Monday, October 31, 2011

31/21 - last day of October

Well, here it is, the last day of October. I hope you have enjoyed this year's 31/21 series, hopefully I wasn't too boring!

We are still breeding does, so far we have about 30 bred and about 35 left to breed. . . really would like to just get 'em all bred and be done ;)!

There's a big new project in the makes here at the ranch, hopefully I can share what it is with you all very soon... until then, just wait :).

On another note, you should head on over to Got Down Syndrome's blog (my sister's blog) because she is having a giveaway for the book, Down Syndrome: What You CAN Do.


And last but not least, here's a list that my sister wrote last year about my little brother with Down Syndrome - 21 Things. A few things have changed but most of it is the same!

Have a great day!

Suriyah


Sunday, October 30, 2011

31/21 - Fall on the Farm

It's Fall on the farm, and you'll find. . .

. . . Hug in her typical flat out laying position,


. . . bucks in rut,

. . . a sturdy buck/ram fence being built so nobody breaks out,

. . . baby Fighter, the last of the bottle babies (all the others went to their new homes),

. . . and fall colored leaves,

Suriyah

Saturday, October 29, 2011

31/21 - Article: How to Splint Broken Legs


Broken Legs

The kid was about 1 1/2 months old and broke her leg below the knee. First, we put a bunch of cotton (not cotton balls) all around the leg so it was really padded, and then we taped the cotton on. We then had a PVC pipe that was cut in half lengthwise and to fit her leg so it went past her hoof a bit, so the pressure would be put above the break.

We filled any gaps in the PVC with more cotton, taped it on, and then wrapped the whole thing in vet wrap.

Sporting her new cast! She seemed to get around with it very well, and even jumped up on a chair right afterward! She completely healed up and you would never know she broke her leg.

This doe below was about 18 months old. We found her with her back leg broken, no clue how. It was completely busted and free-swinging.


Like the other goat leg we splinted, we gently wrapped the whole leg with a roll of cotton, carefully holding the break in place as much as possible. We then placed 2 school-type rulers on both sides of her leg. Looking back, I wish I would have put a 3rd one on the back also for more support (see below for pictures of that). But, this worked fine.

We then wrapped it all in vet wrap, and placed a cap of a vitamin bottle on the bottom of her foot to keep it dry and keep the dirt out as much as possible, plus it gives the whole splint more support.

After putting some tape on it to hold things together, we were done!

3 1/3 weeks later we unwrapped the leg, and it looked very good. We rewrapped it with new padding and wrap. This time I added a 3rd “support ruler” to just give her more stability. We left this splint on for about 3 weeks, and then took it off for good. Her leg healed great.


Suriyah

Friday, October 28, 2011

31/21 - just a few pics

Just a couple random pictures!

a little baby Mini Lop rabbit,

a Nubian doeling with very long ears,

and a cute little white kitten,

Hope you have a great day! It's a bit chilly out today here in Oklahoma, but it's nice!

Suriyah

Thursday, October 27, 2011

31/21 - Goat Forums & Lists

I thought I would share a few of the goat forums and lists that I am on and gather information from.

Dairy Goat Info Forum - this website has LOTs of info and some very knowledgeable people.

NubianTalk YahooGroup - while this group can get a little "off track" sometimes, they share a lot of good information and if I ever am in an emergency and need a question answered, I will send an email to this group as they'll get back quick.

Holistic-Goats YahooGroup - this is a great, very helpful group of folks who deal with natural remedies for goats, but most realize there is a time for "drugs" also. Been on this list for years and like it a lot.

Mid-AtlanticMinis YahooGroup - for all the Mini goat enthusiasts in the mid-atlantic. Very talkative and friendly group ;).

Oklahoma Feed & Hay Coop YahooGroup - last but not least, this is the group we run. Anything from feed, hay, nutrition, any farm related topic welcome. For Oklahoma and surrounding states.

Suriyah

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

31/21 - Hanunyah's Sweet Creations

If you are looking for some easy, yummy recipes that can also be allergen-free, you should go check out my sister's blog here - Hanunyah's Sweet Creations. She is doing the 31/21 October Challenge also, so is posting a recipe a day. She makes some very good things around here and takes awesome pictures of her food! Check it out ;).





Suriyah

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

31/21 - Feeding Article



Feeding

Whether you are a novice goat owner to an experienced rancher, it seems there are always the constant questions about what and how much to feed. After many, many changes over the years with our herd, figuring out what works best and what doesn't, I think we have finally narrowed things down for our herd. But as always, one thing is not going to work for everyone. Depending on what part of the country you are in, whether you are dry-lot feeding or pasture raising your goats, management and feeding issues are going to vary.

Goats have many nutritional requirements and are one of the harder to keep livestock, at times. Milking does and growing kids need calcium. The most common source of calcium for goats is good Alfalfa hay or pellets.
Remember when you are feeding goats, you are feeding the rumen. The goats rumen is a very complex system, and requires lots of nutrients from hay, pasture and browse. Goats are browsers, which means they eat lots of forage and cannot do well just off of a pelleted or grain based diet. Turned out in a lot with forest and grass pasture, typically the goats will go to the forest first and eat the leaves, bark and various things first before going to eat the grass. Whereas sheep on the otherhand, will not typically eat the leaves and bark like goats do, they'll go straight for the grass (which has earned them many nicknames, but this book isn't about sheep).

What we have been feeding our herd for years now, is this.

Milkers get Alfalfa or Alfalfa/Orchard grass hay twice a day. After the morning feeding, during the pasture months, they will go out and browse all day long. During the winter months, they get fed more hay. On the milk stand, each milker gets between 1 to 1.5 pounds of grain each milkling. So a doe, depending on production and size,will get a total of 2 to 3 pounds of grain a day. We feed a 14% protein grain, with 3-4% fat.

Kids get fed grain once a day and then are given lots of alfalfa or alfalfa/orchard grass hay. It is best for kids to have free-feed hay. I am not a big grain fan, so if the kids are growing well and don't seem to be lacking, they will not get any grain at all, only hay and milk. If you are bottle raising your kids, the longer you can keep them on the milk bottle, the better. They get a much better start in life this way. Our kids are typically bottle fed until 5 months of age.

Dry does and bucks get pasture all day (when it's there), and alfalfa or alfalfa/orchard grass at least once a day. If the pasture is not good, they get fed hay once in the morning and once in the evening.

If there is any animal that is thin for some reason, first start out with trying to figure out why they are thin. Worms, mineral deficiency, etc. Once you have that taken care of, you can give them Black Oil Sunflower Seeds, Rice Bran, Soybean Meal or Calf Manna as these are all very high in fat and protein.


Suriyah

Monday, October 24, 2011

31/21 - Soccer

Just some photos from our team's latest soccer game ;).


(I am the official videographer, LOL)









Suriyah

Sunday, October 23, 2011

31/21 - busy days

Well, sometimes things just don't seem to work out perfectly...(i.e. doing a blog post a day)... and that's what happened yesterday. I had a good busy morning and afternoon, and then a big storm rolled in and knocked our internet out. So that equals - no blog post yesterday. Oh well. Life goes on.

Things have been going well here. The old mama Boer is still alive, the weather has been    b e a u t i f u l   lately, does are (finally) getting bred, we are milking 13 does at night, 26 in the morning.... the 4 bottle babies are healthy and happy, running and playing. 

Life is good. I am very blessed.


Suriyah

Friday, October 21, 2011

31/21 - 6 Goat Milkstand For Sale - $1,100

Posting for this for my brother.

Brand new 6 goat milk stanchion for sale. $1,100 

Measurements are 9 feet long, 4 feet wide, 32 inches tall, the steps are 19 inches wide and about 15 inches tall. 

For an extra $200 I can add 2 more head stalls on the lower steps...to make it an 8 goat stanchion. 

I can also custom make any size you would like. The price will range from about $200 to $250 per head stall, depending on how many you would like. 

918-598-4007 or email nf@goodgoats.net 


*Note from me: The milking stand we use to milk our does is almost exactly like this, a few minor changes, but we like it SO much. It makes milking time much faster, and is an easy to clean set-up. Milking goats would not be the same without it!






Suriyah

Thursday, October 20, 2011

31/21 - Boer Kids

The Boer kids are doing good. There are 4 of them - the triplets and the orphan buckling - 2 doelings and 2 bucklings. The 2 bucklings have been bottle kids for about a week now. The momma to the 2 doelings had gotten hypocalcemia, and I treated her for several days. She recovered from that, but I think she is very old (do not know her history though), she just looks old. So long story short, she is not producing enough milk for the 2 girls. Last night I offered the girls a bottle and they both willingly took it, so obviously they were hungry. They are still nursing on their dam but I am giving them a bottle, really don't think that she is going to go up in production, although I wish she would. So it looks like we have 4 bottle kids now. . . really wasn't planning on having that many this time of the year, especially with all the milkers dropping in production!! Oh well. I think one of the bucklings will be getting a new home very soon here.




On another note, I thought I'd share that this is the best way to cook pancakes for a family of 13 :)!

Hope you had an awesome day!

Suriyah

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

31/21 - Wordless Wednesday - Fall Cookies & Giant Zucchinis



Tuesday, October 18, 2011

31/21 - Soccer & BuddyWalk photos

Just a few pictures from the weekend!

soccer


Buddy Walk






Suriyah