Blue Goose Farms

Lots going on!

2012-01-27T17:23:00.000-08:00

We have found an awesome Farm who is in the process of buying our herd of sheep!

ANGORA ACRES

Right now they are busting their tails getting the fencing and shelters ready to go! We predict this transfer to take place in March/April. So Alabama, watch out! you are getting a great addition to your fine state!

In other news, we are working with knit1 Oxford and selling a lot of our hand spun yarns. Located in Oxford, MS it is a great store that supports a lot of local fiber artists. SHOP LOCAL! Here are just a few pictures of our wares...100% Angora Goat!

knit1Oxford

I will post more details soon, but you can see Blue Goose Farms in the Smoky Mountains March 16 & 17 located in Townsend, TN

Smoky Mountain Fiber Arts Festival

I will talk more about this as well as it gets closer...

national goat expo

There will be a lot of seminars on Parasites, Genetics and even an inspection class! This is a great place to meet other Goat farmers and to learn a lot! We plan on being there...especially for that inspection class.

Saying good bye to sheep...

2011-12-14T17:10:00.000-08:00

Blue Goose Farms is in the process of majorly reducing our Sheep Flock. We are selling our sheep for $75.00 per head (except Tundra). I was really hoping we could keep everyone, but as a lot of you did not know I was laid off from my job a while back. We are selling as much as we can to prepare ourselves before things really get tight. A lot of these pictures have been posted on our facebook page, but they are so pretty you need to see them again.

Lily-registered shetland SOLD!

Baby Ruth-Icelandic/Shetland Lincoln cross SOLD!

joleen-registered shetland RESERVED

joleen up close RESERVED

patience-registered shetland RESERVED

RESERVED leise-registered shetland already bred with tundra

almond joy (back)-Icelandic/Shetland/lincoln cross. Sister to Baby Ruth SOLD!

Autumn-registered moorit shetland. daughter of avery RESERVED

Autumn RESERVED

How did that goat get in here! He is a registered angora buck $150.00

RESERVED Avery-registered shetland already bred with tundra

RESERVED edelweiss-registered shetland. We plan on keeping her unless she goes to an awesome home. She is our oldest ewe. Already bred with Tundra

flock shot RESERVED

ALL RESERVED three bred ewes-Avery, Leise & Edelweiss

Another Angora Buck, registered white- $100.00 RESERVED


Registered Angora buck $150.00

Tundra registered Shetland Ram $400.00 RESERVED

Thanks for looking! Please contact us with any questions. Please note that it is only the Sheep we are selling out of. Our Angora Goat Herd is going strong!

More Stuff

2011-09-04T16:50:00.000-07:00

As I am typing this some of the bands of Tropical Storm Lee is slowly saturating our pastures. It is very upsetting about the flooding along the gulf, but much needed here. We have just finished shearing our kids and have a lot of mohair available. I may keep one fleece for myself to get more experience spinning kid mohair but the rest will be sold.

Here is picture of our stand and one of our boys...

This is Roman (before)

After

Next month we will be shearing the Does and the Bucks. Speaking of Bucks...we have decided to part with one of our herd sires. It was a tough decision because he is very gentle and loves animal crackers, but we have a lot of his off-spring here at the farm and it is time for him to go to a new home. We are asking $300.00

Update on babies

2011-06-27T14:04:00.000-07:00

HOLY HOT!!!!! We have been having some record heat this past month....it has been pretty rough out here and I am sure for others as well. I have been outside everyday spraying the trees down and and shady spots trying to keep everyone as cool as possible. So far we are okay but keeping a close eye on everything. We opened a new pasture around the pond for our ewes and now we rarely see them..just some baas every once in a while when they are trying to find each other. I am so glad we are able to offer them this full pasture and shade at this time. We have other pastures closed off so they can find those when it is time.

All of the animals are doing very well...a few hot spots on the dogs that we are on top of. Nothing to complain about (except for the heat)!

Here are some updated pictures of our babies for sale...

ABBEY SOLD!!!

PAXTON SOLD!!!

NIBBLES#1

NIBBLES#2

ROMAN SOLD!!! I must add that I can not believe how dense his fiber is. He is our youngest little guy. That is is mom next to him (Truckee genetics)

ARABELLA'S BOY-Jake SOLD!!!

CLICK & CLACK from Cameo and Comet

I must leave you with a picture I took a while back. Every Doe gets their own birthing stall and then we move them into a larger holding area and after that the pasture. I was out feeding one morning, I came around the corner and in the holding area shelter I saw Eloise and Roman taking a nap.... These are the little moments I seize and love...these are the moments that make the losses (at times) worth it.

Now it is once again hoof wrestling...I mean trimming time for our farm. I wish everyone else well and that everyone who needs rain that they get all that they need and those who are getting too much I hope it comes this way and give you a break.

Busy!

2011-05-10T09:33:00.000-07:00

We have been running around shearing the last few goats (bucks). They are a lot stronger than I remember but if you only wrestle them a few times a year I can see why I chose to forget. I will post some pictures of them soon, we are still trying to coax the last boy (George, no pun intended...yes I did) into the stand and then we are done for another six months WOOHOO!

We are wanting to sell a few of our 2011 kids. I am really happy how they have turned out...so pretty and soft. Here are a few pictures of what we have available...

This is Abbey, she was our first doeling of the year. From an Indian Springs Doe (Alice) and Stoneywoodsfarm Buck (Pi). She is very soft, nice curl and friendly.

This is Paxton (closest to you), He is darker than his twin Piper. Extremely soft and is from Dry Creek Natural Cloud (Doe) and Nook Comet (buck). I love the dark tip in his tail.

These twin boys I call nibbles 1 and nibbles 2. Whenever I go near the pasture they are calling out for attention and love to nibble on your jeans. They are starting to grow out of it but not their names. I Love their curls and coverage. That is something that I have noticed with most of our babies this year. These two are both males.

Here on the left we have Roman. He is a nice Apricot out of Crazy Horns Cami (Doe, seen there) and Nook Comet (Buck). He is going on a month. He is also very soft.

These two boys belong to Dry Creek Arabella and Stoneywoods farm Luther (first place Buck in Texas last year). One of these boys will be for sale but not yet. Also they will be at a higher price than the other boys. They are extremely soft and full of curls.

These final two boys are from Dry Creek Cameo and Nook Comet. A very nice, fine fiber. Please contact us at bluegoosefarms@gmail.com if you are interested in any of these fine Angoras.

Time sure Flies!

2011-04-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

Yes it has been a long time again between blogs. I must say that being back on dial-up sure discourages a person to post. Excuses Excuses I know.

Well, we have survived our kidding this year. We have a lot of babies and most of them are bucklings (eight out of 11) and all are healthy and doing well!

Before that though we had a fun winter of snow and cool weather. I believe I was one of the only few that was cheering it on and asking for more. I know that sheep loved it as well...

A big reason why I wanted to blog today was to post some pictures of scissors and goats...you don't want to run with either I promise you. I have been asked a lot lately what I shear with....the answer is Fiskars! These scissors are wonderful for me and the spring back so you do not have to force them apart and blister your hand.

These two goats were sheared a few weeks back...you may not like how they look compared to what a clipper can do but it is an option. I personally enjoy doing it by hand and talking with the goat (occasionally wrestling). I also really like how the scissors fit in my hand compared to hand shears. If you have any questions please ask away I will try to help you out as best as I can. On a side note...While taking this picture I tried to get as close as possible BUT I have a very muddy dog sniffing my butt and trying to jump on me. I have two dogs that test my patience every day by trying to dig out of their pen...sometimes they succeed and today they did...Grrrrr

Happy Shearing!

Baby it's cold outside

2010-12-18T14:55:00.001-08:00

Well on the coldest day of the year (so far) we had an addition to the farm...10 little additions. It is hard to find them all but I promise they are all there.

We had my Family for the Christmas season this year
and we travelled all over the place from New Orleans to Nashville.

Mom and Sister in the chicken yard...

Outside the Opryland Hotel..

We had a blast and now back to the holiday season and looking after the animals.

More Sheep for sale

2010-10-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures of Shetland Sheep for sale...

Lilly (can be registered)

Another picture of Gretl (registered)

Avery (registered)

Rhodes **SOLD**

Slate (registered Grey)

Charlie (registered Grey)

Sheep for Sale

2010-10-01T15:09:00.001-07:00

We are starting to sell off most of our sheep so if you see anything you like please contact us. I can also take more pictures and send fiber samples if needed. We will be adding more so keep checking back. bluegoosefarms@gmail.com

Here is Marta and her first ewe lamb (registered ewe, lamb can be registered)

This is Gretl (Marta's sister,registered)

This is Avery's little Ram born 2010 (can be registered)

Here is Avery's other lamb (ewe, can be registered)

Patience's ewe lamb they both produce a lot of fiber (can be registered).

Cocoa's twin ewes (can be registered)

Baby Ruth and her ewe lamb (Shetland, Lincoln and Icelandic cross)

Almond Joy's ewe (cross breed)

Two wethers both are Shetland, Lincoln and Icelandic crosses. They are from Almond Joy and Baby Ruth.

Lambing and few other things...

2010-04-14T06:46:00.000-07:00

Here we are...four more Ewes to go! We started with the lovely doeling from Molly.

Then we had a litter of puppies...we did not expect all eight of them!!

A VERY close third was Baby Ruth with her twins

Then it was Gretl later on in the day.

Patience suprised us all when she lambed, we thought she would be later.

Leise lost her ram lamb but Almond Joy had her twins the next day.

Those four ewes can take their time because we have a lot going on already!

Ready, set...Where are the Lambs?

2010-03-23T15:56:00.000-07:00

We just finished up the Lambing pens. They look great! Vance really worked hard and we are about a week out. Actually they already have an occupant in there...check this out!

The Shetlands will be moving into the pens this weekend and then we will be really busy. Here are some more pics of them in the field...

The Waiting Game....

2010-01-18T09:52:00.000-08:00

So here we are looking at our Girls getting Bigger and Bigger. I took a few pics and I must say that I am REALLY starting to wonder about Almond Joy. Last year she gave us two wonderful Lambs but look how big she is already...

The reason that I wonder is because her Mother was known to have Triplets.

More Great news here is that we have added two more Great Pyrenees to our Farm a few days ago. They do not have names yet and the previous Owner did not really interact with them so I have been Visiting, Talking to them...just Welcoming them to the Farm. I think that it will all be fine once everyone is settled in.

Here are a few of our Pregnant Does...

Finally, Here is a new Game...Name that Butt!

So... Between Now and Lambing/Kidding we will be making some Birthing Pens, Double Checking our Supplies and just waiting...

Lately

2009-12-15T16:03:00.000-08:00

Well the end of the Year is close, I personally am hoping for a better time in 2010. I am considering adding a few more Ewes to the Flock and perhaps a few more Angoras as well but not too many. Sunday we added a new Ram, his name is Charles. Check him out...

For Thanksgiving we travelled to my In laws and had a great time like always. The Food was AMAZING! as well as the Company. I REALLY REALLY love all of my Extended Family. There was an Egret that ate most of Hoss' Fish in his Pond but he bought some more and has put in a Heron Decoy. I hope that works and doesn't attract too many Herons for the Breeding Season...that would be funny though.

We were hoping to get some of the Satsumas off of the Tree but the Raccoons beat us to them and all they left were the Peels...Grrr Hopefully next year there will be a better harvest.

Speaking of a better Harvest...Check these Bananas out! My Niece and Nephew bought a new place and these were in the Backyard. Just open the back door and Lop off whatever you need. I really liked that, It was the first time I had seen a Banana Tree in Bloom.

What is that?

2009-11-25T11:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been told about these nests on our property but I just don't know who they could belong to. My guess is an Owl or possibly a Hawk? What do you all think?

While I was out there I thought I would take some pictures of the property. I love this time of year it is nice enough to be outside and not have Heat Stroke.

Also, here are some pictures of Greta, Leise and Rhodes. They are one of our breeding groups. I am very excited to see what we will get in the Spring...

We have added a new member of the Family. She is a Stray rescued from Hernando just outside of Higher Ground (Coffee Shop). Her name is Scratch and it has been a week since she has been in our lives.

Hanging Out

2009-11-08T13:23:00.000-08:00

We are getting ready here to start our Second Annual Breeding Season here at Blue Goose Farms. We have Slate and Rhodes ready to go and come next Weekend they will be with their respective Ewes. All of our Sheep have been checked over and all are healthy and doing well. There will be one last look over before the Boys are put into then Pens and then they will be in Heaven for a while.

Other than all of that it has been busy around here. Vance has been slowly painting the House when he can and it is looking great! I am madly working on Christmas gifts and helping out with a Wedding. I have been making some Party Favors for the Guests....

Also, I am doing a few decorative things and am making a Shawl for the Bride to be. It is made out of 100% Llama that was Sheared from Roxywood Farms in Eads, Tennessee. Rebecca raises and shows some very fine Llamas, The Fiber is just amazing!

We are still here!

2009-10-06T16:28:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a busy busy fall both personally and Farm wise. A few weeks ago I made a trek up to Iowa to visit Crosswinds Farm. Corrine was VERY nice to suggest a Breeder for a Ram and also went to pick the Ram up while She was in Wisconsin... I am very touched by Her Generosity. I stayed a few nights near the Quad Cities and MAN there is A LOT of Corn! I forgot my Camera which really sucked but I have an Awesome memento from my visit...and a Ram too!

Here is the Wonderful Rhodes, We got him from Ramsay Farms in Minnesota. I have some lovely Ewes lined up for him.

Let's see, I have been Spinning some Alpaca for a Lady in New York. I am doing different blends and sending some back to her when I have enough to fill a package. I am enjoying this project. Here are some pictures I have...

I also recently sold some of my Spun Wool to a lady in Texas and some Fleece to a lady up North. I am very excited about all of this.

For Fans of my Shetland Lamb Lily, I have taken a few more pictures of how she is changing colors again...

Busy busy busy...

2009-08-09T05:50:00.000-07:00

August already??? Where does all of that time go?? We have been building more pastures and adding a few more animals along the way. In the the fall we will be adding 8 lambing pens and other things I am sure.
Last weekend I drove to Texas to look at some Angora Goats and I met a wonderful couple Mea & Roman Stone in Keller. I almost thought I would not make it because I woke up Saturday VERY sick and queasy. I did not want to turn back so I pushed forward once I was feeling better at the Hotel. I made it to the house around 3:00pm and and wandered around like a Kid in a Candy Store (pardon the pun)...

Roman is an amazing cook and we had Prime Rib the first night I was there...I was VERY spoilt! Yummy Broccoli & Cheese and Chicken links the next night...I could have moved in! Mea taught me how to Spin Mohair from Cloud, it was all new to me and I was quite surprised at how easy it was. I really want to go back to Texas to visit Mea & Roman and possibly see some of Texas too. I did pick out two beautiful Bucks to bring home Nook Comet and Joshua. They were so well looked after it might be hard to do as awesome of a job Mea has done with them but we will do our best. Here they are....

Since the boys have been here I have been reading the book The Angora Goat written by Stephanie & Allison Mitcham. I highly recommend this read if you want to have some Angora Goats or if you already have them. Mea gave this book to me and gives it to each person who buys a Goat from her. I think that is a great tradition that should be passed along, how very thoughtful and it helps people like us get on the right foot.
Well, today we are building another Goat Shelter and continuing on to the Fall where Breeding is right around the corner...so much to do but we enjoy every minute.

Putzing around while washing Wool.

2009-07-05T08:19:00.000-07:00

Around the Farm

2009-06-13T23:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of around here. Some of the Lilies my Mom & I planted when she was visiting last year. There is also a Guinea on her nest and look at Lily the Lamb! Her colors are still changing everyday...not sure what she will look like yet.

We survived our First Shearing!!

2009-05-16T19:25:00.000-07:00

Whew! It was a Day!! We started around 6:00am just focusing on waking up and picking up some Help. We made sure everyone was ready to go and the Babydolls were set up as well. Then it was sit and wait for a bit until the Shearer made it. We were VERY fortunate to find someone at the last minute and he was Awesome!!! Everyone had their feet clipped, wormed, and their Booster too, it was a zoo here. He made the whole thing look VERY easy so we knew he was good. Our Babydolls have to be the most impressive since they were the rattiest looking of the bunch. Here are some pictures...They all look so graceful...Greta looks like she will start tap dancing any minute with those white feet.

They all look so great! We could not do it without our wonderful Shearer and Taylor our helper. Thank you! I am looking forward to next season!

Growing Pains

2009-05-11T20:32:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my Good Friend and I travelled to Missouri to Indian Springs Farm. They were Celebrating something called "Wool Days" and have been doing this for over 20 years now. The drive up there was great but we became VERY VERY lost and the Road kept getting more narrow and then turned to dirt. I have no idea where we ended up before we turned back and called for help with Directions...it was a blast! I went with the intention of possibly getting some Angora Goat Does and I wanted to get there early so I could have more to choose from. We left at 3am and travelled through some nasty rain with lots of Lightening and potential flooding on the roads. When we got there the place was just AMAZING! it was 500 Acres of Trees, Pastures, a Stream and lots of flowers. A beautiful Peacock greeted us as well as the VERY friendly couple (Jim & Avalene) that run the Farm. Jim was VERY patient with me and many other people who asked him about the Goats and all of the different things found on the Farm. I greatly appreciated the time that Jim gave me and came home with a few beautiful Does...Also I appreciated Jamie who helped me load the Does and answered many of my questions too. Avalene was amazing as well, She is just so friendly and personable. I did not have as much time with her as my friend did but every moment with this couple was fascinating.

Here are the Does that I was fortunate to come home with... The first one is the Mom to the little Black Doeling

Here is the single Doeling I bought as well

I am very excited to see what will happen in the years to come.

Our trip was great and I enjoyed the company. It was hard to drive 6 hours there and back but we made it.

The worst part of our trip was on the way home. We saw first hand the Aftermath of the Storm that recently went through Missouri. I had never been at Ground Zero so close after something like that, Trees were ripped out of the ground and thrown distances on top of Vehicles, Houses and Roads. We saw the Power Company out in full force cleaning everything that they could to get Life going again. Many buildings were missing Roofs and a lot were caved in as well, Metal buildings were wrapped around Trees and other things. It was so sad to see and more sad because...what could I do? At one point I saw a Man coming out of the side of his yard to the Garage pushing a Wheelbarrow. He had a Cigarette hanging from his mouth and it looked like he didn't have a care in the world...just another day but he had more to do. In a sense it amazed me because that about summed it up. I wish all the people affected by that Storm well and I think of you and hope for the best. I know you will all be fine.

More Lambs!

2009-04-30T18:44:00.000-07:00

Here we have it! These two are from Baby Ruth, they are soooo sweet! We have named one of Girls Felicia (Flea...or Worm for short) after a good Friend's Daughter from Alabama. We are not sure of the other names yet. I have some searching to do.

The last Lamb here is from Edelweiss. She has a Chocolate brown head but black in the body...I am not sure what her official coloring/pattern is but it will be fun to figure it out.

We are still uncertain about our Babydoll Fiona but we will see.

Momma Joy!

2009-04-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

Almond Joy had her Twins on the 16Th. I know I know, it has been kinda crazy around here. One is a Girl and the Other a Boy, he is our first Ram Lamb on the Farm here. Even though he can not be registered it is pretty darn awesome!

As I am typing this Baby Ruth just had Twins as well, I hope to get pictures up much sooner than I did this time. We are down to two more Ewes that are Pregnant...Almost there!

Next!

2009-04-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

Here we go again... On Monday our Ewe Avery had two Girls. They are doing well and mouthy as ever!

There is only one Set-back... Avery has rejected both of her little lambs. Vance and I are doing what we can to make sure that everyone is comfortable and staying healthy. We are VERY fortunate to have a wonderful neighbour down the road who has a lot of experience with Goats and she came over right away. The lambs did get a few feedings and had a lot of the all important Colostrum! Also it is nice to have friends that raise Shetlands and can talk a girl down (Thank you Corrine)! For being so new at this I tell you we are having one heck of a learning curve here, but I would do it all over again. There has been talk about selling Avery and letting her move on but I am still wanting to hang onto her for another season since we would be more prepared for this...it is up in the air right now and a hard decision to make...for me. We still have four more Ewes to lamb so keep checking on us here.

First lambs of 09!!

2009-04-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

Here we go!! Leise has had her first lambs. They hit the ground last night around 8:30pm just before the weather turned really bad. How exciting and about 10% relieved we are (I figure 5% per lamb...and there is a good possibility two will have triplets...the rest go to the Ewes). If you don't like my math you can make an appointment with our Ass in the back! He can count REALLY well...Counts on us for food, Counts on us for attention...

We have not thought of any names yet but are playing around with a few. I have mostly watched from a distance because when I come into the pasture EVERYONE comes to greet me, I love it but it makes it hard to approach a protective new mother. I went into the pen to take the pictures and our two Guard Dogs and Patience tried to worm in there with me and the rest were at the gate waiting their turn.

Vance is smitten with the lambs. I love watching him interact with them and the Ewes. He makes a great second Mom...Baa. In fact, he is in there right now! We think that Baby Ruth will be the next one to deliver.

By the way, they are both Girls! Another update...We lost the Black Lamb on the 11th it is too bad.

Until next time Maddie...

2009-03-24T04:44:00.001-07:00

Today Blue Goose Farms mourns the loss of one of our Babydoll Sheep named Maddie. She went down fast and the Vet was called. Maddie had a Pregnancy Disease, we did not see any of the signs of this until she was in the late stages of it. Maddie was a rescue from a place in the County above us. They have an Exotic Animal License which means that Fish & Wildlife or the County can not do anything about it because of the laws in Mississippi. We took four of the Babydolls late last year to get them out of there. I wish I knew more, I wish I could have done more... which I know would be the wish of any person out there. She will be greatly missed even though her stay with us was much too short.

Who's Driving??

2009-03-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

We have been all over the Map around here just trying to not get pulled in all directions it seems. Vance has been building and fixing some things around here, We even had Inspector#5 come out and give her poop of approval! The sides are wired closed now and we keep their Hay in there.

Also we have had a HUGE expansion on our Fowl population. We received an order of Baby Chicks from Cackle Hatchery a few weeks back. About 13 (out of 100) didn't make it, but Cackle credited us the amount. We also received a dozen Ducks as well. Anyone need eggs?

Ideally we would love to have all been sheared around here by now but the Weather did not give us a break until recently. We tried first with Baby Ruth but it did not go as well as we had hoped. There were not enough blades and we had to get the hand shears out. What we thought would take us an hour for our First ever Shearing took three!! I felt very bad for my Husband and Baby Ruth that the next day I started calling around to see if we could find a Shearer. I knew they would be hard to find but I eventually lucked out and a wonderful Woman from the Spinning Guild I am a member of gave us a contact name. I am waiting to here from her if the Man can do it...here's hoping! Ya'll keep your fingers crossed for us.

These are the Electric Shears...

These are the Hand Shears...

And this was our Victim...She is the furthest one away (for her protection).

Next month is the First Coldwater Alpaca Ranch Fiber Festival so I have been Spinning up a storm. I am not 100% sure if I will have anything for the Festival but I was told that I better have something...no pressure eh? I think I will be more prepared for next year than right now. This will be our first real Fiber Yield from our Animals since we started here. My major Goal is to have Fiber ready for a Festival in Murfreesboro, TN this October. That should start the ball Rolling into 2010 to Baton Rouge, LA and then back to where we are this time of the year...all in time.

Baby, It's Snowy Outside!

2009-03-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

Well, Boy did it snow the last few days! We received about 5-6 inches. Being Canadian the Snow does not bother me at all but it is a rare occasion when it does snow down here. People get giddy and have to be out there seeing what it is like to drive in, and of course there is no Bread or Water to be found in any of the Grocery Stores. I did manage to get a few "action shots"...

These are when it was just getting started.

Here is Miles and Meriallen, can you see the Goat? As much as she wanted out there, the Dogs would not let her. In fact Patience, Cocoa & Meriallen sleep with the Dogs and everyone else gets chased out of there.

I went back out later to get some pictures of Marta and I took some extra of the Snow we had.

And of course here is Marta! She is super friendly and if you do not pay enough attention to her...She has ways to MAKE you! Marta is the Twin to Gretl and Lamb of Edelweiss. We will keep naming Edelweiss' off-spring from Characters of the Sound of Music.

Of course the Snow is almost gone and there is a lot of Mud left behind. I am really hoping to get to work on the Sheep and Goats. They need their Hoofs trimmed and I want to treat the Goats for lice. So much to do and no cooperation from the Weather.

Ladies of the Farm

2009-02-22T15:50:00.000-08:00

With the Weather bouncing around like it has we have all been trying to just stay warm. I tried to get out there and get some Award Winning Pictures of our Ewes but they could care less and they just wanted to sleep. So if it looks like a few of them might fall over...they just might, you just have to keep checking to make sure they are still standing.

This is Avery, She came to our Farm last year with two others. We bought them all from a farm in Missouri. Avery is pretty bossy and protective of our lambs. I am looking forward to a possible Fall Breeding with one of our Moorit Rams.

This is Liese, she came with Avery. She is more timid than the others but pretty curious as well. We bred her with Slate but we will see if anything happens.

This is Edelweiss, she is the head of the flock and the oldest member. She came to us already bred (unknowingly) and had our twins Gretl and Marta. She is very sweet and looks after all of the Sheep. We bought a few girls from a Farm in Georgia and She has adopted them and looks after them as well. Avery does not like it but it all works out.

Here is Gretl, This is one of Edelweiss' twins. I could not get one of Marta but it will show up here soon. Gretl is shy as well but she will not be left out of anything. Her Wool is so soft and I love her color.

This is Cocoa and Patience. We bought them along with two unproven Rams in Georgia. We had to keep these two in a separate smaller pen because of bossy Avery. We moved them back over there about a month ago so that they would be big enough to stand up to everyone else. I know that their fleece will not be as clean as the others but thank goodness that I know how to clean it. We will be breeding these two in the fall.

I saved the most spoilt lady for the end... Bela, my Cat (named after the composer Bartok). She tries to follow me wherever I go. The other day I caught her making friends with Cocoa and I just missed them smelling noses. Patience and Meriallen came running over to take a look and it spooked Bela. Sometimes I have to rescue her but I thought she was safe from the Dogs on Duty. Looks like Miles was having a Siesta...

The 1/2 Naked Rooster

2009-02-15T17:54:00.000-08:00

You remember that Rooster that loves to chase everything and drive his point home?? Well.... he didn't have a good week. Last week he had all of his feather but still running for his life. I just think he picked on the wrong two dogs! Vance had to rescue him and put him back into the Pen (minus A LOT of Feathers) with Alluicious and the Boys.

I think the other Rooster will have to move there as well in the morning. They are so handy at keeping the Tick population down, it is too bad.

Some other Fowl news... We are getting even MORE Chickens! I am told another 100 plus 1 doz. Ducks. That is to add to our 100+ we already have. There will be some more Buffs, Black Sex Links and Barred Rocks. The dozen Ducks are White Pekins and Rouens. Looks like I will have a lot of pictures to take soon.

I have not been told yet but I have a STRONG feeling that I will be helping with the expansion of the Chicken Yard...just a guess. The yard is a lot bigger than in these pics. It goes down the hill to the left. I will try to get that in next time.

We had our first Goat Sale at our Farm this past week. We sold a Pygmy Doe Cocoa to a Nearby Alpaca Breeder (Coldwater Alpaca Ranch). It was exciting and kinda sad too. She was our first and of course it didn't help that we bottle fed her. It is good to know that She is at a good home and that the new owners are happy as well.

In the meantime we are currently breeding two of our Pygmys, Oreo and Bully. I PROMISE you it is no small feat to catch that Billy! It took three of us to get him in there.

It started out with just the two of us but once we had him we quickly realized that we needed help to pick him up and move him. YUP, We knelt there and stared at each other (Billy included) wondering what are we all going to do now... Vance had to hold down the front legs and shuffle his butt close enough so I could get the phone off of his belt. I desperately called our neighbour (while holding down the back legs) during that last full day of Football before the Superbowl (not sporty, am I?). It was hard for him to leave and we apologized A LOT! but we moved that Billy and I will take names now for volunteers to help us move him back in a couple of weeks.

A Farmy kinda Week...

2009-02-08T16:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we moved around a lot of Animals and cleaned Pens. We are worried because our Donkey Alluicious loves to play and run the animals at times, well this would just not work well with our Pregnant Ewes. So, we swapped the Pyrenesse with the Donkey and already we are VERY happy with our decision. Once we cleaned out our smaller pen close to the Barn we wrestled the Girls (Fab.4 they are called) and trimmed their hoofs and moved them all into the main pen with the Shetlands and Dogs.

MeriAllen is one of Our Pygoras, She is a VERY quiet Goat...and sneaky. She is our inspiration in wanting to breed her with an Angora Goat.

We have chosen a Red Angora that we have named Chili, it will be a while before these two hook up but with the Red in both of them it should be interesting to see what happens.

Now, in the pasture where we moved the Fab.4 we have a small issue that is a spur in our side...well, HE doesn't think he is so small. He was moved in there almost a year ago and feels a need to drive his point home every time you are in there. I carry a "Rooster Stick" every time I go in there and one time I thought I hit him good...but no, he survived.

Today I think he might have calmed down. When I woke up this morning I saw him running for his life with those two dogs behind him. We could not find him for hours so we just assumed he didn't make it...but no, He showed up later that afternoon. I swear if you look closely at him you can see that he is crazy!

Another thing that has been getting our attention is how long the Fiber is on two of our Ewes. Almond Joy and Baby Ruth are the two (out of three) Sheep that we started our Farm with. These two Sisters are Icelandic/Shetland and Lincoln Crosses. We bought them at Three Creeks Farm where Beth and Steve have been nothing but a great support network and wonderful friends! We are going to have to start shearing these two balls of wool twice a year now...

This is Baby Ruth. She likes long walks in the Pasture, a Hearty Meal and will be your best friend if you carry corn in your Pocket.
I am just amazed at how much Wool they have in just less than a year!

Here is Almond Joy, I think she will be loosing her legs soon and we will just see a wall of wool moving around the Pasture. We will be building a stand for Shearing and hopefully we will have many curious volunteers over too.

Drop Offs!

2009-02-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

It was a pleasant morning here at Blue Goose Farms. The Sun was shining and I had planned on taking a lot of pictures to post here. In order to get to a few of our younger animals I had to climb through a small door on the side of the Barn. Once I was in I couldn't understand why all of the animals were on the corner closest to the dog's pen. Well imagine my surprise when I saw four eyes peeking over the cement blocks right at me...I had to blink a few times wondering what exactly I was looking at! I immediately ran to the dogs pen to get them out of there and check out what was going on and this is what I found...

This is our first Major Drop Off since we have been here, but our Second one in total. Last Easter my Husband went on a trip to Alabama and I had to stay home to bottle feed two of our Goats. One morning while I was in the Bathroom I could not figure out where all this Rooster noise was coming from. It was Loud so I knew it was just outside the window. I came out around the corner of the house and had to laugh...our first Drop Off was a Rooster and a Hen! I then had to get our Fishing Net out and catch them... I am glad that I could not get a picture of that!!

Even though I love all Creatures great & small, it just ticks me off when People do a "drop off"! I feel that People should have been responsible enough to take care of their own animals and had them Spayed or Neutered. If they can not afford to look after them...why have them?! I am sure this topic has been beaten to death but at least I am on the record for my own opinion. In the meantime...Anyone want a Puppy???

Starting out

2009-01-24T17:33:00.000-08:00

Here we are in the new year already and there is a lot to get done for a newish Farm. We have added two surprise Shetland Ewe lambs in October BlueGoose Gretl and BlueGoose Marta. It was our first lambing which is great because we will be just a tad more experienced for the next round of "planned" lambs. We have made some pens for breeding and have two of our Pygmy's in there right now Oreo and Bully. As we are working around the farm we are slowly getting ready for Shearing in the spring by making chutes and figuring out how we are going to catch the stubborn ones for their haircut. In November we rescued four Babydoll Sheep two Rams and two Ewes, we believe one of them is pregnant but we are not sure. I am looking forward to seeing them sheared and watching their fleece grow in healthier.

On the Farm we have fallen into a variety of Goats. We were given some Pygmy Goats from our In-Laws and three Pygora Goats from a friend. We have been very surprised with their Fleece and we are currently looking for some Registered Angoras to keep the fiber going. To guard all of our animals we have One Donkey named Alluicious and he is in with our 7 Shetland Ewes.

Also we have two Great Pyrenesse Dogs for the boys in the back Miles and Kita. They were Seven Months when we got them in November and they are growing like weeds.

Other than Angora Goats we seem to be right where we want to be. I have had a few people visit our Farm and inquire about the Fleece on a few of our animals. This is very exciting because that is what we want to do. I am looking forward to when we shear so I can start cleaning and blending Fleeces. There is a lot to learn but we have time on our side.

Coming Soon!

2008-05-06T09:41:00.000-07:00

Hello, there we are currently getting our Farm organized and will post more when we can.