Nettle Creek Farm

Who we are?

Well, as we say around here, “We’re a small family farm looking towards a more simple and self-sufficient lifestyle”. The idea of a “farm” is not new to us as we’ve had a mind to do most of the things we’re doing for some time now. However, the idea of naming it Nettle Creek Farm came once we got started in breeding rabbits. There are many people that raise and breed rabbits all over the country and world. Many of these breeders have a name for their rabbitries (A rabbitry is the name for a place or barn where rabbits are being raised). This inspired us to put a name on our little program here. It also makes it easier to share and network in today’s world. That’s only important to us because it is part of selling the products that we offer (namely, high quality rabbits).
We are just a small Christian family on a little piece of property, trying to carve a little niche in this place and perhaps provide for ourselves in the process.

 

Where did the name Nettle Creek come from?

Like most people when they name something, we started brainstorming. We didn’t want to call our program “such and such rabbitry” because we didn’t want to limit ourselves to just rabbits. So we knew we wanted to call it a farm. Then we wanted something that could move and grow with us. We didn’t want to name it something that was specific to our location or current situation because situations and circumstances can change (only the Lord Jesus knows what the future may hold). So of course, all sorts of different names were on the table. And of course you want something that is a little catchy and maybe even has a story behind it… right? So here’s the story, we have nettles (quite a few of them) and we have a seasonal water run off (not a “creek”) that crosses the back of our property while it runs for a few months in the winter. Catchy? Well we like it and that’s where we landed for a name.

 

What are we doing?

We’re raising three kids, chickens, rabbits, fruits, vegetables and two dogs

• 3 kids – two girls and a boy

 

• Chickens – we have enough hens to give us plenty of eggs and sell a few here and there. We also have a rooster to keep those ladies in line and by the way, a fertile eggs is healthier!

 

• Rabbits – Initially, we we’re interested in rabbits simply for meat purposes. So we didn’t care much about rabbit pedigrees or registrations. However, as we learned and researched, we found out that there is a much bigger picture to be had and to be a part of for someone interested in rabbit breeding.

         We knew that the New Zealand White rabbits are the number one meat rabbit in the world. However, we like the Red colored variety of the breed. Then as we looked and learned more we found out that the Reds are the least refined or perfected variety of this particular breed. That is to say that from a commercial (breeding, showing, etc.) point of view, they are difficult because they are not yet as consistent as the whites.

         Most of the concerns that come with this lesser refined variety were not deal breakers for us since we got started in this for meat anyways. Our highest priority is not whether they’re always the perfect rabbit or not. That said, if while we’re putting food on the table, we can also be a part of the relatively small community of breeders that are willing to breed this variety to help better the consistency and quality, we’re all for that. So, we have some challenges ahead of us in that area (and lots to learn), but when rabbits aren’t “perfect”, they still taste good!

 

• Fruits & Vegetables – Everything we grow is grown organically and as simple and naturally as possible. We have a few fruit trees. Our most productive is golden plums (touch base with us in August if you’d be interested in getting some of them). We also have strawberries, raspberries and rhubarb. We’re getting a late start on the garden this year (2015) because we’ve decided to go with a raised bed set-up. All of our vegetable seeds are open pollinated heirloom varieties. We plan to harvest seeds from the plants and maintain our seed stock from that harvest.

 

• Dogs – We like our puppy dogs. They’re just fun to have around. Man’s best friend, right? We’ve had others in the past, but right now we have two. Our oldest (currently nine years old) is the St. Bernard, Jack. The younger pup (about a year and a half) is half Beagle and half Treeing Walker Coonhound. We call him Scout. They’re a great couple of dogs to have around!

 

Farmhands without hands

Jack                                                  Scout