Busy day on the farm


Digging in!
Poor thin alpacas
      Homeland Farm has been a hopping joint lately. We have had a lot of critters arriving that need a good meal, and some that have had plenty of good meals, but needed a new place to stay. We had a whole herd of Alpacas arrive that fall into the former category.
       The poor 'pacas are just skin and bones, suffering from extreme neglect. They are still cute and friendly, despite their rough past. They are so sweet, and are cute to watch. They look like a bunch of camels (minus the spitting), and when they eat, they hum and make little baby sounds. They enjoy their grain and beet pulp, as we start trying to get them back up to proper weight.
Did you say you have FOOD?
        We also have three big ole hogs, two females and one male. The girls are called Petunia and Penelope, and the big boar is Pig Newton. They were in a small pen and were abandoned by their former owner. Off to Homeland Farm they came. They are happy piggies now. They walk out to the pasture every day, root around, wallow in a wet spot, and sleep in the round bale. Ah, the life of a happy hog.

Hog Heaven!
       The goat trio, Brix, Adelaide, and Blossom are all doing well, and enjoy walking around the farm at their leisure. I hate to tell them, but spring is coming. Once spring gets here, they are going to be very displeased. Lock down for all goats and hogs will be necessary if we want to have any vegetables or flowers. They won't be happy, but I will be able to walk back out on my porch and not have to watch out for goat 'pellets'.
Brix, Blossom and Adelaide (and Bama)
        We have two dairy cows and a little calf that are now here as well. Black Betty, Clarabelle and the calf Bama Lam are a nice addition to the farm. Nice cows...Ever smelled a warm cow? They smell cow-y, but nice.  They are happy girls.
Clara and Betty
         We also have our original 3 alpacas- Alvin, Simon and Theodore. They were loose in a small town near us, and made their way here too. All creatures make their way to Homeland Farm. I think I might have to make that saying into a sign.
Summer, Luna and Kaia
          We have lots of horses too...Some are 'sanctuary' horses, meaning they will live out the rest of their lives here at the farm. Some are very old, a couple have health problems, and one is not safe to be placed in another home, so she will live here forever.
Ellie
           We have our own adopted horses..Amira a Thoroughbred, Ellie a spotted saddle horse,  and Sabre a Standardbred. We also have some rescue horses. These horses are some that were given up by former owners, or bought at an auction to save them from being sent to slaughter. Right now we have a couple Thoroughbreds called Byrd and Prince, and a new arrival, a nice quarter horse type called Chaos.
Cliffy on Sabre
Chaos arriving today
         
A donkey called Delilah, a mini horse called Cliffy, some little rabbits and laying hens rounds out the family. It is great fun to watch the comings and goings of all the animals.When you look out into the pasture, and see a goat, and calf walking out to the pasture on one path, and walking into the paddock on another path is a giant pig, a couple alpacas, and a thoroughbred race horse. It would make Noah proud!
Ahh spring!
           It is almost spring now, and it will soon be time to kick it into high gear. Raking, fencing, cleaning, painting, dump runs and horse brushing will soon be a daily event, and it will be all hands on deck. Come on Spring! We are ready to rumble!

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