It’s Much Easier

Other than keeping track of kids, it’s much easier now that everyone is back together and on the pasture I want them on.

Xerxes & Frodo on the front pasture; Hera and all the moms/kids are on the Back Forty.

Dolly is going to start getting her extra feed again.

Dolly begging before I had them back together again.

I’m going to try to get Hilda to come in too. She’s better but still thin.  Both boys are chewing their cuds, so I will try to wean them soon.  Mom can’t take feeding them much longer.

Jasper and Horace with Hilda

It also means I finally caught those last few goats I couldn’t catch (I had to use food to bribe them) to get them their copper.  That was a huge relief to get them done.  Zora wasn’t even too bad once I drug her over to the milk room.  She stood for me really well while I did her hooves.  She even seemed calm while I was petting her.

Zora

Trace was Trace.  I caught her and put it down her throat and held her for a while rubbing under her chin.  Then, after I thought she had swallowed, I let her go.  At that point, she promptly ran away and spit the capsule out.  She is such a brat.  But everyone else wasn’t too bad.

Trace

Then it’s just a matter of hanging out and making sure nobody got left in pasture.

Onyx and Melba

BJ has his hackles up with all the new kids/moms joining his herd.

Hera and Spot heading down the lane to pasture

I have to remember to check on the west side of the barn when I’m counting kids in the evening.

It also makes it easier to enjoy my sweet ones.

Joy’s Turn

Once again, I looked out in pasture and saw Joy by herself on the front hill.  She was pawing and turning and up and down.

No Joy in this one because I didn’t have my camera/phone, but this was what I saw on my way back out (you’ll understand that comment later).

So I went out to haul her and her babies up from pasture. But she hadn’t had them yet.  So I just hung out.  The rest of the herd showed up and I had to keep shooing the young bucks away because they thought she smelled interesting.

Bull (he wasn’t being naughty, but I didn’t have a picture of Tommy)

Then she didn’t give birth.  I did a check and found big feet and nose all smooshed together in the birth canal.  I hadn’t come out prepared to pull a baby, so I didn’t have a towel with me.  Trust me, it is hard to pull those slimy little kids without something to help keep those legs from just slipping out of your hands.  I did the only thing I could and whipped my shirt off to use.

I finally got both legs out and pulled.  I tried to use my hands to open her up.  I pulled.  I apologized for hurting her.  I wished I had my phone.  Then I put my foot on her back side so I could pull harder. Then I tried working it out again.  We were making progress, but very slow.  It was a good thing he wasn’t even a dot bigger because I barely got him out, but I got him out.

I left her in pasture and went back to the house (to put a shirt on) and got a towel and my phone.  When I got back, she still hadn’t stood up.

I let her rest and keep cleaning him off, but it was getting dark.

Finally, I had her follow me into the barnyard and over to the buck room.

Poor boy was worn out–it was a hard birth.

Don’t worry, I did give Joy some pain meds.  She is doing well.

Joy with a food pan full of baby.

In the morning, her baby had rattling lungs because it was such a long, difficult birth and hot humid weather, so he got meds.

Joy’s buck

Now they are both doing well!

Time to Prep

It’s not just that I am tired of goats in the garage.  I really do need to get them out of there.

Brigit, Ostara, and Bull

Believe it or not, it’s time to prep for my first oopsie baby(ies).  Aphrodite is due April 14th.

Aphrodite in the middle

That means, ready or not, I am moving goats around this weekend.  The kids really are old enough to go out on the front half of the back forty with their moms.  They just haven’t had a lot of practice with the cold, rainy, snowy weather we’ve had.

Claire, Tommy and Spunky stayed in the buck room while everyone else was in pasture.

Last weekend, when I was out there, Shellie got behind the herd, and she gave a big yell.

Shellie

Her mom answered, and they were right back together.  They will be fine, but I do wish the weather had been better before making the change.

Hilda and Shellie (Flower in front)

Anyhow, after I get the moms back with the main herd, I’m going to move the bucks. There is no way I could ever catch Lemuel in the front pasture, so I have to sell him Saturday morning before I start making my other changes.  It just has to happen.

Frodo and Lemuel with Benji standing

Then the other bucks will all go onto the front pasture.  If I can get help loading, I could sell Freddie this weekend too.  Less testosterone will be good.  But I will miss Freddie. I really will–dang sweet boys.

Freddie and Xerxes up north

I’d like to leave the north paddock empty to grow, but that just isn’t going to happen.  I’m going to have to put Flower up there.  I’ll leave Coral with her.

Flower chowing down on last year’s grass

If I have to, I can put more old ladies up there, but I’m hoping warm weather and green grass will help them.

Old ladies: Reva, Joani, and Bambi

And all that moving goats around means I can put Aphrodite in the Love Shack.  That way my mom can check her while I’m at work.

Aphrodite (I think one baby)

I’ve also told Aphrodite to clamp that tail down and hold off until Friday.  I have Good Friday off work, so that would be a perfect day to have an oopsie baby.