- Thread starter
- #641
FarmerDenise
Out to pasture
So we've had some very nice weather and have been very busy.
The goats have spent their days outside and come in before dusk, right after I feed the rabbit, but before the chickens get locked up. I take them for walks around the field and sit with them. I stacked several lug boxes as a playground for them. They love it and we love watching them. I love the way they jump sideways. When I weed they are usually quite close to me exploring. The chickens are in the habbit of checking on what I unearth, so they have become brave enough to hang out with me and the goats.
Sometimes I sit back and relish my company. Sitting under a peachtree in the dirt, wearing my now dirty jeans, sun shining, dog lying a few feet in front of me in the shade of a tree, chickens scratching around me and little goats frolicking on the stack of wooden peach props, kitty sitting at the hole in the fence waiting for something to pop it's head out, crows overhead harassing a hawk, SO sitting on a lounge chair drinking his coffee. Just a beautiful spring day.
The kids are still getting milk 3 times a day. I read in some books to switch them to 2 feedings a day and in others to keep them at 3 feeding for a while longer. I think I'll keep them at 3 feeding for a while. They are starting to nibble different stuff in the yard, but since they don't have an older goat to show them what to eat, they mostly mouth stuff and occasionally actually eat something. I gave them a tiny handfull of grain yesterday. They liked it. I don't want to give them too much though. I gathered up some of the dried greens from SO's weed whacking and am offering that to them. I have alfalfa, but again, I don't want to give them too much of that either. I figure we have plenty of dry stuff and assorted greens in the field right now. I am hoping they'll get more interested in what they can find on their own.
I ended up getting sick yesterday. I think I may have missed a handwashing and now I have an upset stomach. I have been washing my hands so much that my soap got all soggy and I had to switch to a new bar of soap and let the other one dry out.
I've been drinking my acv and honey mixture, eating yogurt, raw fermented sauerkraut and dark toast and bananas. I'll be adding some seasalt and baking soda to my next acv drink. I wish I had some fresh ginger. But we planted all the ginger we had in the house a while back. 
After having such nice weather all week, it is cold and cloudy today. I put the goats outside in their pen anyway, because it is supposed to pour tomorrow. I spent about an hour outside playing with them.
One of my hens is sitting on 6 eggs. The neighbor and I traded eggs. She had just purchased an incubator and I gave her 5 of my blue ameraucana eggs, she said she only had green ones. Well her green ones look just like mine to me and I say they are blue.
We figure we'll trade eggs, rather than birds, for bio security reasons.
The neighbor also brought over a hayfeeder for our goats!! Woohoo
. It is just what I needed and the price.... just an afternoon visit and a hotdog off the grill! Can't beat that!
I am also enlisting this neighbor to help with the goats. That way, when it comes time in the future for us to go somewhere, they'll be able to take care of our girls. They are already looking forward to getting free goats milk.
Now back to researching what fencing I need to buy this week. Our property is totally fenced in, but it's a mishmash of different fences and sizes. We also need to keep the goats out of the peach trees and the garden area in the summer and possibly be able to take them to someone elses property for some browsing. So I am looking at fencing that is easy to set up and take down.
I hope this rain is going to make my peas pop out of the ground. That way at least I won't feel so bad about being stuck inside in this gloomy weather.
The goats have spent their days outside and come in before dusk, right after I feed the rabbit, but before the chickens get locked up. I take them for walks around the field and sit with them. I stacked several lug boxes as a playground for them. They love it and we love watching them. I love the way they jump sideways. When I weed they are usually quite close to me exploring. The chickens are in the habbit of checking on what I unearth, so they have become brave enough to hang out with me and the goats.
Sometimes I sit back and relish my company. Sitting under a peachtree in the dirt, wearing my now dirty jeans, sun shining, dog lying a few feet in front of me in the shade of a tree, chickens scratching around me and little goats frolicking on the stack of wooden peach props, kitty sitting at the hole in the fence waiting for something to pop it's head out, crows overhead harassing a hawk, SO sitting on a lounge chair drinking his coffee. Just a beautiful spring day.
The kids are still getting milk 3 times a day. I read in some books to switch them to 2 feedings a day and in others to keep them at 3 feeding for a while longer. I think I'll keep them at 3 feeding for a while. They are starting to nibble different stuff in the yard, but since they don't have an older goat to show them what to eat, they mostly mouth stuff and occasionally actually eat something. I gave them a tiny handfull of grain yesterday. They liked it. I don't want to give them too much though. I gathered up some of the dried greens from SO's weed whacking and am offering that to them. I have alfalfa, but again, I don't want to give them too much of that either. I figure we have plenty of dry stuff and assorted greens in the field right now. I am hoping they'll get more interested in what they can find on their own.
I ended up getting sick yesterday. I think I may have missed a handwashing and now I have an upset stomach. I have been washing my hands so much that my soap got all soggy and I had to switch to a new bar of soap and let the other one dry out.
I've been drinking my acv and honey mixture, eating yogurt, raw fermented sauerkraut and dark toast and bananas. I'll be adding some seasalt and baking soda to my next acv drink. I wish I had some fresh ginger. But we planted all the ginger we had in the house a while back. After having such nice weather all week, it is cold and cloudy today. I put the goats outside in their pen anyway, because it is supposed to pour tomorrow. I spent about an hour outside playing with them.
One of my hens is sitting on 6 eggs. The neighbor and I traded eggs. She had just purchased an incubator and I gave her 5 of my blue ameraucana eggs, she said she only had green ones. Well her green ones look just like mine to me
and I say they are blue. We figure we'll trade eggs, rather than birds, for bio security reasons.
The neighbor also brought over a hayfeeder for our goats!! Woohoo
. It is just what I needed and the price.... just an afternoon visit and a hotdog off the grill! Can't beat that! I am also enlisting this neighbor to help with the goats. That way, when it comes time in the future for us to go somewhere, they'll be able to take care of our girls. They are already looking forward to getting free goats milk.
Now back to researching what fencing I need to buy this week. Our property is totally fenced in, but it's a mishmash of different fences and sizes. We also need to keep the goats out of the peach trees and the garden area in the summer and possibly be able to take them to someone elses property for some browsing. So I am looking at fencing that is easy to set up and take down.
I hope this rain is going to make my peas pop out of the ground. That way at least I won't feel so bad about being stuck inside in this gloomy weather.
Goat babies are THE BEST!!! Thanks for the pics. I just can't get enough!
