Tuesday, January 27, 2009
"Drama"
Nikki is such a strange goat. She has looked pregnant for about 2 years now, but hasn't given birth since spring 2007. Sunday morning I noticed that she was actually developing an udder! I was thrilled....finally I could confirm that she was pregnant. She didn't waste any time, and delivered a 9#8oz baby girl at 7pm!! The little "bonus" baby is a nice combination of Satin and Nikki and should be a nice addition to either a meat or milk herd. Her name is Queenacres Dramatic Deposit and we are calling her "Drama".
Thursday, January 22, 2009
New Arrivals
I was contacted a couple of weeks ago by a Nubian breeder friend that needed a home for a young doe and her 2 babies. The doe had hurt her hip and would not be able to show, plus needed a bit of TLC to get her back on her feet. It was just a bit more than she could deal with so asked me to take them.
They have an outstanding pedigree and should be a real asset to the herd once she recovers. We're bottle feeding the boys but leaving them with her for now to help her adjust to our herd.
Bob and I made the drive over the weekend to pick her up. Her name is Tina and she came complete with 2 boys that I've nicknamed the "monsters" just because they are so bulky. Tina is a doll and will have a long recovery, but I am confident that she can shine again one day. We are taking things one day at a time and she is improving every day.
They have an outstanding pedigree and should be a real asset to the herd once she recovers. We're bottle feeding the boys but leaving them with her for now to help her adjust to our herd.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Poop Soup and Muck Boots
*Pardon me while I whine*
Yesterday was a really hard day for me. It was the 3rd day in a row that it's been raining. Cold rain; it was 38º when I went out to do barn chores in the morning. The first step in my chores is usually to eyeball all of the chicken pens and make sure they are okay, next is to get fresh hay for the does. I went about my morning chores as usual, but they are much harder to do in the rain. The cold grips your fingers and toes; toes, which by the way are shoved down into heavy bulky muck boots that are designed to keep them dry but not too comfortable. Lugging those heavy boots up and down muddy hills while carrying flakes of hay...I started thinking I'm getting too old for this job.
When I went into the barn I was suprised to find 2 baby goats laying on the ground under the manger. Cali had given birth sometime in the early hours of the morning and one of the kids was not breathing. The other was cold to the touch and shivering. I grabbed both kids and made a sloshy, clumpy dash for the house. I got the girls up to help with the live kid, he needed to be warmed up quickly...and promptly went to work on the one that wasn't breathing. After a few minutes and no respirations I realized that the kid was gone. A pretty little doe, 5# 11oz and looked just like her mom. I know I can't keep them all, sometimes the Good Lord makes the choices for me. The girls were focused on getting the boy dry and warm, and I decided to go check Cali. My shirt was gooey from carrying newborn baby goats, so I changed before going back out to the barn (shirt #2 for the day). Cali was fine, gave plenty of colostrum for the boy, and passed the placentas by 10 am. Thank you Lord for keeping my milk doe healthy.
We babysit on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Two little boys that belong to a friend, we keep them so that she can go to college 2 days a week. Brice is 3 and Ethan is 7 months. What fun Brice had yesterday with the new baby goats. We hadn't kept them since before Christmas, and especially with the room addition finished, there was a lot of things for a 3 year old to question. His favorite is "why?" With it so cold and muddy, we couldn't really take the boys out to play...that's when I am thankful that teenagers have so much energy. The downside to teenage girls is that they avoid poopy diapers at all cost. That's my job. Poop. Somehow in the midst of changing Ethan's poopy diaper, he managed to get poop on his clothes, the couch cover, and my shirt. I got everything into the washer and changed my shirt (#3 for the day). At least it's warm and dry in the house. I started some venison soup and home made bread.
By the time I was doing barn chores in the evening, I was pretty tired. Again I'm thinking I'm too old for this job. Lugging hay, buckets of feed is the easy part. It's the poop soup that gets to me. The mud and goo is 3 inches thick in the chicken coop after all this rain, and there's not a level piece of ground on our property. Every step is hard work just to stay upright. And the darned cold chills you to the bone.
Coming in for dinner, I noticed that once again my shirt was dirty (#4)..The pot of stew and rolls were hot and ready. The girls began to set the table and teenagers came in from everywhere. Mom was even here for a few minutes (just long enough to snatch up a dinner roll-smart lady, she got to them before the kids did!). I glanced across the table at Bob, he looked as tired and happy as I was. Levi, Ben, Ben's girlfriend Lacy, one of their friends Isaac, Stephanie, and Rebekah were all here. That pot of stew and pan of rolls didn't have a chance. We ate, talked, joked, visited, and had a great meal. Maybe I'm not getting too old after all.
The alarm went off this morning, Bob was on his way to work by 5:30. I get up from a cozy heated waterbed to put on my jacket and muck boots. The poop soup outside has firmed to stew. No rain last night. The 32º air has a bite on my fingers. Chores are done, happy goats are in the barn, and there's fresh milk and eggs in the fridge. Nope, I'm not too old for this.
Yesterday was a really hard day for me. It was the 3rd day in a row that it's been raining. Cold rain; it was 38º when I went out to do barn chores in the morning. The first step in my chores is usually to eyeball all of the chicken pens and make sure they are okay, next is to get fresh hay for the does. I went about my morning chores as usual, but they are much harder to do in the rain. The cold grips your fingers and toes; toes, which by the way are shoved down into heavy bulky muck boots that are designed to keep them dry but not too comfortable. Lugging those heavy boots up and down muddy hills while carrying flakes of hay...I started thinking I'm getting too old for this job.
When I went into the barn I was suprised to find 2 baby goats laying on the ground under the manger. Cali had given birth sometime in the early hours of the morning and one of the kids was not breathing. The other was cold to the touch and shivering. I grabbed both kids and made a sloshy, clumpy dash for the house. I got the girls up to help with the live kid, he needed to be warmed up quickly...and promptly went to work on the one that wasn't breathing. After a few minutes and no respirations I realized that the kid was gone. A pretty little doe, 5# 11oz and looked just like her mom. I know I can't keep them all, sometimes the Good Lord makes the choices for me. The girls were focused on getting the boy dry and warm, and I decided to go check Cali. My shirt was gooey from carrying newborn baby goats, so I changed before going back out to the barn (shirt #2 for the day). Cali was fine, gave plenty of colostrum for the boy, and passed the placentas by 10 am. Thank you Lord for keeping my milk doe healthy.
We babysit on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Two little boys that belong to a friend, we keep them so that she can go to college 2 days a week. Brice is 3 and Ethan is 7 months. What fun Brice had yesterday with the new baby goats. We hadn't kept them since before Christmas, and especially with the room addition finished, there was a lot of things for a 3 year old to question. His favorite is "why?" With it so cold and muddy, we couldn't really take the boys out to play...that's when I am thankful that teenagers have so much energy. The downside to teenage girls is that they avoid poopy diapers at all cost. That's my job. Poop. Somehow in the midst of changing Ethan's poopy diaper, he managed to get poop on his clothes, the couch cover, and my shirt. I got everything into the washer and changed my shirt (#3 for the day). At least it's warm and dry in the house. I started some venison soup and home made bread.
By the time I was doing barn chores in the evening, I was pretty tired. Again I'm thinking I'm too old for this job. Lugging hay, buckets of feed is the easy part. It's the poop soup that gets to me. The mud and goo is 3 inches thick in the chicken coop after all this rain, and there's not a level piece of ground on our property. Every step is hard work just to stay upright. And the darned cold chills you to the bone.
Coming in for dinner, I noticed that once again my shirt was dirty (#4)..The pot of stew and rolls were hot and ready. The girls began to set the table and teenagers came in from everywhere. Mom was even here for a few minutes (just long enough to snatch up a dinner roll-smart lady, she got to them before the kids did!). I glanced across the table at Bob, he looked as tired and happy as I was. Levi, Ben, Ben's girlfriend Lacy, one of their friends Isaac, Stephanie, and Rebekah were all here. That pot of stew and pan of rolls didn't have a chance. We ate, talked, joked, visited, and had a great meal. Maybe I'm not getting too old after all.
The alarm went off this morning, Bob was on his way to work by 5:30. I get up from a cozy heated waterbed to put on my jacket and muck boots. The poop soup outside has firmed to stew. No rain last night. The 32º air has a bite on my fingers. Chores are done, happy goats are in the barn, and there's fresh milk and eggs in the fridge. Nope, I'm not too old for this.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Derby
Our doe Cali gave birth to twins this morning at 7:30. Unfortunately I did not discover them until 7:40, and the little doe kid was still in the sack. The buckling is doing great, and weighed in at 6 pounds even. If he grows like his daddy he should make a fine cart or pack goat. We've named him Derby.
Cali is an excellent milker, and now that we have 2 does fresh we should be making cheese again very soon!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Broilers in the freezer
Our holiday birds are now in the freezer. In the midst of enjoying the new goat kids yesterday we were also able to get the 4 broilers butchered. We raised these birds in a cage brooder for the first 4 weeks, then allowed them to free range for the last 4 weeks. These are the CornishX white broilers, and they are really the best breed for putting a lot of meat into the freezer using the least amount of feed.
The drawbacks of this breed are:
- 1. They are a hybrid and can not reproduce efficiently, therefore you have to buy a new batch of birds rather than breeding your own.
- 2. They have a number of health issues if not fed and housed properly.
- 3. They are nasty birds to raise compared to "regular" chickens.
The assets of this breed are:
- 1. They have the best feed conversion of any breed of chicken. It takes about 10 pounds of feed per bird for 8 weeks to yield a 4# fryer.
- 2. All of their health and cleanliness issues are easy to overcome if you feed and house them properly.
- 3. They are broad breasted which means you end up with a beautiful table bird.
Our food animals are all raised with kindness, and when it comes time to butcher it is done with minimal trauma. I thank God for his blessings, and for providing healthy meat for my family.
The 4 holiday birds dressed out at nearly 14 pounds total, at just 8 weeks.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Kidding Season
We have kicked off the new year with our first goat kids! Blessing had a set of twins, a buck and doe at 8:30 this morning. They are all doing great. Here's the girl...
The buckling is already sold as a bottle baby. His sale will help us get the hay we need for the rest of the winter.
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