My name is Mandi Goad and I live in the Honey Creek community in Allardt, TN.  

We operate a small farm, where we raise Australian Shepherds, goats, chickens, and a few head of cattle.

Australian Shepherds

Our dogs are all registered with either or both AKC and ASCA.  We start working with them from day 1!  Our goal is to raise well adjusted, intelligent puppies, that can compete in your favorite sport, do farm work, or simply be a child's best friend.  Please be patient with us while we make some needed changes to our Aussie program.  In the spring of 2023. I had the privilege of seeing an Aussie in his intended element.  He was working cattle and sheep.  It was a spectacular sight to behold.  I came home and started researching.  I knew that they had been bred to drive stock, but I never really looked into it that much.  I discovered that there are really two different Aussies out there: one that is has a larger frame with flowing coats more suited to shows and shall we say 'cleaner' sports; the other has a slighter build and usually a sleeker coat more suited to farming. That's not to say that they can't be both, but the two sides strive for different things in their breeding programs.   I love them all but we have decided to go back to their roots and we are learning how to use them with our goats and training them to work on our farm.  We have acquired some great bloodlines - Freestyle, Hanging Tree, Slash V, and soon we are welcoming a great granddaughter of Certik Bertik.  We have a lot to learn and I hope you'll follow along as we train and raise some great herding dogs! 

Our Little Goats

We raised ADGA registered Nigerian Dwarf goats for 10 years.  They are still one of my favorite breeds but, as with everything, there are seasons. I happened into a Mini Nubian doeling named Kibi about a year ago.  She was sweet and quirky and we all loved her.  When she had a set of twins this winter, we set her up for milk-sharing with us, as we do all of our does.  She was giving us 2.5 pounds of milk every morning! This made me think.....I love my Nigerians, but we were only getting 1.5 pounds at best per milking with them.  We enjoy our goats, but their purpose here is for the milk we drink and use for making soap. Fewer goats with more milk means fewer hooves to trim and less hay to put up (we grow our own and currently put it up by hand.  It's all loose - not baled and that takes a lot of work!)  So....We have decided to sell our registered herd and focus primarily on Mini Nubian dairy goats.  Our herd will remain small but we will have a handful available for purchase.  

Chickens

Those that know me, know that I don't always have the best feelings towards chickens.  I love to see them free ranging around our farm and to watch the hens raise their babies, but they kind of scare me when they come running for their food in the mornings or they fly down from the barn loft right over my head.  I credit the rooster that my granny had when I was a kid.  He would seemingly wait until we were in the middle of the yard and chase us kids. I was terrified of him.  They also poop everywhere you don't want them to, and nowhere you do.  They do provide us with plenty of eggs and lots of pest control.  We live in a rural, woodsy area and rarely find a tick on us or any of our animals.  

Cattle

We raise our cattle to provide us with clean beef.  We try to keep them as natural as possible, and they are friendly and easy going for beef cattle. Our youngest daughter spends more time with them than  any of us and they like a good shoulder scratch.