SUNSHINE FEVER!

GOATS:

I'm sorry, I can't contain my excitement over this glorious sunshine! The wet weather leaves me fretting over mud constantly. Normally I buck it up and deal with the mud, it is unavoidable at certain times of the year. But new babies and mud just do not mix well with me. I feel like they can be so fragile their first couple of weeks, I don't want any little thing to be less than optimum to give them the best start. Pearl's kidding was the worst as her babies came the very end of February when it was still snowing up here. I was terrified of them becoming chilled while afraid the heat lamp would break and burn the house down.

Dakota's kids are flourishing. They had a little diarrhea today, but only minor. I'm fairly certain it is due to the fact that they have discovered how yummy mom's grain is this last week and have been trying to get into it. I think they pigged out a little much the last couple of days. I decided this evening to move mom to her overnight pen before giving her any grain. She gets some at night and in the morning while on the milk stand. This way the kids won't have anything but fresh hay and mom's milk and a few little nibbles of grain I give them while doing evening feedings. I will treat them for cocci anyways. I always do a preventative at this time.

They will start to get a small, regular ration at six weeks and be up to my normal kid ration at eight weeks at which point they will finish their weaning. They are with mom all day and alone together at night. At six weeks I will only leave them with mom for half a day, at seven weeks I will only let them be with mom for a few hours in the afternoon, and in the eighth week they will only get an hour with mom a day. This entire time their grain ration will go up as time with mom goes down. By the end of that eight week they will be ready to go to new homes and will be on a good diet of hay, alfalfa pellets and a little grain.

Some photos of Jolie's kids at a week old!:

Firelight Ranch TH Poppet

This is the doeling. She is very elegant! You can't see the levelness of her topline in the first photo, but I wasn't going for any good conformation shots this time around. I love the little speckles around her right eye.

Viking. He is already reserved as a wether. He looks odd in the first photo because he is lifting his left hind leg. He is such a ham and a sweetheart. He was dis-budded today and was a bit resentful I think.

I have been having a lice problem since I brought my new doe home from California. I don't know if she brought them with her or what, but I know goat herds get them from time to time. I kept spraying everyone (and everything) with Permectrin II as per the dilution instructions, but it just wasn't happening. So I decided to just fill a bottle with half water and half pesticide and those little buggers just dropped off my goats. I even used it on the newborns and it didn't negatively effect them, though I was worried even with many reassurances that it was safe. I'm very pleased with the stuff ad long as you use plenty. I'm so happy they are bug free!

The first show of the year will be here in only two weeks! I am freaking out a bit because that is Mother's Day weekend, and I am a florist. I'm planning on getting all my deliveries done Monday through Friday and being closed on Saturday. So hopefully I won't be too run down the morning of the show. My boys are still being little brats about leading and setting up, so I am going to work with them hard every night for the next two weeks so that we are good and ready to go in the ring. Gizmo is still a midget. I hope he isn't too much smaller than the others in his age group. Here is to some great placings!

HORSES:

I believe I mentioned that I sold Romeo. If not, I sold Romeo. It's been probably a month now. I miss him. If I knew he was in a good home I'd be at peace with the decision. Its not that I think he went to a bad place, the people seemed knowledgeable and in love with him....I just haven't heard from them or gotten any updates. I've been lucky with my other "baby". He is a grey Arabian gelding with a really cool "blood marking" on his face.

This is a photo of him at his new owner's place awhile ago. It's been several years since I sold him. The woman still owns him and loves him to death. She swears she would never part with him for the world. There is always the possibility that she will have to sell him, but she truly loves my baby to death. Shahn was one of the horses I was very attached to, and I cried when I put him on the semi truck to send him to California. I'm so fortunate I can keep tabs on him and see photos of him as he goes through life.

I wish with all my heart that I could have kept in touch with the people who bought my first horse. I was seven when I got him, and he wasn't even two. He was a light dun pinto with a black and white mane and a big spot on his neck. He also had appaloosa spots on his rump. I learned to ride on a green, skittish horse. I got dumped every way imaginable, ran off with, drug, rolled on, bucked off....all with that horse. And more! But I had him until he was eleven and he was dead broke by that point. The people who bought him belonged to my 4H club, and the girl was my friend. But her mom was insane and decided that everyone in our club was "evil" after we told some dirty jokes at county fair and forbid her to speak to me. That horse was always easily fat when I owned him, but they nearly starved the poor thing and I have no idea what became of him.

Tequila, was a bay Morab I had for six or so years. That horse was like a puppy. He would do absolutely anything you asked him to. He had the biggest heart and the biggest try. He knew when little kids and beginners were riding him and babied them. If you started slipping he stopped immediately. He tried big jumps for me even though he was scared. He swam in irrigation ditches, slid down mountains and could bow, count and say yes. I could ride him bride-less and bareback over jumps. I am still convinced there will never be a better horse. I sold him to a little girl when I decided to show registered Arabians. She sold him shortly after when she lost interest and I have no idea to whom. I heard someone bought him and put him out to pasture the rest of his days, but I don't know if that is true. I wish I knew.

I've had a lot of horses, dozens and dozens, but those three are the only ones I was very, very attached to. I was also attached to Romeo. I had him for over two years, since he was just a fresh weanling. I broke him and we spent a lot of time together. He is a ham and a doll who has nothing but love for people. He has never been given a reason to fear humans and he put all his faith in me. He was stubborn and lazy at times, but he always listened to me. I will have to see if I can't convince the buyers to send me some photographs.

Calypso is due in as early as two weeks! She is on day 303, which gives her seventeen days until the lowest average of 320 days. Although I have seen plenty of maidens who go from day 315. She started bagging up quite early, so I figured she would be closer to the 320 rather than the later average of 340. Today she looked liked she had dropped some, one side of her croup area is starting to get mushy, her udders are tighter than ever, and she is losing muscle and resistance in her tail. Her vulva hasn't lengthened and the lining is still a normal pink, so I'm sure she'll hold out at least another couple of weeks, but I'm expecting a foal sooner rather than later. But guessing with horses is foolish. They are much more difficult than goats. Goats are easy in comparison if you know how to feel for ligs correctly.

-Calypso Last Summer-

Above is a photo of Calypso's babby daddy when he was at our place a couple of summers ago. He is homozygous, so I am excited for a little tobiano foal. He is a red dun. Calypso is a bay roan. I would love a bay dun or a roan foal.

Things Happening Way Too Fast!

Well, that is partially my fault. :) I have gone from two reservations this year to four for starters. I initially had a reservation with Bellafire Farms and one with Cammana. I still have those reservations, but have added two more from Camanna as well. Beyond that, my first choice doe from my initial reservation with her farm is bred to a different buck than in my previous post. She is bred to Dill's D Lucky Image, who can be found two posts back from this one. He is currently one of my favorite bucks being used by the farm along with Monet. I changed my second choices as well, but they are not finalized. My second reservation is a pretty gold and white doe bred to the same buck (Dill):

Camanna CS Ambrosia Gold

TX Twincreeks AB Cresendo x Suagar Pine MW Amaretto Cream

This photo really doesn't do her justice. She is just beautiful, and I love her color. Nabbing a kid that is a carbon copy of her in color and markings would be amazing.

Again, second choices haven't been finalized, but Arabesque is out of the mix. I'm focusing on does bred to Monet, found two posts back on this blog.

I am also possibly purchasing this doe, bred to a black and white buck with tons of moon spots:

Camanna ZH Say Your Prayers

Old Mountain Farm Zagnut Haze x Mountain Quest AE Molasses

The photo of her udder is her first freshening, and I have to say I'm impressed. First time udders are generally much less capacious. She is overall a nice doe and I am excited to potentially purchase her. The buck she would be bred to is Poppy Patch WL Moondoggie, a very long bodied little guy with nice udders behind him. She may be bred soon, but I may have to wait until late summer or early fall. She herself has some moon spots, and I am excited to be able to add more of these neat markings to my herd.

Sherry is definitely pregnant. I felt kicks today and she is starting to form an udder. Still unsure on her due date, although I am not guessing sometime in May. I think she probably has an entire month to go, but it is really difficult to say. I am so very excited that she is indeed expecting! Here is to at least one boy and one girl, because I have decided I will definitely be keeping a doe and a buck kid from her if she provides me with the opportunity.

Pearl kidded in late February with triplet bucks. Unfortunately, one was stillborn. He looked under-developed, with shrunken little eyes. He came first and I am certain he was the kid I felt sitting on her rumen. He was so evident up there that I am feeling he probably got head butted by one of the other does and killed in the womb. Unfortunate. I put her kids on bottles and sold her a couple of weeks after kidding. She was a more coarse type of doe and I was not very impressed with her udder this year. It was rather small while still well shaped. I have one of her daughters who retained all of her good properties while being improved on where her dam had weakness by the sire. One of her buck kids was sold on the bottle, the other succumbed to what I believe was Floppy Kid Syndrome. Both he and his brother were being fed the same exact way, and his brother was just fine. Yet he collapsed one morning. He bounced back with supportive therapy to completely normal behavior to simply crash again and die. The vet out here was absolutely no help. He just shrugged and told me he had no clue how to deal with sick goats. It is so frustrating to be on our own medically! I have enough medicine to start my own pharmacy!

-Poor little Louis about a week before he passed.-

The remaining buck kid is doing great with his new owner and will be coming back to see me in May to get castrated.

Dakota also kidded, the last few days of March with quadruplets. One was so very, very tiny. She couldn't breathe correctly and died quickly after finally managing to latch on to mom and take her first drinks. I think she aspirated the milk. The remaining kids are vibrant and healthy, two does and one buck kid. The buck is already reserved as a wether along with one of the does. I am retaining the littlest girl. She has such a dainty face, she almost looks like a little alien. She is a carbon copy of her sire as far as coloring. I can't see a thing wrong with her, she is just that perfect. I will have to take some new photos of her now that she is completely unfolded and sure on her feet.

1 Day Old

3 Days Old

I already sent in her registration forms. Her pending name is Firelight Ranch Lady in the Water.

Her sister is pending as Firelight Ranch Compass Rose.

1 Day Old

3 Days Old

I have been calling the little boy Tramp. He would make a great buck, he is looking very handsome but he will also make a great little pet.

And yesterday morning, Jolie kidded as well. She had a very smooth birth with twins. One buck and one doe. I'm really lucking out on does so far, besides the first birth. I really want at least one girl from each of my next two kiddings. Poit is enormous, so hopefully she has enough in there to give me a good chance of girls. I am so nervous about her kids though. I was warned by her breeders that her first kids were unhealthy and died. I am relying on a hunch that she was simply malnourished as were her kids, but I don't know how I will deal with it if she produces a bunch of dead or sickly little kids. Sherry supposedly produces quads every single year, so we shall see how that goes.

Firelight Ranch TH Poppet

Jolie's Doe

1 Day Old

Viking

Jolie's Buck

1 Day Old

It has been so long since I updated this blog that I have had three kiddings! Poit and Sherry are my last two, if Poit is indeed expecting. If not, she is morbidly obese and needs a serious diet. Her tummy is so tight, I can't feel for kids in there at all, and she isn't forming an udder yet. Her pooch is very tiny but looks suspiciously bred. I have never had so much trouble determining pregnancy in a goat, so it is a wait and watch game. My mare is due very soon as well and Mother's Day is the first week of next month (and I'm a florist, it is like D Day) so May should be a sleepless month for me.

I've calculated my doe count for 2012 after I count all my current animals as well as the doeling I retained from Dakota and my reservations. 10. If Sherry and Poit give me girls and I keep one from each I will have 12. Although if Poit gives me crooked legs on hers or sickly babies, she will be sold as a pet, and that will keep me at 10 should I retain a doe from Sherry. With my two bucks plus a potential from Sherry as well that puts me at 12-15 goats! I think I will keep Tomahawk if he does well at the Megabucks show in a few weeks. I plan to take him to one in Red Bluff in May as well and see how he ranks. I should at least see how a couple of his daughter's udders turn out before I decided to sell him. I'm quite impressed with his kid's so far. I have only seen the toeing out on one kid.