Trying to Stay Cool

We are ridiculously hot again.  Everyone just lounges around.  The goats are heading out to pasture fairly early in the morning.  They hang out under the trees during the hottest part of the day. It’s too hot for me to go out there, so all my pictures are from the barnyard.

Vinnie and Vulcan

Harley

Pepe

Daisy and Dahlia

Cookie with Chiffon and Marge in the back

Maisie with her baby, Moose

Bonnie

Penelope

Maybeline just hangs out luring Tony over so she can spit on him because she might be pregnant. Who knows?

Maybeline and Tony

On Wednesday, we had a line of storms pass through that brought everyone back up to the barnyard.

At least it cooled us down a bit before the ridiculous heat returned.

Odie and Maybeline eating in the shade of the tree.

I am spending my time making sure everyone has plenty of clean water and that they aren’t getting overheated.

Penny and her kid, Pipsqueak

One evening, I did have to hose Aurora down to cool her off.

Aurora (And look-the pool is still clean!)

I’ve been worried about Tony, too, but he’s hanging in there. I’ve added a fan in the buck room to help keep the air moving.

Tony Llama

The goats are doing okay.  We’re all ready for a break.

Dahlia and Joy in pasture with the big goats.

We are now looking at the end of this long stretch of hot weather.  Next week looks to be back to more reasonable temperatures.  Thankfully.

 

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Rain Tent

I really did feel bad about putting the moms up with the March kids because there really isn’t enough shelter, and goats don’t like rain.  They have the Quonset hut and then a small lean-to.

Squanto and Sacagewea; Moira and Angela on top

When it started sprinkling this afternoon and I saw we have several chances of rain in the next few days, I decided I had to do something.

I tried tossing the old tarp over the feeder that’s been up there on its side forever.  I kind of worked until Bubbles and John tried using it as a hammock.  They kind of fell through.

 

Although, a few of them did try it out when the next round of sprinkles came through.

Pepe, John, Bubbles, and Tootles

I doubled down and got some cattle panel chunks and another old tarp and created a bigger rain tent.  Hopefully nobody hops on it again.

looking from the east

looking from the north

The rest of the herd was a bit confused, so they were checking it out.

Wendy, Wanda, Poki, and Moose looking from the south

Penny was in there with her kids.  She left them when she went back out to eat more.

Frisco and Pipsqueak

It works.  When I checked Vinnie at 1:00 am, it was sprinkling, and it had goats beneath it staying dry.

Pepe was nice enough to pose this morning.

Of course, I did have to dump the water this morning.  But it works!

Even the gosling was enjoying it this morning.

As long as it doesn’t rain very hard or have wind or get any lightning it will be perfectish.  Then I’d have to decide who to kick out and where to put them.  But it should work for sprinkles.

Who’s Due

I can’t believe we’re almost to June.  You know what that means–June babies.  So who’s due?

After I thought the copper was going to fix everything, I decided to let some of my girls who didn’t settle last year try it again.  Here’s who’s due from oldest to youngest.  At ten years old, Penny is my oldest one to have kids this year.  She is due June 8th.

Penny

Bambi and Vinnie are also both in that category of not having kids last year but settling this year.  They are both nine this summer. Vinne is due between June 9th and 15th.  She is one I’m really concerned about with the copper since she’s lost so much hair and looks horrible.

Vinnie

Bambi is due between June 16th and 22nd.  Bambi actually looks like she’s still in pretty good shape.

Bambi

The next one is Cookie.  She’s the last of my “old” girls who are bred.  She is going to be eight next month. There’s no question about her being bred when you look at her.  She’s also one of the first ones due. June 5th is her due date.  She was in heat when I put her in with the buck (I didn’t know it when I put her over there), and with our many snow makeup days, she is due before I’m done working for the summer.

Cookie

Bambi’s doe Daisy is my next one. I still consider her young at three years old.  She is due between June 16th and 22nd.  It was such cold miserable weather when they were with the bucks, I didn’t see when many of the girls were bred.  I just am using dates from when I last saw them in heat and extrapolating when they are most likely due.

Daisy

Zinnia and LilyAnn are both two years old.  Zinnia is expecting her second kid on June 5th.  Like Cookie, I didn’t know she was in heat when I put them with the bucks.

Zinnia

LilyAnn is expecting her first baby this year.  She’s due between June 16th and 22nd.

LilyAnn

Aphrodite is my yearling. She is due sometime between June 23rd and 30th.

Hera is another yearling and the last one I saw bred, which would make her due June 28th, but I’m not sure she settled.

Hera

She doesn’t seem to be making an udder, so I think she’s open.  I have to say, I will be relieved when we are done with kidding this year.