A BIT MORE ABOUT SHALGO
Stuff Happens and Life Goes On...
Several years ago, my husband and I bought a small piece of land in West Virginia and decided to start a small hobby farm. We found that you can do a lot with two acres! We started off with chickens and a small garden and our passion for farming grew from there. On our little farm, we grow lots of organic vegetables, raise chickens, keep bees, and in 2017 decided to start working with Nigerian Dwarf goats. We raise our animals to supplement our household with fresh chicken eggs, goat's milk, and bee products.
You could say that in a perfect world that I would like to be a full-time farmer, but I have a job that pays bills as a wildlife biologist, so we keep our responsibilities at home manageable by maintaining a small area with a limited number of animals.
We just love our little herd of Nigerian dwarf goats! We started raising goats in 2017 and had our first kids in 2019. Our farm goal is to raise Nigerian dwarf goats that have strong genetics and that produce high quality milk. Dairy production means wonderful tasting milk, cheese, yogurt, and lot's of other wonderful dairy products!
As stated on our home page, our goats are treated as our pets and a pampered with lots of love and attention. In addition to being fed Chaffhaye and New Country Organics Goat Feed, our goat's diet is supplemented with copper, selenium, vitamin E, and an herbal wormer and toner. We also test our goats regularly for parasites and treat only when necessary (which is rare due to the herbal supplements). We feel that vaccinations are necessary and we do vaccinate our animals on regular schedule.
In the spring of 2018, we decided to add honeybees to our little farm. In my mind, that was the final piece to our puzzle. We started with bee training at Geezer Ridge Farm in early spring 2018 and began with three Langstroth hives. It has been a quite a learning curve for us in 2018 and we are still learning everyday! We provide our bees with supplemental sugar and protein during times of need and maintain best management practices for the varroa mite.
We had a plentiful harvest of honey in 2019 and have honey for sale on our Facebook Page.
In addition to having fun on the farm, I also like to create art. I started using acrylics in high school art class and I haven't looked back. Art, in one form or another, has always been a constant part of my life. I recently decided to expand my horizons and began working with metal and reclaimed wood. I like to combine the two for a truly unique design. I plasma cut all of my metal art pieces by hand and I like to source wood materials locally and when possible reclaimed. Check out our product page if you are interested in a consigned piece of art, which can be made to whatever size and design desired. In the future, we may also offer products in leather and metal clay.