It has been a busy summer here. We have been exploring a bit but mainly the busyness has been at home. It all started in June when we attended a hobby farm auction. While driving by the auction house one day I saw a sign for an upcoming auction. I told my husband that i wanted to go and loved auctions.. Well turns out so doe she. We attended the auction and spent the entire day there. We bought tools, furniture, and a pig. Yup you read that right, a pig.
The auction had goats and sheep and lots of birds but also had a potbelly pig. Instantly my kids fell in love with this little guy. Well, maybe not so little. He is pretty big and round. But so smart and so fun to have around. After paying for him and bringing him home, we rushed to the hardware store to get supplies. We built him a shelter and quickly got into routine. He is house trained but our dogs would not like him in the house. So he is an outside pig. He is pretty spoiled and on a strict diet as we do not want him to gain any weight. Turns out many pigs get too big and their fat covers their eyes making them blind.
A few days later hubs was going through a Kijiji ad and found two goats for free. They needed a home and had to stay together. If they were not re-homed they were going to be dinner. We brought them home and made them a shelter as well. They are in a community enclosure with the pig but have their own space. Not long after having them, the one goat started getting aggressive and was getting hard to keep. We found him a home and thought everything would be fine. Problem is, the sweet goat we kept cried. He cried for his friend and he cried loud. All day and all night. So we started to look for a companion. I saw in a local Facebook group a lady was trying to find her goat a home. It’s friend had died and he was crying too. So we went and picked him up. Ernie is what we renamed him and he thinks he is a dog. A few hours after having him we realized it was a perfect match. They are now the best of friends and are always together. Even when we let them out to run around the property, they stick together. However they love being close to us and climb all over the vehicles. Yikes!
Next we got 5 alpacas as we had purchased them a few months earlier but had to wait to build them their space. Fencing and shelters took a while but we were finally ready for these beauties. 4 females and 1 males with the possibility of two of them being pregnant. These mild gentle animals have brought us lots of entertainment and are pretty sweet. We now have them eating out of our hands and loves to watch them graze. Recently we set a sprinkler in their area and laughed watching them walk over it to get cool. We had them sheared early July and sent their fiber off for wool. I am excited to make some scarves out of it this winter. Sadly we had to have an expensive visit from the vet as one had a growth on her nose. Hopefully she is out of danger as it has been removed but we are still keeping an eye on it.
Having all of these animals we had to get a LGD to help take are of them. Our two labs are great, but they are no threat to predators. So we now have a 5 month old Anatolian Shepard. A live stock guardian dog is a must when you have coyotes, wolves, bears, cougars and other predators around. He is bigger than our other dogs and loves watching over our animals. He is a puppy and still learning, but in no time will be ready to be on duty 24/7.
It has gotten to a point where I am having to tell hubs no more LOL. He came home with a surprise for our youngest a few weeks ago. Six chickens and a coop for her to take care of. We get eggs every morning from them . It is nice as we have more eggs than we can eat so we gift them to neighbours and friends. In return they give us veggies and berries from their garden. It has been amazing!
Seeing how easy they are to take care of, we are now planning on getting some more for food consumption. Maybe some turkeys too. They actually arrive in the mail as chicks and are ready for processing in 6 weeks. They are only cute for a few days and there is a facility that will pick them up and do everything needed to get them freezer ready. Took me a while to be okay with it, but it is nice knowing where our food is coming from.
So on top of our two dogs, Macaw and hedgehog, we have all these new additions to our family. We wake up early and have a routine to feed, clean and keep them all safe. There is another auction coming up and I woudl love to get some sheep. Winter will be here before we know it so we will be making sure their enclosures are all weather proof for our new friends. Be sure to follow me on Instagram as I often post pictures and instagram stories showcasing our new hobby farm adventures. Instagram RantingGinger
Hard to believe I was once a city girl! We are enjoying this very much and excited to see what is around the corner for our family. I will be sure to keep you all posted 🙂
Oh my goodness, you’re a total country babe now! Look at all those animals, they are so adorable and would be a lot of fun to be around and take care of.
Oh wow, compared to me, you have a very exciting life. You need to start advertising for farm experiences (as if you’re not already busy enough!) it would be so much fun to visit!
Wow, wow and wow again, love this idea of having so many animals. I love auctions too but I’ve never bought a pig at one. 🙂 I’d say that you have a farm now, soon you’ll have to grow food for all these animals. I have no idea what they eat but I presume hay is needed for bedding down or eating. I always wanted to do this but have never had enough room, lived in cities etc. I have friends who keep chickens, sometimes they get broody and then they don’t lay but when they do the eggs are delicious. 🙂
We live on some acreage now and my husband would love to have goats… but I’m not convinced yet, lol! Love the animal photos! Too cute!
Love the farm life and all the animals.
Chicks!! I have enjoyed watching this journey. The pig ? Is interesting, but when I saw the alpacas and also the amazing chickens and chicks well that’s the best thing ever! Your daughter has got to be thrilled with this!
I’m dying over here. Some furniture etc and a pig. You just throw it in there like it aint no thing lol.
I love the fact that you and your family are living a wonderful life with all these animals. I think many people would love this. My sister loved animals and this is the sort of thing she did while on her little farm. Good luck, good health and many years of living well.
How much fun! You got me first at the pig. And then the rest! And laughing–I raise English Show Labradors, and I hear you–mine would chase a predator but wag if they caught one! The Anatolian should do the trick. 🙂
It sounds like a lot of fun for your kids and the best thing is you are teaching them about responsibility while they are having that fun! It will be interesting reading about your farm adventures.
This looks like so much fun! My little boy loves animals and would love to visit a farm!
My kids love animals and would love to pet them too. The pot belly pig looks like he really enjoys belly rubs
I was giggling as I got to each new animal! You really have a lot of fun going on there!
I totally want some goats. Unfortunately I live in town and am not allowed barn animals. I do have three dogs and two cats, so sometimes my house feels like a farm!
Aww, it’s great that you were able to find a friend for your goat. It must have been so sad hearing him cry! It sounds like things are going well!
Wow! I wish I had the land, I would enjoy all these animals. I love the goat on vehicule, haha
Look at those baby chicks, they are so cute! it sounds like you’ve got an interesting bunch in your yard, don’t blink or it will grow some more LOL.
Those guys will definitely keep you busy!!
oh my gosh WOW! that is amazing. you have been one busy woman. I have a couple friends who moved out to the country and have enjoyed the country living so much they never want to come back to the city. I moved to a small town once….didn’t take me long before i was back in the city lol. but for some people, country life is preferred. My mom actually rents a farm house in the country..lives right beside a barn with cows..and loves it!
Oh wow, you have quite the collection, you need a cow for milk now and some beef for butchering..I had a goat once and he did not like my husband at all always tried to headbutt him, I thought it was funny, hubby not so much..lol
Oh gosh – how awesome!
Omg so much cuteness!!!! I lived near farm country and my daughter loves driving by all the animals all the time!! Glad you found a friend for your goat
I think it’s so awesome that you’re getting a farm together with some awesome animals but I have to say I feel bad for the dog because I’m a dog lover and I wouldn’t be able to leave him outside. I live in a rural area and I grew up on a farm but we brought the animals in the barn at night to be safe and the dogs came in with us.