Goats
Jay, Brown, and Bucky… two does and a buck.
This trio is responsible for producing both milk and kids.
We mostly use the milk to make cheese. The kids are sold as either pets or meat.
Jay is a La Mancha. So her ears are extremely small. Brown and Bucky are a mix.
Each animal has a unique personality:
Jay is the largest and typically needs to be spoken to at least twice. She's all business.
Most years, Jay births three kids.
Brown is a sweet one. She shows her pleasure when a human gives her attention.
She loves being touched.
Brown is also our wonder girl: For the last 4 years, Brown has been bred by Bucky.
For the last 4 years Brown hasn’t conceived and has not had her babies.
Even so, she gives us milk.
Bucky behaves like a baby…he’s easily distracted by both food and the other two.
He often snorts, yells, and fusses. He too is a sweety.
Turkey named Nellie
Nellie’s Job title: Counselor for the goats
This old girl is constantly shouting…Loudly. And she is one of Jan’s favorites.
When Jan isn’t available, I feed Nellie and she always attacks me… viciously.
In order to climb into the cage with her…and not get hurt…
I use a garbage can lid as a shield, dump her feed, and then back out quickly.
She’s very loud. But Nellie gets along well with the goats.
The goats come to her pen and go nose to beak with Nellie.
We call this a counseling session.
We lost Nellie January 26, 2026. Our sweet bird had been dragged out of her pen…headless.
Jay was behaving differently for a few days. She's broody. Janet says Jay is mourning Nellie.
The geese
Gus, Giggles, Gracious …a gander and two geese
This gaggle earns their wages by producing eggs, mowing our grass, and honking very loudly.
These are three large birds. Gus is the largest, at almost 3 feet tall.
And Gus is the pack leader, always standing between his girls and Jerry…hissing.
When he attacks Jerry, it takes courage to grab him by his neck and gently carry
him back to his girls. His strong bites bruise and hurt.
Janet spends time each day sitting in the pasture with these three birds.
When the four of them are together, the scene can look so peaceful.
1/1/25-The breeding season is in progress. Jan is now receiving bruises from Gus. Then he settles down and is more gentle with her. Also, egg are appearing.
18 Chickens two years old.
This little gang earns their wages making eggs.
When they started working here… there were 33 birds. Then things started happening at night.
In the morning we would find a bird or two with their head missing…It’s still not quite clear who’s to blame. Maybe its a raccoon. We’ve patched, and then repatched this large structure.
These birds are good at what they do… 14-16 eggs/day from 18 hens.
We assume their productivity is due to both bird quality and diet.
They eat organic pellets, alfalfa leaves, bones, and greens pulled from our farm.
35 new chicks arrived here four months ago. They’re a spry bunch now
and will soon start their new job: laying eggs.
Our 6 cats manage our mice, rabbits, snakes, and gophers.
Max, Pumpkin, and Momma are yellow.
Tigger, Baby, and Buster are grey.
All six of these cats are special, but some of the cats are more noticeable.
Pumpkin delights in jumping off our roof, and bouncing on a lower structure,
on this way to the ground. He’s mellow, huge, and covered with long, fluffy hair.
Momma cat is very old and fragile, but she can still howl loudly for her meals.
Buster is a feral cat. He’s shy, but he’s becoming more comfortable as time passes.
Our dog’s name is Rosie. Rosie checks out the animals and hikers that walk down our dirt road. She’s still learning her job and often barks before she thinks.
Most of the cats look up to Rosie and they frequently try to engage with her. Rosie ignores them and acts like a much older big sister who lives in a different world. Fireworks set Rosie to shaking…deep and prolonged shaking. Rosie focuses primarily on her loving relationship with the humans.
And finally… the two humans, Jan and Jerry.
Jan was born near the end of World War Two. Jerry was born near the beginning of that war. They have five children.
Jan is a retired nurse. Jerry is a retired high school chemistry and physics teacher.
Jan leaves for her gym workout at 5:30 AM. Jerry loves working and learning on their farm.
Jay, Brown, and Bucky… two does and a buck.
This trio is responsible for producing both milk and kids.
We mostly use the milk to make cheese. The kids are sold as either pets or meat.
Jay is a La Mancha. So her ears are extremely small. Brown and Bucky are a mix.
Each animal has a unique personality:
Jay is the largest and typically needs to be spoken to at least twice. She's all business.
Most years, Jay births three kids.
Brown is a sweet one. She shows her pleasure when a human gives her attention.
She loves being touched.
Brown is also our wonder girl: For the last 4 years, Brown has been bred by Bucky.
For the last 4 years Brown hasn’t conceived and has not had her babies.
Even so, she gives us milk.
Bucky behaves like a baby…he’s easily distracted by both food and the other two.
He often snorts, yells, and fusses. He too is a sweety.
Turkey named Nellie
Nellie’s Job title: Counselor for the goats
This old girl is constantly shouting…Loudly. And she is one of Jan’s favorites.
When Jan isn’t available, I feed Nellie and she always attacks me… viciously.
In order to climb into the cage with her…and not get hurt…
I use a garbage can lid as a shield, dump her feed, and then back out quickly.
She’s very loud. But Nellie gets along well with the goats.
The goats come to her pen and go nose to beak with Nellie.
We call this a counseling session.
We lost Nellie January 26, 2026. Our sweet bird had been dragged out of her pen…headless.
Jay was behaving differently for a few days. She's broody. Janet says Jay is mourning Nellie.
The geese
Gus, Giggles, Gracious …a gander and two geese
This gaggle earns their wages by producing eggs, mowing our grass, and honking very loudly.
These are three large birds. Gus is the largest, at almost 3 feet tall.
And Gus is the pack leader, always standing between his girls and Jerry…hissing.
When he attacks Jerry, it takes courage to grab him by his neck and gently carry
him back to his girls. His strong bites bruise and hurt.
Janet spends time each day sitting in the pasture with these three birds.
When the four of them are together, the scene can look so peaceful.
1/1/25-The breeding season is in progress. Jan is now receiving bruises from Gus. Then he settles down and is more gentle with her. Also, egg are appearing.
18 Chickens two years old.
This little gang earns their wages making eggs.
When they started working here… there were 33 birds. Then things started happening at night.
In the morning we would find a bird or two with their head missing…It’s still not quite clear who’s to blame. Maybe its a raccoon. We’ve patched, and then repatched this large structure.
These birds are good at what they do… 14-16 eggs/day from 18 hens.
We assume their productivity is due to both bird quality and diet.
They eat organic pellets, alfalfa leaves, bones, and greens pulled from our farm.
35 new chicks arrived here four months ago. They’re a spry bunch now
and will soon start their new job: laying eggs.
Our 6 cats manage our mice, rabbits, snakes, and gophers.
Max, Pumpkin, and Momma are yellow.
Tigger, Baby, and Buster are grey.
All six of these cats are special, but some of the cats are more noticeable.
Pumpkin delights in jumping off our roof, and bouncing on a lower structure,
on this way to the ground. He’s mellow, huge, and covered with long, fluffy hair.
Momma cat is very old and fragile, but she can still howl loudly for her meals.
Buster is a feral cat. He’s shy, but he’s becoming more comfortable as time passes.
Our dog’s name is Rosie. Rosie checks out the animals and hikers that walk down our dirt road. She’s still learning her job and often barks before she thinks.
Most of the cats look up to Rosie and they frequently try to engage with her. Rosie ignores them and acts like a much older big sister who lives in a different world. Fireworks set Rosie to shaking…deep and prolonged shaking. Rosie focuses primarily on her loving relationship with the humans.
And finally… the two humans, Jan and Jerry.
Jan was born near the end of World War Two. Jerry was born near the beginning of that war. They have five children.
Jan is a retired nurse. Jerry is a retired high school chemistry and physics teacher.
Jan leaves for her gym workout at 5:30 AM. Jerry loves working and learning on their farm.
