Moon Oaks Farm

Moon Oaks Farm Registered Painted Desert Sheep. Small sustainable family farm.

Moon Oaks Farm is a family friendly farm, and we are known for our fresh food and country-style ambiance. Our start up farm featuring Painted Desert Sheep will be beginning to offer pasture raised Painted Desert lamb (Spring 2022), chicken, fresh eggs daily, vegetables, fruits, nuts, herbs, baked goods, artisan cheeses, homemade soaps, honey and custom woodworking pieces and artwork coming soon. D

ue to the change of seasons, our offerings will always be changing, so stop by our page to find out what's fresh today.

06/17/2026

Customers: Please remember that our farm is also our private residence, so please visit us only during scheduled appointments.
Thank you for understanding! 🐏💐🥚🍅

Beautiful new flower bed. Logs courtesy of the hubby. He's my garden hero. Making dreams come true out here on little ...
06/06/2026

Beautiful new flower bed. Logs courtesy of the hubby. He's my garden hero. Making dreams come true out here on little ol' Moon Oaks Farm. These are the kind of flower beds my mom from Germany would have appreciated. The logs are free, cut here on our farm. They are cedar, they will last practically forever and are insect resistant. 🥰

Beautiful things popping up all over the farm! My garden is my happy place.
05/08/2026

Beautiful things popping up all over the farm!
My garden is my happy place.

04/25/2026

Barber Pole Worm in Sheep & Goats — ARTICLE 6

FAMACHA — What It Tells You (And What It Doesn’t)

By now, you understand:

• the parasite is present in most systems
• it cycles continuously
• the animal’s ability to control it changes
• not all animals respond the same way

So the next question becomes:

How do you actually evaluate what’s happening in real time?

⸻

What FAMACHA Is Designed To Do

FAMACHA is a tool used to evaluate anemia:

Specifically, it looks at anemia via:

• color of the lower eyelid
(as a reflection of red blood cell levels)

With a parasite like Haemonchus contortus, which feeds on blood, anemia becomes a key clinical sign.

FAMACHA was originally developed in South Africa by Dr. Faffa Malan as a targeted tool to identify anemia caused by barber pole worm.

It was never intended to diagnose overall parasite burden or function as a complete parasite control program.

The original FAMACHA program was a multi point evaluation, much different than what people now associate with a card comparing eyelid color.

⸻

What FAMACHA Does Well

FAMACHA helps identify:

• animals that are becoming anemic
• animals that are struggling under parasite pressure
• animals that may need intervention

It helps you find the animals that are losing the balance.

⸻

What FAMACHA Does NOT Tell You

This is where most confusion happens.

FAMACHA does not tell you:

• how many worms an animal has
• whether the animal is carrying parasites
• whether the pasture is contaminated
• which animals are contributing most to the system

FAMACHA measures the effect—not the cause.

⸻

This Connects Directly to Resilience

From the previous article:

• some animals struggle
• some animals tolerate

A resilient animal may:

• maintain red blood cell levels
• have a good FAMACHA score
• appear completely normal

while still:

• carrying parasites
• shedding eggs

Again… I am in no way trying to beat up on FAMACHA. I personally feel it is ONE of the best tools we have to evaluate an animal.

I simply want to make the point:

A good FAMACHA score doesn’t mean “no worms.”

⸻

The Limitation Most People Miss

If you only use FAMACHA:

You will identify:

• animals that are failing

But you may completely miss:

• animals that are quietly contributing to the problem

You’ll find the sick animals, but not always the source of the pressure.

⸻

Where FAMACHA Fits in the System

FAMACHA is not a complete parasite program.

It is one tool within a larger system.

Used correctly, it helps do 3 very important things:

• guide targeted treatment
• reduce unnecessary deworming
• monitor clinical impact

⸻

Used Alone, It Falls Short

If it’s the only tool being used:

• high shedders may go unnoticed
• pasture contamination can remain high
• system-level pressure does not change

⸻

Why It Became Oversimplified

Over time, FAMACHA has been reduced to:

“Check eyelids → treat if pale”

But originally, it was meant to be part of:

• a broader assessment
• including body condition
• overall health
• and environmental context

It was never meant to stand alone.

⸻

System-Level Takeaway

FAMACHA tells you:

• how the animal is responding

It does not tell you:

• what the parasite is doing in the system

⸻

Why This Matters

Because if you rely on it alone:

• you may FEEL in control
• while parasite pressure continues underneath

⸻

Next Article

If FAMACHA tells you how the animal is responding, the next question is:

How do you measure what the parasite is doing in the system?

In the next article, we’ll look at f***l egg counts (FEC)—what they show, what they don’t, and how they fit into the bigger picture.

⸻

Good livestock management isn’t about always having the right answer — it’s about learning how to think when the answer isn’t obvious yet.

Sometimes those so-called weeds are one of the first food sources bees have when not much else is blooming yet 🐝🌼 I do n...
04/25/2026

Sometimes those so-called weeds are one of the first food sources bees have when not much else is blooming yet 🐝
🌼 I do not let weeds take over everything, but I also do not rush to pull every single one the moment I see it.
🐝 Early flowers from clover, dandelions, and other wild plants can be really helpful for pollinators.
✂️ What works best for me is managing weeds, not panicking over them. I remove the ones causing problems and leave some space for the helpful ones when I can.
🌱 If you want to support bees even more, add simple flowering plants nearby so they have something blooming through the whole season.
💚 A tidy yard is nice, but a yard that supports pollinators is doing something important too.

04/03/2026

Easter weekend vibes. Have a Blessed Easter!

Owning livestock is beautiful, but it’s also brutal.People show the good parts..the babies, the first steps, the magic.B...
03/26/2026

Owning livestock is beautiful, but it’s also brutal.

People show the good parts..
the babies, the first steps, the magic.

But not the part where you walk into the barn
and know something’s wrong.

The panic.
The helplessness.
The quiet after.

Because we don’t just “have animals.”
We know them. We love them, and when we lose one… it wrecks you.

You still cry in the stall.
You still carry the guilt.
You still bury them yourself and whisper “I’m sorry” even when you did everything you could.

This life is real, and it hurts.. because you loved them.

Springtime on the farm 2026. Spring is just beginning. New life everywhere on our farm. Stay tuned for more beautiful p...
03/21/2026

Springtime on the farm 2026. Spring is just beginning. New life everywhere on our farm. Stay tuned for more beautiful pictures in the weeks to come.

My husband can build anything out of wood. This was our project for Easter this year. Put a little woodworking and artis...
03/15/2026

My husband can build anything out of wood.
This was our project for Easter this year. Put a little woodworking and artistry together and ta-da!❤️🐰✝️🥚🐣🪺

🌿WE NOW ENTER THE SEASON TO START FREE TREES & SHRUBS! 🌔🌿🌹It's as easy as clipping and slipping dormant cuttings 6"-12" ...
03/14/2026

🌿WE NOW ENTER THE SEASON TO START FREE TREES & SHRUBS! 🌔🌿🌹
It's as easy as clipping and slipping dormant cuttings 6"-12" directly down into the cool, moist spring soil where you want it to grow. Do this while the leaf buds on the whip are still dormant, and the cuttings will foster root growth rapidly so that the plant can support the leaf growth necessary to nourish the developing plant. Traditionally, the new moon phase is recognized as the best time for rapid root growth to take place (vs the full moon when the aerial parts of plants flourish). Cuttings are the most affordable way to plant out the edges of your landscape, minimize lawn, provide habitat, nourishment, and share the botanical wealth. 🌔🌿🌹
You will have the best results with elderberry, red and yellow twig dogwood, sumac, forsythia, shadbush, willow, hydrangea, rose, gooseberry, quince, grape, fig, currant, lilac, spirea, weigela, hydrangea and rose. What have you successfully rooted? NOTE: Remember that it is easier to push them in deeply at an angle.

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2363 VZ CR 3513
Wills Point, TX
75169

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