Monday, April 30, 2012

We're Kidding, No Kidding 2012 Is Officially Over

Yes, Becky the Bad was bred.

Her practical jokes just never seem to end.

All that fuss and crankiness and bellowing netted us this...
...buck.

A buck.  A lonely buck.  A singleton buck. A solo buck.  Uno bucko.

Just one kid.

One male kid, just in case you didn't get that.

Little sucker weighed in at 10 1/4 pounds, and took a 12 oz bottle for his first feeding.

If that doesn't astound you, let me give you a point of reference:  most kids take 4-6 oz for the first feeding.  Sometimes 8.  But we have NEVER had one take 12 oz.

Can you say "Freezer Camp?"

Two legged kids handled kid care on their own again...

He has been named Persimmon Bread, in honor of that which ALA makes, since she chose the name theme this year.  And also because Persimmons can be rather sour, which is a nod to Becky's personality.  Barn name will be Persy.

So, kidding season is officially over.
Final Count:  2 does, 4 bucks.

Guard Duty

It was a lovely, warm afternoon.
 
And yet the work still must be done.
Fortunately, the LGA Union mandates that all homesteads provide a headquarters from which the Livestock Guardian Animals can operate.
They also very auspiciously require frequent Union breaks.
However, the LGA Union was unable to negotiate additional sick days or payraises.

Better luck next time.

Speaking of time, guess it is time for a shift change.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Capitol Hill

Never knew the vultures caucused locally, until i stumbled on a powwow the other day.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Fruit Frenzy

The camera didn't make it out in time to catch the part where the noses were so far in the bowl that the nostrils were under the syrup, so that has to be whirled peas.  But you can get an idea of the sheer delight from these pictures

While the others took a couple of mouthfuls, Chickory and Dosidoe made pigs of themselves, and they had the dripping faces to prove it..



Please, Sir, may I have some more?

Friday, April 20, 2012

Peaches and Honeysuckle

I just love it when my chillwren take to an animal.  Combine that with a lovely spring day, and you get a goat swathed in a wreath of tasty sweetness.
Ellie May took Peaches for a romp around the estate yesterday afternoon, and brought home one tired little goatie.  This is whatcha call snarkin'.
We had to shake her awake to feed her.
If ya can believe that.
Check out those lips.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

The Becky Dilemma

Sparta joined the girls for a browse yesterday, and was paying undue attention to Becky The Bad.  Which displeased her, by the way.

We are taking this attention as an indicator that she may not in fact be bred. 
Which would be a real drag, because i was counting on her milk.

I have devised a fool-proof pregnancy test for Becky.

Today, i am going to put the play pen and all the kidding paraphernalia back in the shed for the year.

If we don't see babies by Friday, Becky isn't bred.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

New Flock

An old hen went broody, and made up for lost time.

This hen summoned forth 14 chicks in one day.
Good thing she doesn't have to change diapers.

And yes, i know this isn't the mama hen's most photogenic side, but we took a mess of pictures, and this one showed the most chicks.  It was kinda hard to get a good shot, coz they all scramble around so.  You can see ten of them, if you look hard.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Snoozie Goatie

We have a new Doodles.

Peach Blossom is a spoiled rotten kid, and none of us care.  We are all smitten.
She is cuddly and sweet. 
She is the softest kid we have ever had.
She is HUGE for her age.
And check out those ears!!  Talk about pendulous!!

The only caveat is that she is going to be a jumper.
She is two weeks old today, and has been trying to jump out of the play pen and the kid pen for the last three days.

Maud had a cape.  I guess i have to make Peaches a big brass belt and power bands.  Or maybe i should just cut to the chase and try to locate a Batmobile.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Omelette, Anyone?

If we kept quail, i would think perhaps the eggs got mixed up.

When i first saw this, i thought it was a berry of some kind.

Wonder how many it would take to make a meal?

Somebody out there has got a LOT of work to do.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Gaslighting

Dear Becky,

I no longer believe you to be bred.

Everyone else has long since kidded, and you don't even appear to be miserable, just irritable.  As usual.   I no longer believe you to be gestating, but just plain old fat and cranky.  I have come to realize that this has all been just a silly ruse on your part to garner treats and special dispensations.  I now understand that you were teasing us all in order to have a good chuckle at our expense, and not get into trouble for all the bad attitude and head butting you have been up to the last couple of months. 

You should be ashamed of yourself for playing such a mean prank as trying to make us believe there were babies to be expected.

We will continue to give you treats, because we are just kind and benevolent that way, but we will no longer be waiting, watching and amending our lives in anticipation of you possibly needing our help in kidbirth.  We are going to a birthday party this afternoon over at The Krew's, and will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the arrival of The Petite Delicate Flower.  We are going to have a grand time, and not even think about you or  worry about your health and well being, or that of your imagined progeny.  And tomorrow, we are going to spend the afternoon at the library, and will be gone for several hours.  We might even go to a movie, just because we have no reason to hurry home and look after a pregnant goat.

HA HA Becky, joke was on us.  Just one more reason you are now known as "Becky The Bad."

Sincerely,
C.B.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Good Cookies

Here is an easy no-bake cookie, if you like chocolate and peanut butter.

Slather  some peanut butter between two Ritz crackers, then dunk 'em in melted chocolate or almond bark, whichever is handy.

That's it.

If you want to be fancy about it, you can drizzle some white chocolate or white bark on the top to pretty them up.

Or, if you have time on your hands, you can put a little food coloring in the white stuff and do some decoratin'.  Elly May was bored the other day, so.....

Happy Easter, y'all.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Wassup With THAT?

I walked out back to start chores this morning, and was greeted in the yard by Moon and Lance.

Walked over to the buck pen, and Sparta was giving me a forlorn stare from inside the gate.

HUH??!??!??

Turns out Moon and Lance busted through the gate at the far end of the pen, then moseyed through the south field, got their bellies full, and took their repose under the shade of a pecan tree.

So Sparta is only willing to leave the pen when he can use his stealth skills?
Or perhaps he just prefers to fly Han?

Goats.


In other news, Peaches is now officially bucket trained. 
WOOOO HOOOOO!!!

Once again, we followed Susan Dear Susan's example, and constructed a Big Pink Mama feeding bucket out of a Hawaiian Punch bottle.  We are calling it Aloha Mama.

Aloha Mama is perfect for feeding one or two kids, and exquisite for feeding indoors.

Peaches is turning out to be what Susan calls a "monster kid." 

I do believe she is consuming more milk per feeding at this stage than any kid we have ever had.
Which is a good thing. 
This means she is healthy and growing.
Or that she was in fact born with a deformity.
The proverbial hollow leg.

At any rate, the last two days, she would drink a full bottle, go outside for a nature break to make more room, then whine and cry for another bottle.

Have you ever seen the thing they do at frat parties or whatever...or perhaps you have done it yourself....i have never seen it done except in the movies...and i most certainly have never done it myself...WAIT...i am on a bunny trail (must be Easter)...that thing where someone tilts their head back, and downs an entire beer in one gulp?

Well, THIS goat can do that with milk.
Am now looking for one of those stupid hats with the cupholders and straws on it.

Anyway, Aloha Mama is gonna eliminate the midnite feedings, and allow Peach Blossom to get her fill any time she feels peckish.

LET THE SNACKING BEGIN!!!!!!!

Friday, April 6, 2012

Helium Goats and Lazy Goats

We had a big bad storm roll through a couple of nights ago.  Fortunately, we escaped damage.

At that time, everybody was in amended living arrangements due to Chickory's special needs, and nobody was happy about it.  When we heard the storm was coming and realized the evening was going to be stressful enough what with the light show and the high winds, not to mention the wet and potential tornados, we moved Chickory into the kid pen, then brought the does and bucks back to their respective barns.

This is a fortunately/unfortunately for Chickory, because the kid pen is a tight squeeze for big girlz, but does allow her to be "with" the herd, while being separated.  I know that she would have beeen much happier if i had returned her to the general population, but was scared to death that as mean as Becky The Bad has been lately, she would T-bone Chickory and bust open some stitches.

In an effort to stem the prevailing tide of ennui, Maud had been put in with Chickory, with the thinking being that Maud might be a comfort. She might have been, if she had not been so concerned with what everyone else was doing.

When we went out to move everyone around, i noted that Sparta had let himself out to browse, as usual.  I walked into the buck pen, and suddenly had ALL the does (sans Chickory,) AND Sparkin' Sparta swarming around me. Maud and Sparta BOTH jumped the fence to join the party.

Ellie commented that it is a real good thing we didn't have a Maud/Sparta breeding.

We would have to tie THOSE kids down with a brick.



Since the storm has passed, the days have been warm and breezy, with plenty of green things to eat.  The big girlz came in from a spin in the pasture, and promptly plopped down in the shade.  Splendora was such a tick that she couldn't lay down, just stood there and moaned.
Peach Blossom spent her first morning in the brooderhouse yard with all the meat birds.  The morning in the sunshine wore her plum out--as soon as we put her back in the playpen, she passed out.
One thing about life on the farm, it sure makes ya sleep good.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

A Sigh Of Relief

Am happy to report that this has been a much better day for Chickory B.  Yesterday was filled with concern, as Chickory was not at all herself.
Not that i expected her to be bright and chipper after the events of the evening before.

But still...

When Chickory doesn't eat all day, refuses cookies, raisins, carrots, and bananas, and the only hay that entered her mandibles was used to pick her teeth, there is cause for concern.

I had to force her to stand to let me milk her, and you could tell that she would much rather have been munching on saw grass on a beach somewhere.

She spent the day curled up in a corner, crying. 

And the teeth grinding thing.

That is the one that really wrenches the gut, not only because of the "fingernails on chalkboard" effect, but because it is a sign of goats being in pain and distress.

And nobody can grind 'em like Chickory B.

This morning, however, i was met at the gate with boisterous chatter and a demand for her turn on the milking stand.

**SIGH**

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Peach Blossom


She is flashy and incredibly soft....
 She is opinionated and vociferous...
She is curious and determined....
 She is a voracious eater....

She is.....

Peach Blossom!!

Monday, April 2, 2012

Kudos To Dr. K.

I just love our vet.

I want to be clear about that.

Whatta guy.

Chickory B. kidded this afternoon, and all did not go well.

Long story short, and eliminating most of the gory details...

We had a brief toad strangler this afternoon, and when it was over i headed out to check on the girlz, assuming (correctly) that Chickory would be in labor since the weather was foul and everything was soupy and nasty.  Not only was she in labor, she was busy cleaning up a kid, and working on another.

As the labor progressed, however, there was a mass of ugliness being expelled.  At first i thought we were dealing with prolapse, but as more of the mass became visable, i realized whatever was going on was way beyond my realm of knowledge.

Took a couple of quick pictures, and while making transfer from camera to computer, tried to get Susan Dear Susan on the line.  Many thanks to The Queen Mum for rousting Susan out of her nap (sorry, sister!)  By the time i got ahold of Susan, i just about had the pictures in an email.  As soon as she got a look, she said this was vet territory.

Of course it was 5:15pm. 

Of course the office was closed.

But Good Old Dr. K. took the call, and was walking into my barn about 20 minutes later.  This is amazing because we live about 15 minute from his office.

He got a handle on the situation, and his fabulous assistant Zack helped me load Chickory into the truck and off we raced for an emergency C-Section.

While Dr. K. and Zack performed the surgery, Elly May and Jethro did all the kid care on the doeling by themselves, then handled the switcheroo with all the other goats, moving the does into the buck pen and the bucks into the sweetgum pen so that Chickory could convalesce in private in the doe barn.  By the time i got home with Chickory around 8pm, all the chores were done and everything was ready, all we had to do was cart Chickory into the barn and give her lots of love.  My babies are so awesome.  Thank you chillwren.  Your mama loves you.

The yucky facts are that there was another kid, fully formed, but was disemboweled during birth, and it was the intestines that were being pushed out.  The kid was folded up and not positioned to come out on it's own.  As we were taking care of the paperwork, Dr. K. said, "When i walked into your barn, I thought we had a dead goat on our hands, but she came through it like a champ."  He also commented several times about how responsive she was to me.  Naturally!!!  That goat and i love each other!!!

There is more, but i will spare you.

All's well that ends well.

Chickory Blossom is up on her feet, ate a good dinner, and was staring thoughtfully at the hay.  (I was sitting next to her as she ate, talking to her, and at one point she stepped over to me and put her face next to mine for a few moments, then stepped back to her bowl.  Just letting me know everything was alright, i guess.)

Peach Blossom (to be called Peaches) weighed in at 8 pounds, is in perfect health and condition, has a voracious appetite, and is standing and complaining already.  And she is gorgeous.  Pictures forthcoming.

I am now going to go mix myself an adult beverage.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Recipe Time, Again

This one was passed on to us by our good neighbor up the road, and it is our new favorite snack.

Veggie Pizza

Roll out 2 cans of Crescent Rolls on cookie sheets, pinching the perforations together so they bake as two crusts, then bake 'em.

Soften two 8oz pkgs of cream cheese and mix with about a half a cup of Miracle Whip (i know, i know, for the record, it is the first time i have had M.W. in my house in about 17 or 18 years, but.....) and a package of Ranch Dressing mix (once again, just close your eyes and do it...and bless it ;o)  )  When the crust has cooled, spread this luscious mess all over the top. 

Finely chop whatever veg you have in the fridge that needs using (i used broccoli, carrots, red bell, black olives, and a little onion--pretty!) and spread that all over the cream cheese, kinda press the veg down, cut into 2 inch squares, then refrigerate.

I actually made this as a half batch, and it was so good, went back and made the other half.  I suspect that the recipe calls for 2 cans and 2 bricks so that you can use one pkg of Ranch, but i keep the Ranch on hand in bulk, using 3 T when a pkg is called for.  I did go long on my half batches, and used 2T for each.  Sorry.  I just love Ranch Dressing mix in all its chemical glory.

Had some very interesting walnuts recently, i haven't made them yet, but will be doing so in short order--they were FABULOUS.  Toss some walnuts in a little butter, fresh rosemary, a touch of cayenne, and a bit of salt, then toast them in a 350 oven for about 10 minutes. 

One more...how about some Twisted Tuna Salad?  Tuna, corn, black beans, a little celery and onion, sour cream, picante, and cumin.  Very nice change of pace.  Am putting it right up there with the jalapeno egg salad.

Okay, now that you know what you are making for lunch, i am gonna get back to my chores.