Hello! My name is Jessica, and I live on a small hobby farm in North Alabama. We currently have 4 AQHA horses. Barney is our spoiled-rotten palomino. He is the horse pictured in my avatar. He is like a big ol' baby who loves to eat! We've had him since he was a colt. He is a little feisty under the saddle--only my husband and son can handle him, but he is so big and beautiful, we can't bear to part with him! We also have beautiful Bella, who was my old mare's last colt, so she is special to us. Finally, we have my son's horses, Ernest and Lil' Red. We love to camp and trail ride. We have 2 Blue Heeler Cattle dogs, Roscoe and Annie, that we have raised many litters off of. Annie is "retired" now, and living the life of luxury. Our newest canine additions are 2 Bassadors (1/2 basset hound, 1/2 labrador) Max and Rudy. They have such sweet temperaments! I also have several barn cats and a big fat spoiled rotten house cat--Miniver (aka Minny). As for my chickens, I have 2 houses/runs. We are getting to ready to redo our pens completely. We are making a new run with better wire, and we are adding a pull down latched door for easier egg access. We don't currently have any chickens right now. Life got in the way, but I found that I miss my feathered friends terribly, so we are going to hatch some eggs come January! In the past, I have had a variety of egglayers--everything from RIRs, Australorps,some Buff Orps that I incubated and hatched myself, and mutt hens, and a beautiful Red Star rooster named Romeo.We also owned 2 Sultan roos and 1 hen that were gorgeous!
I love hatching out eggs for myself as well as friend and neighbors. In additon to the above animals listed, we also raise our own meat hogs, and will be taking them to slaughter this fall. We raised them organically--feeding them leftover produce from our local grocer as well as corn, and worming them with DE powder. They are fat and happy! We also want to add some Boer goats to our little farm, and I've been begging the hubby for peafowl, as well!
I love this website and the forum! I don't post much, but I do read often. I have learned so much from BYC.com!