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Kidder Creek Cottage
Family-Run Farm
Kidder Creek Cottage is a small family run hobby farm in Scott Valley, a rural community of Siskiyou county in far Northern California. We are focused on sustainable agriculture and maintaining the old homestead livestock breeds. We currently keep American and French Angora rabbits, Blue slate turkeys, Romanov sheep, Nigerian Dwarf goats, kune kune and American Guinea Hogs. They are all protected by our amazing Karakachan livestock guardian dogs, Umbra and Zephyr.
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Umbra
Livestock Guardian
Umbra is a Karakachan dog, a Bulgarian livestock guardian breed that is still relatively rare in the states. They are known for being a little easier to train, and a little less likely to bark for no reason or to wander than some of the more common breeds. He is such a love and a bit of a goofball but takes his job very seriously. We are so lucky to have him.
Kim
Farmer/Wife/Mom
Kim is not afraid of hard work and proves it daily. Whether it’s looking after the kids, cooking from scratch, tending the garden, caring for livestock, or researching better/more sustainable methods to employ around the ranch, and now writing about the experience, she’s always on the go. Kim may have been born and raised in the SF Bay Area but she’s a Country Girl at heart.
Dr. Ken
Chiropractor/Farmer/Husband/Dad
Dr. Ken spends much of his time working off the ranch at both his private practice and nonprofit, providing exceptional Chiropractic care to our small community of Scott Valley. But, make no mistake, he also pulls his weight around the ranch on his “days off”.
Zephyr
Livestock Guardian
Zephyr is new to the team but not to her job. She joined us from a farm in Southern Oregon to be Umbra’s partner. Livestock Guardians work best in teams and these guys are no different. They each have a different style but they complement each other well.
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American Rabbits
We keep pedigreed Blue, White and Black Americans. They are a multipurpose breed developed for meat and fur. Americans are large rabbits with a mandolin body type. Mature bucks weighing in at 9 to 11 pounds and does at 10 to 12 pounds. They are a hardy breed, docile in nature, produce large litters and are typically good mothers. Fryers make marketable weight fairly quickly and are easily kept on wire bottom hutches. The blue variety is the deepest blue color of any of the recognized breeds in America. Only Blue and White are recognized by the ARBA, with Black being a long-standing sport.
French Angora Rabbits
We keep pedigreed French Angora, they are a fiber breed of rabbit kept primarily for their wool. Mature rabbits produce approximately a pound of wool annually. Unlike the other angora breed, French angora can be plucked of their shedded wool rather than clipped. Though many still choose to clip for ease of wool collection. Because of their wool they do well in cold climates but can be extra sensitive to heat when in full coat. Many choose to clip during the spring/summer for this reason.
Romanov Sheep
The Romanov sheep breed are a hardy, tough breed that can withstand many harsh climates and environments whilst still producing good lambs, meat and wool.
They are characterized by an extremely long season of reproductivity. In most instances, the ewes have no anoestrous period at all. Ewes return to oestrus 30 to 40 days after lambing. Because gestation length in the Romanov is a few days shorter (averaging 144 days with a range of 139 to 149 days) than in most other breeds, it is possible to produce two crops of lambs per year. In many cases, ewes give birth to 3 to 5 lambs at one time and have occasionally had as many as 7 to 9 lambs alive. The average number of reproductive years is about 7.5.
Romanov ewes are excellent mothers and produce milk adequate to feed the triplets and quadruplets they birth. Both the prolificacy and mothering abilities are passed on to the crossbred offspring, in turn increasing their value. Many breeders have found that a ½ and even a ¼ blood Romanov will produce twins and triplets consistently with little or no assistance and are able to raise their offspring themselves. Sexual maturity is early in the Romanov, at 3-4 months of age. Ewe’s have been know to lamb as early as 9 months of age.
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