Answering some of your questions about Black Frog Farm

I get a lot of good questions from people interested in what we do at Black Frog Farm. Some stuff I just take for granted because we’ve done this for so long, but they are great questions! Here are a few of the questions I’ve gotten, and I’ll try to answer as best I can 🙂

~Would I sell the fleece from my llamas?
Short answer – YES! Longer answer- it depends what you want to use it for. I get my llamas sheared every spring, and the fleece is put into large garbage bags initially. After that I “skirt” the fleeces – fancy term for going through each one and picking out the best fiber to use. The best fiber can be used for spinning, or felting, or be sent out to a fiber mill to be made into yarn or socks or hats, etc. The lower end fiber can be used for felting, or bird nesting balls (hang it out in spring and the birds LOVE to build their nests with it!!) or the fiber can even be used as dog bedding filling.
Anyone interested in buying raw fleece from me – the fleece before it goes to be milled- get in touch with me before May.

~What do I do for bad weather on the farm?
This is a year round concern for us. Since having outdoor animals I’ve become utterly obsessed with watching the weather! In winter it’s a matter of keeping the animals dry, and having dry bedding they can nestle into to keep warm. So the important thing is to have the animal coops in good condition, and add additional tarping or boarding up to keep the snow and ice out. Animals also need an abundance of feed, and clean water to drink. None of our animals have heated shelters, which is for a couple reasons. First, the chance of fire is too high with heaters in shelters with straw or bedding. Second, the animals are all acclimated to the colder weather by not heating them throughout the fall as it gets colder gradually. The goats and llamas grow in thick coats to keep them dry and warm. The chickens molt in fall and get new feathers to help keep their body heat in during the winter.
In summer we can get some bad thunderstorms around our area. The important thing is that the animals have shelter they can run to if we get hail, heavy rain, or high winds. It’s also important that we keep up with tree trimming around the animal shelters so no branches fall onto the shelter. Sometimes, it’s simply out of our control with weather. In cases of tornado warnings or destructive winds we make sure to have the animals be able to decide to stay in or run out of the shelters if needed. The animals are pretty smart weather wise and seem to know what to do to stay safe. We give the animals their options, and then make our way to safety for ourselves.

~Who takes over the farm when I’m sick?
This is a good question in a pandemic time! Thankfully we haven’t had any major illness here, but I keep a routine for many reasons and possible illness is one of them. My husband and daughter both know the daily routines of animal feeding and care, and Aubrey usually helps daily with them. If she or I are sick or cannot be home for some reason, the other person can take over fairly easily and make sure everyone is cared for. In cases of us needing to be gone for a couple days, or take a vacation, it becomes more complicated. I have a network of great friends, neighbors, and family that are willing to help us out and each take on an animal’s care.
Routine is important because it helps cut down the amount of time we have to take to care for everything. It’s also helpful because the animals know the routine and know exactly what they should do at feeding time. It makes it much easier for us!

~What other animals could we consider on our farm?
We are limited in space for some of the biggest farm animals. Cows and horses really aren’t in the cards for us due to their intense grazing needs and our lack of large amounts of grassy acres for them. I can’t rule out any of the smaller animals because as soon as I say no one seems to show up at our farm!

~Would we consider doing an open house for the public?
Yes we are doing just that! April 30- May 2 we are participating in a small farm tour in Northeast Wisconsin. We are one of 5 farms that visitors can tour, for free, and meet the farmers and see their operations.
Black Frog Farm is offering an opportunity to meet our goats, chickens, turkeys, ducks and llamas. We will also have baby ducks and chickens to see, along with geese. Geese will be in full on nesting season, so those two will be in their pen with no visitors, sadly. We also will be having times throughout the weekend to walk a llama along our wooded trail. It’s an opportunity to learn more about our animals and what we do.
I’ll be posting more information on our Instagram page and Facebook page in coming weeks!
Anyone interested in a tour of our farm can also contact us via email, Facebook, or text/call to set up a time for a personal tour.

~Do we ever have “animal escapes?” How do we get the animals back?
Yes, we’ve had escapees here a couple times. Most often it’s the goats who take advantage of an open gate while we are trying to get a wheelbarrow of hay into their pen. In the case of goats we try to round them up as best we can and corner them to get a hold of their horns and bring them back to the pen. We haven’t had anyone escape through the fencing, and I walk the fence lines regularly to ensure there isn’t a way out!
We’ve had one llama escape happen when Nick and I were on vacation, and Aubrey was tending the llamas with some relatives. The gate was left open and Banana took advantage of it! Nick and I heard about it after the fact, but it sounded like some intense herding was needed to get Banana to run back into her pen. Aubrey and my Sis in Law are still holding grudges against Banana for that time! LOL!

~Why do you want all the work of owning a farm?
Simple answer, not all of it is work for me! I love being outside, and with the animals, growing my own herbs, knowing where my food comes from, and meeting new people. So our farm has offered all of that to me while being able to work at home. 2020 was a year of big changes for me, like so many other people. After leaving a long time job I decided to find outside the home work that would allow me to pursue my own farming dream at the same time. I have a job now that allows me full time work in winter and part time in Spring, Summer and Fall. So in 2020 we decided to jump in fully and see where the farm ideas take us. It’s a leap of faith for sure!!