# EllieMay's journey towards self-sufficiency.



## EllieMay (Mar 25, 2013)

What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like?
_I'm in South Central Kentucky smack dab in the middle of nowhere. I'm originally from California, so it was difficult for me to understand the 'hillbilly' accent spoken here. But I love it here and the climate is milder than I expected. We get no real snow; just some dusting that melts by noon. Summers are hot as can be expected, but I lived in Arizona for a year so I know the meaning of real heat._


How many people are in your family? Marital status?
_We have five kids all grown and living their wonderful lives. So its just me and hubby here on the farm.
I'm the farmer and hubby sometimes helps with the 'manly' stuff. _


How would you define your farm?
_I have 15 acres of pasture, some trees, and ponds.
Goal is to have a self-sustaining hobby farm.
Also, want to buy the surrounding 25 acres so I can buy more sheep._


What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed?
_I enjoy traveling and have traveled and lived overseas. Having a farm makes it difficult to leave unless I can find someone I TRUST with the care of my livestock for weeks at a time.  But if I had the resource of a good and trusted farmer who knows what to do and can live on my farm while Im away, Id definitely continue my traveling adventures._


Have you ever built a house, barn , or other types of building? Do you want to?
_Hubby and I built two chicken coops. We knew nothing about building so were quite pleased with our efforts. Now we build all of our own coops and pens. Would love to one day fix up our barn; but were hiring people for that job and help out where we can._















Who or what inspired you to be a farmer/rancher, hobby farmer?
_Ive always wanted to live on a farm. Having grown up in the suburbs in California, I never set foot on a farm, but would always watch the old shows like Green Acres and wish I could live like that (just without all the self-inflicted problems). _


Is it a hobby or an occupation? 
_I work on my farm full-time since I do not have a job. So its a hobby that Id like to earn a living at._


In what types of farming will you never choose to do?
_Dont think I would ever want to get into the large commercial operations._


Are you interested in providing more of your own food supply?
_So far we grow most of our own fruits and veggies. We basically go to the store to buy staples like salt, sugar, flour, etc._


Can you legally have all forms of livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds?
_This was one of the reasons I moved to KY, so that I could do whatever I please with my own land. Right now Im only raising Katahdin sheep and will have one annual Duroc pig for meat, and we have chickens._


If you could live any place you chose, where would it be?
_Outside the US I would like to live in a place with mild climate year round. I lived in the jungle of Costa Rica for a few years; however, farming didnt work well there since there are way too many predatory creatures to make farming comfortable.  I love the beautiful hills in Romania; however, I dont like the cold winters. Ive thought about moving to New Zealand, but thats still on my list of places to visit first.
Within the US I would love to live in the northern part of North Carolina (if it werent so expensive) and I also love the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia (but, again, its too expensive). _


Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking?
_Nah. Way too primitive for my taste._


Do you process your own meat? Can or preserve?
_Yep! So far I've only processed my own chickens and canned veggies and fruit.  I don't much like the canning of it all. Way too time consuming! Throwing things in the freezer is easy enough; just don't like the canning. I guess I am not fond of spending too much time cooped up in the kitchen. _


Do you use alternative energy sources on your farm? Would you like to?
_Were currently working on our own source of energy so we dont have to depend on any corporation for our basic needs._


What is on your to do list?
_Buy a tractor!_


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## Four Winds Ranch (Mar 25, 2013)

Nice!!!   
I am looking forward to reading about you self-sufficiancy experiences and ideas!!!!
My goal is to be self-sufficiant as well!!


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## promiseacres (Mar 25, 2013)

sounds great!


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## EllieMay (Mar 25, 2013)

This is ALL new to me . . . like I said, I grew up in CA, so I know NOTHING!
But I'm learning as I go.
And I ask a LOT of questions.

Last year I planted a veggie garden that was about 50x70 feet.
That plus the meat from my chickens brought my grocery bill from $250 down to about $60.
So this year I want to do better.

Last year I pretty much grew a lot of everything.
This year I am growing a lot of what we eat most of and what is easier to preserve and store.

I also make my own homemade dog food and hatch out barnyard chickens (Easter Eggers) for the dogs.
I enjoy seeing what colors the EE's turn out to be, but since they don't necessarily have enough meat on 'em for my needs, they become dog food.
I hatch out my large barnyard mixes for myself (I have a Black Copper Marans rooster with Black Australorp hens and some Barred Rock hens).
I use my Silkies to pay for all of the expense of raising chickens.
Right now I'm culling my Silkies real hard to keep only the top 1% show-quality and breeder-quality chickens.
I'm hatching those eggs to see what I will get.
I sell hatching eggs when I'm satisfied with the quality I'm getting from my hatches.

We also eat a lot of bacon and I make a really good quiche with pork sausage, so we'll enjoy butchering our pig in the fall.


For me, self-sufficiency comes with small manageable steps, so it's a pleasure along the way.


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## Symphony (Mar 25, 2013)

Can't wait to read your future journal entries.

You may also like Western Oregon.  As long as its west of the cascades it will be very pleasant weather and good rainfall without the Tornadoes.


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## EllieMay (Mar 28, 2013)

So one thing we figured we'd try this year is growing blueberries. There's a huge demand for blueberries here where we live, and a lot of farmers are beginning to grow them. 
We already had about 6 plants here, and we just purchased 150 more.   So that meant digging 150 holes!  
Fortunately, we had a friend with an auger that we could pay to dig the holes for us. Didn't take much time. 









Hubby carefully marked where all the holes should go, and we were hoping we'd miss that water line.
Of course, he hit a water line, so that meant calling the plumber out to fix it. 
Oh, the joys of farming.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




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So last weekend I picked up 76 blueberry plants (made two trips in my little pickup). 
These are 4-yr-old plants. I'll pick up the rest next week after they bring in a new shipment. 
They'll probably only be 2 or 3 year old plants, but that's fine with me. 

We have several different varieties: Elliott, Blue Ray, Blue Crop, and Sharp Blue.  We're also getting some Rubel blueberries. 

The Rubel blueberry is one of the few true wild blueberries. They are known for their very high anti-oxidant properties. 
I'm only getting a few of these plants since the berries are very small (but tasty); I'll probably use these for my own jams and fresh fruit. 

The Elliotts are also high in anti-oxidants (not as high as the Rubels) and they're a nice large berry; we have 51 of these plants. 
I got the Sharp Blues because they are an early grower, but I only got a couple of those plants since they can be susceptible to frost. 
The two plants I bought are loaded with buds, so the yield this year will pay for all the plants we just bought. The Blue Rays are a mid to late bloomer to extend the blueberry season.

We belong to the Blueberry Grower's Association and they'll send out a picker to help with the picking when the time comes. 
They also keep a list of the places that need blueberries delivered, which saves me the time and effort of marketing. 

We haven't planted the plants yet; just set them in the holes. We're just examining them to see if there are plants we want to return. 
And, besides, my back is happy to put off the planting for a while.


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## Four Winds Ranch (Mar 28, 2013)

Good luck with your up and coming Blueberry Buisness!!!!!  I love blueberries, but unfortunatly I can't get them to grow worth anything here! :/
We do have  a few wild ones growing in the bush behind the house!


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## Symphony (Mar 28, 2013)

Thats great that the Association will send out a picker to help y'all and they tell you where the need is.  I just have a couple semi wild ones that need heavy weeding and trimming.


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## EllieMay (Mar 28, 2013)

Four Winds Ranch said:
			
		

> Good luck with your up and coming Blueberry Buisness!!!!!  I love blueberries, but unfortunatly I can't get them to grow worth anything here! :/
> We do have  a few wild ones growing in the bush behind the house!


Yeah, I don't think they grow very well on your side of the country.
I was in Ontario and had the 2nd BEST blueberries I had ever tasted (the best were the ones I ate in Romania).
I think it's the cold weather.


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## EllieMay (Mar 28, 2013)

Symphony said:
			
		

> Thats great that the Association will send out a picker to help y'all and they tell you where the need is.  *I just have a couple semi wild ones that need heavy weeding and trimming.*


Yeah, uh huh. 
I'm sure they'll send someone right over!


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## EllieMay (Mar 31, 2013)

Today is day 147 and my ewe, Spreckles is due to have her babies.  Spreckles is one of my best ewes and even though she's a yearling first-timer, I expect twins from her.  Last night I had a dream (it was a very real dream) that Spreckles had her babies; they were twins and they were black with some white spots.  This morning I went out to the barn to check on her  and  there were no babies.   

Odd thing is that when I opened the gate to let her out with the other ewes, she didn't want to go; she just hung out at the gate. I figured she must be close to lambing. I could see her hip bones now, so I know she's close.  This is a pic of her as she was just hanging out at the gate. Not sure if you can notice her hip bones.








Anyway, as I was feeding the livestock and locking them all up for the night, I noticed a ball hanging out of Spreckles. It was a water bag!  I got really excited!!  I ran inside and told hubby to come watch the birth. We sat there and watched and waited and waited and watched. Spreckles just stood there in her pen that I set up for her. She wasn't in active labor, so we left to go finish dinner and I planned to return in 15-20 minutes to wait some more. Well, by the time I went back outside, she had already had BOTH babies! One boy and one girl and they were black with white spots exactly like they were in my dream last night!

It was dark and I had a flashlight, but this is a pic that was taken of the babies and momma. I'll get way better pics tomorrow.


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## SheepGirl (Mar 31, 2013)

Easter babies! Congrats!


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## Four Winds Ranch (Apr 1, 2013)

Beautiful babies!!!!     Congrats!!!!


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## promiseacres (Apr 1, 2013)

congrats!


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## EllieMay (Apr 1, 2013)

Last August as we were weeding out the tomato bed, we discovered a nest of guinea eggs.







It wasn't too long after that when 'mom' decides to check her hoard of eggs.







Well, I grabbed handfuls of eggs and gave them to some broody hens I happened to have sitting on eggs. I left the momma guinea with about 10 eggs to hatch.

After the eggs hatched and momma guinea decided to leave the nest with her brood, I looked at how fast she was walking and started grabbing babies that were at the back of the line and struggling to keep up. (I already knew guineas are the worse moms in the world, so I had not planned on her keeping any.)  I gave babies to my other broody hens who were sitting on the guinea eggs that have now hatched. I left momma guinea with 3 babies. I went to the nest in the garden and saw one guinea baby that had just hatched and was still wet from coming out of the egg. I picked up the poor thing and brought it into the house and put it in a brooder box. There were still two eggs left in the nest and I just left them there hoping momma guinea would return. She never returned to that nest (don't know where she took her 3 babies). But when I went back later another guinea chick had hatched so I grabbed it and put it in the brooder also. 

Later that afternoon momma guinea was walking across the grass with two babies (yeah, in just a few hours she already lost one).  I took another baby from her and left her with the one baby that seemed strong enough to keep up with her. Within two days that baby was gone.

In all I had about 24 baby keets being raised by broody hens plus two in my brooder.  The momma guinea saw some of her babies in a pen I have outside being raised by one of my Silkies. Momma guinea would pace back/forth for days next to that pen.  I finally felt so sorry for her that I put her in a pen up in the barn and gave her 6 babies to raise. She actually did a fine job of raising them inside the pen (there was no where for her to lose them). In the next pen was a Black Australorp raising another 7 or so guinea keets. 








As the babies got older, I took the mommas out and brought them back down to where the chicken coop is located. My plan was to raise the guinea babies inside the barn and let them out during the day to free range in my pastures so they could eat up any worms. Hopefully, this would minimize the wormload for my sheep.

The guineas enjoyed hanging out in the pastures . . . and they also enjoyed hanging out down the street and up the highway. You can't imagine how many times I had to jump in the car to go fetch guineas off the highway. I'm sure it was funny to see me herding a bunch of screaming guineas back down the road to my farm. Anyway, eventually they figured out how to stay on the farm and inside the pastures. 

So now I have my guineas helping me with my pasture management.


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## EllieMay (Apr 17, 2013)

Well, I'm BACK!
Been real busy sitting in the barn 24/7 waiting for ewes to lamb.   

 
You know the old saying, "a watched kettle never boils..."  
Yeah, so true. . . .  :/ 
So I packed up my sleeping bag and left the barn.  

Hubby was glad to have me back in the house, so he decided to make me an omelet for breakfast with the one asparagus shoot that was growing in our garden.  
Oh, yes!  It was delicious!!







After breakfast I had to drive up to Louisville to meet someone who was buying one of my cats. 
Although she looks like psycho-cat in the photo, she is really a sweet loveable kitty.

















Earlier this year I ordered four Royal Empress trees to put in four pastures to provide shade/shelter for my sheep. They finally arrived!  I already have one of these trees near my house, and I absolutely love it!  They can grow to 12 feet in the first year, and they have HUGE leaves (about 12" across). The sheep LOVE to eat the leaves since they are very high in protein. The leaves also make excellent mulch because of the high nitrogen. Right now my tree near the house is blooming and the fragrance is heavenly!

I had to put temporary fencing around the 'tree' to prevent the sheep from stomping on it thinking it was a twig. 






This is how my tree looks during the Spring when it blooms.



 


And here it is with its leaves coming in (not quite full yet).  
This is a 4-yr old tree.






My ram, Sylar, was watching us plant the tree.
He's a really good ram!  Very friendly.
Also loves to play head-bashing games (but I can't play those games with him).  


But he still loves his chin scratched and his hips massaged. 






He also enjoys relaxing with the dogs (his favorite pastime).






Here are a few of my girls. They are due to lamb in May or June.






And the other ewes that have lambed or are ready to lamb are near the house.











Of course, my day would not be complete without me herding the stray guineas back home.












Okay, that's it for today. 
I gotta go check on my sheep to see if anyone has lambed.
I know I said I wouldn't . . . but . . . oh, well.    I'm weak.  

See ya!


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## PendergrassRanch (Apr 17, 2013)

all your photos.  Looks like heaven to me 

What kind of sheep are they?


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## EllieMay (Apr 17, 2013)

PendergrassRanch said:
			
		

> _ all your photos.  Looks like heaven to me
> What kind of sheep are they?_


Hi!
They're Katahdin hair sheep (no shearing or docking necessary).
They're very docile and can be raised on pasture (no grain necessary).
I got them because they come in many colors/patterns and they are extremely low-maintenance.


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## promiseacres (Apr 17, 2013)

yumy asperagus (waiting impatienlty on mine) 

beautiful trees and critters!


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## Four Winds Ranch (Apr 17, 2013)

I do love those trees!!!!   Very majestic looking!!! Beautiful sheep you have, good luck with the rest of the lambing!!!


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## BrownSheep (Apr 17, 2013)

Asparagus grows wild in our ditch banks here. In the spring you always see people walking around the side of the road hunting for it. It turns the most gorgeous orange in the fall.


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## EllieMay (Apr 22, 2013)

I was just talking to someone today who said asparagus grows wild on her property.
I never knew it grows wild out there.

Well, yesterday I spent the better part of the day weeding the entire asparagus plot.
I have 11 plants (8 I purchased last year and 3 that came with the property).
There are lots more shoots coming up. I'm cutting every day.


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## EllieMay (Apr 26, 2013)

Woke up at 2am.
Remembered something I left undone.
Went out in my PJs and boots to close the coop.
One of my broody hens was squawking like she was real ANGRY.
She was off her nest and up on a roost; her nest had been raided. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



All of her eggs were eaten and some of her feathers were next to the nest.
She had been sitting on 8 Silkie eggs.  
BUT . . .
Life goes on.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




While standing outside in my PJs, I got a chance to enjoy the full moon and sit with my sheep a while.


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## Pearce Pastures (Apr 26, 2013)

Aww, sorry about your eggs.  

Um, 2?!  Go take a nap!


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## ragdollcatlady (Apr 26, 2013)

I am enjoying the ride...... 

Beautiful animals!

Sorry about your silkie eggs. Were they from your own silkies?


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## EllieMay (May 4, 2013)

ragdollcatlady said:
			
		

> I am enjoying the ride......
> Beautiful animals!
> Sorry about your silkie eggs. Were they from your own silkies?


Yes, those eggs were all from my white Silkie hens who have just started laying a few months ago, so I am hatching their eggs for the vey first time.
I will have to wait a bit longer now to see what they produce.
They are in a pen with the most amazing and gorgeous white Silkie rooster.


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## EllieMay (May 4, 2013)

I finally brought home a baby pig!  It was difficult finding a local breeder.

Her name is Bacon and she is a Duroc x Glouchester mix.

She'll be raised with the sheep out on pasture (& pig feed), so I trained her to come when called to make it easy for me to feed her.

I haven't wormed her yet, so she's not out on the pasture with the sheep just yet.

She is the sweetest thing and I'm in love with her little grunt noises. 

She *loves* to see me and comes running and squeeling to me whenever I call her name in the morning. 

I like having a pig.     I'll certainly miss her when I take her down to the slaughter house in November. 

But next year I will get another baby pig and enjoy the fun all over again!  


When I first got her, she kinda smelled like a pig, so I had to give her a bath.  
She was okay with it as long as I allowed her to stand up in the tub.









She certainly looked and smelled way better after her bath. 
I think she kinda liked the 'new' her, too!  









Bacon loves to lay next to her favorite tree and take naps.







I gave her a ball to play with. She loves tossing that around.
She also loves tossing her food/water bowls around.  :/ 








Shhhhhhh!
At night she likes to sleep inside her comfy tub.
Sometimes she completely buries herself in the hay and I can't find her.


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## BrownSheep (May 4, 2013)

Nooooooo. No andorable piggy pictures. I want one sooooooo bad!


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## ragdollcatlady (May 4, 2013)

That is a cute baby! I am not really fond of pigs but I do think the durocs are a beautiful breed. I also like the spots. I am trying to convince my DH who does like pigs, to get some American guinea hogs...a little smaller so I may be a little more comfortable around them. He would rather stick to the large breeds so you only have to slaughter one for more meat. Your little girl is really pretty and looks very content.


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## Four Winds Ranch (May 4, 2013)

Awwwwe! Little piglets are soooo cute!!!   Too bad they get so BIG soooo fast!!


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## EllieMay (May 7, 2013)

Yeah, they're just SO CUTE!

And they get BIG real FAST.

But that's part of the joy of having an 'annual' pig.

You just keep them while they're growing 'babies' and slaughter them, then next year do it all again.


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## EllieMay (Oct 7, 2013)

Well, Bacon loves hanging out with the sheep (and dogs).
I was fortunate enough to get her while she was still young, so she thinks she is a sheep.
When the sheep go out to graze, Bacon is in the midst grazing along with them.
When they come in for a snooze, Bacon is snoring with the best of them.
She's getting bigger!  
She likes to follow me around and get her tummy rubbed.
And she loves her picture taken.


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## jodief100 (Oct 7, 2013)

Bacon looks delicious.  Happy animals are tasty animals, no stress hormones, no negative energy.  They have this wonderful, happy life and then it is over before they know anything else.  If you are going to eat meat, that is the best way to do it.


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## elevan (Oct 7, 2013)

x2


_You should submit some pics for picture of the week too_


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## Four Winds Ranch (Oct 8, 2013)

Nice pig!!!  It looks very happy and is enjoying its life to the fullest!!!!


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## EllieMay (Nov 7, 2013)

So we took our first lamb up to the butchers and ate our first lamb chops off our farm!
DELICIOUS!!
I think the feeling knowing that the meat did not come from a sick animal certainly made eating meat raised on the farm more pleasurable.
I hate going to the sale barns and seeing all those sick animals heading out for slaughter and knowing that's what ends up at the grocery store.

We weren't sure how much room one lamb would take up in our freezer, so we only processed one at this time.
This is some of what we ended up with:










Next week, we take Bacon up to see the butcher.


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## Four Winds Ranch (Nov 7, 2013)

Yum!!!!!
We will be getting our lamb meat back from the butcher next week, and your pic is making me hungry!!!  
What weight was your lamb (live) when you sent it to the butcher?


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## EllieMay (Nov 25, 2013)

It was a small lamb... maybe 70-lbs.
I forgot to weigh him before he left.
The butcher sliced the chops thick.
I have a couple more that I'm trying to put some weight on; their butcher app't is not until mid-January.


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## EllieMay (Jan 9, 2014)

Chula had her puppies on New Year's day!
We had sub-zero temps, so I hung a heat lamp in the barn for her and the pups.
It kept the air temp above freezing.
She has been such a good mom!
Mom and Dad are both registered Turkish Kangal dogs.

Here are some photos taken at one week old:

Girl "A"
















Girl "B"
















Girl "C"
















Boy "D"
















Boy "E"
















Boy "F"

















Mom and pups






Proud Daddy


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## Four Winds Ranch (Jan 9, 2014)

Very beautiful!!!!! So adorable!!!!  I want a puppy!!!!


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## jodief100 (Jan 10, 2014)

Mom looks tired..... They are Adorable!!!!


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## elevan (Jan 10, 2014)

Aww those precious puppies just make me melt.  Mom does look tired, poor girl.


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## EllieMay (Jan 18, 2014)

Mom and pups are all doing fine.
She is an awesome mother; very attentive to her pups.
They are now two weeks old, so I weighed them all and gave them all a mild wormer and took pics:


Girl "A"
4.4 lbs







Girl "B"
4.8 lbs






Girl "C"
4.15 lbs






Boy "D"
4.18 lbs






Boy "E"
5.14 lbs






Boy "F"
4.58 lbs






Group


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## Southern by choice (Jan 18, 2014)




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## Goat Whisperer (Jan 18, 2014)




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## kinder (Mar 21, 2014)

They must be big now.. Have they gone to new homes yet.?? Did you keep any.?? So cute


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## EllieMay (Sep 9, 2014)

All the puppies have gone to their new homes.  I really do miss the little puppy stage. I kept a male for myself and weighed him when he was 6 months old. He weighed 110-lbs. They grow so fast!

Anyway, I posted a few pics of Daddy on Facebook and thought I'd post 'em here, too.


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## EllieMay (Feb 23, 2015)

We're starting our lambing season. 
Didn't start off smoothly.

Yesterday I had a ewe with a water bag presented. I waited for the lambs to be born, but nothing happened all day. This morning I took my ewe to the Vet, and she was only dilated at 2. Vet had to do an emergency C-section.

C-section went well; ewe is up and standing.
She had twin ewe lambs; both were dead. 

I will bring her home and milk her to freeze her colostrum and milk. At least another lamb could possibly use it.

Just not the most pleasant way to start off the lambing season.


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## bonbean01 (Feb 23, 2015)




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## Southern by choice (Feb 23, 2015)

Sorry EllieMay


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## Hens and Roos (Feb 23, 2015)

Sorry to hear this


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## norseofcourse (Feb 23, 2015)

I'm so sorry     thankfully at least the ewe is ok.


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