Open Door Homestead LLC

05/18/2026

How do you use up 5 # of cream cheese and a half gallon of sour cream??

CHEESECAKE!!

This week my prepaid herdshare members are getting cheesecake in a jar with our homemade dairy products and fresh eggs 😍 Add fresh fruit and you got a perfect dessert ❣️

05/18/2026

This can be a tough conversation... especially when you just want to love all of your animals.

I always tell everyone that I was raised a dairy farmer and we believe in keeping things alive. But the past 4 years we have been in the meat production end of things and well.... everything in this end has a date. Sometimes that date happens a little sooner than expected.

A stark reminder that I've had is that not all is what it seems. I always think if I just do a little more I can fix whatever the problem is. Give them a little more time... give them a little more nutrition... give them a boost of some sort. But sometimes you can't fix it. And the best thing to do is to handle the situation and not let the animal suffer anymore.

We had a hog that had "a sore foot" after getting pushed around by some other pigs we separated him and gave him rest... gave him extra feed... gave him nice friends... but after quite sometime I realized it wasn't getting better. He could still get up and eat but quality of life was not there. I knew I couldnt send to processing because an animal must be able to get up easily and walk in with out a problem. And to be honest I wasn't sure a trailer ride was going to be a good idea.

So Saturday my son and I got to bond over processing 🤣😁 (for our own personal freezer not for retail)

I always say I will do everything I can to save an animal but when it comes time for the in between part I'm out! Thats why you have to a friend that will kill things .... or a son. After it is past the point of saving I can deal with it.

So check out the photo below. The spine should be fairly straight. As you can see it is anything but. Apparently he broke his back at some point and healed enough to get around. Pigs are incredibly resilient. But there are somethings that you can't fix regardless of how hard you try.

05/10/2026

Herdshare members!!

Its gonna be another busy week be sure to send in add-on orders early if possible.

Extra this week:
Butter
Cream cheese
Cream
Yogurt
Mozarella

Add on bacon, kielbasa, or brats!!

Interested in the extras without making a weekly commitment to fluid milk?
Try our butter and beyond herdshare membership

Link in comments.

05/07/2026

Join me this Saturday as im doing projects around the farm and working in my dairy room.

Ill be taking that mornings milk and turning it into a fresh ball of mozzarella. Making fresh mozarella takes 6 hours. So plan on stopping out around 2 so you can help me stretch and take a special treat home for dinner on Sunday.

Other taste testing dairy items will be available.

Cuddles with baby bunnies, chicks and donkeys are a must 🥰

05/07/2026

Looking for that special meat for mother's day meal??

We will be at our farm in Fort Defiance all day Saturday working on projects!! Stop out feed the donkeys some carrots and cuddle some new chicks 🥰 and pick up some pork chops!! .... or bacon... or sausage.... or one of our amazing "deli hams"

Until I get the website updated (hopefully later today) it looks like we are out of stock.... but we are fully stocked of everything and more!!

Message me for the farm address!

05/07/2026

05/05/2026

Late evenings sometimes look like making 8 # of butter, staging orders for the morning, and collecting cream 🤩

05/05/2026

Ol' Blossom is loving the retired life. Soaking up some sunshine.

05/04/2026

This is the face of "I'm in no mood" 2 wks to due date!!