Newbie

[Nostalgia1800]

Hello all! My husband Dan and I (Heather) joined this forum along with the other backyard forums today. We recently moved in to our 1800's farm house on 40 acres and became turn-key farmers. Chickens, ducks, pigs, cows, calves, and in the future, turkeys! While very exciting there have also been a few stressful moments on the homestead. We were thrilled to discover this support group and look forward to soaking in as much knowledge as possible! We have 4 boys and homeschool so this farm has provided many lessons for them and they absolutely love it!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Hey there! Welcome to the forum from Texas! Looking forward to hearing more from you as your journey unfolds!

 

[Nostalgia1800]

Hey there! Welcome to the forum from Texas! Looking forward to hearing more from you as your journey unfolds!

Thank you! We're from Michigan

 

[sumi]

Welcome! Your place looks and sounds amazing. Looking forward to hearing and seeing more from you!

 

[Mini Horses]

"Turn key" farms sounds good to me, based on the years I've had to build "stuff".... This one I'm on now was literally a peanut field when purchased 20 years ago.

Your having some structures in place will save you UNTOLD efforts, while adding some issues to life as you change some things to suit "your" preferences. Did you actually have animals come with the farm purchase?

A friend up the road bought a place same time as I did and part of the "deal" was that the old milk cow would live her life out there. And so it was! They loved & cared for her for several years. Pasture ornament and sweetheart of a gal. She was laid to rest in a back field. Big ole Jersey cow.

Welcome to the forum from VA. We all love pictures, so you have started out perfect! OH, go into your profile and add something to location...even just the State. Sometimes it makes a difference when asking or answering a question about planting, care, etc, with where you live. You'll notice on BYH we have people from Alaska all the way to Florida, Texas, CA....etc. Huge changes in locations.

 

[Reice]

Hi and Welcome from Oklahoma!

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Welcome. Are you saying that animals came with the place? Awesome, and a bit scary at the same time! You can put your general location in your profile, so it will show up in future posts.

Kudos to you for home schooling your kids and keeping them out of the broken school system. A huge parenting challenge, for sure, but one that will pay in huge dividends for this as well as future generations.

And you are right: farming is the perfect teaching environment. They can learn science, math, reading, economics, building skills, while working off the boundless energy that kids seem to have... all in the context of farming. What are the ages of your boys?

Our kids are all grown, and we now have 4 grand kids. I'm reliving my earlier granola years. 4+ acres on bony NE soil. Only animals are a flock of chickens, and a dog who is not living up to her expected role of a chicken guard dog. But, I love her anyways! I am a passionate gardener.

 

[milkmansdaughter]

Welcome from Alabama! Wow, what a beautiful place, and so perfect with kids! I'll be looking forward to hearing more!

 

[wyoDreamer]

Welcome from Northeast Wisconsin! The other side of the Lake and home of the Green Bay Packers!

We bought our farmstead about 5 years ago and are loving it! We have 9 farm buildings and the coop came with a flock of Guinea Hens! It has been fun, but challenging also.

 

[CrealCritter]

Welcome from southern IL