Pedi

In case you were wondering, I did finally get a hold of Teenager Sheep and trim her nasty hooves. The'y're green in the picture because it's been rainy, muddy and gross in their pen. The left one is done and the right one is still overly long, above.

On a side note, through an unfortunate discovery and raunchy moment, it was discovered that Max the dog is madly in love with Teenager Sheep. Ew.

More Soap

Here is a picture of Chocolate Espresso goat milk soap with added cocoa for color. I have been frantically making soap for an upcoming fair which will be held at Outside the Lines on Old Spanish Trail, March 9, 2013, here in Tucson. In order to occupy enough space to make it look like I have a plethora of soap choices, I have to make batches a month ahead so the soap is properly cured. I only have a few more days left before my time is up.

Lucy and Lucas

Tsica had her babies January 27th. I was lucky enough to be spending the day out at the ranch doing some maintenance and cleaning. She was acting a little off, which for her is not eating, so I figured it was her time and got the birthing suite ready. She was moved to a stall within the goat pen, given fresh straw bedding and her own pale of water. Because she believes she is the queen of all gots, this suited her just fine.

WARNING: To follow are rather graphic goat birth images. So now is your chance to look away if you don't want to see.

I hung out with her when she started to groan. She began to push and look very uncomfortable as you can see in the picture to follow:

Goat and sheep births generally begin with the appearance of a 'bubble' which is part of the placenta showing itself. Sometimes the bubble remains intact and sometimes it pops and the animal's water breaks. In the following picture you can see the bubble making itself known:

Here is a picture showing the bubble on its way out:

This birthing went well. The first baby is presenting hooves and head first which is very, very good. If you look closely, you can see the baby's tongue sticking out of its mouth sideways. You can also see the white hooves.

Here the head and hooves have slipped out a little more:

Once he head is free of the birthing canal, all the rest slips out much easier and her very first baby girl ever, named Lucy, is born:

Once the pathway is cleared, any additional babies tend to fall out quickly. It happened so fast that I didn't have time to get any pictures until this one was nearly all the way out:

His name is Lucas.

Tsica's son from last year looked on at his new siblings.

Yesterday, I opened the gate to the birthing suite and soon had to close it back up. Tsica made it clear to her older son that he is no longer welcome at her side. It was sad to watch. She made some frightening howls and rammed him anytime he came close to her. I guess he's off to go be an adult now. Poor fellow. 

Ruminating and Reclining



Tsica looking very pregnant.
Guess her due date!

Boxes of Beef

Our steer processed, frozen and boxed.

And loaded into the freezer!

Teenager Sheep's Baby Girl

I'm late in posting this one.

Teenager Sheep had a baby girl on December 30, 2012. I was able to hold the baby for two days but after that, the wild instinct kicked in.

She is healthy and doing well. Already eating on the alfalfa when we feed the flock. She watches me with curiosity...from a distance. Much like her mother. Although I'd say Mom is watching more with wariness.

On a sidenote, Teenager Sheep (aka Triple Nipple) really needs a pedicure. I'll have to break out the lasso soon and get that done. Not looking forward to that. I am thinking of making a sheep chute to help me catch these wild ladies when maintenance is needed.

Branches to Bedding

I broke down and got a chipper shredder from Lowe's the other day. Apparently, these pieces of equipment aren't that popular in Tucson, making them difficult to find. The only place carrying them in stock was Lowe's and they had 2. Both were the same model. It was slightly more than I wanted to spend but since I figured I'll be getting loads of Christmas trees in the years to come, I went ahead and got it. And my pile of branches was growing unmanageable. I wanted a chipper that day.

I don't like working with engines. Chain saws are a little scary. So are chipper/shredders. Maybe it's Texas Chain Saw Massacre or Fargo that made me think that way. Not sure.

I did manage to get my husband to do the chipping. He chopped up a lot of branches and nearly filled the bag that came with the machine. I dumped that nice, fresh, pine-smelling bedding in the duck pen. He has a while to go before he catches up to the goats handiwork. We may enlist our children to cut the branches into straighter pieces before he husbands chips.

In the following picture you can see the ducks' area with its new layer of bedding: