Fresh eggs make the grade

Our hens are a mixed flock including Americaunas, Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks.

Their eggs come in shades of light green, aqua, tan and brown. They happily mingle with the sheep–sometimes riding on their backs–and are equally at home with the dog, ducks and cats.

Eggs are collected twice a day, washed and refrigerated at 41-degrees or colder.

Sheep at Fussy Hen Farm

My Jacobs are small sheep with big personalities. Ewes and rams weigh between 50 and 90 pounds. They are white with lack markings. My Jacobs have two horns (the breed standard allows two, four or six). Their wool is a soft, medium-to-fine grade with a staple of four-to-six inches.

My ewes lamb easily and are good mothers. These sheep are excellent for lawn mowing and weed control. They can be trained to dance on their hind legs, go through obstacle courses or pull carts.

For more information about Jacobs go to:
www.jacobsheepconservancy.org

Rodent patrol

Fussy Hen Farm has skilled felines – Humphrey, Rudy, Tiger and Violet – who protect my root crops and bulbs from an astonishing number of gophers. In addition, the foursome keep mice away from the sheep's grain. After a hard day of policing the farm, they like to kick back and relax with a Fussy Hen catnip mouse.

And one dog to guard them all...

Our stalwart protector is Hercules, a Great Pyrenees. Weighing in at 90 pounds, he is the same size as our ram, Casey. A descendent of the big white dogs that guarded the Hapsburgs' castle, Schoenbrun, in Austria, he guards the flock against strangers, coyotes, hawks, crows, and bicycles.

I saw this in action when the power company checked our meter. Hercules kept himself between the man and the flock at all times. The sheep formed a v-shaped group behind him.

Hercules has a loud booming bark and isn't afraid to use it – unfortunately, he also howls when the rooster crows, lambs are in distress, or a visiting child cries. His best buddies and attendants are two four-year-old drake ducks. The drakes follow him around, sit on him when he lies down, and pull out his loose hair – a great aid to dog grooming.