The American Dream Homestead
*Our home.
*Our homestead.
*Mama Bear Farm.
Also check us out on Instagram:
mama.bear.farm
About Us
The American Dream Homestead
Pictured above is a century old barn on the original land for Mama Bear Farm. Though time has taken its toll on this barn, it holds many stories of years past. I would love to see this barn restored some day. We look forward to seeing it regain its rightful beauty. We moved to this homestead in 2021 and have named our 44 acres The American Dream Homestead. We have had many homes over our 25+ years together each perfect for their season. We enjoy hiking, hunting, farming, and homesteading at this location in this season of our lives.
Arkouda
Pictured on the home page is our Karakachan Livestock Guardian Dog, Arkouda. He guards our home, our land, and our animals.
Though he was initially quite a handful and very stubborn, Lisa at Bullyhead Dog Training saved my true love for this wonderful dog! He is now the best farm dog we could ask for.
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This sign was purchased as a surprise for me from my husband, Anthony. To make it even more special it was created by our dear friend Lori Nossett and her company Sunrise Peak Creations, LLC.
An amazing picture of our Shelbyville house from the 18 acre field.
Anthony returning from cutting a trail to the Little Blue River through the woods.
Relaxing in my hammock by the Little Blue River when all of the work (for the day) is done - because ALL of the work is never done!
This Creek is a run-off from the Little Blue River throughout the Shelbyville American Dream Homestead property. Based on the many maps I have consulted, it does not have a name - We call it Coyote Creek.
Natasha & Rae being cute and looking for some love & attention. These ND goats are super lovable, love treats, eat out of my hands, give kisses, sit on my lap, come when called, & follow me around. And they love to walk around the property and eat random leaves at their level. I originally just wanted goats for their milk, but these ladies have easily found their way into my heart. Natasha was reh
This girl came with the property! When the previous owners heard we wanted to keep the cat, they were so happy. They had taken her to their son's several times, but she kept finding her way back to "her house." This is her place, but she "lets" us live here with her.
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This sweet boy just showed up one day. He was very skittish and did not want human attention. Over a month, he would come for food. Then, he would let me brush him - as long as I did not touch him with my hands. Finally I could pet him - but not his belly. Then he was not happy unless I was holding him cradled, rubbing his belly. Something got the best of this lover & fighter. We miss you, Lou!
When we purchased our first ND goats, the 7 year old mama was the only one with a name. Scully was named after a character in the X-Files. So Sci-Fi became the theme. Natasha (Tasha Yar, from Star Trek) was our 3 year old. We named Scully's baby, Rae (Jedi from Star Wars). When we got this buck, it was only fitting to name this handsome guy, Kilo Ren. He has now gone to greener pastures after sir
Scully was the first to get pregnant by Kilo. She delivered this gorgeous kid on the Fourth of July. He moved to a new homestead with some friends of ours who named him Sox.
Goats are pretty easy to take care of. One thing you do need to do for them, though is keep their hooves cut back. Though I haven't yet used this stand for milking, it does come in handy for trimming hooves.
BREEDING RABBITS:
The next adventure we took on was meat rabbits. I started out with an all white New Zealand Rabbit buck. It was only fitting that he be named Albus Dumbledore. So, Hogwarts/Harry Potter became the theme for the rabbit pen. He has moved to Smelly Foot Farm.
BREEDING RABBITS:
This is Magpie, my first rabbit doe with her second litter. She was a Harlequin/New Zealand mix. She was a wonderful mama! Some goat food sadly gave her bloat. And despite significant efforts to save her, I could not.
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BREEDING RABBITS:
This is Hagrid. He is a Silver Fox. My largest buck. He also moved to Smelly Foot Farm.
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Magpie's first litter. After 10 weeks of lots of food, snuggles, and love they all humanely went to freezer camp.
All of the rabbits have now either been processed or sold, bc we do not have the time for them right now. But I did learn that I CAN raise and process rabbits if the time comes where I need/ want to do it again.
CHICKENS:
Chewy (2.0). Though not as friendly as Chewy (1.0), he protects his ladies and helps fertilize eggs. Chewy is a bantam Silkie Rooster. Even though he is little, he still protects.
LAYING HENS:
When Sunshine was just a baby chick, she had splay legs and was getting picked on by the others. I brought her inside to rehab and get stronger. She then transitioned back outside with the flock. She has gone to live with another flock (with Bill & Lynda) in Shelbyville.
LAYING HENS:
Little Girl was the last of my Silkie Hens. (They were taken by hawks and foxes). She was super sweet and lays cute little eggs. I will definitely want to get more Silkie chickens someday.
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LAYING HENS:
My layers perched for the night. I love that they put themselves to bed after a full day of foraging the pasture, eating their crumble, and laying some eggs.
I have kept 1 White Rock Rooster to fertilize some eggs for the incubator as well as to keep the hens safe.
MEAT CHICKENS:
They're cute at this stage, but these Cornish Crosses grow so fast that their feathers cannot keep up. My layer chickens are so pretty and friendly, but these meat birds truly only have one purpose.
MEAT CHICKENS:
Cornish Cross Chickens grow so fast, they actually need and prefer a smaller space, nor do they prefer to perch. So to get them all of the bugs and weeds they want (as a supplement to the chicken crumble they receive) they get moved around the pasture 2x/day with this homemade chicken tractor. At 8 weeks I thank them for sacrifice.
When you have a lot of chickens to process, it is great to have some friends and a chicken plucker. It is a big investment, but split among friends, it is manageable.
Whether it was because of the supply chain, the delivery systems, or the economy - there were no rabbit nesting boxes to be found, anywhere! So we built our own. Thanks to my wonderful husband, all of my does have a nesting box to prep for delivery.
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Rae's twins are born on Nov. 17, 2022.
Rae's twin boys - 1 week old
Not a great picture - it is a screenshot from a You-Tube video of Shelbyville in 1989. This is the original house on the property which now sadly appears to be beyond reconstruction.
Rae's twin bucklings moved to their forever homes. The lighter one left on Jan.14 and was named Carl because they said he looks like a carmel macchiato. The tan blue-eyed boy moved to Smelly Foot Farm on Jan. 24 and is named Major.
We have cattle! Beef available in June, 2023! Until then...aren't they cute?!?!