Farm Hand’s Almanac Archive

8 Days Ago

Wed, 16 May 2012 18:51:49 -0400

The days are running together non stop. I cannot seem to keep track of what day it is or how many days ago certain events happened. It is a running blur. We are milking goats 2x per day; bottle feeding 9 around the clock (7 goat kids and two lambs)....a handful of lambs get eyedrops twice a day thanks to our entropian eye passing ram (now deceased, but we used his son...NOT again!) One lamb was so bad her eyelids had to be stitched to remedy the issue...we are hoping that the drops work for the rest of them. She (Violet) finally gets her stitches out tomorrow...

Now on to bigger news...our first foal arrived 8 days ago. She went un-announced and unnamed until now. Indy had a filly....her first filly by Joe and she will be called OldDominion Juno. Indy’s previous foals by Joe had been colts; both stunning - Maximus and Praetorian. Juno is absolutely lovely, she is independent and full of spunk and personality. Needless to say after the recent loss of Boo’s premature foal we are pleased to have a positive result with this one. Juno can be found on our For Sale page and will have photos updated regularly.

Meanwhile, we still await Cybele’s foal by Fusilier which obviously, leaves me with the realization that my date calculations were incorrect. (not the first time) I was expecting a foal around the 3 of May. We are at the 16th...so we will anticipate that perhaps the 24th ish might be the time....no doubt she is in foal; she is as big as a house!

It feels as though there are a million and one things going on here and I have grown weary trying to keep up. Our first farmers’ market appearance is this Saturday and while that is our normal egg delivery day; we will have to divide and conquer with the Farm Hand delivering our 200 dozen eggs to Tysons Corner area restaurants while the farm girlios and I manage things at the Farm Market.

Also this upcoming week is our annual Pork and Pinot dinner at Wildfire Restaurant. The link to the dinner can be found here as a wine dinner at the McLean location. http://www.wildfirerestaurant.com/events/wine-events. It is a reservations event at $80 per plate with each course paired with a wine. It is a great time with great people and awesome dishes! We took Chef Eddie’s pig into the butcher today and will deliver her to Eddie on Monday morning. The dinner is on Wednesday night, May 23rd.

Apologies to all our regular blog followers for the irregularity in posting. I will try to do better.

Tales of Aslan

Fri, 11 May 2012 20:33:55 -0400

For those of you joining our story in progress, Aslan is the Anatolian Shepherd dog (ASD) that we rehomed for a local family. He has been with us a almost a month now so I thought an update was in order. As a bit of background on Aslan, the sum total of his livestock guarding prior to joining the household was keeping watch over his property and Snickers the she-Lab (not Shelob the giant spider creature from LOTR). He was raised around cats and did not bother them so I was fairly certain he had a low prey drive. We started him slowly on a pasture next to the barn that houses some 250+ chickens, our dairy goats (sometimes) and shared fence with our little pack of ASDs. The chickens had some holes that they used to get into his pasture and the temptation proved to be too much so he did have a go at the little cluckers on Day 1 but caused no damage. Day 2, the chickens were everywhere in his pasture and we had no incidents. Aslan’s presence inside The Compound fenceline did not go over so well with our ASDs. There was quite a bit of fence fighting, growling, posturing, peeing and general carrying on for many days. Round about the second week, it seemed they all got used to each other or tired of yelling at each other thru the fence. Mosby was the first to relax followed slowly by the rest. Aslan’s body language also changed from aggressive defiance to more relaxed during this time (See More Ground & Accidental Introductions). It seemed that he was discovering what his purpose in life was.

Over the past 2 weeks, it has been more of the same. Exposure to our menagerie thru the fences and getting used to the coming and going at the barn. He has an ASDs natural hatred of big flying birds and does his part to chase off the vultures or other big birds which is important now that we have a whole bunch of little raptor morsels running enticingly around the barnyard. He has begun to identify this place as his place. So, time to push the envelope. Over the past 2 weeks we have walked Aslan into the goat/sheep fields to get him used to the sights and sounds. Being that he has not been raised with experienced ASDs or LGDs, he tends to move too fast around the ovines and caprines. This makes them bolt which makes him think they want to play. Since Aslan is a very intelligent boy, it has taken almost no time for him to realize chasing our stock is verbotten. We thought after taking him in with the goats this past week that he was getting it. He was not rushing anyone or making lunges to get a smell. He was starting to realize that the little goatlings would come to him if he just hung with me on the mound by the barn. A couple of days ago, while Aslan and I took up our post on the mound for an evening communion with the goat kids, it became obvious that he had relaxed. He laid himself down next to me and promptly paid no attention whatever to the goats. I took the occasion to unleash him to let him walk amongst his soon to be charges. Now he had the most unfortunate luck to choose Fresca’s kid to be the first kid he went nose to nose with for the first time. Fresca is our largest dairy goat and very obviously the Queen of the Goats. She is also the most protective. Poor Aslan never saw the head-butt coming. She lowered her head, lined up the body and did her best middle linebacker imitation of spearing right into Aslan’s neck. Poor Aslan. He could not get far enough away from those goats. I knew any additional socializing with the goats was going to be fruitless so we let him skulk off to nurse his wounded pride and neck. But, the next day, we went back in for a walk thru. Not great but good enough. Still a little shy and Fresca didn't help any with her bullying of him. The next day, a little better until 2 days ago after Aslan had been banished from goat milking to the all chicken side of the barn because he was barking at the girls while they were on the milk stand (not helpful). Since Stella was nearby, I decided to put Stella in with him because he would not stop whining and I thought it might be time. They got along fantastically from the start and spent the rest of the day and night together on the chicken only side of the fence. Today though we turned the two of them into the goat pasture unsupervised. If you have read the Farm Hand’s Almanac before you may know that Stella is a superior LSD with all the traits that you look for and having been raised around adult ASDs, she is calm, slow moving, quiet, does not chase anyone and stands her ground when a yearling goat starts to stand on hind legs and play head butting. Aslan the brave. Aslan the bold. Aslan the Livestock Guard Dog. He interacted with the goats calmly, a little quickly but getting there and even shared the little chicken shack with one of the yearlings at one point. What a good boy. I knew he had it in him.

Best Intentions

Fri, 4 May 2012 21:12:14 -0400

As the last 5 days have passed; with each day I realized I had not yet gotten to the Almanac. I have had the best intentions but it is just such a busy time and by the time I stop moving late at night; I just want to sit still for a while before going to bed. We still are only three lambs strong and awaiting the arrival of more. If they follow the same schedule as the dairy goats did ( there was a 10 day window from the first kidding to the next...then they dropped one after another) then we would be expecting more lambs tomorrow...being that tomorrow will have been 10 days from the first lamb born. Thinking being that there is a natural pattern to the birthing based on the cycling of the mums... just a theory. We’ll see.

We had a ram once....spent a good penny on him because he was bred for his wool and was going to improve the quality of our wool. He turned out to carry the entropian eye gift (which is not a gift at all!). Our first round of lambs with him about 1/2 had this problem. Wally died at age two unexpectedly to heart failure which was the result of some other complication.....just goes to show you when you mess with the breeding to improve one thing; others are sacrificed. We retained one of his sons...Wally Jr. Junior, like his dad, has amazing wool. He also happens to be the fella that butted me in the chest and sent me flying a couple months ago. Junior received this same gift from his father.

When the Farm Hand and I went to band and tag the three lambs on Friday morning, it was clear that one little ewe was having issues. Entropian eye, for those who may not know is when the eyelids fold in toward the eye. The eyelashes and this fold of skin cause pain and irritation to the eye and can damage the cornea. If not repaired; the animal can go blind. It is not a comfortable condition to have. The little ewe had started to develop ulcers on her eyes so I made her an appointment with the vet. To remedy this situation the eyelids are folded down and then stitched in the correct position. It looks awful once the procedure is done. This poor gal needed repair to both her top lids and her bottom ones. She will wear her stitches for 14 days and then have them removed. Hopefully, as she grows the lids will maintain proper positioning, but it is possible the procedure would need to be redone.

By this morning it was evident she was feeling so much better. I have been treating her with some antibiotic eye ointment as well and she is like a new lamb. She looks an awful mess...a bit frankenstein-ish....but I know she feels a lot better. The procedure is not cheap; but it is not something I think I can do on my own. Some people do this procedure themselves...but I do not think I could. Because she is a ewe though; and we will retain her for future breeding she was worth it. We will need to use an alternate ram though in the future. I was hoping Junior would not have this gift to share; but alas.... I am just hoping that the other lambs to come will not have this issue.

I spoke with the vet about the other ewe....the one that had lost her lambs in utero. Apparently I did all the right things with the LA200 (antibiotic) and the other treatment of her. It is reassuring to know that I am learning things and my instincts about what to do in times like that are correct. He said she could have easily gone septic and we would have lost her.

We have named the remainder of the dairy goats. The boys are Gus, Otis, Baxter and Petie. The girls are Cowgirl, April, Abby and Georgia. Later this month they will be joined by Katniss, Zoey, Kailan, and another Abby...who I guess we will call AbbyTwo. On Monday I plan to take the kids from moms and begin milking. That is a lot of milking twice a day.

Kidding Complete & Lambing Woes

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:16:43 -0400

Kidding is officially complete this year. The final count is 4 girls and 4 boys. An even split. We had three arrive on Saturday and the last one arrived today. We’ve got Cowgirl, April, Gus, Otis, Petie, and the final three yet unnamed. One of our ewes, 263 who is one of our favorites, and one of our older gals was acting very strangely the last couple of days. She seemed unwell. Two days ago she had some discharge and I thought that she might be in labor; but nothing followed. The two days following she would not eat, was off by herself and was head low and ears out to the side. Finally, yesterday evening she started labor. The Farm Hand and I shuffled her into a stall and watched for a bit. Nothing happened. I came back later; still nothing. She was working at it; taking breaks, but not in distress, so I left and gave her some more time. Before bed I thought I would give her another check. She had gotten legs out but there was no head. I grabbed a long plastic glove and some vaseline and went to assist. I was a little freaked out at first because all that was present were legs. There was no head...then I realized it was folded all the way back. The lamb was obviously dead so there was no need to be gentle with the lamb; most important was to get it out. I finally wedged the head around and the rest of the body followed. It appeared to have been dead in utero which I figured would easily account for her strange behavior. I stayed with her for a bit and noticed her belly still moving. I went to get a bag to dispose of the lamb while the second one worked its way up the birth canal. I also took the time to grab a syringe with some antibiotic and some Glycol thinking it couldn’t hurt. I administered this while she was laboring with number two. With the movement going on in her belly; I was hopeful that the second lamb was going to be okay. It presented properly and as soon as it’s head peaked you could see that it too was deceased. 263 was exhausted at this point and I help pull the last one out. I got another plastic bag for number two as 263 lay resting. I recalled I had some special food supplement that was a sort of “pick me up” for ewes in distress so I got some of that and mixed it with some sheep feed. After bagging up the deceased lamb I heard some scuffling from her stall so I went to go check and she was up and eating and looked immediately better. This morning I found her well and up and behaving like her old self again. Of course I was sad about the lambs; but was very glad that the ewe was okay. We’ve got 4 more ewes to lamb yet and are also still awaiting the arrival of Indy’s foal. I did not take any new photos today but have shared a couple more lamb photos taken day before yesterday.

Latest Arrivals

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:15:05 -0400

It has been a busy couple of days. We are up to 4 dairy goat kids and 3 lambs. The lambs were born on Wednesday and the first day and a half was a little bit of a struggle with the set of twins. I was doing some bottle feeding; but the two figured things out and are now nursing successfully from mom. I suppose it helped considerably that I was using her milk to feed them. My handy dairy goat milker came in very handy for use with ewe number 265.
 All told we have 2 dairy goat girls; April and Cowgirl. Two dairy goat boys; Gus and Otis. A set of twin lambs; Henry and Violet and a singleton female named Lavender. Freska; one of our dairy goats looks like she is going to explode; she is so heavy and carrying such weight; she looks to struggle a bit getting up and down and walking about. Freska had triplet boys last year...we are hoping Freska gives us girls this time because Freska’s milk is extra tasty (our favorite) and we are hoping she passes this down to her girls. We have nicknamed her Freska-licious because her milk is so yummy.

Surely we will have more arrivals over the weekend.

Drying out

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:27:10 -0400

We have had lots of cold wet weather over the last few days...since Saturday late afternoon. The rain has been much needed but it has been cold and wet...and now muddy in some areas. The sun appeared this morning and while it was still pretty cool outside we have begun to dry out a little. I am glad that no one decided to birth any babies during the rainy cold snap. I kept a close eye on goats and ewes and even left the dairy goats in one night. Freska looks like she is ready to explode and dare I say I think her kids will arrive any moment.

Tomorrow morning 5 pigs are off to the abattoir which will be a really monumental event. It will open up the two little paddocks next to the barn. Which have been inhabited by pigs for quite some time. It will be nice to have these little paddocks open; cleaned up and rested. It will be another early and busy morning to get the rounds done, kids off to school and pigs loaded and arrived to the butcher all before 9 am.

Jackie’s kids were born 8 days ago and I really had hoped they would have had some company by now. Hopefully soon. I think Freska will see to that in the next day or two.

Aslan, who has never been exposed to livestock is doing such a great job. He is pictured above in the shadows (sorry for photo quality, it was taken with the iphone) surrounded by chickens. The ewe’s are off to his left and his friend Jackie and her two kids are in the stall to his right. There are a lot of chickens around him in this picture and it was quite a moment because the afternoon Aslan first arrived here he got loose and ran down some chickens. He now is relaxed and comfortable with them roaming about him. This past weekend he was also taken for a leash walk in with the ewes and the dairy goats. He did very well with this and will graduate to a longer leash (a longe line) before being let loose with them. We will take it slow with him. It is a lot to absorb. We are also considering putting Stella on the opposite side of the fence with him and away from the other dogs. Thinking that if we put Stel in with her dairy goats; Aslan will get to watch how she behaves with them through the fence. It will likely be Stella that we introduce Aslan to first; with out the fence in between, but this will be a while yet.

More Ground & Accidental Introductions

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:38:31 -0400

Aslan has been with us for nearly a week. The fence running and intermittent growling and barking sessions between Aslan and the other 4 Anatolians subsided after day 3. I think they all got tired. I make numerous trips back and forth the barn each day to check on goats/kids and now also the ewes’ who will start lambing in the next couple of days. The small paddock where Aslan had maintained residence since last Saturday adjoins; by way of a 8 foot gate, the barnyard area which is also fenced in. They way it is all set up and arranged around the barn, part of the fence line in the barnyard is shared by dairy goats; part by ewes, and part by pigs. The interior of the barnyard is home to no one; but all the free ranging chickens as they mosey from here to there.

Over the last week during my numerous trips to the barn; Aslan would whine at me and want some attention. As often as I could I would go spend time with him. Yesterday morning I had the idea to open his 8 foot gate and give him access to the barnyard area as well. He seemed ready. With this additional space; he will have many more chickens to contend with; ewes to meet through the fence; and pigs to get acquainted with. He LOVED this. He was SO happy, running around, pronking and prancing with a giant smile on his face. We had not seen him smile until this moment. He patrolled his newly introduced perimeter no less than 4 times. It was another big introduction for him; but he was not overwhelmed and managed it all well. As the day worn on, he seemed to particularly fancy the ewes.

So now, as I come and go from the barn multiple times throughout the day, he is excited to greet me, come visit and accompany me as far as I will allow him to go.

This morning he escorted me from here to there as I fed goats, ewes and pigs...Jackie, who is in the barn with her two doelings needed some milking. The two kids are only nursing out of one teat and I do not know why. I can only assume because they cannot get their tiny mouths around the giant swelled up one. So I have tried milking that side to get it down to a manageable size. It is Jackie’s first time being milked and the last couple of days; I have just tried to hold her still while milking...this did not work so well and was frustrating for us both. So this morning I decided I would put the milking stanchion in her stall so that we could do it properly...and it would be good practice for when she is being milked twice a day. The milking stanchion was just outside the dutch door to her stall. While I was attempting to slip it in there; sneaky Aslan slipped past me into the stall. He went straight for the kids. I smashed my finger in the stanchion while tossing it to the ground and shouting at him. As it turned out he was mostly very eager and curious about them and did not hurt them. He did not have too much time to think about it because after tossing the stanchion to the ground I went to scoop them up. Aslan then turned his attention toward Jackie...again; mostly curious and playful. Jackie was not impressed and her posture told him as much. Regardless...I got everyone back to where they needed to be. Since then; Aslan has been trying to find a way to stay close to Jackie and her kids. First; he would not come out of or off his post from inside the barn at the front of Jackies stall. Then, once I finally got him out; he took post at her stall behind the dutch door. He is no killer, that is for sure. But his first introductions need to be slow and easy and supervised while he is at the end of a long lead. He will figure it out. It is just all so new to him; and being still a youngster really at 3 and never having been exposed to livestock, he is doing exceptionally well.

Gain of Two; Loss of One

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:17:37 -0400

When I posted my last entry mid morning on the 16th; I had no idea what the second 1/2 of the day would hold. The mobile mower fella had come to repair the broken spindle on the mower which permitted me to finish cutting outside the fence (our grass that is lane side; in between the lane and the fence that wraps the property) where I had left off. As I powered up and made my way back down the line; I looked to the right toward the barn to take a quick peek at the expectant dairy goats and found two very new arrivals had just hit the ground. I escorted them into the barn where a stall was waiting so that they could have some time to bond and recover without the assistance of sisters and moms hanging around to offer interference or suggestions.

This is Jackie’s first time being a mom and she has done so well. She has welcomed two very adorable doelings. One; who has similar markings to her dad, Cowboy. She will be called (and appropriately so) Cowgirl. The other doe is smaller in stature and lighter in color. Her name is still being debated upon. The are both fond of curling up in moms food dish. So darned cute!

Later that afternoon I was met by the sight that I never like to see. In the field behind the house Boo was standing over something. Joe was about 5 feet to Boo’s side. I knew it was not good as I ran down to the bottom of the field, all the while saying to myself; “please be a fox, please be a fox, please be a fox”. It was not a fox. Boo, who was not due until the end of May expelled a deceased premature foal. My heart sunk fast and hard. The foal was small and female; and definitely early. We had had this happen once before a good number of years ago with a mare we had leased. She carried the foal for 10 months and one day...about a month early, dead foal. Certainly, it could have been any number of things; but vet speculated that as the foal was moving within that the umbilical got knotted up and cut off supply to the foal. Once the foal was deceased, the mare expelled the foal. I do not know if this is what happened this time or not.
We buried the foal in the high spot at the top of the front 5....along with Goldie, Rainbows foal, and a couple others. She is in good company and among friends. Goldie who was an old palomino Quarter Horse was our nanny mare. She looked after the foals when weaned. Still now; she has the job of watching over the foals.

It is sad. But I find my emotions being consumed more by disappointment and defeat than with sadness. Bayberry has reacted in a way we have not seen from her before. That night we became very concerned about her because her behavior was especially out of the ordinary. She is visibly sad, depressed and with broken spirit. It was two years ago that I sat with her and her foal in the giant shed as her foal died in my lap. That time I cried. We had struggled for days to have that foal thrive and it finally gave up. It was a dummy foal and it was either going to make it or not. He didn’t. Last year her foal was born without problem and was doing well until it developed joint ill after several days. You do all you are supposed to; take the precautions, clean the navel; set it up for success and sometimes all you do is not enough. A trip to the Equine hospital with the odd shot that he could be saved revealed that in fact, he could not. In our experience, foals go in that place, they don’t ever come out. Now with her third loss; I think she has really been effected. If horses can have a broken heart, hers is currently broken. These Cleveland Bays are so thoughtful and sensitive; I truly believe that is what is ailing her.

There is no question we have had our fair share of foaling complications. They’re too big and get stuck, wry necks, nose stuck behind the pelvis, joint ill, dummy foals, born septic, premature abortion...you name it. I wonder if that is why there are so many people falling out of the pure bred breeding business. It is hard...emotionally. You work so hard for this breed that is so fantastic, so unlike any other, sensitive, thoughtful, the perfect horse, yet so rare and in need of saving...from our perspective, it has always been an uphill climb. Sometimes though it feels like climbing mount Everest without climbing gear or equipment.

Twenty-three

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 11:57:21 -0400

April 12 - 8 piglets. April 13 a.m. - 8 more piglets. April 13 p.m. - 7 more piglets. Twenty three piglets in all. Farrowing....done. Now I wonder what the hold up is with the dairy goats and Kiki.

Kamille started to show signs of bagging up night before last. Last night; a bit more. It has been my expectation that she would have had her pups by the 15th. Last night was my first night camping out on the couch in anticipation of the arrival of pups. I knew it was too soon yet, still not enough milk. I find myself wondering if the breed date was later than I thought. Who knows. All we can do is monitor and be ready. Regular checks on the dairy goats and there are still only 32 feet on the ground.

Word traveled on Saturday evening that the cows and the goats arrived at their destination safely. At just about the same time the trailer arrived to pick up the cows and goats; the new arrival also arrived. We have taken in a new Anatolian Shepherd Dog. Aslan is a 3 year old male who was living not too far from here and needed some re-homing. He had not been exposed to livestock before and had been living with a chocolate lab. Aslan’s new environment is a HUGE adjustment and he is handling it all very well. It will be quite some time before he can be integrated with the existing pack...if at all. There has been quite a bit of fence running and aggressive posturing through fences. On a positive note; he has already gotten used to the chickens and has not bothered them. The dairy goats are on the other side of the fence from him and when he first barked at them, I think he was surprised when they did not bark back. He was not quite sure what to do. He is probably experiencing sensory overload and is doing well with it all so far. We will see how things continue to go.

Indy is getting quite close to foaling. The 27th is her due date and she is bagging up more by the day. Cybele is as big as the house and does not seem to have started bagging up yet. Both girls are doing well and I am a bit relieved that the evening temperatures have picked back up and are not as frigid.

And So It Begins... and some big changes

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:51:57 -0400

Things got kicked off yesterday afternoon with the arrival of the first litter of piglets. Phoebe had eight of them; and what seems to be an even split between boys and girls. Sow number two, Lola, followed suit this afternoon also with eight piglets and and distribution favored in the female side with 5 girls and 3 boys. Martha, sow number three, seems to be roaming around the pasture feeling a little left out and perhaps looking for her spot to join the ranks of 2012 motherhood.

As you can tell from Lola’s face above, she is happy. Our berks smile. Templeton smiled, Winston smiled, and these gals smile.

Some other large developments over the last couple days. We have sold all our Spanish goats the two bucks and the does who are due to kid out beginning next week. We have also sold our two Devon cows, Lakota P10 and her daughter Cass. As convenience would have it they are all going to the same location and will be departing on Saturday afternoon.

As some residents depart (the cows and the Spanish goats) a new resident will join us at Bay Haven Farm. I will save the details of that one for a future post. He also arrives tomorrow.

We are still waiting on the dairy goats to do something; meanwhile Indy looks to have started bagging up. She’s got about two weeks. Cybele should be only days behind her.

Dripping

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:30:14 -0400

The evening rounds today revealed that this sow above was dripping milk. Piglets are imminent. The careful checks of the dairy goats reveal that the udders are enlarging and bellies getting rounder, but no babies appearing yet. Kamille is growing more lethargic and her appetite waning which is very unusual for her. We will hopefully have baby news tomorrow which will be very exciting for our overnight family guests that are coming for a quick visit. We are just over 2 weeks away from our first foals. It is all happening....it is all happening at once...

The other photo above one of our barn cats. This is Snickers; who was originally thought to have been female like his two sisters that he shares the barn with; but alas, he was not. He is a handsome boy who is very friendly. We have put up some plastic mesh on the dutch window of the barn so that Doodles (this is what I call Snickers as a nickname), and his sisters, Luna and Honey can sit in the window, bask in the sun and watch the chickens stroll by below.

Four Strikes and He’s Out!!

Fri, 6 Apr 2012 18:41:17 -0400

We are still waiting for babies. In the meantime; Tuck (pictured above left) has kept us busy. Tuck is our Devon steer who is being raised for beef. Devon is a strictly grass fed breed and he is due for harvesting later this year...toward the autumn. Tuck, along with his mum and sister have been keeping company with a few horses in half of the Big Big Field. Last summer we divided this field in half with 3 board fence. I am saving 1/2 of it for hay harvesting. So the grass on the “other side of the fence” is definitely greener...through the eyes of the human, the horse and...it would seem Tuck. Tuck, it would seem, decided he preferred the looks of things on the other side of the fence.

The first time was probably a fluke. He apparently popped the middle board enough to knock it down and he ducked through the top board and the bottom board and decided to help himself to the lush salad bar growing on the forbidden side of the fence. Not wanting him or his waste products in my hay field, I ran out to put him back where he belonged. I must have looked like a complete idiot jumping up and down, shooing him and making noises to get him back to the top of the fence line and through the gate; which was a bit of a challenge not only because he doesn’t “lead” but because the horses all wanted to come in where Tuck was too... Success. He was back where he belonged and I fixed the fence board. Hopefully no one was watching.

Not more than 2 hours later he had done the same thing. This was no coincidence. The same routine ensued. Different board. More repairs. Then, just before night fell I glanced out again to see he had done it yet a third time! He was on to something and was obviously very proud of what he had figured out. Because the second time was more of a challenge to encourage him out, I grabbed the lunge whip. Some gentle tapping on the hiney proved to be more effective than a loon jumping and knickering odd noises and saying “shoo cow, shoo”. Somehow I knew that even if I put him back again, this would continue to be a repeat offender. But it was getting late and.... wouldn’t you know it, this morning there he was again! The fourth time. That was it. He was evicted from the Big Big Field. He was sent into the alley where lots of very long green grass is abundant. Here he will remain for a while...in the alley system. What a buggar! He is content now with all the long green grass around him and still shares a fence line with him mum and sister. Neither party seems to be distraught without the other. He is pictured above in the alley that is not long because it is traveled regularly. He has access to two alleys and the octagon that is the central hub of many of our pastures. We placed a bucket of water at the end of this travelled alley (because that is where the water pump is) We showed him where is water was and he has since been roaming and grazing happily. I am definitely glad not to be chasing his naughty self out of the hay field any more and he seems happy with all the grass.

Fusi has been busy courting Sister this week. Cybele and her giant belly is pictured above. She is due May 2.

Treed

Wed, 4 Apr 2012 12:03:25 -0400

Last night, before retiring for good for the night, I had let Kamille back out one more time. I went to go call for her to retrieve her back to her whelping box and cushion for the night. As I stood on the porch there was an incredible ruckus in the Big Field below. I could hear multiple dogs growing and barking who were obviously very very upset. It was far more than the sound of the customary bark at the deer passing by. Whatever it was, it was in the wood at the back end of the Big Field and not leaving. We have some wood behind the property (back behind the ewes in this photo) and the dogs were down there. I called for the Farm Hand who, upon listening also thought the ruckus was more elevated than usual so we grabbed a flashlight. It is a bit of a hike from the house to the back end of this field by the wood where the dogs were. With Mosby accounted for at the top of the hill where the house sits, we knew that Kamille, Stella and Jeb were the ones responsible for all the noise. The way the sound carries from the hollow down there on a cool night, it almost sounded like something was growling back. My concern was a bear. We hiked down the hill and pointed the light flashlight into the wood; first checking the tall grasses on the other side, then the bases of the trees (for bears), and then further beyond into the darkness of the wood. I was glad not to see any bears looking back. Or coyotes...but coyotes would have run off. It was not until the light was shone further up the tree where we found the victim. High in the tree was a raccoon. He must have ventured this way looking for chicken for dinner and got caught by the dogs; the coon could slip under the fence at the top of the field and run for cover more quickly than the dogs; but once the dogs caught up, the coon had no where to go. He sat there clinging to the tree and fearing for his life. I do not think he will be back any time soon. Glad it wasn’t a bear. The dogs sure were angry with Jeb leading the attack.

It is nice to see Jeb maturing a bit. He is as fast as lightening and no one can keep up with him. He is turning out to be as exceptional a livestock guardian as is his older sister Stella. Now if we can just get him to mature a little during the “down” time. He won’t be two until July and currently behaves like a pre-pubescent teenage boy sometimes.

Still awaiting the arrival of our first 2012 babies. Regular daily checks on the sows and dairy goats. Above is a photo of our ewes...obviously one is carrying some wee-ones....they do not lamb until late April and early May. This photo was taken when the dogs alerted yesterday morning to some vultures hanging around the sows field. I thought for sure that piglets had arrived and the smell of placenta had attracted them. As the dogs reacted to the vultures and ran them off; the ewes take the cue and pod up together and come to the top of the hill for safety.

New Girlfriends

Mon, 2 Apr 2012 15:34:11 -0400

It was a pretty busy weekend. One of the many things we ticked off this list this weekend was the introduction of new girlfriends to Fusilier. When Dr. Andrea was out here in March for cultures; it was evident that both Sister and Promise were coming into season...so the timing is about perfect. Willow was relocated to the Big Big Field and immediately took up with old friends. Promise and Sister were led over to Fusi in his field. The three of them are peas in a pod now; just one day later and I will plan to keep an eye out for “activity”.

By mid-day we had finished the final touches on the farrowing houses so they are now ready for the delivery of piglets. We have been checking on the sows regularly; two of which are very full of milk. Once the farrowing houses were completed we focused on Kiki’s whelping box.

It seems we reconstruct this thing each time a litter is expected; and this year we seem to have broken the code. Rather than a long rectangular box we built a giant square one. Sure; it takes up most of the mud room; but it will give Kiki more room to turn around a position herself before settling down to nurse pups. Kamille has officially relocated from her resting spot on the screened in porch to her whelping box in the mudroom. It is outfitted with rubber stall mats and at this moment also has her giant dog cushion in it. She is familiar with what the box is all about and seems to know exactly where she wants to be.

These events took up most of our Sunday but were all must do’s on my list. Butters is pictured above. He is one of our Pure Spanish Bucks.

Early Expansions

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:30:59 -0400

Part of our plans for 2012 included growing our dairy herd. Even before our own kids arrive, and not knowing what we will have on the ground in the next month, we have added 4 new goat kids. In an effort to diversify the dairy herd we have just acquired two nubian doelings (pictured above) and two Oberhasli doelings (not pictured). The addition of these four gals (who will come home at the end of May or early June) increases our current dairy herd from 8 to 12. We look to be expecting a good number of kids ourselves very soon and hope that this will be a girl year all around. Our current herd is primarily Toggenburg and French Alpine. While we are still learning a lot about dairy goats, it is true that the different breeds will offer varying percentages of butter fat and therefore, different milk.

I find myself checking on the sows pretty regularly now and think that at any moment I will find piglets on the ground. Two of the sows are so full of milk it appears their belly does not have a whole lot of clearance from the ground. Also of concern is Freska, one of our dairy goats who looks to be carrying quite a load and may be our first to kid...she was first last year as well. She could deliver as early as Monday. Goats are usually pretty accurate with their timing; the trouble is I do not know exactly when each was bred; only a date range which they kept company with Cowboy, the buck.

Fencing is underway on the front pasture. Isolde turns 4 years old tomorrow; Happy Birthday to Isolde! This weekend we will also put together the whelping box in the mudroom and make preparations for Kiki there. She has been “resting” most of the day on the giant cushion in the screened in porch. She also spends her nights there. She is not very active currently and is probably giving a lot now to the development of the pups. Earlier this week I purchased a stall mat to place under her whelping box to use as a base. This should prove to be much more effective than the slate floor with old bedsheets.

Staking Claim

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:50:41 -0400

It has been 5 days since I posted last...where is the time going? I have been working to prepare spots for the sows to farrow. What seems to work well is using the left over round bales spaced apart, tented by a tarp. So there is a row of three of these. I have only tented one so far. (my arm got really tired of hammering the hay/tarp stake into the bale at an elevated level). Additionally in their field the sows have the cover of wood that has a large rock outcropping and a hoop house. Initially I was not very pleased with my bale/tarp tenting structure, but the sows seem to love it. One sow seems to have laid claim to one, another to the one in the middle (which doesn’t yet have it’s tarp), and the third sow parking herself, during her down time, in the hoop house which is nearby. So as long as they are happy, I am happy. Will need to finish up with the other two tarp roofs before the week is out. We will also aim to block in the back side of these spaces temporarily with a piece of plywood...it gives more cover from behind and will help to deter any sneaky foxes from getting through looking for a tasty morsel.

Also on the list for the end of this week is a rubber stall mat which will be used this year under Kiki’s welping box (which we also need to hurry up and put together)....the same trip to the Southern States will include several bales of pine shavings. During the slow moments of the past several days, I have been cleaning out the stalls in the barn. The old straw and hay has been taken out and one stall already divided in half with a hog panel and heat lamp at the ready. The pine shavings will go there and be bedding for new dairy kids and mums. The nights have gotten quite cool again and it is always good to be prepared. As the dairy goat kids continue to arrive, I will outfit the other stalls for the same purpose as needed. By the time the Spanish Goats kid and the Sheep lamb in May, the dairy goat kids will be good to go on their own outside under the supervision of Stella to keep them safe.

This morning was spent getting 4 pigs to the abattoir. One pig will be whole and scalded for a local chef and the others done according to other orders that need to be filled. 4 additional pigs are scheduled for the 25 of April. This will leave us with 11 more pigs from last years litters. Some females we might decide to keep. We will hopefully have a new outcross Berkshire boar youngster later this summer and they will make good additional mates for him.

The Farm Hand and I recently came to the decision to continue the fencing at the front of the property. This will entail another 700 feet +/- of 4-board fence as well as repair to an existing fence on the opposite side that has gone a bit neglected over the years and was part of the original property before we arrived. Our plan is to fence it in; get a first cutting off of it, which at the current rate of grass growth could be end of May, and then put some horses out there. It is a massive field with ample grazing. It is convenient as it will be adjacent to Fusi’s current field so he and his girlfriends of the day, will have great fun out there when the time comes.

Pictures above of Joe taken this afternoon.

Any Moment Now

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:11:46 -0400

Piglets could really appear at any moment now. Dairy goat kids and puppies also probably begin arriving within a couple weeks time. With the warmer weather the horses have begun shedding out a bit. Promise and Sister (above right) have been given the all clear so they will meet Fusi this time next week. It seems to be the calm before the storm...lots to keep busy doing; but not a whole lot of action on the animal front. Fifty new hens arrived yesterday and are acclimating themselves to their new surroundings. The weather has been beautiful; some much needed rain arriving over the weekend.

The photo above left is Pride (a TB mare) She is also pictured below...she seems to be sheding out from the hind end forward. Rhosyn is pictured below right; and the three naked rams above middle.