dehorning..

Well today was the day we took our kids to another Nigerian goat farm and she burned off all the horns. I was prepared to do this. Now I am not so sure. I love my kids, I want the best for them. And not having horns makes them more saleable, not to mention safer; for people and goats. Yet watching Dawn hold down my little cute kids... hmm... not sure I could do it. I love each and everyone. Now don't get me wrong; they will all go [besides the doe]. But burning horns take a special touch. Too hot, too long can cause damage. Not hot enough or long enough can cause scurs. Just takes a special touch!

I have been working on getting more milk. And let me tell you, I am not doing bad. My older doe, Tango is giving 2-3 quarts of milk daily. While my junioe doe, Cotton is giving 1-2 quarts daily. Now as for Twinkle, we are working on it. She has always hated to be showen, or walked and miking is no different! She flips all over the place. I hope I can keep my cool and keep working on it. I find it hard, but am not giving up.
I recieved my first cheese kit. I am so anxious to make us some cheese. I hope to begin the process this weekend. I will try! We are moving cattle, a horse and a nubian goat. I know this can be a long job. I am ready!

Spring is in the air! I can feel it! Can't smell it, I have a cold, but I surely can feel it!
I have a lot to get done, so I must go for now.
Enjoy the fresh spring air!

So started my garden...

I started some seeds in my new cold frame today. I should have gotten started earlier, but it has been busy here.
I have some pics. here of the cold frame and the starts...

 here is a view of both side closed. It is a large cold frame.

Here it is with the doors propped open.

Here is a view looking in.

I also started my onion sets and potatoes. I can not believe we finally got it all in the ground. We did a total of 176 onion sets, and 5 lbs. of russet potatoes. I started tomaotes, cucumbers, squash, basil, dill, lemon balm, and so much more. I will post more on all of that later.

Enjoy the spring!

cold frames...

I love my gardden. I love all the food we harvest from it and I love all that we save by gardening. I have not bought a can of tomatoes [any kind, juice, spaghetti sauce etc] for years. I prefer our homemade salsa over any store bought! Now I do all of this with just my garden. No cold frames or green houses. I have asked repeatedly for a cold frame.
My husband is a city guy. And a cold frame has been a foreign language to him. I tried showing pictures, driving down the back roads I showed him some different methods cold frames. Still he was relutant to build me one. So last year when we replaced our bedroom windows, seven windows in all. I kept all the old windows knowing I could make a cold frame.
Now that my parents are living in our basement apartment it seems these two men [Dad and Hubs] have developed a competitive way! They tilled my garden for the first time this year, and made a cold frame! A COLD FRAME! I have been asking for one for at least three years.
Now these two men have been kicking out the projects left and right. My hubby even went to bed tonight so exhausted! I think my land is gonna look good this year!

Our days are longer and we are busier. I am milking for my little Ruth [only doe born], doing daily chores,preparing for garden season ,4-H , showing more houses and working Real Estate more and not to mention cooking for 8, and trying to keep up the house. Now do not get me wrong, my kids, MIL,hubs, and parents are helping. But I am a bit of a control freak and do alot of it or plan the projects to be worked on.
With all of this going on I literally do not even sit down till 8pm most nights! Now I only hope this helps the weight loss!

I will take some pictures of my new cold frames soon. I will also post my garden plans soon. Yes I have been working on my garden plans too!

Good day to you all! And enjoy the weather!

Losing my mind...

As I earlier stated my parents , moved in this weekend. It has been a long process. We moved three vehicles full, three times on Saturday, and Two vehicles once on Sunday. Now we are try ing to get everything put away , get everybody organized and not to mention we do not have the one counter top yet! So with out it, we can't put anything in those cabinets. I am a picky house keeper. It doesn't have to to be spotless, just clean. I hate piles of dirt on floors, or stuff stacked in corners or chaos! And believe me this house is in chaos.
Now on that I have that off my shoulders!

These little goat kids are great! I love them all; Even though we got mainly bucks! I ended up bottle feeding my only doe. Her mom had a hard time during delivery. Then the doe was born with a lack of oxygen. So she had a hard start. She is noow doing great. She eats, pees, poos and even climbs all over my den. I wanted her to exercise. So I took books and small totes and made a play area! She loves it! She climbs up, then jumps off! She is going to be spoiled. I hope she remembers she is a goat and not a dog!

Our weather here is getting better and better; at least for now! I am ready to get some yard work done. I also want to let the goats get some exercise. I hope everybody ahs a great week and enjoys some great weather!

Last Doe...

Well early this morning my last pregnant doe went into labor. It was the hardest delivery so far. Both kids were trying to come out at the same time. So what I was seeing was four legs. Two front legs to one and two back ones to the other. I was finally able to call the vet, and calm myself down to sort out the legs. I shoved the back ones back and then it happened again, this time the head was visible. So I pushed the back legs back again and it worked.
 This kids was still hard for my doe to deliver. He weighed in at 3.75lbs! What a big boy! Then Cotton [mom] was just licking up the ground and ignoring her baby. I helped clean him off. She finally caught on to the clean up effort and was licking him. Then out came the next set of hoofs. It was a back legs first, normal breach. But Cotton was exhausted and was not pushing well. I finally got the baby delivered. It was my one and only girl! I was trying hard to get her going. She was trying to breathe, her tongue was to one side and she still couldn't do it. I ended up hanging her upside down and giving her a little swing. She was then pinking up and breathing. But still no noise. I tried to get Cotton to help. The vet tried to get Cotton to help this little girl out. She just didn't get it. I ended up bring in the baby girl and will be hand raising her. She is a sweet little thing. She is still unsteady on her feet. But she does try to get up and she is peeing and is ok. So please pray for her to keep doing well.

Here are the pics..
This is the little buck, his name is Daniel [above]

This the little doe, her name is Ruth.

More kids...

Today we had Triplets! Our beautiful doe Twinkle delivered three beautiful boys. She must have some very dominate genes! They are all primarily black. The delivery went pretty well. The second one was a little too big. I just gently applied pressure and also kept running my finger around her vulva. It helped. She slowly delivered him. He was still in the sac, I broke it open when he hit the ground. He was breathing easily.
I am afraid her milk will take a little to come in enough for all three of these boys.This is Twinkles first freshening.  So I will probably supplement feeding her boys. Our older doe Tango is already too full for her babies to nurse so I could milk her until Twinkle could catch up.
I am a little sleep deprived with another doe showing sign of delivery yet tonight or tomorrow! So not much sleep around here!
Here enjoy this pic of the newest boys...

We are thinking of naming these boys, Twilight , Eclipse and O'Ryan. Any other ideas?

So I have time to explain...

So I went to bed around 9pm. I had my oldest check the goats one more time. Well after she left the barn I noticed there was one doe, Tango who kept crying out.[ I keep a monitor outside] At first every 30 min. Then it got non stop at 11pm. I yelled for my oldest to run to the barn as she was running I was finding pants. As soon as she got to the stall she was yelling! I was running to the barn yelling at my youngest to move it!
By the time we got out there, Dillan was born. He cam out nice and normal, two front feet with a head rested on top! Then I helped mom clean his nose and mouth as she was already pushing with another!
Then out came hind feet first the next. I immediately knew he was breathing, he was breathing in as he was coming out hind feet first. I grabbed and pulled for the next two contractions. Then out popped Lil Joe!
I cleaned his mouth and nose, he was not breathing well so I held him upside down and gave a little shake as I cleaned his mouth. And he started breathing good!
I watched both boys nurse once and I gave them each a squirt of Nutri Drench. It is full of vitamins and is good for them! I also gave mom some grain. She was so hungry. The after birth came out an hour later. She cleaned that up. It is good for her. My oldest daughter was getting sick from watching her clean it up!
Mom and boys are doing good. They are warm and safe in the barn. She is resting and so are they.

Enjoy!

So we now have two new bucks...

So here are our two new bucks! Tango, our older doe had two bucks at midnight. It was a quick and easy delivery. We named them Dillan and Lil Joe! Dillan is the more red one, he also has a black srtipe. And lil Joe is more blonde with some white moom spots on his sides!

It is a new week...

It is a brand new week. And what a week it is going to be. I have more barn cleaning to do, pasture planting and getting ready for my parents to move into the basement. Not to mention we still don't have any kids.

 I guess the vets due date and mine may be off. See the "boys" had gotten out twice, a week apart. So I am guessing the later was the actual breeding time. I also understand that first time moms are often hard to predict. Having two first timers, and me being a first timer we are all a little off! I am convinced it will be in the next week! It is amazing how one day these girls look so prego, then the next time I look at them they, they look like they are not pregnant. Twinkle looks to be losing some more of her mucus plug. And for the first time Cotton had a wet looking tail. Twinkle did this a week ago. I was not sure what it was. But I am now sure it is the beginning of losing their plug. It is like they get all wet and even begin getting lubricated, then follows the mucus plug. Now maybe this has more to do with these two being young and small, because Tango has not showed any of these signs. The vet did confirm this. She really felt this wet tail is leaky bladders and lubrication that we can just see more on these two due to their small size and young age.
Now Tango does have a little more milk today. She now has enough milk her teats look like they are full too. So another good sign it will be soon. Well enough of these kids.

Carmel is done getting his shot once a day for his leg that seemed to be sprained. He is now running and walking on it just fine. I tell you those boys are something! They get rowdy and hurt each other, or just plain get into stuff they should not get into! I know this is all normal. Having bucks is a big job! You have to make the pens escape proof, which is near impossible. They do all kinds of crazy things as they mature. I can remember last summer watching them arch their backs, then lift their hind legs a little. I was so scared. Thinking constipation or something bad. So I called one of my mentors. She was laughing! She explained it was a thing young bucks did as they matured. It was another one of those learning things!

I have this great den, where I spend a lot of my time. It is a small room, with a window and a set of atrium doors. In the winter I had these huge curtains over the doors and window. I also stored my lawn stuff on the deck attached to this room. We do not use these doors in the winter. We are planning on replacing them with a single glass door. They where not installed properly by the previous owner and are now leaking. Now seeing spring coming I took down the one set of curtains that covered the doors. After doing chores this morning I was excited to see the chickens out scratching and the "boys" and llama grazing on there hay from the den. I love sitting in here working and watching. If I can't be with them outside I can at least watch them.
Spring is really coming! I am so ready as I am sure you all are! Enjoy it!
Good day!

Morning...

I woke up early this morning to check my does. All was well, but it is pouring out there.It was 49 degrees at 3:30am.  I waited till day was beginning to break to do chores so I could be careful not fall or get stuck in the mud. All this mud is now fun. I just love it when my boot gets stuck in the mud and as I pull the boot comes off and I step in the mud and other stuff!The only other thing that drives me crazy about the mud is thinking of my animals walking in it. Don't get me wrong everybody has a stall and everybody has a way to stay dry. But the horse still needs to go get water. Trust my goats [especially the does] do not go anywhere in mud. They are very picky about their feet getting wet.

Still no real sign of labor in any of my does. I hope to see some soon. Waiting is never a fun thing. I am trying to remain patient. But it is getting harder. I just know they are all gonna wit till next weekend, which you all know is the big move. I can just see it now, everybody else moving my parents, and me in the barn with the goats. What a great excuse not to lift furniture!

I love hearing all the birds again. It is a nice noise and reminds me that spring is really on its way. I can't wait to get all the fences mended, new fences up and start on some garden work. I plan on another good size garden. I will start out with planting peas,cabbage,broccoli,some lettuces and some seeding of herbs. Then in late April early May I will really get going. I plant somewhat earlier then others. I use covers and jugs to protect the precious plants. I like to get as early of a start as possible. The reasons are selfish. I am ready for the dirty work and cant wait to touch my hands to the dirt. But the other reason is I am sick of bagged lettuce and hot house tomatoes. So the earlier I get out there the earlier I can have some food!

I want to take a minute to thank all of you for following me. I love this blog and I hope you all find it informative and fun.

God Bless you all and enjoy your day.

What a great day!
God healed my grandfather , he is going home from the hospital.
I was able to be a little lazy this morning. Then topped the day off with a nap and then dinner with my hubby!
God is great!
Thank you Lord for all the blessings you have given to me!

We are still waiting...

Getting ready for our farms first kids' has been a lot of work. Not to mention exhausting work. I have a paper sack full of old towels, shirts and rags. A Rubbermaid container with, gloves, lubricant,meds.,salves and all the other important supplies. I also have a bag full of adult diapers. I know this sounds weird. but they unfold and are large enough I can use them under the does as the babies come out. These were free and are in a surplus, so why not! We also have a baby monitor in the stall with the kids.

We have a divider in our stall the girls are in. I was worried about our dominate doe pushing our other does around. We have been keeping up on our two hour shifts, checking the girls in the barn for labor or even kids. All of the lack of sleep is getting hard, yet I know if we stop it, it will happen. I am not really anxious, just want to be sure I can be there for my girls. I would not want a women to deliver unattended, so it is my intention to be there for my girls.

 So these sleepless nights are reminding me of just how much these little goats mean to me. I have a "job" I work as much as I can. Yet it truly is not my love. These precious goats mean the world to me. Not only have I gotten attached, I enjoy watching them, petting them and creating ways to make our small land work for them. I think my life is taking a change. I am excited to think of the way things are going. for me, my family and this farm.

Until next time.

Sleep eludes me ...

Sleep seems to be something of a luxury lately. As I have stated before my parents are moving into our basement. This seems to be really hitting my husband and myself hard. My poor hubby works all day, then comes home and works on finishing the apartment every night. He only sits down to eat! I am trying to help him,keep my eyes on my girls in the barn, work on my real estate business and keep the house somewhat livable! I so want a long nap, a day of rest, fun and my hun!
I will be praying for sleep and peace.
I hope everybody is doing good and staying safe.
God bless you all!

Just lowered the price...

I just lowered the price on this great home in Shipshewana IN.
This home is on ammost one acre, featuring 3bedrooms, 2 baths and lots of space!

It is such a glorious morning! I can feel spring coming!
I am a busy real estate agent today.
Meeting after meeting
I hope everyone has a great day!
Feel the spring!