Meet Our Farm Animals: 39 and Counting

What’s a farm without animals? How we went from one cat to 39 farm animals. (and counting)

It’s funny how I can sometimes wonder what we were busy doing all summer, and why I didn’t ever feel like I had time to share more here on the blog. But now as I look through photos, and reflect on the season, it’s all making a bit more sense. While we did inherit some animals when we moved ( 3 barn cats) we also added quite a few of our own.

Let me start out by saying, we didn’t want to add animals just for the sake of having animals, as they are not only quite an expense, but also a daily responsibility. Each of our animals serve a different purpose here on the farm. You may recall that last spring we brought home 7 baby chicks and built a backyard coop. Raising chicks is fun, but it also takes a long time before you get the eggs. After rehoming some of our roosters, 4 chickens remain from that original flock: Lavender, Polly, Dandelion and Molly the Rooster. Once we moved out to the farm We added 12 more ready to lay hens in the fall (Isla Browns) which we ordered from our local farm store. This spring we got some more, bringing our total to 27. We sell the eggs to some local friends, and the rest go into the fridge at our road side stand. They’re the first thing to sell each day they go out. People love farm fresh eggs!

• 

• 

I can’t recall if we ever introduced you to our horse Razzle Dazzle, but we got him for our kids. The idea was that they could ride him, brush him, and get familiar with horses. He is a sweet horse, but he is a little ornery, and hasn’t taken to a saddle well… I think he spent a little too much time away from kids and not being ridden. I still hold out hope that we can bring him around, but we really need a “bullet proof” horse that is a little more calm and chill. He was free from a neighbour, but as any horse owner knows- they’re definitely not free! And so if we can’t ride him he’s not quite earning his keep. He has helped to reclaim more or our pastures, and I really enjoy him, as I have always loved horses.

I’d say my personal favorite members of the farm are our sheep. In March we brought home 2 pregnant ewes, named Lolly and Hei Hei, who gave birth on Good Friday to twins and a single lamb. It was an amazing experience to see all the babies being born, and also a little scary for the birth of one of the babies who took a long time to breath. We have had some amazing mentorship from a local shepherd, and she has been such a gift to us. Everything from lambing, feeding, supplementing, trimming feet, breeding… she has helped us through it all. We are keeping 2 of the female lambs to grow our flock. They won’t get bred this season, so we will have two pregnant ewes for the spring- at least that is the hope. The purpose of the sheep is to raise our own ethically sourced protein. It is one step closer to becoming more self sufficient, which is a large part of why we moved onto this farm.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

I have of course introduced you to our guard dog Poppy. She has kept the bears at bay, which is a primary reason as to why we got her. Last fall we had a bear or bears in the orchard many times. This year we didn’t! So that is awesome. She is just a little over a year and it has been a ton of work to train her. We feel like horrible dog owners sometimes, because as a Great Pyreneese, she most certainly has her pluses and drawbacks- a lot of which have to do with her breed. She is a bit stubborn and tries to roam all over the place (sometimes stressful) she is an escape artist, and she loves to jump up on people. But she is also a sweetie pie, loves the kids, guards and rounds up her sheep, and keeps watch over the farm all night. We have heard they really come into their own around year 2, and we have already seen her mature and mellow out so much in the last few months. I do feel though that LGD ownership is not for the faint of heart.

Finally… the cats. I mentioned our 3 barn cats who are very low maintenance. Their job is to take care of rodents, but I think my kids feed them too well because I have seen a few r.a.t.s’s hanging out by the sheep barn this summer. I can’t stand them… AHHH! The cats definitely do hunt… but not quite enough! Our house cat who is an indoor outdoor cat also does his part. And… well, we added another kitten to the family. Tiger is nearing 10 (I think he’s already used up a few of is 9 lives) and while he might go on living forever, who can resist a sweet kitten. So, Martin joined the house this summer. We seem to prefer male cats… they just seem friendlier? Our kids are so good with them, and they really get a lot of joy out of our cats.

• 

• 

• 

So… that’s a rundown of the 39 animals. I never realized that livestock (horses and sheep) needed fresh hay twice a day. And depending where you are at in the season, grain, pellets or oats too! Thankfully all of our barns have power and water either in them or nearby. We let our animals out each morning, and lock them up in their barns each night to protect them from predators. Our 3 oldest kids are to a point where they primarily manage the chickens, sheep, horse and cats each day. They help with the dog too. When I got sick their responsibility changed a lot, and they really stepped up.

Of course Matt does the bulk of the heavy lifting when it comes to the farm animals. Feed, fencing (is there ever not a fence that needs repairing?) and cleaning out barns. He is the alpha when it comes to Poppy needing discipline (which is slowly less frequent. lol) and loves the fresh eggs the most of anyone. If it were up to him we’d probably have 199 chickens.

It’s amazing how capable kids can be. Not only have our animals taught us that, but the kids have learned it for themselves. We are a team, and everyone is needed to make our family function well. While our animals are a large responsibility, we gain so much from them. Compassion, daily discipline, fresh food, and love. We’d like to raise pastured meat birds and pigs next, and I am waiting for the right time to add in a dairy cow. We already are out with the animals twice a day as it is, so why not be milking and adding raw milk, cream and cheese to our diet!

Do you have animals? Do you think we meet the definition of homesteaders yet? I’m not quite sure. I was always intimidated by animals, yet I always wanted them. And little by little, the mystery is lessened. A year ago I wouldn’t have imagined we would have all these animals, but in many ways they are what has made the farm feel more like home.

-Miss Ash