NH homesteader
Herd Master
Hi there, I have been here a month but haven't started a journal because I assumed I would bore everyone to tears. But I have been enjoying reading about everyone else so here goes nothing!
My husband and I have been married for almost 6 years (August 20th!) and have a nearly 4 year old daughter. He grew up on a horse farm and when he was a kid he raised angora rabbits for fiber, Flemish giants for meat, and chickens for eggs. He has always been a profit-minded farmer! I knew nothing about farming....
When I found out we were going to have a baby, my parents subdivided 5 acres of land for us, as we were renting a teeny tiny cabin! Then we got a few laying hens... And it began!
To skip ahead... (I have no internet so I type this all on my phone through a mediocre data connection so pardon my brevity)...
I was a special education teacher until last year, when I left to stay home with my daughter. A few too many viewings of Food, Inc later... We now raise nearly all of our own meat, and my next goal is dairy independence. I have a garden because I believe in producing one's own food but I despise weeding.... So it's not the most productive garden in the world!
We currently raise: Nigerian dwarf and mini-alpine goats for milk, pigs for meat, chickens for eggs and meat (primarily Dominique chickens and currently Cornish crosses for meat) and turkeys for meat. We also have 2 dogs that are pets. One is a chow mix (rescue) who will protect my daughter and myself to no end. The other is a Spanish Alano, who I (semi) affectionately call "the idiot". Good natured dog with zero impulse control.
This will be our first year breeding. This winter I hope to breed my Nigis and the sow we are keeping so we will be tackling kidding and... Pigging? At the same time. What do they call it when a sow has babies anyway? We have a friend who is a pig breeder and lives 5 mins down the road so not too worried about them!
My husband and I have been married for almost 6 years (August 20th!) and have a nearly 4 year old daughter. He grew up on a horse farm and when he was a kid he raised angora rabbits for fiber, Flemish giants for meat, and chickens for eggs. He has always been a profit-minded farmer! I knew nothing about farming....
When I found out we were going to have a baby, my parents subdivided 5 acres of land for us, as we were renting a teeny tiny cabin! Then we got a few laying hens... And it began!
To skip ahead... (I have no internet so I type this all on my phone through a mediocre data connection so pardon my brevity)...
I was a special education teacher until last year, when I left to stay home with my daughter. A few too many viewings of Food, Inc later... We now raise nearly all of our own meat, and my next goal is dairy independence. I have a garden because I believe in producing one's own food but I despise weeding.... So it's not the most productive garden in the world!
We currently raise: Nigerian dwarf and mini-alpine goats for milk, pigs for meat, chickens for eggs and meat (primarily Dominique chickens and currently Cornish crosses for meat) and turkeys for meat. We also have 2 dogs that are pets. One is a chow mix (rescue) who will protect my daughter and myself to no end. The other is a Spanish Alano, who I (semi) affectionately call "the idiot". Good natured dog with zero impulse control.
This will be our first year breeding. This winter I hope to breed my Nigis and the sow we are keeping so we will be tackling kidding and... Pigging? At the same time. What do they call it when a sow has babies anyway? We have a friend who is a pig breeder and lives 5 mins down the road so not too worried about them!