Livestock Guardian Animals - Along with the
livestock (more on that later!), you will get
experienced, willing guardian animals. We
usually run five dogs - Pyrenees, Anatolian,
and Anatolian-Pyr crosses. Progeny from these
dogs are working from Rhode Island to
California, and the pups have always sold
well. We have kept the same lines running
since 1985, and would be starting a new line
of Anatolian blood with our young male this
year. These dogs don't lie around at the house.
They live with the livestock, and have
developed their own working schedules and
patterns. In addition to the guardian dogs, we
also have two donkeys that are sheep and goat-
bonded. Both are solid and gentle, and work
well.
Livestock Equipment - Lots
of equipment collected over
the years. We'll include tubs
and buckets - too many to
count - watering floats, hoses,
tanks, and feeders. Several
small, weather-proof bull
feeders that hold minerals and
feed for free-choice access.
Two 1500-lb. feeders for
supplementing in winter, or, if
you choose to switch to a
grain-fed operation, for
feeding. Several small trough
feeders, as well, all covered.
One 500-pound capacity creep
feeder. And to make it easier
and more cost-efficient - well,
we've managed to work that
out, too. We have two ten-ton
feed bins set up for outside
feeding, and with a flick of a
switch, you can get on the
tractor, back up the
PTO-powered grain wagon,
and fill it in minutes. Better
yet, it only takes minutes to
unload it - no heavy sacks to
lift. The discharge auger does
all the work for you.
There are also two more feed
bins that need repair, or can
be dismantled for other uses.
That's not all, though. Inside
the 32 x 410-foot outbuilding
are complete holding pens to
fit every handling situation
imaginable; sheep or goat
working chutes, outfitted with
a sorting gate with a design
that allows for three-way
sorting; Slydell scales, and a
Slydell tilt table. The building
is a converted chicken house,
and has fans, electric lights,
running water, a freezer,
misters, and heaters. There is
a small hot water heater
available, as well as a sink -
we just haven't moved them
in yet. We have some electric
netting for temporary
paddocks, working fence
chargers, batteries - the
works, all included in the sale.
In addition, there is a working
worm farm for ecologically
sound disposal of hay waste
(and a bonus for fishing in the
stocked ponds!), and plenty of
storage for feed, tools, or
anything else that might strike
your fancy.
There are several more
outbuildings suitable for
livestock on the place - an old
composter with six stalls
could be used for composting,
or could be adapted for a
loafing shed or commodities
storage. A 40 x 60 barn and a
20 x 110-foot barn were once
used for commercial rabbit
production (Pel-Freez still
runs in this area) and later
adapted into a nurse
cow/bottle calf operation. The
milking machine is still in the
long barn, along with the
generator and milk jar.
Although we sold out the
cattle a couple of years ago,
we still have working cattle
pens and a Silver King
Squeeze chute, as well as a
manual head gate.
And if you are into horses, as
we have always been, you'll
find the two round pens a
valuable asset. One is a
40-foot pen, and we have
attached a 60-foot pen. Both
have individual gates, and can
be opened up to create a large
area for advanced training
and arena riding.
Trailers and More - No ranch is
complete without trailers, and do
we have trailers. We have a 28-foot
stock trailer, ready for
double-decking with custom-built
decking. There is a 16-foot open
stock trailer with room for three
horses in the front and two in the
back. You've already read about
the dump trailer and the
equipment trailer, but you haven't
heard about the 10-foot trailer to
haul your ATVs - a 2005 and a
2001, both automatic 4-wheel-drive
500cc vehicles.
The final trailer is a 12-foot trailer
with a drop gate for hauling trash
or whatever.
Oh, yes - and there is a garden
trailer to pull behind the
four-wheelers. We have a "goat
ambulance" that fits right into the
little trailer to make emergencies a
bit easier to work out.
