Anatolian Shepherd
With many predators lurking in our mountains, including: black bears, coyotes and mountain lions, the Anatolian Shepherd breed is a perfect fit for our farm. We are accustomed to large breed dogs and love the zero hair care of this breed.
The book“Livestock Protection Dogs” by Orysia Dawydiak & David Sims was our guide for raising working dog pups and is highly recommended.
Buckeye Chickens
The Buckeye is a dual-purpose breed of chicken with a deep, lustrous
red color of plumage. They have yellow legs and skin, and, thanks to their
pea comb, are very cold-weather hardy. While Buckeyes adapt readily to
a variety of living conditions, they do best under free-range conditions, or
conditions where they have room to move around. Because of their active
nature they do not do especially well in small confined spaces. Roosters
weigh approximately nine pounds; hens weigh approximately six and a half
pounds and lay medium-sized, brown eggs.
Buckeyes were developed by Mrs. Nettie Metcalf of Warren, Ohio, and
appropriately named after the “Buckeye State.” Buckeyes are unique in the
American Class of chickens in that it is the only breed created entirely by
a woman. Mrs. Metcalf started by breeding a Buff Cochin male to Barred
Plymouth Rock females. This produced what she considered a large, lazy
fowl. The next year she purchased a Black-Breasted Red Game male and
crossed this male over the half cochin pullets. This cross produced several
red offspring and from there she developed the breed. It is interesting to
note that her creation predated the introduction of Rhode Island Reds into
the mid-west.
Buckeyes also have a personality all their own. They are a very active fowl
and are noted for being especially vigilant in the pursuit of mice, some
breeders comparing them to cats in regard to this ability. They tend to have
very little fear of humans and are possibly too friendly. In fact, some males
may show a little aggression during breeding season. They also seem to
lack the tendency to feather-pick each other (this is a trait worthy of further
exploration). The males emit a full range of sounds beyond those typical of
many other chicken breeds, including a dinosaur-like roar!
Rhode Island Red Chickens
This is one of the most famous and all time popular breeds of truly American chickens. Developed in the early part of this century in the state of the same name, they have maintained their reputation as a dual purpose fowl through the years. Outstanding for production qualities, they have led the contests for brown egg layers time after time. No other heavy breed lays more or better eggs than the Rhode Island Reds. Baby chicks are a rusty red color and the mature birds are a variety of mahogany red.
Six Rhode Island chickens arrived on July 4, 2009. We purchased the Rhode Island chickens with no prior experience raising chickens. During the first hour on the farm, a chicken hopped onto my lap and snuggled in. She instantly won my heart! We discovered this breed to be docile, easy going, approachable and very pleasant to have in our barn yard.
Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats
Nigerian Dwarves have three different color lines – black and white, brown and gold. The goat is a miniature dairy goat of West African origin.
Dwarf goats are gentle and lovable and make great pets and animal projects for children in 4-H. Dwarf goats breed year round with many breeders breeding their does three times in two years, giving the doe a 6 month plus break. This is of course a personal choice for each breeder.
Our goats love vines, poison ivy and weeds the sheep avoid. They have loads of personality, very curious and quickly adapted to the presence of our guard dogs.
We have aisles of wooded areas full of thick thorny vines. We opened up these wood areas to the sheep and goats this year. Voila! We now enjoy a clean, passable area created without hours of hard labor.