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The Sheepadoodles
McMurphy
McMurphy is the answer to Simona’s dream of owning a large dog. She is the first of the “Doodles” to join our family. Especially exciting was the road trip from Phoenix to Arkansas to pick her up from the breeder. She was and continues to be a great traveler. From the beginning, she was a soft, cuddly addition to our family. She continues to be soft and cuddly at 65 pounds. She takes every opportunity to be a lap dog.
The name McMurphy was chosen after the pandemic lock-down binge-watching an old television series, China Beach. McMurphy was the last name of the main character, a caring nurse. The name suits this Sheepadoodle perfectly. McMurphy likes to be the main character and is extremely caring (some say nosey). She can sense if someone is feeling under-the-weather and gives them some special loving. Her current role is Chief Squirrel Officer, alerting us to any squirrels on the property. Besides cuddling, her favorite joy is to retrieve the ball and refuse to give it back to Boonie.
The Happy Hens of Lilac Lane
“…a chick, chick here; a chick, chick there…”
An unexpected twist to the plan for Lilac Lane Alpaca Homestead is the addition of chickens. In fact, Simona is not particularly fond of birds as they have a tendency to poop on her head and on her Subway sandwiches. At a young age, she was frightened of eagles because they “peck on your head.” Whoever would have guessed that in 2022 she would be rocking it as a poultry mama?
When we arrived at our new farm and inspected the buildings, barring some dusting and cleaning, the chicken coop was ready to go. We decided to order six laying hens. We thought this might be a good way to give “chickening” a try. Two days before their arrival, the call came that their barn at the hatchery was struck by lightning in a terrible thunderstorm. All the hens perished. The lady at the farm store encouraged us to give chicks a try.
We began with ten chicks, getting them all set up in a cozy nursery. When Nancy went to check on them for the first time, one was missing. The next day she decided to replace it with another chick from the farm store. As she was ready to drive out of the driveway, there was a little chick head peeking out some tall grass. How she survived outside the nursery overnight is a mystery. Since the box was prepared, Nancy continued to the farm store to get two more chicks to round out the flock to a dozen. However, the chicks just kept begging to leap into the box, and Nancy could not say “no.” In all, we ended up with 16 Happy Hens.
The hens started laying eggs near the end of December. Egg production has been good, even in colder temperatures. Occasionally Simona gives them a pep talk encouraging them to get crackin’ on their egg-laying. We have been able to provide eggs to several loyal customers, which brings us great joy. The food we give the hens is protein enriched, so these farm-fresh eggs are super nutritious. Over time the eggs become more uniform in size. Each day is almost like Christmas as we anticipate how many “gifts” the hens will give us and what beautiful colors they will be. We have had the tiniest of eggs and super jumbo eggs. Many of our customers report eggs with double yolks. Cracking open an egg with a double yolk seems like great luck for the day. Simona attributes the number of eggs with double yolks to her fine “roostering” skills.
The hens are happiest when they get free-range time outside of their run. They have so many things to explore. They are also super happy when they get treats. From time to time, they get store-bought treats, but it has been so fun to see them go crazy over worms, blueberries, lettuce... and, oh, goodness, pumpkin.
We have decided to supplement our flock with a few more hens. Ten chicks will be arriving in late June. We cannot wait! Each of the chicks will be a different breed. Some are unique in appearance, and some are absolutely stunning. All of them are good to great egg layers. This batch of hens should give us even more variety in egg colors.
Your visit to Lilac Lane Alpaca Homestead will not be complete without a visit with our Happy Hens.
The Fine Felines of Lilac Lane
Prior to our arrival in Michigan, our dear niece/cousin, Sarah, bottle-fed three abandoned kittens found in her yard. It was questionable if they would survive. Sadly, one little one passed away early on. The other two got lots of love and attention from Mitch and Sarah’s children, Simon and Claire. In July, they brought the kittens to our farm. We named them Kru and Klondike. While adorable and playful, Klondike was not strong enough to make it. Kru continued adventures on her own, with Simona offering her a lesson on mousing.
Thanks to the connections of our friend Deb, we were able to locate some companion cats. Simona made Nancy promise to bring home only two, only older cats. Nancy thought that was a good plan until they walked into the garage and saw three younger, almost identical kittens. Being true to her word, Nancy chose two cats about the same age as Kru. They were almost in the box when they fought their way out and escaped outdoors. Nancy made the executive decision to bring the three blue-eyed, buff-colored, younger cats home.
Fortunately, Simona melted when she saw the kittens. The little ones bonded right away with Kru. They are an adorable addition to our farm. You may have already figured out how important names are to Simona, and she chose the perfect names for these three kittens—Marcia, Marcia, and Marcia. They love exploring the farm, and all appear to be good mousers. Kru is training Marcia, Marcia, and Marcia the fine nuances of being a cat at Lilac Lane Alpaca Homestead.
Our Farm Members
