TO JOYFUL HEARTS FARM!

A joyful heart is good medicine......
Proverbs 17:22(a)

ABOUT US

Joyful Hearts Farm is run by a husband and wife team, Jeff and Fern. It is a labor of love. Our animals are given lots of hugs, kisses and pets. Spoiled they are!

In the Spring of 1998 Fern became extremely ill, so much so in fact that she was totally bedridden for over 6 months. She lives with two very debilitating diseases and for a long time her dream of having little barnyard critters running underfoot had to be set aside in order to sit at the feet of Yeshua (Jesus) learning many valuable lessons during this waiting period. As of December 2003, when Fern began to experience some profound health improvements, 6 baby chicks were adopted and our little barnyard has slowly grown since that time. Their animals provide hours of enJOYment and entertainment, as well as sweet, rich milk, meat, and farm fresh eggs.

Our first chickens 2004 ~having a chat & cluck around the water cooler *grin*

We have been raising Cuckoo Marans for several years now and have just added Blue Laced Red Wyandotte's to the farm. We think we have 2 roosters and 2 pullets.....time will tell! We will offer hatching eggs as soon as they start laying, around Winter '09. At times we hatch out chicks for our customers and also offer fertile hatching eggs, when available.

We are also home to the only true miniature dairy goat ~ the Nigerian Dwarf ~ which originated in Africa. They were brought to the USA to feed zoo animals. Breeders have been working with these little darlings since the 1980's. They are becoming extremely popular, especially for small children, those in 4H or FFA, and for those who are disabled or elderly, due to their small size. They are perfect for the small homestead and produce 1-2 quarts of sweet, rich milk each day.

In September 2007 we added a new family member ~ an Anatolian Shepherd Dog (ASD), who guards our (HER) livestock and poultry. She is a wonderful farm dog & guardian of the herds and flocks. We are so happy with the excellent job she is doing warding off numerous roaming neighborhood dogs (by far the greatest threat to our animals), bobcats, and packs of coyotes. We sleep easy knowing she is working 24/7. We also have our darling Ragamuffin house cat! Bosco is almost 10 yrs. old now.

Here at Joyful Hearts Farm, rather than trapping and killing predators, we have chosen to protect our herds and flocks from predators through management and our Livestock Guardian dog. We do not use chemicals to control pests and unwanted vegetation. We maintain good health with proper nutrition, tonic herbs, and a healthful environment, rather than relying on the routine use of antibiotics or other pharmaceuticals. To learn more about our management practices, visit our Management Page

Fern enjoys making cheeses, butter, and cultured dairy products from our ladies generous milk supply, as well as quiches, custards and ice cream, utilizing our farm fresh eggs!

Hershey with her first daughter, Joyful Hearts GD Fayth 6/07

We have fallen in love with our little caprine friends, the Nigerian Dwarf miniature dairy goat. We were raising Pilgrim geese from the Holderread lines but for now, have rehomed all of our geese until another season of our lives permits us to raise them again. For now we are concentrating on raising quality Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats as well as our Cuckoo Marans chickens, and Blue Laced Red Wyandottes, who will be getting their own webpage as soon as they grow up.

View from our property overlooking the citrus grove nearby

You can pick up farm fresh eggs or we can meet at our drop off point nearby every Friday or Sunday. They are $5/dozen. We usually have blue, olive, cream, brown and chocolate brown colored eggs from the various breeds of chickens. Very colorful. And our girls free range almost every day ~ depending on the hawk situation.

We also offer fertile hatching eggs from our Cuckoo Marans. $15/6 eggs or $30/dozen. You may pick them up at the farm or have your eggs shipped to you, weather permitting. Visit our Marans webpage for more details.

We are a small family hobby farm and NOT a touring facility. We have feeding schedules and lots of farm chores, so visits are limited to those who are interested in purchasing animals from us. Please email ahead for an appointment. Weekends are the best time to set up an appointment. We look forward to meeting you in person or via email and possibly helping you with purchasing farm fresh eggs, fertile hatching Cuckoo Marans eggs when they are available and/or a Nigerian Dwarf dairy goat or two or three! *smile* Thank you for visiting our Southern California farm via the internet!

Farm Pics

If you are considering purchasing Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats in the future, or you already have ND's, we'd like to invite you to join our Yahoogroup, Nigerian Dwarf's. Please visit the link below for more information. We hope you'll join us!