Life on the Ranch

The Geese Are Here!

2012-03-03T13:52:00.004-06:00

Yep, you guessed it . . . GEESE have arrived at our ranch. It was bound to happen knowing how things go around here! Here are a few pics of the Toulouse pair that I traded some hay bales for:

Yummy Goodies at the Ranch!

2012-02-05T17:05:00.001-06:00

I must say that there is never a lack of goodies and yummy food in this household. It seems as if there is always someone in the kitchen making something - whether it be some great tasting meat for tacos, homemade salsa, oatmeal cookies or candies of some kind - there is always an abundance of food. Here are a few pics of just a few things:

Onion Rings in a Rice Flour Batter:

Yummy Homemade 3 Musketeer Bars:

Pumpkins waiting to be turned into Pumpkin Bread:

Some kind of cake for the Twins 7th Birthday:

Many of these recipes can be found on a few of my daughter's blogs:

Ranch Girl's Sweets 'N' Treats

Got Down Syndrome Blog Recipes

More later!! Time to go do chores!

Buddy, the Toy Australian Shepherd

2012-02-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

Last week we had a little surprise show up under one of the trailers on our property. It is a new dog that we have given the name Buddy to. Here he is!

New Stalls in the Milk Barn!

2012-02-02T19:00:00.001-06:00

It has been amazing how fast the new barn is coming together. Having a couple of skilled sons is also a big blessing as they have been hammering out the new stalls in the barn. Here are a few pics form the past week . . . just a few more finishing touches (like gates with hinges and wallfeeders) and it will be ready to go. My daughter and I did sneak some goats in there for the night due to a coming storm!

After a hard day of work, it's time for a quick nap out by the fire pit!

New Baby Goats

2012-01-14T14:38:00.001-06:00

What a nice surprise to go out and find 2 new kids already on the ground and cleaned up. Star, the black and white moonspotted Nubian, had a boy and a girl Boer looking set of twins just today! Pics later!

New Floor in the Milk Bar

2012-01-13T10:15:00.001-06:00

We decided to get a few truckloads of what is called rock screenings for our new milking barn floor. It makes for a great floor that is really absorbent, doesn't mold or stay damp and packs down hard enough to actually just sweep off. Here are a few pics of the rock screenings being delivered and then flattened out by my crew and me.

Pigs in the Pond Pasture

2011-12-20T14:52:00.000-06:00

Well, one of my sons let his mama pig and her piglets into the pond pasture that the goats are in yesterday. I'll post a few pics of them - don't really feel like getting much done on here as a bad stomach bug has been making it's way through our house and finally got me last night.

Feeding Frenzy Number 2

2011-12-08T16:51:00.001-06:00

The other day, I did a post entitled Feeding Frenzy - that one was about our sheep and goats devouring a hay round in a week flat. Well, this time, my daughter got a few pics as I went out to the chicken and duck yard this morning with a bucket of scraps. Check these pics out - here's how to get 75 to 100 birds to follow you anywhere!

Peppy Update

2011-12-04T12:24:00.000-06:00

I thought I would just put a few pics of Peppy up. He is quite the fun llama to have. he stays with the sheep mostly (and his mom). I think that he thinks that he is a dog. Many times he can be seen chasing the ranch dogs around trying to play with them. He has also turned out to be a good guardian. Apparently he has charged the neighbors dogs if they are at the back fenceline and, he has been known to jump on the backs of strange guys that come into our goat yard!

Hugs for Peppy from my son!

Feeding Frenzy!!

2011-12-03T12:18:00.001-06:00

Here is how to go through one round bale in a week flat!! And, this is just the goats on attacking it . . . there are still 40 or so sheep that have access to it also!

Legalized Horse Slaughter

2011-11-30T11:09:00.001-06:00

   Obama has shocked me, that's for sure. With his decision to legalize horse slaughter on November 18, 2011, he has gained a brownie point in my book. I know some folks out there will be freaking out about eating horse but, think about it for a minute . . . since when did you want the government telling you what you can and cannot eat? FREEDOM is what America is suppose to be about and part of that freedom is being able to live in a country where we have choices in regards to our life. If it tweaks you out to think about eating horse, then don't but, please let those who want to eat it go ahead and do so.

      Here is a little article about it from http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/horse-slaughter-for-human-consumption-now-legal-in-the-u-s/ :

       "The five-year-old ban on horse slaughter for meat in the U.S. has been lifted by members of Congress who dropped a provision in a spending bill that barred funding for the inspection of slaughtering facilities.
On November 18th, President Obama signed a law, allowing Americans to kill and eat horses. This was despite the fact that 70% of Americans oppose horse slaughter and he made a campaign promise in 2008 to support an end altogether to horse slaughter for human consumption.
       Sue Wallis, a horse slaughter plant proponent said that entities are already considering opening plants in Oregon and possibly Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Georgia and Missouri. Between 120,000 and 200,000 horses are expected to be killed for human consumption per year."

   So, I say, WOOHOO . . . let's have the freedoms we are suppose to have in this country!

Rastus, the New Boer Buck

2011-11-23T16:10:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago my son got a new Boer buck, named - are you ready for this - Buttmaster Rastus!! Here are a few pics of him for now, since I need to get off of here and help in the kitchen - it is PRE-THANKSGIVING time in the kitchen! I am hoping to do the next letter in the Ranch Animal Alphabet tomorrow - the letter T is what I am on next!

Rainy Days

2011-11-07T16:27:00.001-06:00

It has been nice to have a few rainy days over the past few weeks. The storm that is going on right now is not that cold of a one.

We had a storm a week or 2 ago that brought with it some temps that were in the 30's. All of these are just a reminder that winter is around the corner. With the storms comes the desire (on my part) to make sure that all of our animals are set-up for the cold. There are a few "winterizing" projects I would like to see get done.
One big blessing that we are aiming for (thanks to Granny!!) is a new 30'x50' barn right out back here behind our house. We are hoping to expand our goat milking area. One of the best parts about it will be the ability to just have more protection for some of our animals. The goats in milk will be able to stay close during the cold storms which will make it way easier to get them on the milkstand. Plus, we have about 60 does and 40 ewes that will begin having babies around the beginning of February!! It will make for some crazy times around here if the Lord brings it all to pass!
As some of you may remember, this past summer was soooo hot that we barely got anything out of our garden. Thankfully, some of the local stores have been having pumpkins on sale. So, we have bought up a few and will cook them down so we can make pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin butter and whatever else we can think of.

And no, I have not forgotten about the Ranch Animal Alphabet . . . maybe I can finish it up this week and next!

Ranch Animal Alphabet - T

2011-11-03T13:53:00.000-05:00

T is for Turkeys

We were first introduced to turkeys a few years ago when someone gave us 4 white ones. We learned with those first 4 that turkeys can be difficult to raise - one drowned in the pond, one fell in a bucket and drowned, one died from the summer heat and the last one I sold off.
Well, try number 2 came last year. We were given 4 Bourbon Red turkeys along with their tractor (a portable house for them). They lasted for a while and, we even got some eggs out of the hens. We were able to successfully hatch 2 poults (turkey babies) in our neighbor's styrofoam incubator. I decided that with all that is going on at our ranch that the turkey breeding program was just a little bit too much for us right now. It is an idea whose time has not come yet. Someday, I would like to raise heritage turkeys so, I'll keep you posted.
Here is a pic of the Tom that I had shortly before we sold him:

I can't find the other pics right now . . . maybe I can add them in later. Enjoy your THANKSGIVING!

Ranch Animal Alphabet - S

2011-10-31T22:45:00.001-05:00

31 for 21 - S is for Sheep

Hard to believe that the 31 for 21 challenge for 2011 is over already. Doesn't it seem like it just started? I had great intentions of getting through all of the Ranch Animal Alphabet posts (especially considering there are only 26 of them and 31 days in the month!) but, that was not to be. With internet failures, a busy life at times and my own human failure to remember everyday, here I am at the 19th letter of the alphabet. Oh well, I will try to keep on posting over the next week here to finish it up.

The letter S is somewhat of any easy one because of the many sheep we have been running through this ranch over the past year or so. Sheep are one of the dumber animals in existence yet, some of them also have sweet personalities. We started with 2 Katahdin sheep added in Painted Deserts and some Finnsheep plus, a handful of others. For a more complete look at our sheep adventures, you can go to our sheep blog and check it out - Little Hills Sheep Ranch. Here are a few pics of some of the sheep we have at the present moment:

Ranch Animal Alphabet - R

2011-10-30T12:13:00.003-05:00

31 for 21 - R is for Rabbit

We have been raising rabbits for about 9 years. When we started, we did not know hardly anything about them. We picked up a bunch of mutt type rabbits that we were going to raise for meat production. As it turned out, those rabbits were Mini Lop. My oldest daughter took an interest in them and began doing some research. Soon, we were into raising Mini Lops for show. She also took an interest in the color genetics of the Mini Lop rabbits. Her knowledge and rabbitry increased. Soon she was bringing rabbits in from WA, Canada and other far away states. We also began to transport and ship rabbits to other states and eventually even another country (Yes, she had a lady come from Finland for some of her stock!). You can go to my daughter's website to read more about the Mini Lops - Hoppin Herd of Hares .

Now, you may be wondering what my part in the rabbits is - well, my daughter and I have contemplated raising meat rabbits since our CA days. Once we got set up here in Oklahoma, we managed to bring in some of the best commercial rabbits out there (as far as I am concerned!). We started with just one Production White doe and one buck about 18 months ago. We now have close to 20 does and hope to increase that just a little bit more. We have enjoyed having the meat rabbits because we are able to have quite a bit of fresh, home-grown meat. At the same time, we have been able to sell off enough stock to buy the feed for the rabbits that we keep.
The stock that we raise were originally from Texas A&M. They are a commercially bred New Zealand White rabbit that we call a Production White. I like them because of the following reasons:
1. Nice big rabbits
2. Handle the heat here well.
3. The babies grow out well. Most of the fryers are 5 pounds at 8 weeks of age.
4. Dress-out is easy and fast. Just a few minutes per fryer.
5. The feed conversion of these rabbits is incredible. The does only eat between 1/2 to 1 cup of feed a day.
6. They are pleasant rabbits to deal with, nice personalities and easy breeders (most of the time!)

I'll try to add a picture or 2 later, I have to get out door to a soccer game!

Ranch Animal Alphabet - Q

2011-10-29T11:01:00.002-05:00

31 for 21 - Q is for Quail

Oh, yet another animal to incorporate into our self-sufficient ranch someday! Check out the info below the pic! Thanks to How to Raise Quail for the statistics.

Incubation period: 18 days

Humidity for incubator: 50 - 60%

Move to hatcher/stop turning: 14 days

Matures at: 8 weeks

Benefits of raising: Fast-growing, easy to raise and the largest of the Coturnix varieties. These birds make great meat production birds or egg-layers. The eggs are more round in shape and can be hard to fit into quail egg trays, however.

Size/Weight: 14+ ounces

Breeding Ratio: 20 females to 5 males in one pen seems to be a great ratio.

Special Needs: Very few, these are fairly easy, laid-back to birds to raise who are hardy and seem to have very little problems.

Ranch Animal Alphabet - P

2011-10-28T15:29:00.003-05:00

31 for 21 - P is for Pig

We have had lots of pigs pass through our gates since living here. Everything from boars to gilts to barrows to domestic to wild pigs. At the present moment, we have one mama sow that has 9 piglets on her. She is a Duroc pig. Here are a few pics of her and her piglets:

My sons are also involved in trapping wild hogs with my nephew. Here is one wild piglet that was caught.

Ranch Animal Alphabet - O

2011-10-27T20:13:00.001-05:00

31 for 21 - O is for Ostrich

Do you really think we have an ostrich? NOPE! Not yet anyway! I have contemplated the idea (of course!) as ostrich farming is suppose to be somewhat profitable. There is a group of ranchers that is trying to make ostrich farms bigger than cattle ranches . . . probably won't happen in America. Although, with the present drought in TX, who knows . . . maybe ostrich farming will take off. Besides, we would only have to crack 2 eggs to feed our family (the same as 48 chicken eggs!)!

Ranch Animal Alphabet - N

2011-10-26T18:13:00.001-05:00

N is for Nubian & Nigerian Dwarf

The very first goat we owned was a Nubian named Mama. She was a big Nubian that had a very well used udder! She would give us about a gallon a day. Sometimes she would stand on the stand but, at other times, it took several of us to milk her because we had to hold her feet still. We sold Mama before we left CA but, we have a few of her daughters in our herd to this day so her genetics have been carried on. Here is Mama:

Since then, we had many Nubians come and go. We do have several that have been with us for years now. They are great milkers, have personalities of their own and do well in just about any setting . . . whether it is the dry desert of Southern CA or the humid and moist enviroment of NE Oklahoma.

This is Vanilla - she is one of Mama's daughters. We have had her from our CA days. She was one of our first bottle babies. She is a strong goat.

This is Prissy. She is a Nubian that we brought down form WA to CA. She has also made the trip out to OK with us 3 1/2 years ago. She is one of our best milkers.

Here is Rhia. We aquired Rhia from a breeder in KS. She has lost alot of her teeth so she gets grain twice a day. She is older but, is a sweet goat and has a funny personality.

We can't forget the main Nubian buck we have at the moment. Here is Hershey:

Of course, Nigerian Dwarf also starts with N so, here is Barry, our resident and small Nigerian Dwarf buck. We use him in our Miniature Dairy Goat breeding program.

And, one last one of ma with a Nubian (Prissy again!):

Ranch Animal Alphabet - M

2011-10-25T15:15:00.002-05:00

M is for Mouse

These little furry creatures are an unwanted and unwelcome animal that comes with running a ranch or farm. Mice have made their appearance in more than one of our barns but, that is why we have the cats. The cats job is to keep the mice under control. They do a decent job at it.
I had a picture of one of our cats eating a mouse but, I can't find it right now . . . oh well, not much more to say about mice.

UPDATE: My daughter found the picture of the cat eating the mouse! Kind of nasty but, that's life on the ranch!!

Ranch Animal Alphabet - L

2011-10-24T11:00:00.000-05:00

L is for Llama

We have had a few llamas run through this ranch. The first was a $40 male llama that we bought at the local auction house. It turned out that he was more of a show llama so we sold him and got another one named Ranger.
Ranger was a big male llama that was used to running on 40 acres with goats. He was a presence out in the 40. Sometimes he would come back at night and hang out with the goats but, at other times, he would remain a mysterious presence out in the 40. It was a little freaky to hear a branch breaking behind your back and turn to see a big llama staring at you.
There was a trio of llamas that Granny bought us one year. Well, we ended up selling Mr. Bill, the male because he was a little out of control. We kept Peppercorn and Salty. In the fall of 2010, Peppercorn began to slow down. We weren't sure at first if it was due to a possible pregnancy and impending delivery date or what. As the days went by (and we researched online) we realized she was sick with something. We treated her, hoping she would pull through. Unfortunately, she dropped as we were bringing her back from pasture one night. Suspecting that she was bred, we did an emergency c-section on her in the hopes that we might be able to save the baby. We did find a baby but, he was preemie and not ready to live outside the womb yet.
We still have Salty and her baby (Peppy) that was born here in January of this year. It was quite the event to watch - a baby llama birth. It has been interesting to watch Peppy grow up with the sheep and goats. Now that he is about 10 months old, we have watched him try to attack strangers that go into the sheep and goat yard. I am hoping that he will continue to be a good guardian for our livestock.

Ranch Animal Alphabet - K

2011-10-23T19:25:00.003-05:00

K is for Kids

K is for kids. We have lots of kids around this ranch. There are 2-legged kids and 4-legged kids. The goat kids are fun to have around. The bottle babies are some of the best to have as they are very playful.
With 26 goats bred right now and about 30 more to go, we should have lots of kids next year (Lord willing).
Here are just a few pics of the kids that have been at our ranch:

These are some special pics of a little buckling that was born here. He was MINIATURE for sure!! We named him Tic Tac and he is still here at our ranch.

These are a few pics of a recent emergency c-section we had to do on a Boer doe. Unfortunately, we lost the mother but, we were able to save the buckling (Fighter has become his name).

Ranch Animal Alphabet - J

2011-10-21T21:36:00.001-05:00

31 for 21 - J is for Jack & Jenny

Well, has anyone guessed the animals for J? How about Jack and Jenny? You got it! That's what a male and female donkey are called. We have had several Jacks and Jennies pass through our ranch gates. At the moment, there is a Jack and a John (a fixed Jack) living in a pen across the street.
We also have a Jenny that hangs out with our sheep and goats. They are suppose to be pretty good gaurdians. Some of us saw her get bred by the Jack just a week or so ago so, we might end up with baby donkeys in a year or so. They are usually referred to as a baby jack (for the boys) and a jennet (for the girls).

Here are Jack and John:

Here is Jenny:

Various Events

2011-10-20T21:31:00.000-05:00

31 for 21 - Various Events

Well, I missed a post again yesterday . . . we have been having internet problems and I was tired by the time I remembered that I had forgotten! My original plan was to get through all 26 letters of the alphabet with my Ranch Animal Alphabet during this month for the 31 for 21 Blog Challenge. But, that isn't going to happen since the month has flown by! For today, I will just do a few pics of some of the recent things that have gone on around this ranch. Hopefully, the next letter will come tomorrow!
Here we are on our way to the last soccer game and a soccer pic:

Here is a pic of some of the last special zucchinis that came out of the garden down by my nephew's place (just across the street):

Here is my son holding 2 of the zucs up to give us a size comparison:

One of my daughters with her bottle baby lamb:

Dynamite, the new Boer buck:

One of the new kitties that has made it's way to our farm. This one is living inside the Mini Lop bunny barn at the moment:

Ranch Animal Alphabet - I

2011-10-18T15:36:00.000-05:00

31 for 21 - I is for Ichthus

I bet some of you were trying to figure out what the Ranch Animal for I would be, huh? Well, it is Ichthus. Although we don't have a place for any ichthus right now, I do want to make a place for them someday. When we first bought our property, there was a pond here that had ichthus in it but, it was not set up right and it turned into a muddy, stinky mess. After a few animals we had got sick from the yucky water in it, we drained it out. I hope to have my nephew come in with the bulldozer someday and dig it deeper and set it up right. It would be great to have a stocked pond full of all kinds of ichthus. As someone that wants to be running a ranch that is self-sufficient, ichthus would just be another animal that we could catch and eat. Here are a few pics of a recent trip the kids and I went on to a friend's pond to catch icthus by the name of catfish:

Tulsa Buddy Walk

2011-10-16T22:04:00.002-05:00

31 for 21 - Tulsa Buddy Walk

Today was the Tulsa Down Syndrome Buddy Walk. Several of us went in support of our team, O's Ranch Hands. Here are a few pics from the day:

Oops!

2011-10-15T12:48:00.001-05:00

31 for 21 - Oops!

Well, with all that goes on around this ranch, it is difficult to get my hands on a computer to do a blog post everyday. Yesterday was busy and so it was after midnight when I realized that I had not done a 31 for 21 blog post yet! Oops. So, for today, I will post a few pics of some of the things that have gone on the past few days. I'll try to get back to the Ranch Animal Alphabet in a day or so.

A few days ago we had a doe that had a kid that was radically stuck. The doe had a very small pelvic area for the kid to come through and we realized, after several hours, that there was no way the kid was going to come out. It was either lose both of them or put the doe down and do any emergency "in-the-field" c-section. My daughter did a great write-up about the whole situation over here - Farm C-Section . Here are a few pics of the event, first is me with a serious look on, then me trying to pull the kid out, then some of us getting the kid out of the uterus and lastly, the big buckling that we saved.

9 piglets were also processed during the past few days - teeth cutting and castrating.

AND, we happened to pick up just a few more animals last night - 2 donkeys, 2 steers, 3 pigs, 2 rams and a buck!! Here is Diamond (Katahdin/Dorper ram) and the red ram (no name at the moment).

Bounce U!!

2011-10-13T20:19:00.002-05:00

31 for 21 - Bounce U

Just a few nights ago, we went to Tulsa to pick my mother up from the airport. It also just so happened to be the Tulsa Down Syndrome's Association Buddy Walk kick-off event at Bounce-U. We picked up Granny and headed on over to the event. We were able to help out, be in the background of a newscast and jump around for fun. If any of you are in Tulsa this coming Sunday, then you should head over to the Buddy Walk. You can find out more info over here - Buddy Walk .

Ranch Animal Alphabet - H

2011-10-12T12:14:00.002-05:00

31 for 21 - H is for Horse

Horses are on this ranch mostly for training purposes. My nephew has been training horses for many years now. A few years ago, he began training 2 of my sons tot rain. Now that we live across the street from each other, I can watch them from the window as they train horses. It is such a wonderful set-up we have here.
Recently we were given a horse and my son is putting some time into him. It looks like he might turn out to be a good horse to have around. Here are a few pics from last year:

Ranch Animal Alphabet - G

2011-10-10T21:47:00.001-05:00

31 for 21 - G is for Goat
Goats, goats and more goats! That's what we have alot of around this ranch. Just this morning triplets were born to a Boer doe we have. I could tell you lots of info about goats BUT, again I am running late and have lots to do still sooooo, here come some pictures for you.

Ranch Animal Alphabet - F

2011-10-09T20:14:00.002-05:00

31 for 21 - F is for Fainting Goat

Since first getting goats about 7 years ago or so, I have thought about getting a Fainting Goat. They are quite an interesting mid-size goat that will actually faint it it gets scared or freaked out. I have heard that they were originally brought to AMerica to run with more expensive stock. Then, when a predator comes, the fainting goat would pass out and the others would get away.

Here are some pics of the fainting doe that we have right now:

Ranch Animal Alphabet - E

2011-10-08T15:01:00.001-05:00

31 for 21 - E is for Ewes

Ewes are something we have a lot of right now. We have Painted Deserts, 4-horn Jacobs, Katahdin and Finnsheep. Our adventure into sheep started just about 1 1/2 years ago. At the moment I am extremely busy soooo, I will just post a few pics of some ewes that we have.

Ranch Animal Alphabet - D

2011-10-07T15:50:00.001-05:00

31 for 21 - D is for Ducks

Ducks made their way to our farm earlier this year. When I found out that the Muscovey Ducks were famous for making a farm "fly free", I decided we should get a "few" of these critters for our acreage. Well, a "few" turned out to be about 25!! There are pied ones, productions whites and even chocolates out there. the chocolate trio lives in the meat bunny barn to keep the bug population down out there. The others roam around the property between the house, the garden, the front yard and the pig pen down below.
They also are considered a quackless duck and are not even classified as a typical water fowl. We have yet to experience the hatching abilities of these ducks because it was too hot for any birds to consider laying this past summer. I am hoping that after winter passes, the ducks will begin to lay. Supposedly a single duck will about 20 eggs in a clutch, sit on them and raise up the ducklings. She will lay up to 3 clutches a year. That's about 60 ducklings out of each duck!! If I have 20 females and they each lay 60 eggs a year - do the math - that's 1200 ducklings they will raise up!! The males grow to be about 12 to 15 pounds in just several months. We recently put one in the soup pot and made a delicious pot full of duck soup.
So, for quiet fly and bug patrol, lots of eggs or ducklings to raise up for meat, I recommend getting Muscovey ducks. Plus, little folks (like my son) enjoy chasing them around some!!

Ranch Animal Alphabet - C

2011-10-06T19:27:00.004-05:00

31 for 21 - C is for Cat

Cats play a big part on our ranch. My children enjoy playing with them out in the milk-room and they are key to have outside for mouse patrol! When we came form CA over 3 years ago, we brought several cats with us. Kitty Boy was our king kitty. We got him and his brother back in CA. He made the drive out here to OK and then vanished for weeks on end after our arrival. He finally re-appeared and was around until just a few months ago when he got sick. My daughter had pulled a big tick off of him and he went downhill rapidly after that. In less than a week Kitty Boy died.

Well, we still have Cougar (one of Kitty Boy's sons), the local milk room cat. Cougar has been seen grabbing mice and eating them whole in just a matter of minutes. He also sits under the milk-stand at every milking time waiting for the milk foam to be dumped on the plate that is under there. Here is a pic of Cougar with Roxy:

This is Junior, another one of Kitty Boy's sons but, he has passed away also. We are not sure why he died.

Here are a few pics of Trix (as my daughter calls her!). I call her the little white kitty.

Just practicing catching mice!

We also recently brought in 4 little kitties (2 orange ones and 2 white ones). I'm sure their pics will make it to the blog someday. There are also 2 that live in my daughter's Mini Lop bunny barn.

Ranch Animal Alphabet - B

2011-10-05T11:43:00.001-05:00

31 for 21 - B is for Bullmastiff

   For quite a few years now, we have had Bullmastiffs. Our journey into the Bullmastiff world started when some friends of ours gave us a female named Harmony. Click here to see her - Harmony . When we moved to Oklahoma in the summer of 2008 we brought 5 Bullmastiffs with us. That first summer here we lost Harmony to a really fast moving case of bloat. It was a very sad loss.
   Since then we have lost 2 more of our beloved Bullmastiffs but, also added in another one. More info about our crew can be found at my daughter's website - Regards Bullmastiffs .
You can read about Bow here - Our Beloved Bow.
   The Bullmastiffs add a specialness to our household. My son likes to pet them, go on walks with them (and his sister) and sometimes even bath them.
Although it appears that most of our breeding days are behind us at the moment, she does keep up a blog about the newest Bully we have - The Adventures of Canuck . I am hoping that she will be able to show him and get his championship title. Here is Canuck when we first got him, then a pic of him a little older and the last is Canuck at one of the Tulsa Down Syndrome Buddy Walks.

Ranch Animal Alphabet - A

2011-10-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

31 for 21 - A is for Alpaca

   Yep, we had an Alpaca named Mr. Buddy Walk. He was originally given to us to train and take to the Tulsa Down Syndrome Buddy Walk in 2010. Unfortunately, that didn't happen due to the fact that Buddy was a lot more wild than we knew. We were hesitant to take him to the walk because we didn't want him to accidently kick someone.
     We also have a female llama. Did you know that an Alpaca and a llama can be bred together? Yes, Alpacas can breed llamas. The cross of a male Alpaca and a female llama is called a Huarizo. If a female Alpaca is bred to a male llama, the resulting offspring is called a Misti. And, if the baby (cria) looks more like an Alpaca it is called a T'aqa. If the baby looks more llama like then it is called a Warilla.
   Well, Buddy is not at our ranch anymore. He began to show some aggressive behavior towards some of our mama sheep and their lambs. We decided to send him on down the road to a place where he is getting day to day interaction. With enough attention, he should turn out to be a great addition to Rooty Toot Ranch.

31 for 21 - Living on a Ranch

2011-10-03T10:36:00.003-05:00

There are so many things that go on at our ranch day to day. Opportunities abound to learn, grow and discover. With my son, there are always events going on which has been a big plus to his life. These "ranch events" make his life so full. Plus, there are countless activities and animals that can be used to teach a lesson, learn a task or just discover something new.

Since animals play a BIG part in his life, I am going to highlight some of the Ranch Animals that we have during this month of 31 for 21. Hopefully these blog posts will be an encouragement to you to enjoy the simple and everyday things of life that we experience at our acreage.

Kim

31 for 21 - WooHoo! Another New Day

2011-10-02T15:17:00.000-05:00

One of the best sounds in our house in the morning, is hearing the voice of my son with Down Syndrome, when he yells over the balcony edge - "HI!". His approach to life is so refreshing. It seems that he rarely ever wakes up on the "wrong side of the bed", or with a bad attitude, or just mellow and unexcited. He always seems to be happy and full of life, ready to face whatever we may doing, whether it's the daily chores of the ranch or getting ready to go somewhere different. He makes all of us smile. The pictures below are a representation of morning life on our ranch - fresh, exciting and ready to go - just like my little boy.

31 for 21 - Here We Go Again!!

2011-10-01T10:12:00.003-05:00

Grab This Button

Hard to believe an entire year has gone by since I participated in my first "31 for 21" blog challenge. If you don't know what this is about, you might jump on over to Unringing the Bell to find out. In short, it is a challenge to do a post a day to raise awareness about Down Syndrome.

Me and my family entered into the world of Down Syndrome just over 6 years ago when I gave birth to a boy with Down Syndrome. Our lives have not been the same since this happy, bubbly, bouncy, smiley, excited little boy entered our lives. He makes us all laugh much of the time. So, in honor of him, I join in this challenge to raise awareness about Down Syndrome.

For more info about Down Syndrome, you can visit our website that my daughter keeps going - Got Down Syndrome. You might also check out her blog. A few of my other daughter's are also participating in the blog challenge but, I'll talk about them later this month. Oh, one last thing to check out - a book that we wrote and put together called Down Syndrome - What You Can Do

FOR SALE - 260+ Acre Ranch in Bonham, TX

2011-09-27T16:05:00.000-05:00

Kim Fish | (918) 598-4007

U.S. 82, Bonham, TX

264 acres, Ranch house, garage, guest house, barns, sheds, orchard, hay fields, 80 acres of high fence, perimeter fence.

3BR/2BA Multi-Family, 2 units

offered at $849,000

Year Built	1993
Sq Footage	2,500
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2 full, 0 partial
Floors	Unspecified
Parking	Unspecified
Lot Size	264 acres
HOA/Maint	$0 per month

DESCRIPTION

This is THE RANCH to buy if you are looking for a great place to live full-time or a great vacation/weekend home or money-making opportunity. A little over 260 acres of land. There is a main house, a 2nd house, a big detached 2-car garage, workshop, pole barn, 2 story hay barn, 3 other out buildings (1,200 to 3,000 sq ft each), hay fields and ponds. There has been 700 hours of dozer work done on the property. 80 of the acres have 8' tall high game fencing. Appraised at $950,000.
As a money-making investment, the hay fields yield enough hay to produce $18K or more a year. That's based on 2 cuttings a year and there were 3 made on the land last year. The ponds are still full of water and the fields can be irrigated, if necessary. The main house can be rented for around $1200 a month. The 2nd house can be rented for around $475 a month. If you put all of that together you could make around $40,000 a year on this great investment property. This is just renting the houses out and selling the hay. This does not bring into the picture the possibilities that exist with 80 acres of high fencing.

see additional photos below

PROPERTY FEATURES

- Central A/C	- Central heat	- Walk-in closet
- Tile floor	- Family room	- Living room
- Stove/Oven	- Microwave	- Granite countertop
- Attic	- Laundry area - inside	- Balcony, Deck, or Patio
- Yard

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Photo 1	Photo 2
Photo 3	Photo 4
Photo 5	Photo 6
Photo 7	Photo 8
Photo 9	Photo 10
Photo 11	Photo 12
Photo 13	Photo 14
Photo 15

Contact info:

Kim Fish

(918) 598-4007

For sale by individual owner

Equal Opportunity Housing

Posted: Sep 27, 2011, 11:26am PDT

Fall Lambings

2011-09-23T13:49:00.001-05:00

Well, even though many of our dairy goats are not coming into heat like usual (which will make our kidding season not start until February or March), we have had some sheep having fall lambings. In the past few weeks, we have had 3 ewes have single lambs and, there is another one in the back stall as I type this that we think will lamb in the next few days (we hope).
Here are a few pics of the new lambs, the first 2 are ramlings and the last one is a eweling.

Wordless Wednesday - New Goat

2011-09-21T12:23:00.002-05:00

Bella, the Cow and More Sheep!

2011-08-30T14:11:00.000-05:00

One of my sons likes to pick up bottle calves or young cows. He will raise them up for awhile and then sale them off when they get bigger. Here are a few pics of the resident cow we have right now. Her name is Bella. Her new hang-out spot is right out the back door!

We also picked up a few more ewes that are really big-boned and nice-looking. I am thinking that the tan one might be bred.

New Faces at the Ranch

2011-08-25T13:07:00.000-05:00

It has been soooo long since I have posted on here. I have lots of exciting posts that I have been working on and hope to start uploading a few different series of posts in the next week or so. We have been busy multiplying animals like crazy around here. Much has gone into just keeping the animals alive and well during these HOT days that we have been having for the past month or more. Thankfully, there have not been too many losses (just one little bunny and a few chickens).

For now, here are a few pics of some of the new faces that have managed to make it through our front gates!

This is Tisha, one of our new Alpine does. She is bred back to kid in just a week or so.

Shelby is another ALpine doe that is bred back and supposedly she gives 2.5 gallons of milk a day!!

Bella, the mix breed meat calf walking around.

One of the Saanan doelings that has made it to our place.

The BIG 3 Boer does that my son picked up. One is getting quite an udder on her so, I am hoping she kids sometime soon.

Good Morning, Birds!

2011-07-21T17:44:00.002-05:00

Here are a line-up of pictures from the other morning. This shows how many chickens and ducks we have and what happens when I open up the coop door in the morning! It's a race out the door and to . . .

me, because I usually have a bucket of grain!

CHICKEN CHAOS!

I also make sure there is fresh water in the little duck pond:

HEY! Those certainly don't look like ducks in the clean water!!

Gone to the BIRDS!!

2011-07-13T15:46:00.000-05:00

Over the past few months, I have added to our bird flock. I sold the Red Bourbon turkey trio that I had and now have ducks, chickens and guineas running around! Just yesterday, I brought in something like 77 or 78 new birds! Here are a few pics of what we have.

Vibe's Kidding

2011-06-23T14:46:00.000-05:00

Vibe is one of our higher percentage Boer does. We have had Vibe for quite a few years - she even came with us from CA. This year she had 2 bucklings bred to our FB Boer buck, Ace. We happened to be around for the birth. It was a beautiful Saturday morning and we were able to get some great kidding pictures.

What I Saw This Morning

2011-06-15T13:32:00.002-05:00

When I go out the back door in the morning on my way to feed the bucks and rams, I have a "few" other stops I make along the way. First to greet me is Roxy, one of our rescue dogs since she sleeps on top of the freezer right out the back door.

Last night, we brought Baby back to the stall since she is ready to drop kids sometime soon here. I peeked over the gate to see if she had any surprises for me - she didn't.

Next in sight were the 2 wild cows - I call them the "Phantom Cows of the Forest". It took several tries and then the neoghbor's 2 herding dogs to finally chase them off the 40 acres and into a smaller pen.

Next in my view was the tree that was broke in half last night during a big wind storm, of which, I was out in! Thankfully it didn't take out my turkey yard or little duck cage!

Here is a closer pic of the tree snapped in half:

Next on my morning path is the meat bunny barn. I fed all that needed feed. Some are on free-feed until we butcher them. We butchered 10 yesterday and 9 just last week. We have about 18 more to put into the freezer and more are in the nesting boxes.

Here are the turkeys that are right outside the bunny barn.

Here are the bucks and rams eating the morning hay bale that I brought them:

And, over the fence, the ewes and guard donkey are waiting to see if I'll throw them a few extra flakes. I always do!

These pics show the ewes devouring their flakes as if they are starving! They aren't as they have access to our 40 acres for most of the day!

Here is the "Log Loafer" pen that the younger rams and bucks are in at the moment. They were screaming at me in this pic as I came closer with their hay.

Here are a few renegade squash plants that are growing in one of the unused pig pens.

Down by the garden there are 3 white Muscoveys living in a tractor until they get a little bit bigger. Here is a sneak peek into their habitat.

One more of them from the outside of their tractor.

I also took a quick look at the tomato plants that I weeded around yesterday. They survived the storm that went through last night. It was a good thing that I weeded around them as the weeds were almost as tall as me!!

Back towards the bunny barns is another tractor that has some younger birds in it. There are some White Leghorns and Black Australorps in it. Plus, a special kind of chicken called a Turken.

Here is a good shot of a Turken. Whatcha think? Some folks like them and some hate them. I think they are kind of . . . ummm . . . cute!?! Some of my children say I am raising vultures.

Last, but not least, on my morning round of check-ups are the 3 little Chocolate Muscoveys. They looked happy to eat up the scrap bread that I tossed in their cage. I am hoping to get them into a tractor in the garden area also.

After all of this, I headed back in the house and drank a jar of Kefir mixed with goat milk, helped bottle the 5 baby goats and them milked 21 head of goats plus 1 milk sheep! When these "same 'ole, same 'ole" chores were done, the day was ready to start!!

Garden or Jungle?

2011-06-14T17:41:00.000-05:00

You tell me - this is the "garden". Believe it or not, there are tomatoes,and other edible things growing in that mess of weeds!!

My garden's worst enemy caught in the act of laying eggs!! A squash bug!

Introducing Bub, the Dorper Ram

2011-06-12T00:51:00.000-05:00

This is Bub, the new Dorper ram that my son bought. We shall see how he grows out and what kind of lambs he produces!

Ron Paul on RAW milk

2011-05-18T16:45:00.000-05:00

Considering the fact that we milk 21 goats two times a day, I was very happy to see this by Ron Paul.

The Milk Police

On April 20th, after a year-long undercover sting operation, armed federal agents acting on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) raided the business of Pennsylvanian Amish farmer Dan Allgyer to prevent him from selling his unpasteurized milk to willing, fully-informed customers in Maryland. Federal agents wasted a whole year and who knows how many of our tax dollars posing as customers in order to catch Allgyer committing the "crime" of selling his milk. He was not tricking people into buying it, he was not forcing people to purchase it, and there had been no complaints about his product. These were completely voluntary transactions, but ones that our nanny-state federal government did not approve of, and so they shut down his business. The arrogance of the FDA and so many other federal agencies is simply appalling. These types of police state raids on peaceful businessmen, so reminiscent of our tyrannical federal drug war, have no place in a free society.

The FDA claims its regulatory powers over food safety give it the authority to ban the interstate sales of raw milk, but this is an unconstitutional misapplication of the commerce clause for legislative ends. As we have seen, if the executive branch feels hamstrung by the fact that our framers placed lawmaking authority in the Legislative Branch, they simply make their own laws and call them "regulations." We all know how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses such bogus regulation authority to harass, hinder, and shut down countless other legitimate businesses. Sadly, Congress has been far too lax for far too long as the executive branch continues to encroach on its areas of responsibility and thereby undermines our system of government.

Most Americans understand that if you don't want to drink unpasteurized milk you simply do not buy it. But the federal government solution is pre-dawn raids which destroy the livelihoods of honest, hardworking families in this time of continued economic hardship.

I am outraged by this raid and the many others like it, and that is why last week I introduced HR 1830, a bill to allow the shipment and distribution of unpasteurized milk and milk products for human consumption across state lines. This legislation removes the unconstitutional restraint on farmers who wish to sell or otherwise distribute, and people who wish to consume, unpasteurized milk and milk products.

Many Americans have done their own research and come to the conclusion that unpasteurized milk is healthier than pasteurized milk. These Americans have the right to consume these products without having the federal government second-guess their judgment or thwart their wishes. If there are legitimate concerns about the safety of unpasteurized milk, those concerns should be addressed at the state and local level.

I am hoping my colleagues in the House will join me in promoting individual rights, the original intent of the Constitution, and federalism by cosponsoring this legislation to allow the interstate shipment of unpasteurized milk and milk products for human consumption.

If we are not even free anymore to decide something as basic as what we wish to eat or drink, how much freedom do we really have left?

http://paul.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1867&Itemid=69

Snake or Spider Bite

2011-04-30T11:10:00.000-05:00

   One of our ewes ended up with a fat face yesterday. Not sure if a snake (copperhead, rattlesnake or some other kind) or a spider bite her. She was pretty swelled up. We brought her and her daughter back to a stall for the day and night. She looks much more normal this morning.
   So, what do we do for a swollen face? We keep a tube of charcoal that has electrolytes mixed in it. A few squirts of this will help to bring the swelling down fairly quickly (usually). Just be careful not to squirt too much in the mouth of the animal (like we did!) and cause them to choke a little bit on the goop!
   Back in our CA days, we dealt with Mojave green rattlesnake bites on some of our dogs. We read about a home treatment that we saw work real quickly. Administer butter and whole milk to the dog (or other animal) - as much as they will eat and drink. Our little Chihuahua, Mini, got bit one time and was massively swollen. Within just about 30 minutes of eating butter and drinking milk, she looked almost normal.
   Anyway, here is a pic of the ewe that we found yesterday:

RAMS!!

2011-04-29T12:00:00.018-05:00

We have been adding animals to our property quite a bit. Here are some pics of the rams that have made it our way. Some of these are ones we are keeping, some are for sale and some might be for sale, for the right price! So, if you see something you like, email us.
This is Boulder, our 4-horn Painted Desert. These are known as Desert Dragons.

This next one is a ramling that was born here just about 12 weeks ago. We named him Santiago. His sire is a big TX Dall and his mother is one of our 4-horn Jacob ewes. His horn growth has been really incredible. He measured over 3 inches at 8 weeks old.

Another ramling out of another Jacob ewe and TX Dall ram.

Here is a red ramling - he could probably pass as a Strawberry Dall.

This is Ames. He is our dairy ram. He is proven and has thrown some nice dairy ewes.

Here is a nice looking ram that my son just got recently. He looks like he might have some Mouflon breeding in him. We are hoping to breed him to a few ewes that we have in the next few weeks here.

This ram is another nice looking one. He is big and meaty and has a nice set of horns on him.

Some Pics

2011-04-28T17:00:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pics from around the ranch a few weeks ago. This first one is a picture of Marlo (the doe at the back) and Chicci (the doe in the front). Chicci was a bottle baby of ours that we sold and then got back. Marlo is a doe we recently got from Canyon Ridge Farms. Both were a little stressed out about their new enviroment and for some reason they have hooked up with each other. It is funny to watch Marlo, tall and slender, following around Chicci, short and fat.

I thought this was a cute picture of one of my daughter's relaxing in the lower pasture with a doe. What a beautiful place to grow up at.

This is Aruba, one of our registered Alpine does. This was before she kidded to one big buck kid.

This is Rocky, our neighbor's ram. We were housing him over our way and decided to run him with a few ewes for fall lambings.

Abby

2011-04-18T22:48:00.000-05:00

This is Abby. She is a puppy that one of my sons brought home from the local park. She was a drop off. She has adjusted well to life on our ranch. Here she is waiting on the plate in the milkroom. Waiting for what?

THE MILK FOAM OUT OF THE BUCKET!!

Wide Loads!

2011-04-14T17:58:00.002-05:00

Here are a few pics from the past few months. These pics represent some of the wide loads that have been happening at our ranch since December! Here is Rosie, one of our Nubians. She had twins by Ace, our FB Boer.

This is Rhia when she was still pregnant. She had twins also by Junior Mint.

This is EweNeek, one of our Katahdin ewes. She had triplets by Ames, our dairy ram

Sheep Slideshow

2011-04-14T15:11:00.000-05:00

This is a trial run of a slide show I made over at photobucket.

Pasture Renovation

2011-04-14T14:00:00.001-05:00

See waaaayyy out there in the pasture? Those are the first few chicken tractors.

What is a chicken tractor some of you may be wondering? It is basically a portable house for chickens. The idea is that the tractor is somewhat lite weight so that it can be moved a short distance once or twice a day. The chickens are given water and fed a small amount of food. They also are expected to eat all the bugs (like TICKS!!) and poop as they do so. This is turn helps to fertilize the pasture. From what I have read, it is a great system. Oh, they also are expected to lay their eggs so we can collect them!

Oops . . .

2011-04-13T14:00:00.012-05:00

see what happens when one of my sons and me go to an auction . . . we came home with a few MORE animals!! Cute SPOT pigs:

Ohhh, a bottle calf for some of the extra goat milk:

And, another big horn ram to fatten up for a few months!

Hog Hunting!!

2011-04-12T21:13:00.000-05:00

It was bound to happen . . . trapping and catching hogs. The area out here has hogs runnin' all over the place. Well, my nephew and a few of my sons are slowly getting into trapping wild hogs so that they are not a nuisance to the land out here. Here are some pics from a recent catch of just 2 female hogs. There is talk of building a trap that will be large enough to catch and hold 30 or more hogs.

Vibe's Kidding

2011-03-22T21:39:00.000-05:00

A few weekends ago one of our higher percentage Boer does had twins. It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day so she was able to be in the front yard. She birthed them right in the yard while we all watched and assisted just a little bit. Here are a few pics of that event. This is Vibe looking really big right before she had the twins.

Notice the mucous in this pic:

Her is Vibe licking off one of my daughter's arms - I guess she was prepping for licking her kids off!

Here are the first 2 feet starting to show!

A little assistance by my daughter.

The first buckling is out!

She had one more a little bit later - another buckling.

Lambs

2011-03-08T16:20:00.000-06:00

We have had quite a few lambs born over the past 6 weeks. Here are some pics of them:

Although we usually feed square bales of Alfalfa/Orchard grass hay, we did resort to a big round during the last few snowstorms. It made it way easier to keep all the sheep and goats in good health.

Bourbon Red Turkeys!

2011-03-05T12:33:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pics of the Bourbon Red turkeys that we have now. There is one tom and 3 hens. I got these from Dan - (Thanks Dan!!). They came complete with a little turkey tractor. It has been working our real well.

I am hoping to incubate the eggs and raise up some tasty meat turkeys. As a matter of fact, I found the first egg of this year just a few days ago!

Overdue Update

2011-02-27T16:46:00.000-06:00

It seems as if the past weeks have been flying by. We had a few weeks of snow and cold along with a nasty flu bug that worked it's way through our house. I even got hit up with it and was on the couch for a few days with a fever. Plus, we have been having lots of lambs and goat kids being born. I'll put a few pics up of some of the recent happenings.
Here is one pic of a few kids that were born during the past few weeks:

And, here is Molly helping to lick off and clean-up the new kids:

One of my daughter's wanted to try her hand at raising a bottle lamb soooooo, we pulled one off of a ewe of ours that had triplets. This little eweling is half Katahdin and half dairy sheep. A week ago or so, e almost lost her to a bad case of bloat. Thankfully she pulled through (after we did many things to help her out). Here she is laying on my daughter:

One of my sons got a BIG doe yesterday. She is a massive Boer doe. Just today we put her in the yard with Ace (our FB Boer buck). He bred her so, we will see what she births 5 months from now.

I thought I would throw this pic up for a good laugh. This is what we looked like after a day out at a BIG Chupps Auction. It was raining and there was lots of rain. We looked like drowned rats and, I looked really dirty. I was helping push a car out of the mud and got covered from head to toe (and in my mouth and eyes also!) when the driver decided to punch the gas peddle to the floor. I was covered in mud.

And, here is what 3 days of straight auctioning does to a person:

Snow Pigs

2011-02-11T15:14:00.001-06:00

Between the last 2 snow storms, we have accumulated quite a bit of snow. Here are a few pics of my son feeding his pigs. The normal animal chores have gotten harder to do due to the snow we have to walk through now. He has to lug 5 gallon buckets of water and feed down to them.

-14!!

2011-02-10T19:06:00.000-06:00

Yep, it was negative 14 this morning!! I think this is the coldest weather I have been in during my mere 46 years. Here's the weather page from my son's ipod for proof!

Sister Blog

2011-02-03T16:41:00.000-06:00

I have decided to start another blog entitled "Death on the Ranch". I know that most of us do not like to have to face death but, it is a certain part of this life. With life comes death, most of the time. This blog is being designed to show that with all of the good things that come with raising animals (babies, milk, happy times) there are also heartbreaks and sad times. Anyone that raises animals knows that this is reality. I like to view the hard times as learning experiences and hope that with the death of one animal, I might be able to keep alive another animal. Anyway, here is the link to it - Death on the Ranch

New Lambs

2011-01-27T16:19:00.000-06:00

We have had a few lambings the past week. One was by a Desert Sand ewe we have. She had a single eweling in the sheep shed one evening. We were able to keep her shut up in the shed for a few days to bond with her baby (and to protect the lamb from the cold!).

Just last night, we moved our big, fat Katahdin ewe (Ewe Neek) into a stall at the back of our house. Sure enough, at about 5 am, I was awoken to the sounds of little lambs. I went down and she had 3 lambs out. It looked like the last one had just come out because it was still wet. There are 2 ramlings and 1 eweling. These are lambs that are half Katahdin and half dairy, since they were bred to our dairy ram. Here is the picture of what I first saw:

Want A "Beef" Taco?

2011-01-25T18:35:00.000-06:00

I thought for today's post, I would share this article about TACO BELL. This article was found on FOX NEWS

"You'll have to pardon the puns, but...

Taco Bell might want to change it's "Think Outside the Bun" campaign to "What's Really in That Taco?" after a class-action lawsuit filed against the fast-food giant claimed its taco filler doesn't, um, "meat" federal standards.

The suit against the YUM-brands chain also has a "beef" with the company's advertising, charging its claims of using "seasoned ground beef" or "seasoned beef" in its food products is false.

According to the suit filed by the Alabama law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, the YUM-brands owned chain is using a meat mixture that contains binders and extenders, and does not meet the minimum requirements set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be labeled as "beef."

Attorney Dee Miles said the meat mixture contained just 35 percent beef, with the remaining 65 percent containing water, wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent and modified corn starch.

The suit was filed on behalf of Taco Bell customer and California resident Amanda Obney, who is not seek monetary damages, but instead wants a court to order Taco Bell to be honest in its advertising.

"We are asking that they stop saying that they are selling beef," Miles said.

Irvine, Calif.-based Taco Bell spokesman Rob Poetsch said the company denies that its advertising is misleading and said the company would "vigorously defend the suit."

While the company does list its ingredients on its website - and indicates whether they are allergens - registered dietitian and Fox News contributor Tanya Zuckerbrot said the fillers could be a danger for some consumers.

"Wheat oats, soy lecithin and maltodrextrin are common allergens that are often added to processed foods as fillers because they are much less expensive than meat," she said. "Aside from being misleading, this form of false advertising puts the consumer at risk as well."

Zuckerbrot said according to the USDA, "ground beef can have seasonings, but no water, phosphates, extenders, or binders added." The meat from Taco Bell does not meet the minimum requirements set by the USDA, she said.

"Rather than Taco Bell calling the meat 'seasoned ground beef' they should refer to it as 'mixed meat' and list the additional ingredients so consumers can know what they are putting into their mouths," she said."

Well, this just further motivates me toward my goal of self-sustainable living! No more TACO BELL for me!

Big Boar Hog

2011-01-23T14:08:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pics of a big 600 pound Boar hog we have at the ranch right now.

Snow Sheep

2011-01-20T23:13:00.000-06:00

Well, it finely snowed several inches. The animals all appeared to be warm and had fresh water to drink. We have added more sheep to our ranch just recently. Here are a few pics of the sheep we have at the moment.

Pig Processing

2011-01-11T17:01:00.000-06:00

We had this hog that we have been getting ready for slaughter for the past weeks. Well, last night was the day to start the processing. After hanging the meat out all night (in the snow storm even) we cut up, grinded and packaged the meat today. Here are a few pics from today:

More Baby Llama

2011-01-08T13:39:00.000-06:00

Between goat babies, the neighbor's puppy being born, Grandma's 75th surprise birthday party and life in general . . . it is hard to get posts up on my blog. But, here is one pic of the almost 2 day old baby llama. He is doing good and likes to be pet. This morning, my daughter put a baby sweater on him and we have him out in the front yard. He has been running back and forth, chasing the goats that are in that yard, sniffing and checking things out and stressing his mother out, as she follows him making noises at him!

SURPRISE - Baby Llama

2011-01-06T14:48:00.001-06:00

This morning I thought our white llama mama (Salty) was acting different. I even asked my daughter about a possible due date (since we had a male llama in with her last year). We both thought her belly looked a little bigger and lower. Well, a few hours later, as we were going to let the livestock out, my daughter noticed A FOOT hanging out of the llama!!
We spent the next 20 minutes or so watching the amazing birth of a baby llama, called a cria. Here is one pic, as I am busy right now. I'm sure my daughter will get some more pics up on her blog over at http://goodgoats.blogspot.com/

Let the Birthing Begin!!

2011-01-05T15:57:00.000-06:00

Well, well, one goat has birthed, a friend's dog is in labor as I type this, we have 20 or 30 sheep that are due from now until into February (I think) AND, we have 25 or so goats lined up to kid over the next 3 months. I'll try to post pics of some of these exciting events as they happen!

Burn Pile

2011-01-02T10:16:00.000-06:00

We took advantage of the not-much-wind yesterday to burn up a pile in the pasture next to where the old pond used to be. One of my sons has been busy clearing and cleaning up our 40 acres. I guess you could say it is a long-term-restoration project. Some of the areas that he has cleared and burned are looking great. It will be nice to have nice pasture land for the livestock - although, even "bad" pasture land out here has more to offer than the dry, desert of CA!

Even Grandma goat was standing next to the fire, seeming to enjoy the heat from it. It was in the low 30's when we were out there and, last night it got to 11 degrees!

Wide Load!

2010-12-30T00:07:00.000-06:00

I think pictures say it all . . .

Do you think singles, twins or triplets or . . . !

Parental Rights Amendment

2010-12-26T21:57:00.003-06:00

Hi all,

I normally do not send out emails like this, but this is an extremely important topic.

There is a treaty put out by the UN called the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The US is the only UN country that has not ratified the treaty, which is a very good thing. This treaty would strip parents of their rights to their child’s education, health care and general raising of their child. It would give the rights that parents have now and should have to the child and the government. But, ultimately, if the child doesn’t agree with what the government thinks is best, the government will decide what is best for the child. This is horrible for our nation and will turn our country towards socialism.

We don’t hear about this on the regular news stations much, because most of the people pushing the ratifying of this treaty know that the average American does not want this perverted child’s rights.

But, there is a way to stop this, if everyone takes a stand against it. And that is in the form of a Parental Rights Amendment to the US Constitution. 7 Senators and 142 Congressmen are co-sponsors of this amendment already. But, the word needs to be spread more. This amendment would make sure that parental rights are not striped, even if the CRC were to be ratified.

You can sign an online petition at www.parentalrights.org. You can also see which of your senators and congressmen are co-sponsors of the bill. You can read the CRC and the Parental Rights Amendment at the above site too.

Parentalrights.org also has a video put together called “The Child” that goes into all the details, implications and problems the CRC would cause, as well as how the amendment would help. You can get the video for free or for a donation. I’d suggest you watch the video and also get copies to pass out to anyone you know who could make a difference. The direct link for that is http://www.parentalrights.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={58D0E1F1-4EA2-45BA-9B40-941D71ED987F}.

The fact that some want the CRC to be ratified needs to be known and it needs to be stopped. If American’s do nothing, then our country will become like Germany in Hitler’s days – socialist and communist – and Americans will lose their freedom even more. The parental rights amendment is extremely important!

Please pass on to everyone you can.

Thanks,

Kim

Ram Round-Up!

2010-12-25T10:57:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a fun day for some of us in the family. We went to a big ranch and helped with a ram round-up. Here are a few pics from the day:

If anyone reading this is in the market for trophy horn rams, just shoot me an email at kim@goodgoats.net

Happy Thanksgiving and First Ice Storm!

2010-11-25T23:32:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. We had our first ice storm of the cold season today. Brrr!!! Thankfully, I feel as if we are going into this winter pretty prepared - as far as shelters and quick release attachments on all the hoses!
More pictures someday, Lord willing, when my camera comes back from the service center - thx Mom!!

What Happened to Me?

2010-11-07T09:56:00.000-06:00

I know, the 31 for 21 challenge ended and so did my daily posts! Well, we have just been busy around here. I don't have much time even now, as I would like to get in the kitchen and deal with the jalapeno pile that is growing on the counter! And, we have a soccer game to go and watch this afternoon.
Last week, Suriyah found an ad that was offering some free animals. We went and picked up 2 donkeys! They are both girls and are here to help with guarding the sheep and goats.

We also had a little lamb born yesterday afternoon. He is a Painted Desert ramling: