All photos here are our animals and taken here on the farm.
They are our copyrighted property, please contact us if you would like to use them in any way.
They are our copyrighted property, please contact us if you would like to use them in any way.
The Horses
Dolly (at left) and Dixie
While all of the animals on the farm are important, the horses are especially so. We could not run the farm without them, as we use them instead of tractors in the fields. We have a team of Belgians: Dixie, age 17, and her daughter Dolly, age 12. Not only were both of these girls born, raised and trained on the farm, but Dixie's mother was an original member of the Stevenson family when they came to Pleasant Valley Farm in 1990. Talk about sustainable! The horses pull a variety of farm tools: the plow, harrow, disc, drag, grain drill and cultipacker for working the soil and planting in the spring; the mower, hay rake, wagon, and provide the power for the hay claw in the barn during haymaking; the cultivator for helping the corn grow, a potato digger for harvesting, the road grader for plowing snow, the manure spreader for cleaning the barn and fertilizing the soil, as well as odd jobs too numerous to list here. They are a well trained team; even a novice teamster like myself is able to work them, thanks to the thorough training of my husband, Dan and his father. For more information about how and why we work horses and the equipment used on the farm, please check out the following pages: Why Work Horses, Hay Making and Field Work .
Last, but not least (except in size!) we have Ponyboy. He is a 5 year old registered Miniature Horse stallion. His registered name is Wildwood's Painted Jaguar. He is registered with the American Pinto Horse Association because of his coloring, and has registrations with the American Miniature Horse Registry and Gold Seal Miniature Horse Registry based on size. He is a sweet boy to work with and loves being with the big horses- they make quite a herd together!
Last, but not least (except in size!) we have Ponyboy. He is a 5 year old registered Miniature Horse stallion. His registered name is Wildwood's Painted Jaguar. He is registered with the American Pinto Horse Association because of his coloring, and has registrations with the American Miniature Horse Registry and Gold Seal Miniature Horse Registry based on size. He is a sweet boy to work with and loves being with the big horses- they make quite a herd together!
Ponyboy
The Pigpen
Happy pigs out in the summer sun!
We no longer breed our own pigs, but we do raise your sausage, bacon and ham right here. Our pigs have access to the outdoors where they can root, wallow, and exhibit all of a pig's natural behaviors.
We sometimes use a "pig tractor" during the summer months. This is a 16' x 8' enclosure with a roof over half of the area. While it has a feeder and a waterer, there is no floor to the pen. This way, it can be moved daily, either with a team of horses or a pickup. The pigs have fresh, clean ground to root up, and leave the soil well turned and fertilized when they are moved again. It also provides grass and grubs to supplement their diet. While grass-fed pork can be difficult to find, it has all the same health benefits of grass-fed beef, chicken and eggs.
We sometimes use a "pig tractor" during the summer months. This is a 16' x 8' enclosure with a roof over half of the area. While it has a feeder and a waterer, there is no floor to the pen. This way, it can be moved daily, either with a team of horses or a pickup. The pigs have fresh, clean ground to root up, and leave the soil well turned and fertilized when they are moved again. It also provides grass and grubs to supplement their diet. While grass-fed pork can be difficult to find, it has all the same health benefits of grass-fed beef, chicken and eggs.
The Cows
Our registered bull, Bullwinkle
We raise beef cows at this time. At this time we purchase small calves and raise them to full size. Our cows live on pasture all summer long and during the winter are fed our homegrown hay. The result is a much leaner beef that is actually healthier for you! Our goal is to transition our beef herd to heritage Dexter cattle, and began offering Dexter beef in early 2012.
Dexters are a heritage breed of cattle, and originated as a family cow in Ireland. They are one of the smallest breeds of cattle, and are most often black, although dun & red Dexters also occur. Both the bulls and cows may have horns, as do most of our Dexters here at the farm. Dexters are known for being a "tri-purpose" cow- one that can be used for milk, meat or even as oxen in the fields.
Dexters are a heritage breed of cattle, and originated as a family cow in Ireland. They are one of the smallest breeds of cattle, and are most often black, although dun & red Dexters also occur. Both the bulls and cows may have horns, as do most of our Dexters here at the farm. Dexters are known for being a "tri-purpose" cow- one that can be used for milk, meat or even as oxen in the fields.
Our Dexter herd- Lil, center, with her calf. Finni (with horns)- her calf, Pixie is to the far left.
We also raise registered Dexter cattle and are members of the Purebred Dexter Cattle Association of North America. Our first girl was named Finniat. She had a healthy heifer calf in early May 2011and is our family milk cow. We liked her so much we soon expanded our herd to include Lil, a mature cow who is a former show ring champion who is also a proud mama, delivering a healthy bull calf in April 2011. Our breeding stock now includes Finni, Lil, Pixie (Finni's girl) and our bull, Bullwinkle. While we love how gentle Bullwinkle is towards us, he is still a bull and must be treated with caution. While at this time, we have no plans to raise enough dairy animals to sell the milk, we are excited about having it for ourselves. We chose the Dexter breed because they were decended from the family cows of southern Ireland, and in addition to producing enough milk for a family, unwanted calves (usually the males) can be raised as beef. They are smart cows who can also be trained as oxen for pulling power. They are also the smallest non-miniature breed of cow and so require less space and feed to reach full productivity. We began offering heritage Dexter beef at the stand beginning in spring 2012.
The Goats
Jerry
Goats have wonderful personalities, leading Emily to nickname them her "little dogs with horns." They are friendly and love to take cookies from Emily. Although we are no longer breeding goats at this time, we kept a few of our favorites. They love to eat the small brush and thorny things in the pasture, serving as all-natural weed-eaters.
Rambo, center, with some of the flock
The Flock
We also raise sheep here at the farm. Our ram, or breeding male, is named Rambo and is a polled Dorset. This means he is a large, meat-type sheep (weighing nearly 250 lbs), is all white, and does not have horns. Like the goats, he is a friendly fellow who loves cookies too. However, the sheep are more shy than goats and don't generally come close when we have visitors. We have a small breeding flock of ewes who give birth to adorable lambs each year, beginning in February. Our sheep are pasture raised and fed almost no grain in the winter, only quality hay made here at the farm. We will have plenty of lamb chops and other cuts of lamb in the fall. Although we do need to shear the sheep in the springtime for their comfort, we do not save the wool. You may contact us if you would be interested in real wool.
The Barn Cats
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Every farm has cats. More than pets, on a farm they help to control the rodent populations that are attracted to livestock feed. You're likely to see at least one when you stop and visit us. Pictured is Itty Bit. As her name suggests, she's rather small. She's all-white, and is pretty unique in that she has two different colored eyes and an extra toe on each foot. She's also the best mouser we've seen, but so smart that even the hens know she won't eat the baby chicks. She is a bit shy, though, and is usually too skittish to let strangers pet her. You may also see a variety of other cats around, as there are always quite a few here. (And no, we don't need any more kittens, thanks!)
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 Itty Bit |
The Rabbit Pen
Some of our breeding does with a few babies
It all started with a pet house rabbit of Emily's named Murphy. Then came his girlfriend, Sheena. Then, in true rabbit style, 12 babies all at once! Although we no longer keep rabbits in the house, all of our bunnies have access to the great outdoors. While the main pen of does, or females, is stationary, the run has lots of logs and tubes to play in and the grass is supplemented with hay and fresh vegetables as well as rabbit pellets. The males and any young rabbits are in moveable pens which are moved to fresh grass every day and supplemented with pellets as well. We have bunnies of various ages and colors. They make great pets but are also the larger, meat type for those interested in rabbit for dinner.
