I’m Jamie—a mom, homesteader, chicken tender, cat lover, and blogger in NW Tennessee. Our family raises Svarthöna chickens, fainting goats, and Maremma Sheepdogs. I write about homestead life, homemaking, budgeting, and baking while offering hatching eggs, chicks, and goat kids to our community.
the Italian wolf fighter...that's good with kids?
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Hey Reader, Continuing with the so dang cute puppy content... Who can resist this face?? The puppies are really coming out of their baby phase and enjoying exploring the world around them. I can't say our Svarthöna are impressed by these seven in their midst, but it's important for the puppies to grow up around our livestock.  And weekly weigh-ins aren't showing too much difference from previous weeks. Red is still definitely the leader of the pack at over 6 pounds while her siblings are all a little over 5 pounds. so...how can a ferocious Italian wolf fighter be good with kids?And by kids, I mean both those of the human and goat variety. Well it happens through thousands of years of breeding for instincts, intellect, and temperament by human livestock guardians to reach a dog with a lower prey drive that bonds with its charges. Maremma Sheepdogs, or the Maremmano-Abruzzese Sheepdog, originated in Italy to guard sheep from wolves. The breed is specifically indigenous to central Italy in the Maremmo region and southern Italy in the Abruzzo region - hence the name. They potentially shares a related ancestor with the Great Pyrenees that originated in Spain, the Kuvasz, the Tatra Shepherd Dog, and the Šarplaninac. Maremmas have been depicted in artwork and literature back to the days of ancient Rome when sheep flocks and predator loads were greater than today. Breed standard dictates a solid white dog with thick, coarse fur (thicker around the neck) and black lips, nose, and skin around the eyes. This standard helped (and still helps) shepherds quickly spot wolves and other predators in the flock because the Maremmas blend in with the white sheep. Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella, an ancient Roman writer on agriculture, stated this perfect pairing of solid white in his first century AD writings. Today Maremmas protect all kinds of livestock around the world. Even protecting small penguins from foxes in Australia.
Fascinating to me and, I hope, to you as well! Ciao for now! Jamie P.s. Know someone who needs a good livestock guardian? Our puppies will be available mid December! |
Arda Acres
I’m Jamie—a mom, homesteader, chicken tender, cat lover, and blogger in NW Tennessee. Our family raises Svarthöna chickens, fainting goats, and Maremma Sheepdogs. I write about homestead life, homemaking, budgeting, and baking while offering hatching eggs, chicks, and goat kids to our community.
Hey Reader, Yep, you read that right. We've moved back to Wyoming. Through an odd and meandering series of events, it worked out for us to come back to Wyoming. We sure have missed it. The goats, dogs, cats, and chickens have come with us too just in time to enter winter, haha. We'll be keeping a close eye on everyone as we're getting nighttime freezing temperatures and the animals are coming off humid heatwaves in Tennessee. Hopefully everyone transitions well and enjoys the cooler weather....
Hey Reader, Can I say something without jinxing us? Probably not but... August was a bit calmer than some of our previous months which is always great news. Don't get me wrong, it's been hot as heck here, but at least that's not a deviation from the norm. Along with some updates, I've got something special for you that I worked on over the last couple of months when I had spare time here and there. I enjoy writing, not just for the sake of writing, but to share what I've learned and create...
Hey Reader, Hoo boy, this has been an interesting month. And mostly due to coop happenings. I'll keep all other updates brief because lots happened with the birds this month. So let's get into it. In the Coop Egg Production was pretty abysmal in July. We were down almost 48% from production in June with only 121 eggs collected in the coop. Crazy. I track egg production because it's fun and also because it lets me know if there's an issue with the hens. We buy organic feed because what they...