I live in NC and wish I had a farm, but as of now I don't. I do have a few animals and chickens coming when the weather warms up. I am currently trying to convince my fiancé that we need some dairy goats...I have used the we won't need milk, butter or cheese from the store, and I can make soap. The milk we don't use I can sell too. It is turning out to be a hard pitch.
The animals we do have:
Great Pyrenees Abbi who is 3yrs next month. She is a baby doll and loves to be outside and roam. Unfortunately she is confined to a 1/4-1/2 acre pen per leash laws she likes to break. If we aren't outside with her we have to go several miles to find her and have 1 neighbor that will fuss.
Next up is our Boxer mix Cheeph (Chief), he is not quite a year old. We think he is slightly blind in one eye and possibly has some brain damage. He loves Abbi who was also a rescue like Cheeph. He is inseparable from Abbi, but I think Abbi could do without having him up her butt 24/7. When we got him he was so malnourished with actually thought he was a Jack Russell mix. We got him home and now he has tripled in size with in 4 months. He has some food aggresion we are working on. He has never bit, but likes to growl over his food.
Then there are the 3 cats: Spok, Peaches, and Spooky. Spok is the oldest and about 2 years old. We got his momma off Craigslist--didn't' know she was pregnant. Well 3 weeks after we got her she gave birth to 6 kittens. When they were nearly 6 weeks she became aggressive with Abbi. Which is why we re-homed her and 5 kittens. She would attack Abbi while Abbi was sleeping and it would not end well if she continued. Peaches and Spooky are brother and sister about 7 months old. Their momma was a stray that gave birth under our house. She had 5 kittens. I started trying to handle the kitten when they came out from under the house at about 4 weeks. I got 3 semi tamed. One of which had to be put down due to illness, and then Spooky and Peaches stayed. They have become very loving a trusting of us, but run from most things.
Next are the 3 rats; Sweet Pea, Rulan, and Ralphie. Ralphie was bought in 2008 and was saved from being snake food. He is a big boy of mixed breeds, but loves to cuddle and sniff your ears. Sweet Pea and Rulan were purchased off Craigslist and are Siamese rats. They looked albino when young, but as the age there extremities, nose, ears and tail get a darker color. It is due to a thermal gene. They are about a year old.
And lastly Mrs. Frog our toad. She was found inside a friends well-house tangled in insulation. I brought her home and gave her 2 dozen crickets and a bowl of water. She ate every last cricket and sat in the water for 2 days. I think she might have been a little hungry and thirsty...she is now fat and happy. When the weather warms up I will put her back into the wild away from the well houses.
I am getting some laying hens when the weather warms up and am very excited! We will get 3 may be 4, but not sure of the bred. If you have any suggestions on good layers I would appreciate it.
We have about 3 acres of land and as you can see a few animals. I am not allowed to get anymore animals that don't pull their weight so to speak. Chickens lay eggs so that is the reason I am getting them--we go through a ton of eggs! Roughly 18 eggs/week. I would love to have a horse, but unless it can pull loads of scrap metal it isn't happening. Well if I won the lottery I could get a horse and some dairy goats...
I haven't said much about me or my fiancé have I? Well I am 22 yrs old and a college student. I am going for an elementary education degree, but only able to take 2 or 3 classes at a time. I am going to be in school for at least another 2 years at that rate. I am going to get married on March 13, 2010 to the man of my dreams. My parents aren't happy with my choice, but understand that I am happy for the first time in my life! My fiancé William is 39 yrs old, and previously married, but was happily divorced. He has 3 kids that we are saving as much as we can to get a lawyer and get regular visitations with them. His ex refuses to allow any visitation despite a court order for mutually agreed--non enforceable!
I do not do well in open public areas which make it nearly impossible for me to go to the store alone. I love children and hope to have a few of my own some day. I look forward to getting to know y'all and hope I can get some of my own dairy goats!
Steph
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Stephanie Talcott said:
How hard is it to make cheddar cheese? I believe dairy goats will do us good. We use alot of cheese and soap! And a fair amount of milk and butter. I am going to make William sit and read some post on here--as part of my sales pitch. :D
I know we have a few members on here who are from your neck of the woods. Maybe they can chime in on what chickens work well in your area. I'm thinking Austrolorps would be good, since they do well in places with warmer summers. A lot of the "production" breeds don't do well in hot weather. I know people around here in Illinois who've had them drop dead in the middle of summer.