Monday, July 16, 2012

Another Day on the Farm

This Sunday I was able to visit the Shock farm, where I received my chicks earlier this summer.  I of course went outside to see all the animals and take pictures.

Mrs. Shock keeps milk goats and uses the milk to make soaps and lotions. She sells them on her website. I have tried them and absolutely love them! They smell good enough to eat. She has a blog about her family farm here. While reading her blog, I was delighted to find that she has posted videos on how she makes her goat's milk soap and lotions!  I hope to try her recipe someday when I have my own goat(s). Here are a few of her many goats:

Now, I know what you're thinking. Why in the world don't these goats have ears? Were the poor thing's ears cut off? Before you get all upset, let me explain. These goats are LaMancha breed goats, and they are born with very tiny ears, as you can see in the pictures. The breed originated in America, and lactating does (a female producing milk) can produce 1/2-1 gallon of milk a day. Also, contrary to popular belief, they will not eat garbage or tin cans, although they are easy to keep and do not require a lot of land.

Here is her buck(the male goat):
 I also said hello to the horses. Here is Tigger, one of their Haflingers, and Addie, a Quarter Horse.
When Addie noticed me taking pictures of her, she got curious and came to see what I was doing!

Their roosters are stunning, dignified creatures.
Dignified, well, except when it's windy out.....
One of the many chickens(I think this one is a Black Australorp):
Some beautiful sunflowers in her garden:

I was amazed at how well her garden was doing, despite sandy soil and the drought we've been having. It was so dry, the cacti in the field were thriving.
In the evening, we helped with milking the goats. Here I am with one of the goats, and a pail of frothy milk!
And yes, I am wearing the necklace I made the other day for this blog post.

I snapped a closeup shot of one of the guys milking:
Since we weren't saving the milk for human consumption today, we gave it to the animals.

My dog, Daisy, also enjoyed it.
 
One tired puppy at the end of a long day:

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