Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[frustratedearthmother]

Poor DH... he had a h.o.r.r.i.b.l.e (!) day!. It was not a day for him to be operating any kind of motorized vehicle. First he pulled the trailer outta the pasture and scraped the gate on the way out. No biggie - truck didn't hit it - just the trailer. Then when he was moving things around he backed his new car into the other trailer and put about a 4 inch dent and a matching 4 inch scratch on his bumper, poor thing!

Side note here: SCORE! Picked up 4 round bales today and oh man, it's pretty hay. Funny thing was I had to drive 18 miles to get it and found out he'd baled it a half-mile from my house....ugh! Cost me $10 a bale more than I coulda got it outta the field for.

So, on the way home DH was driving and cut a little too sharp coming into the driveway dropped the trailer off of the culvert. Go, go, go I told him and the truck pulled it right on through...doesn't look like it damaged the underside of the trailer any so no harm done - but he will NOT get behind the wheel of any more vehicles today, lol. Maybe he won't be pulling the trailer anymore either, lol!

After that, I got the tractor and I did good! I rolled the bales off the trailer and pushed them up against the fence on the outside of the pasture along the side of the back drive. I'll cover 'em tomorrow and won't use any until I put out a bale before we go on vacay. I'm supposed to score some square bales next week too so that will get me close to being happy with my winter hay supply. Even though I'll prolly pick up another couple round bales just to make sure.

I'm starting to wean goat babies. I took one of the buck kids away from the mama and left the doe baby with her. Stinking old sow (goat) won't let the doe baby nurse now either. This is not working with my plan to keep the baby with her to keep the milk supply going. So, I milked her out today and got 3 quarts at one milking! That means that she'll top out over a gallon with 2 a day milkings. GEEZE! And this is a kinder type goat...1/2 Nubian - 1/2 pygmy. Don't want her to dry up but if she won't nurse the doe baby while we're gone.... that's gonna stink.

Gotta clean out the hay storage area for square bales tomorrow. Then I can pull the remaining hay from last year to the side and put the new hay in it's place. They're still eating the older hay so I'll put that out while we're gone and let 'em finish those bales up.

Looks like I'm gonna need a good night's sleep!

 

[goatgurl]

so how come you don't just baby boy back in with mama till you get back? I'm so blessed with my hay, the guy down the road cuts and bales my sisters property (she lives on my property-totally messed up but...) and he brings me two round bales every 10 days to two weeks, whenever i need it. i buy a few square bales to feed in the barn but keep the round bales out for the sheep and horses and the goats snack on it too. works out well for me.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Hi Goatgurl! I wish I could put him back, and technically I could....but he's about 10 weeks old now. We aren't leaving for our vacation until Sept 7 and coming back a week later...he'd be about 14 weeks old by then. The worry is that he might, just might, be able to breed something by then. He needs to stay away from the little girls, lol!

He's a very tall F2 Kinder and he is(was) running with some pygmy does and baby girls. He would have no problem at all reaching them...and has happily tried plenty of times, lol. Pygmys breed year round and I have known a pygmy doeling that kidded at 7 months...means she was bred at 8 weeks. I personally owned a young buckling that easily settled does before16 weeks - so - bottom line is I don't want to take that chance. It wouldn't be too horrible if he bred a grown doe - but can't have a bigger guy breeding my pygmy babies. That could potentially be a disaster in the making.

I have another doe that has a single doeling. I'm leaving those two together so I know that doe will still be producing when I get home. She's a first freshener though - with a single doeling - so she's not a high producer. I'm also milking a 12 year old pygmy and getting 1/2 a gallon a day from her! Unfortunately, she'll probably dry up too while we're gone. Darn shame cuz pygmy milk is the most delicious thing ever! I need a substitute milker....and while my neighbors are glad enough to check on things and toss out some grain...milking is too much for 'em.

I thought I had this all planned out, lol. Unfortunately, I had a buck kid year and those stinking little boys threw a wrench in allllll my plans!

Essentially, I do the same as you. I keep round bales out for the pasture critters which includes the biggest majority of the goats and the mini horses. I use square bales for the goats who are in smaller pens.

Must be nice to have easy access to hay. I'm only a little jealous!

Need sleep...

 

[Denim Deb]

I can't put out a RB. Licorice is fat enough w/out me doing that! Since I switched over to SBs, I have a lot less waste and a lot less mess. And all the horses are holding their weight, so I know I'm putting out enough.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I need to rephrase "I keep round bales out for pasture critters"..... I don't do that year round. Usually only after our first freeze or when we are in a drought with no good grass. I was planning on putting one out while we're gone, but I'll reassess that decision as it gets closer to our departure time. Our pasture is so good this year that I could essentially leave them without hay or grain and they'd be fine. At this time the pasture critters get practically no grain anyway...just a bite to keep them coming up in the evenings...while the horses get zero grain at all.

I was talking to the hay guy yesterday and we agreed that this has been one of the best 'growing' years ever for hay - but not such a good year for cutting hay because of showers several times a week lately. But, I've gotta say that the round bales I picked up yesterday are beautiful and I know the field it came from and am very pleased with it.

 

[Denim Deb]

We've had years like that.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

We got some things done today...that always feels good. We got about 1/3rd of the new chicken coop roof up. I have learned so much while building this coop. Mostly, I've probably learned to pay somebody else to do it, lol! It's not that bad, but since we didn't start out with a square structure - it's being a booger to get the corrugated roof material on straight when nothing else is straight! ARGH!

That's really what I get for letting those boys put the posts in the holes...they didn't understand how important straight and square are....and I shoulda stayed out there with 'em...my bad! We will make it work though... I will just forbid anyone to look at it closely and I'm sure the chickens won't mind at all.

Also, got the new deer/chicken feeder set up and DH (my electronics guru extraordinaire) got it all programmed and ready to go. And...drum roll please... it works! I'm gonna have to move it over a little bit so the feed will reach more pens. I was hoping it would have a wider 'throw pattern' but...

Managed to get the round bales tarped too. We had a huge tarp that started its life as a pool cover so we were able to double it up over the hay. Oughta outlast the hay for sure.

I've been holding the stubborn doe to let her doe baby nurse. And, this baby is so smart she nurses both sides. Most twin babies pick a side and claim it as their own but this one has decided that since big bro has been cut off - she gets it all. Just wish mom agreed and would be more cooperative. Time will tell I guess.

Back to a five day work week now. Our school is only open M - Th in the summer, but that's alllll over now. The fall semester will be starting soon so we've gotta get back to our regular schedule - ugh. I LIKE 4 day work weeks.

Thinking about heading to bed pretty soon, but need to figure out what I'm gonna wear tomorrow. Hope ya'll had a good weekend!

 

[goatgurl]

so the plot thickens with boy baby. if you don't have a place for him and mom away from the young doelings i would kick him out too. no sense taking chances with accidental pregger baby girls. i am of the old school that thinks if it would make a good buck it would make a great wether so i castrate almost everything male born here. of the 16 bucks born here this year i only kept one intact and i kind of wish i had banded him too but his mom is a really nice doe, very correct with a high tight udder and a great milker. and his dad has really been doing a good job of improving kids so i thought what the heck. and denim deb i so agree with the wasted hay from the round bales but i don't have feeders to keep them up off the ground so i have to live with the waste for now. someday...

 

[Denim Deb]

That someday is what keeps most of us going.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I agree with ya goatgurl...I band a lot of boys at my place too. But, for the first time in about 5 years I've got more buck kids than doelings... argh! And, I'm keeping two of them intact. What am I thinking, lol? One is a replacement for his sire who died suddenly at a very young age and represents the first new blood line that I've brought into my pygmy herd in many, many years. I am a firm believer in line-breeding, but there is a limit to everything. The other little buckling that I pulled from his mama is my first F2 Kinder buck and since he's awesome in every way he will replace my F-1 buck. So, not really adding to the buck numbers, just swapping some out.

Round bales: I readily admit that all of a round bale does not go into a critter's stomach - But, if you're a gardener "wasted" hay can be gold! Makes really good mulch and works well in the compost pile too. Actually, it even composts in place pretty well and can be scooped up with the front end loader pretty darn easily. (see how well I worked 'playing' on the new tractor in there, lol) Lots more fun than the way I've been doing it forever - with a rake and a wheelbarrow...

Twenty days to go before blastoff to Canada! Whoo, I'm getting excited!