Our herd of dairy goats were re-homed yesterday to some folks not too far away. I hope they will enjoy them as much as we have.
This is a step towards becoming a farm based on plant consumption...a vegetarian farmstead. The kids still can't have casein, and most dairy products do more harm than good to the human body, so we are, once again, going milk free in our farming practices.
It is time now to focus on healing practices for ourselves, both physically and mentally, and also to explore healing paths for the planet and all people.
Showing posts with label goats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goats. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Thursday, July 17, 2014
A trip to the vet...
We had to take Fairy Dust (the newest mama goat) to the vet yesterday. She's been getting skinnier every day, but when I noticed her shaking from the cold (it was 60 F), and not eating any hay, I really felt something was wrong. It might've been a residual infection from her kidding, or something worse. Of course trying to find anything on the internet makes it all worse. I was pretty convinced she was going to eventually die if we didn't get her some help. We did give her some herbal remedies, mixed in grain and I even did an energy healing on her. I put an old t-shirt on her to keep her warm. We also gave her a good dose of probiotics. By the afternoon, her energy was up a bit, and when we arrived at the vet, she was actually pooping and peeing in the trailer. (It had been a while.) She was also trying to eat the straw Richard put down in the trailer. The vet gave her a penicillin shot, which we have to continue for at least seven days, and at my urging, ran a stool sample for parasites. She was loaded right up with worms of all varieties, so he gave her a dewormer too. She is doing better today...even eating hay.
All of the other goats and llamas are healthy, or so they appear. We have to get everyone back on the herbal dewormer regimen. We haven't been regularly deworming for quite some time. Mostly because it's so difficult with the llamas. But, we have to figure it out or give them shots, which Richard does not want to do. I just want them to be healthy. So, it's time to build catch pens in their fields so we can try to begin training them.
I am so glad we are close to a big animal vet here. And, it was even affordable. Not what I expected at all. The last time we took a llama to the vet for an exam and penicillin, it was over a hundred bucks. This time it was very reasonable, and the vet was very nice--not condescending or judgmental.
We were thinking of selling off the goat herd anyway...as bad as milk seems to be for everyone, and with the allergies...what's the point? I know we have been down this road before. Richard wanted the goats to make cheese to sell. There is no market here, at least not one we have access to at this point. I think hemp milk is a better alternative to animal based dairy anyway. And cheese in general should play a smaller part in our diets. We are going to focus more on a plant based diet and on establishing a food landscape based on permaculture ideas. We have so much space to work with here, it's exciting.
Chloe the pig is more social without old Harley around. Harley appears to be happy in his new home in the forest. Without the grumpy boy, we opened up Chloe's pen and have been giving her lots of water to wallow in. She has made her own mud holes. I have also been spraying her down with bug spray in the hope it will alleviate some of her discomfort. She does not like that at all. She is still pretty unpredictable, and I don't trust her to not bite. Hopefully she will get better with time. I pet her on her head and scratch behind her ears, all while keeping a close eye on her attitude.
The office is coming along. the straw bails go up fast. That's good because they are sitting outside in the rain that has been coming every night. Hopefully they will dry fast under the roof of the office. The rain makes the night smell so good. The gardens are happy. The Hemp plants are about 8 - 10" tall now.
This week we are finalizing our tiny house plans so we can commit the down payment to having it built. It will be built by local Amish men. I hope it lives up to the quality they are famous for. It should take about three weeks to build and then they will deliver it to a prepared pad on our land. We are still waiting on the landscape company to do the pad of gravel for the tiny house.
All of the other goats and llamas are healthy, or so they appear. We have to get everyone back on the herbal dewormer regimen. We haven't been regularly deworming for quite some time. Mostly because it's so difficult with the llamas. But, we have to figure it out or give them shots, which Richard does not want to do. I just want them to be healthy. So, it's time to build catch pens in their fields so we can try to begin training them.
I am so glad we are close to a big animal vet here. And, it was even affordable. Not what I expected at all. The last time we took a llama to the vet for an exam and penicillin, it was over a hundred bucks. This time it was very reasonable, and the vet was very nice--not condescending or judgmental.
We were thinking of selling off the goat herd anyway...as bad as milk seems to be for everyone, and with the allergies...what's the point? I know we have been down this road before. Richard wanted the goats to make cheese to sell. There is no market here, at least not one we have access to at this point. I think hemp milk is a better alternative to animal based dairy anyway. And cheese in general should play a smaller part in our diets. We are going to focus more on a plant based diet and on establishing a food landscape based on permaculture ideas. We have so much space to work with here, it's exciting.
Chloe the pig is more social without old Harley around. Harley appears to be happy in his new home in the forest. Without the grumpy boy, we opened up Chloe's pen and have been giving her lots of water to wallow in. She has made her own mud holes. I have also been spraying her down with bug spray in the hope it will alleviate some of her discomfort. She does not like that at all. She is still pretty unpredictable, and I don't trust her to not bite. Hopefully she will get better with time. I pet her on her head and scratch behind her ears, all while keeping a close eye on her attitude.
The office is coming along. the straw bails go up fast. That's good because they are sitting outside in the rain that has been coming every night. Hopefully they will dry fast under the roof of the office. The rain makes the night smell so good. The gardens are happy. The Hemp plants are about 8 - 10" tall now.
This week we are finalizing our tiny house plans so we can commit the down payment to having it built. It will be built by local Amish men. I hope it lives up to the quality they are famous for. It should take about three weeks to build and then they will deliver it to a prepared pad on our land. We are still waiting on the landscape company to do the pad of gravel for the tiny house.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Introducing the goat herd.
Goats...so many goats.
Today when we came up the road from our trip to Alamosa (we bought straw for the barns and a freezer) the herd of goats, plus two llama girls came running across the field, along the fence, like a bunch of dogs, running to greet us. Silly goats.
We have so much milk now, we are going to start freezing it. That combined with our house fridge freezer full of vegetables from the garden, we definitely needed to upgrade to a chest freezer. We found a little one at Sears.
So, anyway...goats. I want to introduce the herd, starting with the new girls. A nice family gifted them to us because they are moving, but actually not too far away from us, so they can come and visit often.
There's Pinky. She's an odd sort of color, and a mix of something...Alpine, Nubian? She's very big and very bossy. She likes to shove her way through the gate to get to the milk stand. And she likes to dance around when she's up there, which means, I get to hold her back legs while Richard milks. That way, she doesn't kick the milk bucket over. We learned the hard way.
Pinky's baby doe is Aspen, and she's just adorable. She is polled like her mother, which means they were born without horns. I love polled goats. Alpine likes to lay in the middle of the hay trough or hay bale if it's on the ground while she eats.
Oreo is a unicorn, the result of a disbudding (dehorning) gone bad, but her one horn doesn't bother us much. She is pure Nubian. We did all have to learn how to get her head in and out of the milk stand though. I also have to hold her legs when Richard milks, but she is getting better everyday. She is the best at standing still of the three new girls.
Oreo's baby girl is named Cookie and she is a Nubian/Alpine cross. She came with a cough, but it seems to be getting better. She also has one horn.
Bluebell is my favorite of the new girls. She is full Nubian and disbudded. She just is a nice looking and nice acting goat, although she has her issues too. She likes to lean to the right when she's on the milk stand, pushing against Richard as he milks her. If he gets up, she keeps on leaning, nearly falling off the stand. I do have to hold her legs when we milk. I think all of these girls may have been hobbled on the milk stand. They'll learn over time.
And of course there's Jewell, who came to us about a week prior to the five new girls. She's older and seems like she's feeling her age a bit. She's a big Alpine goat, and very well behaved on the stand. She is also disbudded. She does eat a lot of grain though, almost like she's slurping it up, and she licks the dish clean, every time. Her udder is drying up now.
Our first girl, Fairy Dust, who is polled and a Boer/Alpine mix. She is the littlest of the goats, but very well-behaved on the milk stand. She does have some issues with trying to figure out her place in the herd. She thinks she needs to be milked first, maybe because she was the first one here. She had been with the billy almost full time, until we got Jewell and separated the billy goat from the girls. Fairy's udder is nearly dry now and I think she is pregnant. We may be getting goat babies around the Winter Solstice.
The male is Molet. Big, red, full blooded Nubian with giant horns. He scares me a little. We have tried to find him a new home through Craigslist, but he's still here, sharing his male goat aroma with the rest of us at the farm.
Quite a herd gathered in such a short time. And we have more milk than we can deal with. We will start freezing it, but it would be ideal to start up a goat share program. So, if you are local, and in Colorado, and would like to own part of a lovely goat herd, send us an e-mail and we can talk about how that works. The share will get you fresh, raw goats milk weekly. We may also do a goat cheese share.
Today when we came up the road from our trip to Alamosa (we bought straw for the barns and a freezer) the herd of goats, plus two llama girls came running across the field, along the fence, like a bunch of dogs, running to greet us. Silly goats.
We have so much milk now, we are going to start freezing it. That combined with our house fridge freezer full of vegetables from the garden, we definitely needed to upgrade to a chest freezer. We found a little one at Sears.
So, anyway...goats. I want to introduce the herd, starting with the new girls. A nice family gifted them to us because they are moving, but actually not too far away from us, so they can come and visit often.
There's Pinky. She's an odd sort of color, and a mix of something...Alpine, Nubian? She's very big and very bossy. She likes to shove her way through the gate to get to the milk stand. And she likes to dance around when she's up there, which means, I get to hold her back legs while Richard milks. That way, she doesn't kick the milk bucket over. We learned the hard way.
 |
| Pinky with baby Aspen behind her, and Oreo's head in front. |
Pinky's baby doe is Aspen, and she's just adorable. She is polled like her mother, which means they were born without horns. I love polled goats. Alpine likes to lay in the middle of the hay trough or hay bale if it's on the ground while she eats.
 |
| Aspen |
Oreo is a unicorn, the result of a disbudding (dehorning) gone bad, but her one horn doesn't bother us much. She is pure Nubian. We did all have to learn how to get her head in and out of the milk stand though. I also have to hold her legs when Richard milks, but she is getting better everyday. She is the best at standing still of the three new girls.
 |
| Oreo, flipping her head around so her ears stand up. |
Oreo's baby girl is named Cookie and she is a Nubian/Alpine cross. She came with a cough, but it seems to be getting better. She also has one horn.
 |
| Cookie |
Bluebell is my favorite of the new girls. She is full Nubian and disbudded. She just is a nice looking and nice acting goat, although she has her issues too. She likes to lean to the right when she's on the milk stand, pushing against Richard as he milks her. If he gets up, she keeps on leaning, nearly falling off the stand. I do have to hold her legs when we milk. I think all of these girls may have been hobbled on the milk stand. They'll learn over time.
 |
| Bluebell |
And of course there's Jewell, who came to us about a week prior to the five new girls. She's older and seems like she's feeling her age a bit. She's a big Alpine goat, and very well behaved on the stand. She is also disbudded. She does eat a lot of grain though, almost like she's slurping it up, and she licks the dish clean, every time. Her udder is drying up now.
 |
| Jewell |
Our first girl, Fairy Dust, who is polled and a Boer/Alpine mix. She is the littlest of the goats, but very well-behaved on the milk stand. She does have some issues with trying to figure out her place in the herd. She thinks she needs to be milked first, maybe because she was the first one here. She had been with the billy almost full time, until we got Jewell and separated the billy goat from the girls. Fairy's udder is nearly dry now and I think she is pregnant. We may be getting goat babies around the Winter Solstice.
 |
| Fairy Dust |
The male is Molet. Big, red, full blooded Nubian with giant horns. He scares me a little. We have tried to find him a new home through Craigslist, but he's still here, sharing his male goat aroma with the rest of us at the farm.
 |
| Molet |
Quite a herd gathered in such a short time. And we have more milk than we can deal with. We will start freezing it, but it would be ideal to start up a goat share program. So, if you are local, and in Colorado, and would like to own part of a lovely goat herd, send us an e-mail and we can talk about how that works. The share will get you fresh, raw goats milk weekly. We may also do a goat cheese share.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Growing the farm.
The weather is decidedly cooler since our last rainy spell. Now there is a cool wind blowing and the temps max out at 75 F or so. I can feel Fall in the air. We are trading our window fans for electric heaters. We have been collecting heaters all summer at various yard sales. This little farmhouse has no heat, except for the wood stove, which has not been cleaned, chimney included for what, ten years or more? I'm going to try and avoid using it, if possible.
Thankfully there is a lot of solar gain here, and except for the windows losing the heat at night, the house does get pretty warm during the day. We have put up some foam insulation over about half the windows in the hope of cutting down on the heat loss.
This week, we dug potatoes out of one of our potato beds. We got 10 pounds, maybe. Not great, but not bad, considering we used our organic grocery store potatoes that started to sprout. We have two more potato beds to dig.
This is a big week. Yesterday we went to pick up an intact, male alpaca that our neighbor hay farm is getting rid of. His name is Alfonso, and he is pure white, which means, I can dye some wool.
We also met with a nice family who is re-homing their milk goats to us. We gave them a tour of the farm and tomorrow we are going over to their place to pick up some goats. I think there are five females. Three mamas and two doelings. Some polled. I think the goat herd is adequate now.
We have goat milk and cheese available here at the farm, if anyone wants to stop by to try some.
Thankfully there is a lot of solar gain here, and except for the windows losing the heat at night, the house does get pretty warm during the day. We have put up some foam insulation over about half the windows in the hope of cutting down on the heat loss.
 |
| Foam insulation on sunroom (our bedroom) windows |
This week, we dug potatoes out of one of our potato beds. We got 10 pounds, maybe. Not great, but not bad, considering we used our organic grocery store potatoes that started to sprout. We have two more potato beds to dig.
 |
| Pretty potatoes. |
This is a big week. Yesterday we went to pick up an intact, male alpaca that our neighbor hay farm is getting rid of. His name is Alfonso, and he is pure white, which means, I can dye some wool.
 |
| Alfonso the alpaca. |
We also met with a nice family who is re-homing their milk goats to us. We gave them a tour of the farm and tomorrow we are going over to their place to pick up some goats. I think there are five females. Three mamas and two doelings. Some polled. I think the goat herd is adequate now.
We have goat milk and cheese available here at the farm, if anyone wants to stop by to try some.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Goats
Keepin' the faith....
Milking the goats....
Richard is making cheese again today. The new goat's production is up after just a couple of days.
I think Fairy Dust is happy to have some female company.
The llamas, however, are not thrilled to have been kicked out of their barn.
Richard is reworking some fencing so we can use the corral panels to make a pen for the billy goat. The billy continues to head butt the pallets on the llama barn. He tore apart the little pallet goat barn Richard made for him and Fairy. So now, he will live behind the corral panels, with some kind of boards thrown on top so he can get out of the rain. Maybe we can find him a new home before the winter comes. I hope so. Or we may have to build him an Earthbag goat shelter and see how that holds up to his abuse.
I try to remember that Molet is just a goat, albeit a big, horned billy, and he is just acting like a protective billy when he head butts the gate after the girls go to the milking stand. It's his job to take care of them and I guess to harass them too. That's what animals do in a natural setting. Too bad the girls are not so keen on his affections. And so, it is for their sake, that we have decided to re-home the overly amorous billy and to separate him in the mean time. Anyone looking for a Nubian billy goat?
Milking the goats....
 |
| pot o' milk |
Richard is making cheese again today. The new goat's production is up after just a couple of days.
I think Fairy Dust is happy to have some female company.
 |
| Jewell |
The llamas, however, are not thrilled to have been kicked out of their barn.
 |
| Llamas, missing their barn |
Richard is reworking some fencing so we can use the corral panels to make a pen for the billy goat. The billy continues to head butt the pallets on the llama barn. He tore apart the little pallet goat barn Richard made for him and Fairy. So now, he will live behind the corral panels, with some kind of boards thrown on top so he can get out of the rain. Maybe we can find him a new home before the winter comes. I hope so. Or we may have to build him an Earthbag goat shelter and see how that holds up to his abuse.
 |
| Molet and Fairy Dust |
I try to remember that Molet is just a goat, albeit a big, horned billy, and he is just acting like a protective billy when he head butts the gate after the girls go to the milking stand. It's his job to take care of them and I guess to harass them too. That's what animals do in a natural setting. Too bad the girls are not so keen on his affections. And so, it is for their sake, that we have decided to re-home the overly amorous billy and to separate him in the mean time. Anyone looking for a Nubian billy goat?
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