DIXIELAND ACRES Boer Goats

State Fair Practice

2010-09-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

Some of our 4Hers came over to practice for the upcoming state fair. All the goats are looking great. Can't wait to see how everyone does later this month.

Camille, Danielle, Tori & Carly

Camille, Danielle, Tori, Carly & Cole

Danielle with Mocha

Camille with Twinkle

Carly with Fiesty

Tori with Hunny

Triplet Doelings!!

2010-07-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

We had triplet fullblood doelings born 6/30/10. Sire: Cracker Jack & Dam: Sadie. (Sadie is the dam of our 2010 4-H overall grand champion breeding doe so we're excited to see how these girls grow out).

Sadie with her new girls

Danielle with Lucy - she's the biggest of the triplets.

"Lucy"

Danielle with Hazel - the smallest of the triplets.

"Hazel"

Danielle with Bootsy

"Bootsy"

Dixieland Acres goats take home lots of ribbons!!

2010-05-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

Goats from Dixieland Acres placed well at the 2010 Chesapeake 4-H Show & Sale. Breeding does from Dixieland Acres took 1st place in the kid doe class (Trixie), yearling doe class (Susie Q) & Senior doe class (Ginger & her twins), as well as Overall Grand Champion Breeding doe (Trixie) & Overall Reserve Champion Breeding doe (Susie Q). There were also 4 wethers from Dixieland Acres shown in the market goat classes & they also did well: 1st place in the mid weight market goat class & Overall Grand Champion Market Goat (Prancer - shown by Julia Light), 2nd place in the mid weight market goat class & 3rd Overall Market Goat (Sprocket - shown by Madison Light), 3rd in the heavy weight market goat class (Tumbleweed - shown by Danielle Turley), and 3rd in the light weight market goat class (Rudolph - shown by Kaileigh Matthews). Congratulations to all of you!!

Danielle with "Dixieland's Trixie" - 1st place kid doe class & Overall Grand Champion Breeding Doe. Congratulations Danielle!!

Danielle with "Susie Q" - 1st place yearling breeding doe class & Overall Reserve Champion Breeding doe. Congratulations Danielle!!

Danielle with "Dixieland's Gingersnap" & her twins ("Dixieland's Dixie" & "Dixieland's Capaccino") - 1st place Senior Breeding Doe Class. Congratulations Danielle!

Julia Light with "Prancer" - 1st place mid weight market goat class & Overall Grand Champion Market Goat. Congratulations Julia & thanks for purchasing your wether from us.

Madison Light with "Sprout" (traditional wether on left) - 2nd place mid weight market goat & 3rd Overall Market Goat. Congratulations Madison & thanks for purchasing your wether from us.

Danielle Turley with "Tumbleweed" - 3rd place heavy weight market goat class. Congratulations Danielle.

Kaileigh with "Rudolph" - 3rd place light weight market goat class. Congratulations Kaileigh & thanks for purchasing your goat from us.

We were very pleased with the placings of the goats from Dixieland Acres. We are currently breeding for fall kids & hope to have more wethers available for next year's spring shows. We also have a couple wethers left for the Virginia State Fair or other fall 2010 shows. Contact us for more information, to see our available goats or to be put on a waiting list for next year's wethers.

Breeding Goat Classes - 2010 Chesapeake 4-H Show & Sale

2010-05-24T17:19:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from the breeding classes at the 2010 Chesapeake 4-H Show & Sale. Danielle & Dixieland Acres did well in the breeding classes. Danielle placed 1st in the kid doe class with Trixie, 1st in the yearling doe class with Susie Q, & 1st in the senior doe class with Ginger & her twins. She also took OVERALL GRAND CHAMPION BREEDING DOE with Trixie & OVERALL RESERVE CHAMPION BREEDING DOE with Susie Q. Way to go Danielle!!

Danielle with Trixie in the Kid Doe breeding class.

Danielle with Susie Q in the Yearling Doe Breeding Class

Danielle with Ginger & her twins in the Senior Doe Breeding Class

All 3 of Danielle's breeding goats placed 1st in their class & were in the championship drive.

Danielle's breeding doe pen after the breeding classes.

Danielle with Trixie, Overall Grand Champion Breeding Doe

Danielle with Susie Q - Overall Reserve Champion Breeding Doe

Goat Showmanship - 2010 Chesapeake 4-H Livestock Show & Sale

2010-05-24T17:15:00.001-07:00

A few photos of Danielle with Tumbleweed in the Intermediate Goat Showmanship Class. Danielle took 1st & Grand Champion in the class. Way to go Danielle!

Hog Showmanship - 2010 Chesapeake 4-H Livestock Show & Sale

2010-05-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

A few photos of Danielle with her hog, Petunia, in the Intermediate Hog Showmanship Class. Danielle placed 1st. Way to go Danielle!!

Market Goat Class - 2010 Chesapeake 4-H Livestock Show & Sale

2010-05-24T17:10:00.000-07:00

Some photos of Danielle showing her market wether, Tumbleweed, in the heavy weight market goat class at the 2010 Chesapeake 4-H Show & Sale. Danielle & Tumbleweed placed 3rd in the class. Tumbleweed was a Dixieland Acre's wether (Sire - Cracker Jack, Dam - Callie).

Market Hog Class - 2010 Chesapeake 4-H Livestock Show

2010-05-24T16:58:00.000-07:00

A few photos from Danielle's market hog class at the 2010 Chesapeake 4-H Livestock Show & Sale. Danielle & her hog, Petunia, placed 3rd in her market class. Congratulations!

USBGA Show, Shelby NC

2010-05-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

A few photos from the USBGA show in Shelby NC, April 2010.

Olga's twins arrive - spring kidding officially completed!

2010-04-21T19:42:00.000-07:00

With the arrival of Olga's twins, our spring kidding is officially completed! Olga kidded on 4/19/10 with 88% kids - a black-headed doeling (8.6 lbs) & dark chocolate buckling (7.8 lbs). We don't have any other does due to kid until mid-summer. Pictures below taken at 2 days old.

88% black-headed doeling - Black Velvet

Danielle with Black Velvet

88% dark chocolate buckling - Mocha

4-H Goat Club "mock show"

2010-04-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

The 4-H Goat club came over to have a "mock show" as a practice for the new club members. Hard to believe their show & sale is next month! Thanks Briana & Danielle for helping our new club members.

Twin fullblood doelings from Nessa!

2010-03-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

Nessa delivered fullblood doelings 3/26/10. Nessa did a great job delivering them & getting them clean -- but it took a couple days to get the nursing down. She didn't want them out of her sight & didn't realize she could turn her head & still see them while they were nursing - instead she would turn her whole body around, which kept the kids from nursing. We were going out every 2-3 hours to hold her so they could nurse -- then it finally clicked for her! Yeah! She now realizes she can still see them while they're nursing!! :) Nessa had a traditional doeling (CiCi) & a solid red doeling (Cayenne). Pictures were taken at 2 days of age.

Ginger's kids!!

2010-03-27T19:27:00.000-07:00

Danielle's show goat, Ginger, finally had her babies - twin purebreds - doeling & buckling. Of course, Danielle is beyond excited. She always said that "her" 1st doeling born here would be named after her great-grandmother, Dixie, so we now have a Dixie here. She named the buckling Capaccino. Twins were born 3/24/10 - Capaccino weighed 9.6 lbs & Dixie weighed 8.4 lbs. Photos below were taken at 2 & 3 day of age. Dixie came out bouncing & she hasn't slowed down since!!

Dixie

Danielle with Dixie

Dixie & her Dam, Ginger.

Danielle & Dixie

Dixie seems to spend a lot of time airborne.

Dixie - a bundle of energy.

Capaccino trying to keep up with Dixie.

Capaccino (left) & Dixie (right)

Capaccino & Dixie

Capaccino (front)

Capaccino

Capaccino getting some love from mom.

Capaccino is a nice looking buckling.

2010-03-25T18:12:00.000-07:00

K.L. had twin doelings on 3/20/10 - a traditional doeling & a doeling with a half red / half white face - she's definitely a unique little girl.

Photos taken at 3 days old.

Serenity

Danielle holding Serenity - the white side of her face showing.

Serenity - what a unique little girl.

Serenity - red side of her face showing.

Fiesty Girl

Kids at Play!!

2010-03-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

Kids are bouncing around all over here at Dixieland Acres. I love watching them jump, kick, attempt to head butt & race each other around the pasture. These are pictures of some of our 2 week old kids.

Opal's twins (Pearl & Twinkle) playing on the spool.

The logs & spool are a favorite play area for all the kids.

Opal's buckling is growing out nicely.

Opal's twins

Scarlet's twins (Hershey & Indy) racing each other to the logs.

Twinkle - Opal's buckling

Double-Dipped, Pearl & Twinkle

Sasha's doeling, Double-dipped

Opal's doeling, Pearl.

Scarlet's twins, Hershey & Indy

Kids at play

Annie's Twin Bucklings

2010-03-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

Annie gave birth to 2 fullblood bucklings 3/14/10. Photos were taken at 1 1/2 days old.

Annie's buckling #1 - Herbie. Birth weight 9.6 lbs.

Annie's buckling #2 - Lickety Split. Birth weight 9.4 lbs.

Goat babies growing!

2010-03-12T13:51:00.000-08:00

The babies around here seem to be growing quickly! :) Right now we have 3 sets of twins (2 weeks old in the photos below) & a set up triplets (5 weeks old in the photos below). We have 5 more does left to kid - Annie is due anytime & has been teasing us by draining. We think she's holding out for the rain/thunder/wind that's forcasted for tonight & tomorrow night.

Sasha with her buckling, Hershey. This hulk of a guy is 17.6 lbs at 2 weeks old.

Sasha's twins - fullblood traditional doeling & fullblood paint buckling

Sasha's buckling, Hershey

Sasha's doeling, Miss Independent. As her names implies, she wants to do everything herself & her own way. Indy weighs 15.2 lbs at 2 weeks old.

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Opal's twins - 88% buckling & doeling

Opal's buckling, Twinkle. He weighs 15.2 lbs at 2 weeks old.

Opal's doeling, Opal's Pearl. She weighs 13. lbs at 2 weeks old & is very feminine.

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Sasha's doeling, Double Dipped. Fullblood paint doeling. She weighs 14.8 lbs at 2 weeks old.

Sasha's doeling, Milkshake. Fullblood traditional doeling. She weighs 16.0 lbs at 2 weeks old.

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Sally's Triplets - born 1/26/10

Red Ruby, 50% paint doeling

2 of Sally's triplets - Red Ruby & Cookie Dough

Cookie Dough, 50% buckling

2010-03-09T18:33:00.000-08:00

We had a surprise about midnight last Thursday night - Barb had piglets! Thankfully our Karakachan livestock guardian dogs alerted us to the middle of the night action. She had 22 piglets total - although, unfortunately, not all of them made it. We had 12 survive & are doing well. On Sunday, she stepped on 1 of the 12 & split the skin on his leg. We bandaged him up (thanks for helping Heather!) & Jennifer is now bottle feeding the little guy, who they named Pumpkin. (Thanks Jennifer & family - pumpkin is 1 spoiled little piggy!) We're having a lot of fun watching these little guys running around the pen. It amazes me to see the HUGE size difference between these little ones & their mom below.

2010-02-25T19:27:00.000-08:00

These are a few photos of our newest 2 sets of twins - Opals twins (88%, 1 1/2 days old) & Sasha's twins (Fullbloods, 1 day old). These aren't the best photos since they were running around the garage when I was taking them. Will get some better photos when I can get them outside in a few days.

Sasha's doeling #2 - love her dark tail - 1 day old in photo

Sasha's doeling #2 - fullblood - 1 day old

Sasha's doeling #1 - fullblood - 1 day old

Sasha's doeling #1 - 1 day old

Opals doeling - 1 1/2 days old

Opal's buckling - 1 1/2 days old

Opal's doeling & Sasha's doeling #1

The new kids getting to know each other.

Babies keep coming!

2010-02-24T19:23:00.000-08:00

We had 2 more sets of twins born - doe/buck twins last night & twin does this morning. Jerry is loving having 3 does & 3 sets of twins in his garage. :) 1st of the twins last night was breech- but everyone is doing well today. Hope to get photos tomorrow & will post them. We get about a 2 week break before our March does start kidding. Also hoping our hog has her piglets in March.

2 new additions - twin boer kids born last night

2010-02-22T18:15:00.000-08:00

Our 2 newest additions at Dixieland Acres - fullblood twin boer kids born last night. Scarlet gave us a paint buckling that in at 10.6 pounds & a traditional doeling that weighed 8.4 lbs. PICURES TAKEN AT 12 HOURS OLD.

paint buckling

traditional doeling

Roosters Everywhere!!

2010-02-21T17:55:00.000-08:00

We're overrun with roosters lately. The majority of eggs we hatched this year were rooster - go figure. :) We're hoping to find new homes for a few of them. Below are just a few pictures.

Newest additions - 4H hogs 2010

2010-02-20T18:01:00.000-08:00

Danielle got her 4H project hogs today - 1 from the Horsleys at Land of Promise Farm & 1 club hog as a backup. We had forgotten how small they start out after having Barb (1 of her hogs from last year that is now about 450 pounds). Thanks to the Van Holtens for picking up the club hogs for all the kids.

Danielle with Petunia

Petunia

Danielle getting to know Petunia

Petunia checking out her new pen

Danielle with Daizy

Petunia & Daizy checking out their new home & getting to know each other - although Trixie (in background) is not too sure about her new neighbors.

Petunia & Daizy

Barb - last year's baby

2010-02-20T15:30:00.000-08:00

We knew Barb had gotten big - but we didn't realize just how big until we picked up Danielle's new market hog for this year's 4H show.

Danielle & Barb

Jerry & Barb

Random Farm Photos

2010-02-12T17:57:00.000-08:00

Some random photos around Dixieland Acres. Kids are growing, doelings maturing & others due to kid. Even our Karakachans are maturing.

Tumbleweed at 12 weeks - Tumbleweed will be Danielle's 4H market project for this year.

Trixie at 14 weeks & 60+ pounds. Danielle is looking forward to showing her this year.

Sprout at 12 weeks - he'll be going home with Madison soon.

Prancer at 7 weeks - he'll be going home with Julia soon.

Susie at 13 months old - Danielle will be showing Susie this year also.

Sprocket

Sprocket at 15 months old - he's growing out nicely.

Ruthie at 15 months old.

Nessa

K.L. - due next month

Scarlet (on left) - due to kid any day.

Nellie (front) & Bestsie (back) out in the field.

Betsie

Susie at 13 months old.

Reese (left) & Ella Mae (Right) - our Karakachans - on duty with the goats.

Reese hanging out with "her" goats.

Triplets growing

2010-02-11T18:18:00.000-08:00

The triplets are growing & bouncing around all over. At 2 weeks of age they are full of energy! Sally is a fantastic mom & feeding all 3 well.

Danielle trying to take photos of the triplets - they were more interested in playing with her than staying still so she could get their photo.

Triplets out exploring.

Danielle with Frosty

Frosty (front) & Red Ruby (back) checking out anything they can jump on.

Danielle with Cookie Dough

Frosty

Danielle with Red Ruby

Red Ruby (left) & Cookie Dough (right)

Red Ruby - we're excited to see how she grows out.

Frosty

Red Ruby

Frosty

Red Ruby

Cookie Dough

4H Market Project Distribution

2010-02-06T19:07:00.000-08:00

The weather was awful, but we managed to get all the 4H market goat animals distributed between the rain & snow. The 4Hers were good sports (as well as their parents) & tolerated the drizzle to get goats picked out, vaccinated, banded, hooves trimmed, tagged & loaded to go home. Our market goat projects this year came from our farm, Dixieland Acres, as well as Wright's Hill Farm, Rock-A-Bye Hollow and Johnson's Rocky Ridge.

Here are a few of the 4Hers with their goats:

Couple new additions

2010-02-06T18:45:00.000-08:00

We have a couple new additions. When picking up bucklings for the 4-H project goats this year, we ended up with 2 new doelings - Rosemary & Sissy.

Danielle with Rosemary

Sissy (front) & Rosemary (back)

Rosemary

Sissy

Rosemary

Full of energy & growing like weeds....

2010-01-28T18:06:00.000-08:00

I was able to take some fun photos of a few of our kids enjoying beautiful, unseasonably warm winter day. It's amazing some days how much energy they have. :) They were racing each other back & forth across the field, then chasing each other up & over logs. It's so much fun just watching this amazing animals.

Rudolph jumping on the logs

Trixie & Tumbleweed racing across the logs.

Prancer & Trixie racing across the field.

Trixie showing off her jumps.

Rudolph & Tumbleweed

Tumbleweed & Trixie

Trixie at 3 months old - she's a little tank.

Tumbleweed at 10 weeks old.

Trixie

Trixie showing the boys, Rudolph & Tumbleweed, that she's the queen.

Triplets!!

2010-01-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

We have 3 new additions here at Dixieland Acres - triplets born 1/26/10 - 2 bucklings & a red doeling. The doeling & white buckling both weighed just under 10 lbs & smallest buckling weighed 6 1/2 lbs. All 3 are doing great & Sally (mom) is wonderful.
Doeling (Red Ruby) at 24 hrs old

Buckling (Frosty) at 24 hrs old

Buckling (Cookie Dough) at 24 hrs old

2009-12-29T17:49:00.000-08:00

Babies are bouncing all over the place, growing like weeds, getting into everything they can find & are so much fun! :) Here are some updated photos of the kids here now:

Prancer - 4 days old

Rudolph - 4 days old

The boys running to see what they can get into next.

Trixie at 8 weeks old

Tumbleweed at 4 weeks old

Sprout at 4 weeks old

An Early Christmas present - 2 new additions!

2009-12-25T17:26:00.001-08:00

We had an early Christmas present - actually 2 presents. Felicity kidded twin bucklings Dec 23rd. Danielle named the boys Rudolph & Prancer.

Rudolph at a few minutes old.

The Boys (Rudolph & Prancer) learning how to use their legs.

Rudolph

Prancer

Danielle with Prancer

Kaileigh with Rudolph - he will be her 4-H project this year.

Introducing BMACK BMF PLAN - Fullblood Boer Buck

2009-12-25T16:54:00.000-08:00

Introducing BMACK BMF PLAN - he is one of our new additions we purchased Thanksgiving weekend from BMACK Farms at the East Coast Thanksgiving Extravaganza Boer Goat Show & Sale.

Plan is 6 months old, fullblood boer buck. His bloodlines include: RRD Ruger T307 (Ennobled); RRD Remfire P493 (Ennobled); RRD Gunsmoke P502 (Ennobled); RRD P663 (Ennobled); BMACK Bank; RRD BMF Impact.

Introducing "Susie Q" - Fullblood boer doe

2009-12-05T16:33:00.000-08:00

Introducing BMACK 299 (a.k.a. Susie Q) - she is one of the new additions we purchased from BMACK Farms Thanksgiving weekend in Winston-Salem, NC at the East Coast Thanksgiving Extravaganza Boer Goat Show & Sale.

Susie Q is 11 months old, fullblood boer. Bloodlines include RRD Brass Shot (Ennobled), RRD Ruger (Ennobled), RRD R898 Cannon (Ennobled), RRD R865 x 2 (Ennobled), RRD Showdown S216 (Ennobled), RRD BMF Impact.

Here are a few photos of Susie Q when we got her home:

East Coast Thanksgiving Extravaganza Boer Goat Show

2009-12-01T15:53:00.000-08:00

Danielle participated in her 1st ABGA show in Winston-Salem, NC the weekend after Thanksgiving. It was a great experience - met some wonderful goat friends, learned a lot & had fun. Danielle showed Ginger & Cinnamon in the show, along with the 2 goats we purchased at the sale - BMACK Plan & Susie Q. Danielle is already looking forward to the next show.

Danielle & Susie Q (purchased from BMACK Farms)

Danielle & Ginger

Danielle & Cinnamon

Danielle & BMACK Plan

Washed & dressed funny!!

2009-11-26T18:21:00.001-08:00

Had a delicious Thanksgiving lunch & then spent the evening washing & grooming goats. We'll be leaving in the AM to head to Winston-Salem North Carolina for the East Coast Thanksgiving Extravaganza ABGA goat show. Ginger & Cinnamon don't seem to be quite as excited about the show as Danielle - especially when Danielle dressed them in their funny new "goat tubes" to try to keep them clean tonight after their baths.

Double Trouble!

2009-11-25T23:04:00.000-08:00

Tumbleweed & Sprout - double trouble! What a pair they are. The boys are now 1 1/2 weeks old, full of energy & curious about everything.

Bouncing Kids!!

2009-11-25T19:41:00.000-08:00

Not sure who has more fun -- the kids playing or me watching. :)

Danielle & Laura with Trixie

Trixie - fullblood boer doeling

2009-11-25T18:03:00.000-08:00

Trixie is a beautiful doeling -- and 3 weeks old now!

Tumbleweed & Sprout - fullblood boer bucklings

2009-11-24T19:12:00.000-08:00

Tumbleweed & Sprout are so much fun to watch. They've started bouncing around more trying to keep up with Trixie. Hard to believe they're only 1 1/2 weeks old.

Here are a few photos of Tumbleweed:

Here are a few photos of Sprout:

It's Twins!!

2009-11-14T17:36:00.000-08:00

Callie FINALLY had her kids. She actually cooperated and waited until the worst of the noreaster storm was over. Some of our 4-H goat club members were able to come over & see the birth of the 1st twin, Tumbleweed.

Danielle with Callie's twin bucklings - Tumbleweed & Sprout - 1 day old.

New Babies at Dixieland!

2009-10-31T18:40:00.000-07:00

We went to pick up 4 does & 2 bucks today from M K Farms & we had an extra surprise - a little doeling that was born this morning. Trixie was just a few hours old when we got her & her mom, Sadie. Both are doing well & Danielle is already totally in love with the new baby. Now, if we could just get our Callie to have her babies!

We also had another surprise today when we went in the chicken coop - our muscovy duck, Caramel, had hatched a chicken egg! It was actually a pretty funny sight -- but she is very protective of that little chick. Hopefully, she'll be as successful hatching the duck eggs she's sitting on.

Karakachan Livestock Guardian puppies

2009-10-30T19:45:00.000-07:00

Our Karakachan puppies are growing quickly. They have settled in well with their goat herd & are very protective already. They've also learned which does want them close & which ones don't. We're very happy with Reese & Ella!

Virginia State Fair Youth Market Hog Show

2009-10-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from the market hog show at the Virginia State Fair. It was another fun but exhausting weekend. Unfortunately Danielle's hog, Bubba, ended up acting "boarish" in the ring & kept jumping on all the females. It ended up hurting her placing -- but we're still going to miss Bubba. Again, she learned a lot this weekend & is already looking forward to next year's fair. Danielle ended up coming home with a 5th & 7th place ribbon. Thanks to everyone that stopped by to say hello.

Virginia State Fair - Youth Meat Goat Show

2009-09-28T16:58:00.000-07:00

Some photos from the Youth Meat Goat show at the Virginia State Fair. It was fantastic to see so many youth & goats participating in the show. It was a fun experience for Danielle & she learned a lot over the weekend.

Danielle ended up coming home with two 1st place ribbons, two 6th place ribbons & a 10th place ribbon. She was thrilled for her 1st time competing at the state fair.

State Fair is almost here!!

2009-09-22T16:29:00.000-07:00

Danielle is excited that the State Fair is almost here. Here's a few photos of her practicing with her goats.

State Fair is almost here!

2009-09-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

State fair is only a couple weeks a way. Danielle spent the afternoon "deep cleaning" her goats since it's been a while since they've been bathed. Hopefully this will make the grooming next week before loading everyone a little easier. Below is "K.L." - Danielle will be showing her in the yearling breeding doe class.

This is Olga, our black-headed doe. She was not too happy to be getting a bath!

Ruthie didn't do too bad with her bath. Of course, she just went through all this in May when Danielle was getting her ready for the Chesapeake 4-H Livestock show.

Cinnamon definitely was the most vocal in expressing her complete displeasure with the whole "bath" idea. :) Danielle will be showing her in the market class at the state fair.

Bubba is looking great! Danielle started putting him in the round pen to work with him & now he even runs around the yard after her. He's definitely putting on the muscle.

August 2009 - Random photos

2009-08-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

Some random photos - everyone is growing quickly around here. Below is Danielle's state fair doeling, Cinnamon, with one of our new Karakachan livestock guardian dogs, Reese.

Danielle working with Bubba - although he was more interested in playing & getting attention. Bubba is growing well & has a great personality.

August 09 -- Baby chicks hatch

2009-08-12T15:33:00.000-07:00

Our guinea hen had been sitting on a nest full of eggs when something got her. When we realized she was no longer sitting on her eggs, we borrowed an incubator from Mr. Gene to try to save the eggs. Since we had some extra space, we thought we'd also try some chicken eggs for fun. Unfortunately, none of the guinea eggs hatched (she must have been off them longer than we realized) -- but our chicken eggs were more successful than we expected. :) Here are a few pictures of when they began hatching & the following day when we had adorable fluffy chicks. Now we'll be waiting to see if they turn our to be hens or roosters!!

Bubba settling in, Peachicks & baby chicks growing

2009-07-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

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.

Danielle's State Fair Hog - Bubba

2009-07-20T17:44:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

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 }

New additions at Dixieland Acres

2009-07-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

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.

Dixieland Acres -- Boer Goats

2009-07-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-11T17:34:00.000-07:00

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