Tall Pines Ranch

02/15/2026

Happy Chinese New Year!

May the new year be filled with abundance and prosperity.

02/15/2026

Kunekune piglets born 10/17/2026

All double waddled
2 gilts
2 boars (need to be butchered because they have hernias)

Big brown pig is our sow and their dam.

02/06/2026

OMG I’m absolutely in love with these things!

A little over 2 weeks old and they’re already showing their little personalities. 💕

04/19/2025

Typical weekend for us 🤣🤣

03/29/2025

Sorry honey 🫣

But think of all the skills we've gained😆

03/24/2025

Well that’s fun…

Earlier today the UK reported the forst diagnosis of H5N1 avian influenza in a sheep. Please note that the sheep was on a small farm where poultry and livestock were kept together.

What can small ruminant producers do to prevent HPAI exposure?

• Sheep and goat producers should always practice good biosecurity for all farm animals. APHIS has information about biosecurity available athttps://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fs-hpai-biosecurity-multi-species-farms.pdf
• Biosecurity resources specific for sheep and goats can be found on the American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners (AASRP) website. https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.aasrp.org%2fMain%2fMain%2fResources%2fAASRP-Biosecurity-Tool-Kit-Resources.aspx%3fhkey%3d63a00c1e-31c3-4b94-b5c4-8050b9e7b6dd&c=E,1,h3LuzoTLFbNR0LjdCcuMXcFQfKJ27W-bq9TdS6FPubS11r-_KocDUBze6HS7JW7BaF-14fgHf1y7A5DuYW-isQZeUSOzWLrqATpATmJAPImJk_Rp-tRE2ltHxjbr&typo=1
• It is recommended to avoid housing multiple species of animals together at any time. If birds or cattle test positive for HPAI, separate them from other animals on the farm and take biosecurity steps to ensure HPAI does not spread to other species.
• Sheep and goat producers should not feed raw milk or colostrum from dairy cattle to any species including cats on their farm unless the milk has been treated with a process demonstrated to inactivate the virus.
• Producers should monitor and immediately report any unusual sickness or deaths in sheep or goats or other domestic and wild animals to their accredited veterinarian, the State Animal Health Official (state veterinarian), or the APHIS, Veterinary Services Veterinarian-in-Charge for their state.

03/07/2025

Peaceful Valley has a great growing potatoes for beginners clinic in a couple weeks! Hope to see you there.

02/13/2025

All of this! We pour our heart and soul into these animals to make sure they’re healthy, happy, and productive.

Why should you pay more to support certain goat breeders? You don't want anything fancy; you just want a pet without papers. 🐐🐐

I get that, but if you truly care about the animals (the way we do), you won't mind paying a bit more to support a knowledgeable breeder that is working hard to improve the breed as dairy goats 🥛. And let me explain why...

First of all, we are nowhere close to making a profit from this. I'm just happy if the hay bill for the year and disease testing is covered. This does NOT include grain (we go through at least two 50 Ibs bags of feed a week *just for our does in milk* at $18 to $30 per bag), minerals, infrastructure maintenance, milking supplies, milk machine maintenance, time spent researching genetics, milking 👏 twice👏 a day👏 for at least 👏 240 days a year👏, performance program fees, and veterinary expenses (Yes, I am a vet. And yes, it still cost me *quite a bit* to keep my license and continuing eduction every year. No, medications aren't really that much cheaper for me...). Vacations are tricky and completely impossible certain times of the year.

You are paying for the breeder's time, knowledge, expertise, collaboration, and support for the lifetime of your animal.

If you think you're being charged too much, I promise you it cost us so much more. I am not saying all of this to complain. This is what we choose to do. And we choose to do it Every. Single. Day. Rain or shine. Hot or Cold. In sickness and in health. Ya'll get what I'm saying here, ok! It is what we love, and we do it because we truly care about our goats and the Nigerian dwarf goat breed as a whole. These are special little goats with a lot of potential.

So why pay a little more?

Because for us, it costs everything to breed these goats....as dairy goats should be bred. So that you may have a healthy, disease tested, bottle raised, people-friendly pet or backyard milker. And it's worth it. That's why.

**Pictured below is our new clock in the milk parlor... time is ticking, and I've got ~50 baby goats to feed now in the cold and rain...I still have to feed myself too lol**

💗💗💗💗

02/05/2025

Colostrum intake can make or break the survivorship of kids/lambs.

This should be an enlightening discussion.

Please join us next week on Wednesday, February 12th @ 11:00 AM PDT / 12:00 pm MDT / 1:00 pm CDT for the February 2025 UI-USU-SDSU Extension Sheep & Goat webinar. Clay Schoen will discuss the importance of colostrum and best methods for bottle baby care.

USU Extension - Sheep and Goat SDSU Extension Sheep & Goats

Register Here: https://uidaho.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fWiLWKvuS2-dx3AJnWotNw

02/04/2025

There’s still time to register for this!

WEBINAR OPPORTUNITY: Please join us this week on February 6th @ 5 PM PDT / 6 pm MDT / 7 pm CDT for an LIVE ONLY UI-USU-SDSU Extension Sheep & Goat SPECIALIST Q&A Webinar Session. In this session your UI-USU-SDSU team will take seasonally relevant questions from the audience about all things sheep and goats, with a special guest, Dr. Lauren Christensen, DVM, joining to help us out with sheep and goat medicine questions!

USU Extension - Sheep and Goat SDSU Extension Sheep & Goats

Register Here: https://uidaho.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_YWP7_JpyS92oqfQed3E8Jg

01/29/2025

Wishing you a wonderful year of the snake 💕