Busy Little Beavers

Wow!  We have been some busy here at the Stables the last few days, as if that was something new!  We had a few days rest after Elly had her babies but not very long!  Next thing you know Lily the Pygmy goat has had 2 little doelings during the night and then Bonnie, the Pygmy goat goes into labour.  Well, I want to keep an eye on her because her babies died last year, whether they were still born or she didn't clean them, I don't know.  This year, I did not want to take any chances.  I stayed with her through the whole thing.  (Or so I thought).  Anyway, she is having a tough time pushing the first kid out, crying in pain and looking very tired, so I clean up, put on my rubber gloves and go in to see what the problem is.  At first, I can't determine what part of the baby I am feeling.  It really feels like a knee or hock joint but if that's the case, the poor baby is really twisted up.  Finally, I can get a grip on something, still not sure what and I pull.  Out comes a still born baby.  Feeling that there is more than one I go in again and find the nose of another baby.  Sure enough, with a lot of help, out he comes. I was gentle with him only for Mom's sake as I assumed he was also going to be still born.  Not so!  Little Alexander comes out with a cry and a wriggle and a big gasp of air.  YAYY!!  I am so happy!  Bonnie is so relieved!  I get him cleaned up and then Mom takes over.  While disposing of the little dead baby I keep an eye on Bonnie and baby for a while.  She is licking him and finally he gets up to nurse.  YAYY!!


After all that I take a break a go and visit my little girl staying down at Faye's.  


After dinner, I go back down to the barn to check on everything and feed the goats and lo and behold!!  Bonnie has had another baby!!  She is weak and can't stand up to nurse.  I really don't hold out much hope for her.  She is cold and wet.   Mom is so busy with the second baby she is ignoring the third one.   So I wrap her up in a warm towel, yell for Chelsea and we head down the road to Faye's AGAIN.  Of course, my dear friend, Faye, who has a bigger heart than anyone I know, takes her in.


So Emily has a friend.  Faye has named Emily's new friend Trouble and boy does she know how to find trouble.  She gets into EVERYTHING.


Both babies are doing remarkably well under Faye's wonderful care.  I really think she will end up keeping them.  How can you save something from certain death and then give it up?  That's ok if Faye keeps them.  If it wasn't for her, they would not be here.


So, we have a good many babies in the barn waiting for the stupid snow to melt so they can go outside.  Everything is a big sloppy mess and more snow on the way, I hear.  Will this winter never end??

More babies!

Wow!  I go out to the barn this morning and there are 3 babies in Elly's stall.  Just born maybe half an hour before.  She has cleaned off the two boys but the little girl is crying and still really gooey.  So I put the little girl under mom's nose and mom butts her into the wall.  Hmmmm....that's not good.  Try again, another butt.  Put her under mom to see if she will eat.  mom checks identity of said baby goat and finds out it's not one of the boys.  Butts her again.  So, I take her down to my very good friend, Faye's house and she will going to be spoiled rotten.  Stupid mommy goat.  Faye loves little goats and will take very good care of her.  Thanks Faye!! 

New Babies!!

March 18 is our lucky day!  Isabella and Bonnie the Nigerian Dwarf, both had their babies today.  Isabella had 2 cute little boys and Bonnie had two babies, as well.  The blackest one is a doeling and the whiter one is a buckling!!    Moms and babies are all doing well!!

 http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=339416&id=538687834&l=9301234a45

Pictures at the link above!!

A New Beginning?

Well, I'm not sure. See, when we had the barn rewired in the fall I told the electrician that I needed plugs for 4 heat lamps in each stall. So, he put them on the ceiling because that's "CODE". CODE is a four letter word as far as I'm concerned. The barn ceiling is eight feet high. Even with my arms stretched as tall as I can, I'm still not eight feet tall. I even tried positive thinking. Hunh! That didn't work. So here I am, first thing in the morning, in my jammies, climbing around stalls and dividers with a fold up stool that freaks out the goats, trying to reach the plugs for the heat lamps to unplug them. Warm enough today the lamps aren't needed. Not fun or smart. Ok, so back to the house for my morning cup of ambition and a shower. All the while my little pea brain is working, working....Still blank as a new black board, but working, working....Do I really want to be climbing around stalls and dividers twice a day for heat lamps?? No, not really. AHA!!!! My brain has a meltdown as a NEW IDEA flies in. (It's not used to that kind of thing.)
At Canadian Tire you can buy these doohickies that have one wire coming out that plugs into the socket and 5 wires coming out that you can plug things into. Kind of looks like a giraffe with 5 legs. Anyway, if I were to install one of these jiggabobbins on the centre post, plug it into the ceiling outlet and then plug all the heat lamps into it then I could use the switch on the wattsit to turn the lights on and off!!!

Well, son of a gun if it didn't work! All I have to do now is walk into one stall and push a button and WAALAA!!! Lights!!

Made my day!

So, The does are all in the barn as we speak. Esme, Isabella, Bonnie, and Elly and in Stall 1. Sprocket, Tweek, Mona and Gracie are in Stall 2. Lily, Bonnie the Nigerian, and Vee are in Stall 3. Tweek is the first one due on March 22nd but you never know who might just decide to kid early. Esme kidded 10 days early last year and she was still outside and it was cold the day she kidded. Fortunately, we found her right after she had kidded and got her and her babies under the heat to warm up! Don't want to see that happen again this year!

All is good at the Stables today!

Hell Hounds and Yucky Weather

So the Hell Hounds, Shadow and Ghost are still hanging out with the goats. Shadow is going in to be spayed the first week of April. Ghost is not going to like that. Well, neither is Shadow! But the two of them just hang out in the snow and crappy weather, not caring that they are getting soaked and their fur is freezing. They are about 55 lbs now. Due for their third set of shots. I fashioned harnesses for them out of horse halters. Ghost was ok with his. Shadow had a complete melt down when I put hers on. Not the least bit impressed. Can't imagine why. Well, ok, Shadow is a big fuzzy chicken s**t. Last week we gave them some chunks meat from our roast beef and Ghost growled at everything that even might have looked at his. Shadow was ready to give hers to the barn cats if they would just stop staring at her!!

Anyway, all is well as we approach kidding. Hoping all the does do well and we have no problems! We'll have 12 in the kidding pens right off the bat. March 15th is the big day when I'll be running around catching does who don't want to be caught and penning them up. most of them are too waddle-y and fat to run fast anyway!

Babies on the way!

Soon the barn will be filled with the cheerful sound of baby goats! Tweek, Bonnie, and many other does are due to kid near the end of March and the beginning of April. The barn is ready for them with the 3 big stalls divided into 4 kidding pens
each. The little stall could be divided into 2 kidding pens but we don't need quite that many pens so we left it alone. The mineral dishes are full, the water buckets are clean, the hay is ready to go in. All we need are the goats!!

Updates Galore

Welcome to our updates Blog.

It's a little difficult to update the website on an everyday or frequent basis because of what it takes to get it published so I thought I might try this. There might be the occasional picture but I think most of it will be text so we can keep you updated on what's going on, who's kidding, who's not kidding etcetcetc.

I don't know. It might prove fun it might be as boring as all get out. Let's give it a try!