Denim Deb
More Precious than Rubies
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Glad he's doing so well.
Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey
- Thread starter frustratedearthmother
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Britesea
Sustainability Master
You might try adding a little apple cider vinegar to his water- that stuff seems like a miracle potion
- Thread starter
- #893
frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
Good idea, Britesea, thanks for the reminder!
Been a busy day even though it's only 2p. Started this morning with the little bird having his physical therapy. He gets to go outside and hop around the yard or sit in trees, or just bask in the early morning sunlight. He's got his mockingbird attitude back, lol. This morning I was trying to get him out of his cage, using a stick. Usually, I can put the stick up to him and he'll step on it so I can get him out of the cage. It's too big for me to reach him when he gets into a corner. Today, instead of hopping on his perch - he's trying to attack it, lol. He's biting it and trying to yank it out of my hand. Geeze! He still wants to be fed, but isn't happy about MY choice... if it's not what he wants - he spits it out now. Then begs for something else. One time he wants crickets, the next feeding he wants meal worms, the next time he wants fruit... but he won't eat any of them all by himself. But, that's the plan, so the little critter is gonna start going hungry.
I started at the barn this morning... it was about ankle deep in goat poop. I could NOT stand walking on top of poop anymore, so now the barn is poopless. Well, almost anyway. I took two big carts full of old hay and poop to the small garden and spread it.
I need to get the barn clean because I have a doe due in a couple weeks. In fact, she's probably going to deliver while I'm on vacation. Geeze, I don't like that. My neighbor will watch her and she used to raise goats so I think it'll be ok. The doe is a first freshener, but I'm thinking she'll breeze through it. But, she needs to have a cleam stall to deliver in - so that was one reason for the barn cleaning venture. Of course, it'll have to be done again before I leave, but at least I've got the worst part of it done. I need to remember to buy some shavings to get the stall bedded. Needa write that down. These days if I don't write it down - it don't happen, lol!!
Started mowing after that. I needed to get to a bunch of spots that I've neglected for a few weeks. Lucky me, I've got blisters on my hands from pushing that stankin' mower. These are all spots I can't get the rider in - if it doesn't fit through the gates, it can't help me...
I'm still not finished, but I'm going to hibernate until the temp starts dropping. DH has been trimming for as long as I've been mowing. We both decided to give ourselves a break before we do the ol' stop, drop and die out there!
Think I'll make some chicken salad here in a bit. Just sounds tasty and refreshing.
And, I've worked up an appetite - what else is new...
Been a busy day even though it's only 2p. Started this morning with the little bird having his physical therapy. He gets to go outside and hop around the yard or sit in trees, or just bask in the early morning sunlight. He's got his mockingbird attitude back, lol. This morning I was trying to get him out of his cage, using a stick. Usually, I can put the stick up to him and he'll step on it so I can get him out of the cage. It's too big for me to reach him when he gets into a corner. Today, instead of hopping on his perch - he's trying to attack it, lol. He's biting it and trying to yank it out of my hand. Geeze! He still wants to be fed, but isn't happy about MY choice... if it's not what he wants - he spits it out now. Then begs for something else. One time he wants crickets, the next feeding he wants meal worms, the next time he wants fruit... but he won't eat any of them all by himself. But, that's the plan, so the little critter is gonna start going hungry.
I started at the barn this morning... it was about ankle deep in goat poop. I could NOT stand walking on top of poop anymore, so now the barn is poopless. Well, almost anyway. I took two big carts full of old hay and poop to the small garden and spread it.
I need to get the barn clean because I have a doe due in a couple weeks. In fact, she's probably going to deliver while I'm on vacation. Geeze, I don't like that. My neighbor will watch her and she used to raise goats so I think it'll be ok. The doe is a first freshener, but I'm thinking she'll breeze through it. But, she needs to have a cleam stall to deliver in - so that was one reason for the barn cleaning venture. Of course, it'll have to be done again before I leave, but at least I've got the worst part of it done. I need to remember to buy some shavings to get the stall bedded. Needa write that down. These days if I don't write it down - it don't happen, lol!!
Started mowing after that. I needed to get to a bunch of spots that I've neglected for a few weeks. Lucky me, I've got blisters on my hands from pushing that stankin' mower. These are all spots I can't get the rider in - if it doesn't fit through the gates, it can't help me...
I'm still not finished, but I'm going to hibernate until the temp starts dropping. DH has been trimming for as long as I've been mowing. We both decided to give ourselves a break before we do the ol' stop, drop and die out there!Think I'll make some chicken salad here in a bit. Just sounds tasty and refreshing.
And, I've worked up an appetite - what else is new...- Thread starter
- #894
frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
Little bird is continuing to improve. He flies across the yard, but doesn't really gain altitude. As soon as he can get enough lift to clear the fence - he'll be gone. He plays in the grass and today for the first time I saw him eat bugs. Yippee! He can at least, feed himself.
We spent a while at the hardware store buying tons of stuff ot build all new feeders for the chicken pens. We got enough stuff ot build 10 new feeders for $200 bucks. To buy feeders would have easily been twice as much... and these will hold at least twice as much as a commercial feeder. I'm hoping to drop my feeding chores to about once a week with these. We'll be adding automatic waterers to ALL pens in the coming week. We have them in several pens, but the intention is to get every pen outfited. It wil make my life sooooo much easier - and that's what I"m all about these days.
I brought the pregger doe into the barnyard area. She's like... what? There's food here 24/7!! Actually, I had to cut back on the food in the free feeders until she gets acustomed to having more groceries. Can't just give her free reiin with the food just yet.
I'm sooo excited about our upcoming vacation - just 11 more days - Cali here we come!
We spent a while at the hardware store buying tons of stuff ot build all new feeders for the chicken pens. We got enough stuff ot build 10 new feeders for $200 bucks. To buy feeders would have easily been twice as much... and these will hold at least twice as much as a commercial feeder. I'm hoping to drop my feeding chores to about once a week with these. We'll be adding automatic waterers to ALL pens in the coming week. We have them in several pens, but the intention is to get every pen outfited. It wil make my life sooooo much easier - and that's what I"m all about these days.
I brought the pregger doe into the barnyard area. She's like... what? There's food here 24/7!! Actually, I had to cut back on the food in the free feeders until she gets acustomed to having more groceries. Can't just give her free reiin with the food just yet.
I'm sooo excited about our upcoming vacation - just 11 more days - Cali here we come!
- Thread starter
- #895
frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
I have been at this job for 10 years and I can honestly say that I worked harder today than I have EVER worked...ugh. I was so busy that I didn't even go to the bathroom (except for lunch). Our students have all lost their minds, lol. They're fighting amongst themselves, friends that have been close are going their separate ways... some of the 'couples' are broken up and re-arranging themselves with others. Only three more days of our summer session - whoop, whoop! Next Tuesday will be our annual end of summer dinner, and two days after that I'm headed out on vacation! I'm even taking Wednesday off to get ready. After that we'll have one more event with the kids. Every year before school starts we take them on a retreat. Sometimes we go to an outdoorsy place, rent cabins and have cook outs and marshmallow roasts. Other times we take them on a cultural retreat. We'll book rooms at the fanciest hotel we can afford and take them to the fanciest restaurant we can afford. We usually have someone from the restaurant give an etiquette presentation. Most of these kiddos don't have the best table manners ever, lol. We went outdoorsy last year, so it's time for cultural finery this year.
DH and I are still working our patooties off getting ready for this trip. It really shouldn't be this hard to go away for a few days! Every pen is geting new waterers with floats and new gravity fed feeders with rain covers. I'll be re-arranging some of the chickens and goats and geese and dogs and... lol!
If I get a chance this weekend I'm going to rip out a bunch of garden stuff and try to get a second crop of summer stuff in. It might just work... our weather usually cooperates well into October (sometimes later), so I'm crossing my fingers and going for it. A month or so from now I'll be thinking about a fall/winter garden. This garden has been fair, but certainly not fantastic. I got a good crop of beans, squash, peppers and okra. Winter squash is making and I've got a couple melons on the vine. Worst was the tomatoes... but the plants are hanging in there and should produce again in the fall - without bugs I hope!
Had some chicks hatch over the weekend. I have 20 of them pre-sold. The lady wants 10 black orpingtons and 10 lavender orps.... Well, my Lavenders decided not to cooperate at all! Thankfully I have another hatch coming this weekend and hopefully there'll be more Lavs in this batch.
I'm about to go enjoy a nice glass of vino and try to unwind before bed. Cheers!
DH and I are still working our patooties off getting ready for this trip. It really shouldn't be this hard to go away for a few days! Every pen is geting new waterers with floats and new gravity fed feeders with rain covers. I'll be re-arranging some of the chickens and goats and geese and dogs and... lol!
If I get a chance this weekend I'm going to rip out a bunch of garden stuff and try to get a second crop of summer stuff in. It might just work... our weather usually cooperates well into October (sometimes later), so I'm crossing my fingers and going for it. A month or so from now I'll be thinking about a fall/winter garden. This garden has been fair, but certainly not fantastic. I got a good crop of beans, squash, peppers and okra. Winter squash is making and I've got a couple melons on the vine. Worst was the tomatoes... but the plants are hanging in there and should produce again in the fall - without bugs I hope!
Had some chicks hatch over the weekend. I have 20 of them pre-sold. The lady wants 10 black orpingtons and 10 lavender orps.... Well, my Lavenders decided not to cooperate at all! Thankfully I have another hatch coming this weekend and hopefully there'll be more Lavs in this batch.
I'm about to go enjoy a nice glass of vino and try to unwind before bed. Cheers!
- Thread starter
- #896
frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
Hallelujah! Our summer session is finally O.V.E.R!!! And these kids did not go out quietly...gee whiz. They chose the last week to toally lose it! They got stupid in a computer lab and somebody wrote on a monitor----how do you write on a monitor? Whooo weeeee we read them the riot act and gave them a chance to fess up - but nobody did. Soooo, the consequence is: that class does not get to go on the annual reteat. Had one of them confessed, yes he/she would have been punished, but the rest of the class wouldn't have had to suffer... Oh well... whaddya do?
Cheetcheet - the little bird - is living the life of a wild bird now. He's loose in the yard, but is still hanging around and begging. It's been two nights now. He's pretty smart though - cuz he spends every night on the back porch right next to - or on top of his cage, lol. So much for freedom, huh? I'm leaving snacks out for him, and he's eating 'em. I'm so darn proud of him - he's growing up!
I put the does out in the pasture this morning so I could milk when I got thome. Red is just the best darn goat. I got over a half gallon from just her. The other gals about gave me that much together, lol. I'm trying to decide whether to start milking full-time again or just milk when I need it and not worry about selling it. My decision about milking full time or part time will probably help me decide whether to spend a grand on a milker. If I'm selling milk it makes sense, cuz I could probably get about 3 gallons a day and at $8 a gallon it makes sense to get the milker - but not if I'm just milking for my own use.
Oh well, I'll worry about that when I get home from vacation.
Cheetcheet - the little bird - is living the life of a wild bird now. He's loose in the yard, but is still hanging around and begging. It's been two nights now. He's pretty smart though - cuz he spends every night on the back porch right next to - or on top of his cage, lol. So much for freedom, huh? I'm leaving snacks out for him, and he's eating 'em. I'm so darn proud of him - he's growing up!
I put the does out in the pasture this morning so I could milk when I got thome. Red is just the best darn goat. I got over a half gallon from just her. The other gals about gave me that much together, lol. I'm trying to decide whether to start milking full-time again or just milk when I need it and not worry about selling it. My decision about milking full time or part time will probably help me decide whether to spend a grand on a milker. If I'm selling milk it makes sense, cuz I could probably get about 3 gallons a day and at $8 a gallon it makes sense to get the milker - but not if I'm just milking for my own use.
Oh well, I'll worry about that when I get home from vacation.
- Thread starter
- #897
frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
It was so nice not to spend a couple hours feeding tonight. We've got most of the auto feeders and waterers installed now and I've gotta tell you it is going to be a real time saver for me. I'm so excited, lol!
We hung a couple extra feeders for the goats too. I brought in two of the pregnant ones and kicked out one of the nubians and her baby. I'll probably kick out another pair tomorrow. They won't like it, being taken away from full feeders - but they'll get over it... maybe... eventually.
Neighbors will be coming over tomorrow evening to see what they need to do while I'm gone. Luckily, they won't need to do much at all - except gather eggs.
Yum, yum - we had goat for dinner last night and again tonight. I smoked some on the pit last night and the rest of it I put into a big ol' pot of beans today. It gave those beans such a nice smokey flavor. And, for dessert I took some of our home grown eggs and fresh goat milk and made some custard. I'll be dipping into that in just a little while. If I can stay up that long! Bedtime tonight is definitely happening before midnight.
We hung a couple extra feeders for the goats too. I brought in two of the pregnant ones and kicked out one of the nubians and her baby. I'll probably kick out another pair tomorrow. They won't like it, being taken away from full feeders - but they'll get over it... maybe... eventually.
Neighbors will be coming over tomorrow evening to see what they need to do while I'm gone. Luckily, they won't need to do much at all - except gather eggs.
Yum, yum - we had goat for dinner last night and again tonight. I smoked some on the pit last night and the rest of it I put into a big ol' pot of beans today. It gave those beans such a nice smokey flavor. And, for dessert I took some of our home grown eggs and fresh goat milk and made some custard. I'll be dipping into that in just a little while. If I can stay up that long! Bedtime tonight is definitely happening before midnight.
- Thread starter
- #898
frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
Tonight was our awards dinner for our students to celebrate the end of our year with the students. THANK GOODNESS!!!!! It's been a challenge, but we got through it.
I'm off tomorrow, and DH and I are leaving on our mini- vacation Thursday. Can you hear that big ol' sigh I'm letting out tonight?
I think everything that I can take care of has been taken care of. Lots of new feeders and waterers that should last all the critters at least 3 days. We'll be back on the fourth day and the neighbors will be checking on everything everyday anyway.
I need to bring them a really nice gift or two. They like wine and I'm going to Cali - doesn't make gift giving too hard, huh?
I never got the chance to replant for a late summer garden.... but, I noticed today that the yard long beans are blooming again. How cool is that? The okra is still going strong and there are tiny little cucumbers just starting out. I have at least one melon that I'll probably pick tomorrow and winter squash is trying.
I need to start thinking about breeding or not breeding any more goats for awhile. Pygmies breed year round and If I were gonna breed any, it would be a good idea to start trying - despite the heat - for winter babies. Winter babies seem to do so much better than babies born in the heat. (even though I have babies due in the heat....ugh)
Speaking of babies - my next doe hits 145 days tomorrow and 150 days the day we come home from vacation. I think the chances of her delivering tomorrow are mighty slim.... I think the chances of coming home to new babies are pretty good. Thank goodness my neighbor used to raise goats hope she remembers about birthing, lol! Mainly I've told her to just get outta the way - my goats know what they're doing! Hope this doe handles things well - she is a first freshener, but I'm gonna trust her to do what Mother Nature tells her to do.
Sleepy, sleepy, sleepy... heading to the bed right now. G'night folks! One more day till vacation!!!
I'm off tomorrow, and DH and I are leaving on our mini- vacation Thursday. Can you hear that big ol' sigh I'm letting out tonight?
I think everything that I can take care of has been taken care of. Lots of new feeders and waterers that should last all the critters at least 3 days. We'll be back on the fourth day and the neighbors will be checking on everything everyday anyway.
I need to bring them a really nice gift or two. They like wine and I'm going to Cali - doesn't make gift giving too hard, huh?
I never got the chance to replant for a late summer garden.... but, I noticed today that the yard long beans are blooming again. How cool is that? The okra is still going strong and there are tiny little cucumbers just starting out. I have at least one melon that I'll probably pick tomorrow and winter squash is trying.
I need to start thinking about breeding or not breeding any more goats for awhile. Pygmies breed year round and If I were gonna breed any, it would be a good idea to start trying - despite the heat - for winter babies. Winter babies seem to do so much better than babies born in the heat. (even though I have babies due in the heat....ugh)
Speaking of babies - my next doe hits 145 days tomorrow and 150 days the day we come home from vacation. I think the chances of her delivering tomorrow are mighty slim.... I think the chances of coming home to new babies are pretty good. Thank goodness my neighbor used to raise goats hope she remembers about birthing, lol! Mainly I've told her to just get outta the way - my goats know what they're doing! Hope this doe handles things well - she is a first freshener, but I'm gonna trust her to do what Mother Nature tells her to do.
Sleepy, sleepy, sleepy... heading to the bed right now. G'night folks! One more day till vacation!!!
Denim Deb
More Precious than Rubies
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Have fun!
- Thread starter
- #900
frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
Thanks, Deb.
Went out this morning to start topping off all the feeders and waterers... .decided to check the ligaments on the goat thats close to delivery and WOOHOO her ligs are soft and mushy and almost undetectable - and her bag blew up overnight. I think, maybe, it's possible, that the delivery might happen before I go. That would really decrease my anxiety level about leaving. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Then the only thing I'll have to worry about is them surviving this heat wave. Newborns do NOT do well in 100+ degree weather... Debating on IF they get here I might give them an injection of long acting antibiotic before I go. I'm not sure I'll do it, because I hate to medicate unnecessarily, but I don't want to come home to sick and/or dead babies either.... Over these two decades or so that I've been raising goats, I've definitely lost more babies to the heat than to the cold.
Gotta get busy...
Went out this morning to start topping off all the feeders and waterers... .decided to check the ligaments on the goat thats close to delivery and WOOHOO her ligs are soft and mushy and almost undetectable - and her bag blew up overnight. I think, maybe, it's possible, that the delivery might happen before I go.
That would really decrease my anxiety level about leaving. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Then the only thing I'll have to worry about is them surviving this heat wave. Newborns do NOT do well in 100+ degree weather... Debating on IF they get here I might give them an injection of long acting antibiotic before I go. I'm not sure I'll do it, because I hate to medicate unnecessarily, but I don't want to come home to sick and/or dead babies either.... Over these two decades or so that I've been raising goats, I've definitely lost more babies to the heat than to the cold.Gotta get busy...
