Monday, September 11, 2023

Planning a DIY water catchment system

Researching now. https://youtu.be/wOumD-IFfBg?si=MZZd9pVZ7fmgryBz https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004VMFYBI/ref=sw_img_1?smid=A13F7XKM8D9DJN&psc=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Ov9yM5ZW0&ab_channel=GreenTechTown

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Ouch.

I think the little buckling who was stuck has bad luck. He put his head through a gap between a shed and a fence and peeled the skin off the back of his left ear. Thank goodness for nearby veterinarians. Stitches, shots, bandages, and overnight in a crate at home. He moved the bandage down his head overnight, so Fred held him still while I rebandaged it.

Sunday, April 30, 2023

Spring 2023

What a fascinating Spring. The weather can't decide what to do. We've alternated from almost 90 degrees down to 50 within hours, over and over. Luckily, the rain has been intermittant. Grass is growing. The trees are recovering from several years of drought. Saanen cross babies were born on February 22. The dam is Bug, a purebred Saanen. The buck is a brown and black Nubian from the other side of Spicewood. Doeling first, then a stuck buckling that I thought was going to die before I got his right front leg unstuck from under Bug's pelvis. His lips were blue by the time I got the leg out. Following was the second buckling, quick and healthy. They are doing well. I did supplement the unstuck buckling with some milk replacer in a pan for a while. He just seemed to not be thriving as well as the others. It helped him rally. The second buckling has been band castrated, and he's going to a local family for a fall picnic. I'll keep the doeling to see how she grows out and a possible replacement for Bug, as she's about ten years old. The buckling that was stuck has been named Frodo, and he'll stay around long enough to breed to Sissie (the yearling Nubian) in the fall.

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

February 21, 2023

Late in the winter, Louise's arthritis got the best of her just a couple of weeks before her fifteenth birthday. We had to put her down rathern than extend her suffering. Quirky Goat Farm is currently down to five goats. The Nubian yearlings, a doe and a wether. They were orphan bottle babies purchased from a local breeder. Bottle kids are tricky, and I wanted to spare them the anguish of being raised by a rookie. They are now almost fifteen months old. Sissy will be bred in the fall, which will give her plenty of time to grow. She is simply brown with black tips. Boo, the wether, is moon spotted. What is it about the flashy colors going to the males? Sigh. I purchased two mature Saanens from Dapper Dairy near Weimer. Pearl and Bug are BIG white girls. I dried off Bug, had her bred, and she'd due to kid in March. Pearl is still giving three quarts per day on one milking. I'm trying to dry her off gently. I am transporting Bug to Texas A and M Veterinary College tomorrow, February 22. Her "girly bits" are profoundly swollen. It's not prolapse. The veterinarian her didn't know what is going on, so I called the vet school, sent a picture, and they said bring her in!