We've Gone Country!

CH's 7th birthday is this week and she has been begging for a pet - any pet really. Her preference was for a horse, but that ain't happening anytime soon, so she asked for a dog. Negative. A ferret? No way! A rabbit? No. How about a goldfish? We could do that, but what about a pet that provides something for the family and one that you could use to start your own business and make a little money?!! Now we were talking her language! So we began again, with me giving suggestions this time. How about a chicken? No. A baby chick? Oh yeah! You know a chick turns into a chicken, right? Never mind, I don't want that. What about a baby goat? Yes!!! So, a goat it was! We have high hopes of using the goat's milk to make soap and cheese - it should be an adventure!

On Monday we traveled to a farm a little ways away to pick up CH's 6 week old Nubian goat! She is so excited!! And Mom and Dad were pretty excited too, since we have talked 2 kids into getting farm animals for their birthday to help us start our mini farm! Since goat's are social animals, we decided to get 2 babies instead of one and while we were there, we might as well pick out a few chickens to get us started with some eggs! Our 4 chickens are black and white Bard Rocks and we hope to add to the flock soon!

The Black one is CH's. She has named her Sprinkles, we think! The other is for the whole family and is currently being called Cinnamon.

The four chickens!

No, we don't know what we are doing - reading a book can only help you so much! I haven't read anything that told me the secret to capturing a loose goat. Yesterday I had to chase the 2 little kids for about an hour before I finally outsmarted them! (They escaped from the barn!) Nor have I read how to properly warm the goat's formula and get it to the barn while it is still warm - not too hot or too cold for these very picky eaters! Or how to get them to drink out of their own pail so that I can better gauge how much each is drinking. These things require a little hands-on learning which is what we love! I just pray these new animals fair far better than our bees, we lost both hives, and our poor lost Sonny!


In addition to farm animals, we are on the look out for a good dog to help keep the goat's and chickens safe from predators. Robbie has to work on a good fence this weekend to keep the goat's in a pasture and will be making or buying a smaller shed/outbuilding to house the goats and chickens at night. (We bought a temporary one on Craigslist.) So far we are having fun, but I know all these animals require a lot of long term work. This is something we have wanted to do for a while though, so I am so happy we finally took the plunge to the country life! We aren't tempted in the least to return to city life (though I could be tempted by the houses!!)!

Little E found our first egg!! Too bad he is allergic to them :(