Wow! We've Been Busy

Let me start by saying that, unless it is the main source of income (but even then), farming is NOT a 24-7 job. It's not. You are not constantly tending to animals, pastures, building projects, or gardening plans. Very rarely does it consume 24 hours each day for 7 consecutive days. These last 2 weeks we got pretty darn close.






So when Fuzzy died almost 3 weeks ago we weren't quite sure what our goat situation would evolve into. We knew we had to relieve some of the pressure in her filling udder, so we started milking her. What a riot! We had Patty, our now kidless lamanchaX, in a sheep stand attempting to milk her. She was uncomfortable and still healing from the pain of a lost kid and here I am. A novice. Trying to milk a goat for the first time. Plus she is a member of the itty bitty titty committee. Poor thing. But, $50 later to a FFA student trying to earn money, we got a goat stanchion.

Now, we had another problem. The other little kid, Snowball, was lonely. Her momma isn't what you would call the "playing" kind. So, we set out to find another goat kid. A week later. We found a momma with nice sized bags and her 2 doe kids. Bingo! We'll keep milking and now Snowball has 2 friends to play with. We got them from a man who loves his goats, but I don't think he really cares for them like he should. There were probably 30 goats, 10 of them were nannies and each had twins. All about the same age. So trying to figure out which babies belonged to which mommas was tough. CHAOS. We finally got them home.

Sweetie, Big Momma, and Annie

Get ready.

We left them in the crate in the barn. Mr. Smash left to go to the bank and pick up some milk (we don't get that much from our goats). I run inside and put A4 to bed and start a movie for the other 3. It's 8pm. I go back out to milk Patty. We'd been doing this for a week now. I got back inside just in time for Mr. Smash to say... let's go. Where were we going? Right before we left to go get the goats we heard back from a lady we'd been trying to get a hold of all day. We found a 2 week old angus bull calf. Of course we discussed it in depth since we lost another bottle bull calf almost 1 year ago to the day. But, for this price it was certainly a no-brainer.

We drove 45 minutes with 4 sleeping angels in the truck to pick up this calf. What a cutie!!!  We got back home about 11pm. Mr. Smash set up his stall next door to our coop complete with kiddie pool filled with hay and heat lamp. He looked so comfy in there. Finally got to bed at 1am. Work and the Smash School for Girls would be commencing in 8 hours.

This was the start of what I realized was the busiest 2 weeks of my life.

The next day said bull calf wouldn't take his bottle. The previous bull calf was still very fresh in my mind, so our new guy came inside and took up residence in our bathtub. It was warm for him and convenient for me. I was able to care for him and my 4 children. We did end up cancelling school that day so we could go to the feed store, vet, and back home in the middle of medical decision making for this guy. Good thing Mr. Smash came home early so I could go to COURT! Yes, court. For a flipping speeding ticket. But, while I was gone the calf drank a bottle and was bucking and running around outside like normal. Yea!

I pulled back into our driveway just in time to see the buyer load up our sweet Holstein Cassie. Yup, we sold both of our heifer bottle babies that were born a year ago. I loved on her and helped load Bella. I then told the lady to leave because I was going to either change my mind or absolutely LOSE IT! I love those cows almost as much as my children. The money was nice though.


After close examination of our pastures and yards without Cassie and Bella we noticed 2 things.
#1. Honey was very upset and will be throwing a fit for a while. The bellowing continued for the next week. She also started being a total snot. Now, she could've been in heat during that time. We'll find out in about 28 days if those are in fact her heat symptoms
#2. One of the new goat kids doesn't belong to the doe we got. <---- Did you read that correctly? We got a momma and 1 of her kids and another completely unrelated kid!!!!! So now we have a bottle baby. Fast forward to later that evening. This kid is close to 5 weeks old; she's not digging the bottle.


Let me slide in a little blurp here. A1 decided she doesn't want to go to the rodeo for her birthday. She wants a Shaun the Sheep party at our house. And to coincide with some family coming in town, we will be having it in 11 days.

So, here we are. Bottle feeding a calf in the morning and night. Milking 2 momma goats and attempting to milk the 3rd who doesn't know us. Allowing this orphan kid to nurse on our kidless momma after I'm done with her in the stand. Attempting to keep these 3 kids out of the pasture with that stupid goat killer donkey.

8 days later we are in a bit of a routine. We lost 3 chickens from Mareks disease in that time and had a few dentist appointments, but for the most part we are pushing through and trying to plan a party and get the house clean. I look out the window to check on our animal family and notice that our now 3 week old bull calf is looking a bit lethargic. He had scours (which is a fancy animal word for diarrhea), but it's pretty common and he was eating and drinking and had a round of antibiotics to hopefully clear up the cause. So, this droopy looking bull calf kinda worried me.

Thursday (Day 9) we had an issue. He didn't want to eat and the scours were worse. I brought him in and syringe fed him 2 quarts of electrolytes. The only vet that does A.I. in our area called me a few days prior to discuss options for Honey. Apparently he lives down the street from us and has family that works with Mr. Smash. I took advantage of the phone call and asked about the calf. He gave some great advice.    So, I called this vet back and told him what was going on. $100 worth of meds was delivered to us to administer to the calf. He did pep up that night and drank a bottle of electrolytes, and because of the diarrhea that's the most important thing he could get in him.

The next day was not good. Syringe feeding some more because he was close to lifeless. He had some very ups and downs, but never took a bottle again between then and Sunday. Total feedings administered in the next 2 days was close to 10. Each took about 30 minutes. 1 med twice a day. 2 shots once a day. And we had to hold him up to keep the blood flowing through his legs because he was too weak to stand.

Now, we'll take a break and discuss goats. We're getting good amounts of milk from Patty and Frostine every night, and Patty gets in the stand in the morning just to let Annie nurse. We tried to separate Big Momma from Sweetie during the day so we could milk her at night also, but that little kid gazelle's it over the fence. Turd. So, she's put on hold now.


Saturday, Day 10. We find the cutest little 10 week old Jersey heifer with a touch of Guernsey. Ready to be weaned. We ring this guy's phone off the hook and we are FIRST IN LINE! A trip to the store for last minute party food (which is on Sunday) and off to this homestead we go to get this little girl. Problem, she's never been handled. Her momma and the other adult Jersey are milked. So, not only is she running from the owner, her daddy is too. Wait, what? Yes, her big black Jersey bull of a daddy is pissed we are there. He's going nuts in this pen. The seller has the nerve to invite us in the pen to see the calf. Uh, no thanks. I'll stay where the bull can't kill me.

After 30 minutes the owner got the lasso around her. We put her in the transport cage and she completely breaks it. 200 lbs of wild broke our cage. We (yes, the seller, Mr. Smash, and I) finally got her out of the pen, and Mr. Smash had to jump on her. The seller was sitting on her back 1/2 and we hog-tied her feet. She could still move, just not up right. We used tie-downs to secure her on her side in the back of our truck. Again, because SHE broke our cage. Guess which lucky momma got to ride in the back of the truck with her all the way home? THIS GIRL!






Our family that was visiting was in for a treat. They beat us back home, so they got to unload this wild thing. We stalled her next to Honey and in a completely different area than the bull calf (before you asked). It's pushing 6pm. Bull calf needs electrolyte therapy, human kids need to eat dinner, and there are groceries in the car. Oh yeah, we have eggs hatching in the incubator.

Day 18 LOCKDOWN

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Sunday. PARTY DAY! Completely ecstatic that our cousins are here to help do life with us. Mr. Smash was up all night with his cousin so he sleeps in and I go tend to animals. Can't wait to see this little heifer calf and give her a piece of my mind for bellowing all night. I guess it's understandable when you've been taken away from your momma. Sad face. First thing I go do is check on our bull calf patient. Ultra sad face. Losing 2 bull calves in 1 year can only mean that maybe it's not the right time for a bull here.


We move on with our day because we have 5 little girls coming over for a party at 3:00pm. At noon our family starts packing up to leave. We decided to reevaluate these hatching chicks. They need help! The 2 that had already hatched were affecting the temp and humidity levels in the incubator. We needed to get those chicks out and help the ones that had already started hatching. We successfully helped #5 hatch. It was so cool. The other 5 that had started hatching were no longer. Another sad face. The conclusion we came to was that as the already hatched chicks were running around in the incubator they were sucking out the humidity and the ones in the process of being born were shrink wrapped by the surrounding membrane. 2 eggs were early quitters. So, we have 3 chicks in the brooder box.

Birthday Sheep

Our littlest Sheep

Party in less than an hour. My reinforcements arrived, aka Mimi and Papa. Party was "the best party ever". Everyone left. We check on the chicks. Only 2 still alive. The sad faces are getting old.

Missy

 So, here's a happy face. This little heifer, Missy, is a big project to train.
But, she is beautiful and will make a great milker one day. Honey is happy to have a friend. Annie is now weaned from the morning feeding. We're getting almost 10 oz of goat milk and that's good for us. Big momma is settling in, although still won't get in the stanchion. My house did get cleaned... sort of.

Well, You Can't Do THAT in the Country

When we moved out here we couldn't stop talking about everything that we would be able to do! While there is so much to do out in the country, so much freedom, there are certain things you just can't do.

1. Have a picnic. When we lived in our cute little suburb we would have frequent picnics in the backyard. We'd keep our little Boston Terrier inside so he wouldn't help himself to our lunch. It was a nice picnic really. Out here, not only do we have to fight our outside dog to stop begging. BUT, we have 30 something chickens flying up on our homemade cable spool picnic table pecking at our pizza while attempting to perch on our drink cups. One of them actually flew up and snatched my 3 year old's pizza right out of her hand. No more backyard picnics.

2. Neighbor coffee breaks. I would frequent 3 of my neighbor mommy friends for afternoon coffee. There was a short while when we would meet at 7am in the morning. We all had little kids so we were all up early. There's no more of that here. Sure, everyone within a 20 mile radius is up just before sunrise. But, coffee and chat? Not happening. Unless you want to hop in your car and you have nothing else to do. I do miss walking to my girlfriends' house.

3. Go for a walk/bike ride with young kids. Even though A1 did learn how to ride her bike sans training wheels in the pasture along side our young heifers, it's not really ideal. We live on an asphalt county rode with no sidewalks, and 4 young kids on a street where big trucks go 50mph isn't exactly safe. The times we have gone on a trek down the road we have met some "neighbors". So, that was cool.

4. Run to the store. Yes, there is none of that. I mean, we could do it. We could go to the store for toilet paper and what not, but it's 40 minutes. Add that to the near hour it takes to get everyone out the door and that quick run to the store takes the entire afternoon.

5.Have internet, cable, or cell service. In the search for a simpler life, these things don't bother us anymore. But seriously, it is EXTREMELY difficult to get any kind of technology hook-ups where we are. It's kind of a punch in the gut when you come from the suburbs.
5b. In addition to getting the above services, getting items delivered always is preceded with the questions, "Is that within a ___ mile radius of zip code ____?" and "Can a 20 ft semi trailer get to your property easily?". Often the answer is no.

6. Pizza Delivery. It's blasphemous really.

7. Keep your vehicle clean. When the only way to leave your home is down, not 1 or 2, but 3 dirt roads keeping your truck (or car) clean just isn't happening. And wouldn't you know, there aren't really any car wash places close either. Thank goodness for water hoses, dawn, and working hands.

8. Laziness. I thought this would be a good thing to round out the list. There is absolutely NO laziness in the country. Even if you don't want to work, you'll still be thinking about the work that needs to be done. And you'll do it. And you'll enjoy it.

Even though you can't do any of these things in the country, there so much more you can do. And it's so worth it.
That is all.

A Very Devastating Day on RBG Ranch

So, today we had an extremely heartbreaking moment that led to much crying by every female in the house and 1 special female outside the house.

Fuzzy (5hrs old) and Mama Patty

Our sweet little Fuzzy who was born December 22, 2014 died today. No, it wasn't because of some sort of bacterial infection or viral pneumonia which takes the lives of so many goat kids. Here's the story.



We decided to let our new momma goats back in the run with the rest of the herd for some socialization and intense grazing on the big pasture. They enjoyed it. We opened up a small hole in the gate so their new kids could get to them if they wanted and then go back in the yard when told to. It has worked great the past 3 days.

This afternoon was an unusually beautiful January day. Both mommas and kids were relaxing just outside the barn next to the 3 cows. We have a perfect visual of our barn right out my back door from the kitchen. I was in my usual kitchen spot when I heard Thor barking up a storm. I look out and see Shorty (donkey) running the cows and goats out of the barn. He does that. The cows don't realize they outweigh him by mountains.

I'm so glad I took a second glance. That glance was when it began. I realized Shorty had our 2 week old baby boy goat in his mouth, and was flinging him around like a rag doll. I took off out the door completely barefoot and leaving doors and gates wide open trying to get to this sweet baby goat. What was I going to do? Tell Shorty to put him down and maybe attempt to pry his mouth open? That would've been the end of me.

Prayerfully Thor was right behind me, and went directly after Shorty. I scooped up Fuzzy, and started running back to the house going through every bit of Frankincense, Oregano, and Thieves inventory I had. That's when I realized that Fuzzy had in fact taken his last breath.

I was standing in the kitchen with this sweet baby boy goat and my 4 girls. We were all in tears. I went outside to call Mr. Smash and tell him what happened, and I still had Fuzzy in my arms. I couldn't let him go. That's when I heard his momma bleating and calling for him. My heart sank.


This was a devastating day for us. But also a great opportunity to teach my girls that animals are animals. They are unpredictable. And life here is sometimes very short lived. And when we lose someone/thing that we love, it's okay to cry.

So, what's next? All of my mommy friends who've ever nursed a baby know what it's like to be engorged. Well, I have a momma goat who will be engorged. I will milk her out tonight and most likely put some Valor and lavender behind her ears. As for tomorrow. We shall see.