A Goat Story

I'm not sure where the time is going, but little Clover is now over 6 weeks old, and starting to eat solid foods on her own. Star STILL has not had her baby! It's driving me crazy!
Since Lily isn't nursing quite as much I decided to start milking her this morning. I've been procrastinating. I am super nervous milking a goat, as I've never done it or seen it done before. So, I made a little  milking platform, grabbed my stainless steel bucket and some warm soapy water, and some grain, and tied Lily up to it. The first thing she did when I touched her was to stick her foot in the bucket.
Sigh.
Cleaned it out, and tried again. Found a sore on one of her teats, so had to stop. I got an entire millimetre of milk, though! Lily was NOT happy with me. I think this is one of those things that's going to take some practice. Lots and lots of practice. I am going to find someone with goats, and see if they can help me learn. I wanted to get a bunch of goats milk and make feta cheese from it. That's the plan, anyway.

As I was leaving the yard with my huge bucket of milk, Trouble came up and bit me on the ass.

Bugger.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Little Clover is doing well! She is growing, and looks healthy and strong. Very, very pleased with my first goat baby! I am watching Star very carefully for signs of imminent birth, so I can put her away safe when it is getting close to time. I have to be so careful around here... there are just so many birds of prey. I lost another chicken to a raven yesterday. It's been better the last few months, because I am home and out in the gardens a good chunk of the time. The ravens are smart buggers, though... they watch, and when the dogs and I go inside, they swoop down to steal eggs or whatever they can get. Bastards. As a result, I have been letting Lily and Clover out into the little field on a daily basis, but ONLY when I am outside for an extended period. It is so adorable watching Clover jump and hop and skip around! She does need a playmate, though! Can't wait for Star to have her baby(s)??

I hatched out a bunch of chicks last month. Then decided I really had no place to put them, so I put an add up to sell them. I asked $2 each for them. I had no idea what to ask! Anyway, they sold in about 1 day.... I had one lady call me to tell me they were too cheap!!! lol! So, I guess next time, I can ask $4 a piece for them... who knew? I like the $4 price wayyyyy better:-)
Currently, I have the 'bator filled with Dorking eggs. I just candled them, and there were 5 that were infertile. The rest look good so far, though. If all goes well, they should start hatching on Thursday. I can get $7 a day old chick for those. I need a bigger incubator!! However, this is my third 'bator, and the first one that actually works, so  am going to stick with it for a while!

I am getting eggs like crazy right now. Last year, I couldn't seem to get enough eggs to save my life, and I lost most of my regular egg customers. So, this year, I have eggs coming out the ying yang. Eggs EVERYWHERE! I am not complaining.... I just have to find a way to start selling more! I am scared to do too many shares, just in case production goes down again, so I have put them in a cooler at the end of the driveway. I sell 2-4 doz a week there. I am getting about 12-14 doz a week, however. Hmmmm.... I need to come up with a plan! Would be nice if I could actually either make money or break even on the damn chickens for once. I have considered cutting down, and getting rid of most of them, but I so enjoy having them around! We'll see what happens....

Before Lily had her baby, I was letting the goats and the chickens out into the garden/yard for an hour or two a day, to eat weeds and grass and bugs. The deer had already eaten everything in the garden, so I decided it would be safe. It was a double edged sword. On the one hand, the chickens did an amazing job in the garden... I think they ate almost all the slug eggs! I am not getting swamped like I did the last few years. YIPPEEEE!!  The bad part, is now that I have started planting like crazy, the chickens just fly over the fence, and go into the garden, and eat my seeds and scratch up my newly planted seedlings. GRRRRRR. I am trying to dissuade them from doing this... I really, really want to make money on my gardens for once! Without everything being eaten by deer, slugs, chickens or dogs! That is my biggest dream for this year. I am still doing my CSA program, but I have only sold 2 shares this year. I think I have been feeling down lately, so haven't pushed or advertised them like I did last year. I need to get on it. I've been having a hard time lately, dog boarding is not busy this spring like normal.... I think it was so mild, no one felt the need to fly to Mexico and leave their dogs with me. I have a free consultation with a new business coach next week. I am hoping she will help to inspire/ encourage/ and help me find new and better ways to promote my product. When I go through these harder times, I try very, very hard to pretend everything is good. I try very, very hard to be positive, and know that things are going to get better soon. Some days I fail in both these areas. Anyway, I am working on changing my attitude again so I can start generating more sales, and maybe even start to make a living....

Welcome to the World!

I had the best surprise EVER yesterday! I had decided to take the goats down to the farmgate stand area (which is now fenced off, and safe from the dogs). I leashed up Trouble, grabbed some grain, and led him down the driveway. The others just followed along. I got them in the area, dumped the grain, then realized Lily wasn't there. I couldn't see her in the field... where was she? So, grumbling and groaning that the damn goats were so much trouble, I went up to the pasture to find Lily. I peeked in the shelter, and what do I see? Lily standing next to the most beautiful little tiny baby goat! She was so sneaky! I didn't even notice signs of labour or anything. Just... voila! There's a kid! It's a little doe, and her name is Clover. (all my baby goats will have plant names for now. It's a theme).

Anyway, little Clover looked very strong, but she couldn't seem to find the teat. I waited and watched for over an hour. During that time, I cut down the umbilical cord, and dipped it in iodine, so it would dry up and not get infected. I also realized I wasn't yet ready for a baby... I didn't have anything ready! I needed to make sure Lily had water, and fresh bedding. Oh, and I needed a camera! So, I walked inside, found a likely container to put water in. Walked back out to the pasture, realized I had forgotten the water. Walked part way back to the house, realized I had forgotten the camera. Got the camera, left the container, walked out to the pasture, realized I had forgotten both the container AND the water. Laughed myself silly at what a flustered zombie I was, then finally got it together. Gave Lily water. Noticed Clover STILL hadn't had a drink. I started to worry... apparently they need to get collustrum in the first 90 minutes or so in order to be strong and healthy. It was coming up to that time!

First steps!

Went back inside, grabbed some syringes (which amazingly I had the foresite to purchase just a couple of days before) and a container, and proceeded to milk Lily. I've never milked a goat or anything before, so I was flying blind. There was some wax buildup clogging up the teats, so I cleared that, then stripped out milk and collustrum into the little container. Syringed it up, and fed it to little Clover. I gave her about 5 syringefuls. Then, I showed her the teats... again.... and she finally latched on! Within seconds, though, Lily kicked her off. She seemed really uncomfortable, so I wondered if maybe there was another baby in there. I kept watch for a while longer, then Lily shed the afterbirth. As soon as that happened, she felt better, and let Clover suckle. YAY!!! Almost everytime I checked on them today, Clover was eating. She is healthy and sturdy, but oh, so tiny!! Barely as big as a chicken! I got some pics, but none of them are very good. My flash in my camera decided to die, so I did the best I could. Clover is all brown, with a tiny white fleck on one side. And, amazingly enough, she was even cuter today than she was yesterday!! ;-)

Lily is being a super good mom, especially considering she is a first timer. She is cleaning her, and nuzzling her, and letting her feed as much as she wants. I was hoping for twins, but you know what? Just super happy I have a healthy baby!!

End of an Era

I had to make a hard, hard farming decision last month. Bully, the Dorking roo I've had since the day after I moved into my farm has long been proven infertile. He was a beautiful bird. BUT, I need to find a way to make some moulah on these chickens. Selling eggs doesn't quite cut it. So, the last batch of chickens I took in to the processor included Bully. I will admit, I shed a tear as I was driving him there. He ended up being about 7 lbs, and he went on to make lots and lots of nourishing chicken broth for me, and thus went into a few batches of soups. It was probably the best soup stock I've made yet. So, at least poor Bully was useful for something in the end.

Bye-bye, Bully. You were a good rooster.

I had 9 dorking roos from the batch I hatched out last fall - they are Bloody Monday's get. I replaced Bully with one of them. I waited three weeks, then put some eggs into the incubator... hopefully I'll get some babies!! The only sucky part is that all my dorking chicks will be related now. Not as much genetic diversity.

Those Naughty Goats!

I took the day off yesterday, and left Heather in charge. (I really, REALLY have to learn to take more days off!!). Anyway, I was at an agility trial, and we got done early. I was home by about 3 pm. Just as I pulled into the driveway, I see Heather, along with 2 of my naughty, naughty goats. I guess they had escaped, and were out on the road, and poor Heather had JUST got them back into the yard as I pulled up. There is a never-used gate at the front of the property that someone had unlatched. The naughty goats had pushed it open and went outside to party.
Trouble and Star were in my garden, munching away happily. The other two Heather had managed to get back into their field. We grabbed some grain, and got them back in. They didn't want to go, though... too much good stuff outside their field. I think I will have to let them out once in a while (before my crops start growing) to help me do some weeding.

BAD goats!!

Greenhouse... Warm!

Exciting news! Last night was the first time we had a sharp frost since my greenhouse went up. I have put a big pile of compost in there for heat, and it must be working. When I got up this morning, it was -3 outside. Inside the house it was just above freezing... which is exactly what I needed!

I've been putting EM on the compost, and the ammonia problem is just about gone now. (thank goodness..the fumes almost killed me). All I need now is to find a used waterbed mattress to use to heat my seeds. This is the most cost effective way I can figure for a seed heating pad. I've got ads all over... SOMEONE has to have an old waterbed clogging up their basement or attic somewhere!! I did find some folding tables for cheap, so those are put in now. Guess I should go take some more pics soon! I am trying to put piles of compost under the tables to see if I can heat the tables that way, but I don't think it has enough umph to do the job. Regardless, I am going to go get some potting mix today, and start as many seeds as I can... spring is on its way!!

Greenhouse.... DONE!!!!

The other day, my greenhouse got finished. It was better than Christmas as a kid... I was jumping up and down as Dom the Handy Mum and I put the last poly on. So super exciting!

I still have to build a seeding table, and do some last minute touch ups (handle on the door, latches, gravel pathway), but the greenhouse is IN USE!

I spent all day Sunday laying cardboard down one side, putting goat manure down, then finding some soil to put on top for a planting bed. I also put a big pile of chicken manure in there to heat up, so it will keep it above freezing at night. Unfortunately, the manure I used was thick with ammonia, and WHEW, does it stink! I poured a bunch of EM on it, hopefully it will counteract the ammonia soon. I have to go down each morning, and open the door for a while to let it vent. Luckily, it has been quite warm, so the seeds I planted will not freeze.

This is how I built my greenhouse:

First, I found a used portable car shelter. This cost $100

The framing is starting to go up... we did a 'foundation' first, with 6x6' posts to anchor

The poly is starting to go up!!! This was an exciting day. Sadly, we couldn't finish it all in one day... ran out of supplies and light.

ALL DONE!!! I've waited over 24 years to have my own greenhouse. This is truly a dream come true!!

When Dom was kneeling down, Little Monkey crawled up on her back. I snugged her into Doms hood... she wanted to help, too!!

So, all in all with supplies and paying someone to help me (because I am just NOT handy!) the greenhouse cost me about $1700. If I was to buy a new, pre-fab greenhouse in the same size, it would have cost between $4000-$5000.