Life on the Farm

Well, at the moment it's not so much a farm as about an acre of land in the suburbs with some fruit trees, a few dairy goats, and a bunch of chickens. It's Farm-ish. :)

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DIY Hay Feeder

colorado river toadThis DIY hay feeder project actually began last summer as a toad proofing project. Yes, toad proofing is a real thing. We have enormous Colorado River Toads here – and when I say enormous, I mean toads the size of a dinner plate that could swallow a kitten whole. Although I don’t mind the toads, and in fact, would normally welcome these insect-eating critters, they happen to be highly toxic to dogs. So toxic, a dog can die just from licking one of these puppies.

It turns out toads are fabulous toys according to George, so after a very close call involving a baby toad and our bouncing great dane, I needed to find a way to toad proof the backyard. Enter hardware cloth. Our backyard is wrapped up nice and tight from the ground to 24 inches, and so far so good. The toads can live happily in the front yard and pasture, and the dog is safe in the backyard.

I stuffed some hay between the hardware cloth toad-proofing and the pasture fence one day when I was in a hurry and didn’t have time to fuss with the hay net. As it turns out, hardware cloth works really well wired up along a fence to hold your hay up off the ground, keeping it nice and clean, and spread out so there’s plenty of room for everyone to eat.

Here’s a quick tutorial on how you can make your own DIY hay feeder using supplies you probably already have around the house. If you need to purchase the hardware cloth and wire, I picked up a small roll of 24″ hardware cloth and wire for under $15 total. You can also tie it up with zip ties. This 3ft wide hay feeder took about 10 minutes to make!

diy hay feeder | horseshoe farm
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Baby Goat Update

The baby goats are 6 and 8 weeks old now, and they’re getting so big! I’m trying to squeeze in every moment of time with them I can – they’re just so adorable. We’ve been working on leash training and lots of socialization. [Read more…]

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New Arrivals :)

We’re excited to have three new happy, healthy baby nubian goats! Buttercup and Betsy delivered their kids on March 1st and March 12. Their names are Downton Abbey themed : )

Here’s Branson:

branson | baby nubian goat

Isobel:

isobel | baby nubian goat

 

And Daisy:

daisy | baby nubian goat

Branson has been reserved and will be going to an excellent home where he’ll be a pet and trail companion. Daisy will be staying here at the farm, and Isobel is available to an approved home.

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Gigolo

Gigolo | Nubian Buck | Horseshoe.Farm

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New Goat Milk Soaps

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New Buck!

We have a new addition – a ridiculously cute 5 1/2 month old nubian buckling. He’s the sweetest little guy ever, and just loves to be snuggled. So far he’s settling in well and getting along great with BamBam. BamBam is keeping him company in quarantine until his lab results come back clear, and then we’re hoping this little guy will be the 2016 goat kid baby daddy.

Nathan gets to name the boys, so… wait for it… meet Gigolo.
Or Jiggi, or Jiggles (family-friendly version)  : )

gigolo

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Goat Toys: The Hay Net

Awhile ago, I posted some photos of my goats playing with their water jug goat toy. It’s one of our most popular posts, so I thought I’d share some photos of another one of our goat toys. I picked up a Hay Net and hung it from the roof of the shade structure out in the pasture. It’s like a piñata for goats! [Read more…]