# ChristyMarie82 - My small-farm life



## ChristyMarie82 (Mar 2, 2012)

Hi!  I'm new here, and thought I'd start a journal since I just got my first batch of chicks!  It'll be nice to follow their progress, as well as the progress of my horses, dogs, and future bunnies ;-) 

Me: I'm 29 and have a BS in Agriculture with Equine Science concentration...I'm so excited to finally have a farm and be putting that degree to some use!! 

I'll start with the questions: 

1.    What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like?
*Dayton, Ohio...right now it's crazy rainy, storming.  We haven't had a winter.  Generally, very rainy in this part of Ohio, temps range to about 20's in winter (although      
          sometimes lower) to generally a VERY humid 80-90 degrees in summer.  Always rainy or humid here!    *
2.    How many people are in your family? Marital status?
*  Married (four years in March) and have one 2.5 year old daughter named Alayna *
3.    How would you define your farm?
*Seven acre farm.  Most of that acreage is one LARGE pasture.  One barn (that used to be a VERY big garage), soon-to-be chicken and rabbit house.  Large, very old 
          farm house*
4.    What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed?
*Well...what I do now, (minus the babysitting) - stay-at-home mom, playing with my farm animals!  Right now, I am a stay-at-home-mom, but also run a daycare in my 
          home. *
5.    Have you ever built a house, barn , or other types of building? Do you want to?
* No...we built stalls in our barn (well, hubby did).  We're going to be building a coop here in a few weeks...so the answer to the last part is YES, I want to! * 
6.    Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet? 
*No*
7.    Who or what inspired you to be a farmer/rancher, hobby farmer?
* No one in particular.  I've just always been a country-girl at heart.  I've been obsessed with horses since I was about two.  I have ALWAYS wanted a farm of my own
         farm and now I have one.* 
8     Is it a hobby or an occupation?  
* A bit of both.  I board others' horses here, so that's an occupation.  My own horses are a hobby, and right now, so are my chickens.  I do hope to sell later, though. 
* 
9.    In what areas are you knowledgeable and in what areas would you like to learn more?
*Horses - breeding and nutrition, riding and handling, dogs/cats, small animals, some cattle, fencing cooking/baking, writing...I want to learn more about chickens, 
         rabbits for meat, and goats and cattle. * 
10.  In what types of farming will you never choose to do? 
*Not sure there is something I wouldn't try...*
11.   Are you interested in providing more of your own food supply?
*Yes!  We are planting a large garden this spring, gathering our own eggs, using chickens for meat, and getting meat rabbits as well.  I'd love a cow and calf for  
         milk/meat, too.  We are planning to can preserves, pickles, etc.  This is a huge learning curve for us!* 
12.   Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world?
*The barn with the horses, reading, or writing*
13.   Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi?  
*Tractor - Yes; semi - no way!! *
14.   Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these?
*Not really.  I used to sew, but no time now. I do crafts with my childcare kids and daughter...but not something someone would want to learn! LOL! *
15.   Can you legally have all forms of livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds?
*Yes, I believe so.  We have horses and chickens.  Eventually, we'll have meat rabbits, and possibly goats or a cow(s)*
16.   Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood? 
*NO*
17.   Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing?
*Yes, but I'm not great at it :/  We have herbs in pots in our home (basil, rosemary, oregano and chives).  We'll have veggies/fruits (hopefully berry bushes) this  
         spring.  I also want to do quite a bit of landscaping with flowers and bushes.  The only other time we've tried a garden was when we lived in GA...in a drought*
18.   Do you fish? Bait or explosives?  
*Yes - bait.* 
29.    Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs?
*  Love it, as does my hubby.  And I must say, we are QUITE good at it  Interested in farm fresh eggs and natural foods.* 
30.   What was your best animal experience? Worst?
* Best: My first horse, QH mare.  I bought her when I was a sophomore in college.  I remember not wanting to leave the barn that first night, in case she disappeared! 
          Worst: An arab mare who used to rear and flip backwards with me.  It made me a very nervous rider, where I wasn't before . * 
35    What is on your to do list?  
*Chicken coop, adding two more stalls onto the horse barn, planting a garden, and getting our meat bunnies*
37.   In what do you trust?  
*My own, and hubby's, instincts.  I also trust in that everything happens for a reason. * 
38.  Do you make and fix things yourself to save money?  
* Absolutely*
39.  Has the experience with animals changed your attitude or habits? 
*  I'm not sure, honestly.  I've ALWAYS been around animals.  But...a dangerous horse did change my attitude towards riding horses.*


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## ChristyMarie82 (Mar 2, 2012)

So, to start, I will introduce you to my "herd" 

Here are my chicks! There are ten of them...and I named them after Harry Potter characters...










My three puppies.  The large tan is a 1.5 yr old, female GSD/Great Pyrenees cross named Jessie.  We got her a couple weeks ago from a friend who was unable to deal with her separation anxiety.  She does fine now with a huge yard and two other companions.   Brown and white fluffball is my BABY.  We've had him since he was six weeks old, from a rescue.  His birthday is our wedding anniversary.  He will be four on March 13 - also our fourth wedding anniversary   His name is Bear.  He is a border collie/jack russel cross.  The last dog, reddish colored, is a 2-year-old female border collie cross (with some type of hound, we're sure...she bays!).  We got her from the SPCA in september.  She is SOOO hyper!  Her name is Mia. 





My field and horses (as well as the boarders' horses)





The Small pony is Prince.  He's probably around 20 yrs old, looks like he's going blind in his right eye, and is arthritic.  He belongs to my 2.5 yr old.  She calls him her "baby pony" LOL.  We have no information on him, but he does gait.  I'd say he's around 11 or 12 hands-ish?  The large flea-bitten gray is Tiana.  She's 16, blind in the right eye.  Quarter Horse mare.  The sorrel is also a registered QH mare, 15 years old.  Her name is Kaylee.  Nothing wrong with her as far as we can tell as of yet.  We just got them all in January from the people who had lived in the house next door and moved out during the summer...leaving them to fend mostly for themselves for almost six months (they loved them...they were NOT neglected, but were actually a bit overweight when we got them).  Unfortunately, she hasn't given me the girls' papers yet, so I know nothing about them.  But I do know that one was actually bred for, and they got the other as a weanling while her mom was pregnant - so these two have only had one previous owner and have been together their entire lives.  The pony was a later addition, but apparently, a neighbor bought him then sold him to the people we got them from...and had no info about him other than that he's a good boy! 




Alayna riding Kaylee




Alayna and her "baby pony" 





We also have two pet rats and a bunny!  
Nira (gray) and Meglyn (black)




And...BUNNY...yeah, the baby named her 





Megan, one of three barn cats..





Well, that's me and my family!  As of right now, I'm a stay-at-home-mom and run a very small daycare out of my home.  I also board horses.  It's always interesting around here.  our horses haven't been ridden in about ten years, so we're slowly working on getting them back into shape.  I hope to journal my journey with the horses, as well as the chicks and rabbits


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## ChristyMarie82 (Mar 2, 2012)

So, this morning I was awoken at 5am (as my husband went to shower and get ready for work) by a dog squirting out disgustingly smelly diarrhea on my bedroom floor.   I know it was Mia, our small, red border collie cross...because Jessie was laying on the floor next to me, and Bear was laying in the bed next to me.  I heard it and immediately sat up and shined the light from my cell phone...to see Mia jumping back onto the bed.   Luckily, she got it ALL on one of the dog beds...and rather than try to clean it...I just threw it out. 

So...SOMEONE has been eating cat poop!  They get this sometimes, it's a bacterial thing in the stomach.  We have what we call "fish pills" that we give them.  Sometimes, they need kaopectate, too.  The fish pills are actually metronidazole, which is an expensive antibiotic prescribed by the vet.  I found it online and didn't need a prescription for it because it's sold "for fish".  However, it's the same exact thing.  I can get a bottle for $20 instead of over $100...and there's a LOT more in the bottle, too!                         Fish Zole

It starts with just diarrhea/some throw up, but progresses quickly to blood and mucous in the stool if we don't catch it right away.  At the first sign, we give all the dogs a dose because it spreads like wildfire.  So, hubby had to flip the dogs over and force pills   Mia is now feeling much better...it works quickly!  We keep a bottle of cherry-flavored kaopectate in case we need it, too. 

So, I never did get back to sleep.  I'm just waiting for the baby (my 2.5 yr old) to wake up so we can go do our usual Friday shopping...I need to go to TSC, and I'm going to try HARD not to bring home more chicks! 

I have to fix some stall doors today because the horses seem to have gone crazy and three of them broke their doors.  I had to tie them closed with baling twine last night.  I'm leaving them in today because of the potential for severe thunderstorms this afternoon.


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## Goatherd (Mar 2, 2012)

Welcome.  Thanks for sharing your family and farm.


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## TTs Chicks (Mar 2, 2012)

nice pics!


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## that's*satyrical (Mar 2, 2012)




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