Playful Babies

It took them about 30 seconds to figure out how to jump up there.

Tsica Growling

Short video of Tsica hogging breakfast.

More Babies!

This morning, Mamma Sheep finally popped out her two babies. We were starting to feel bad for her since her udder was ginormous and swollen so much that I could fit my hand in the dip between her belly and the balloon-like udder. The sides of it were rubbing on her legs and had worn off fur, leaving her skin pink.

I'm sure she feels much better now with two little ones to get that swelling down.

This little guy was just born before I arrived. He still had birth goo
on his back and his placenta was nearby. I was lucky enough to hold
him for a bit before he figured out how to run and keep up with Mamma.

If you look closely you can see his sibling. Not sure if it's a boy
or a girl since it's very fast already! Also shown is Teenager Sheep's baby.
See the difference in size?

Greenhouse Update

Here is a peek at some of the seedlings that have sprouted in the greenhouse. The weather here is still too unpredictable to plant in the garden. Most mornings there's frost on the ground.

Cucumbers

Tomatoes

Zucchinis

Featured at The Arizona Daily Wildcat

Here we are in front of the greenhouse.
Image Copyright Rachel Gottfried

We've were interviewed by Rachel Gottfried of The Arizona Daily Wildcat about our ranch and garden. You can read her article about us here. We took her on a tour of the ranch so she could see the changes we've made to the Gigantic Garden, the seedlings in the greenhouse, and she got to meet the new baby goats and sheep.

She was intrigued by the pile of weeds and Christmas trees that we feed to our animals. They all love the weeds. The goats are still de-needling trees, with two more left to go. They've eaten well over twenty of them. I'm saving the trunks to build a rustic fence, possibly by the area I want to start a food forest garden beneath the mesquite trees.

This year, we plan to grow enough produce to supply both restaurants and possibly start a CSA (community supported agriculture) program to offer surplus produce and ranch products to future members. If you are interested in joining a CSA this spring, please email me and let me know. It's still in the planning stages so your input will help! I can be reached at traci_markou (at) yahoo.com

While the garden is mostly "sleeping" for the winter, things are really taking off in the greenhouse. Yesterday all the cucumber sprouts started poking their heads out of the dirt. The zucchinis are in the lead, and the tomatoes keep sneaking up as tiny sprouts that I have to get close up to see.

First Baby Sheep of 2012

This morning we arrived to the wagging happy tail of the first Barbados Sheep of 2012 born at the ranch. We are fairly certain the mom is Teenager Sheep. Mamma Sheep helps out a lot though, even letting the little one nurse. But judging by her bulging sides, Momma Sheep still has a bun or two in her oven.

Mamma Sheep with her grandchild, Lamb Chop

Little baby Lamb Chop Just Born

UPDATE: 1-25-2012 Angelica has confirmed that Lamb Chop is a girl.

Ms. Cow has Babies!

Cocoa Puff, minutes old

WARNING: Graphic Goat Birth Stuff

This morning a little after 9AM, Ms. Cow started making odd little noises and went to hide out in the goathouse area. Since all the other goats were eating, I figured it was her time to finally pop out her babies. Farmer K and I had a bet. He thought she had two. I thought she had three.

She couldn't decide at first which goathouse she liked better, the fancy new concrete one or the old school wooden one. She went back and forth between the two, pawing the ground. After I got a good look at her back end, I ran off to get some fresh straw for her nest. I loaded each area in case she changed her mind. She chose the wooden pallet house and made a few straining sounds before the first baby plopped right out, faster than I expected.

Cocoa Puff and Woodrow

Immediately she began the cleanup. She was still HUGE, so I knew she wan't done yet. Ms. Cow cleaned off her baby girl (Cocoa Puff) and when that little one was done, she strained a few more times and pop, another baby goat fell into the world, a very colorful boy (Woodrow).

Not long after that, my husband arrived and we watched Ms. Cow cleaning up. She made a few more noises, laid down and popped out baby number three. Another boy (Easter). All three learned to nurse and are doing well. Cocoa Puff is smaller than her brothers but an aggressive eater.



Easter

It took Ms. Cow about an hour to have all three kids. They were wobbly at first, but when I left the ranch this evening, they were out and about, checking up on the herd and learning how big their world is. The other goats are frightened of them and run when the babies get too close for comfort.

Ms. Cow is a good momma and calls gently to them whenever they stray too far. They're already curious and trying to climb things, like the large mesquite logs we keep in there as toys.

On an aside note, I looked back through the blog to decide who their daddy is because Ms. Cow had eyes for Mojo during her milking mornings on occasion. Based on the birthdate and the markings, Jorge is the proud pappa! Read about Ms. Cow and Jorge's wild fling here in case you missed it in August of last year.