The New Puppies

Our Bloodhound puppies are now 2 weeks old.  They opened their eyes this past weekend and are now beginning to use their legs a little bit more.  Jessie is a great mommy and keeps a watchful eye on them so she doesn't ever get too far away from them.  Woody isn't sure whats going on and will take a little peak into the whelping box but keeps his distance because Jessie's body language lets him know to do so.  Notice that they already have floppy ears and their wrinkles?  They are so darn cute!  They say that there is nothing cuter than a Bloodhound pup.  I can't wait for them to start showing up their personalities.  I believe that the 3 females will be black and tan and the 5 males will be red but time will tell. 

Christmas Picture Day with the Goats

I had this big idea to round up a few of our goats and take some Christmas shots.  So I shopped around, found some red and green collars, jingle bells and began assembling them for the girls to wear.  I called up a photographer friend who brought his son over to assist in handling them while he snapped the pics.  Grandson Kennan came over and the fun began.  He chose Jenny because she's gentle and he can handle her.  I chose three of our yearling kids, Bitzy, Bella and Brinley.  Right off the bat, Bitsy, Bella and Brinley  began acting up.  I suspect it was because they haven't ever been out of their lot, much less to the East 40.  So they began pulling, tugging, tasting the decorations, and trying to bite each other's bells off of their collars.  Calm ole Jenny had enough of the kids messing around so she reached over and bit Bitsy on the hind quarters which sent her straight up in the air, which caused Bella and Brinley to break free of my grasp and run for their lives.  And Kennan?  He's laughing so hard his stomach is hurting.  Jenny looks at me with a questionable expression....like....What?  I'm just helping out.  Yeah right!!

So the photographer decides we should move to a different location which we proceed to do.  I take ahold of Jenny and Bitsy and head to the new location all the while thinking that Grant has the two kids that we attached to the arbor and is following me to the new location.  I hear a clatter and look around to see the two kids still attached to the arbor only now it is being dragged by the kids across the yard following us.    So much for the Christmas decor.  Gone.  Anyway....next time I get an idea.....I think I'll pass.
Merry Christmas!!

Gus

We acquired Gus from a gentleman who had some health problems and could no longer take care of him.  Gus had previously lived his life in a petting zoo so we couldn't ask for a more gentle little guy for all the people visiting the farm.  Gus is a Cross Back Donkey.  It is said that the Cross Back Donkey inherited his cross because he carried Mary into Bethlehem.  For his having done so, he was forever marked with the sign of the cross. (notice the dark lines along his back and down his shoulder?)
We had always heard that donkeys are great watch dogs and will protect a herd of goats.  This is the reason we were interested in obtaining a donkey.  Unfortunately Gus is a stallion and he has other things on his mind when penned with our herd of milkers, such as chasing and biting them, so Gus is penned either with the Big Bucks or by himself as we can't afford for him to disable one of our milking does.  It seems that he is much calmer and actually enjoys all the children's attention.

When the bus arrives at Screamin' Oaks, he lets out a loud bray to let them know he's happy that they are visiting the farm.  He loves for the children to brush him and comb his mane.  Yep, Gus is a sweatheart of a Donkey.

Ron's Victoria

I recently picked up a Boer Buck (Boers are meat goats) from a Farmer Friend to breed to my only meat goat - a 2 year old Spanish/Boer Cross Doe.  Actually, she's not mine....she belongs to my brother.  Ron stayed with me for a few months a couple years ago, and like me, fell in love with the goats.  He wasn't too crazy about the Dairy Goats because it is a lot of work having to milk twice a day, so he decided to purchase a young doe kid.  He promptly named her Victoria.  Victoria was a beautiful little gray goat.  And Victoria knew she was the cream of the crop!  Victoria never had to stay in the pen with the rest of the goats.  She was given free range of the entire farm and wherever Ron went Victoria was always right beside or behind him.  Eventually, like magic, even if she was put in the pen with the other goats, she would mysteriously show up in or around the house.  While she was young, we purchased a little dress for her which she proudly wore when the school age kids visited the farm for a farm tour.  She even rode around in the front seat of the truck cab with Ron.  You talk about spoiled!  Well unfortunately for me and Victoria....Ron got a job offer he couldn't refuse and moved to Arkansas.  Two years later, I still have Victoria, and somehow she still knows that she runs the show.  Even though our 8 yr old Alpine Dairy Goat -Jenny - is the herd mother, and the entire herd knows it, Victoria doesn't care because she is just waiting for her chance to take over.  And ya know, I really think she will. 

Our Hounds

I have a couple of bloodhounds.  My Rootin' Tootin" Woody Dawg is a Red Bloodhound and Shootem Up Jessie Girl is Black and Tan.  Jessie is due with her first litter of puppies on Christmas Day.  Bloodhounds are great dogs but I would say they are also high maintenance.  They cannot be left to run because bloodhounds are not hunting dogs, but they are tracking dogs.  Tracking dogs generally follow a trail forward so its hard for them to find their way back home.  Both dogs got out of our fenced yard this summer and Woody was gone for 35 days.  It was a pretty stressful summer, but I got him back.  I truly couldn't believe it!  I credit Facebook to helping me find him.  I posted something everyday and my grandson and I drove around looking for them and we posted signs all over our county.  One of my facebook followers heard him barking and called me.  It was unbelievable!   Woody and Jessie have escaped (and generally they know when a visitor doesn't get the gate latched) a couple times since last August and our Rat Terrier seems to track them and bring them home.  She'll come on home and shortly thereafter, Woody and Jessie will show up with their noses to the ground tracking her.   I'll write more on the adventures of Woody and Jessie later.

Why Screamin' Oaks?

Our farm is named for the many Oak Trees that we have here, but the Screamin' comes from our flock of peacocks.  Besides the beef cattle and our collies, the peacocks are probably the first farm animal I purchased when moving to the farm 30 years ago.  I loved the sound of them then and I still love them today.  They are said to represent peace and prosperity  Peace?  I can go along with, but I don't think there are many "true farmers" prospering from farming.  We do this because we love the land and appreciate the many gifts God has given us.

Welcome to Screamin' Oaks Farm

Hi!  I'm Roxane McCoy and I own Screamin' Oaks  - a small farm in Tonganoxie, Kansas and this is my first blog ever.  Screamin' Oaks is open to the public because we realized that farming is not something the average person learns or knows about anymore and thought it important to share it.  We have a small dairy goat herd and we do milk each and everyday.  We sell our goat milk products here at the farm, so we not only have milk, but we make homemade ice cream and cheve' (smooth creamy cheese) too.