Moving Antigone

I swear Antigone is giving me gray hair.  She got stuck behind the barn door, so I put her in with Flower.

Antigone when it was just her and Flower in there.

That worked, but the two little bucks chased her.  In their defense, they are bucks.  But they also settled down and quit chasing Flower by the next morning.

Lemuel

They would have left Antigone alone too, but I decided she could just go in the greenhouse!  Well, Penelope and Popcorn and Freddie are all mean to her.

Freddie has been a jerk to everyone. He’ll be sold soon.

Then she started trying to just hide from them by going under the workbench.  I kid you not, I’ve had to pull her out from under there three times.

She’s pregnant.  That has to stop.  So I put her back in with Flower and the little bucks.

Antigone standing in a snow drift.

She’s not handling the move well, but I have to find somewhere she’s going to go inside in the cold weather and isn’t going to get stuck.

Antigone staring at Frodo and Lemeul

I think this is the best, last option.

The Cleanup Begins

Well, once I got out there, I realized this was going to be a major job getting it so I could do chores.

The gate into the barnyard

The red gate where I have to go to feed Benji and his girls.

Luckily there was a relatively clear spot by the barn, but there was also plenty of deep snow.

I was thrilled I didn’t have to shovel the door to the hay.

I had to get in the chicken pen to get to the food pans and grain.

I went from the barnyard gate to the barn.

From the gate to the barn

Then I cleaned out the chicken pen from its gate to the door. I really just needed enough to open the door for me to get the food pans out and grain for the goats. If the goose comes out, her webbed feet act like snowshoes, and nobody else is going to come out in the cold.

my Goose

Anyhow, after that I did a path to the Love Shack.

Frodo and Lemuel in the Love Shack

I cleared out by the mineral/salt block and the water tub.

I did a path to the milk room.

I did a path to the greenhouse, but there was too much snow to go in there at first.

Popcorn and Flora

The same was true for the north paddock.  I got to the gate, but I had huge drift from the gate all the way to the shed up there.

And I needed a rest.

Getting Through the Cold

Last week started nice, but Wednesday flipped the switch, and we’ve been miserably cold and windy since.  It’s been a challenge just to do chores and keep everyone going.

Maybeline, Odie, and the goats

The breeding groups have proved a bit of a challenge. Kind of.  Xerxes and his girls are really pretty crowded in there.  As soon as they start getting bred, I’ll move them back to the main herd.

LilyAnn, Joy’s back end, Xerxes, and Daisy

Benji and his girls are nice and cozy, but the lean-to isn’t quite as warm.  I need to do some work up there next spring.

Benji and Venus (Chiffon behind)

The two little bucks were acting like bucks with Flower and Antigone when I put them in there, so I let Antigone out.  It didn’t take too long for them to settle down with Flower.

Frodo (Lemuel inside)

I did finally put Antigone in with Freddie and his group.

Antigone

Penelope also decided she wanted to go in there.   That’s fine. There’s plenty of room.

Penelope and her sister Flora

I just have a hard time getting Freddie to let me open the door without smashing other goats or jumping on the gate.  He is being a pain in there.

Freddie (my makeshift gate is a challenge)

I’m also trying to keep a close eye on my old ladies. I have so many old ones that I worry about when it’s cold.

Coral

Aurora and I about froze standing out in the negative wind chills while she ate her extra feed, but she got it. I do think she’s holding her own. You know, as long as I keep giving her the extra feed.

Aurora

Perdita and Pretzel are the two little ones I worry about.  Haley has actually been pretty good to Pretzel and she seems to be doing okay. Haley is also back on the pain meds to help that back ankle where she had surgery and has arthritis and bone spurs.

Pretzel and Haley

Perdita I’m trying to make sure she always gets a little pile of hay to herself, and I’ve been letting her come into the chicken pen when I feed, so she can eat some corn.

Perdita (stretching)

It seems that our stretch of miserable cold has come to an end.  Within in a couple of days, it looks like a stretch of above average temperatures.  Sigh….I still want a long stretch of average.