Pictures of our farm

[Little Cow]

Someone asked for this in the introductions and, since I'm new, I thought I'd oblige (plus, I wasn't sure what the punishment was for refusing :biggrin2.

We have 3 horses, 1 pony and 1 donkey.

First, the horses. This is Phoenix. He is a registered Quarter horse and an absolute ham. He is wonderful with children but still a brave trail mount and cow pony for us. I bought him green and trained him myself I gave him to my husband a few years ago but I still get to ride him sometimes.

This is Phoenix's best friend, Donkeyotee (pronounced like Don Quixote). He is the biggest character on the farm. He even has his own Facebook page because he has so many fans, LOL! He is still young but he carries a pack saddle and I am saddle-breaking him. He is 14 hands tall so quite large for a donkey. Here he is doing his infamous "monkeyface" for treats.

The boys.

This is my horse, Allie. She is an Arabian (cross?). I lovely mare to ride and very gentle but spirited and fun.

 

[Little Cow]

Here is our 30 year old rescued horse, Andy. He is also an Arabian cross and retired dude ranch horse. He is wonderful with our son.

This is Maggie, our Shetland Pony. She was our niece's pony until they lost their farm several years ago. She had a bad attitude at first but I worked with her extensively ad now she is as sweet as can be. Our son has just started riding her but I also clicker trained her to do a trick routine and she has been invited several years in a row now to our local Highland Games to represent her breed and perform her tricks. This is her fuzzy winter coat (doesn't stay thick very long here in Florida!)

Next, the cows.

 

[Little Cow]

We raise Dexter cattle, which are a very old Irish breed. They are dual purpose (for milk and meat) and the smallest true breed of cattle and were used in Ireland for small farms. Due to their humble beginnings, they are very gentle and easy to train (they once shared a roof with their poorest owners). They were imported to the US in the early 1900s. There are some 'improved' lines and some older 'legacy' lines here in the US. We raise the legacy type. Some people like the short-legged Dexters (caused by a dwarfing gene) but we do not have any carriers of that gene because we prefer the long-legged type (the dwarfing gene causes a 25% death rate among calves).

Here is our new bull. He is very young in this picture (7 months old) but already, he is showing very good structure. His name is Armstrong.

Dexters come in black, dun and red but the predominate color is black. Here is a picture of me with some of our full grown cows so you can see their size. The tall cow with the white on his forehead is a dairy steer we fed out for meat (we had several years of only heifers). We sell most of our heifers as trained milk cows for small families (Dexters can produce 3-5 gallons of milk per day and many lines, like ours, are homozygous for A2 milk).

Here is a newborn Dexter calf. they are known for never needing help with calving. My cows let me handle their babies freely. I just never get between momma and calf, just in case. This is Fiona at birth.

A three month old dun calf, Blossom. 10 month old Fiona is also there mugging me for treats. All of our calves are dehorned at birth, mostly because our fair doesn't allow any horned cattle. They are also all halter-broke and trained to lead. I can take any of the girls for a walk, LOL!

Two of our animals, Erin and Arnold, are on loan to a children's farm and plantation in Richmond, Virginia. They are doing quite well with all the attention.

 

[irishbunny]

Aww very nice

 

[MiniLopHop]

How lovely! I showed Jerseys in 4-H as a kid. I think people don't generally know how sensitive cows can be. What a nice little farm you have

 

[Little Cow]

Thank you. We also have a pair of turkeys and laying hens. Plus, dogs and cats.

Minilop- Very true! I am from out west originally and worked on large ranches. I thought cattle hated people until I visited a Dexter breeder. I loved their sweet dispositions immediately. They are easy to work with. Mine come running when I call them and I can move them into the chute very easily for shots. They all have names and distinct personalities.

irishbunny- Dia dhuit!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Awesome pics.

 

[mistyjr]

Awe, very nice photo's!

 

[naturestee]

Great pics! I've never heard of the Dexter breed. Then again, all I did was whine and complain when my dad would drag us to big cattle shows. I didn't grow up on a farm, but he did and he's an agricultural salesman. He likes "looking at cow butts," which is what we call it when he goes up and down the barns looking at all the cows.

I think people that don't know about cow personalities have either never been around them, or at least not around milk cows. All the beef cattle I've been around are relatively skittish, but milk cows are bred to have better personalities for all that handling. My mom used to ride one like a horse when she was a kid.

 

[Little Cow]

Our cows are for both milk and beef! Not skittish like range cattle. All of ours beg for treats and like to be brushed. What? Spoiled? Nah!

 

[JadeIcing]

So cute! I knew about Dexter cows from farmville.

 

[irishbunny]

irishbunny- Dia dhuit!

 

[MiniDutchGal]

Your Farm's kinda like my Farm, but with less cows and more goats

 

[Little Cow]

Thank you!

What kind of goats? My husband likes puppy dog goats (nubians) but we have our hands full already.

 

[Little Cow]

Just so no one feels left out, here are the other critters:

We have baby chicks that we raise occasionally. The kitty is Thea, an older kitty who has seen it all.

"Why, hello, little nom. Want to stay for dinner"
"Nope! Gotta go!"

Our son is almost 3 years old and he is so gentle with animals (always supervised). This baby chick fell asleep in his lap and stretched his little leg back. So, John supported his leg separately, LOL!

Luther, our 2 year German Shepherd. Such a sweet dog that he touches noses with the bunny as he walks by her cage. Gracie actually hops over to greet him.

A few of our laying hens.
Wilma.

Cricket.

 

[Little Cow]

We are trying baby turkeys this year. These are Narragansetts, which are a heritage breed from Rhode Island. The baby chick in the background are from the same batch pictured above, just older. I really like how calm and gentle turkeys are. They do not pick on the chicks.

We have a few free range guineas (they keep the tick population in check). One of our hens has an occasional batch of keets. We separate most of them from her and raise them in a brooder and find homes for them. She tries very hard but loses most of them to wild predators if we don't help her out. I leave a few with her though.

I must say here that although we have a rooster and five laying hens that are pets and named, we also periodically raise a batch of chickens for the freezer. They are treated very well and free range our farm once they are old enough. We also put a steer in the freezer once per year. Our hope is to raise a breeding pair of turkeys and have turkey as well. However, there are also cows, chickens and turkeys that will live out their natural life with us and, as I said before, we sell our heifers as family milk cows.

 

[Little Cow]

Arrow, our cattle dog.

Audrey.

Bart.

 

[naturestee]

Turkeys are calm and gentle?:? Must be the breed. My husband remembers having to carry a stick with him as a child to protect himself from the turkeys. I don't know what they had, probably Ye Olde Stereotypical Turkey.

Those guineas- and their babies- are so cute! I've never seen any before. Maybe they just don't do well in the frozen north.

My MIL keeps saying she wants chickens again, but never gets around to doing it. She misses having fresh eggs and free-range chicken meat. They haven't raised small animals since they built a new house a while back. My in-laws have a grain farm and raise buffalo for meat and occasionally sell to neighbors. I get a lot of free cheaper cuts from them. So good!

Oh, and your kid is darling! My daughter is 17 months old, and she knows to be gentle with animals but she still gets carried away with excitement sometimes. I have to watch her like a hawk with the bunnies. I hope she learns how to be as gentle as your son!

 

[Little Cow]

It must be the breed because I heard the same thing. Turkeys are known for living peacefully with chickens (though you need to be sure your chickens are free of disease because there are some things that turkeys can get from them).

I'm sure your daughter will come around. John wasn't ready to hold a baby chick until recently and he is almost 3.

Guineas are from Africa so perhaps they don't like the cold? I'm not sure. I never heard about them until I lived in Virginia.

 

[JadeIcing]

I am in love with this thread.