Savingdogs-Saving the chickens

[Dace]

SD, I just wanted to send you a little

 

[savingdogs]

Thank you.

I do feel a little better this morning. Visiting with my family helped. We ended up seeing not only my mom and her boyfriend and my sister and her husband, but my daughter attended as well and my gorgeous granddaughter and baby-dad, and they just got engaged so it was a very nice get together as Hubby and my sons went too. The granddaughter is walkng now and is such a sunny little girl. Such a strong reminder of what her mom was like at this age. My daughter doesn't realize what a happy baby she has. But she is right at the stage where she likes to walk to anyone with their arms outstretched, so she can fall into their arms and get a huge hug. So cute.

I thought of Bubbling Brooks last night, and her baby, and what a miracle babies are.

My sister brought me this really neat fabric to make my egg totes from that she found on her trip to Phoenix. I'm anxious to get started making them. She also gave me three bags of clothes she inherited from somewhere, beautiful things, lovely sweaters and coats and blouses. Some of them are a little on the fancy side for here on the farm, but I still love them. I was bemoaning I didn't have any "nice" clothes and now I do. The styles are very classic as that is my sister's style but that is okay. I had fun last night trying it all on, it must have taken me two hours. Nothing like "new" clothes to cheer up a female as Hubby was saying last night. There were a few things I could not use and two things I want to "diet" into. I've gained about 15 pounds since I've been home. And a couple things I don't think I'll ever take off! I don't think my sister was just cleaning out her closet this time, she was trying to cheer me up, bless her heart. I was looking forward to getting up this mornng and deciding what to wear, isn't that silly?

But beyond gifts, it is just wonderful to be around people, and ones that care. I am lucky to have great family. I think I need to see them more often! We will just have to figure out a way to afford the gas and make that my priority more. I used to visit my mother once a week when I was working and I'd like to go back to doing something like that. I thought about what Denim Deb said about her loved ones last night, too, and how I should be making the time. I do stay in touch with them all via the computer, but in my case I need to not just contact them, but spend the gas to actually see them and hug them because they bother to try to communicate with me despite repeating themselves and what not.

Jake leaves and goes to his forever home today, so that is very happy too. I don't feel sadness at this parting, I could not be happier for this dog and do not "covet" him for myself. He is very much like my dog Dee Dee who will never leave here, she will always be my dog and she could not be more devoted.

So I guess I'm feeling "luckier" today. Thanks for the support everyone, I'll try real hard to get off of the pity party bus at the next stop. lol

 

[glenolam]

HA! Big G's favorite comment to me is "Pity party for you time"

I'll join you on that bus whenever you want. Save me a seat.

 

[lorihadams]

I know the feeling honey...there are times when I get depressed that I just have to sit down and make a list of all the positive things in my life.

I tend to take on too much and burn myself out and then won't ask for help or say no to anyone. Frustrates the he!! out of my husband. I'm independent to a fault, I guess.

I think this is a hard time of year for everyone....spring is not quite here yet but winter has been going on for soooooo long that you just want to scream. Being able to just go sit outside is a definite mood lifter for me.

I also don't have a lot of friends and I am not a social butterfly by any means. I feel like I belong here. I won't get ridiculed for my ideas, well, unless they are really crazy and even then it is all in good fun. I feel supported and like I am a part of something.

Hubby and I really want to do some charity work but can't put our finger on what we want to do yet. We are so thankful for what we do have that we want to help others that are struggling.

If you ever need to talk darlin', you know that here you have a voice that will be heard and supported without judgement. I am a stay at home mom and sometimes I just get the blues cause I need the adult interaction too. We all know what you're going through.

 

[savingdogs]

So I spent the afternoon taking pictures of all the goats I'd like to sell....all the males basically. I got some real cute ones! Especially of Donald.

And I already got responses! I have two offers for Donald and one for the kids, sold together! If it works out, I'll make 200 bucks.

That will certainly pay for a lot of the goat expenses we have had around here, and we would have left just three does, one being the doeling who will be a mini. That will certainly be a more useful and thrifty group for us. Hopefully more harmonious too.

We saw the ducks mating SEVERAL times today and I'm letting the eggs collect in the nest, hopefully one of them will go broody. It is quite cold out still so I think the eggs will be fine. It felt so strange to leave those big beautiful duck eggs in the coop though....

And I made my first goat milk product today...fudge! It was a huge hit. Very easy too. And I have just enough left for my coffee in the morning of the leftover milk.

I've had much better luck milking Molly the last two days. Ginger is pretty empty with the two kids nursing so I have not bothered to put her on the stand. Molly is still skittish but improving each time. I hope by the time the baby leaves I can make it easy enough to milk her twice a day. I will need to when the buckling leaves, correct? If I want the most milk?

One side on Molly is like a spicket you can turn to on....it comes out in such long streams. The other side is different. I hope I can keep the opposite side empty when the kid is gone, I think he usually finishes it off for me. But she finishes her grain and then gets jumpy for side two. I guess I should try starting on the harder side first.

I got a lot of cute pictures of the kids today, I will want a lot to remember the two boys when they are sold. I will miss Donald too but it will be better with him gone, he has no place here anymore and it will cut our feed bill way down. He has been rather exasperating lately so I'm not so sure I'll miss him very much. I have transfered most of my goat love to my new doeling.

I have a lot of new photos posted of them on my FB page....

 

[Javamama]

Just think of how peaceful the goat yard will be with Donald and the boys gone I have one doeling whom I can't wait to go to her new home. She is a pest and a half.
Mmmm, fudge. Can't wait until I can get more than a teaspoon out of my girls. I'm not even trying to milk now. I wish I had somewhere to separate the kids at night.

 

[savingdogs]

Same here for Ginger for me, Java. She only gives about a quarter cup, the kids are taking everything. Not worth all the washing! However when I sell the buckling, I hope she has some milk left at that point. And Molly's milk will be MINE .........all MINE.................bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha .....

I had a goat milk latte this morning flavored with a piece of fudge..........heaven!

 

[glenolam]

Goat milk fudge is to die for.....

Congrats on the offers for the boys! It is nice when the non-contributors find a new home! I'll be looking to sell Opi's kids as well as any other kids that are born. I plan on keeping Fudgie's babies because they're closer to the breed I love - Nubians. There's so many nigerians around my area that I'd like to try selling full sized goats. I plan on keeping Opi and Caramel, who'll be a FF this year. Caramel's sister, Vanilla, though, will go as soon as she kids this year. They're 1/2 nigerian so I can't really see keeping them when I'm aiming for full size. That'll leave me with Eloise, an Alpine/Nubian, Fudige, an Oberhasli/Nubian, Caramel, Alpine/Nubian/Nigerian, Opi a pygmy and Fudgie's girls Rocky and Hash who are Ober/Nubians. Whew....guess that means I'll end up with 6 does later this year.

 

[savingdogs]

That would be a lot of milk if you bred them all. But I'm thinking that in a herd situation, you may not breed them all at once. I would think staggering them as much as possible would give you milk through the year better.

I read Nigerian dwarfs are better at coming into heat at a different time of year (don't know if this is true) and that is part of why I wanted a doeling from this year....and I'm so happy about Emilee. I also read that ND have more butterfat content in their milk. Again, I don't know if this is something the breeders want you to believe or if it documented fact.
But I was reading a veterinary manual at my previous job, and they showed the different breeds having different levels of fat. Unfortunately ND was not a breed on the list. If I remember correctly that same book said Nubians give less milk than some dairy breeds but it is higher in fat.

Since my main goal is cheese and we don't drink a ton of milk fresh (only myself), and the fact that we have a pre-existing long, low barn, makes us want to go with the minis, not full size, the opposite.

Our does are actually 1/8 pygmy.....

 

[glenolam]

I believe you have it correct as far as fat content goes.

Honestly, my goal isn't really to have all those does in milk at one time, or even staggered. I'd like to have three or four in milk at once, but my goat is more to provide families like mine with quality goats that they can afford. My neighbor can take care of those who want papered, pedigreed goats. We understand each other like that and she points people my way when they don't want to pay her prices.

For now, milk only goes to making soap, but I only had 1 doe in milk. When I get more does in milk I'll venture out into cheese and such.