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.

Leftover Pictures

I really do struggle with what to blog about this time of year.  The days are short. The goats are just eating.

And I still haven’t seen Aphrodite come into heat, so oopsie babies are looking like a certainty.

Bambi

I still can’t get over how amazingly well Haley is doing.  I am so grateful for all the vets who helped to save her.

Haley Blackboer

I kinda feel bad for the amount of time Sky sits around waiting for me.

Sky

Just before Tansy broke in with the bucks, I noticed how much better she was looking.  I’m glad she will come in for extra feed; I’ll keep doing that since I assume she’s also going to give me oopsie babies, too.

Tansy and Cupid

The peacock was exploring the recently cleaned out corner–lots of leaves to sort through.

Maybeline is such a pretty girl.

Maybeline

Goats will be goats–that means good natured head butting.

Cinnamon and Daisy

Antigone and Pretzel

The goose just chilling.

Finally, here’s Tiger.  I still can’t get over how big he is.  I also wish he wouldn’t wake me up in the middle of the night by putting his nose up mine to force me into giving him attention.  Really…

Tiger

I hope you don’t mind leftovers again.

There’s Always Something

When you have animals, there’s always something going on.  Even routine things can end up being a problem.  For example, when I trimmed Cinnamon’s hooves, I made her hoof bleed. Barely, but I did put a pretty purple bandage on it for. her.

Cinnamon with her purple bandage

Haley is doing well, but I think the cold is bothering her foot.  It was a major surgery, and I might have to start her back on the anti-inflammatory.  They did tell me she had spurs and arthritis, so she would probably appreciate it.

Haley

Now, Benji is the one giving me grief.  He suddenly has diarrhea.  I’m trying to take care of it, but he isn’t responding to my treatments.

Benji

He acts fine, but he’s a mess.

The little ones up there with him are fine, so I have no idea what is going on.

Frodo

Then there’s Trace.  She decided she didn’t want to wait until January to make kids, so she joined the bucks.

Bubbles and Joy following Daisy and Bubbles

I am thinking the one oopsie baby per week is going to make April a long month.  They better stop this.