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

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.

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.

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!

September 30, 2022

All is well on the Quirky Goat Farm, Spicewood Annex, with a contingent of six goats. The Nubians are now about ten months old and fully assimilated with the herd. The biggest news is that Gypsy has been deposed as herd queen. She had been behaving badly - biting and bullying the other goats. I removed her to a small pen for a "time out" of several days three times. After the third time, Bug, the largest Saanen, decided not to take any more bullying. She outweighs Gypsy by maybe 40 pounds, and she put every bit into pushing back. They fought, head butting and shoulder pushing, for several hours. By the next day, there was no doubt that Bug had deposed the queen and taken the position of leader. Gypsy had an obvious emotional reaction to losing her status. She stayed far away from everyone and didn't come for grain for two feedings. Even after a couple of weeks, she is still more solitary and subdued. I am milking Pearl, the other Saanen, once a day and getting three quarts every time. Cheesemaking takes place twice a week, and I'm working my way through all of the cheese recipes that I used to make. Chevre, of course, as that's the easiest. Robiola and brie. A batch of cheddar is underway as I am typing this.

Summer Solstice

I have to laugh. Apparently I wrote this quite a while ago. I wish the weather paid more attention to the calendar, and the official "end" of summer. These afternoon with temperatures in the 100s are a challenge to deal with. Good news on the goat herd. Travis had forwarded a link to The Dapper Goat dairy at Weimar. A few emails and a phone call, and I traveled to the dairy and acquired two "big white girls." Saanens are my favorite breed. Big, calm, softly talkative, and great production. Integrating these two lovely ladies (Pearl and Bug) into the herd has been a bit difficult.The roll includes Louise, age 14, her daughter Gypsy (10), Gypsy's daughter, Betsy (3), and Betsy's bucklings (one month). Add to that, the two Nubian orphan bottle kids, Sissie and Boo, now about five months old.

Goat update

I made the strategic error of joining a Texas Dairy Goats page on Facebook. A nice lady in Dripping Springs was liquidating her herd and had two orphan Nubians born in December. They were about two weeks old when I acquired them - bottle kids!!! Four times a day. Fun at first and then you remember WHY bottle kids are stressful.

Luckily, now in April, they are graduating to the adult pen during the day. Betsy, who is Louise's granddaughter, was bred to a Nubian buck and is due to kid the first week of May. Her X-ray shows at least two kids, but she is HUGE. As one of the Homesteading Today members says, she looks like she swallowed an ottoman.