Ellie was one of 11 piglets born to Little Red. When rounding up the males for castration we noticed Ellie was extremely small and lacked hardiness. She had a badly infected hoof. We separated her from the herd, applied topical dressing and administered antibiotic injections. She could not drink properly from the bottle. We suspicioned that if she drank from her mom the way she drank from the bottle that mom did not let her drink. She is now perky, plump and hungry. She looks forward to her bottle that she takes as a normal piglet would. She is a delight to feed. Her hoof is still swollen thought the swelling is greatly diminished. Come to the farm and meet Ellie she would love to have you feed her.
Student Photograph Featured
Local photographer Joe McDonald has held photo workshops at Mountain Dale for several years. An image during class (featuring one of our critters) taken by one talented student ended up on the cover of a national magazine!
Runaway Sheep and Fainting Goats
Our young guests often send us hand drawn pictures and they never fail to please. We’ve gotten an illustrated “Runaway Sheep” storybook, detailed Farm map, drawing of our popular fainting goat, and lots of other original artwork that always brings a smile to our face.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Visitors to Mountain Dale take thousands of photos every year to record their Farm experience, and sometimes they share their results with us. One group of kids sent in a wonderful “thank you” photo card, and when our guests are happy we’re happy, too!
FROM TRACY, PATRICK, AMBER, ASHLEY, LYNN, FRANKIE AND JOE:
We’re in the News
We really appreciate feedback from our guests, and a little free publicity is a good thing, too! The Lancaster New Era newspaper printed a submission from second-grader Mary McCafferty.
Every year, our family goes to Mountain Dale Farm, for vacation. There are chores to do every day and we help. Some of my favorite chores are feeding corn to the horses, giving oats to the bunnies an pigeons, and feeding hay to the bull from the loft of the barn. We throw hay down through a hole in the floor! We also collect warm eggs from cozy chicken’s nests. Let me warn you about chicken coops! They really don’t smell like perfume!
Next to the house where we stay, there is a big game room where we play pool, ping pong, board games and just hang out talking until late at night. Sometimes we stay up until eleven o’ clock. Then we sleep in bunk beds. I like to sleep on the top bunk.
One time, I saw tiny, adorable Beagle puppies. Their eyes were closed because they were only four days old. Another time, my brother’s friend caught a green frog, and it squirted something on him. We think it went to the bathroom!
On the last night, we made a bonfire and made tasty S’mores. YUM! Mountain Dale Farm is terrific!