Good Goats

Stuck lambs

2012-02-08T14:01:00.001-08:00

Around 4:30am I was awoke. My Mom, my brother and sister were up checking on a ewe, who had 2 very stuck lambs. They were both at least 10 lbs and both were trying to come out at once. No bueno.

Both lambs tongues were hanging to the side. The ewe was pretty exhausted.
My mom probably wouldn't have been strong enough. My brother doesn't have the experience, and the same for my sister. Plus both of them are a little "wimpy" when it comes to pulling kids and lambs out. So, I am the elected kid and lamb "puller".

Mom runs up the stairs and says, "Suriyah, wake up. We need your help. There are 2 dead lambs trying to come out at once."
I say, "Ok, I'm coming".
Under my breath tho I say "oh great".
Grab a sweatshirt, walk downstairs, get my boots. All the while praying that God would give me strength to do this.

By the time I get out there (just a couple minutes), one lamb's head had been pushed back but just barely. Of course, I know what to do. One lamb was a lot further down in the birth canal than the other. This ewe is huge, I mean huge, for a sheep. Which was a very good thing cause I had plenty of room to move things around.

First, I had to figure out whose legs were whose. That was pretty easy.

Next, with literally most of my strength, I had to go in, grab the top lamb's head and shove it back out of the birth canal. Of course, the ewe is contracting thru all of this making things that much harder. Once that lamb was out of the way, I was able to grab the dead lamb (whose head was pretty swollen from hanging out for awhile) and pull him out. He was large and dead. Had we found the problem sooner, we probably could have saved him. But, that didn't happen and such is life.

So, I flopped him to the side. Went back in and grabbed the 2nd "dead" lamb. Pulled her out and amazingly she was alive, but very floppy and lethargic (not surprising). We started rubbing on her, the ewe was licking her. She ended up being fine, it just took her awhile.

I look back a minute later and there was another lamb's head hanging out. Slipped that one out - another ewe lamb. She was very spunky, very much alive and well.

The ewe cannot stand. Probably birthing trauma. Hopefully she recovers. The crazy ewe lamb has learned to nurse off of her laying down mother. The other lamb is being bottle fed for now.

What a crazy morning.

Have a good evening everyone!

Suriyah

p.s. - this was typed on my iPod so please forgive any spelling errors.

New Stalls & Pregnant Bellies!

2012-02-05T09:02:00.000-08:00

In the new barn, lots of construction has been going on. 3 of the 6 stalls are completely finished, now to start on the other 3 :). Each of the stalls is 10x10, and a 10 foot isle will be in the middle. Thanks to my brothers! I think they did an awesome job.

The stalls finished and occupied!

The other day I grabbed the camera and snapped a few photos of some of the pregnant bellies out in the doe yard... kidding season is getting close!!

Prissy (PB Nubian) and Baby (Grade Nubian),

Shelby (unregistered Alpine),

Chicci (F3 experimental MiniNubian),

Doris (F1) and her daughter, DD (F2 MiniNubian),

Helena (Saanen/Nubian),

Niniel (registered Alpine),

Hope you all are having an awesome weekend!

Suriyah

Break Time - on a ranch?

2012-02-02T12:08:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, right now is break time for me. What I call "break time" is not what most folks would consider a "break", but it is for me. And with the weather... it feels like spring break! It's really been nice.

Why is it break time for me? Here's a few reasons why:

- for one, there are NO does due for a few more weeks.
- for two, I have NO bottle baby right now. Now THAT is odd, because I have had some kind of bottle baby constantly for a very long time. The last bottle baby went to a new home, so that leaves me with no bottle baby to spoil (of any kind - no kids, no calves)! Don't worry, I'm not missing it that much.
- all the does are bred and settled, so there's no breeding to be done.
- there are only 6 does currently in milk. That means milking time only takes about 10 minutes.
- the weather has been awesome, which means there have been no ice buckets to break, etc... no extra chores that come with freezing weather.
- I am completely out of hay to sell most likely until we cut hay again... which means I have no hay to load - what am I going to do?!
- all the animals seem to be healthy and doing very well - that I am very thankful for.

That's all I can think of for now. So, what's a farm girl to do? Well, there is still plenty to do, but I am not super busy like I probably will be in the coming weeks and months. Here's a few things:

- Normal feeding, cleaning and watering chores to do that come along with having a rather large herd of goats and sheep.
- milking the 6 does in milk. I really am looking forward to when we have 50 or so does in milk!
- With the new barn, there is plenty of construction going on in there getting the kidding/lambing stalls ready, and organizing the barn.
- With the drought last year and lack of nutrition (especially vitamin A) from it in hays and pastures, all the pregnant does are getting a vitamin A&D shot a month prior to their due date to balance things out.
- Been trimming a lot of hooves - catching up on this chore since in a month I won't have much time to do it.
- Getting inside chores done
- And of course, this leaves more time for bookkeeping, schoolwork, working out and such - which is really great.

So, that's it for now. I'd better go get some stuff done :).

Have a great afternoon everyone!

Suriyah

bottle kid, new "Buddy" & kidding stalls!

2012-01-31T08:36:00.001-08:00

Well, we have a bottle kid. I have no clue what breed she is. A lady came up to us after the sale the other day and said she had bought this kid for her daughter, and then her daughter was scared of it (scared of a tiny baby goat?!? Alright. . .). She's a very sweet little goat, but she's not staying here long as I don't have a use for her and have already found her a new home (hopefully).

Friday we went outside and noticed a scared little dog out there. He must have been a drop off. He is SO skinny and was very scared. He's already gained some weight though, and is a very sweet boy. His name is Buddy now, and I think he is a Toy Australian Shepherd.

yawn! Buddy was tired after playing with the baby goat!

On to another subject besides "rescue dogs and goats". . . progress in the new kidding barn is under way! Our does should start kidded in about 2 weeks. There will be three 10x10 box type stalls on both sides of the barn, with a 10 foot drive/walkway in the middle. So there will be a total of 6 10x10 stalls. I think it's going to turn out very neat and useable! I will try to post pictures as things progress.

Have a great day!

Suriyah

Not Farm Related: Ron Paul Will Lead the Way

2012-01-30T13:03:00.000-08:00

So, this is not farm related but I had to share. Wether you are for Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul or not, please watch this short video, as it is a powerful message about the United States. My good friends wrote (and sung) this song, my sister put the music video together and it was just put on YouTube last night. It is really worth a few minutes of your time. Please feel free to share it far and wide as well.

An Interesting Kidding

2012-01-22T17:53:00.000-08:00

This morning I was figuring up goat numbers, who's due and when, etc. There are 53 does bred (hopefully they all settled), beginning around the middle of February all the way thru till the last one being due in mid-June. Our most busy time will be from mid-February till mid-April, then it kind of tappers off from there.

All that being said, there are a few does who are not counted in those numbers. There ~~are~~ were just 2 or 3 of them. They are does that we bought, but didn't know for sure if they were bred or not. One of those does kidded last Saturday to a buckling and doeling.

This morning, the other doe was in labor. Keep in mind this doe is a very, very big doe - wide, tall and very deep. She looks like a Nubian cross. Also keep in mind that she is fairly wild.

Labor was going normally. She had a few really hard contractions - every time I see contractions like that, there is typically a kid not in the right position. But, I just waited and watched. Eventually a bubble came, but there was nothing in the bubble. She got up a down, pawed, pushed, up and down, pushed really hard a few times. After about 5-10 minutes of the bubble appearing and nothing else, I decided we needed to go in and feel what was going on.

Due to her being wild, I grabbed her with my sister and held her still, while Mom went in to see what was going on. She went in and wasn't sure what she felt, thought it was a head but wasn't sure. So she convinced me I should go in. Ok, fine.

I went in and knew I was not feeling a head. Something was seriously wrong. After some feeling around, I realized that the kid was upside down, folded in half backwards and her chest was trying to come out - upside down. A drawing would really help show just how "wrong" this kid was trying to come out. I couldn't feel her head anywhere. I was finally able to find her neck, and follow it down to where I found her head and was so relieved. Thankfully, this doe is very big so there was no issue of it being tight in there. I had to go in all the way up to my elbow just to find the kid's head.

Once I had her head in my hand, I pulled it up to the opening and out she came - a little doeling who I was amazed was alive and well. Once I got the kid out we let the doe go so she could clean her kid off. Looking back now, I should have never let her go, and just went back in to pull the rest of the kids out. Mistake #1. So, once letting her go she was very very mad at us and was snorting, lunging and trying to bite us. Thankfully she doesn't have canine teeth, otherwise I would have been in very bad shape :).

It looked like her placenta was hanging out, but what I didn't realize was that underneath that thick blob of placenta, was the next kid's head. After about 5 minutes, we realized a kid's head was hanging out. Oh no! So we grabbed the very mad mama goat, and pulled that kid out. His front legs were stuck back, so I had to go find one of them and then pull him out. He was a little dazed from being stuck like that for a few minutes. Poor boy, I felt sorry.

After that everything looked normal. We got her situated, both kids looked fine. We had been on our way out the door, so we left. After we left I realized I should have gone back in after pulling kid #2 out - duh. Mistake #2. Especially after having 2 stuck kids, what if there was a 3rd stuck one? Oh well, I had to just wait till we got back home.

About 4 hours later, we returned home and found a 3rd kid - a little buckling. Thankfully, she must have had him with no troubles and all. The huge placenta was on the ground, and 3 healthy babies. We had to help the 3rd one learn how to nurse (i.e. - had to hold very very mad mama goat still again). She is so psycho - very protective of her babies, but also a little dumb because if we pick up one of her babies, she will try to attack it because we are holding it. Once we put it down by her she realizes it's her baby and then will just try to kill us. Yeah, she's a little nuts.

Anyway, quite an interesting afternoon. I am just very thankful that all the babies are alive and healthy, and the doe is alive and well also, although I think she just might be a little too alive (just kidding).

Well, I was going to add pictures to this post but they won't upload for me... I'll try to get 'em uploaded and then edit this post.

EDITED to add pictures

Have a good evening,

Suriyah

a few photos

2012-01-17T14:49:00.000-08:00

Just a few photos from around the ranch the past couple of days.

"Mama Llama" on the left and "Peppy" on the right,

Peppy was a year old on January 6th. He's gotten rather large! He is such a good boy though, and really cares about his goats and sheep, and watches them very well.

One of the Boer/cross meat kids,

Saturday afternoon I went out to check on a doe, and found a different doe with 2 kids at her side. She had just birthed them. A boy and a girl. Very good! She will raise these kids for a few weeks, then I will start to milk her, and when the kids are weaned at a few months she'll be getting milked full time. She is part of my brother's meat operation - using Nubian dairy does to kid meat kids, have them raise the kids until selling age and then we get to milk the doe. Sounds like a plan to me!

Have a good evening! I gotta go!

Suriyah

New Flooring!

2012-01-14T08:40:00.000-08:00

So I'm back to posting, for now ;). Last week we had flooring delivered for our new barn. So, we had to take EVERYTHING out of the barn (milkstands, rubber mats, a giant shelf, etc etc). Once it was delivered, we had the job of spreading and leveling it. Thanks to lots of help from family and the tractor with a roller on it, the floor is very nice now.

One evening we had to milk outside though, because it wasn't quite done. Thankfully, it was only once and by the next morning we had a milkstand set back up inside the barn. Now everything is back into place...will have to get pictures.

Wednesday night we got a light dusting of snow. The wind was howling and it was FREEZING cold for a couple days there.

Not too much else to update on the ranch. Yesterday we did get a very nice Nubian doe that just recently kidded - I plan to do a blog post on her hopefully tomorrow or sometime soon :).

Hope you have a great weekend!

Suriyah

Ron Paul for President

2012-01-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

As you very well know if you are a regular reader of my blog, you probably have noticed by now that I typically stay on topic (farm, goats, etc) and don't post much off-topic or political things. Well, now is the time for going "off topic", or what you may think is off topic because in reality, it is not.

This year, 2012, is an election year. Our country is in bad shape - in extreme debt, a very bad economy, lack of jobs, too big of a government and abortion is legal. Since Obama became president, our country has gone a downhill slide of more and more debt and big government. This country needs help.

With the 2012 Presidential Election coming up this November, it is very important that you research and make an informed vote. Get out and vote. Let your voice be heard.

President Obama is running for re-election. We certainly don't want him as President for another 4 years. The other Republican candidates are more of the same - big government, bad foreign policies. But there is one very exceptional candidate running for the 2012 election - his name is Ron Paul. He is not more of the same. He would massively reduce the nation's debt, change our foreign policies, get our country out of other people's business and bring our troops home. He would overturn Roe vs. Wade making abortion illegal. The list goes on and on.

In 2011 Ron Paul also received more donations from active military personnel than all other Republican candidates and Obama combined. I think that says something right there.

Here are a few videos and websites for more info on Ron Paul. I urge you to watch these videos and look at these websites, and make a decision for yourself. If you care about the future of this country, please vote.

Why Ron Paul - www.whyronpaul.com

Ron Paul 2012 Official Campaign Website

This video shows why so many people support Ron Paul:

The below video shows Ron Paul's stand on foreign policy and Israel:

Below is one of Ron Paul's ads:

And one more - this is a very good video on why YOU should vote for Ron Paul. Adherence to the Oath.

So you might ask, what can I do? Get out, spread the word, join Facebook pages such as Ron Paul and Ron Paul Revolution and many, many others. If you have never voted before, register to vote and when it's time to, go VOTE.

Stand up for freedom and liberty. Vote Ron Paul 2012.

Suriyah

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-01T17:08:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year 2012 Everyone!!

We brought in the new year with lots of good food and a very good time with the best friends ever. We had a pajama party, and then a karaoke/lip sync/singing themed party. It was a blast! Today I am exhausted though ;).

Today we were blessed with New Years Day kids! It was a very easy birth and both mama and babies are doing well! They are Boer kids.

Wishing you all the best in 2012!

Suriyah

pictures!

2011-12-26T07:48:00.000-08:00

Well, life has been going good here on the farm for the most part. A sickness ran through here the past couple weeks and got most of the family sick... we're getting over it though.

The weather has been considerably mild for it being late December - odd.

None of the dairy does are due till mid-February. But, there is a crossbred doe that my brother got a few months ago and we do not know her due date. She is very wide and heavy with kids. Yesterday her udder filled up, so I am expecting that she should kid pretty soon here.

Here's some various pictures from the past few days.

reflection in the pond,

From the Left: Fighter, Grandma (in the coat), Hug and LaWanda being lazy sunbathing goats.

Hug and Grandma,

Prissy (& Aruba, behind),

Snickers,

Peppy, the guard llama,

One of the sows and her piglets having some time out in the 40 acres while my brother watched them. The piglets are getting big!

Have a great day!

Suriyah

new milking barn set-up!

2011-12-17T07:23:00.000-08:00

Things are slowly getting set up in the new milking barn. Tuesday we moved out of the old room, and just had enough time to set up the floor and milkstands before it was time to milk again. Since then, I've just been slowly moving things in and getting it set up. It's going to take some time, but right now it is very functional and much better than the old room! Here's some pictures of the process...

bye-bye old milking parlor!

hello big barn!

we don't celebrate Christmas, I just have lights up for lighting and have 'em up all year long!

In this picture, on the right is a door - that is the "IN" door. On the left is the "OUT" door - when they are done being milked, they go out that way.

this was the first night we milked in there... the does were a little scared the first few times. They are getting used to it now though.

Have a great weekend!!

Suriyah

NEW BARN!

2011-12-11T20:05:00.001-08:00

The new barn is done!! It took about 2 1/2 days of work totaled up from start to finish - not bad, I'd say. It is 30x50 and will be used as the new milking barn and kidding/lambing stalls. I am excited and very thankful for it - especially to my Granny who made it possible!

MidAmerica Pole Barn Company is the company we chose to go with - they did a great job.

Now comes the phase of re-arranging and getting all set back up. . . I think it'll be a little bit before we start milking in it ;).

Here's photos of the process, from start to finish.

Goodnight!

Suriyah

random!

2011-12-08T13:43:00.001-08:00

Well, as I mentioned last time, the new big barn construction has begun. There have been plenty of set backs with the weather and such. All the holes are dug and the 4 corner polls are put in. Due to an accident the construction has been called off for a few days though, but it should resume soon and Lord willing, soon we will have a big barn!

I think winter weather has finally hit us!

Peppy, the guard llama!

Star,

Mr. Fighter (front) with one of his dam-raised buddies (behind),

Have a good day!!

Suriyah

just a few pics...

2011-11-30T06:53:00.001-08:00

Just a few random pictures from the other day...

Grandma goat sporting her brand new coat. . . which she likes very much! It is a very toasty coat!

Have a good day!! Barn building starts today... I'll get pictures of the progress!! Right now the supplies are being unloaded.

Suriyah

Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T19:45:00.001-08:00

Here's a late Happy Thanksgiving!!

I really meant to do a post yesterday, but the day was very, very busy! We'd been cooking for a few days, planning a large party. It went very well, and for that and many other things I am very thankful! Here's some pictures of our day (with captions :)).

This was taken after the party was over. Lots of leftovers are on the table. Today, we didn't cook, and still have a lot of leftovers.

Call us weird, but we did not have a turkey for Thanksgiving. Instead, all our meat was home butchered and so we had - 2 large hams, 3 chickens, 1 duck and a venison roast. The guys were in charge of it and they decided to try to do a deep pit roast. It's where you dig a deep pit, start a fire the night before so there are a lot of hot coals, line it with rock/brick, put your meat/onions/apples/etc in oven bags, which are then wrapped in foil. The foil bags are then put into burlap sacks that are damp, and thrown into the deep pit. It is then covered with a lid and dirt on top of the lid. Well, after the meat had been in there 8 hours we decided to take it out. It was not done, and probably because the coals were not hot enough. So we threw the meat into the ovens to finish cooking. It smelled SO good when they opened it up, and the meat after it finished cooking (in the oven) was also very good. Maybe we'll try again next time with a hotter fire ;).

We decorated the house for Thanksgiving with dear friends the night before up until 2am - so much for getting to bed early before the party :).

There was so. much. food. Since there are a lot of food allergies around here, all the food was gluten and cow dairy free. There was also a lot of grain and starch free foods for folks on special diets. It turned out so well and the food was so good!

lots of dessert!

green beans,

jell-o,

pumpkin pie,

sweet potatoes, and much much more.

Again, I don't think we have "normal" Thanksgiving parties ;). We almost always dance on Thanksgiving. . . gotta work off all the food that was just eaten! So without missing a beat, no matter how tired we were, we did sing and dance.

I am so thankful for everything in my life. God has truly blessed me with so much, too much to list, and even if things were not as great, there is still and always will be SO much to be thankful for.

Have a great evening,

Suriyah

Jr. Mint's relatives in our herd

2011-11-19T07:22:00.001-08:00

I thought it would be fun to put up all the close relatives of Junior Mint that we currently have in the herd. Of course there are others that we used to have, MANY many kids of his that have been born and sold, and so forth ;).

Junior Mint's one and only sister. She is a half sister to him (same sire). Her name is PawPawNin LaWanda. She has been a very good, consistent milker.

Junior Mint's first daughter that was born here at our place, Good Goats Marshmallow Hug. She is out of a Nubian doe we used to own, The Milky Way Stars.

Good Goats JM Piglet is the same age as Hug, also a Junior Mint daughter. She has been a wonderful milker and a very easy keeper. She is out of Good Goats Vanilla Cream.

Good Goats JM Starlight is a 2 1/2 year old daughter of Junior Mint's. She has very nice type, but due to various things I have not been able to milk her yet. She is bred and due in March of next year. Her dam is Northwest Goats Lil' Prissy.

Good Goats Junior MoMent is our 4th Junior Mint daughter. She is a super easy keeper and bred for April of next year. Besides her ears, I have been very pleased with her type. Her dam is Dream Weaver's MoReen (hence the name, MoMent "mo-mint").

Good Goats P Snickers is a Junior Mint granddaughter. Her dam is Good Goats Marshmallow Hug (a Jr. Mint daughter) and her sire is Dreamy-Hollow Parker. She is due in March of next year.

And last but not least, Good Goats MHP Pugsy is a Junior Mint grandson. He was born in February of this year, and he is doing just awesome. He's grown very well, and has bred many does this year already. His sire is Dreamy-Hollow's Parker and his dam is Good Goats Marshmallow Hug (he is full sister to Snickers, above, but is a year younger). He definitely got a lot of his "crazy buckyness" from his grandpa ;).

Have a great day!

Suriyah

RIP PawPawNin Junior Mint

2011-11-18T07:40:00.001-08:00

Last night we lost PawPawNin Junior Mint, our oldest MiniNubian buck and the buck that we've had for the longest, ever since he was a little kid. He was always a very reliable breeder, threw beautiful babies, was very well mannered, and never had a sick day in his life. He was getting up there in age, for a buck, and I guess since he had always been so "hyper", he wore himself out. I noticed this Fall that he was not being his normal self, come breeding season. He did not breed any does this year, as he really didn't want to. I gave him special treatment, and just within the last week he quickly went downhill and passed away last night. He will certainly be missed. In our herd he is survived by 1 half sister, 4 daughters, 1 granddaughter and 1 grandson.

You can go HERE to see a slideshow with pictures of Junior Mint as a kid and as he grew.

Suriyah

Midnight, Star, Lucy & Sunspot

2011-11-13T11:05:00.001-08:00

It's been busy here, as usual. And if you've been reading my blog for some time, you should know that we've been trying to cut back on the number of goats we have with winter quickly approaching. We've sold a lot of goats, but we've also added a good handful to the herd.

The latest additions are the ones below. These does are all unregistered, but the last 2 I may consider registering as Native On Appearance with the ADGA.

This is Midnight. She is some kind of a cross bred dairy/meat doe. She is very, very big. This picture really does not show how big she is. She will be used in the meat goat herd.

This is Star. She is also a big doe, but is still very young. She will also be used in the meat goat herd.

This is Lucy. She is a very big and wide girl, this picture really does not do her justice. She will be used in the Nubian herd.

And last but not least, this is Sunspot. And this is a horrible picture of her, but the only one I have at the moment. She is a very big, beautiful spotted Nubian. She will be used in the Nubian breeding program. She is also very sweet and friendly.

Suriyah

Shepherd's Purse

2011-11-09T07:32:00.000-08:00

I was asked by someone to explain a little on Shepherd's purse, why we keep it on hand and how we use it. So, here ya' go!

Shepherd's Purse is an herb used to stop internal bleeding. It grows all over North America but is often overlooked. The tincture can be purchased online at Lucky Vitamin.

We have used it a few times over the years in our livestock.

The most obvious life saving one was when this Boer doe had ringwomb (when their cervix does not dialate naturally and it has to be manually dialated). We had been manually dialating her for a good 1 1/2 to 2 hours. We made progress enough and she felt the urge to push the kid out. So the kid came out, but since she still was very tight up in there, her cervix tore. She started hemorrhaging very badly. Her gums and eyelids began to go white. I immediately ran for the Shepherd's Purse tincture, and gave her a good couple dropfulls. The hemorrhaging stopped, and within a few minutes she was alert enough to start licking her kid.

We've used it for smaller hemorrhages throughout the years, and it has always worked. Needless to say, given the choice, I will never be without this herb.

Suriyah

Trimming very overgrown hooves

2011-11-08T07:26:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago the neighbor bought a little buck with very overgrown hooves. He obviously had not been taken care of. So, since I am the "goat farrier" in the neighborhood, I trimmed him up. It actually wasn't that bad, except that his front feed were really hard and long, so I had to get out the horse nippers to trim the really long hard stuff off, before I could even trim it with my goat clippers. But, I got him all done and he walked MUCH better afterwards!

before,

I should have worn gloves, my hands stunk for the rest of the day! He was a nasty little buck!

after,

Hope you have a great day! We are getting really dumped on here in Oklahoma. . . everything is very wet and muddy!

Suriyah

Then & Now - "new" doelings

2011-11-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

Back in February kidding season was in full-swing. Out of the many kids born, there were 4 doelings - 2 Mini Nubian sisters and 2 Snubian/MiniNubian sisters. They were all bottle babies, and went to a great family home together. Well, time has flown by, the owners kept me up to date on the kids and all was well until recently, when the goats learned how to escape out of their fenced yard and get on the busy road. Not good. With the situation as it was, the family needed to get rid of the girls before they got hit. So, we bought them back. Maybe once they get their fence fixed, they'll get some goats back from us ;). They obviously took very good care of the girls. . . they are very sweet and friendly, and very healthy.

Here's some pictures of them.

The above picture is "Pearl" as a baby when she was here. The below picture is Pearl yesterday when we got back to our place. Her mom is a Snubian and her dad is a MiniNubian. She clearly has her mother's stubborn personality ;).

Above is "Truffles" as a baby here at our ranch. Below is Truffles last night. She is Pearl's sister.

These are the 2 MiniNubian doelings. Their dam is PawPawNin LaWanda and their sire is Wonderful Farm Shinning Topaz. The smaller one has blue eyes. In the picture above, the one on the left is "Sugar Baby" and the one on the right is "Caramel".

Sugar Baby

Caramel

On another note, very early yesterday morning, around 2:30am, a big red Boer doe of our's gave birth to 2 giant red bucklings. She had no problems birthing them, all on her own, and they figured out to nurse all by themselves. Perfect! These boys are very thick little things... will have to get some better pictures soon. They also both have wattles like their mother.

See ya later!

Suriyah

31/21 - last day of October

2011-10-31T08:09:00.000-07:00

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

31/21 - Fall on the Farm

2011-10-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

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

31/21 - Article: How to Splint Broken Legs

2011-10-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

BrokenLegs

Thekid was about 1 1/2 months old and broke her leg below the knee.First, we put a bunch of cotton (notcottonballs) all around the leg so it was really padded, and then we tapedthe cotton on. We then had a PVC pipe that was cut in half lengthwiseand to fit her leg so it went past her hoof a bit, so the pressurewould be put above the break.

Wefilled any gaps in the PVC with more cotton, taped it on, and thenwrapped the whole thing in vet wrap.

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

Thisdoe below was about 18 months old. We found her with her back legbroken, no clue how. It was completely busted and free-swinging.

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

Wethen wrapped it all in vet wrap, and placed a cap of a vitamin bottleon the bottom of her foot to keep it dry and keep the dirt out asmuch as possible, plus it gives the whole splint more support.

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

31/3 weeks later we unwrapped the leg, and it looked very good. Werewrapped it with new padding and wrap. This time I added a 3^rd“support ruler” to just give her more stability. We left thissplint on for about 3 weeks, and then took it off for good. Her leghealed great.

Suriyah

31/21 - just a few pics

2011-10-28T09:37:00.000-07:00

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

31/21 - Goat Forums & Lists

2011-10-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

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

31/21 - Hanunyah's Sweet Creations

2011-10-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

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

31/21 - Feeding Article

2011-10-25T07:40:00.000-07:00

Feeding

Whetheryou are a novice goat owner to an experienced rancher, it seems thereare always the constant questions about what and how much to feed.After many, many changes over the years with our herd, figuring outwhat works best and what doesn't, I think we have finally narrowedthings down for our herd. But as always, one thing is not going towork 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.

Goatshave many nutritional requirements and are one of the harder to keeplivestock, at times. Milking does and growing kids need calcium. Themost common source of calcium for goats is good Alfalfa hay orpellets.

Rememberwhen you are feeding goats, you are feeding the rumen. The goatsrumen is a very complex system, and requires lots of nutrients fromhay, pasture and browse. Goats are browsers, which means they eatlots of forage and cannot do well just off of a pelleted or grainbased 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. Whereassheep on the otherhand, will not typically eat the leaves and barklike goats do, they'll go straight for the grass (which has earnedthem many nicknames, but this book isn't about sheep).

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

Milkersget Alfalfa or Alfalfa/Orchard grass hay twice a day. After themorning feeding, during the pasture months, they will go out andbrowse 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 graineach milkling. So a doe, depending on production and size,will get atotal of 2 to 3 pounds of grain a day. We feed a 14% protein grain,with 3-4% fat.

Kidsget fed grain once a day and then are given lots of alfalfa oralfalfa/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'tseem to be lacking, they will not get any grain at all, only hay andmilk. If you are bottle raising your kids, the longer you can keepthem on the milk bottle, the better. They get a much better start inlife this way. Our kids are typically bottle fed until 5 months ofage.

Drydoes and bucks get pasture all day (when it's there), and alfalfa oralfalfa/orchard grass at least once a day. If the pasture is notgood, they get fed hay once in the morning and once in the evening.

Ifthere is any animal that is thin for some reason, first start outwith trying to figure out why they are thin. Worms, mineraldeficiency, etc. Once you have that taken care of, you can give themBlack Oil Sunflower Seeds, Rice Bran, Soybean Meal or Calf Manna asthese are all very high in fat and protein.

Suriyah

31/21 - Soccer

2011-10-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

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

(I am the official videographer, LOL)

Suriyah

31/21 - busy days

2011-10-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

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

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

2011-10-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

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

31/21 - Boer Kids

2011-10-20T17:56:00.000-07:00

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

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

2011-10-19T21:48:00.001-07:00

31/21 - Soccer & BuddyWalk photos

2011-10-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures from the weekend!

soccer

Buddy Walk

Suriyah

31/21 - Oops!

2011-10-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a busy day and I forgot to do a blog post. . . oops!! Our internet is being really slow also so I don't think I will be able to upload pictures right now, maybe later.

The soccer game on Sunday went well. . . our team made it to the playoffs!

The DSAT Buddy Walk went very good in Tulsa on Sunday also. Lots of people came and all around it went very well. Hopefully I can get some pictures from there put up later.

That's it for now! Have a great day!

Suriyah

31/21 - Donkeys & Rams

2011-10-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

When this post goes up, I will (most likely) be gone to our Sunday soccer game and then the Down Syndrome Association of Tulsa's Buddy Walk.

These 2 donkeys are new here. If anyone is looking for a cute donkey, let us know ;)!

We also got 2 new rams for our sheep breeding programs. The black and white one is a 3 year old Katahdin/Dorper cross ram. He is very nice. The red one behind him is a red Katahdin, and is under a year old (very big).

Flying rams!!

Hope you have an awesome day!

Suriyah

31/21 - Meet Dynamite

2011-10-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

This is our new Boer buckling.

He is young, very big and very colorful.

He has already bred his first doe here.

His name is Dynamite.

I can't wait to see kids out of him!

Suriyah

31/21 - Random pictures, broken leg update

2011-10-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took off the brace from Cleopatra's broken leg. It looks good. She is using her leg almost like normal, although she still favors it a little bit. It looks like it healed a tad bit crooked, but I think it'll be just fine.

Here's a few random pictures from yesterday. Enjoy!

"Blondie"

"Chicci"

this doe looks like she is going to kid soon!

silly goat!

Suriyah

31/21 - Farm C-Section

2011-10-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Graphic photos below.

Last night it was a typical evening milking. I milked the does, and about half way through milking my brother came back and said that one of the Boer does was missing. So him and Mom went out to look for her. No big deal. We had gotten this doe along with 2 other Boer does, a couple months ago or so. She wasn't the nicest out of all of them, but seemed okay. We figured they were all pregnant; they had been running with a buck; and sure enough, the one had triplets a few days ago. So, back to the story. We found the doe, she wasn't too far out in the 40 acres. There was a problem though. She had placenta hanging out of her, but no kid anywhere near - we searched and searched incase she had dropped a kid. Nope.

So, we brought her back. I felt up in there and there was a kid there, nose and feet, about 3 inches up or so. Okay, not bad. I ran back into the house for something, and figured if she hadn't had it by the time I came back out, then maybe we should help out. I came back out, nothing. Waited a few more minutes, nothing more. We decided to go in a see what was going on. The kid's head was twisted upside down and to the side. The doe was very tight in there, her pelvic bones not very wide at all. It was very hard to get a hand in there. After a long time of trying, and a few of us trying, there was no way this kid was going to come out. I have never felt anything like it. His head and shoulders were MUCH bigger than her pelvic bones. There was just no possible way. The kid was obviously alive, moving and such in there. We even saw him kick with his back legs from the outside. At one point while we were trying to pull him out, we heard him cry inside. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever heard.

Here we had a decision to make. The doe was pretty tore up, even though we were being extremely careful, and was obviously in shock. If we bred her again, with her hips being so so narrow, this would be likely to happen again. Plus, she may have died from shock and blood loss anyway. So, since we knew the kid was obviously alive, we decided instead of loosing the kid and most likely the doe also, we would save the kid. Time was ticking, and it was getting pretty dark by this time.

As hard as it was, thankfully this was not one of our milkers or a goat that we've had for awhile and grown to know, as it would have been a much much harder decision than it already was. So, it was decided we would put the doe down (with the .22) and do a c-section to get the kid out. The time of night it was there would have been no vet open, plus this doe just really was not worth it (as harsh as that may sound, sometimes that is the case).

So she was put to sleep, we immediately had a sharp knife and made an incision.

It took just over a minute before we found the uterus with the kid in it. Since he was already in the birth canal (somewhat), his head was out of his sac, so it looked like he was in a little bag.

We got him cut out of it and started rubbing him. He started breathing and crying very quickly.

A few minutes later, I had him in and he was already wanting to nurse. I rubbed and rubbed him, dried him off, and he nursed a bunch. Thankfully, I had just milked out colostrum from the other Boer doe that kidded since she had too much. Perfect. I felt sorry for the poor kid because his legs and head must have been sore from us pulling on him for so long and so hard!

He is a huge kid, at least probably 12 pounds. (and this doe was tiny, probably one of the most narrow Boer does ever). He is also very healthy, and I think he is polled (naturally hornless).

So, it was a sad evening and a happy evening. Life on the ranch can be hard at times, and hard decisions have to be made. I was very excited that we were at least able to save the kid.

The Boer doe that had triplets the other day is doing ok. The babies are doing great. I do not know this doe's history, but she seems to be very old. She's a sweet old gal, but she came down with hypocalcemia. She has only been with us a for about a month or so, so I have no idea how she was fed before - obviously not very well. I left the 2 does on her, and pulled the buckling to be a bottle kid. This way he'll be a friend to the new orphan and the doe won't have to produce as much milk, just feeding 2 small girls. I am treating her every 2 hours, I really do hope she pulls through.

Suriyah

31/21 - Bounce-U & Buddy Walk!

2011-10-12T14:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the Bounce-U prep event for the Down Syndrome Association of Tulsa Buddy Walk on Sunday. It went very well and we were all very tired after handing out bags and bouncing for hours.

The Buddy Walk is this Sunday, starting at 1:30 at the Union Park. Anyone and everyone is welcome! If you can, come spend the afternoon with us! You can find out more info here.

Suriyah

31/21 - Triplet Kids Born!

2011-10-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning a Boer doe that we got a few months ago, gave birth to triplets! 2 girls and a boy. The girls are way smaller than the buck, they are just adorable! Here's a few pictures.

Gotta go!

Suriyah

31/21 - Feeding article

2011-10-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

Here's an article on feeding (goats) that I wrote. Just the way we do things here and thought I'd share!

Feeding

Goatshave many nutritional requirements and dairy goats are one of the harder to keeplivestock, at times. Milking does and growing kids need calcium. Themost common source of calcium for goats is good Alfalfa hay orpellets.

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

Suriyah

31/21 - Sunday

2011-10-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday. As usual we went to our soccer game this morning. It was a good day.

A few days ago we sold all the remaining little bucklings that we had. . . that meant Mr. Tic-Tac had no more little friends. So, he had to graduate to the big boy pen. He is doing just fine. There is another buckling in there from this year also, he is a few months older and MUCH bigger, but Tic-Tac seems to be holding his own just fine. Plus, our bucks aren't very rough with each other either.

I am exhausted, and that is not good because we have a very busy week ahead of us. Hopefully I can squeeze my blog posts in!

Hope you had a great day too!!

Suriyah

31/21 - Enterotoxemia

2011-10-08T13:12:00.001-07:00

Since it's a super busy day, I figured I would just re-post my article on Enterotoxemia.

Enterotoxemia

Yearsago we'd had a some new bales of alfalfa hay, it was really green andleafy, and the goats loved it (of course). Before going to bed thatnight, I heard a kid crying. We had some kids being dam-raised, andhad a beautiful F3 MiniNubian doeling named Midget. We went out andchecked - everyone looked fine. So as usual, we went to bed. A fewhours later my Mom awoke to a kid screaming/crying in pain. She wentout there, it was Midget. She tried to save her (gave her manythings) but within minutes she passed away. We read and she had theexact symptoms of Enterotoxemia, and the single thing that will savea goat's life in the case of Entero., we did not have - C&DANTITOXIN(notthe toxoid). A hard lesson learned.  It's been many years sincethat happened. I've read a TON about Enterotoxemia and never lost agoat to it again, thankfully. A few times the goats have got intograin, or a goat has bloated, etc., and I always givethem a shot of CD Antitoxin. The worst thing C&D Antitoxincan do is, if you vaccinate, is it will negate the CD&T vaccine.The best C&D Antitoxin can do, is save a goats life. A fewmonths after we lost Midget to Enterotoxemia, a lady called us up andher kid was sick - sounded like she had Enterotoxemia and she was sofar into it she was laying on the ground with her eyes rolling backin her head. The owner did not have the antitoxin, so she rushed toour house, got a few syringes full of it, went home and gave it toher doe kid - she was back to normal within hours.  Ever since welost Midget to Enterotoxemia, we've never been without the C&DAntitoxin in the fridge. I always stress to new goat owners that thisis the one thing your medicine cabinet should never be without. 

So,how would you know if your goat has enterotoxemia? Well,it definitely takes a lot of watching your goats, knowing theirnormal habbits, sounds and routines. The symptoms of Enterotoxemiacan be very widely ranged. It can be as simple as a goat crying - butthis isn't just any cry - it's a cry that the goat either is gettingseriously injured or has enterotoxemia. Once you've heard it, you'llremember it. It's the cry of a goat in pain. Enterotoxemia can alsocome on after a goat has bloat, has diarrhea/an upset stomach, isstressed, a slight (or large) change of feed, a bottle kid drinking alarge/abnormal amount of milk, or possibly even weather change -these are all prime conditions for enterotoxemia to kick in. 

Whatabout if you vaccinate with the CDT Vaccine? It's suppose toprevent it, right? Wechoose not to vaccinate our goats. There is a bunch of info whynot to vaccinate here. My goats are healthy, we do not believethey need vaccines - after awhile they just suppress the immunesystem anyway. I know everyone won't agree on this subject, butthat's okay. If you DO vaccinate, your goat can still getEnterotoxemia. The vaccine will lessen the chance of an adult goatgetting it, but it's still possible. And the vaccine does not protectyoung kids from getting enterotoxemia.  Like I said before, ifyou even think your goat maybegetting Entero, don't hesitate giving them some C&D Antitoxin.The worst it can do is negate the vaccine, the best it can do is savea life.  A goat with Enterotoxemia really needs to be treatedlike this - C&D Antitoxin (reduces the gut flora that hasovergrown), Pepto bismal (to line the gut and protect it), Banamine(calms the gut and eases pain), baking soda won't hurt and if thegoat is really bad, starting them on Penicillin is also good to takecare of any infection that might set in. The goat should bere-treated every 3-6 hours with the C&D Antitoxin and Pepto untilthe syptomes subside. An adult goat should get anywhere from 10-15 ccsub-Q of C&D Antitoxin, and a kid should get around 5 cc.

Anotherimportant thing to note is when a bottle fed kid has enterotoxemia,do not feed them milk. Instead of milk, give them electrolytes(prefferably clear). You do not want to overload the gut with moremilk when it cannot handle the stuff already in there.

Inconclusion, watch your goats.

31/21 - Randomness...

2011-10-07T12:52:00.000-07:00

Today I can't seem to come up with much to post on the blog. . . and I guess that is bad considering we are only a week into October. I spent most of today doing school work, kitchen work (I spend lots of time in there and am thinking about possibly writing a cookbook, we'll see), and goat work. Hopefully I can get you a more exciting post tomorrow.

I really need to put a sale list together. We have quite a few goats that we need to move out, so if you are looking for something, don't hesitate to email me! We have around 10 dry Alpine does, a few Nubians, a few Boers and a few "random" goats (like a few Alpine/Nubian crosses, one Boer/MiniNubian cross [yes, it was an accident] and so on).

For now, I'll leave you with a few pictures of fall in Oklahoma.

Suriyah

31/21 - goats, piglets & chicks!

2011-10-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

Life on the ranch has been going pretty good!! The weather lately has been just beautiful... haven't had to run the A/C in the house much at all lately. It's been very nice, and the animals (and people) seem to be enjoying it.

The milking does are all doing good. The other day I dropped several does to just once a day milking, so at night we are only milking 2 full-stanchions - 14 does. And in the morning, 27 does. I wanted to make the nighttime milking crew smaller because within the next few weeks, we'll probably be getting a bit busy with various things - just the time of year, plus our Grandma is visiting, and the Down Syndrome Association of Tulsa is having a Bounce-U prep event and then the yearly Buddy Walk. So all that to say, I wanted to make nighttime chores faster ;).

Northwest Goats Lil' Prissy,

Good Goats Junior Moment (front), plus a bunch of other does begging for goodies,

The piglets are doing good. . . they are very spunky little things!! There are 5 girls and 4 boys.

Yesterday there was new life added to the ranch! A guinea hen had been sitting on eggs, and yesterday Mom and the kids found several chicks already hatched. So, since guinea hens usually are not good mothers, we collected them and put them in a little make-shift brooder. Yesterday there were 8 live ones, this morning we found 2 more, so there's 10 so far. They are pretty cute lil' things ;)! I think we may put a chicken tractor around the hen sitting on the eggs, and then try putting the chicks with her and see if she'll take care of them. That way they are all forced to stay in one spot :).

Have a good day! I have to go sell some goats and hay!

Suriyah

31/21 - Quick Kidding Schedule

2011-10-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

So far we have at least 13 does bred. Here's a quick kidding chart.

Doe - Buck - Due Date

Grandma (Nubian) to Quiet Wyatt (F2) = Feb. 13, 2012

LaWanda (F1) to Pugsy (F2) = Feb. 17

HoneyBun (Alpine) to Cadbury (Alpine) = Feb. 20

MoReen (F2) to Pugsy (F2) = Feb. 22

Rosie (Nubian) to Hershey (Nubian) = Feb. 24

Kamryn (Nubian) to Hershey = Feb. 24

Target (Nubian) to Hershey = Feb. 25

Baby (Nubian) to Hershey = Feb. 28

Chicci (F3) to Topaz (F3) = March 1

Journey (Alpine) to Cadbury (Alpine) = March 3

Snickers (F2) to Wyatt (F2) = March 3

Lizzie (EX) to Hershey = March 3

Helena (RG) to Hershey = March 3

Here's a few random ranch photos from yesterday!

does waiting for treats to be thrown to them from the garden,

chickens and guineas,

horse trainers,

new lambs,

Have a good day!

Suriyah

31/21 - Piglets Born!

2011-10-04T07:20:00.000-07:00

Last night our pregnant sow gave birth to 10 piglets, one was stillborn - so there are 9 healthy, cute piglets now on the ranch! All of them did well through their first night. Here's a few photos of them!

Suriyah

31/21 - What is Down Syndrome?

2011-10-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

Since many of my blog followers may not be very familiar with Down Sydrome, I thought I would post an article about what causes DS (stolen from my sister's blog :)).

Some basic information shared from the National Association for Down Syndrome:

Down syndrome is a genetic condition that causes delays in physical and intellectual development. It occurs in one in every 691 live births. Individuals with Down syndrome have 47 chromosomes instead of the usual 46. It is the most frequently occurring chromosomal disorder. Down syndrome is not related to race, nationality, religion or socioeconomic status. The most important fact to know about individuals with Down syndrome is that they are more like others than they are different.

Down syndrome is usually identified at birth or shortly thereafter. Initially the diagnosis is based on physical characteristics that are commonly seen in babies with Down syndrome. These include low muscle tone, a single crease across the palm of the hand, a slightly flattened facial profile and an upward slant to the eyes. The diagnosis must be confirmed by a chromosome study (karyotype). A karyotype provides a visual display of the chromosomes grouped by their size, number and shape. Chromosomes may be studied by examining blood or tissue cells.

Down syndrome is usually caused by an error in cell division called nondisjunction. It is not known why this occurs. However, it is known that the error occurs at conception and is not related to anything the mother did during pregnancy. It has been known for some time that the incidence of Down syndrome increases with advancing maternal age. However, 80% of children with Down syndrome are born to women under 35 years of age.

Have a great day!

Suriyah

31/21 - Day 2. . .

2011-10-02T17:56:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy day. . .

Suriyah

31/21 - It's OCTOBER!!

2011-10-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it's already October?! I barely can! October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month. If you didn't know, I have a wonderful little brother with Down Syndrome who is 6 years old and a huge, huge blessing to me (okay, and my family :)!).

So, for the whole month of October, I am joining the 31 for 21 blog challenge, as I did last year. The goal is to do a blog post a day for the whole month of October to raise awareness about Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21).

I'll still do my regular farm updates, but hopefully I can mix in some other exciting posts - we'll see ;).

For starters, here's an adorable (I think) music video by a boy singing to his little sister (who has Down Syndrome).

Hope you have an awesome day!

Suriyah

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Broken Leg Update

2011-09-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

Cleaopatra, the doe with the broken back leg, is doing very well. It's been 3 1/2 weeks since the break, and I have been meaning to change the splint for about a week and a half, but. . . it didn't happen till now ;). Anyway, I took the old splint off and it looked great. Her leg/hoof wasn't really wet or dirty at all. As far as the break goes, it seems to be healing a tad bit crooked, but only time will tell with that - I could barely tell now, it could just be the way she was holding it up.

So I re-splinted it. This time since I was a tad bit concerned about it healing a bit bent to the back, I put 3 sticks on her leg - one on the back, and one on each side. Probably should have done that with the first splint, but I think it'll be okay.

Everything else on the ranch is going well also! The picture below is Tic-Tac. If you don't remember him, he is the tiny kid that was born back in April weighing only 2 lbs. He is doing very well. . . still pretty small in size but is thriving and certainly not malnourished. . .

. . . especially if he's fed beautiful hay like this! :)

Last night we came home with 4 little girl kittens. . . awww. . .

And of course there are always new cows coming in and out of this place. As of today, we have 1 holstein heifer and 3 angus heifer calves.

Have a great weekend!!

Suriyah

cattle, goats, and JitterBug

2011-09-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

THings have been going pretty well here on the ranch. I finally have a few does bred ;).

Last week we added 5 heifers to the ranch. If anyone is looking to add one to their herd, let us know - we have several available!

I got this Longhorn heifer. . . she's a little thin, but is healthy and should gain some weight no problem.

We still have several goats available. Some nice purebred LaMancha bucklings, various doe kids and many adult does for sale. We need to slim the herd down some.

Speaking of slimming the herd down, ummm. . . we added another doe to the herd, LOL. We let someone use our livestock trailer, and so in exchange they gave us a beautiful Sable Saanen yearling. She is currently in milk, but not giving a whole lot (long story :)). But, her name is JitterBug and she is a very friendly lil' thing. She learned how to jump onto the dog house, and then onto the shed to eat the leaves of the trees.

And Tisha saw her up there and figured she should try it too. . .

So after getting both of them down, I moved the doghouse far away so they couldn't get up there again - don't want anymore broken goat legs :)!

Speaking of broken legs, the doe, Cleopatra, who broke her back leg is doing well. She is starting to put some weight on her leg, believe it or not. It's been 2 1/2 weeks now and it's time to take the splint off and redo it. I plan to do that soon. . . just finding the time and help is the problem ;).

Have a great day!

Suriyah

The joys of breeding goats

2011-09-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

Here it is September, and we have no does bred. Well, last week 2 or 3 does got bred but of course, they are already sold to someone else.

Typically we would have at least a good handful of does bred, and at least a month along in gestation. But we have none. The bucks did not come into rut until a few weeks ago, and does have been coming in very lightly, if at all.

There are a few things it could be - 1) the very hot summer we had threw things off; or 2) the herd has some kind of deficiency. As a whole, the herd is in great condition, very healthy, coats are soft and slick, eyelids are good, their diet is the same as it has been for a few years now.

So, I have been researching and there are 2 deficiencies I keep coming across that relate to reproductive health. That is Vitamin A and Zinc. Both play a key role in reproduction. Another thought would be selenium deficiency, their mineral is very high in it, though they could need more I suppose.

BUT, if the herd is deficient, how did they get deficient and why would they be deficient? Right now I do not have the answer to that. Dry does and bucks get fed high quality green alfalfa hay and have access to browse and forage. Milkers get that same diet, except with 2-3 lbs (total) of 14% grain on the milk stand. They also get Onyx Cattle Mineral, and get copper bolused every 3-5 months.

This morning we put Apple Cider Vinegar in their waters to help bring them into heat. Maybe it's just a fluke and they'll all come in at once soon here. . . I hope.

I plan to keep you all updated.

Suriyah

p.s. - any input would be very welcomed.

Labor Day Photos

2011-09-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures from our Labor Day! Besides normal morning and evening chores, we just relaxed and had a good day at my Grandma's house. I got home really late for milking (9pm), that was the latest I've milked in a loooong time but it all worked out and the goaties were fine ;).

There was lots of food. . .

I made some Cheeseballs for the party. The base was the simple ricotta cheese (brought to 180 degrees and made with AC vinegar), then I blended in crushed pineapple, apple, and sweetened coconut. After freezing it, I rolled it into small balls and rolled the balls in either sweetened coconut flakes, crushed nuts or chocolate chips (didn't get a pic of the chocolate chip ones... they were the best ;). They turned out yummy!

It was such a beautiful day out, and it has been the past couple days also. Definitely enjoying this break from the heat. On Labor Day though we played several rounds of volleyball. . . it was fun! Haven't really played much ever so it was good practice :). Now that we have a net maybe we can play more often.

Have a great day!

Suriyah

Splinting a Broken (Back) Leg

2011-09-06T15:09:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I was at a cattle sale, and got a phone call from my family at home saying there was a goat with a broken back leg. They had carried her to a stall with water and hay. She was eating and acting very well for how bad the break was. I have no idea how she broke her leg, really no idea. This doe is an 18 month old Alpine/Nubian doe. She is one of the ones who's horns we banded successfully. She is a very, very big, healthy doe.

So I got home, and this is what I found. Can anyone say OUCH!?!! It was completely free-swinging, complete break. No skin was broken though.

So since it was really late and I had no energy to completely splint her leg, we wrapped it in a bunch of cotton and vet wrap just to stabilize it for the night. I also gave her some Banamine for swelling.

The next day, we unwrapped it and splinted the leg. First we wrapped it in lots of cotton, then put 2 school-type rulers on each side.

Next we wrapped all that in vet wrap.

I also placed the lid from a vitamin bottle on the bottom of her hoof to help keep dirt out, and keep the splint in place.

After putting some tape on to help hold things in place, we were all done! During the whole thing she just ate her grain and did amazing for us moving around her broken leg. . . although we were gentle, I'm sure it would hurt bad (although I've never had a broken bone in my life, so I personally wouldn't know and would rather it stay that way, LOL).

I started her on a round of antibiotics (Pro-Pen-G Penicillin) and for the first 2 days I gave her Banamine to help keep the swelling down. So far, so good. She is getting around VERY well on 3 legs, and seems to be doing fine. I will try to keep you all updated on her!

Hope you all had an awesome Labor Day weekend!! I certainly did. . . more on that and pics hopefully later ;).

Suriyah

life has continued. . .

2011-08-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

and I've been a slacker with this blog!! It's not that I don't ran out of stuff to post about, because there sure is a lot going on around here!

It's still hot here, but thankfully not the 110 that it was a few weeks ago.

Our goat herd has grown to nearly 100 head, which is keeping me quite busy. We have 36 (I think) does in milk right now, but 6 of those are some friends' goats we are taking care of while they're out of town. By late next winter/early spring of next year, if the numbers in the herd stay the same, we'll be kidding out about 65 dairy does and 10-15 meat does. I think it's time to start building a bigger milking parlor. . . :)

Here's some random pictures from the past few weeks. I figured I'd just drop in and say "hi", and let all you faithful blog readers know I am still alive ;)!

Suriyah

For Sale

2011-08-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

Currently we have several goats for sale. Several registered Alpine does, a few Saanen and LaMancha doelings, and some Saanen, LaMancha & Alpine bucklings. Below are a few random pictures of the ones for sale, but we have many more than just the ones in the pictures. There is nothing wrong with these goats, they are very nice, beautiful goats, we just have too many ;).

If you'd like more info on them and prices, please email me or give us a call at 918-598-4007. We'd be happy to answer any questions you have.

Thank you for looking!

Suriyah

P.S. - yes, I know I have taken a small break from blogging! Sorry y'all! I hope to get back into the swing of things soon, but the weather has been so nice lately I have been getting things done outside.

See ya'!

new goats, breeding season & dry weather

2011-08-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

It's been kind of busy around the ranch here! I have some small news, and some big news... I'll save the big news for last ;).

We got some rain a few days ago but everything is still very dry, except for a few flowers :).

All the animals seem to be fairing pretty well in the heat, although we have lost a few chickens and I think one meat rabbit. But, considering how many animals are on this ranch - that is not too bad.

We have been having to feed a LOT more hay. Typically this time of year we are really not feeding any hay out. But, we've been feeding twice a day and are going to get a few round bales for the sheep. The does will be allowed to munch on them some, but will still get their normal feedings of alfalfa/orchard grass. That's how we fed last winter and everyone did well.

One of the things that has happened on the ranch - breeding season has officially started!! Sunday morning I bred Capering-Valley P Rhia to our "new" Nubian buck, Hershey.

The BIGGEST news on the ranch though is Sunday afternoon, me and a few of my family members headed 4 hours south to Texas to pick up 24 dairy goats (12 does [5 in milk], 7 bucklings, 5 doelings) and 10 sheep. Why, you ask? Because we are crazy :)! Not really though. Long story short, it was a good deal. They are all registered and are very nice goats. The adult does are all Alpines, except for 1 Nubian. The bucklings are Alpines, LaManchas and Saanens. The doelings are Saanens and LaManchas. A few of the kids were still pretty young (8 wks), so we put them back on bottles.

our ranch has been flooded with up-eared Alpine goats :)!

So that's pretty much it for now! The high today is 112 - ouch!

Stay cool!

Suriyah

Meet Shelby & Tisha!

2011-07-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

Yep, we got more goats. Last night we got 2 beautiful Alpine does - Shelby and Tisha. They came from a Grade A goat dairy that was selling out.

First, here's Shelby. She is pregnant and due in August. She typically has triplets and milks 2 1/2 gallons a day - wow! She is a very big girl and kind of reminds me of a dairy cow ;). And no, she is not currently in milk - since she is due in about a month and she milks SO MUCH, she is already uddering up :).

Second, this is Tisha. She is also due the end of August, and is currently milking a gallon a day. She has a beautiful udder and is super easy to milk. Tisha is also a very sweet goat ;). She is a big girl also but not quite as big as Shelby.

Since I had the camera out, how could I not take pictures of these cute little Nubians?!?

Have a good day!

Suriyah

hello

2011-07-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

Well I certainly haven't blogged in a while! Life has been going good, though it really is dry and we could use some rain badly. Hay already seems to be in short supply around here, folks are already feeding hay and it's only July. . . which means things aren't looking too great for hay this winter. Thankfully, I think we should be OK with our hay guy supplying us but not sure about everyone else. If you do need some hay, we have some right now and you might want to get it before it's all gone! Hopefully we'll get some rain here soon.

It's been killer hot too, but all the animals seem to be handling it pretty well. Even Prissy, who is due any day now and about 3 feet wide :). We have noticed that our Nubians and Mini Nubians seem to handle the heat much better than the Saanen crosses and the Alpines. . . I guess it's those big ears that help cool them off!?! Interesting, either way.

Here's a few random pictures from the past few weeks.

Apple, one of the new does that we got 2 weeks ago. They all seem to be settling in pretty good.

Berry, our Nigerian buck,

Jr. Mint - MiniNubian buck,

Roxy sitting on my lap. . . silly dog ;)!

ducks in their mini pond,

Mr. Wyatt,

Hope you have an awesome day!

Suriyah

4th of July & 6 new does!

2011-07-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

I had an awesome 4th of July... hope everyone else did too! Here's a few pictures from the day. . .

First, we went fishing over at some folks place. They have a stocked pond and we got 8 catfish!

me and my sister attempting to fish ;)...

they got a few baby goats from us last year - this is the buck, he's grown up!

caught!

the doe they got from us last year,

After we were all sweaty and hot from fishing out in the sun, we went swimming in the pool for a bit!

It was time to head home after that, because I had to milk and feed and then head over to a neighborhood party which was really good! Yummy food, great friends and a good party!

oh, and really good fireworks!

This evening we came home with. . . 6 really nice Nubian does!! 4 of them are doelings and 2 are adult does. They are such pretty girls (at least I think so :)).

long ears!

Have a good night! I got to go bottle the kids, clean the kitchen, make yogurt and kefir and then possibly head to bed ;).

Suriyah

Summer time...

2011-07-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

It's been hot... yesterday in town the temperature was 106. It's summer time!! Thankfully all the animals seem to be handling the heat pretty well so far.

Here's a few random pictures!

And here's an early "Happy 4th of July" to you! Looks like we have a fun, busy weekend planned (Lord willing!).

See ya!

Suriyah

pasture pics

2011-06-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

Last night after milking I went out with the camera and took some photos. The does usually go out and browse more after milking so we got some good pics!

this isn't out in the pasture, but I thought it was kinda cute!

Blueberry,

the guard jenny, standing where the pond (that we drained) used to be,

fence line,

Helena (Saanen/Nubian cross),

the 2 herd queens,

Honey Bun. . . no, she is not pregnant ;),

the Mama Llama,

Matty,

Peppy,

Prissy. . . she IS pregnant and due the end of July.

Pugsy, one of the bucklings from this year,

"Grandma", the queen of goats :). She goes out to pasture in the evening, but stays in the front yard during the day because it is too hot and she is too slow to keep up with the herd in the heat.

the black goat in the middle is Rhia. She is another "grandma goat", but she has lost most of her teeth, so doesn't really eat out in the pasture - she's just the "Watch Goat", I guess :)!!

Roxy,

Snickers,

And that's it for now!

Suriyah

Baby kidded, flower pics

2011-06-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

"Baby Ruth" kidded late Monday morning to 2 cute bucklings. Both are very colorful boys, and have the LaMancha ears from their dad. I don't have any pictures of them at the moment but will have to get some. Anyone looking for a cute buckling....?!?

The other night I went out when it was almost dark and took pictures of some flowers in the garden. I thought they turned out pretty good, so here are a few!

Have a good day!

Suriyah

doelings we are keeping

2011-06-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

We are keeping 4 doelings this year. 2 Mini Nubians and 2 LaMancha crosses. Here's some pictures of them and their names. . . although these are just their "barn names". . . haven't figured out what I am going to register them as.

This is "DD". Her sire is Dreamy-Hollow's HHB Lando and her dam is PawPawNin Ditzy Doris. She has blue eyes.

This is "Flapper". Her sire is MercyFarms BW TOI Ranger (LaMancha) and her sire is Seqouyah Jems Mystic Journey (Alpine), although I don't have her papers (because she was sold to me as an unregistered goat, and then we saw that she was tattooed and found out that she was registered).

This is "Flipper". Her sire is the LaMancha buck (MercyFarms BW TOI Ranger) and her dam is Good Goats Vanilla Cream (Nubian).

And last but not least, this is "Lolita". Her sire is PawPawNin Quiet Wyatt and her dam is Good Goats JM Piglet. She is polled.

On another note, my brother got this heifer calf the other day. She must've just been weaned but was a bit too young I think, so he's taught her how to nurse out of a bottle. Isn't she just adorable!?!

This is "Berry", our little Nigerian buck. He is just the smallest thing ever but has a huge beard!

Ranger, the LaMancha buck. . .

And since I had the camera out this morning, here's a few of the other photos I shot ;).

Have a great day!

Suriyah

2 does left

2011-06-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

Baby Ruth, a registered grade Nubian doe, is due and on day 145 today. She looks rather wide, and her udder is filling nicely. This will be her 3rd kidding, and she is bred to our LaMancha buck (because he was the only standard sized buck we had at the time besides the Boer). After Baby, Prissy (a purebred Nubian doe) is due the end of July. And then we are DONE. . . until we breed does to hopefully kid in December ;). I have decided I like kidding in cold weather MUCH much more than in warm weather. The kids get a better start and don't have to deal with any parasite issues till they are older, and that is also much easier on me. So my plan this year is to have does kidding from December thru March, and then be done. We'll see if it works as planned. . . I really hope it does! We also have a good couple handfuls of first fresheners that will be getting bred late this summer/early fall - I think there is around 10 of 'em out there - that'll make for a more stressful kidding season for sure! But we really haven't had many problem kiddings with our FFs. Hopefully it stays that way.

Just a few random pictures for you. . .

Have a good evening!

Suriyah

an update in pictures

2011-06-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

Life has been busy, as usual. It's been warm too, which I think is nice ;).

Here's an update in pictures (mainly).

a big boar hog,

a red Mini Lop,

a new young Dorper ram my brother got,

Muscovy ducks,

a new goat my brother added to the herd... she's a big girl!

flowers,

one of the two jacks we have... I think they are suppose to be leaving tomorrow...

our little jenny that guards the goats and sheep,

a new kitten,

the llamas,

a rooster,

soccer games,

And I think that's it for now!

Have a good day!

Suriyah

Frenchie kidded!

2011-06-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

Frenchie is a 2 year old Mini Nubian doe. Late 2009 or early 2010, Frenchie got with the bucks somehow and got bred (and we didn't know). She was a bit young for a Mini to be bred, but thankfully, she did just fine and surprised us with a cute little doeling one day.

Well this last January, our blue eyed Mini Nubian buck, Topaz, broke out of the buck pen and my brother saw him breed Frenchie. So I calculated what I *thought* was the correct due date - which I thought was July 5th, and waited. The other day (June 1st) when Mom went out to let the does out to pasture, she saw Frenchie with a little buckling, all dry and standing! Obviously I miscalculated :). He's a cute little guy and is blue eyed, brown and white. Frenchie is doing well and is milking like a little pro again - even tho she is a bad goat who got bred 2 years in a row when I did not plan... but whatever ;).

Have a good day! I don't have any pictures right now of him but will try to get some soon.

Suriyah

hello!

2011-05-31T08:51:00.000-07:00

Life has been busy! The weather finally warmed up too... yay!

I have been making a lot of cheese lately - mainly mild feta, mozzarella (found/created a *good* recipe), ricotta (made with the mozz whey) and cream cheese. And it all gets devoured pretty quickly ;)!

We haven't had any more kids born since Piglet's a few weeks ago. There are 4 does left to kid, the 1st one is a yearling doe due in about 2 weeks... not sure if she is bred or not. 2 weeks after her a mature Nubian doe ("Baby Ruth") is due and she is definitely pregnant ;). So are the other 2 due after her... very wide!

We got a new truckload of hay in about a week and a half ago and it's new hay from this year - super nice!! If you are looking for good hay, give us a call!

I was looking thru pictures and found this one of Peppy, the baby llama, with somebody's glasses on him - goofy llama, LOL!!

Since none of the does are really coming into heat anymore, all the bucks are turning white again instead of yellow.

A couple have gained a few extra pounds. . . no worries though, they'll shed those extra pounds off come Fall when they aren't so lazy ;).

The pasture is growing very well this year - very thankful for that. Right now there are about 40 ewes or so and 40 does, plus 2 llamas, a jenny and 2 cows out on the 40 acres and it's doing great. Still with all that I don't think they can keep up with the growth.

And for those of you who may have wondered - we faired just fine through the storms that have battered this part of the country the past few weeks. We got some big hail and lots of rain, but no tornados. . . praise the Lord. There were some pretty close, but thankfully none came too close.

That's it for now!

Have a good day!

Suriyah

definitely time for a post!

2011-05-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

I have seriously neglected this blog lately - sorry folks! Life has been busy. A week ago today, Piglet gave birth to triplets - 2 does and a buck. We had just finished milking and I heard some grunting coming from the stall, and sure enough a bubble was there! She had all three in a matter of less than 5 minutes, no problems at all. Way to go Ms. Piglet! Their sire is Quiet Wyatt, our polled buck, and at least 2 of the kids are polled, possibly all three. All the does are already spoken for, but not sure about the buck... he may be available.

buckling

one of the doelings... we are KEEPING her :)

other doeling,

Friday we got another donkey. She's a mini (well, maybe not "technically mini", but she's small) jenny and is supposedly pregnant. She was with 75 head of goats guarding them and she's doing great with our herd!

This is one of the newest Painted Desert sheep rams... nice horns!

There are 4 does left pregnant now - Friendly (alpine/nubian) due early June, Baby (nubian) due late June, Frenchie (miniNubian) due early July and Prissy (nubian...pictured below) due late July. And then we are done for the year (or, maybe till December)! But for now, we have a break till June 12th - yay!!!

Baby Tic-Tac, the "tiny goat" is doing pretty good! He's growing but is still pretty small for being 5 1/2 weeks old now! He's so sweet tho.

Have a good night! I've got to get to bed!

Suriyah

life on the ranch...

2011-05-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

Life on the ranch is pretty calm right now, not a whole lot out of the ordinary (amazing, huh?!). The sun is shinning today and we've had a break from the rain the past few days. My grandparents from CA are visiting so we've been busy with that some.

Here are some random photos from the past week.

some birds (photo taken by my sister, visit her photo blog here)

sheep coming in from the pasture,

This little goat below is Annie. She was one of 4 Alpine/Nubian crosses that we got late last year (they are the ones that we banded/removed their horns - could never tell now!). Anyway, so they all had a little rough time with the move and everything we put them through, but were doing better. . . except for Annie. She had a run-in with worms, which she got over, and then about 3 weeks ago she came down with pneumonia bad. I had run out of Excenel, but my cousin's wife was kind enough to run up to the vet's office and get some for her. I started her on a 5 day Excenel treatment, along with other supportive things and Banamine. She could only stand for about a minute at the most and then she would start panting because it was so hard for her to breath. Poor thing, it was hard to watch. She still ate and drank though, and loved treats. After the 5 day treatment, she still was not looking any better. I decided as long as she would still eat and could stand some, we'll just wait it out. Well, a few days later she started improving, her breathing got completely better and she could stand without having any troubles. Now despite being a little thin, she is totally back to normal! Praise the Lord! I really didn't think she was going to make it through that pneumonia.

About a week and a half ago my Mom and brother came home with a fainting goat. It's too funny, but I kind of feel sorry for the goat at the same time ;).

This is Grandma Maggie. She's doing great!

Have a good day!

Suriyah

Storm pictures!

2011-04-27T09:12:00.000-07:00

As requested, here are some pictures from the recent rain storms. Yesterday we had a break from the rain, but it's back again today.

These first 2 pictures are the bridge that we cross just about 2 miles from our house, it was at least a few feet deep. Normally this creek is dry.

This is my Grandma's driveway. . .

Yup, that is road. You can't see it but to the left there is a creek and swimming hole that you usually have to walk about 6 feet down to get to the water. The whole thing is a creek now, even the entire road!

The next 2 photos are at Farmer's Coop. Again, this is normally completely dry. In the first picture, we'd usually drive down right where all that water is to get our bulk grain - there was no getting bulk grain this day :).

Hope you enjoyed ;)!

Suriyah

Aruba & Journey kidded... huge kids!

2011-04-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning Aruba (Bar-Jon Hershey's Aruba, PB Alpine doe) kidded to a huge single buckling out of our LaMancha buck Ranger. . . wish I could have bred the Alpine does Alpine, but the Alpine buckling was being rather lame. Anyway, she didn't have much trouble with the kidding and the buckling is gorgeous (although he looks LaMancha, haha!). He was 9 1/2 pounds at birth.

And yes, he was a single. The small kid with him in the 2 pictures below is Tic-Tac, the 2 lb baby goat! 9 1/2 lbs is a WHOLE lot bigger than 2 lbs. But, in the photos, Tic-Tac, at a week and a half old, was almost 5 lbs ;).

Early Saturday afternoon Journey went into labor, and after a rough delivery - the kid (another huge kid) was trying to come out upside down. If she was smaller it sure would've been easier! Thankfully we finally got her out and all was well. I didn't weigh her but she had to have been about 10 lbs. And yup, she was a single also and out of the LaMancha buck. . . never again (although they are b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l kids), simply because the crossbreds are big and hard on the does and because... I prefer ears :).

And while I'm at it, how could I not put up a recent picture of Mr. Tic-Tac? He's so sweet!

I also haven't put up a picture of Roxy, my dog, lately either. She's recovered so well from being rescued and really looks like a different dog. She listens so well and is so sweet.

We've been getting so much RAIN lately it's quite crazy. Northeast Oklahoma has turned into a big lake! It's great for the ground though and makes everything so green... great! I went out today with some of my family and shopped, everything was flowing! We got out the normal way, but on the way home the bridge had overflowed and was going pretty good! So since we had the livestock trailer we decided to go around the long way and no risk getting pushed down stream :). We got lots of great pictures and videos. It was a blast!

Have a good night y'all!

Suriyah

Blueberry kidded...

2011-04-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

... to 2 beautiful blue eyed doelings on Friday! Super easy birth, all went really well... especially since she had doe kids ;).

Peppy, the baby llama, is getting so big! His color is turning more brown than black like it was.

Have a good day everyone!

Suriyah

p.s. - the "tiny goat" (the 2 lb kid) is doing great and his name is Tic-Tac ;)

the "Tiny Goat" and clippers

2011-04-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

Today I took the "tiny goat" outside to try and get some pictures that really show how small he is.

Abby (a puppy) and the tiny goat,

Canuck, my sister's big Bullmastiff, with him,

this is "Tiny" and his sister. She is a normal sized MiniNubian kid,

so tiny!

this one really show's how small he is!

Below is "Flipper" (the LaMancha/Nubian doeling) and Verona's doe kid (and the bottle calf in the background),

I've been shaving udders a lot lately. Yesterday I gave Blueberry and Maple Nut kidding haircuts (although I am not sure that Maple is bred :(...). Last night milking time took a bit longer because I was shaving udders ;). And after milking this morning I brought Journey and Aruba in (both Alpine does) and gave them kidding cuts. They are due the 19th and 20th, and Blueberry is due today. They all look full of kids, especially Journey tho!

So, these are the 2 clippers that I use. The big one I use to clip anything except the udder. The little clippers are really really small, but they work GREAT and are so quiet most of the does don't fuss over their udders being clipped. Very nice. I just bought them off of Ebay for about $20 with shipping.

If you are looking to buy a pair of clippers to clip udders, I'd highly suggest these. They will only work well for udders though and small touch-ups. I use the big Oster clippers (have 2 pair of them) to clip everything else - they are very loud though, heavy, and kind of a pain to use but they work great and I got them for very cheap.

Have a great day!

Suriyah

a few photos

2011-04-12T07:56:00.000-07:00

Just a few photos from the past week. . .

little Abby,

Cleopatra,

little Miss Flipper,

a fat lamb,

LaWanda and Aruba,

Meesha,

Peppy. . . he's getting so big!

spot pigs!

Suriyah

Verona kidded...

2011-04-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

Late Friday morning Verona kidded to triplets. First was a beautiful, "perfect" doe kid with blue eyes. Second, a breach buckling came flying out - and he was TINY, the smallest kid I had ever seen. He weighed 2 lbs. After a little issue with the cord breaking (which we got dealt with), a third kid came out - a normal sized buckling, with blue eyes.

The little guy is doing great, and is just adorable. He looks like a little toy. The doeling is also doing good. The second buckling was eating and all, but all four of his feet were tight and folded up, so he didn't stand by himself for the first day. His legs have gotten stronger and he is able to stand now on his own, but could use splints on his legs. He will be going to a pet home where he will be rehabilitated and loved :).

the second buckling coming out... I thought it was a neat pic because you can see the kids head still in the sac,

this is the tiny little boy, he is so sweet. The first 24 hrs of his life I carried him around in this basket with me everywhere I went ;).

"tiny boy", or "Fighter", this evening. . .

Friday my brother bought a calf. . . it's a heifer, and she's an older bottle calf. Since we have extra milk right now, she is getting bottled 2x a day.

Today I went with my brothers to go get some hogs that were in the trap, and took the camera along... so here's a few photos. All the trees are budding, getting leaves, and everything is getting green again - makes me happy!

just 2 guilts,

I'm tired, have a good night!

Suriyah

April 6th pics!

2011-04-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

The past couple of weeks my brothers have been slowly working on another pasture fence. This will make it so no animals are kept up by the front gates - much better! We've been wanting to do this for a long time now it'd just been getting put on the "back burner". But, it's finally done and very nice. It gives the animals a lot more room. We close them up in the smaller yards at night (this will be one of the "smaller" yards, although it's a couple acres) and then in a few days after their bellies are used to the green grass, we'll let them out on the other 40 acres during the day.

So, my little sister had the camera out there this morning. . . here's a handful of pics!

Me and the pups checking the fence line to make sure no one can get out!

this is one of the gates that heads out to the back 40,

buds on the trees! Yay, summer is comin'!!

flowers,

Honey Bun,

a few lambs,

the llamas,

Marlo,

The sheep, and Hug (close up),

SHEEP!

the one Tunis sheep and her ram lamb,

Vibe and her bucklings,

Have a good day everyone!

Suriyah

More kids!

2011-04-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

Wednesday afternoon "Grandma Maggie" (Laports Mahogany Sage) kidded to 2 bucklings. Was hoping for a doeling but that's alright. These little guys are crazy. Their sire is our Nigerian Dwarf buck Berry. If anyone is looking for a cute buckling... let me know :)!

Friday afternoon Vanilla (Nubian doe) kidded to a buckling and doeling. Their sire is our LaMancha buck, Ranger. . . that's where their tiny ears come from ;). The birth was a little bit interesting. Vanilla was having a few of these super hard contractions every now and then. We've had the same type of thing happen to a few other does and there was always a problem - like big stuck kids, or one doe had a small dead kid stuck back in there. It's just happened a few times, but every time without fail there's been a problem. So, obviously we were a little concerned. I could feel a bubble up in there. Slowly it came down, and the placenta bubble was there, plus another bubble. We helped a little bit and the first kid came out (buckling), then immediately the second kid came out (doeling), and then the placenta. Everything came out in one big bang :)! I think both kids/everything must've been trying to come out at the same time. There was a ton of fluid and blood from both the sacks, both cords breaking and the placenta. But everyone is well!

These two kids are rather large too, not small things.

the doeling. . . I think we are planning on keeping her, and right now her name is "Flipper" ;),

the buckling,

Now we are waiting on Verona and Maple Nut to kid...

Well, yesterday it was 80 degrees and sunny (nice, I am SO ready for summer to come!!) and today it's windy, cloudy and 50 out. This weather changing isn't good for all the animals, but we live in Oklahoma.. what should I expect ;)?

Have a great day!

Suriyah