purplequeenvt - Ivy Knoll Farm

[purplequeenvt]

The Smith Family Farm is located in beautiful Charlotte, VT. We raise registered Border Leicester sheep. We also have a small flock of cross bred ewes for meat production, 6 llamas, 3 miniature horses, 1 goat, 1 bunny, 2 cats, 4 Border Collies, and a flock of chickens, turkeys, and ducks.

We've been raising sheep for about 11 years know. We started our "farm" around 2000 with angora rabbits. Next we added llamas and then we added 2 sheep. By the next spring we had 11 sheep and it has just gone from there. We no longer raise angora rabbits as the person in charge of them (my sister, Katie) got married and a bunch of us are really allergic to them, but we still have 1 little mini rex.

I will try to update this as much as possible. Feel free to ask me any questions!

View to the east - Mt. Philo (taken Summer 2011)

View to the west - Lake Champlain (taken Summer 2011)

 

[jodief100]

Beautiful! Lookign forward to hearing of your adventures.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

I really like sheep and would like to start some one day. I haven't decided on the breed quite yet. Look forward to hearing more from you!

 

[purplequeenvt]

Meet some of the animals!

Gus the Goat - Gus is a 3 year old wether that was given to me as at about 3-5 months. He was very small and rather sickly, but we fixed him up.
As a baby

Now (last summer that is...)

Some of the sheep

Wide load! Galadriel is a Border Leicester. She always looks like she is pregnant with triplets, even when she isn't pregnant at all!

2 of the rams - Cal (Romney) and Benjamin (Border Leicester/Dorper cross)

Moe the Romney wether.

Hera - a Border Leicester lamb from 2011. She went to our church to participate in the AWANA program.

Haec (pronounced "Hike". Latin for "this") We have another sheep that looks similar that is called Illa (ill-lay) meaning "that". Both are a strange combination of Friesan/Texel/Shetland.

The Llamas

Shadow (right) and Rikki (left)

Charlotte (right) and Cassie (left)

Hayley (left) and Monty (right)

 

[Cricket]

I had wondered if you were the Smith's who had angoras--you folks had an excellent reputation as breeders! Looking forward to seeing lambing pictures. It's been such an odd winter--feels more like April and time to start thinking about planting.

 

[purplequeenvt]

I had wondered if you were the Smith's who had angoras--you folks had an excellent reputation as breeders! Looking forward to seeing lambing pictures. It's been such an odd winter--feels more like April and time to start thinking about planting.

Yes! We are "Those Smiths" Thank you, that is nice to hear.

Lambs don't start arriving until end of March for us (see me twitching?). The weather has been lovely!

 

[purplequeenvt]

I'm trying to remember to bring the camera out with me on a regular basis, in order to get some decent pictures of all the animals. I intend to revamp our farm website (which hasn't been seriously updated since 2007!) at some point and I want lots of pictures.

Some chickens

Mini Stooge a red sex link

McMurray a Speckled Sussex rooster. If you happen to have the most recent edition of the Murray McMurray Hatchery catalog....he is the rooster on the front cover.

Priscilla an OEGB

One of the Speckled Sussex hens

Lola, my little porcelain d'Uccle. She's not the sharpest knife in the drawer.......

 

[purplequeenvt]

It is warm this morning and the sheep are all enjoying the sun.

#0174 is looking for a good name! Any suggestions?

Jazmin - my favorite bottle baby ever.

Dixie

A view of the Adirondacks

 

[Cricket]

You are going to have a lot of fiber this spring! Names for 0174? She's got a lot going on--white nose or white spot in a french? Urchin? Bonhomie? Have you dyed any of your white llama wool yet?

 

[purplequeenvt]

Cricket, you have no idea! We still have 2 years worth of wool in the basement that we haven't done anything with yet!

Hayley and Monty have been out on loan for a few years and I just got them back this fall, so I haven't done anything their fiber in a long time. I think my mom dyed some llama roving a long time ago. We usually blend the llama with sheep wool and then spin or dye it. Someday I'll get back into working with the fiber more. I have a project on my wheel right now (50/50 grey llama/wool) that I need to card some more wool up for and finish.