Our Animals

Here is a brief description of some of our animal residents here on the farm. For more information about the breeds we raise, please click here. For information about livestock for sale, please click here, and for information about meat for sale, please click here.

In the house: Tuulen is the youngest pup of the family and quite possibly the goofiest. He is a standard poodle whippet cross like Pippi (known as lurchers in the UK). Tuulen is the one on the left, looking at the camera. 

Pippi (shown here as a puppy) is a standard poodle/whippet cross. She LOVES being a farm dog. Wherever Nikki is, whether it is on a long trail ride, working in the garden, or in with the goats, Pippi is right beside her. She has even learned how to herd the Muscovy ducks!

In the upper barn:

Rosa and Mimi (mother and daughter) are new additions to the farm who moved to Canada in November, 2011. They were street cats originally rescued from Mexico and brought north to Canada! They split their time between the house and barn and are settling in well and loving their new territory.  

Nosmo and King are twin Kashmir wethers. In the winter they grow a huge coat and are about double the size of this picture. In the spring, the undercoat is combed out and collected. Each goat produces a precious few ounces of the softest fibre on the planet! Both boys are friendly and love being scratched behind the ears and between their horns.

Electra is a Nigerian Dwarf Goat, which is actually a breed known for its milk-producing abilities, despite its small size. So far she is more of a pet, but in the future she may go into milk production.  

Turkeys! Our turkeys have tons of personality! Who knew these lovely, gentle birds could be so entertaining? Visitors are often greeted by curious birds who puff up in full display mode as if to say, “Obviously, you are here to see us!”

Photo of one of our turkeys taken by D. Craig, BC Min. of Agriculture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Pig Pen:  Cora, Philip, Beth and Pearl  were our original Large Black Hogs. Our new boar, Pompadour, is a total sweetheart who will do anything for a belly rub. Our sows include Pearl, Cora and Cora’s daughter Olivia. The hogs have various jobs on the farm. Prepping new garden areas for planting, rototilling and fertilizing fields as they graze, producing more pigs for both breeding stock and tasty pork products and, of course, polishing off all table scraps.   

 

 

 

 

 

In the Orchard: Our small flock of muscovies ducks produces both eggs and meat for sale each year. Duck eggs are delicious, hearty, and full of protein. They taste just like a chicken egg – except better! (though, we might be a tad biased).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Lower Barn: Iago is our original barn cat and the sweetest, most friendly kitty around. She is always around to visit while you are mucking out the horses and loves to visit and say hi, both to people and horses. She is especially good friends with Ringo. She also likes to take advantage of any warm cars that may have parked on the property.

Ringo is a 13.2hh Hackney x Welsh Cross. He was unbroken and rather timid when we got him as a five-year-old. Now, after many hours of patient re-training, he is a great little pony who loves heading out on the trails with Nikki and Pippi. He started competing in lower level dressage shows in 2010, where he did great! He is a massive sweetheart and loves to play with Iago or visit with people who are willing to give him scratches.

Here’s a very short video of Ringo snuzzling with his favourite cat:

Brio was born on June 26, 2008 and is the baby of the horse farm. She is a Section D Welsh Cob x Gypsy Vanner. With her mother’s athleticism and her sire’s sweet, quiet temperament, she is developing into a lovely riding and driving pony. She is incredibly friendly and loves to play games with you while you are working around the barn. She is also nosy and nothing scares her–don’t be surprised if Brio’s head is waving around near you while you run an angle grinder or other power tools!

Bantams and Chickens – We have various breeds of chickens and bantams. We breed Light Brahmas and Black Orpingtons and have a flock of bantams just for fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sheep! We have just procured a gorgeous purebred Cotswold (Babar) ram. This year we’ll breed him to our half Cotswald ewe, Sonya and the rest of the small flock of Border Cheviot crosses who live at Farm Park. Next year we hope to procure purebred Cotswold ewes to begin a breeding program. Stay tuned…          

 

 

 

 

 

RIP

Elliot was a standard poodle and his birthday was the easiest to remember on the farm: 01/01/01. He loved to spend his days on the couch or the foot of your bed, but took occasional breaks to bark at the mailman, run around the property, and play with Pippi. He was incredibly sweet once you got to know him and, though he lived to a good old age, left the farm all too soon.

Bonny was a dear old horse who never fully realized she was growing old.   She fully enjoyed several years of full retirement after delivering a lovely filly, Dark Creek Conbrio (by Gypsy Fiddler, a gypsy vanner stallion). Bonny, a Section D Welsh Cob , in her day rode dressage tests, jumped, was an amazing gymkhana pony, and gave riding lessons. She was a spirited horse with lots of go who loved to show off in any hack class. Not for the faint-hearted rider, Bonny will be remembered by all who met her. Poppy was our milk goat and boy, do we miss her milk! We made soft cheeses like chevre and mozzarella, ice cream, yogurt, and hard cheeses like cheddar from the milk she produced. We also tried our hand at making goat milk soap. Until we met Poppy, we didn’t fully realize how versatile goat milk could be! For that matter, we had no idea how devious a goat could be until we encountered Poppy.Let’s just say that old goat taught us a lot!