BACK PAGE BACKYARD Westmoreland Homesteaders

Craig Faulkner found himself becoming a homesteader after he and his wife, Mariah, bought a log cabin on 40 acres in Westmoreland. Though they've slowed down a bit after the birth of their son, Atticus, in May, they are still enjoying the fruits of their labor and love being able to rescue and take in animals when they can. How did you get into homesteading? We didn't try to think about homesteading when we started. My old house (in Keene) had a very small yard. I got this log cabin with a pretty big yard, and I didn't have a lawn mower. It seemed easier and cheaper to buy two sheep for $200 and an electric fence — and that's how I got my lawn mowed. &emsp;&emsp;Next thing you know, my cousins, who have a sheep farm with hundreds of sheep, were talking with me about making a deal that I would take their ram to breed the sheep I have, and they would buy the lambs from me. We started out with two sheep, and at one point last year, we were up to 16 dairy sheep. &emsp;&emsp;So, about once a year for us, we get to experience giving birth to sheep at our house. We will put cameras up in their stalls and watch them as they get ready to give birth. This year, I went to the store, and when I came home, I heard a strange, different tone, and I went to see what was going on, and there were three new sheep! A black one, a white one and spotted one laying out there — all from the same mom. What other kinds of animals do you have on your property? We have three dogs, two we have rescued. We also had pigs which we traded for fresh local meat in Walpole from the Iron Kettle. &emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp;We did turkeys once, but that wasn't as much fun as it sounds. They are a nightmare. They were on the roof of the house — and unless you have a place to keep them contained — they are everywhere around the house. I was hunting one day, and a turkey showed up right in front of me. &emsp;&emsp;We had also rescued the one-eyed goat that had been wandering around in Chesterfield. But then my sheep opened the gate, and the goat got out. She was recaught and is now living in Chesterfield with the lady who originally caught her. &emsp;&emsp;We have chickens and ducks, too. It's been an interesting project. Any plans to expand more or get other animals? We will probably expand with sheep in time. Unfortunately, dairy sheep, like we have, are very prone to sickness. We struggled with that a little bit. We took in some old sheep from another farm, and that was hit and miss, good and bad. Some of the sheep got pregnancy toxemia. Old sheep just naturally get sick a lot easier, especially with how wet it was at our farm. We have been clearing about three acres here to get the sheep on higher ground. &emsp;&emsp;We have also looked into alpacas, and we might get a horse — the wife really wants one. Our end goal at some point is to be able to have animals that we can relax with and enjoy. &emsp;&emsp;I also do skull cleaning and have met a lot of great local people doing that. I've done a lot of trades where I will do a goat skull for someone and, in return, have gotten goat steaks to try out. It's a cool little community of really great people. This homesteading business — it's been a real blast for us, and we are able to trade information you can't really find online all the time. It's been a lifesaver. What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced in doing this? A lot of it is being prepared going into it. I don't think anybody goes into this as prepared as you need to be. You don't know the problem that is going to occur until it's there, and then you have to learn a whole new skill, basically. Thankfully, I have lots of friends, family and businesses that have been able to come help us. It's all the unpredictable scenarios that you don't know will happen. You just have to act on your feet and, hopefully, figure it out. &emsp;&emsp;I had never sheared a sheep before, but I learned how to do that this year because it's hard to find a sheep shearer. So, I tried it myself. Trying to wrestle a sheep to the ground and shear it is definitely not as easy as they make it look. All my sheep have the worst haircuts you could imagine right now. &emsp;&emsp;One of the hardest parts I've been faced with is making the decision when the sheep are too old. I am not one to butcher my own sheep, but I put them to rest on our property. I give them their last meal and deal with them myself. I'd rather do that than have a stranger deal with it. It has its emotional moments for sure because we get attached to all of our animals. Any advice for someone wanting to get into homesteading? I would say definitely prepare your setup beforehand. Preparation is a massive help, and I still haven't mastered that. Everything we've done, we think it's going to work because we have seen it somewhere, and we think, "this is how it's done," and it's not. Like pigs are great, but they will get through any fence possible except for even the weakest electric fence. We tried industrial hog wire, and they got through it no problem. We would have saved some money if we just had an electric fence to begin with. &emsp;&emsp;I think another great piece of advice would be to meet other people who do it and learn from them. Most likely, your best knowledge is right down the road.