The end of an era

We've had a lot of changes around here in the past month or two, and the idea of selling the goats has been tossed around quite a bit in order to keep up with the changes.  I finally decided it was best for us to find them another home.

A woman that used to be on the 4H board emailed me and was looking to add some girls to her small herd so she could breed them.  It took about two weeks for us to coordinate schedules, but she finally came by over the weekend to see them and then came back today to pick them up.

The girls were actually very easy to catch as they each came to the gate and waited while we grabbed their collars and both of them walked right into the trailer.  Maybe it was a sign.

It was strange not having them attempt to shove past me into the chicken coops when I was locking up tonight and it was strange to not have to lock the gate to the goat pen behind me.

I am a bit worried about having more predator issues now but I'll keep my fingers crossed that we won't have any major issues.

Over the next few weeks I hope to take down the top layer of fencing that we had to put up over the years to keep the goats in.  It's been so mangled and messed up by them that it's looked horrible for awhile.  Then I want to start using the goat pen as more of a dog run so the puppies can be around the chickens and learn to accept them and they can also get some better exercise.

Welcome Home from the Pet Sitter

While we were gone for the week, we did find out that one of the chickens had died.  We don't know what happen to her, but she had been broody so I wonder if she wasn't eating or drinking enough.  A friend came to bury her because I didn't want the pet sitters to have to deal with that part of the job.

When we got home there was a bag at our door with some homemade cookies and salsa inside and a journal that the pet sitters had made.  It was a mom and her two school-aged kids and the journal made me laugh, especially the pictures, so I wanted to share it.

Goat Bathing

I've never given a goat a bath, unless you count when Carrie was just a baby and needed to have her rear end cleaned several times.

I felt like it was time for the girls to get a good cleaning for the spring.

Carrie was not thrilled.

For just a moment, I wanted another one

But the moment passed when I remembered all of the work that these cute little guys need.

These five babies were born in early January during some of the coldest days of the year.  Twins and triplets and so darn adorable.

Going into hiding

It's snowing.... and not everyone  is happy about it.

The goats actually tried going under the new coop.  Apparently that's better than their houses.

Just a little freezing on the farm

We had our first accumulation of snow here, and then things melted just slightly, and froze again.  It was a cold morning with a lot of ice and I'm not sure anyone on the farm has experienced this before, other than me.

A cut of hot water was needed to get into the goat pen

Every branch was draped in ice

I've been thinking about how the roof to the chicken run needs a major update and cleaning, this morning confirmed that for another icy reason.

The goats are at it again

 A couple weeks ago I accidentally cut the electrical cord that was going out to the coops for the lights and water heater.  I hadn't gotten around to fixing it, and that was clearly a good thing because I found the cord like this:

 Seriously goats?!

My Silly Girls

The weather has quickly turned and it's freezing outside.  I decided to snap some pictures of the animals and Kelly decided to make it easy for me.

Meanwhile, Carrie was pushing her head into my rear end.  She wasn't being aggressive, she just wanted to nuzzle up.

I know where two of the votes AGAINST rain are coming from

It rained for three days without stopping.  We had to have had over 4 inches at our house based on a container that was sitting outside and dry before the rain started that was later half full.  

This was how I found Carrie and Kelly every time I went outside.

They may have been dry, but they were not happy.

Everything is growing

The guinea keets are almost adults now.  They aren't quite the same size as the two guinea that we had left, but they are definitely getting there.

Carrie is as prissy as ever.

And the pure bred Buff Orpington roosters are gorgeous.

Just a few little picture updates.

More proof of the craziness

This would be the chicken door into the chicken coop.

That would be Carrie, thinking she might fit through it to eat the chicken feed.

This was AFTER she broke into the chicken run, ate all of the chicken feed in there, and then got herself locked into the run.

And then there were two

I finally did it.  I finally downsized to two goats.

Jenny, Rucker, and Cash found a new home with a couple in West Virginia that has several pet goats, a pet miniature donkey, and a pet cow.

It was the hardest for me to pick up Rucker and put him in their kennel.

The oldest son got really quiet and wouldn't say much.  This was his way of showing that losing the goats is hard for him.

Add caption

Add caption

After they left, Kelly was crying out in a way that I've never heard before.  She and Jenny had grown apart ever since the boys were born because Jenny was their mom and moved on to protecting and parenting them, so I didn't realize how much it would bother her.  Broke my heart.

A typical morning on my farm

I took this video after I had fed the goats and let the birds out.  I was hoping to catch the younger cockerels crowing, although I didn't manage to get that.

At 0:20 you'll see that Rucker was eating my pants while I tried to record things.....

At 0:30 you'll see Clyde taking advantage of one of his girlfriends

At 0:40 you'll see and hear The Stranger Rooster making the noise to call others over.  Clyde does this EVERY time I put treats out, but this is the first time the stranger rooster has done this, I think he's starting to feel at home and I think he has a thing for Silkie Sue (not in this video).

At 1:18 you'll see how Jenny has finished eating HER food so she went to eat Carrie's food, and cash came to help.  Jenny is a bit pushy even with her boys.

At 1:54 you'll see that Rucker has learned from mom

At 2:15 you'll see and hear a little from one of the youngest roosters (cockerels)

At 2:35 you'll see the chicks coming through the fence and then one of the cockerels strutting around.  This one has started crowing, but I didn't catch it in this video

Darn goat

The goats are constantly trying to get the chicken food.  I finally put a chicken wire net over the top of the feeders so they can't put their heads inside and eat it all.

Tonight I was fighting Carrie off as I tried to fill the feeder and then I left the empty bag on the ground while I went to take care of a few other things....

I don't even think she found any crumbs in there

 This is what I walked around the corner and saw when I went back to get the bag.

How to Milk a Goat

Saturday, several of my students came down to the farm because their parents had bid on "Farm Day" at the school's silent auction fundraiser.  They hung out with the animals, ate hot dogs, and roasted s'mores.

At one point they were asking questions about goat milk and since Jenny was in the goat house, and therefore easy to catch, I decided to let them try to milk a goat.

I wasn't exactly dressed for goat milking

 Each student wanted a chance to milk Jenny.

Faces removed for the privacy of the innocent :)

 Clearly Jenny was not thrilled.

Later, one of the girls wanted to try to get Jenny out of the house and to milk her.  She couldn't get Jenny to budge so the older son decided to step in to help.

I wish I could leave her face on this picture, it was pure amazement.  :)

What we don't have pictures of is when the kids were each getting Jenny's milk to squirt at each other.  The youngest son had goat milk all over his face.

Is there something wrong with this picture?

That is my driveway.... 

And those are goats....  That belong in the pen.

Goat updates

We still have all five goats, but I think there is someone coming to look at getting one this weekend.

For a couple weeks I was always coming home to this scene:

Yes, the boogers were getting out, and they were actually getting back IN the pen too.  Luckily, they were sticking close to home like Jenny and Kelly do and so far they hadn't broken through the fencing to get to the garden.

 But they sure like to play.

They really are fun to watch when they are running around or playing with each other.

And when they're just standing around, they're the cutest darn things ever.

Good Night

Since the youngest chicks needed the smaller coop, the bigger chicks needed to move in and share the large coop with the big boys and girls.  They weren't too happy and were actually huddled up by the smaller coop door when I went out there last night. 

I had to catch each chick and put it into the big coop, and by the time I would get the next chick and come back, the first one would have already come out of the coop.  I finally got all nine of them inside and then I went in to help them settle in.

This guy was the first one to jump up on to the roost with the big girls and Clyde.

Some others decided to stick together around the nesting boxes.

 Australorp wasn't happy sharing and actually started pecking at the girls next to her.  I decided to help some of them out and I picked them up and put them on the roosting bars.

A few were brave on their own and jumped up to the roosting bars.  Clyde wasn't thrilled.

Meanwhile the goats were all tucked away and ready to go to sleep.

She is nuts

First, I turned around this afternoon and saw Carrie doing this...

Then, I went outside late in the afternoon and saw her doing this...

 The thing she is standing on is just a piece of metal fencing that we barely attached in the chicken run for the birds to perch on.

 And so it soon broke under her weight...

 And she was stuck for a minute

But not too long...

And then she was back up and trying again....