Limbo

Life on the farm feels madly stuck in a sort of "limbo" stage at the moment.  Everything is frozen. And still. And nearly lifeless.  I rode one of the horses all over the property last weekend to inspect everything and see what was new.  Not much.

In the garden, the garlic had poked their little heads through the soil at some point during this winter and the little green tips were frozen solid.  But I'm not concerned, the same thing happened last year and everything was fine come July. The only thing that appeared to show tiny signs of life were the blackberry bushes. They seem to be growing a little, like the buds on the trees.  But it could be my imagination.  Or just my lust to see something green and growing!

The goat is still waddling around looking like a small pregnant cow. The woodpile continues to shrink.  I'm worried about the goat because if she is actually pregnant and does go into labor please, please, please, don't let it be in the next ten days when the temperatures are in the low "teens" and dipping below zero during the nights.  Otherwise, I will have to bring her and any babies into the house.  No question there!



January 13, 2014

The sun sets today at 5:29 p.m. here in Northeast Ohio.  How I long for the month of May when things really start to green up and the sun sets at a more respectable time!

On another dismal note, I've discovered lately that one of my racehorses has come to despise chickens. He's bashed a few around now, but this latest outburst was downright savage! Not only did he crush this hen, but then proceeded to tear into her, toss her around a bit, and then finish her off by stomping her to death. Maybe the horse is suffering from cabin fever as well...

Better weather on the horizon



It's still well below freezing this morning.  When I left for work the temperature had only reached 10 degrees.  But we're supposedly heading for a high of 20, and on Saturday they are predicting a high of 46 degrees, so it will feel like spring.  Sort of... The animals will be happy to get out and about.

Still no signs of the goat giving birth.  Though I'm glad that no babies were born during this week's freezing weather.

In going along with my "eat like a European" plan, last night's dinner was left-over roasted rooster tossed onto a salad with balsamic dressing and a few homemade croutons.  It was enough.

 

 

Due Date

Any bets on when (or if) she's due?

 

I'm new to this goat husbandry thing, so I failed to proactively separate my doe from my buck, and, well, you know what happens next.  So, I have no clue when "Miss Chiba" actually became pregnant (or if she's just really fat).  I feed and worm her appropriately, according to http://www.boergoat101.com/libraryshelf.php?cat=FEEDING.  So unless she has some weird, goat thyroid problem (if that's possible for a goat?) then I don't think she's large due to obesity.

So... Any bets?  Anybody?

Preparing for a Deep Freeze on the Farm

One of the not-so-nice things about living on a farm (with animals) is dealing with cold winter weather.  The animals, but maybe not the horses so much, seem to hate it as much as I do.  The chickens want to roost and linger in the barn all day, rather than brave freezing wind and snow.  But, the chickens (and duck) were happy to get out and roam around a bit over the weekend, once the temperatures rose to about 37 degrees.  And the turkeys and bunnies were pretty active as well.

With the slight break in the weather, I jumped on the chance to get the heat lamps up and ready to get the animals through the next two nights of arctic wrath. I also took the opportunity to pin down the Billy Goat (with some help), to get his hooves trimmed and fit him with a halter.  What a chore! But the collar alone wasn't giving me enough control, and he was still able to swing his head around and puncture holes in my thighs with his horns.  Not fun.  Or safe. 

Speaking of goats, I've been struggling with castration confusion.  If my (hopefully) pregnant doe delivers a buck, is it best to castrate it by cutting or banding?  I can't decide.  If anyone out there has any advice I would greatly appreciate your feedback on this one.

We had a nice dinner to close the day.  The husband wanted steak.  We don't eat much cow, maybe a handful of times per year.  I think if we raised one of our own that could change.  But we love pork, chicken, duck, rabbit, and the occasional squirrel (don't judge).  I'd much rather have a pig or two than a cow.  Or ten goats, but that's another story...

Getting back to the dinner.  This was way too much meat for me to eat, and as expected, I only managed to get through about one quarter of it.  Really, who eats like this?  Other than my husband... But I guess this is why so many of us Americans are large, unlike the Europeans, who's plates would contain only a quarter of what mine did to begin with!  I need to make a mental note to start eating more like a European.   And of course after all that food I couldn't be bothered with taking down the Christmas Tree and putting away the decorations.  I could barely walk. 

Birthday Buddies

Yesterday was my Birthday.  I turned 41!

I had to spend my big day without any human company for the evening becuase, well,  humans have to work and travel and do all that other human stuff.  So I seized the moment!  The day was perfect when I got home from work around 6:30 pm.  The sun was shining and it was 76 degrees outside.  I poured myself a little (okay, HUGE!) glass of cold Pinot Grigio, grabbed my camera, and headed outside to spend some quality time with the "gang".  They were loving the weather as much as I was.  And I'm sure I heard them whisper "Happy Birthday" to me in their own little ways...

This is "Nigel." He's a five year old Thoroughbred.  I hope he can run fast. Really fast.



 Next we have "Maggot," a 14year old Thoroughbred, and retired racehorse. (a.k.a. "Widow Maker")

And here's "Dottie."  She's a five year old Snowflake Appaloosa mare. She likes to buck.

"Louie" is a 3 year old Pitbull mix who I rescued from the city streets. He now has the responsibility of being the livestock gaurdian dog.  And stinking beyond belief. I wouldn't mess with him, woud you?

"BiBi" is my little girl.  She's a Toy Fox Terror.  I mean, "terrier."  She's three years old also.

Next in line is "Ezra," a ten week old Boer-Nubian cross.  I just got him a few weeks ago.  He has great lawn-mowing skills...

Here is one of the new chicks that hatched on March 3rd.  I think it's a hen, but I'm not really sure yet.  I'm pretty sure the Naked neck rooster was the daddy though!

"Mr. Fugly" is the Naked Neck Rooster.  He's odd. And he does innapropriate things to the two ducks. That's all I can say.

Fugly out...

Happiness

Ever seen a goat smile?

Happiness is stealing the dog's bed and knowing he can't do a thing about it, because you're BIGGER!

Boer Buckling

I decided it was time to add to the Boer Goat collection. So this past Saturday I brought home a seven week old Boer buckling to his new home here at the farm.  With two goats on the farm now, does that officially qualify as a "herd?"



 Hi! I'm  Ezra!

I told Chiba that she was going to have a boyfriend now...

Whaaaaaaat???



The new guy wasn't allowed into the "club" just yet...