Pink Fox: its Raining...IN MY HOUSE! :/

[pinkfox]

ruthie was a little antsy on the stand this morning, only let me milk her out about 1/2 way....odd shes been so good the previous 3 milkings...mabe something spooked her...or mabe she doesn't like the feed...
so we are making a foray into home made feed...
I needed goat feed anyway...so picked up a 50lb bag of alfalfa based horse feed (good amount of copper in it, much better than the pure alfalfa for a better price, still unmedicated and bag says gmo free....no corn or soy either...
50lbs of black oil sunflower seeds (will only use about 25lbs in the mix, the other 25lbs will get mixed 1/2 in the chicken feed 1/2 in the rabbit feed., eventually hoping to switch everyone onto the same mix...we'll see.
50lbs of barley, and 50lbs of oats...
gonna order some kelp powder offline to use as a once weekly top dressing for everyone, now the question becomes how to store about 175lbs of grain mix lol.

Sent a e-lop girl home today, got asking price + a free black dwarf doe...shes been placed for adoption...apparently they found her around valentines day but she realy wanted an e-lop and was told she could keep 1 or the other...she choose to pay for the e-lop and surrender the black doe...so heres to hoping I can sell her for a little cash, if not shell go in the freezer, free is free, little or not...
last free does babies are doing good, 3 fat little butterballs, cute too...

so right now im down to 3 angora and 2 e-lop girls ready and 7 angora kits growing
rex girl kindled 6 last night, castor black otter and something else...not sure what yet, but its lighter than im used to seeing...
2 angora does and an English lop doe due in the next few days too (need to give the e-lop doe her box this evening) and the other e-lop doe due in about a week and a half....I rebred the tri rex doe who didn't take so shell be due in about a month if she took this time (and if she didn't ill move her on as this will be strike 3) and after that no kits again till fall...

didn't get anything else done today that I wanted to but im honestly not feeling too hot. :/
tomorrow the plan is to haul the new to me 42" dog crate out of the car and turn it into a tractor for growouts.im thinking of just putting that on a couple pieces of PVC under it so I can drag it across the lawn without having to invest in wheels lol. but it needs a floor that the buns cant fit through LOL!

I also need to start hauling the dead wood out of the back pasture because I need to work on the buck pen...Bilbo is getting kinda frisky and Frodo is coming after the holiday weekend so they realy need their own space. gonna scour craigslist for parts to make them a ouse (thinking 5 pallets, some of that sheet roofing and a gate should work nicely t make them a safe little house that I can lock them into if needed. and need to put up a dividing fence and gates into the 2 pastures from the main area.
I should have enough wire for the fence (and the electric reinforcement) but need the gates and would like 4ft'ers if I can find some.

anywho...almost time for dinner...and then critters to bed and milking time and then chill out in my room and mabe watch a movie time.

 

[pinkfox]

Heres Ruthie

And our new Milkstand that me and dad built last Saturday, everything except the feed bucket, carriage bolt, latch and stall mat were free/recycled
the stall mat was reduced because it was pre-cut wonky, and my sisters discount eneded up getting us a great price on the feed bowl lol.
it cost us a total of $12 to build

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Ruthie is soooo pretty and I love the milk stand! But, where do you sit to milk? Or is it just in the corner when you're not milking?

 

[pinkfox]

well it can be puled out (its not as heavy as it looks lol) but its actually the perfect height and width that when her head is in the stanchion I can put my butt on that front corner, have my shoulder against hers and milk very easily from that angle..and where it is theres realy only 1 way off the stand at that point and its THROUGH me lol.
I wasn't sure at first and was planning on getting/making a little stool to go with it..but I realy like the seating position when im caddy corner and can lean against her a little (and she leans into me) its kinda like snuggle milking lol.

shes doing realy well, about 3lbs of milk a day, loving the new feed (3 parts oats, barley and horse pellet to 1 part sunflower seed) very people orientated! such a love!

another bunny is under deposit, little chinchilla angora, so we are down to 2 angora and 2 lop ready to go, 7 angora ready in about 3 weeks, and the last litters of the season are in next boxes. but it may be a little too late in the season (I think im going to have last litters in june next year) my re doe lost 2 of her 6 already, no signs of illness or injury so im assuming heat related...and one of the new angora litter had an issue with his skin on his back legs...not sure if hell make it, well have to wait and see.
have 1 more angora and 2 e-lops left to kindle this round...I did breed my tri doe who didn't take but she wot be due for another 3 weeks and we'll see if anything happens...wasn't going to but have requests for tris and right now money is muchly needed.
I think im going to thin or even sell out of the angoras...at most ill keep a male and 2 females, 5 angora is just too much for my needs...

hmm what else? weather is NUTZ, hot and humid and storms coming through...but supposed to clear up after tonight and be relitivly nice all weekend...which is good because ive got comp passes to the renfaire I used to work at for Saturday
gotta figure out what im going to wear lol.

wouldn't be going it it wasn't free though, money this month is going to suck...unexpected outcrop due to the move, double car ins payment (which ends up being 4 times more than usual since the new rate is double my old rate), ugh. after bills I should have $25 to see me through the month, that doesn't include purchasing rabbit food, gas for my car or dog food...those angora may en up becoming DINNER for the dogs if nothing else.
im watching craigslist for free roosters as we speak.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Oh, it makes so much more sense when you 'splain it that way! She behavin' any better for you? She's a mini-nub, right? Anyway - she's very, very pretty!

 

[Britesea]

Awwww she's so cute!

 

[pinkfox]

thanks guys I LOVE her shes giving us 3 pints a day which is awesome, milks like a dream and is such a sweetheart.
I used a gallon of her milk to make chevre the other day OMG so good, made 2 logs of plain and 2 logs of garlic and herb, then tried to make ricotta out of the whey today, didn't take though, wonder if the milk got a little too hot during the cheese making (it got hotter than needed) and that's the cause...either way whats left of the whey will, tonight, be poured over the potted tomatoes and strawberries to give them a feed/boost.
I also made a batch of goatsmilk yogurt that came out absolutely lovely...gonna try and double strain it for greek style next time but gonna need a bigger crockpot LOL, or create a nice big yogurt making thing for larger batches...this batch was 1/2 gallon and made 12 4oz servings...might get 6 out of the same doing greek style and both me and dad have at least 1 a day lol.

Its a learning process, dad took some chevre to work and we now have lots of people begging us for it...gotta figure out how to get around the cottage craft sales issues of NJ food laws...mabe a donation to the goat food fund and as a thankyou gift lol...
mums finally etting over the weirdout of goats milk (just it being unfamiliar and unpasteurized lol)
dads learnt to milk, next up is teaching sister and mother too...both are weirded out at the thoguth of touching goat boobies...LMAO, sooo not farm girls!

picking up mini Nubian buck on Thursday so Bilbo will have a buddy when I separate out the pastures, im pretty certain we can also say that a 4th doe wil be joining the herd when I can find one...preferably an experienced doe in milk...I want to try and have 4-6 does with 1/2 in milk for the summer/fall and 1/2 in milk for the winter/spring...

got more buns sold...little chinchilla angora doe whent home today, black angora buck should be going home on Thursday evening (and shell be back for a white form my younger litter in about 2 weeks), got 2 other people trying to figure out an entire angora herd buy out (2 frineds 1 wants some the other wnts others, made it clear I wont sell certain bunnies unless they all go as 1 buyout...) as much as I like my angora, they take up quite abit of real-estate and I don't do neer enough with the wool...and they arnt big enough to be worth butchering if they don't sell...so if thye want the lot ill sell all the angoras, itll make space for the nz x flemmish trio and more rex.
got more buns in the nest box, e-lop first timer has 9 (and doing well) angora doe has 5, rex doe has 4...another e-lop due with f1 velveteens (which may become the angora replacement project and may eventually completely replace the e-lops since velveteens were whati wanted in the first place)
sisters freebie dutch has 3 kits just opening their eye...busy busy busy in the rabbitry.
just got to make sure I don't loose sight of other projects that need to be worked on...still need to build a coop for the rhodebarr chicks and work on some cortinux quail stock and and and...

and unfortunately right now im dealing with some kind of sciatica or muscle pain in my lower back that seems to be agrivating the fibro as well as everything on my right hand side just aches....
talk about a speed bump!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Sometimes speed bumps are there for a reason! Sounds like you needa take a deep breath and maybe, just maybe, slow down a little bit!

Dontcha just LOVE all the wonderful things you can do with goat milk!?!

 

[pinkfox]

I think my body IS saying slow down, unfotunatly it didn't get the memo that theres no time for that! lol.
as of right now theres a buttload of stuff that needs to get done and apparently in a house of 5 people who are SUPPOSED to be helping me with this stuff, im the ONLY person who can...
and in a house of 5 adults who are all supposed to be chpping in im the only one who does...*grumbles*

so as of right now the list:
1: remove cut brush form back pasture
2: brush wack current fenceline and area where dividing fence will go
3: put up gates and fences for new goat pen.
4: build chicken coop for rhodebarrs (who are feathering out nicely and using the waterer as a lookout already!)
5: get bunnie smoved out of barn and into cages
6: oh yeah...gotta buy/make said cages first...
in the mean time "the barn needs cleaning out" and "the flower bed needs weeding" and "the duck pen needs scraping out" and "hey I just shot this bunny will you process it for me?" and "we need to figure out where the veggie garden is going" and "we need more cheese" and "your rooms a mess when ar eyou gogin to fold your clothes put away your laundry and paint?!" and and and...*ghasps!*

tomorrow we go to pick up Frodo, Friday im picking up 6 rhodebar pullets (the price is right even if it is a bit of a drive to pick up)
ive got a mean bunny to go to the freezer (freebie black who bit me)
got an angora going home tomorrow afternoon, (and a deposit on one fo the younger set)
got another angora (adult) going on sunday, her cage will open up for sisters dutch doe truffle
it just feels like the list keeps getting longer and im the only one who can do stuff....
add to that im SERIOUSLY broke this month, and yeah...*sigh*

life needs to just slow down and gimme a break for a while.
mabe in the winter...that's it, im taking the winter off! lol

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Maybe you should start charging for your services for those who don't chip in!

Hey - winter off sounds great!