Our Animals
Help Sangha Farm celebrate The Year of the OX!
Derek and I have made a few farm resolutions for the coming year:
- Decrease our need for fossil fuels on the farm
- Put Moses and Abraham to work in the fields. What better year to make this dream a reality than the Year of the Ox?
We are researching used farm implements; if you would like to donate a few dollars to help with the purchase of the equipment, donations can be made online using the pay pal “donate” button. You can also mail a check in care of Sangha Farm; please mark “Oxen equipment” in the memo line. Thanks from all of us, especially Moses and Abraham. Update: Moses & Abe did some field work in 2009 check out the What's Growing page for short videos.
A wagon is being built for them and should be ready May 1st. Our intention is for Moses and Abraham to pull our goods to the first Ashfield Farmers’ Market, Sat. May 23, 2009.
Update: the wagon was ready in May & used quite often the summer of 2009, unfortunately due to the rain for most of the farm season, Moses & Abe weren't able to make it to the market. The pass they were going to take that has always been dry was a river all summer. We're hoping to be able to have them bring our goods to market next summer (2010) rain willing.
Sheep for Sale
See below for more information!
Finn Sheep
One of our customers recently commented how she loves seeing our sheep because they look so happy and contented. They know they are loved and have no worries that someday they might end up on a dinner plate. We raise our sheep for fleece, and while we have no control over what someone does when they buy one of our babies, we are striving to have animals that have very high quality fleece in the hopes they won't be dinner. We have purebred Finn, a very gentle breed of sheep, that are known to be prolific breeders. Their fleece is highly sought after by handspinners. As far as we have been able to determine, there are only two breeders of purebred Finn in Massachusetts: our farm and the farm we got our sheep from. Many shepherds cross them with other breeds primarily for meat.
We spend a lot of time with our animals, and while they do serve their purpose on the farm, they are also part of our family. They each have a name that they recognize when called. In fact, Cassie has been known to bleat back when you call her. She will also crawl into your lap while petting her. Her sons are following along in her friendliness and vocal ability.
While rams have a reputation for becoming aggressive as they age, our ram, Aries, is still very sweet at two-and-a half. He receives as much attention as our ewes and wethers and will also try to crawl in your lap when petting him. Aries and our other sheep spend the warmer months grazing with our oxen team, Moses and Abraham. Aries can often be found "playing" with his boys; he also prefers to sleep between the oxen. We've wondered if he realizes he's not a cow! He seems genuinely sad when the boys leave the pasture to work.
Our Holstein Oxen
Moses and Abraham are Holsteins. They came to live with us when they were less than forty-eight hours old. We bottle fed them twice a day for months. They will also answer your call with a "moo." Their favorite treats are kale, carrots, and apples. We sent them to oxen school for six weeks the summer of 2006. They proved to be very fast learners and really enjoy working. Derek has also done some winter logging (for firewood) with them. We're looking forward to harrowing with them this summer.
Nubian Goats
We also raise registered Nubian goats, a dairy breed. We purchased Bennie in October, 2004, for our children, Maia and Jayden. We didn't want to give them pasteurized cows' milk and felt that goats' milk was more nutritious. After buying raw goats' milk for a few months, we realized it was cheaper to just buy a goat! We now have four does, two of which are milking.
Targa, the second goat we purchased, kidded last June. She had a buck and doe. We sold Baldur the buck in October, but we are keeping his sister, Artemis. We do not believe in disbudding (dehorning) our animals. Finn sheep are naturally hornless, but our Nubians born on the farm have their horns. Rudolf Steiner felt that when you disbud an animal, you sever their connection to the cosmos, and we agree with that. We're striving to be a complete whole farm and that includes our animals.
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Other Critters
No farm is complete without dogs and cats. We have 2 dogs: a German Shepherd, Jeb, and Alli G a pureblooded hound dog mix from Alabama. Daisy the hen can often be found on the front stoop between the two dogs. We only have one cat right now, Kitten. She can often be found walking down the paths in the garden or rolling in the catnip.
We use intensive grazing methods with our animals, moving them on a weekly basis to ensure they always have plenty of grass to eat. Only the goats receive grain year-round. We feed only organic grains.
Sheep For Sale
we always have lambs for sale in the spring for 2010 lambing begins in March.
Nubian goat kids are available late spring for 2010
