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Nigerian Dwarf
Goats
The Nigerian Dwarf is a miniature goat of West African
origin. They are small in size and come in all colors. Their small
stature means they do not require as much space as their larger
diary goat counterparts. Their gentle, friendly personalities make
them good companion pets and easy to handle – even small children
can be at ease with these little goats. A healthy Nigerian Dwarf doe
can produce a surprising amount of sweet milk for her small size –
up to two quarts per day. In addition, Nigerian Dwarf milk is higher
in butterfat (6-10%) and higher in protein content than most other
dairy goat breeds. Our goats are triple
registered with Nigerian Dwarf Goat
Association, American Dairy Goat
Association and the American Goat
Society. Our herd is annually tested for CAE/JOHNES/CL and have been
found negative. They also receive annual CDT vaccinations.
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Mopsie
and Snickers |
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Nigerians are Great Milkers |
As a family, we
milk our goats for our own consumption and do not try to sell the
milk, even as a pet food. We also make some of the best cheese we’ve
ever tasted. However, we aren’t trying to grow our herd size, so
several times a year we have some young kids for sale. Males are
normally wethered early, but if someone is interested in a buck we
can usually accommodate them.
Chickens
We have
Americana
(green/blue egg layers),
Marans
(darker brown egg layers) and a mixed flock of
brown-egg laying hens, but, we're able to sell pure
Americana
and
Maran hatching eggs, chicks and sometimes the laying
hens to make room for new hens.
Our rooster “GQ” and his ladies
The Americana gets its name from the
Indian tribe of Chile, Araucana, where they were first discovered
and the mix with American breed chickens. They lay beautifully
colored eggs of shades varying from turquoise to olive. These birds
make an absolutely beautiful laying flock that is extremely hardy.
Baby chicks will come in all colors, plain and fancy.
The Marans breed was developed in the
early 1900s as a dual purpose utility, and their eggs, like those of
the Welsummer, are an extremely dark brown. The breed takes its name
from the French town of Marans, but most North American Marans are
of English extraction. The importance of this is that the English
version is clean legged, but in its native France the breed is
raised with sparsely feathered legs (I have both clean and feathered
leg hens, the rooster is clean-legged). All Marans (even Blacks)
have white legs.
Bees
We started out with one beehive purchased through trade for a goat.
Since then we've made splits, captured swarms and won hives
through our local Roane-Morgan Beekeeping Association. We now
have nearly 30 hives (half of which are for sale). Those of us
who have got into beekeeping often get what is called "bee
fever." This is a
business with many facets and gives our whole
family an opportunity to learn more about nature and the role of
the productive honey bee. We are also members of the Tennessee
State Beekeepers Association. We are still learning about this
business and continue to enjoy not only the honey
but also the beeswax products, including creams, lotions, lip
balms and soaps. The modern use of hive products has changed
little since ancient time.
Beekeeping
is one of the oldest forms of food production. Some of the
earliest evidence of beekeeping is from rock paintings. It was
particularly well developed in Egypt and was discussed by the
ancient Roman writers. Western honeybees are not native to the
Americas. Our bees are the Carniolan variety. This bee is a
subspecies of the Western honeybee that is from a region of
Slovenia. It is favored among beekeepers for several reasons, not
the least being its ability to defend itself successfully against
insect pests while at the same time being extremely gentle in its
behavior toward beekeepers. These bees are particularly adept at
adjusting worker population to nectar availability. It rapidly
expands worker bee populations after nectar becomes available in
the spring, and cuts off brood production when nectar ceases to be
available in quantity. With high worker populations they store
large quantities of honey. They are resistant to some diseases and
parasites that can debilitate hives of other subspecies.
Our son wanted a companion dog and used his allowance to
buy a registered black-brindle French Bulldog female in
2004, named "Gracie." We were also able to show her at
AKC
shows and she became a champion. After breeding her, we
kept one cream male, "Sluggo," because of his
excessively sweet personality. Shown below is our cream
male as an adult and puppy, plus his mother.
We only have Sluggo now, and he continues to be a
precious member of the family. He is available for stud
service to
responsible and caring
French Bulldog owners.
The French Bulldog is sometimes
called the Bouledogue Francais or Frenchie. They're descended
from the English Bulldog. They were initially just diminutive
English Bulldogs, but they were bred successfully wit French
Terriers. French farm households loved their companionable
traits and rat-killing instincts. The lowly street beggars,
prostitutes, and poets took on French Bulldogs, and the upper
classes copied them in like manner to demonstrate their racy,
avante garde, and edgy personalities. When the dogs were brought
to England for exhibition, there was a massive cultural clash
because the English were upset that the French prefix had been
attributed to a Bulldog from England. They can weigh 19 to 28
pounds. Their standard height is 12 inches. French Bulldogs can
be a bundle of energy, but they're mostly placid companions.
French Bulldogs come in a variety of colors that include black,
cream, red, fawn, blue, tan, and brindle of all sorts.
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