Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of you! We had a good party last night. . . this is kind of funny, but we hung a net up in the ceiling of the house, on the "rafters" and filled the net with balloons (the house used to be a barn [now converted to a house] so the ceiling is very high). When it was midnight - the New Year - we let the netting down and a ton of balloons came falling down :). Here's a pic (the toiled paper rolls were my brothers' way of keeping the net down so the balloons wouldn't fall out :)!).

And there was LOTS and LOTS of food,

On another note, last night and today it was SO COLD! I think it got down to 7 degrees or something like that. All the animals are doing fine though. . . no one seemed to mind it anymore than usual.

This is Caleb on the frozen pond, the other day,

Grass with ice crystals on it this morning. . . thought it was pretty,

I think we are going to have more baby goats VERY soon. I noticed late this morning, LaWanda's udder got very full. She is due the 5th. So I'm watching her very closely. I really would like her to wait until morning as I don't like dealing with middle of the night births :). . . but whatever God has planned. She is very huge - I think she might have triplets (she's had that many before).

Well, I have to go to bed. Have a good night!

Suriyah

Kids Playing

Here's some pictures of the babies playing this afternoon. . . and YES, they ARE in the house!!

flying buckling!

already head-butting,

jumping!

still a little unstable. . .

but still jumping!

2 Kids!!

They are finally here! Yesterday afternoon we went out in the barn to get the milkers and heard two little kids, they were already dry and walking. I had someone check on all the does earlier in the day, but they didn't know who was due, etc.... so we missed the birth, but no big deal. We also found a stillborn :(. BUT, the 2 live kids are adorable and doing great! There's one buck and one doe. The mom is PawPawNin Maglio Tartuffini ("Lil' Maggie") and the sire is Dreamy-Hollow Parker. The kids are F2s. Here's some pictures.

the buckling,

the doeling,

both of them,

I have a busy day ahead of me today. . . possible hay delivery (& pick-ups), cooking ad cleaning for a New Years Eve party tonight, feeding kids, and more of course! So, I have to go check on the new momma goat and get doing stuff! Have a great day!

Suriyah


p.s. - we were down to milking 5 in the morning and 4 in the evening, but now we are back up to 6! I also have 2 more does in the kidding stalls and a few more out in the barn, due very soon!

Lots of Snow!

Honey Bun in the snow,

Thursday evening it snowed quiet a bit, and Friday morning we woke up to several inches of snow - probably 6-8 inches. None of the goats seemed too excited about it ;). And yesterday it all started to melt, then re-froze, and we are now suppose to get another inch of snow tonight... so we'll see. In the cold weather we've been feeding about twice as much hay as usual, since everyone is just staying in their barns. And getting water to them is another chore in the freezing weather. . . I'm ready for spring!

lots of snow!

Well, we still have had NO baby goats born! The first doe due is on day 146 today, and many more after her. Thankfully they did not have any in the storm though.

a couple bucks hiding in their barn,

and I thought this was a neat picture (my little sister took it),

That's all for now. Have a great day!

Suriyah

Update

Well, I have not done very well at keeping the blog updated lately! Just been busy. Today I re-did the stall set-up. I moved t-post, panels and cabinets around and I like it much better. I still am not completely done and have to add 1 more stall - so there will be 4 stalls total. When it's done, I hope to get pictures up here.

All the goats are doing good. We are only milking 6 now, but soon to be lots more, Lord willing! The doe that is due first (PawPawNin Maglio Tartuffini - "Lil' Maggie"), is on day 140 today, so we could have babies almost any day now! And the temperatures are suppose to drop drastically and we are suppose to have snow tomorrow, so she'll probably have them in the middle of the storm :).

Here are a few photos from a few days ago.

Dream Weaver's MoReen - due January 8th, and wide with babies!

This is PawPawNin LaWanda, due January 5th, and also full of kids!

And a Boer doe, RWLB Vibe, due - we don't know when, but looking to be very soon!

Aruba,

PawPawNin Whitney (I thought it was a cute pic),

Not much else to update on. Have a great day!

Suriyah

Northeast Oklahoma Hay & Feed Coop

Today was a long day in town. . . we did pick up some grass hay though because we needed some before we get another load of the Alfalfa/Grass hay (which will be very soon, Lord willing).

BUT, while I am on the subject, I just started a Yahoo group called Northeast Oklahoma Hay & Feed Coop. It is a list for information of hay and feed available in the Northeastern Oklahoma area. Please feel free to join even if you are in one of the states surrounding Northeast Oklahoma.

Every couple of months, or more often if need-be, we can order a big load of really nice Alfalfa/Grass square bales from a guy in Missouri. We have got hay from him before and it is great stuff. We don't have to feed alfalfa pellets or straight alfalfa hay anymore either and our milkers are doing great on it. It is also very cheap - delivered at $5 a bale. SO, if you are interested please join this group and let me know. We will probably be ordering within the next couple of days, so if you want in on this load. . . time is running out :)!

Also, if you are in the area and know of a good place to get hay and/or feed, feel free to join and share the information, please, thank you!

To join the group, you can go down on the right hand side of this page right below the "Followers" and there is a button to join it. OR you can go to and join there - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/okfeedcoop

Not a whole lot else going on. Tomorrow I have to get on it and get the stalls and everything ready for kids very soon... exciting!

Suriyah

Supplies to have at Kidding Time

Since some will be having kids soon, I thought I would post what I like to have on hand for kidding time.

- 7% Iodine or Nolvasan, along with a cup to dip cords.

- Towels/Rags - you'll need lots and lots!

- Empty Feed sacks - I don't have any of these now that I buy my feed by the ton, but they are very handy to have on hand. Cut the feed sack in half so it's a flat piece of paper. They are great to put under the doe as the kids are coming out, to put wet kids on, etc.

- Ear syringe/Nose sucker - I almost always use this to get the gunk out of kids' noses and mouths.

- (hair) Blow Dryer - Very handy to have on hand in cold weather kiddings. It dries and warms the kids up at the same time.

- Soap and water - to wash up with if you have to go in. I only wash up and go in. *Make sure you have short fingernails also!! I do not use gloves either as you can't tell what you are feeling very well.
- Lubricating jelly - sometimes you will need it to go in, but usually not.
- Surgical gloves - useful at times, but we do not wear them if we have to go it, it makes it way too slippery.

- Bottles and nipples - we bottle our kids, but keep on hand even if you don't. I like the Topper Pop Bottle Nipples the best from Nasco, and they screw onto 16-24 ounce soda bottles.

- Milk pail - to milk colostrum into after kidding.

- Probiotics - give to doe after kidding.

- Nutri-Drench - a quick pick-me-up for doe or kids during or after labor.

- Molasses & warm water - I always give my does a bucket of warm molasses water after the birth as it's a good source of quick energy and they are always VERY thirsty!

- Thermometer - always handy to have on hand.

- Hemorrhoidal Ointment - I have used this on a few does whose vulvas got very swollen after kidding, it helps to bring it down.

- Syringes and needles - to give the doe or kid medications.

- Kid coats - to put on a chilled kid (or if it's just cold weather) AFTER it has been dried.

Can't think of anything else. Happy Kidding!

Suriyah

Kids due in 20 days!!

Well, the count-down is on - 20 days till our first doe is due; and "due" means day 150. . . so in reality, she could have the kids in about 2 weeks (which would be about day 145, which is not premature). Soo, exciting yet somewhat overwhelming, LOL!

This is Calevah, our "old dog". She's about 12 and we've had her since she was a puppy and she is still doing great... not slowing down in her old age ;)!

I thought this was a cool picture,

This is "Grandma Maggie" in her stall next to the "kids" (soon-to-be kids no more ;)). It was very cold a few nights last week so we gave everyone straw, and piled straw on top of Grandma. She stayed just long enough for a photo to be taken.

By the way, her foot is almost all the way better. She does not limp on it anymore!

A picture from feeding time this morning. This is one of the Alpines - Honey Bun.

And another pic from this morning. This is Prissy (Nubian doe).

I've spent most of the day today baking various things and just hanging out - Sunday is usually a somewhat slow day.

And now it's time to go milk. . . so have a great night!

Suriyah

Brrr!

Well this morning it was 18 degrees out. . . very cold. Here are some random pictures since I have not posted many pictures lately. My mom got a new camera - a Nikon. It takes great pictures! She has posted a lot of new pictures on her blog here, if you would like to go see them.

a frozen puddle with a little snow on top,

a couple of us moving cattle the other day,

I thought this was a neat picture of Vanilla,

grain, up-close,

and finally, a picture of the flooring that's in the house!

More later!

Suriyah

Treating a hurt hoof, and update

It is really cold today! It has been freezing the past few nights, but for some reason today seems extra cold.

A couple of weeks ago, our "Grandma" goat (Laports Mahogany Sage), was limping pretty badly on one of her back feet. So we checked it out and there was some gross/sore/swollen flesh in the middle of her hoof, probably from a cut. I posted about that on November 17th and it looked like it was getting better then - she was hardly limping too. But, it didn't get better. I tried soaking her foot in Nolvasan twice a day, nothing worked.

So, we were in town on Sunday and stopped by Tractor Supply to see if they had anything that might help. We picked up some Dr. Naylor's Hoof & Heal (for cattle, goats, sheep & horses). It is a Zinc Sulfate mixture. I started putting that on it Sunday night, and if it worked, that would be great.

Tuesday morning (after 3 treatments - I'm putting it on her 2x a day) there was dry blood on it like it had "burst" open. So, I cleaned it and put more on it. Today, she is hardly limping on it at all and the swollen spot is the smallest I have ever seen it. I am hoping that it stays on this track!

And our first does are due in exactly 1 month from today! Rhia (Nubian doe), who is due January 8th, has been getting a very nice udder and is super wide. It's exciting to hopefully have kids soon!

Well, I have not made butter for a couple of weeks and we are out, so I have to do that today and various other things.

Have a great day,

Suriyah