Welcome to our channel! We are very glad that you are here!
North Fork Ranch is a Family owned and operated farm in Coastal Oregon. We raise a wide variety of animals, as well as growing a diversity of organic fruits and vegetables.
Join us as we experience the joys and tasks of daily farm life! Raising a Large Family on our Family Farm, we have 39 years of experience in Homeschooling, Organic Market Farming, Beekeeping and living off the land. Our hope is that you will enjoy these videos, and that by watching them, you will learn how to ''do it yourself''.
There is much to be said regarding the simple and fulfilling life of farming, and being self sustaining. Let's explore together!
We post new videos weekly. Hit the subscribe button, come along, and let's roll!
I put it into 1/4 cup water....then mix the water in so it mixes evenly. The bottle will tell you how much rennet to use, I personally use a bit more than they say.
🤣 LOL I know! He got milk for a long time though, and he has to be a big boy now! He was the cutest baby! And his FAVORITE thing was to go to town with me in the car! He would run and jump in, when he saw me get into the car! He was very good about wearing his seatbelt too ;) Shotgun was his fav and he would just lay down, in his seatbelt and enjoy the ride! ....I got some fun comments from the people that saw him waiting for me in the car 😅
He's quite the personality from the sounds of it 😂. I'm seriously thinking of having a milk goat. Do they fare better with another goat for company. I've got a gorgeous dog and I wondered if goats and dogs tolerated each other.
Thank you for the tip! I will let you know if I go ahead. I know I need to learn so much before I'm sure I can undertake to look after these beautiful creatures.
That is so neat! You are going to love them!!! I really don't know of any books that focus on hair sheep. I think your best place for info will be the internet. There is a lot of info you can find right here on RU-vid. Also Feel free to ask me questions!!! I would totally enjoy helping you with anything I can! I will be making another video soon, focusing on Fall and breeding. So send me questions!
Aloha from Hawaii Big Island Waimea, I loved this video. I was just informed by a AI specialist about this beautiful Fjord breed. I've been looking for a shorter horse breed but, with draft characteristics. They told me to try to research Fjords. I want a horse that is good temperament short like 15 to 14.3 hand size. That can handle bigger riders like 250lbs. Short, stocky, strong and girthy. Strong enough to drag calves for branding. I would like to get more information about this breed and experience. If you would like to share. Mahalo.
We were just visiting the Hamakua Coast in April and really enjoyed the area and farms in Waimea 💝 Fjords do very well with cows, are incredibly intelligent and agile. Please check out our 2 videos ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JLpaAirlJQ4.html
@NorthFork-Ranch Wow really? That's awesome! That's so cool that you were here. Yes Mahalo I'll watch the videos. I'm really starting to fall in love with this breed. The only thing is I won't be able to have a pure breed. Which is ok. I'm going to start looking for semen straws. I hope to find a drafty characteristic stud. I have a hawaiian mustang mare Waipio horse and a quarter horse mare.
Was great to see your goat program. My daughter and I raised purebred Nubian dairy goats. What a joy that was. My beautiful buck was many times Grand Champion in WA and OR. Many of our does and kids were Champions, (even State Champions!) That was 20 years ago! I'm 75 now, no goats, but will always love the years spent with our girls and boys!!!❤ Sweet to see you love and care for your girls so much!!!❤❤❤
Deborah I love that!! What great memories! Goats and such a joy and so much fun! I am sure your daughter will always remember getting to do that with you! I know I will always remember my early years with my Mom and raising our goats together! Thank you so much for your kind comment! In the process of getting a new goat video made! so stay tuned!!! ❤
This was a very beautiful video, really enjoyed it! 👏🏼your kindness resonates beautifully to your viewers!! We had a baby mini horse horse born on our property and your absolutely right, that hands on right off the bat helped us bond more with her than the other horses that weren’t born here and we never had the chance to do that with them. She’s a pocket pet now 😂🫶🏼your horses are just beautiful!! ❤️
They do when they are a little older. In My area as long as I have adult Ewes away from the Rams first of July and Ewe Lambs out in August I'm good. The young Ram lambs start breeding at around 5 months of age. So they are ready to breed their first Fall.
Thanks Dionne, but that is her natural coloring :) She is a lot darker and more Red than most Jerseys, I believe she has a little crossing in her background. Her Mother was dark also
New subscriber here! I've been looking into getting a few hair sheep and i was told Katahdin crossed with Barbados blackbelly are the perfect homestead sheep? Have you ever crossed them? Need all the help I can get. I know absolutely nothing about sheep. Great video, Thanks 🙏🕊
Hi Luke! That is exciting! I think you will LOVE Hair sheep! As for the cross, I haven't been that impressed with what I have seen of Blackbelly. I haven't had them personally, but someone I know has. And they seem to be a skittish breed, without much meat/muscle to them...so dont see a real good reason to add the crossing. I like a little Dorper crossed into the Katahdin just for a bigger, more meaty sheep. A the bit of Painted Desert I crossed in (only some of my flock has it) I did for adding coloring) If I were you, I would go straight Katahdin..... or Katahdin with no more than 1/4 Dorper. But also depends on where you live! As Dorpers seem to do fine in hotter drier areas. Hair Sheep are really easy! If you have had any livestock in the past, you should do just fine. Also feel free to ask me any questions you might have! I would love to help if I know the answer!
Congratulations Darlene!!! I'm so excited for you! I am sure you are going to love them! Also let me know if you ever have any questions I might be able to answer!
Great video! We have similar crosses. You spend a lot of time bonding with the lambs. Shouldn’t that be dedicated to the mom? Do you ever have issues with moms rejecting?
Thank you! I do spend some time bonding! Most all of my Momma's are really tame and bonded with me, so they dont mind me being there with their new babies, and it helps the lambs to get used to me when I'm there just after they are born! So in 20 years, I can count on one hand(or pretty close) the amount of rejected lambs. One year I had two Moms have twins and each reject one! that was shocking! But I figured out why. At that time I had them locked in a barn at night, the ewes both lambed in with the other sheep....all it takes is a lamb walking away and getting mixed with the flock, and some times the mom wont take it. So now I almost always let them lamb in the pasture where they can get away by themselves, OR if its bad weather I will have only a few moms in the barn, or else put the close ewes in a stall by themselves. room is very important! The other times was like if a ewe had triplets, or only milked form one side (mastitis damage) that I have had a reject or else had to take one for there to be enough milk..
Well that was an awesome "job" that needed doing ! Congrats to Zoe for a beautiful foal. Wonderful to see her complete trust in you with her brand new baby. It shows that you must treat her really well, just as you are now with the foal. His trust in you has already progressed so much in just one session. They're lucky to have you as their carer.
Hello mam I'm a new subscriber ❤. How did you get a gallon of milk per goat? I'm interested to know ❤️. Goats in our area only produce 2 liters. I'm interested to know ❤️
Hello! The biggest thing for milk production is breeding! Lines that are bred especially for milk production. My goats are Dairy breeds, so their main purpose is milk, not meat. Also good feed makes a big difference! Grains make a big impact on the amounts also.
Hi Maria! Is it her first time(year) being milked? Most does will settle down as they get more comfortable and settled into a milking routine...Like Lindy, my Nigerian did. Two things I do when I have a bad kicker, is to use a small jar you can hold onto, and pour milk into a bigger jar each time you have enough....that way if the milk gets kicked and spilled, you don't lose it all. The second thing is to try to never lose hold of the teat when she kicks. That way she doesnt get the win of getting you off...and that will make them stop trying as hard if they never get you off. Talk to her, calm her. Tell her it's OK. If that doesn't work, you can always tie their foot back, just far enough that she can still stand on it, but can't kick forward. And over time they will stop kicking and you can stop tying it back. Also its SO important to stay calm and sweet and reassure them! Often people think they are being "bad" when really they are uncomfortable and nervous! Its in them to protect their milk for their baby!
I just started raising Katadin I April. I got 4 pregnant ewes and they had 6 lambs in May. I love these gals. They are so easy. Happy to find your channel I have a lot to learn. Thank you.
Congrats!! They are really amazing sheep!!! Feel free to reach out with any questions! We on our 20th year with Katahdins!! And only love them more as the years pass!
@@NorthFork-Ranch loved your video! We are getting our FIRST two Katahdin ewe lambs in July. You make it look so easy...and yes, Buttercup is everywhere!
@@RobynSeifert Thank you so much!! Congrats!!! You are going to love them! They really are super easy! One of the easiest animals we raise! One tip is to get you new girls nice and tame as babies, once you start with tame sheep, the flock will grow learning to be tame and that makes life SO much easier!
That depends, often once milk is frozen it kind of separates when you defrost it, That wouldn't work for making cheese. But if you defrost it and it looks normal, with no solids then it should work!
My goats refuse to eat the stinging nettles. Now I am wondering if it is a habit versus some kind of chemical reason they don't want to eat them. Where are you located? Perhaps they are a different variety? Any tips on training them? They also don't eat any of the nettles of which we have 3 or 4 varieties.
We are in Southern Coastal Oregon, not sure, often times goats will pick and choose, so if they have enough other things they might not touch it if they don't already know they like it...and sometimes goats are just picky. I have found Saanen and Nigerians to be some of the hardiest go-getters! of the breeds I have owned. My Nubian would stay in the barn if the others didn't leave her lone :D She's a baby
This gal is young and inexperienced. Does a good selling points. She's not old enough to have been doing 3:26 this 20 yrs. Bought 3 hair sheep from her last yr. Worst excuse of a breed of hair sheep I've seen. Low to no growth. Would be a big buyer be ware on this place. Top dollar for crap product. Talk is cheap, her experience is low. Do not recommend buying anything from her.
So BIG question for you🤔🤔are these na airs 100% Nigerian? Reason I’m asking is where we live here in Illinois, some breeders say yes Nigerians can have waddles, and others say absolutely not, they shouldn’t if their 100%, so now I’m real curious??
Yes they are pure. Both parents are from Registered lines so you can trace the lines back really far. Many lines have wattles. A friend of mine has a herd of 30 ADGA registered Nigerians from the best farms in the country and she has a LOTS of those with wattles
I am beyond impressed with all of your efforts!! We have thought about getting a couple Nigerian dies to breed to keep in milk for cheese and soaps. Your cheese and crackers look yummy❤️
I hope you can! They are so much fun! and Yes the milk and Cheese is soo good! We used to have a goats milk soap business also and LOVED our soaps! Nigerians are for sure harder to hand milk, but they do have amazing milk!
@@NorthFork-Ranch Thank you for taking the time to reply back! Do you find the Nigerian goats to be a decently healthy breed of goat? And what do they all eat?
@@jeffkey3158 Nigerians are very hardy goats! Which I really like. They need browse and Alfalfa in winter(about Dec-May Here in the PNW). I only feed grain while milking. Nigerians don't eat a whole lot compared to full sized goats...But then they dont give near as much milk.
