Rustic Roots

10/20/2026

Tried our homegrown lamb for the first time tonight, and honestly... it was SO good. Really mild and not nearly as “greasy” tasting as lamb I’ve had from the store. I’ve heard Desert Painted Sheep are naturally a little more mild, and I’m sure being organic and grass fed plays a part too. 🤷‍♀️

Holden absolutely crushed it. Mason is more like me and has a harder time not thinking about who we’re eating. But that’s also part of farm life — knowing where your food comes from, how it was raised, and knowing we provided it a good life.

Buck was bottle fed, which sadly led to him being aggressive, so unfortunately he couldn't stay, but we also weren’t going to let him go to waste. We decided this was our chance to try our own lamb and see if raising more for meat was something we’d actually want to do.

After tonight... I think we have our answer. Maybe time to expand to locally raised lamb 🤔

09/01/2026

🎄🎄 It's the most wonderful time of the year 🎄🎄

08/27/2026

Farm friends: these dogs are amazing, and their owners work hard digging up holes to help the dogs.
I 💯 recommend giving them a call if you're having rat problems (and if you aren't, I need your secrets!)

last night we visited a ranch having a rat problem around their chicken coop. we removed 29 rats, which comprised a dozen large breeding adults and two hefty litters of pinkies. the property owner should see a significant decrease in rat activity, as we’ve disrupted the breeding cycle for at least a little bit.

we have some more ratting scheduled these next couple weeks, as the weather cools off. if you’ve previously messaged this account and you are still having a rat problem, please reach out again. i’ve received lots of messages and it can be hard to keep up! as a reminder, we cannot help with rat problems in residential/suburban backyards, or within homes.

dogs pictured L to R:
Skeeter, Maude, Cassie, Raven, Nora

07/26/2026

I know many of you are great photographers. W.A.R. could use your help. 🐾🐾

📸 Calling All Photographers! 🐾

Wilton Animal Rescue is looking for a talented photographer who would be willing to donate their time and talent to help our adorable puppies find their forever homes! ❤️

Professional photos can make all the difference in helping a puppy get noticed and adopted, and we have several little ones who will be ready for adoption soon.

We’re hoping to have photos taken ASAP. If you’re a photographer—or know someone who might be willing to volunteer—we would be incredibly grateful!

Please send us a message or tag a photographer in the comments. Every photo could help change a life. 🐶💕

Thank you for supporting Wilton Animal Rescue! 🩵

07/04/2026

Happy Independence Day 🇺🇸
Wishing you a safe day of celebrating the greatest Nation

06/18/2026

Rotational grazing is a major part of our farm. It's a very sustainable organic practice that not only cuts down w**ds, the animals provide fertilizer throughout the farm and the chickens scratch it in while eating w**d seeds, preventing future growth
Organic is often misunderstood for being "messy", but it's all part of the process. You have to graze, move, grow...and start again.
You can see the front part of the pasture is down to the dirt, and behind the sheep is tall and ready for grazing and being knocked down.
Spraying w**ds sure is faster, but it's not organic and we do enjoy watching the animals do their job (until they decide to push their boundaries and go on adventures 🙄 take the good with the bad I suppose).
Using rotational grazing requires a moveable fence. We use electric netting. Although some days this Wilton soil makes it difficult (hard and dry doesn't conduct electricity well) it's a great tool that helps as we continue to learn our animals and farm needs.

05/15/2026

New Life!! My guinea hens are hatching.
Laid by the birds at the farm, I took them from the nest as they are extremely susceptible to predators when sitting on a nest.
Day 27 in the incubator and at least 8 are pipping. Should be more in the next 1-2 days
Baby guinea hens are called KEET.
🧠now ya know

05/02/2026

We’ve seen a few comments recently suggesting that our dogs getting out is simply a matter of “being more responsible,” so I want to clarify something for those who may not be familiar with working livestock guardian dogs.

Our Great Pyrenees are not typical pets — they are purpose-bred working animals whose job is to protect livestock from predators. That means their instinct is to patrol, respond to threats, and, at times, push beyond boundaries when they believe their animals are at risk.

When they leave the property, it’s not due to a lack of effort or care — it’s usually because they are actively responding to predator pressure in the area. That instinct is exactly what allows them to do their job effectively.

We continuously invest time, resources, and effort into fencing, reinforcement, and tracking. But anyone experienced with LGDs understands there is no perfect, one-time solution — it’s an ongoing management process, not a simple fix.

There’s a big difference between managing working guardian dogs on a farm and owning a household pet, and it’s not always obvious unless you’ve lived it.

We take our responsibility to our animals, our neighbors, and our operation seriously, and we will continue to do so.

We’re grateful for the many neighbors who understand the realities of farm life and have been supportive — it truly makes a difference. ❤️

04/17/2026

We don't use poison around our farm, so rats are a real problem! Especially around the animal barns.
Today SCRAT - Sacramento Canines’ Rat Annihilation Team stopped by and helped us out.
These terriers are impressive - and well trained by their handlers of course.
If your farm has a rat problem I'm happy to share their info. No houses but chicken coops, pig pens, grain storage ..it's all fair game.
Just another cool way animals can help around an organic farm!
(Now to train my LGDs to hate rats as much as I do ;) )

04/10/2026

It's NATIONAL FARM ANIMAL DAY!!
It's our day to shine ☀️😀

Ok, these "national days of" are getting a bit silly. But, we will take any opportunity to brag about our little farm family.
Our Desert Painted Sheep (yes they're sheep!), chickens, guinea hens and don't forget the hard working farm dogs - they all keep our organic farm moving. From grazing, to eating pests to fertilizing the ground (and of course we need someone to protect all of them 🐾🐾) - our farm animals are the heart of Rustic Roots. And today we celebrate them all!