The Feral Den

07/10/2025

School is right around the corner! Ballyhoo Zoo is hosting our first School Supplies Donation Day! Visitors will receive FREE ADMISSION to the zoo for donating unopened school supplies! We will distribute the supplies to local Anderson County students and teachers for the upcoming school year.

Admission will be free for all donations on July 20th from 1 PM - 6 PM! We look forward to seeing you there!

07/08/2025

If you’ve ever visited our farm, you’ve met Clyde. He greeted every person that came to visit and gave them his approval upon entry.

He wasn’t a fan of any delivery driver, even if they didn’t come down our driveway; he would spot a fedex truck from the road and lose his mind. My apologies to the UPS driver that is scared out of his mind to deliver to our house (I promise, he wouldn’t have hurt you).

He was our storm protector - barking away all thunder clouds with everything he had to keep his flock safe.

December 6, 2021 we took the drive to West Virginia to save his life and give him a forever home. We didn’t know how old he was, only knew he deserved a chance to succeed. He arrived and made quick friends with our only other guardian at the time, Tipper. He and Tipper became thick as thieves. You wouldn’t find one without the other. They worked together as if they had been a team their whole lives. They taught countless other guardians that have come through our farm as trainees and rescues.

Over the last year, Clyde’s age began to show and it seems no matter how much medication and care we gave, he continued to decline. We joked that he was our true west virginia boy when he lost all his front teeth 😂 Over the last week, Clyde lost almost all mobility and we knew we had to make that hard decision to allow him to keep what was left of his dignity intact.

Today was his final day with us, and now he is with Tipper guarding all the farm animals in heaven.

The one thing that hits me especially hard when I have to make this choice is the amount of gratitude and respect I have for these dogs. They put their lives on the line day and night to protect their humans, flock, and herds. There is nothing but strength and selflessness that comes from them. I cannot fully put into words the gratitude I have for what they give to me and my farm, but a dignified ending to an extremely strong life is the least I can give back when it is their time.

As much as my heart is shattered to lose my baby, Clyde, I’m honored to have been his person for the years we had him and I’m blessed to have learned so much from him.

07/04/2025

A little sibling rivalry….

Butterfly’s sister, Killie (formally known as Turkey) sure loves her baby turkeys at her new farm too! 💕 🦃

07/04/2025

Our beautiful Butterfly is living her best life at Cricket Hollow Stables with her new best friend, a spider monkey. 🐒 💕

When I tell you our dogs are the best, I truly mean it. 🦋

06/28/2025

Fourth of July is coming up. ❤️🤍💙

06/25/2025

Keep the babies watered! Any container you have available should be full right now for drinking, bathing, stepping in, whatever they need. Keep water in the shade if at all possible. Water bowl in the sun are getting too hot!

Also, don’t try to keep those eggs collected this week. 🤮 we are finding them exploded from cooking from the inside out! Literally the whites of the eggs are cooked solid.

06/15/2025

If yall haven’t picked up Colson's spices, you are seriously missing out. We used their Carolina Oinker on some of our farm-raised pork butt in the smoker and … oh… em… geeee.

Y’all…. It’s to die for. 🤤

🌿✨ EXCITING NEWS SIX MILE! ✨🌿

A select variety of our Colson's Seasoning Blends and Tea Blends have found a new home—and it’s not your typical market shelf!

We’re so excited to now be available Penny Lu & Co., a charming local clothing boutique, located at 103 N Main St in Six Mile, that’s all about supporting local small businesses and their handcrafted creations. 💛

Now, while you’re shopping for your next favorite outfit, you can also pick up your favorite seasoning blends for summer grilling, cozy meals, and flavorful everyday cooking, or a delicious tea blend to start your day off right. 🌶️👗🌿

Stop in, show them some love, and grab a bag (or two) of our handcrafted spices or teas.

Thank you for supporting small businesses like ours. We’re so grateful for this community! 💚

05/25/2025

Owner located 💕

Anyone missing these babies this morning?

05/15/2025

📣 Community - The shelter could use your help again. 📣

Oconee County Animal Shelter is still housing all of the animals from the large animal seizure case in March. Until the accused party surrenders the animals or the case is adjudicated, it is the responsibility of the shelter to continue to house, feed, and provide medical care for these animals.

Since March, the need has been great, and the donations have been amazing! 🤗 They are beginning to be exhausted, though, and there is additional need if the community has the ability to help. The number of rabbits 🐰 did grow, post-seizure, as some were already bred at that time. The shelter can use additional cages like the one linked below. 👇🏼

Please comment if you purchase, so we know how many were bought. The shelter will let me know when they have received enough.

Ordering on Amazon is easy, and it ships directly to the shelter!
➡️ 1925 Sandifer Blvd, Seneca, SC 29678

If you want to donate feed, coastal hay, all stock sweet feed, corn, and rabbit pellets are appreciated!
If you want to donate financially, you can Venmo , and I can do another large haul of feed for them.

The perfect rabbit habitat. Black e-Coat Finish. Sets up complete in seconds. No tools required.Front and top doors and latch provides one-handed operation.

05/15/2025

I absolutely love getting messages from the people that have gotten their guardians from me. I know I’m biased when it comes to the dogs I train, but it is so amazing when I get feedback from others about how they have impacted them and their farms.

I put so much thought and care into each dog I train, even if they’re not dogs I ever see in person! I connected with this family through a local farm page because they had another guardian that they were already at their wits end with and needed help. After a one hour phone call with them they made the recommended changes and already felt like they understood the dog better. Another week later they asked me about adding another dog to their land since they have so much property. It just so happened that I had one of my dogs returned to me from a previous buyer (no fault of her own). If I have a dog returned, I don’t sell it again, I simply find it a proper home, and that is exactly what I did with this girl. 💕

She is elusive though, that’s no surprise. She’s not overly friendly, but she really is a great dog. But I’m still invested in seeing if she progresses more and I’ll be taking the drive to her new farm in a couple weeks to visit and get hands on her. And if nothing else, they strategically scheduled her vet appointment for the next day. 🤣