Our long-haired donkey, Poppy, believes she is a human. Or a dog. She is the first to greet you and demands head rubs and nose scratches. She is currently being DNA tested so we have a better idea of her genetics. We are working with The Livestock Conservancy to determine if she has Poitou genes, which is a critically endangered donkey. We will update as soon as we know something! Either way, we love Poppy and all she brings to our farmily.

Apple is the sweetest little guy. He is an 18 year old retired therapy pony. He is an Appaloosa pony and has beautiful chocolate coloring. He is blind in one eye, but that doesn’t slow him down! He is a master as being brushed, lead-lined (lead around by a human), and is incredibly gentle with children. He loves treats, grazing, and occassionally galloping through his pasture. He gets the zoomies from time to time and it’s so fun to watch! He was our first equine and we love him so.

Meet our Shetland pony, Ounce! Ounce is a sneaky, silly, adorable little troublemaker. He loves to be the first one to greet you and readily eats treats from your hand. He also sometimes gets the zoomies and runs as fast as his tiny little legs will carry him. His long mane flows in the wind and is so handsome! One fun fact about Ounce is that he loves to jump! He can jump surprisingly high and loves obstacle courses!

These fluffy gems are Mini Silky Fainting goats. This means that they have a long, silky coat and when startled, they freeze up (faint). Mini silkie fainters are bred from Tennessee Fainting goats, which are a recovering heritage breed, and crossed with Nigerian Dwarf goats, which were formerly a heritage breed. They are known for their friendliness and easy-going temperament. We have a small herd of five: Charlie, Harry, Diglet, Delilah, and Sally.

One of the most special aspects of our farm is our precious dairy goats. We currently have three special girls who share their milk with us: Lulu, Caramel, and Truffle. These girls are handled daily and are sooooo sweet. They produce a lot of milk. We can get almost a half gallon of milk from just one goat per day! Goat milk is incredibly healthy and tastes amazing. It is creamier than cow’s milk and has higher vitamin content!

The chickens that started it all. We started out with four backyard subdivision hens and fast-forward two years, we now have way more than four chickens, a big garden, honeybees, ponies, goats, sheep, and a donkey. It’s true: chickens are the gateway drug for homesteading. Three of our four original hens are still with us: Bernadette, Elizabeth, and Vivienne Snow.

The sweetest creatures on our farm are definitely our sheep. We have a mixed flock of Babydoll, Shetland, Valais, and dairy sheep. The sheep are sheared twice a year, which means their wool is gently removed via a haircut. We process some of their wool here at the farm and spin it into yarn. The rest of the wool is sold by the ounce. People use it for their gardens, for yarn, for felting, and even insulation.

Having a farm means needing protection against predators. We are lucky to have two amazing livestock guardian dogs, Blue Bear and Tundra, to keep our farmily safe! Blue Bear is a Karakachan, which is a Bulgarian Mountain dog. These dogs are an endangered, ancient livestock guardian breed. We got Blue Bear as a teeny tiny puppy. He is still young, but is mastering his job more and more each day.

Tundra is a Great Pyranese/Italian Maremma Sheepdog mix. She is middle aged and amazing at her job! While she is more reserved than Blue Bear due to her age, she is incredibly loyal and sweet. She is usually seen lounging in the sun by the chicken coop taking a nap. Together, Blue Bear and Tundra protect our vulnerable animals from predators like owls, hawks, coyotes, and bobcats.