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- #291
freemotion
Food Guru
To disbud or not to disbud....that is the question with Mya's babies.
I still have a little time, as the buds are barely there. They are a bit behind, developmentally. They are five days old today but are more like 3 day old kids. But they will be caught up in a couple more days I'm sure, as they were quite vigorous today, jumping and climbing and playing, and they both suck down those bottles and look for more. Their joints are all stable and firm now. The little doeling was actually jumping up onto a plastic chair in the yard today, and the boy was making on and off the large 20 gallon rubber tub that was overturned and that I later brought out to the pig pasture as a water tub.
Ginger's two doelings left for their new home yesterday morning, along with the two older pygmies. I was quite surprised that I didn't cry, or even tear up at all at their leaving. I have rarely given up animals....all I can think of is a horse and a pony when I was a kid, and that haunted me for so many years that all my animals have been with me for life. Oh, except for a few stray cats that I kept until I could find homes. So I was pretty proud of myself for being so grown up.
After milking last night, I was filtering the milk into jars for the fridge and I mark each jar with the name of the doe and the date. Ginger's milk goes to the kids, and Mya's colostrum goes to the pigs.
I accidentally put Mya's milk into a jar half filled already with Ginger's milk. I burst into tears. The floodgates were opened. All over some "spilled milk."
Sniffle.
It didn't help that the doelings' sibling, Birch, was still with us and in a stall by himself, screaming sadly and pretty much non-stop with some breaks for naps. I put him out yesterday and today in the kid pasture with Ginger, who is such a good girl. She won't really bonk anyone. She just bulldozes in slow motion. But she didn't want to be away from the other does and she hollered most of the day, too. That didn't help close the floodgates.
My dad brought my mom over to give Birch his 3 PM bottle right out in the pasture while dh and I were at the office. She sat on one of the plastic blocks I have out there for the kids to play on. Ginger came over and laid her head on my mother's shoulder and nuzzled her cheek while she was giving Birch the bottle. Dad said it was so cute, he wished he'd brought the camera.
Then Ginger took some of my mom's hair in her mouth and walked away....taking a hunk of hair with her! OW! Naughty girl. Good thing she's cute!
Today I got a call from a guy who bought two doelings a couple of weeks ago and one died. He got them from someone who probably got them at auction or from a dairy and feeds them on cheap all-stock milk replacer. In an email a couple of days ago, I urged the man to switch to whole milk from the store, and if he came to see my buckling, I'd give him some goat's milk to help the remaining doeling to get stronger, whether he took the buckling or not.
I didn't hear from him again until this afternoon. Apparently, the guy who sold him the doelings replaced the one that died with another very young doeling, just a few days old. He said he'd take the buckling, but for nothing.
Hmmm...Nope. Then I listened to more screaming and wondered what I'd do with him when Peach went into labor. I have no more safe spaces available.
I called him back and asked for $10 to cover what I'd spent on milk so far and asked for assurance that the buckling would be going to a pet home and not for meat. If it was for meat, I would stick to the $50 price or grow him up myself for us. A matter of principle. He came and got the buckling.
After showing him around, I realized that he was a very, very nice man and that Birch will indeed be wethered and kept as a pet along with the two doelings that will be his new adopted sisters. I even got a picture just now of Birch with one of the man's young daughters. So cute! So I am happy with the meager $10, especially since Ginger gave me triplets and the money I got for the girls will pay for the hay for two of my does. If I get two more does, all my hay will be paid for. If I get no more does, I'm still ahead of where I was last year, so I am happy about it.
When I bred these girls, I hadn't really thought much about the money that would come in to help pay their way. I was thinking more about the milk and cheese. This is a huge bonus and gets my little farmlet that much closer to sustaining itself.
Oh, and the people who bought Ginger's doelings will be making alfalfa hay this year!!! So they may just get their money back eventually!
I still have a little time, as the buds are barely there. They are a bit behind, developmentally. They are five days old today but are more like 3 day old kids. But they will be caught up in a couple more days I'm sure, as they were quite vigorous today, jumping and climbing and playing, and they both suck down those bottles and look for more. Their joints are all stable and firm now. The little doeling was actually jumping up onto a plastic chair in the yard today, and the boy was making on and off the large 20 gallon rubber tub that was overturned and that I later brought out to the pig pasture as a water tub.
Ginger's two doelings left for their new home yesterday morning, along with the two older pygmies. I was quite surprised that I didn't cry, or even tear up at all at their leaving. I have rarely given up animals....all I can think of is a horse and a pony when I was a kid, and that haunted me for so many years that all my animals have been with me for life. Oh, except for a few stray cats that I kept until I could find homes. So I was pretty proud of myself for being so grown up.
After milking last night, I was filtering the milk into jars for the fridge and I mark each jar with the name of the doe and the date. Ginger's milk goes to the kids, and Mya's colostrum goes to the pigs.
I accidentally put Mya's milk into a jar half filled already with Ginger's milk. I burst into tears. The floodgates were opened. All over some "spilled milk."
Sniffle.
It didn't help that the doelings' sibling, Birch, was still with us and in a stall by himself, screaming sadly and pretty much non-stop with some breaks for naps. I put him out yesterday and today in the kid pasture with Ginger, who is such a good girl. She won't really bonk anyone. She just bulldozes in slow motion. But she didn't want to be away from the other does and she hollered most of the day, too. That didn't help close the floodgates.
My dad brought my mom over to give Birch his 3 PM bottle right out in the pasture while dh and I were at the office. She sat on one of the plastic blocks I have out there for the kids to play on. Ginger came over and laid her head on my mother's shoulder and nuzzled her cheek while she was giving Birch the bottle. Dad said it was so cute, he wished he'd brought the camera.
Then Ginger took some of my mom's hair in her mouth and walked away....taking a hunk of hair with her! OW! Naughty girl. Good thing she's cute!
Today I got a call from a guy who bought two doelings a couple of weeks ago and one died. He got them from someone who probably got them at auction or from a dairy and feeds them on cheap all-stock milk replacer. In an email a couple of days ago, I urged the man to switch to whole milk from the store, and if he came to see my buckling, I'd give him some goat's milk to help the remaining doeling to get stronger, whether he took the buckling or not.
I didn't hear from him again until this afternoon. Apparently, the guy who sold him the doelings replaced the one that died with another very young doeling, just a few days old. He said he'd take the buckling, but for nothing.
Hmmm...Nope. Then I listened to more screaming and wondered what I'd do with him when Peach went into labor. I have no more safe spaces available.
I called him back and asked for $10 to cover what I'd spent on milk so far and asked for assurance that the buckling would be going to a pet home and not for meat. If it was for meat, I would stick to the $50 price or grow him up myself for us. A matter of principle. He came and got the buckling.
After showing him around, I realized that he was a very, very nice man and that Birch will indeed be wethered and kept as a pet along with the two doelings that will be his new adopted sisters. I even got a picture just now of Birch with one of the man's young daughters. So cute! So I am happy with the meager $10, especially since Ginger gave me triplets and the money I got for the girls will pay for the hay for two of my does. If I get two more does, all my hay will be paid for. If I get no more does, I'm still ahead of where I was last year, so I am happy about it.
When I bred these girls, I hadn't really thought much about the money that would come in to help pay their way. I was thinking more about the milk and cheese. This is a huge bonus and gets my little farmlet that much closer to sustaining itself.
Oh, and the people who bought Ginger's doelings will be making alfalfa hay this year!!! So they may just get their money back eventually!
Pretty sure I just saw one over on OFG's journal who was bouncing!
thanks abi, i needed that chuckle.
