Free's kidding journal 2011: Plum's death wish p 42

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Yes, all plant names was my original thought, but foods are plants! Only the buck got a non-food name, as he wasn't supposed to get a name at all, because he was supposed to be gone. Then that darn Farmerchick gave me some wonderful advice in handling him and now he is very nice and is likely staying. I should send her the feed bill, huh?

Mya (oops, need a current pic of the little hussy) came with the name Milan, which I didn't like, but felt I should stay close to it for her. Mya fits. She thinks she owns everything! Shoulda named her Mine!

 

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For comparison, a pic of Ginger with Peach less than a year ago. They have both grown. I'm starting to wonder if Ginger has finished growing or if she will be even bigger next year!

 

[savingdogs]

Aw.....it looks like she has a nice udder there!

So someone here enabled YOU keeping a goat?

Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha

payback!

 

[Denim Deb]

So, maybe she's not the Goat Enabler Extraordinaire?

 

[glenolam]

Beautiful pictures!

I can't wait to see some baby pics!

 

[Dace]

Free, your goaties are very pretty.....and your boy is handsome but fierce looking!

 

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Remember his baby Bambi pics?? Wow, my boy has grown up! He almost ended up in freezer camp, but he is very nice now. We will see how it goes when I separate him from the does....soon. Gotta get him away from Ginger before she starts smelling interesting to him again. If this stupid snow could just go down! I may have to alternate them in a stall if I can't get to fencing soon.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy4/freemotion1/Breeding season 2010/dontmesswithdinner.jpg

DD, I am both an enabler AND an addict! We are at goat capacity here...maybe a bit over...and I am already scheming to keep a doeling....

 

[Henrietta23]

Heehee, so glad Dorian is staying. Daisy will definitely be big enough to breed next year!

 

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Well, Ginger's belly has dropped and there is noticeable softening around her tail head. She is still two weeks away from her due date but she is getting bigger and bigger, yells a lot for no discernible reason, and is laying down a lot more, just exhausted from all that gestating. Something about her caused Peach to try to nurse on her today! Fortunately, she didn't tolerate it. She is building an udder. By the way, so is Peach! She has quite a round tummy and I just felt the first roundness of an udder on her a few days ago.

I got the last of the seven goats copper bolused today, so whew! They all said, "Hey! Stop that! NOOO! Uh-uh! I won't swallow, you can't make me......uh.....hmmm......Yummm!!!! More? More? More?"

Me and dh and my Dad worked on the buck fortress today and it is almost done. We put up a double layer of fencing that is about 8' tall between the buck pen and the does' pasture....it had better work! It is cattle panels on the bottom and goat field fencing on top, with 2x4 studs to extend the fence posts. Sheesh.

We didn't do the fence by the yard and may live to regret it. I bought a 330' roll of the field fencing so we can throw a row up along the front in a hurry if needed. He can't see anything interesting in the front, so hopefully it will be ok. It was the back fence that he went over in the past and tore up. With help from our Head Hussy, Mya.

The rest of the field fencing is earmarked for cross-fencing one section of the pasture for a weaning pen and to securely fence the vegetable gardens that are in the pasture.....the one that Mya broke into last summer and destroyed my bumper crop of tomatoes in. No more. You want tomatoes, you need to suck up to me, big time.

 

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It snowed here today, the first full day of spring. Ah, New England. It was cold and damp today.

The buck moved into his own pen on Saturday and the pygmies, Te'a and Willow, moved back in with the big girls. The buck cried and cried, but I took him on two walks with the dogs and he liked that a lot. The extra exercise quieted him down nicely. He still cries when he sees me but not so frantically. It was too icky to walk him today, but he was mostly hiding in his box.

Adding the pygmies to the main herd changed the herd dynamics a bit, and things are still settling down. Plummy has moved up a bit, as I saw her bonking Te'a with a lot of confidence but not seriously. I was a bit nervous for Te'a as she seems to have lost a bit more of her eyesight, but I did notice that when Plum took a break from bonking, Te'a would re-initiate the game, rearing up on her hind legs and growling in her funny way.

Willow the Tank is re-establishing her Second In Command position, and I saw Ginger and Peach outside in the wet snow a lot today. Both were wet when I fed tonight, and both stayed outside. I filled the outdoor hay racks under the pine trees. Neither was wet to the skin or shivering, so I let them sort it out. Once Mya and Willow settle down to chew cuds, the blondes will go back in to do the same and will be fine for the night. I gave them a quart of alfalfa pellets outside so I would feel better about it.

I finished sweeping out the last of the old shavings from the kidding stall and somewhat cobwebbed it. It smelled pretty musty so I soaked it down with some disinfectant spray and let it dry. I need to get the milking stand back into the garage and bed that stall tomorrow or Wednesday. Gotta be ready! 12 days!