An Adventure in Sustainable Living!
Hello! Thank you for visiting our site. We are a small family-owned farm located in the beautiful Palouse region of Northern Idaho. Our journey began with a desire to eat more local food focusing on products that were produced sustainably and humanely. As time went on, self-reliance became important to our family and so the farm was born.
At Feathered Horses Farm, we are passionate about providing high-quality products to our customers. Whether it is a Friesian foal, a starter flock of sheep, lamb meat or artistic handmade soap, we strive to ensure that every customer has a positive and memorable experience with us. Our animals are humanely and sustainably raised with love on the beautiful Palouse!
Our Mission
Our mission at Feathered Horses Farm is to be provide sustainably and humanely raised animals for food, breeding, or pets. Everything we do on the farm is aimed at creating a loving and healthy environment for every animal.
We focus on the conservation breeding of rare livestock and guardian dog breeds. Our flock of Black Welsh Mountain sheep carries bloodlines unique to the Western United States.
Farming Practices
Our farm is completely off-grid, with solar power providing electricity and a well for water. The animals are provided with shelter from the elements and fresh grass or hay daily.
We utilize a rotational grazing system to maximize the productivity of the pastures, reduce the potential for internal parasites, and maximize the benefits of home-grown fertilizer.
Our sheep are grass-fed, healthy and happy!
Sheep
We raise two rare heritage sheep breeds originating from Wales. Black Welsh Mountain are hardy mountain sheep that thrive on poor forage, are disease resistant, easy lambers and excellent mothers. They grow deep black wool and have delicious flavorful meat.
Clun Forest are larger and also may be utilized for multiple purposes. They grow lovely creamy white wool that resists felting and therefore makes excellent dying wool. Also easy lambers, these ewes produce large quantities of delicious milk and can be used for dairy.
Horses
We do love those feathered feet! Our farm is home to three Friesians, a Gypsian and a National Showhorse.
Our breeding program is phasing out as we grow our sheep flock. We do occasionally have a foal but the horses are mainly there for the enjoyment of us and our visitors.
Livestock Guardians
Early in our sheep farming journey, it became apparent that we needed guardians. Our area is home to coyotes, bears, mountain lions and the occasional wolf. Although we had not lost sheep to predators, we wanted to ensure that we didn’t.
We researched Livestock Guardian Dogs for months before deciding to add a female Karakachan puppy to our farm. Once she was established and mature, we added a male puppy so that we could eventually contribute to the very small population of Karakachans in the United States.
Karakachans originated in Bulgaria, but are rare even in their native homeland. The are a good fit for our farm as then tend to be less aggressive with dogs than many LGD breeds. We have pet dogs and a working border collie, so co-existence was important for our farm.
