Luvmypets Journal: A New Season

[luvmypets]

Been wanting to start a journal for a while now so here goes!


We have had our current property for I want to say 4-5 years. It is a 30 year old Morton building, with 14 horse stalls 7 on each side and an arena in the middle, this is all on about 8 acres. We have a tenant who does dog agility in the arena, and he has one half of the stalls. We started with chickens and branched off into ducks, sheep and alpacas. I have always been an animal lover, since the day I could walk. I grew up with large dogs so when my dad told me we were getting chickens I was ready for a new adventure. My personal favorites at our barn are the sheep, they have so much personality and are just beautiful animals. Looks wise our Alpacas definitely take the cake but we have two intact males at this time, so they can be a bit sassy. We are hoping to get more alpacas once we finish our pasture which we have been working on for, forever but we are finally getting to the finish! We have a variety of chickens including reds, silkies, wyandottes, orpington's, leghorns, and bunch of funky looking crosses! My favorite thing to do is work with the animals and create bonds with them so they know me and trust that I won't hurt them. I am currently a highschool student, so I don't get to see my animals as often as I like. Thankfully I take an amazing agriculture course with a fabulous teacher so everyday I get to learn different livestock industries and how they work! I have learned so much through this site so I am super excited to share my barn adventures with everyone!


Now as always, here are some pictures!


Here is our barn, our location gives stunning sunsets every few days!

These are our Alpacas Onyx(front) and Al(back). (we unfortunately lost the older alpacas we received last year at the end of 2015. It was a rough year)

These are my ewe's Rosie and Clover

And Rosie had a beautiful lamb ram two weeks ago. Everyone meet Ras!

Hope you guys like this thread!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I'm sure we will! Beautiful sunset, just like you said!

 

[Ferguson K]

Yay! I'll gladly follow you on your journey.

 

[Latestarter]

Sign me up as a follower! Looking forward to following your journey.

 

[luvmypets]

Well, thought it was time to update! Ras is officially a month old, he is going to get castrated soon, I know he will be a great pet In other news I learned my lesson about proper nutrition during pregnancy. Rosie is finally filling out in her hips, but watching her struggle to gain weight the first few weeks after lambing really opened my eyes to how important body condition is.
Moving along, everyone at our barn is doing great and I'm super excited because my dad said I will be able to pick out a new ewe soon So I have my eye on this black katahdin ewe at a local farm. The lady we purchase sheep from gets them from an auction so almost all of them are unrelated. Anyways she normally has new sheep every time we visit, however the ewe I have my eye on has been there since I got Rosie and Clove last year, and she was still there when we went back in the fall! I am REALLY hoping she is still there, because last time I saw her she was a few months pregnant (at least she appeared that way, she was running with a ram so most likely she is). I know she has probably been sold out, but I can't help get a little excited, she look so much like my precious Lily. I really hope I can get her, but if not there are always others.

Well now its time I admit to something... I have been stalking craigslist...looking at... GOATS! I have been trying to convince my dad for some goats, I really want some Nubians, I am a sucker for floppy ears. I mean they are all beautiful, and there are so many choices, and I found someone about a 1/2 hour away selling some nubian kids for a decent price. Of course all of this is daydreaming right now, but I am hoping we can get some goaties by the end of the year.

Here the ewe I want!

Here she is with the Ram

Also they have a VERY open pasture, this is like the congregating area where they go to get treats from people.

Here is the picture from the craigslist add

 

[luvmypets]

EEEK! Our pasture is finally finished! Our animals now have about 3.5 acres to graze on! The pasture was officially finished yesterday night, but this whole process has been going on for a long time(at least 2 years), and now its finally finished! Its great, the animals love all the free space, though its funny they all seem to congregate in this one 1/2 acre area. Also, the animals look so small in such the open space, I even heard my dad say "we need more animals" . Can't wait to show you guys our new pasture and I will post pictures when I get a chance

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Great to hear!

You may want to slowly introduce them to the new pasture, you don't want them bloating! It seems that sheep are more sensitive, you might want to ask your parents about having a bloat treatment on hand for emergencies

 

[luvmypets]

Great to hear!

You may want to slowly introduce them to the new pasture, you don't want them bloating! It seems that sheep are more sensitive, you might want to ask your parents about having a bloat treatment on hand for emergencies

They have been getting a few hours a small fenced in area for the past week or so. I remember the vet told us about watching them, but they are surprisingly good at regulating themselves. They will eat some, then relax then eat some more. Thank you for the tip, definitely don't wanting them gorging themselves.

 

[Ferguson K]

It's about time

 

[luvmypets]

So, I was doing my normal stalking craigslist for animals, when an add for four alpacas comes up. They were each $100 because the buyer really needed to sell them. I called my dad, and a half hour later he called me back saying they are getting dropped off tommorow!

I'm so excited, I love getting new animals! Pictures when they arrive