is happening! She is due Feb. 2nd.
GOOD NEWS!! We have added three dairy goats and a breeding pair of rabbits! We have one La Mancha goat, one Nubian, and a little Nigerian Dwarf goat for her cream. The rabbits are lovely French Lops, which are not meat breed but a pet/show breed. No bunny killing will be happening here. :) In addition, we currently have ten young guineas; four lavender, three pearl grey, and three white. We plan on keeping a breeding trio in the broody house/run so they can produce young for us. We lost all but one guinea last year, and I don't want to buy new keets evey year!
Our goal is to provide good food for our family, teach our children responsibility, compassion, and a love for getting their hands dirty. We want to enjoy our surroundings, and our lives together. We also wanted to prove to everyone that even if you have no experience with gardening, or chickens, or livestock, or any kind of homesteading kind of life, you CAN do it. We hope to be an inspiration to others who want to escape to the countryside but just don't think it is possible. It is.
We will be adding to the things we sell, such as cheese, yarn and seasonal produce, so check back often to see what we have. We do have gardens, fruit trees, and herbs planted all over the property, but many are very young and not producing much yet. My ultimate goal is to have a little mercantile at the road to sell whatever it is we have available at the time.
It is a challenge to set up a homestead while transitioning from city mice to country mice, but we are determined to make it work.
Now you can see more info and photos on facebook!