Life on the farm has not been as quiet as reading on my blog has been. A few weeks back one of our Boer cross does kidded to triplet doelings. We bought her bred, and didn't know who she was bred to. It looks like the sire to the girls was a Nigerian, as they are quite small and Nigie looking. One funny thing on one of them, is that she has wattles. But they aren't just normal wattles. One of them is in the regular spot on her neck, the other one is on her ear! Pretty cute.
A few days ago we brought in about 35 new does. They are mostly Boers, with a few Toggs, a Nubian a LaMancha and 2 Katahdin sheep as well. They are all supposed to be bred, which seems to be true as one of the does kidded to a single large buckling the day after they arrived here.
A cold front moved in finally, and everything is frozen. It makes me extremely thankful for the barns, for lots of hay, unfrozen hoses and my coveralls and Muck boots to keep me from freezing while doing chores.
If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you may remember that many months back we had an abortion and pinkeye storm go through the goat and sheep herds. We treated everyone for Chlamydia, all the abortions and pinkeye stopped. Whew! It was quite a chore to give shots to that many animals, but I am very thankful that we figured it out as we lost no more kids and got no more pinkeye, and have not had problems for months.
Well, a few days ago I noticed some blood and mucus on one of the Mini Nubian doe's rear end. It looked like a classic abortion. My heart sank, thinking back to the days when we lost so many. This doe is a younger doe, aborted last year as well, and the year before gave birth to twins who we found dead. I think from the cold weather because she was young & did not clean them unfortunately, we did not know she was bred and it was extremely cold out. The good thing about her, is that she has come into milk every time, so at least she is productive on the stand.
So, I don't know if it's just a weird fluke, as a few abortions a year in a large herd can be completely normal. But to be on the safe side, I am treating all the pregnant does again. Yeah...lovely. I'd rather be safe than sorry though.
There has been so much that has gone on since I last blogged, I really should blog more often. I could write a whole another page on the CT shooting and the gun control debate, but I think I will save that for another day.
Peace out.
Suriyah
A few days ago we brought in about 35 new does. They are mostly Boers, with a few Toggs, a Nubian a LaMancha and 2 Katahdin sheep as well. They are all supposed to be bred, which seems to be true as one of the does kidded to a single large buckling the day after they arrived here.
A cold front moved in finally, and everything is frozen. It makes me extremely thankful for the barns, for lots of hay, unfrozen hoses and my coveralls and Muck boots to keep me from freezing while doing chores.
If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you may remember that many months back we had an abortion and pinkeye storm go through the goat and sheep herds. We treated everyone for Chlamydia, all the abortions and pinkeye stopped. Whew! It was quite a chore to give shots to that many animals, but I am very thankful that we figured it out as we lost no more kids and got no more pinkeye, and have not had problems for months.
Well, a few days ago I noticed some blood and mucus on one of the Mini Nubian doe's rear end. It looked like a classic abortion. My heart sank, thinking back to the days when we lost so many. This doe is a younger doe, aborted last year as well, and the year before gave birth to twins who we found dead. I think from the cold weather because she was young & did not clean them unfortunately, we did not know she was bred and it was extremely cold out. The good thing about her, is that she has come into milk every time, so at least she is productive on the stand.
So, I don't know if it's just a weird fluke, as a few abortions a year in a large herd can be completely normal. But to be on the safe side, I am treating all the pregnant does again. Yeah...lovely. I'd rather be safe than sorry though.
There has been so much that has gone on since I last blogged, I really should blog more often. I could write a whole another page on the CT shooting and the gun control debate, but I think I will save that for another day.
Peace out.
Suriyah
