it did end up being suprisingly productive especially considering i had to head on up to jackson to get all the stuff first.
I spent some time online last night looking at how to properly use these t-post clips so im hoping today between that and some pulling and tugging mabe i can get the fence sorted without the additional cost of more t-posts. and if the weather co-opearates (im seeing 50/50 on rain for the afternoon) mabe ill try and put together some toys too.
but i definatly want to try and get the fence up better today at least.
otherwise, got some stuff around the house to kepe me busy for the afternoon if it does rain...or i may just end up being super lazy this afternoon...i think ive earnt it...
do need to do dishes though.
and i need to get some meat out for dinner tonight...just not sure what i want yet.
so yeah...woke up at my "usual time" but the clock said 9...then i remembered, oh yeah i set it forward last night. daylights savings realy messes with my head for about a week.
Got to og get everyone fed and sorted, including myself, then get that fence done before these darker clouds decide to pop.
You can make a fence stretcher/puller with a piece of 2x4 and a few hooks. They work pretty well. Maybe that's feasible and will keep you from having to get more posts. One of the ribs from those leftover pieces of pallet could work and I think you could use those small hooks you have the dog gate up with if you have any more of them. Just an idea
Wow Pink - you have made lots of progress at your new place! Good Job The chair is beautiful - what a really neat idea. I like bramble and honey for your names Your goat shack looks great
i managed to do some pulling and tugging and wrestling wiht the fence and its alittle tighter now, tight enough that i think it should be baby goat safe lol.
the pen itself is only 16x13 but im planning on having a movable 16x16 pen that once there weaned and eating brush theyll spend most of their days (assuming nice weather) in. that pen can then be moved around the property untill the brush is under control and eventually ill be fencing in almots 1/2 the property for the goats (itll be 2 1 acre "feilds" they can brows one while 1 recoreves then move over and brows that while the other recovers.
right now im plannign 4 female goats, and eventually a dexter cow and her calf, (calf for meat ) so i figure an acre for back and forth switch over should be good...
im also planning on getting a nice buck of my own eventually (not untill next spring at the earliest) and obviously he'll need a buddy, i havent yet decided if im going to do a coupe of nigerian bucks, and breed for first generation "mini milkers" or if im going to stick with pure bred... i figure 2 nigerians would take up about as much space as a single ful sized buck...but we'll see.
im not entirely sure on my eventual goat herd either...im not sure if i want all nubians, or if i want 2 nubians and 2 lamancha
i think id i do all nubians ill go with a nubian buck and a wether (who ill teach to pull a cart/packpack since he'll have to earn his keep somehow lol)
if i do nubians and lamanchas ill do a couple of nigerians (or a mini mancha and a mini nubian lol)
just have to figure out what would sell better in the area.
April then becomes the "odd jobs" month.
I need to get the back yard fenced/expanded so the ducks have a safe area, and the dogs have more room to run...dozer needs it lol.
i need to get my kitchen floor done, ive now offically mae enough room on the credit card for that project, dont want to charge it, but it NEEDS doing...
the ducks will be getting ready to go outside, i should have baby rabbits getting ready to sell and the goat girls will still be on the bottle...
So i think april is fence, floor and getting the veggie beds filled.
SOOO much to do...just wish i had more free money to do it all with lol.
well...I vote nigis but I'm biased. They don't need as high a fence either and are pretty easy to handle by yourself...like a lab. I can get one of my girls in the back of my SUV in a big dog crate with a piece of 2x12 for a ramp. They are fun to watch at kidding time too cause you never know what colors you will get...they tend to be really colorful goats.
I would definitely go with a mini breed since you have the smaller sized property. It will be easier on the land if you have a few nigis or mini manchas or mini nubians. The bigger breeds will make quick work of an acre of land. I actually have to mow my nigis pasture area cause they can't keep up with it and if it gets too tall they won't eat the broad leafed stuff closer to the ground cause the seed heads that are taller poke them in the eyes. Yeah, they are little princesses. Spoiled rotten goats. Our pasture is 50ft by 275ft or so. It ended up being like 1/3-1/2 acre and my 3 girls don't use near that much. I cut tree branches and pull leaves from the back of the property for them and when my neighbors do any trimming I go get their stuff too. I have to work on getting some rocks or cinderblocks for them to climb on to wear their feet down. I can't keep up with their hooves...our soil is pretty soft and their hooves grow really fast.
I have used that goo stuff for the roof of a chicken run before.....man that stuff is sticky! It's great though...we used tin on the roof and it had so many little leaks from the nails that we sealed it with that stuff and it worked really well.
yeah i think a nigi buck would be easier to handle too overall
im going to go put a deposit on my 2 nubian girls today and should be picking them up on friday. SOOOO excited.
and i think selling "minis" is probably easier too lol.
well its official, the girls will be comming home friday barring some odd circumstances.
deposit placed today, recipt is in my bag, picked up a bag of goat minerals and found somewhere closer to pick up goat food thats almost $4 a bag cheaper for the same brand so YAY on that.
so im pretty much going to have to go in there with a list of everything i need and see what they carry how much and see whats cheaper and whats not, there alot closer to home so if i can get everything there for the same as im paying or less ill be good to go.
they dont however carry my dog food...im told there is somewhere in the closer town that does carry my dog food brand so im going to get the exact adress so i can call them/check them out and if the price is the same (ill even pay $1 for the convenicence of not having to go all that way) then were good to go.
i need to get gas consumption under better control and cant be making trips up to jackson all the time, especially since i just simply cant fit eveything in the back of my car for a months supply of things like hayally if ive got my own groceries to fit in my car too!
but yeah, girls should be comming home friday morning ish *excited dance*
otherwise nothing else done today.
tomorrow im going to poke holes in the bottoms of the 3 feed sacks i currently have and get my taters planted...i figure 3 sacks worth shouldl be enough considering i realy dont eat that many taters...
Ive got to clean out the bunnies litterboxes tomorrow too so ill use that plus a little of the compost mix i have left in each bag and that should get the taters off to a good start
tomorrow i also need to do bunny nails, (not my favorite job ever but it needs doing)
and id like to get the 3 small plantpots currently sat on my back deck at least a base coat of paint tomorrow...so...that means i should be kept busy tomorrow lol.
got a feeling though this week is now going to go super slow.
this month is kinda moving along nicly though so if i only get 1 draggy week out of the month im ok with that. lol.
We should totally carpool to Jackson once a month and see if we can find a place to buy bulk feed if you have a place to store it, I do. It'd be worth trying anyway There is a Co-op in Corinth that I hear has cheaper feed prices, but I have yet to check them out. When I do, I can report back and see if you can beat their prices and if not I think we can go in together and buy bulk from them. That's IF you're interested that is
If you guys come up w/a way to store feed, LMK. Right now, I have 150 lbs of horse feed, 50 lbs of chicken feed and 50 lbs of chick starter in the back seat of my truck. Plus, I have 80 lbs of hay pellets in my hay shelter. I know the mice won't get into that, so I can put the bags in there w/out a problem. It's not a problem for now, but once we start doing more trail riding, it will be. We try to take as few vehicles as possible, so I just might need the back seat for people to sit in, and I doubt they want to sit on the feed.