Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[Denim Deb]

Maybe he's confused and is egg bound.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Get off of my brain wave, lol! I looked at him sitting so serenely in the corner of his cage and thought that he looks exactly like a hen sitting on a nest...

He's bright eyed and bushy tailed, just not moving. He is thin though when the rest in his pen are fat thangs.... He's the biggest one in there so I don't think they were bullying him away from the food... who knows?

TGIF- I think! I've got so much to do this weekend that I'm not sure I'm ready to get started. DH is going to his motorcycle buddy's house - again....and then next weekend - he's going on a three day ride. Timing sucks on this, cuz I have been called into duty as ToTo extraordinaire! (my grandkids call me ToTo.)

My daughter is going to a wedding in LA and needs me to watch the kiddos. It's a logistic nightmare...argh! The simplest thing for me to do would be to go up there Thursday night so they can leave in the wee hours of Friday morning. That scenario has me staying there (Dallas) all weekend and coming home Monday morning. Problem is that DH will be gone and there would be no one to milk. Feed/water isn't an issue for a couple days cuz we're pretty well set up to be able to leave the critters for a weekend. Neighbors would if I asked 'em, but I just had them do it in June and I hate to ask again so soon - AND - they don't milk. I've got a little milker they could use, but I'd have to train 'em and geeze...that's asking a lot. Plus, and this is private personal info - shhhhhh - they drink a lot and sometimes they don't remember the instructions that I give 'em....

On top of all that - I have 2 incubators going full of quail eggs that are gonna (hopefully!) start hatching that weekend. ARGH :h

OR, I could go up Thursday night and bring them back to my place after school Friday. That seems like the easiest solution, but then my grandson misses his soccer game on Saturday.... not the best solution fo him, but probably the best solution for me. (and the critters)

There are seveal other ways this could play out - but we've gotta pick one and go with it! Makes me wish I had a 'live-in' farm hand. DH and I have thought about that - but can't quite make ourselves go through with it. We've got a garage apt., and could offer free room for help and critter-sitting services but that's a huge step and I'm not so sure I want that.

Oh well... it'll work itself out one way or another.

 

[Britesea]

oh the joys of Dairy!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

You're right about that, Britesea! This is one reason I pray for doe kids - cuZ I tend to never wean them. That way I can leave them with mama to keep her milked out for me when I don't want to. I milked 10 months straight last year using that method.

Unfortunately, I hadda wean this single buck kid - so it's either milk mama or dry her up. I could dry her up and then start milking the Nubians who are still nursing their kiddos - but this is working for me now. She's only producing on one half of her udder so milking once or twice a day gives us plenty of milk for our use and still some left over for dogs and/or chickens. I can't wait for her next lactation so I can check her production when she's producing from both faucets!

Hoping for a relaxing weekend since next weekend will be hectic. We did the yard mowing yesterday and I mowed a couple of the pens out back just a bit ago. Taking a water break before going out to start the feeding/milking routine for the evening.

TGIF

 

[rhoda_bruce]

This is kinda my recent life. Now, I have to either milk a doe every evening or make sure my kids do. Mine isn't a pure breed from a known milk breed though. I have no idea what she is except, she seems to be a small breed goat. DH is fired up though....loves the milk and now wants me to invest in a milk breed. Okay....

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Yep - if you're gonna milk you might as well milk something that gives enough milk. I don't think they "must" be a certain breed as long as they meet your needs.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Well mine lost her kid about a month ago....should keep better records. I should have said if I don't milk my children do....not the kids. She lost her baby. I had to help deliver it. Stayed too long in the birth canal. I only get a pint of millk a day from her and I don't even have a milking stand, so we improvise. I always need help to hold her, so I can milk. I love my vaccuum, because I can empty her really fast and the milk stays clean. I really need a stanchion built, so I don't need another person helping me because, ideally, I should have been milking twice a day. It takes me 2 days to get a quart. I'm told I'd get 2 quarts a day if I'd have a milking breed. I don't even care if its mixed with 2 or more from known milking breeds, but what I have is making only a small dent, but I still think the milk she offers me does at least pay her share of the expenses and then some. Once we have her in position and I'm milking her, she offers me a certain degree of affection.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Rhoda, I started milking without a stanchion too. I would put a double ended snap hook on her collar and snap her to a fence so there was only the length of the snap itself for her to move around. But - with food hanging on the fence for her she was content to stand there after she figured out that feed and udder relief were at hand. Now she's my steadiest milker. The one I'm milking this go round is probably my worst - but even at her worst she's really very easy, lol.

Rough day yesterday and its not totally over. My 5 yo granddaughter has been vomiting sporadically for nearly two weeks. It was off and on at first, stopped for a couple days, started again yesterday. Off to the pediatrician they went and after some extensive background questions they scared us all to death by ordering a CT scan - immediately. Seems that she was vomiting only in the mornings and was having headaches that she never complained about. Those symptoms, according to the doc, can be indicitave of a brain tumor and/or leukemia and/or juvenile onset diabetes and a host of other things. Who knew? I thought she had picked up a little virus and would be fine, but the over-achiever (thank goodness) pediatrician got things moving very quickly. From pediatrician's office to CT scan in about an hour - then to the hospital for lab work in another hour - and back at the pediatrician's office that afternoon.

We were on pins and needles waiting for the results of the CT scan which, thank God, came back clear. Today will give us the results of the blood work. Praying that those results will come back negative too. Just proves that you never know how quickly life can change from blissful to pure terror filled in the blink of an eye. Not sure how this will affect my weekend with grandbabies. Daughter may decide to cancel her trip in light of all that's going on - or results of the testing could be negative and life will go on as usual. They did start her on some Zantac in case her issue is acid reflux. Hopefully it will be no worse than that.

Life on the farm is moving on. I planted a few more things in the fall garden over the weekend. Radishes, carrots, parsley, parsnips and turnips to go along with the cabbages and kale and broccoli that I got planted the previous weekend.

Critters are just being critters. The wether that got squished a few weeks ago is almost totally healed. Everywhere his body was under great pressure he ended up sloughing off patches of skin . The skin, in a half-moon shape above each eye, just peeled back and fell off but healed quickly. Other patches on his hip and shoulder did the same thing. Looked pretty grotesque for a few days but I was really amazed at the speed that he healed up. Kinda ironic since he is destined for the freezer - but I do want him to be a happy camper in the interim.

The rooster that is damaged isn't showing any real signs of healing. I have NO idea what his problem is. He sits contentedly in his cage or in the grass when I put him out for Vitamin D therapy, lol. He has a wonderful appetite, is calm and peaceful...doesn't seem the least bit stressed when we pick him up or put food down for him.... I've checked his legs for injuries and can't find anything. No external parasites, and I wormed him when all this started, so hoefully no internal parasites either. Only symptom that something is wrong with him is that he doesn't walk. I'm going to give him til this weekend to start showing improvement and if there is none - he will be terminated.

Not sure how this sheep thing is going to work out. I really hoped she'd be a voracious grazer, and it doesn't seem to be. She is content to lay around and wait for a handout. Now - in her defense - when I had her locked up in a pen with no access to grain she did graze. I'm wondering though if it's wise for me to lock her in a chicken pen and expect her to graze it down if it's full of chicken poo! UGH! But, she could graze on the pen she's in - very few chickens roaming around in a very large area - but I really don't see her doing so. I do love me some lamb chops though.... Time will tell on this experiment. I'll keep her around until spring, for sure.

Should hear the results of granddaughter's tests by noon today. In the interim I'd sure appreciate any prayers that could be sent her way.

 

[Wannabefree]

Oh wow, hope the grandbaby is ok sis! LOTS of kids have acid reflux issues nowadays though, hopefully that is it.

 

[Denim Deb]

I had a hen that couldn't walk. Couldn't find any injury but she was happy enough and could still move. I brought her home and kept her here until something got her. I miss having a chicken in the backyard.