And Then I Put my Hand Inside My Goat...

Yesterday, Max the dog found a place to squeeze through the fence. He ran away from me with that big doggy grin on his face when I called him to come back. He skipped through the front neighbor's yard then poof. Vanished.

I had an idea that I thought might work since he is such a runner and only swayed by a couple of good things in life. I went and got the milk pail, which he knows all too well as he gets the leftover milk when there isn't enough to fill a quart jar. I ran back to the neighbor's fence and called him. Nothing.

I went to the next neighbor over and that family was in their back yard blowing bubbles to their little dogs. I stood on a 5 gallon bucket to see over their wall and asked them if they had seen a brown dog. Max came bounding up to chase bubbles with the others. "Ah there he is!"

Then Max, realizing I had spotted him, smiled and ran off. I quickly gave the bucket to the man and said call him and ask him if he wants his milk.

Oh yes. They all looked at me like I was crazy.

It's okay. I'm used to that. You have to be off your rocker to want to be a farmer with real farm animals and all that...you know...just for fun.

To his credit, that man ran after my dog asking Max if he wanted his milk. My dog ran through the easement and back to the first neighbor's yard. The man gave me my bucket back and I thanked him. Then my silly dog who thinks milk is the nectar of the gods came right back to the hole in the fence and followed me back to his kennel.

Like a good dog.

Yes, I gave him some milk.

Which leads me to today and my goat issue. So I went to Lowe's and got a bunch of fence posts and fencing to remedy this dog sneaking out issue as I do not want him or any other animal to be able to get in or out of the fence. The existing fence isn't mine, so I really have no right to fiddle with it. Besides, I have learned a trick or two about animal proofing fences.

I pulled in with my overladen truck and went to feed the animals before I could unload. There in the 'mommy' stall was Ms. Cow with a bubble hanging out of her back end.

As you can see, there is a goat head inside that bubble.

My plans now interupted, I went and grabbed fresh straw and bedded down the area with it so she could push her little one into the world on a relatively clean space. And I watched as she dutifully did so without any help for me. She's a pro after all. This is her third time having babies.

That little one came out looking healthy and fine. A girl and we later named her Barbie.

I hung around and noticed Ms. Cow give another big push. A hoof poked out. Goats can come out different ways and don't tend to need much help. But after some time I noticed that the discharge changed from clear to a yucky yellow-brown color. Learning from last year and Vanilla's stressful births, I figured this baby was having a hard time.

I looked closer to see where the nose and other hoof might be, but they were not there at all. Ms. Cow continued to push and the only thing coming out was the right front leg and shoulder. Very wrong and would not have worked out at all. I was thankful to be there and be brave enough to help.

I scrubbed up my hands and arms with soap and water and well...reached in. It was slimy. I felt around as gently as I could, surprised by how much room there is inside a goat. I followed the shoulder up to where the head should be. But where was the head? Really weird. It wasn't where I thought it should be. I felt across the chest to the other leg which was folded under the body. Felt up and to the side and discovered the head was folded to one side of the baby, squished tight to its body.

I took my hand out and pushed the leg back in, folding it inside to match the other leg. Then I found the turned head and carefully repositioned it so the nose was facing the exit. As soon as I took my hand out, that baby was zooming toward the door and was born in a hurry. He came out upside down, revealing that he had manparts.

We later named him Espresso. He's a hungry fellow and good at finding the milk spouts.

Yesterday and today reminded me that things go unexpectedly wrong in life. Sometimes all we can do is try our best to straighten them out and get them back on track. Life is too short to be angry or frustrated or squeamish. When things need to get done, it's best to just do them right away.

Tomorrow is fence day...unless something else goes wrong.

One more goat left to give birth and kidding season is done for 2013. Let's hope Cocoa Puff's birthing day goes without any hitches.

Stardust

Star had a perfect little baby girl. She is black, white and brown and we named her Stardust. A healthy, twitchy, jumpy, loud little rascal to hold and enjoy.

Vanilla Wafer

Vanilla, one of our favorite goats because she's just kinda funny with her super long ears, exceptionally LOUD voice, and sweet demeanor, had her son last night (March 30, 2013). We put them in a kennel so they can bond and he can be out of harm's way. We hung out to be sure he properly suckled. He did and he did it very well. This morning he was all twitchy and tail-waggy like a kid goat should be.

He's a little camera shy, but I was able to get one of his face. You'd never know his father was Jorge, the black Alpine buck. Wafer takes after his mother.

Repurposed

Farmer K did the first coat and Farmer C did the second.

One of the ladies from my oldest son's school often buys duck eggs from us. In the past, she donated several feeders and waterers for our birds as she no longer kept chickens. Last week, she showed up with an old dog crate and also this nifty handmade "coop" as she called it that used to house her beloved hens.

The ducks made their own nests and it was an easy task to gather their eggs this morning!

It was old and tired and needed a little TLC, so we dusted it off and painted it our favorite shade of barn red and moved it into the duck pen. It took them a few days to figure it out, but the birds have been laying in there now. This is great as it means less hunting around for eggs, cleaner eggs, and avoids that sad feeling when you accidentally step on a hidden egg...crunch.

Free Ranging

The days have been dry, but there are some grassy goodies to be had for those who get to free-range. The sheep have to be kept off their new three section pasture until the rains come and thicken things up again. But Karma and Cookie get to go out in the mornings and munch all they like.

My goose-wife is in the front.

The geese free-range during the day and this seems to have made them much mellower. They were never big fans of any of the food I offered them unless it was green, and prefer a U-Pick scenario. This has subsequently dropped the cost of feed for them, at least.

Pepper tends to follow me everywhere in the mornings after milking and she nibbles on whatever she finds in passing.

Sheering Time

The days have been heating up, so it was time to take off the wool coats:

Ginger in the center. I'm not sure if her wool is spinnable yet, but I'll give it a try.
I didn't dock her tail, so I gave her a lion tail trim to help keep everything tidy back there.

My big, beautiful Muffy, all shorn and ready to grow a new coat.
I have successfully been spinning her wool into yarn.

Pumpkin and Marshmallow are on the list for next year.

Hay Day Helpers

I have since discovered that I do not have to pick up and stack my hay anymore. The two feedstores I shop from deliver for a nominal fee, and believe me when you've unloaded and stacked a bunch of 100 pound bales of alfalfa, you're willing to pay a few bucks to have someone else do it.

Anyways, hay day is a big deal. It means my ranch hands, Karma and Cookie, have to clean out all the bits that fall through the pallets from the previous load of hay. That way I can sweep and prepare for the new load. They are such good workers. They never complain...