The Itsy Bitsy Farm

For as long as I can remember , I have loved surrounding myself with animals.  When my family and I moved to Cocagne, Kent County, in rural New Brunswick, the dream of having my very own farm became tangible.  We started out with a few horses and chickens, then a goat and a llama... well let's just say my dream did indeed come true. When work recently brought us to Dalkeith in Eastern Ontario, we moved no less than an entire double-decker livestock trailer filled with our pets!

We started out with just a few animals that we purchased, but soon found ourselves in a situation where we were being offered animals that needed rescuing or a retirement home. Since our goal was not to live off the farm income we decided that we would do well to take in animals that might otherwise not have a home.

There are some very loving pet owners that have given us the gift of their treasured pets- bunnies, horses, chickens, goats-.  Then there are the animals that did not come from good homes... 

We are also opting for a more natural lifestyle. Growing our own veggies has been a long time habit. Now we raise our own meat.  It isn't easy at first, and with some animals, it's impossible ( sometimes they just stay pets!), but knowing how our food was raised, treated, we feel is very important. It's easier on our conscience to go to the grocery store and purchase meat that doesn't look like the actual animal anymore, but meat is what it is: a life to sustain life. 

We also have dairy goats, that we milk some years, depending on how much time we have available, and a Dexter cow will be joining us Summer of 2009 to provide enough milk to make yoghurt and cheese.  We haven't attempted to milk the sheep yet...I am sure that we will eventually.

We consume all kinds of eggs, but none from the store. Have you ever seen those places! If I even buy a dozen when we are running short, in Winter, my kids won't speak to me for a week!

The kids are into felting, knitting, crocheting...we are working our way up to handspinning, but are not there yet!  We also want to try our hand at soap making.  So many wonderful things to try , so few hours in a day!  Thank goodness for 4H, it is helping the children try new things in the company of knowledgeable people.

Whatever the animal in question, we strive to offer for sale healthy (correct in conformity and character), beautiful, friendly and happy animals.   Ours are animals that come from a hands on farm.  They are handled often and are exposed to countless other animals and are cared for by young children and make good pets. This does not mean that we have only pet quality as we have some future showring champion alpacas in our herd, amongst other animals .

Whenever rescuing or taking in an animal, there is a mandatory quarantine.  We offer vet care regularly. We do not give medication to the animals raised for consumption unless the animal is suffering or would otherwise die as we will not be cruel and leave an animal to die uselessly(we have never had a food animal in this situation however). We are commited to ongoing education about the animals in our care and continuously research their needs and review new information that is available. 

This remains a hobby farm.  We intend to offer pet animals for sale to good pet homes. We will not, knowingly, sell for meat purposes (unless the animal was raised for that purpose) and we must feel that the pet animal is going to a good home.

Examples:

We will not sell an alpaca to a home where there is no other camelid to be pastured with (as they are gregarious and could be stressed to death in some cases).

We will not sell a goat to a home that intends to tether the goat.