About The Rupert Ranch

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Our farming venture began in 2020 when we bought our first two registered Nigerian dwarf doelings, "Cookie" and "Cocoa." At that time, I had been going through a series of chronic health issues and had left clinical practice as a small animal veterinarian. 

My husband and I built a chicken coop and a small barn in our backyard where we got married during the pandemic.  We started out with only a couple of pet goats, a handful of chickens, 3 dogs, and 2 cats in our neighborhood home in the city of Charlotte, NC. We quickly realized we needed more space so we moved into my grandmother's old farm house in Albemarle, NC.  

When we first moved to Albemarle, we were milking goats by hand in a carport tent. We put up fences and had tents all over the yard for the animals too. My parents said we looked like a couple of gypsies. We have made so much progress since then. One year we had a metal barn installed, and a couple years later, my husband, Jon, built our current milk parlor. 

We now have about 50 to 60 Nigerian dwarf goats, 6 Kunekune pigs, 4 livestock guard dogs, 3 pet dogs, 2 cats, and more chickens than we can keep track of. We have budgeted and built everything ourselves from the infrastructure to the quality genetics in our herd. It has taken a lot of time and effort to get where we are, but this lifestyle has also given us so much more in return.