Friday, July 24, 2009

Bubba settling in, Peachicks & baby chicks growing

Bubba has fit in perfectly here at Dixieland Acres. He's decided that he loves attention - he'll start talking to us & running up & down his fence line as soon as he sees us. :) Guess he also likes the feed that usually comes with seeing us too.Danielle & Bubba have been spending time together "bonding".
Seems like everything around here is growing so quickly. The peachicks are becoming more adventerous & exploring more of the area with their mom. They've also figured out we bring food & come running when they see us. Danielle still has a soft spot for all her chickens. This is one of her newer Buff Orpington chicks.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Danielle's State Fair Hog - Bubba

We picked up Danielle's hog for state fair this past weekend. Danielle is thrilled to have him. He's got quite the personality & has quickly settled in here at Dixieland Acres. Danielle thought he looked like a "Bubba" because he so muscular & has such deep toned grunts. :) Of course, Bubba was quickly "greeted" by our Livestock Guardian dogs/puppies (LGD's) in the next pasture who made it known that they were "on duty" in the goat pasture. Bubba quickly found all the mud in the pen & had fun rolling around in it.
We got Bubba from Ryan Horsley of Land of Promise Farm. We look forward to seeing how he does at this year's state fair in October.

Our New Livestock Guardians -- Karakachan puppies

We've added 2 livestock guardian puppies - Karakachans - to our Dixieland Acres family. The puppies, Reese & Ella, have been living with the goats since they arrived here & are starting to bond with their new herd. They were pretty proud of themselves the other day for running our kitten out of the pasture. :)

History of the Karakachan dog:
The Karakachan Dog is one of Europe's oldest breeds. Its ancestors started forming as early as the third millennium BC. A typical Mollos, created for guarding its owner's flock and property, it does not hesitate to fight wolves or bears or coyotes to defend its owner and his family in case of danger.

The dog is named after the Karakachans - nomadic shepherds of Thracian origin and the oldest inhabitants of the Balkans. Due to their conservative stock-breeding traditions, they managed to preserve some of the oldest breeds of domestic animals in Europe--the Karakachan sheep, the Karakachan horse, and, of course, the Karakachan Dog.

The breed flourished for centuries until, in the 1940s, the Bulgarian Communist Government nationalized the farming industry. All livestock were placed in communal farms and the Communist regime ordered extermination of the Karakachan dogs, whose services were deemed unnecessary on the collective farms. It was at this point in their history that the Karakachan dog became dangerously close to extinction.

Since then, through the dedicated efforts of a few special people in Bulgaria and around the world, the population of the Karakachan dog has grown steadily. Today, there are between 100 and 200 Karakachan dogs serving as livestock guardians in the United States.

{Taken from the Karakachan Dog website: http://www.karakachandog.com/index.html }



Monday, July 13, 2009

New additions at Dixieland Acres

We've had some new additions this spring/summer at Dixieland Acres. Danielle's egg sales have been doing very well so we added some new chicks - 4 black astralorps, 4 buff orpingtons, 4 americaunas, 2 Black Tailed White Japanese bantams, 1 Black Silkie Bantam & 1 Buff Silkie Bantam. We also had some Rhode Island red hens & 2 roosters given to us.


Our other new additions - 3 pea chicks & 4 guinea keets. Our peahen, Priscilla, hatched all 7 - we think she took over the guinea nest after it was started.


















Guinea keets



We enjoy watching all the new babies. :) We've borrowed an incubator from a friend & are getting ready to try to hatch some more guineas & chickens.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Dixieland Acres -- Boer Goats

We raise Boer goats here at Dixieland Acres. We have fullbloods, purebreds & percentages. It didn't take long for us to be bitten by the "boer bug". I heard someone say that goats are like potato chips - you can't stop once you start. :) How true! Here are a few of our goats. You can visit our website - dixielandacres.com - for more information on our goats, including bloodlines.











Dixieland Acres -- all kinds of critters

At Dixieland Acres we have quite a few critters: chickens (Rhode Island Reds, Americaunas, Black Astrolorps, Black Stars, Buff Orpingtons, White Leghorns, Black Tailed White Japanese bantams, Black Silkie Bantam & Buff Silkie Bantam); muscovy ducks; India Blue Peacocks; Guinea Hens; Hogs; Boer Goats; Boer/Nubian cross Goats; Dogs & Cats.








Dixieland Acres

Like many others, we started out with boers as a 4-H project for our daughter, Danielle. She raised a market wether & breeding does her first year, along with hogs. We were quickly bit by the "boer bug" & the herd grew.

Our focus at Dixieland Acres is to raise the highest quality boer goats possible for breeding stock, show stock, 4-H/FFA projects & meat. We raise fullblood & percentage boers and our herd includes traditionals, red, paints & black.

In addition to our boer goats, we also have chickens (Rhode Island Reds, Black Astrolorps, Buff Orpingtons, Black Stars, Americaunas and several bantams), muscovy ducks, peacocks, guinea hens & hogs.

For more information on our goat, please visit our website: dixielandacrees.com