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Hens, Hooves & Honey Farms
Today I'm talking with Paula at Hens, Hooves & Honey Farms. You can follow on Facebook as well.
Sean's book - Exit Farming: Starving the Systems That Farm You
www.patreon.com/atinyhomestead
Muck Boots
Calendars.Com
If you'd like to support me in growing this podcast, like, share, subscribe or leave a comment. Or just buy me a coffee
https://buymeacoffee.com/lewismaryes
00:00
You're listening to A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters. I'm your host, Mary Lewis. Today I'm talking with Paula at Hens, Hoves, and Honey Farms in California. Good afternoon, Paula. How are you? Good afternoon. How are you? I'm good. It looks like it's sunny there. Oh, yeah. It's nice and warm down here today. Oh, well, I think it's not even 50 degrees in Minnesota where I am.
00:29
Oh, wow, that's cold already. Yeah, fall is on the way. It's really sunny though. So if you don't think about it too hard, it still looks like summertime outside. So tell me about yourself and what you guys do at your place. So my husband and I bought some land about 15 years ago.
00:54
It kind of started, my husband at the age of 32 was diagnosed with cancer and the cause of it from what the doctors could understand was more environmental causes. Basically the water, the food, all the stuff, all the toxins and everything. So we kind of decided that we wanted to grow our own food, just kind of live a healthier lifestyle, so to speak.
01:23
Um, so we got some land and we started small with cattle and pigs and then just slowly over the years, um, we've just kind of expanded things and that's kind of how we got started. How long ago was this? About 15 years ago. And how's your husband now? He's great. He is cancer free and has been, I mean, since it went away about
01:52
14 years ago. Awesome. So whatever you guys did helped. Yes, hopefully. It never comes back. Good. It looks like you have a lot going on. So do you grow produce? Do you grow animals? Do you grow both? Well, right now we grow animals. We have some fruit trees and stuff growing that we've been slowly planting over the years to just kind of get everything ready. uh
02:20
We don't actually live on that farm that we are starting, but we literally make the drive every single weekend. We live in Southern California and we bought up in Northern California. Oh, okay. We have a foreman that lives on the property and he takes care of the animals during the week. then usually Jeff and I try to make a three or a four day weekend trip out of it. And we drive up and down.
02:49
and help take care of the animals, make sure everything's up to date, make sure they have their food, their pens are secured, run all the errands, and then we get to play with them and have some fun. So it's like work and vacation mixed together? Yes. Okay, what kind of animals do you have there? So right now we have mini Hereford cows, and then we have our pigs.
03:18
which we have uh Magna-Listas. ah And then we have about 40 chickens. And we've got what else? Oh, we have a lot of Nigerian goats that we um have started breeding about two years ago. We kind of dabbled into the goat world. We've always just done the pigs, the chickens and the cows and up by our property. We have a lot of poison oak, which my husband is highly allergic to. oh
03:48
We decided to bring in some goats to help try to clear it and then we just kind of fell in love with the breed and we slowly grown them over the last two years. So um now we breed them and sell them.
04:06
Okay. So I was going to ask you if the animals earn their keep. The goats do. Oh yes, the goats do and the, uh, the cattle do as well. So we kind of run them through a cycle. We have, let the grass kind of grow back. We let the cows go through and graze first, and then we'll kind of run the goats behind them to pick up cause cows are kind of a little bit more picky about what they eat. Yeah. And so the goats will go behind them and kind of get what they didn't get. And then.
04:35
We'll send the pigs through afterwards and they pretty much take everything down to the dirt. And do you let the chickens go out there too or is that a whole different thing? We do have them out right now. uh We're training our, we got some rescue puppies. We have two great Pyrenees, they're not puppies actually, that we got. And one of them we rescued uh from a guy on Craigslist.
05:02
who was getting rid of her for free because she was killing his chickens. uh And we're like, that's okay, we don't need her for chickens, we needed her for the goats. ah So she's done a phenomenal job with the goats, but she doesn't like the chickens. So we have a huge run area where they're kind of fenced off so she can't get to them. And then we have another great Pyrenees named Clyde that we rescued about six months ago.
05:32
uh And we're working with him to make him be with the chicken so that, you know, he protects them. ah Which he's, he's okay. I just don't, I'm not quite sure I'm ready to leave them alone with them just yet. Cause that's, it's kind of hard when they haven't been raised in that area to train them. As soon as the birds flutter or run, it just triggers that instinct in the dog to chase them. So.
06:01
We work with them on a leash and make sure that he's calm around them. So it'll take some time. But the goal eventually is to just let them roam freely and just have the dogs protect them. Nice. So I'm assuming you got the great Pyrenees to keep the animals safe from predators. So what do you have for predators around the farm? So we do have mountain lions up here and we do have bears.
06:31
uh And there are some wild boar that come through, uh but we've actually been pretty fortunate. We haven't really had anything ah come onto the property because we have a total of four dogs up there now. And we don't even really get deer that come through our property because the dogs will just chase them off. So we've been pretty fortunate and haven't uh lost anything yet to predators. So that's been good. The biggest threat we have uh
07:01
Up where in our area is other people's dogs. Okay, yeah. If their dogs get out off their property and a couple years, about a year ago, there was a problem up in our area where a couple of our neighbors lost their entire herds of animals from wild dogs. They kind of got out and went into this pack mentality and they just, they kill the animals for sport. They don't eat them. They just, it's fun for them. So, uh
07:31
That was a big problem and the poor guy lost, I think, all 18 or something of his sheep. was really sad. Finally, they finally got that under control. So it hasn't been a problem. And dogs typically don't come onto our property because of ours. Yeah. So we've been, we've been really fortunate in that area. Good. And wild dog packs are not a good thing. And I really want to stress this because if you want to rehome your dog,
08:01
Take them to a shelter or ask around if friends would like to have them. Do not let a dog loose out on its own in the wild because they will gather up with other dogs and it becomes a problem. So don't do that. Plus it's so hard on the dogs. They go from being pets and loved to trying to fend for themselves and then they become a problem. Yeah, it's unfortunate. It's really sad. Yeah. So don't, don't, can't talk.
08:30
Don't dump dogs. It's not okay. No, definitely not. And certainly don't dump them at my place or Paula's place because I can't have another dog. I have a dog. We're good. So, do you sell chicken eggs because you have chickens? We do. We sell the chicken eggs and we actually just started this year with bees. So, we're hoping to be selling honey by next year. How's that going?
08:59
It's going really well. We were a little intimidated at first and we weren't sure. And we did a ton of research on it. I watched a bunch of videos, talked to a bunch of people that have done it. And we just kind of dove in and it was actually much easier than I thought it was going to be. Um, and it's, it's really fascinating. I completely enjoy it. I love going up there and checking on the hive and seeing the progress that they made. These are just absolutely fascinating to me.
09:28
Yeah, I wish I was less scared of them and more fascinated by them. Yeah, they don't want to sting you. They don't want to die, but you know, they will protect their hive. Yeah, I used to be deathly afraid of anything that had a stinger until I wrote an article about bumblebees for a magazine and learned about the life cycle of bumblebees. And then I looked in the life cycle of honeybees and I was like, okay, I don't have to be afraid of those anymore, but those wasp ones, I don't like those.
09:58
Oh yeah, no, I got stung by one of those once three times. I was going, I reached down at a water faucet to turn on my hose and apparently there was like a tiny little wasp nest right next to it that I didn't see. And those suckers came out, hit me twice in my shoulder and once in my nose, it felt like I was being stabbed. hurt so bad. Yep. It's not the honeybee because the bumblebees will get you. It's the hornets and the wasps that are
10:27
They're just mean. Yes, they are. I hate them. I don't see any point in having them on the earth, but apparently Mother Nature has a use for them. I wish she would find it. I wish she would find a less scary job for them. Yes. Or make them less aggressive. That would be nice. Yeah, that would help a lot. And funny how wasps and hornets really like farms and homesteads because that's where all the stuff they like is. Oh yeah. I know they are always around our place and
10:56
I actually got to witness the honey bees attack one, because I tried to enter their hive. Uh-huh. Didn't go well for the wasp, did it? No, it didn't. They had him on the ground, and eventually I think he wiggled free and just flew away. I was like, oh, fight. Yep. The girls said, no, you don't belong here. Get out. Oh, yeah. They're like, you're not stealing our sugar water. Get away.
11:26
Yep. I'm so impressed sometimes with bees. Again, I was really afraid of them. I got stung when I was like four years old by a bumblebee on the bottom of my foot and that made a very big impression on me. And once I learned more about honeybees and bumblebees, it is just, it is fascinating the system that is in place for them to run their lives. Oh yeah. It's amazing. Yep. Loved it. Love learning about it.
11:55
And I love honey. I make granola from scratch and I use honey in it all the time. And we use so much honey that we go through a pound of honey a week. Oh, wow. Yep. And I haven't made any granola lately because I've been busy in the mornings and I usually try to make it in the mornings. Plus up until today, it's been really hot in Minnesota. The last thing I wanted to do was bake. Oh, yeah, definitely. Don't want to turn the ovens on or anything. Not unless we had to.
12:25
And our AC broke a couple weeks ago, the central air system. So my husband was like, don't bake anything unless we really need to. I was like, OK. said, it's going to cool down in a couple of weeks. So just don't bake anything in the actual oven for a couple of weeks. I was like, OK. So I am probably going to be making granola tomorrow, because the low tomorrow morning is supposed to be like 39 or 40. Oh, wow. Yeah.
12:53
Warming the house up with the oven now. And that's where Paula and I lost connection. You can find Paula at Hens, Hooves and Honey Farms on Facebook and Instagram. And the website is Triple H Farms dot farm. You can find me at AtinyHolmsteadpodcast.com and check out my Patreon. It is patreon.com slash Atiny Homestead. I thank Paula for her time and I hope everyone has a great day.
View all episodes
By Mary E LewisToday I'm talking with Paula at Hens, Hooves & Honey Farms. You can follow on Facebook as well.
Sean's book - Exit Farming: Starving the Systems That Farm You
www.patreon.com/atinyhomestead
Muck Boots
Calendars.Com
If you'd like to support me in growing this podcast, like, share, subscribe or leave a comment. Or just buy me a coffee
https://buymeacoffee.com/lewismaryes
00:00
You're listening to A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters. I'm your host, Mary Lewis. Today I'm talking with Paula at Hens, Hoves, and Honey Farms in California. Good afternoon, Paula. How are you? Good afternoon. How are you? I'm good. It looks like it's sunny there. Oh, yeah. It's nice and warm down here today. Oh, well, I think it's not even 50 degrees in Minnesota where I am.
00:29
Oh, wow, that's cold already. Yeah, fall is on the way. It's really sunny though. So if you don't think about it too hard, it still looks like summertime outside. So tell me about yourself and what you guys do at your place. So my husband and I bought some land about 15 years ago.
00:54
It kind of started, my husband at the age of 32 was diagnosed with cancer and the cause of it from what the doctors could understand was more environmental causes. Basically the water, the food, all the stuff, all the toxins and everything. So we kind of decided that we wanted to grow our own food, just kind of live a healthier lifestyle, so to speak.
01:23
Um, so we got some land and we started small with cattle and pigs and then just slowly over the years, um, we've just kind of expanded things and that's kind of how we got started. How long ago was this? About 15 years ago. And how's your husband now? He's great. He is cancer free and has been, I mean, since it went away about
01:52
14 years ago. Awesome. So whatever you guys did helped. Yes, hopefully. It never comes back. Good. It looks like you have a lot going on. So do you grow produce? Do you grow animals? Do you grow both? Well, right now we grow animals. We have some fruit trees and stuff growing that we've been slowly planting over the years to just kind of get everything ready. uh
02:20
We don't actually live on that farm that we are starting, but we literally make the drive every single weekend. We live in Southern California and we bought up in Northern California. Oh, okay. We have a foreman that lives on the property and he takes care of the animals during the week. then usually Jeff and I try to make a three or a four day weekend trip out of it. And we drive up and down.
02:49
and help take care of the animals, make sure everything's up to date, make sure they have their food, their pens are secured, run all the errands, and then we get to play with them and have some fun. So it's like work and vacation mixed together? Yes. Okay, what kind of animals do you have there? So right now we have mini Hereford cows, and then we have our pigs.
03:18
which we have uh Magna-Listas. ah And then we have about 40 chickens. And we've got what else? Oh, we have a lot of Nigerian goats that we um have started breeding about two years ago. We kind of dabbled into the goat world. We've always just done the pigs, the chickens and the cows and up by our property. We have a lot of poison oak, which my husband is highly allergic to. oh
03:48
We decided to bring in some goats to help try to clear it and then we just kind of fell in love with the breed and we slowly grown them over the last two years. So um now we breed them and sell them.
04:06
Okay. So I was going to ask you if the animals earn their keep. The goats do. Oh yes, the goats do and the, uh, the cattle do as well. So we kind of run them through a cycle. We have, let the grass kind of grow back. We let the cows go through and graze first, and then we'll kind of run the goats behind them to pick up cause cows are kind of a little bit more picky about what they eat. Yeah. And so the goats will go behind them and kind of get what they didn't get. And then.
04:35
We'll send the pigs through afterwards and they pretty much take everything down to the dirt. And do you let the chickens go out there too or is that a whole different thing? We do have them out right now. uh We're training our, we got some rescue puppies. We have two great Pyrenees, they're not puppies actually, that we got. And one of them we rescued uh from a guy on Craigslist.
05:02
who was getting rid of her for free because she was killing his chickens. uh And we're like, that's okay, we don't need her for chickens, we needed her for the goats. ah So she's done a phenomenal job with the goats, but she doesn't like the chickens. So we have a huge run area where they're kind of fenced off so she can't get to them. And then we have another great Pyrenees named Clyde that we rescued about six months ago.
05:32
uh And we're working with him to make him be with the chicken so that, you know, he protects them. ah Which he's, he's okay. I just don't, I'm not quite sure I'm ready to leave them alone with them just yet. Cause that's, it's kind of hard when they haven't been raised in that area to train them. As soon as the birds flutter or run, it just triggers that instinct in the dog to chase them. So.
06:01
We work with them on a leash and make sure that he's calm around them. So it'll take some time. But the goal eventually is to just let them roam freely and just have the dogs protect them. Nice. So I'm assuming you got the great Pyrenees to keep the animals safe from predators. So what do you have for predators around the farm? So we do have mountain lions up here and we do have bears.
06:31
uh And there are some wild boar that come through, uh but we've actually been pretty fortunate. We haven't really had anything ah come onto the property because we have a total of four dogs up there now. And we don't even really get deer that come through our property because the dogs will just chase them off. So we've been pretty fortunate and haven't uh lost anything yet to predators. So that's been good. The biggest threat we have uh
07:01
Up where in our area is other people's dogs. Okay, yeah. If their dogs get out off their property and a couple years, about a year ago, there was a problem up in our area where a couple of our neighbors lost their entire herds of animals from wild dogs. They kind of got out and went into this pack mentality and they just, they kill the animals for sport. They don't eat them. They just, it's fun for them. So, uh
07:31
That was a big problem and the poor guy lost, I think, all 18 or something of his sheep. was really sad. Finally, they finally got that under control. So it hasn't been a problem. And dogs typically don't come onto our property because of ours. Yeah. So we've been, we've been really fortunate in that area. Good. And wild dog packs are not a good thing. And I really want to stress this because if you want to rehome your dog,
08:01
Take them to a shelter or ask around if friends would like to have them. Do not let a dog loose out on its own in the wild because they will gather up with other dogs and it becomes a problem. So don't do that. Plus it's so hard on the dogs. They go from being pets and loved to trying to fend for themselves and then they become a problem. Yeah, it's unfortunate. It's really sad. Yeah. So don't, don't, can't talk.
08:30
Don't dump dogs. It's not okay. No, definitely not. And certainly don't dump them at my place or Paula's place because I can't have another dog. I have a dog. We're good. So, do you sell chicken eggs because you have chickens? We do. We sell the chicken eggs and we actually just started this year with bees. So, we're hoping to be selling honey by next year. How's that going?
08:59
It's going really well. We were a little intimidated at first and we weren't sure. And we did a ton of research on it. I watched a bunch of videos, talked to a bunch of people that have done it. And we just kind of dove in and it was actually much easier than I thought it was going to be. Um, and it's, it's really fascinating. I completely enjoy it. I love going up there and checking on the hive and seeing the progress that they made. These are just absolutely fascinating to me.
09:28
Yeah, I wish I was less scared of them and more fascinated by them. Yeah, they don't want to sting you. They don't want to die, but you know, they will protect their hive. Yeah, I used to be deathly afraid of anything that had a stinger until I wrote an article about bumblebees for a magazine and learned about the life cycle of bumblebees. And then I looked in the life cycle of honeybees and I was like, okay, I don't have to be afraid of those anymore, but those wasp ones, I don't like those.
09:58
Oh yeah, no, I got stung by one of those once three times. I was going, I reached down at a water faucet to turn on my hose and apparently there was like a tiny little wasp nest right next to it that I didn't see. And those suckers came out, hit me twice in my shoulder and once in my nose, it felt like I was being stabbed. hurt so bad. Yep. It's not the honeybee because the bumblebees will get you. It's the hornets and the wasps that are
10:27
They're just mean. Yes, they are. I hate them. I don't see any point in having them on the earth, but apparently Mother Nature has a use for them. I wish she would find it. I wish she would find a less scary job for them. Yes. Or make them less aggressive. That would be nice. Yeah, that would help a lot. And funny how wasps and hornets really like farms and homesteads because that's where all the stuff they like is. Oh yeah. I know they are always around our place and
10:56
I actually got to witness the honey bees attack one, because I tried to enter their hive. Uh-huh. Didn't go well for the wasp, did it? No, it didn't. They had him on the ground, and eventually I think he wiggled free and just flew away. I was like, oh, fight. Yep. The girls said, no, you don't belong here. Get out. Oh, yeah. They're like, you're not stealing our sugar water. Get away.
11:26
Yep. I'm so impressed sometimes with bees. Again, I was really afraid of them. I got stung when I was like four years old by a bumblebee on the bottom of my foot and that made a very big impression on me. And once I learned more about honeybees and bumblebees, it is just, it is fascinating the system that is in place for them to run their lives. Oh yeah. It's amazing. Yep. Loved it. Love learning about it.
11:55
And I love honey. I make granola from scratch and I use honey in it all the time. And we use so much honey that we go through a pound of honey a week. Oh, wow. Yep. And I haven't made any granola lately because I've been busy in the mornings and I usually try to make it in the mornings. Plus up until today, it's been really hot in Minnesota. The last thing I wanted to do was bake. Oh, yeah, definitely. Don't want to turn the ovens on or anything. Not unless we had to.
12:25
And our AC broke a couple weeks ago, the central air system. So my husband was like, don't bake anything unless we really need to. I was like, OK. said, it's going to cool down in a couple of weeks. So just don't bake anything in the actual oven for a couple of weeks. I was like, OK. So I am probably going to be making granola tomorrow, because the low tomorrow morning is supposed to be like 39 or 40. Oh, wow. Yeah.
12:53
Warming the house up with the oven now. And that's where Paula and I lost connection. You can find Paula at Hens, Hooves and Honey Farms on Facebook and Instagram. And the website is Triple H Farms dot farm. You can find me at AtinyHolmsteadpodcast.com and check out my Patreon. It is patreon.com slash Atiny Homestead. I thank Paula for her time and I hope everyone has a great day.