DRanchlife

After the torrential rains, and all the flooding, we now have an abundance of grass. The sheep are loving it, and we get free lawnmowers out of the deal.

We had a major rain event yesterday, preceded by three others. That made for a 10 year flood that swept through our property and even swept away one of our little lambs. Farming is not for the faint of heart.

Animals are funny. Rooster is out all day, foraging and free ranging with his hens, but as soon as I bring Miss goose fresh grass to munch on while she sits on her nest, he comes over and steals it.

Katahdin sheep are commonly known as hair sheep. Now we all know that sheep do not have hair, they have wool. They have been given this generic name along with several other breeds, including Dorpers, because their wool is not long and curly, it is course and straight. Twice a year these breeds shed their wool. Sometimes it all comes off in a couple of days, other times it may take several weeks. We like to help the process along if it’s taking a while.

Baby chicks poop. In their water, on each other, and especially on top of their brooder plate. How do we prevent it? We can't, but we can make cleaning it a whole lot easier.

It really is that easy. Call them and they come running. I was on my way to physical therapy and they had to get put away for the afternoon. I had an extra five minutes before I left. It was more than enough time. 😊 Make sure to follow us on Facebook at D Ranch at Clearwater, and on X at D’Ranch Life

The pork in the grocery store is injected with mRNA. There I said it it’s a fact, do your research. Those pigs are also raised en masse Inside large buildings, where they never see the light of day or a blade of green grass. Their meat becomes tainted because of it and pork has completely lost its flavor. The next time you shop for bacon or pork chops, stop. Get on your local farm pages and find someone who raises either Kune Kune pigs or IPPs. Ask about their breeding and vaccination program. Ask about their dietary practices. Know your food.

Our final sheep to have lambs this spring, and she did not disappoint. What a beautiful little girl! I see some fine wool spinning in my future.

It is officially lambing season on the farm and we have 15 babies this time! Here is just a close-up of a couple that are very friendly and enjoy human interaction.

Just walking around the farm today after the big ice storm, catching up with all the critters, laughing at their unique personalities. Enjoy the tour. Check us out on all the other socials. We appreciate a quick follow.

Little Houston, a Katahdin lamb, born in the cold and damp, has had issues since birth. Could it be environmental? We have questions, as do dozens of other farmers around the Midwest. Follow little Houston's journey, and watch his healing and care as we try to figure out how to get him to walk some day. You can also follow us on Facebook/dranchatclearwater, X/D'Ranchlife, or check out our website at https://www.dranchatclearwater.com/

Sometimes you just need to get booped. Little Poodle is starting to shed her wool and a little handful of it makes the perfect Booper. 😂

Just started milking one of my ewes last week and I’m currently getting almost a quart a day. She is feeding the bottle babies, but when they are weaned, she will be feeding us! Sheep milk is fantastic!! So rich and creamy. Fun fact: Many traditional European cheeses are made from sheep milk.

Starting off this brisk January morning, with some cow loving. What better way to begin the day?

No dialogue, no music, just sheep. Sometimes it’s nice to just sit back and watch the animals do animal things. Merry Christmas everyone

Ruby, last year's bottle lamb, just had her first baby. A big, bouncing baby boy. Watch the beauty of live birth (without all the icky stuff), and how they transform from gooey little things into fluffy lambs in just an hour. Enjoy! Follow us on Facebook/dranchatclearwater or on our website at www.dranchatclearwater.com

An in-depth video on how to detect mites in your poultry, how to treat them, and how to prevent further infestations. We hope this video is educational for all of our chicken keeping friends! Happy farming! www,dranchatclearwater.com https://www.facebook.com/dranchatclearwater @DRanchLife on Twitter.com

One of my favorite things about our farm, when you speak to the sheep and the sheep talk back. Every single time. It always makes me smile. They know they are loved.

I always say you can’t learn from doing everything perfectly, you can only learn from your mistakes. So, lesson learned. Hopefully we have better luck next year.

Just a long chat about peeling and shucking loofah gourds, what they are used for, why you should grow them, how I have failed at doing so! Learn from my mistakes and enjoy the conversation.

An in-depth, step by step way to create your own supply of ghee (aka clarified butter) from scratch using raw milk.

It may be a little messy, but we get a lot done in a day! Maybe someday I’ll get a maid… until then, I’m a one woman show! And keeping my kitchen perfect is not top priority.  But eating good, and having healthy dogs, is a top priority! Drop a comment if you want to learn more about dehydrating chicken scraps.

Turkeys are very sociable, and when they know you are their human, they are particularly so. This little one responded to face and neck rubs by purring, and falling asleep. Sometimes farming just fills your heart to overflowing. 

The tractor is noisy and I’m going hoarse from yelling over the noise of the engine, but by gosh I am cutting hay today. This is one of those years that we are in severe drought conditions and we have to harvest anything we can right now to put up for the winter. Because it is so dry we are only getting about a third of our normal cutting, and the grass does not have the same nutritional value. We are a tiny farm; my heart breaks for the big ones that rely on tons of hay every year.

Hint, they are not a 9 V. Battery chickens is a term that refers to commercially raised birds either for meat or eggs and typically they are raised in a non-sunshine, non-natural situation. We want to educate all of our friends and family about purchasing chicken and eggs from the grocery store, versus a farmer who raises them as birds are supposed to be raised. They need sunlight, they need grass, they need lots of room to roam around, and they need good quality feed.  All of these factors will produce an incredibly vitamin enriched product that is higher in good fat and lower in saturated fat than anything you find in the store. Some thing else to consider, the chickens you buy at the grocery store have been triple dipped in bleach to remove any possible contamination. The eggs come from chickens who are forced to unnaturally lay as many eggs as their bodies can produce in a two year lifespan. Know your food.