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Cloverfield Ranch Blog

June 04th, 2019

6/4/2019

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Cloverfield Ranch <sdcloverfieldranch@gmail.com>Tue, May 28, 1:34 PM (7 days ago)
to me
How to care for your new baby chicks

Cloverfield Ranch has just added 20 new baby chicks to our flock!
"Isa Browns" to be exact, and I am going to tell you how I care for my little ones. 

I have had a lot of experience raising baby chicks. It came from years of trial and error, and we have narrowed down some winning techniques that have allowed us to raise many healthy chicks to adulthood.

You will usually get your chicks within the first 24-48 hours of their life. Whether you get them mailed through a chicken hatchery or straight from your local farm and feed store there are several very important things that must immediately be handled.

1. You should have a nursery area ready to go before bringing in your new chicks. 
       This includes: 
                    < A box or container the right size for your chicks to grow up in
                   
                   < A heat source

                   < Chick starter food

                   < A water source

We will cover each of these in more detail.

Your nursery coop (or brooder) should have at least 3 inches of bedding, pine shavings make for the perfect bedding, (for us, and for 20 chicks our bathtub makes for the perfect nursery) and be about 2 feet wide by 4 feet long and about 2 feet deep. This allows the chicks to grow up to a healthy size without escaping. It is also long enough to provide them a "warm side" and a "cool side" of the brooder. 

Heat source:
a heat lamp is required for new chicks, recommended for about 6 weeks. You can buy the proper bulb and fixture at any farm or feed store. A 250 watt infrared bulb suspended above the nursery is the recommended amount. A red bulb is the most efficient as it doesn't stop the chicks from sleeping, as white light does, and can help prevent the chicks from pecking at each other. The proper distance from the light to the chicks is important. It should be close enough to provide the adequate warmth, but far enough away not to overheat your chicks.

*We keep our light about 2 and a half feet away from the ground and focus it on one side of the tub. Creating both a "warm side" and a "cool side". Preventing the chicks from either getting too warm or too cold, and allowing them to find their own comfort zone. 

Food source:
Start off your baby chicks with 18% protein chick starter/grower feed for about 8 weeks. They can then go on normal chicken crumbles, eventually switching to pellets. 
*Although this is recommended for 8 weeks, we found that by 6 weeks they can start pecking at fruit, worms, and other soft vegetables, supplementing with starter food. 
As our chickens are free ranging, we like the chicks to get off of the processed food as early as possible, transitioning to a mostly natural diet of vegetation and insects.

Water source: 
For the first few weeks your chicks should have access to water all the time as they can dehydrate easily. After that frequent watering is necessary but is not necessary all the time and they will play in or poop in the water as they get bigger. 
You can buy a metal or plastic chick waterer. Or as we do, provide a shallow plastic or metal container with no more than an inch of water to start. Chicks can get into deeper containers  and won't be able to get out. Also, providing any deeper container could prove hazardous if the container gets flipped over onto one of the chicks and they get trapped inside. 

It is important to note that your new chicks could be only a day or two old. They are very vulnerable at this stage and can easily succumb to dehydration and stress. 

Your new chicks will come home, usually in a box. When you first take them out of the box to put them in your brooder they will huddle together, often not moving very much and will be stressed out. It is best to leave them alone for a couple of hours without touching them, allowing them to destress. Monitor the situation, and shortly they should start moving around and peeping, scratching at the bedding.
introduce your chicks to the food and water. Most chicks will actively search it out and will find it on their own. Other chicks (especially if they are just hatched) need assistance in finding it. Take one chick and gently dip its beak in the water a couple times. It normally only takes one chicken, one time for all of them to figure it out. 

Keep the chicks fed and watered and within no time they will start to grow before your eyes, slowly replacing fluff with feathers and learning how to fly around. 

They will eventually get to a point (about 6 to 8  weeks) where they have gotten the majority of their big feathers and are starting to fly around and out the brooder. At this point we start turning the light off during the day so they start getting use to the normal temperatures. Once they get use to that and get a little bigger we start turning the light off at night also. So they start to sleep when it gets dark. They will then huddle together to stay warm. Note this only works when you have a group of chicks. Not a single chick. 

When they have matured to this point we transfer them to our nursery coop. It is a 3X6 insulated coop attached to an 8X8 enclosed wire mesh chicken run. Nothing can get inside and the chicks cannot get out.

We put them into the coop first, leaving the door open to the run. They will watch from inside the coop, but may not come outside for a couple days. You can feed and water them inside the coop. Gradually one by one they will start to explore the outside world. Taking only a few steps then running back inside. This repeats until all of them are comfortable going in and out. You can then start feeding them inside the run.  Provide then plenty of perches to fly up on, but make sure that there is no obstructions that can trap them, and check them frequently. They will become very active and will start to fly a lot. You can gradually switch them to regular chicken feed, and fruits and vegetables inside the run. 

The benefit of this coop is that our grown chickens can walk around and get to know the new babies and the babies get to know the ranch and other animals from a safe space.

When they reach around 5 to 6 months old we will open the door to the run and let them start to come out. They will (same as the first time) run in and out, taking only a few steps before running back into safety. They will gradually, over the course of a week, mingle with the other chickens and start to go in the main chicken coop with them. When all the chickens have moved over to the main coop your work is done. You have successfully raised chickens from vulnerable newborn babies to thriving, healthy chickens.

This is the way we have done it, and it has worked marvelously. If you do things too early or too late it can affect the health and life of the chicks. Timing is important when managing your flock. If you let your grown chicks out of the nursery coop to mingle with the flock too early they may run around, get lost, or get hurt. A variety of things can happen when they are too small and immature to handle the outside world. We find that the longer we leave them in the safety zone the smarter they become, and will easily adjust to life in the flock. 

Happy nursing to all of you chicken enthusiasts! Feel free to comment with your chick stories or questions below. 
Cloverfield Ranch LLC
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Concho's Journey

5/27/2019

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​Today I'm happy to introduce the newest little peep that has journeyed to Cloverfield Ranch: "Concho," the cutest, most loving little baby goose that ever lived. 

Concho is an African goose, originally derived from the Wild Swan Goose. Despite their name, they've actually been thought to originate from China. African geese occurs in three color varieties: brown, buff, and white. 
Concho is still in the partially fluffy stage, but is getting some big feathers in. So Concho's exact color and gender have yet to be determined (but for now we're thinking he's a boy!)

The decision to get Concho was made because we have another goose, a female African Goose named "Kali". She lives with the chickens, and while she lives a happy wonderful life roaming the ranch, she needed a companion to swim around the pond and enjoy life with her.

Concho lived the first few weeks inside the protection of the warm house, getting to know us, the dogs and the cats. Keeping him/her close and spending all day with her has truly shown the personality and love that can be held inside such a little body. Needing constant attention and reassurance, her little peeps went from curious little noises to loud desperate calls as she explored the world around her. After every new discovery she would run full speed back to her mom and dad, seeking warmth and comfort. I always pick her up and cuddle her in my hair. Her little head wiggling in closer, she coos and chirps softly before falling into a deep sleep. 

We took Concho outside for the first walk around to meet the rest of the animals, and he waddled closely behind us the entire time. She met the pigs, goats, chickens, horses, and Kali goose. We carefully watched her as she explored. The walks are getting longer every day.

For the last 2 weeks she has been tested more and more daily and left outside alone for a few hours at a time while we carefully watch from the kitchen window. 
She comfortably waddled around the chicken coop and down to her favorite little pond. Swimming and splashing in the water, cleaning her ever growing patches of big goose feathers, nibbling on blades of grass as she goes. 

Last night for the first time, and after many trials and testing, Concho spent his first night in the coop with Kali and the chickens. Emerging this morning was a happy, talkative goose baby. No longer was he the little tiny peep that came home not much more than 6 weeks ago, needing constant love and reassurance. Now, he was a confident, bubbly personality, ready to thrive in the big wide world of Cloverfield Ranch.
Cloverfield Ranch LLC
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Reach for the Stars

3/31/2019

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Welcome back. You can probably tell from my previous blogs and from our growing website that we love our animals dearly. Caring for them, growing our ranch and living a simple life is all that we could really ask for. But we want to grow and do so much more, we have such a big dream that we want to accomplish. Our ranch has the potential to be the best animal sanctuary. Every animal that comes here becomes family. We will continue to help those in need as much as we can for as long as we can. But animals need shelter, food, and care and unfortunately that all costs money. 
But that's what we built this business for.  Years of blood, sweat and tears have poured into our business and the ranch. But every splinter, blister, cut and bruise is worth it to provide the kind of life to our animals that they deserve. 
Our business has many arms, an ever growing and changing spider web of new and creative ideas. But the one thing that will always remain true is that all of our proceeds, from every line of business, goes to the building, maintenance, and supporting of the animals and the ranch.  Along with our horse training, riding lessons and farrier work that we do, we have an extensive website full of fun pictures and stories detailing all the adventures on the ranch.  Our online store is constantly growing with new products of all sorts, and of course this blog was started with the intention of informing people of ranch life, and about all kinds of animals. But we are constantly looking for new business and new people to visit and comment on the website. 

That was the driving inspiration behind the writing of our book "How I Raised My Daughter." True stories written from the heart and meant to bring happiness, and even inspiration to other parents. 

This beautiful story is about a man, while very much experienced in life, was not experienced or prepared enough for his biggest challenge yet, becoming a dad. The stories told in this book are just small fragments of the amazing adventures that would continue throughout their lives. Forming a tight bond between father, daughter and dog based on knowledge, hard work and worldly experience. Ultimately forming the curious young girl into the successful, intelligent, passionate, and driven young woman that she is today. 

If you love heartwarming stories, this one is for you. By buying this book not only will you be enjoying a wonderful read, but you will also be making a huge contribution to Cloverfield Ranch, the animals here, and the larger than life dream that we are striving for. 

Please go to our store to purchase "How I Raised My Daughter" enjoy in either paperback or ebook.

https://www.cloverfieldranch.com/books.html

You can also show your support by purchasing any of the variety of products in our store or by visiting our go fund me page.

https://www.gofundme.com/happyfurrypals

Visit us at www.cloverfieldranch.com
Like us on:
Facebook @cloverfieldranch
and 
Instagram Cloverfield Ranch
Cloverfield Ranch LLC
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Beware the tigers that lurk in the grass

2/22/2019

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 There are mysterious forces in this world that move energy into and out of our lives on a daily basis. I have often wondered how we, as humans, enjoy the privilege of having animals in our lives, sharing not only our homes, but also our hearts with them. They provide us with comfort, companionship, and unconditional love in times when we need it the most, strangely knowing exactly when we need it, sharing our most intimate moments and seeing us at our most vulnerable.
 They don’t judge us or question our motives. They trust and depend on us, their world revolving around us.  As I look into the faces of all of my animals, that same love is reflected in all of them, independent of species or gender.   People often claim to have preferences. You have your dog people, cat people, bird people, or whatever the case may be. But I myself am an "All Animal" person. When you have a close relationship with such a large variety of animals like I have, you cannot play favorites.

However, I want to touch on one particularly illusive, mysterious, and special creature, or, in our case, three of them. That would be our friendly felines. That’s right, I could talk all day about my feisty lions. The proud, majestic beauties of Cloverfield Ranch.

It all started with a horse trailer. We had bought a four-horse stock trailer from a person that lived in town and we went to pick it up. When we got there, though, we found it filled to the top with furniture and obviously being for storage for quite some time. We got to work and started unloading. Out of nowhere, we started hearing weird noises amongst the dusty chairs and tables. Catching only glimpses of white and black amongst all the furniture, we continued to work while trying to figure out what it was inside the trailer. After removing more than half of the load a sudden appearance was made. It was small, fluffy, and scared. No more than 4 weeks old this small little kitten braced itself in the back and hissed. He was probably born in the trailer and completely unaware of humans or the outside world. We closed the door behind us, and slowly moved towards the kitten, but before we could get to her she darted into the lining of a couch. We carefully moved it and adjusted, trying to coax the small thing out. To our sudden surprise, a kitten popped out, but not the same one, then one more darted out, followed lastly by the original fluff ball.  Three tiny, amazingly cute, but obviously terrified kittens. We worked together and caught them. They resisted and hissed out of fear, but once wrapped up in a blanket and put in the truck, they settled down. We got our trailer and brought the little fluffs home with us. Two girls, Layla and Helen, and one strong boy, Heisenberg.

Years later, they have grown up on the ranch, and are now strong and independent. All three are amazing hunters and catch mice on a daily basis, and eat them, for make sure to leave reminders of their successful hunt on the kitchen floor in the morning!

They spend days basking in the sun and playing outside, prowling the whole property that is their home. They climb the inside and outside of the barn and surrounding buildings, and we will often see them suddenly dart from somewhere and run up a pole, hanging there for a while before coming down. Then, at night, they come in to eat and enjoy our company. They spend most of cold winter days inside snuggling up with us.

Though they came through the same process, their personalities are completely different. Layla is outwardly shy and flighty, fiercely independent, but in the secret lair of privacy is an intense love bug. Helen is the definition of a couch potato. She is the only black cat out of the three and will melt into her surroundings, finding the most cushy and comfortable places she can find. Helen is a marshmallow. You can pick her up, carry her like a baby and do completely what you want to her and she will happily enjoy the attention. Heisenberg is a lion. He is big and powerful, and he struts his stuff like he owns this ranch, which, in his defense, he does. He forces his sisters into rough housing and is constantly outside exploring. Heisenberg is also a very vocal creature. He lives to meow, and he knows that its effective. At 4am he follows me around the house, calling for me to feed him. In the bedroom changing, he is rubs on my legs meowing loudly for me to bend down and pet him.

They are all so playful and loving. I couldn’t imagine our home without them. They add so much life and love to it. Even when we are busy working, for them it is the perfect time to come and demand love, or, in Helens case, chase the mouse cursor across the computer screen.

Cat love is all about kneading, purring, chirping and even biting but I wouldn’t change it for the world. It is a spiritual experience to snuggle with a cat. They look into your soul and melt into your heart. I’ve loved my little fur balls since day one, and our love for them has only grown with the years, and will keep growing for many more years to come. ​
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Everyday Impressions

1/26/2019

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Everyday I am overcome with intrigue at my pigs. Pigs are by nature a creature of comfort. Feed them until they are satisfied and they will sleep in contentment. Give them the time and space to extinguish their energy and they have the friendly docile nature of your average pet.
One amazing new thing I have come to realize is their amazing ability to  adapt and change their environment to suite their needs. Provide them with a cozy space with lush bedding and they will make themselves a nest, a pig hole. They will root and push the bedding around until it encircles them making a one to two foot wall of lush comfort all around them. 
When going to release them one morning, we looked through the window and saw them happily cuddled up in the center of their house, surrounded by a mountain of bedding, sleeping nice and warm. I thought to myself that it looked more comfortable than my own bed, I might just join them!
They continue to baffle me everyday as they are learning and growing. 
Share your pig experiences with me, I would love to hear what you pig lovers have to say about your snouted companions. 
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Bacon is good, but live bacon is even better

1/14/2019

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We all know that dogs are man's best friend, but what about man's other best friend?
There is a lot to say about man's relationship with dogs. Their love, funny personalities, and actions warm the hearts of millions every day. 
 I mean, can we really live without our four legged partners? And seriously, where would the world be without all of the funny dog videos on Youtube?! 

But what about other animals? What about pigs?

You might be thinking, "is she crazy? How could you even compare the two?" but hear me out. Most people think of pigs as fat, lazy, mean, eating machines, who are, at best, a good plate of bacon. And don't get me wrong now, I love bacon just like your average red blooded American, but have you ever put in more thought to look past this animal as just food that we as Americans depend on so much for our diet? Probably not. Living their lives in small stalls, popping out babies, and eating as much as possible is pretty much the standard lifestyle for your average commercial farm pig. But I can guarantee that most of you guys have very limited genuine experiences,  if any, with this lovable animal.
Well, this is where I come in to set the record straight and spread what I have come to learn and love about pigs.

I'm going start with the story of how we brought pigs to our farm in the first place:
We've always had chickens, goats, and horses here at CFR, and we definitely were not planning on getting anything very extensive. I'll let you in on a little secret, we were actually set on getting a sheep. 
But, as usual, life had a different plan. We ended up meeting a very friendly guy who raises pigs. We went and saw his operation which was very simple, but cute and well functioning. He had a couple of males and several pregnant females. We asked a lot of questions and gained a ton of insight on this whole pig raising business. 
When his two pigs had their babies we went and picked out a couple: a male and a female from different litters. We wanted to have our own breeding pair. We had to wait 6 weeks to pick them up, so, in the meantime, we started building our pig pen. 
And just like everything we build, keeping in mind that these little piglets were going to grow to exceed 700 pounds, it was built over the top: strong, insulated, and totally "pig proof." 

When we brought our piglets home, whom we had affectionately named Bonnie and Clyde, we weren't done with their house yet. So, their nights were were spent inside the house in our dog kennel and their days were spent walking on a leash learning the ins and outs  of the ranch, meeting the other animals, and basking in the sun while we worked on their house. 

They were just little things, and they quickly started bonding with us. We realized that, inside their amazingly human like eyes, there was recognition, warmth, intelligence, curiosity, and even humor. They looked up at us with their little snouts and squeaks with trust and started following us everywhere, eating right out our hands.

They are now a few months older, and at least a hundred pounds heavier, living outside with the other animals. But if they hear, smell, or see any movement coming from the house, they drop whatever they are doing and run as fast as they can to us now looking towards us  with the most love and devotion that I have ever seen.

Our Blue Heelers are their best friends.
Especially our 3 year old Percy, who has been their guardian and protector since the day we brought them home. He immediately jumped into the horse trailer with those little piglets, sat down next to them, and from that day onward, swore to protect them and stay by their sides. This was his first big responsibility that he took over from his dad "Sonny Boy." (Pictures of that very moment, above in  "The Pigs" page) He has definitely fulfilled that promise as he strolls with them everyday on all of their adventures.  They spend their days walking and playing with the goats and eating with the horses.
Bonnie is such a character, she loves to roll on her back so you can rub her belly, closing her eyes in great satisfaction and won't move and inch until you walk away. Then she'll run and grab a stick. darting and bucking... urging you to chase her. 
Then there's Clyde (aka little pigger) 
Unbelievably smart and agile. You cannot get anything over on him. If you move left, (before you even think to move) he moves right. He runs like lightning, and stares into your eyes and talks to you will little squeaks and snorts. He actually talks to you. 

Their insatiable curiosity paired with extreme intelligence has made for the funniest and enlightening time of our lives. They're influence has brought out the character And personality of every other animal on the ranch. You can see the others thinking and playing more than before. Using they're brains to solve problems. 

They have been such a wonderful part of our lives, and have brought so much fun and love to our ranch. 

Our journey with them has only begun and I'm so excited to see them grow and learn.

These amazing animals are so much more than just a source of food. They may actually be one of the smartest animals in the world. And they have enormous feelings. 

I'm telling you, your other best friend could definitely be a pig, and you would love them just as much as you do your dog. Everyone should see these awesome animals in a happy and thriving environment, you will definitely want to get that little piglet of your own. 

So... Mans other best friend?? You decide.

(There are so many wonderful photos of Bonnie, Clyde, and their interactions with the rest of the ranch. As well as their "PIG STRONG" house.
Visit the pages, "Pig Pen"..."The Pigs"... "Bonnie" or "Clyde" to check out these amazing photos."

Also check out our Youtube page for funny videos of the pigs and more!!!!
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The hard reality of free range farming

1/7/2019

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​The truth is, there is a hard reality that you will face when you think of raising free ranging animals. 
​

It will be hard for you to bear, because witnessing these precious animals in there natural environment will change your heart forever. 

It is such a painful thought for me to think of caging and penning animals for the entirety of there lives with nothing to stimulate their minds except the thought of when they can get their next meal, turning them into dull lifeless shells instead of the vibrant souls that they can be. 

Being a change in these animals lives and providing them this kind of paradise has fulfilled my soul in ways I could have never dreamed. 

I leave my house and walk outside and the sounds and sights that greet me are baffling.
The horses whinny at me from all areas around.
The chickens, geese, pigs and goats will literally come running as one giant flock the moment I turn the door handle. 

They all come to our house and eat around us while we sit on the porch. The chickens and dogs will walk and eat amongst each other. The goats and the pigs eat in the middle of them. The horses will even come for some corn and before you know it you have a huge herd of animals all around you. Happily co existing. 

They all know their names.
They all come when they're called.
They all eat out of your hand. 
They follow you everywhere.
They play with us.
They do funny things that make us laugh.
They live and interact with each other in harmony. 

Far from the standard beliefs. Animals are smart, sensitive, emotional, loving and funny. We gave these animals a chance to live a life like nature intended, and they thrived beyond belief. 

Our chickens have a whole social network and hierarchy system, they have favorite foods and foods that they hate. Some chickens love some things while others dislike it. We built them play places, a sand box, and perches.
They come out of their house in the morning calling and crowing, running and playing. Every night they file into their coop as the sun goes down, one by one, until they are all in.
Only then followed by their protector the rooster "General Patton".
hey have individual personalities. They are amazing. 

Our goats are hilarious. They do so many funny things. They will even ask you for things. Our big red goat "Pachi" stretches and puts her leg up on you because she wants you to massage her knees. She does this to all the people that she likes. Even visitors that come to the ranch.... and she will thank you before walking away. 

Our pigs Bonnie and Clyde were our most recent additions and we weren't quite sure how the others would react. We brought home these two little piglets, and immediately our Blue Heeler "Percy" took up with them. He sat next to them, licked them, and making them comfortable in their new surroundings, he protected them... and for the last couple months has been a constant sidekick in their daily activities.

Our horses.. after the initial shock of new noises and smells, warmed right up to them, and now eat hay and corn with the pigs. 

They are more human than animal.
More human than humans to tell you the truth.
When you scratch them they will stretch with enjoyment.
When you rub Bonnie's stomach she will literally flop over, close her eyes and enjoy every second that you are touching her. 

Every animal on our ranch is distinctly different yet amazingly similar in their ability to love and interact with us. We get more enjoyment from them than any movie could ever give you. So many stories unfold in front of us everyday. We are so inspired to tell their stories. Write books about them. Even make movies about them.

There are so many other animals and interactions that I could tell you about, and I haven't even mentioned everybody, but I could write about them for a lifetime. 

So yes there is certainly a hard reality to free ranging animals. 

Once you walk through that door and you look inside to the pure energy of these creatures,  and you live with them every day,  they become your children....

You will never be able to look into the face of another animal without questioning....

What is going through there mind?
What do they love to do? 
What are their dreams?...
I wonder what kind of quirks they have...
How funny could they be?

Not everyone can support free ranging animals... and that's understandable. But many people still want these animals. But just remember that it is not simply an animal that you keep at your house or in a cage. But a soul that is entering your life and trusting you with theirs. 
​
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Holidays on the Ranch

1/5/2019

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         Well, to start, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a very happy and wonderful New Years to everyone. Go 2019!
           We had a wonderful holiday here on the ranch.  Thanksgiving was a blast. We don't have a lot of people over for the holidays. But time with just us and our animals is what we love and cherish. Before I go any further I should mention, that all of our animals get whatever we get. I made an (awesome) turkey. Special mash potatoes and stuffing (just for the animals), and banana bread. Needless to say every animal on the ranch was stuffed to the brim, as were we. 
          Christmas followed suite, except we had ham, and pineapple upside down cake. and YES! even the horses loved the cake!!  The chickens, pigs, and dogs, ate all of the ham, and the goats and horses ate all the cake. It makes me so happy that I can make something for my (whole) family to enjoy on the holidays. 

         WE are ready to start the new years with a bang. 
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My Happy Dinosaurs

12/18/2018

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If you have ever questioned getting chickens of your own, don't. They are the most friendly, sociable lovable farm pets you can have. They all have great character and will follow you around and eat out of your hand. We have had such a great experience with our chickens. If you have any questions about raising chickens, just ask in the comments. 
           I started my chicken experience about 4 years ago. I always loved chickens, well all animals for that matter. We started with Dixie, her story you can read below with many photos of my beloved white chicken. Then the majestic rooster Patton, also below. But to tell you the truth when we decided to get more than one and get a whole flock of baby chickens, I was scared to death. I didn't know how to take care of these fragile little things, and I was constantly worried about that first batch for the first couple of days. We decided that ultimately they needed somewhere better than a box to start there life. So we decided to keep them in our big garden tub in our bathroom. It worked perfectly and they loved it.  keeping them warm and feeding them were all they really needed, and boy did they grow fast. We would go buy worms from the fishing store and throw them into the baby chicks....and I tell you.. If you have never seen this before,  It is better than the super bowl. Ultimate chicken football. We were entertained for hours at a time.
         Over the years we have gotten chicks a couple of different ways. We bought them at our local farm store, not knowing if we were getting girls or boys. Then we ordered them online and ordered only hens...(and one boy).. hey nobody is perfect.  But that little boy now is our handsome rooster "Cukood", so it all worked out in the end. 
            We have gotten three different batches of chicken babies, some of them didn't make it, we had some trials and errors in the beginning.  But most of them thrived, had babies, and are now, I can guarantee,  the most happy free ranging chickens in America.  We have 26 hens and 2 roosters. They have a beautiful chicken coop. Very well insulated, no electricity or heating in the winter (for safety) and they get along wonderfully throughout the year.

The story of Dixie 
(The chicken who started the ranch)

The work had just started. But our ranch started growing and taking on life of it's own. After about a year of being there someone we knew brought us a chicken. That's right. A chicken. In a cage that they had caught running around in some abandoned place. She was a beautiful white leghorn chicken, we named her Dixie. 

Dixie became very close to us very fast. Maybe that's because she lived in the house with us in a nest that we built her.  At that time we had no chicken coop and nowhere for her to live. 
She would fly up on the counter and eat food with the cats. She would perch on your hand or your shoulder and comfortably sit there for hours. She was the best pet you could have. She would roam around and peck outside, but when called from the house, would run as fast as she could to us from wherever she was. 

We decided to build a coop for her. Which was quite an undertaking. We built a great house, well insulated and protected from all the elements. But Dixie needed a partner. That's when we got General Patton (the majestic brown leghorn rooster of the ranch.) Dixie went on to have 10 babies and lived a happy life for a few more year. Sadly Dixie passed last year, but she is warmly remembered in our hearts every time we look outside. 

General Patton (The majestic Rooster of the Ranch)
General Patton was our 2nd chicken on the ranch, as a mate to Dixie.  I found a beautiful 1 year old rooster for sale. I immediately went and got him. He was gorgeous. So many bright colors, and a personality that shined. A very nice rooster. During one of his first couple day at the ranch, he had made himself a perch in the rafters of the barn. He got down early morning and crowed a loud powerful crow to wake up the ranch that he was already calling his. Suddenly and without warning, something grabbed him..... (coming soon to "Another day at Cloverfield ranch comic page")
Picture

More info about Brown Leghorn Chickens

The most common color Leghorn chickens come in brown, white and black. 
Although there are 10 recognized color varieties.

They were originally imported from Italy. The white leghorn chicken is one of the most commonly used laying breed.

Males generally weigh between 5.3 - 6.0 lbs
While females only weigh between 4.4 - 5.1 lbs

They lay good quality white eggs. They lay around 280 eggs per year sometimes even up to 320
Brown leghorn chickens are considered to be one of the most hardiest chicken breeds when it comes to cold resistance. 
(In our experiance they are more like a natural wild bird than a domesticated chicken.)

Brown leghorns are often known to be a little more flighty then white leghorns. While white leghorns are often very sociable and friendly Brown leghorns (while they do get very close and friendly with people) are often a little more stand offish. 

We have around 30 brown leghorn Hens, and 2 brown leghorn roosters. They are all super friendly, happy , free ranging chickens.




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Story of our Paradise

12/18/2018

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When we bought this property about 5 years ago, it needed ALOT of work. It was run down and damaged, but we saw great potential.
There is beautiful scenery all around, and rolling prairie hills that go on for miles. 
We have a great pond and lots of room for animals to roam free. In a very secluded and unpopulated area.

For us it was perfect. 
We didn't start with very much. Just a couple horses, our dog Peanut and our legendary Blue Heeler Sonny Boy.

We worked really hard for those first few years. We ran new fence, cleaned up old junk, remodeled buildings, and built new ones, all by hand. 

What at first seemed like an impossible task started transforming in front of our eyes. It became beautiful and happy. The grass started growing and the land just seemed revitalized. 

We became a working ranch. Training horses, giving riding lessons. Raising goats, pigs, chickens, dogs, cats and geese. All of whom live a completely happy free ranging life style. Everyone gets along and co-habitat the ranch  together. We are one big, happy, growing family. Every one of our animals has there own story, and we love them all.

​ We love all animals equally and would love to help any animal in need that we could.
But we are just beginning to grow. Our dream is to turn this ranch into a paradise for all animals. Living freely and happily, loved and cared for with passion. 

While every animal has there own home that we built for them, all of our animals are free ranging, that is very important for us. They are free and living a natural life without cages.  There are no fights or conflicts and the animals have a very close relationship with us and follow us wherever we go. 

As we continue to grow with the help of our supporters, we will build more, and we will take in as many animals as we can comfortably sustain. All profits made from the purchases on our our website go to the animals, period. We live a very simple life and don't want any extravagance. In fact, our animals houses are much better than ours, and that is the way we want to keep it. We love giving them a great life. 

If you love this too and want to see more.. Please purchase our book "How I Raised My Daughter" or any of our many products in our store. Or you can go to our GoFundMe page and donate to our cause. 

We keep track of everyone who supports us and we are always welcome to visitors that are interested. Please email us or leave your comments below. You can comment on anything, good or bad, or ugly, we will listen and your voice will be heard. 
Thank you for reading our story, but there is so much more to tell, please link to this blog as I give stories and facts about all of the various farm animals that we have. I want to take all of what I have learned and share it with you. 

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    About me

    My name is Sam. I am a proud native born South Dakotan. Born in Rapid City, South Dakota. I could describe myself as many things; Artist, free-spirited adventurer. But the titles that I am most proud of are Manager and Co-Founder of Cloverfield Ranch and Ranch Mother to all of our happy furry and feathered critters that call this place home. As a open minded Entrepreneur I am always looking for new, fun and interesting ways to support our growing ranch and grow our dream of making Cloverfield Ranch a refuge for all animals that can become an local attraction and entertaining environment for everybody to enjoy. 

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