Join us for a tour of our farm. On your way to our farm as you are driving on highway 7, you will know you are getting close when you see the farm meat store signs. From the road you may see the contented sheep grazing in our pastures and that will be another clue that you are near. When you see this sign by the end of our driveway, turn in, as you have arrived at our farm. Welcome to Liberty Land & Livestock. Let's begin our tour with a look around the barnyard. One of the first things you may see and hear when you get out of you car will be the chickens. The white broilers might be sunning themselves while taking a leisurely afternoon nap. Chances are that our assortment of laying hens will be busy scratching around looking for a tasty grub and the roosters always stay close by to watch over their hens. You may even find one of us outside collecting the eggs in our egg basket. In it you will find an assortment of colors of the eggs ranging from dark brown, tan, sage green to mint blue. Little Clara just loves to play with the baby chicks and she even has her very own pet chicken. She spends a lot of time helping her mom taking care of the chickens. Older sister, Kata, looks on with a helping hand as she shows Clara all about bottling an orphan lamb. The girls have fun helping around the farm As we leave the barnyard there is much more to see. Let’s head out to the pastures to take a look at more animals. Lilly, the llama, will probably be the first to greet you. Her natural curiosity is what makes her so helpful to the flock. She is our guard llama. That’s right, she protects the sheep from predators including coyotes and dogs. She is very gentle with the sheep and frequently nudges a lost lamb back to its mama. The Jersey steers will be the next to come and investigate. They work out nicely with the sheep because they like to eat the longer and coarser grasses that the sheep leave behind. The Jerseys are a smaller, docile breed of cattle and compliment the sheep in our pasture management scheme. We also have our trusty guard donkeys looking after the flock of sheep. Like the llama, these too help protect the flock from coyote and dog attacks. That's "Cookie" on the right, "Hope" is in the middle and the Jack is on the left. We divide up our flock in management groups and likewise put various guard animals with each cluster. You will quickly see what a close bond has developed between the sheep and the donkeys. Shepherd, Doug Rathke, uses Ace to help with the work. Ace is a New Zealand Huntaway working dog and he uses his bark and herding tools to make life easier for us. Now for a closer look at the sheep. Our sheep are happy and healthy – they love to graze the lush green pasture. They are so good for the environment. They produce food and fiber from harvesting warm sunshine and grass while at the same time renewing the land…just the way nature intended! Before you leave let’s visit The Lamb Shoppe, our farm retail store. Come in and browse at our excellent selection of all natural meats and other farm products. As you enter the retail area, you will find wholesome healthy meat from our farm along with other delightful treasures. Next to the lamb in the display freezer you will find beef, chicken and turkeys during Thanksgiving. We also have eggs, butter, cheese, organic whole wheat for berries or freshly ground flour, and other dried goods such as herbs and teas. Be sure to take a look at our "Timeless Treasure" Wool Blankets and other woolens. You will also see handmade items by a local crafter. Adjacent to the store you can take a peek at our very own USDA prcessing facility in which we cut and package lamb. The extra effort we take creates a supurb quality product that is safe, healthy and delicious.