Many people wonder why we would get into rare, heritage breeds that are on the endangered species list.  The first question we hear is: Aren’t they really expensive?  While some animals are, not all endangered species are.  Some are basically the same cost as commercial breeds.  A great place to get more information is: The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy http://www.albc-usa.org/ 

The next question we hear is:  If they are endangered, how can you eat them?  We don't eat females, but, if you have too many males, they fight.  We only keep a dozen ewes and four cows, so keeping more than one bull or ram means constant fights between them.  When you are blessed with more male offspring than can be sold as breeders, the excess males are grown out for dinner.  We only breed strong healthy animals, if a lamb or calf has a real struggle to survive, it is not breeding stock, but headed for the dinner table.  Especially with a small gene pool, it is important to be careful to only breed good healthy stock.  Saving a species is more than a numbers game, you want a strong healthy species in the end.

             
However, we didn’t pick our animals because they are endangered, but because they are perfect for our farm, our climate and our way of life.  The first thing we looked at was climate, we live in hot, humid Texas so having something like Highland Sheep was just not an option.  How do the animals do with a high parasite count?  How do they do on scrub grass and not great pasture?  Are they hardy?  Birthing Problems?  Many questions went into our choices and the funny thing is we always wind up back at endangered species. 

So, it has to be asked why are they endangered?  Size has a lot to do with it, all our animals are small.   A processed Gulf Coast lamb is only going to give you about 30 pounds of meat, so commercial farms just aren’t interested.  A Dexter bull weighs a maximum of 700 pounds on the hoof, too small for commercial farms to use.  Naragansette turkeys don’t have the large breasts of modern birds, so again they don’t meet the standards for commercial farms.  What all these animals do have is exquisite flavor, wonderful temperaments and easy farm management.  For the small holder, they are perfect.  Two Dexter cows fit on a pasture that one Angus would eat, but cows are herd animals, they are not happy by themselves.  The small size is an advantage to the small holder.

Our animals are mostly dual purpose, at least.  Even the rabbits serve 3 purposes on the farm.  First and foremost, the manure is keeping our garden beds fertile.  The meat is great for us and for keeping our fur family well fed.  They also bring in some income from selling rabbits, but never for Easter Bunnies.  And, their fur from winter harvested rabbits, when tanned trims slippers and sweaters very nicely.   Every animal must serve at least two purposes to win a space on our farm.

We try to feed as natural a diet as possible to all our animals.  We learned long ago that taking our grocery budget to the feed store didn’t really work.  We try to raise as much of the feed as we can here on the farm.  This mean cattle and sheep are 100% forage based.  All poultry is pastured, but they still need grains.  We raise worms and maggots to feed fish, as well as duckweed.  See, even the worms have two purposes, castings and food for someone else.  Does this mean we don’t use the feed store anymore?  Hardly.  It is a goal, but we are not there yet.  Like most of this farm, it is a work in progress.

Many people ask about the use of antibiotics and chemical wormers, basically do we use any drugs for our animals?  On a regular schedule, no.  In an emergency, of course we do.  If we get dogs in with the sheep, yes, we use penicillin to try to save the lives of our sheep, we don’t just let them die.  If due to a disaster, we have had to leave animals too long on a certain pasture, yes, we will worm with chemicals to save their lives.  So far we have not found a need for any vaccinations, but if we found a need for them, I would use them.  I am not going to let my animals die rather than use drugs.  But that is why we don’t raise goats, and many other animals.  In this climate, they don’t do well with the parasites and that is something we have looked very hard at.

Yes, all our breeding stock have names, many of them come to have the ears scratched when we enter their pasture.  Their happiness is important to us.  Animals that we know are going to the processor are given appropriate names like Lunch, Dinner, Veal, Mutton...... 

The biggest danger to our animals?  Pet dogs, that's right.  Domestic, well fed dogs.  The havic they create is heart breaking, since they don't kill to eat, they just keep killing, maiming and harming until we catch them.  I never thought I would ever shoot a dog, but that was before I was a farmer.   Now, if we see a dog on our land, the first thing we do is shoot.  Our losses to domestic dogs have caused us to take this stance.  And yes, it is what the Sheriff's department has told us to do.  Right now we have 6 bottle lambs and a ewe with a broken leg on the property, due to someone's pets getting loose.  It is a sad state of affairs and not the dog's fault, I wish all pet owners were more responsible.

We use rotational grazing with the sheep and cattle, the chickens and turkeys will have their own pastures that they rotate through.  The rabbits are not on the ground, the risk of disease is too high, so they are in cages.  The largest cages I could buy, but cages.

So, I guess it is time to meet the different animals, just click on the side menu and enjoy.