It's been almost a year and a half since we became the proud owners of our small homesteading/regenerative agriculture operation we've named Meadow View Ranch. Just one short month after moving our lives from Colorado to Wyoming, we added our first livestock to the ranch: six Silver Appleyard ducklings that we painstakingly incubated, hatched, and raised in our guest bathtub.
Before we officially started this journey, we decided to follow some wise advice from experienced animal caretakers: only add one species of animal to the homestead each year. Why this strangely specific rule? Well, as fledgling homesteaders, it's far too easy to imagine all the animals you could fit on your new piece of land: dairy cows for milk, goats for brush control, chickens for eggs, pigs for a sustainable meat supply... and the list goes on.
The problem that most homesteaders seem to run into when adding several species to their flock at one time is realizing they got themselves into more than they can handle. When you move from town to a homestead and have to face all of the challenges that come with that, the last thing you feel equipped to handle is the care of a dozen animals, all with their own unique personalities, fencing requirements, and nutrition needs. Far too many homesteaders who begin their journey this way unfortunately find that it ends soon after.
So, in an effort to not overwhelm ourselves and make sure we could take appropriate care of any animals on our property, we decided to just start out with ducks. We picked Silver Appleyards because we are passionate about conservation and they are a rare heritage breed listed on The Livestock Conservancy's watch list. If you haven't yet, make sure you check out our blog post introducing our ducks from last year.
The Latest Additions to Meadow View Ranch
This year, we've gone a little more crazy with the additions to the ranch: we've added a horse, another Silver Appleyard duck, and four guinea fowl. And here's a fun fact: none of them were planned! First, we'll introduce you to Tavi, our new horse.
Tavi is a four-year-old mustang from the Green Mountain herd management area in southern Wyoming. She was adopted as a young horse by a dear friend, Meagan, who gentled her, broke her to ride, and loved her dearly. When Meagan reached out to ask if we were interested in adding Tavi to our family, we couldn't say no. She came with great references—the people I trust most in the horse industry all knew and loved her—so it was an obvious choice.
Tavi joined us in February of this year and has added so much joy to our lives. She is a wonderful, trustworthy riding partner—and someday we hope to use her as a pack horse on hunting trips and maybe even use her to help do some work around the property.
As many of you likely know, over the past year or so, I've found myself becoming more and more involved with the Pryor Mountain mustangs and wild horses in general—which made adding Tavi, a wild horse, to our lives even more of an obvious choice. Though she doesn't have the same purpose on the ranch as our other livestock, we adore her and are glad she's a part of our lives.
Up next is our new duckling, who we're affectionately calling Cheep Cheep for now (at least until we know for sure whether it's a hen or a drake).
Cheep Cheep was hatched by one of our ducks, Nutmeg, and was the only one from the clutch to survive. After three days, Nutmeg abandoned Cheep Cheep in the cold—so we brought the youngster in the house. But of course, we couldn't leave this sweet young duckling alone in the house during the day...so we brought guinea keets home, too.
To be fair, we didn't exactly plan on adding the guineas—it was sort of a last-minute decision when we were searching for buddies for Cheep Cheep to grow up alongside. We have way too many ticks, grasshoppers, and ants on the place, so guineas seemed like the perfect fit for Meadow View Ranch. Plus, once they're old enough, they'll be able to free range outside and forage for pretty much all the food they need—meaning they'll end up costing us little to nothing. They're also awfully cute to watch as they sprint across their little pen!
Cheep Cheep and the guineas (which seems like a particularly good band name if you're looking for one 😉) are the best of friends. Even though Cheep Cheep is only a few days older, he/she is significantly bigger than the guineas. Silver Appleyards are a large-breed duck, so Cheep Cheep should grow up to be six or seven pounds, while the guineas should only weigh three to four pounds.
Here's a video from our Blink camera showing the guineas and Cheep Cheep quickly settling into their new outdoor home:
Right now, I believe Cheep Cheep to be a girl based on its voice and personality. Hens make the typical "quack" noise while drakes sound raspy; Cheep Cheep makes an awful lot of noise to be a drake! I'm hoping I'm right, since we can only have one drake with the number of hens we currently have. Plus, we wouldn't mind getting another egg each morning!
So What's The Next Addition to Meadow View Ranch?
Since we've already gone over our limit of adding one species per year, we'll probably wait until next year to add new animals to MVR. With Wyoming's seemingly endless winter fast approaching, the thought of caring for more animals doesn't sound too appealing! First on the list will probably be goats—we're working on their pen and fencing now—maybe followed by some pigs and a cow or two.
Animals are such an important part of any regenerative agriculture operation; they add nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil, work the ground, and help eliminate weeds and pests. We feel blessed to be the caretakers of these incredible helpers and are looking forward to seeing the animals' hard work pay off in the form of a healthier ecosystem over the next several years.
What do you think we should add to Meadow View Ranch next?
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