Updates WAY Past Due!

I haven't updated in all eternity! I was a bit depressed about my farm for several weeks, and didn't feel like doing much more than taking care of my animals. Sadly, we lost Narf in June. She squeezed through the fencing into our neighbor's yard and ate something poisonous. She was literally nearly two times the size of the holes in the fencing, but managed to wriggle through like an octopus. She had diarrhea when I brought her back over, but I'd been having problems with that and figured it was the rich grass she was on. She was happy and active, so I gave her some Pepto and put her up in a dry pen. She was fine the next two days, and then went downhill almost instantly. I found her collapsed one evening, and we lost her within twenty minutes, too quickly to get help for her. I loved that little girl dearly and she will be missed. I then went and bought a truckload of chicken wire and put it up on the fence, so none of the kids can shimmy through the panels. R.I.P Narf. :( I am hoping to acquire a gold/white doeling next year out of some Piddlin Acres lines if I can find one. Apothecary Inn doesn't plan to breed next year, but if they do I am first in line for a kid from Narf's dam, whom I adore. If I am able to name the kid, I want to call her Lady in the Water in memory of Narf. If I can not get a doeling I want, I might keep a doe from my buckling, Tomahawk and give her that name.

In happier news, my last doe gave birth July 26th at about 1 A.M. She gave me two healthy buck kids. I got a nice buckling out of Pearl, but really wanted one out of Dakota. She gave me an insanely splashy little chamoise buck. He is gorgeous and absolutely perfect. I'm not sure on a registered name, but I'm calling him Gizmo. The second buckling is a carbon copy of mom. I planned to wether him, but he was very slow to "unfold." Now that he has, he is an extremely correct and elegant little guy who would make a stunning herd sire. We call him Gomer. While Gizmo was active and energetic right out of the womb, Gomer was very slow. He didn't have a suckle reflex at all, and after an hour of trying to help him nurse I tube fed him as much colostrum as I could. He was standing fine but seemed to have troubles walking, but by morning he was nursing like a normal baby. He had a bit of a crooked front leg, and he hobbled unsteadily for several days, all hunched up with his head down. I made sure he wasn't constipated, and at about five days old he suddenly transformed.

-Gizmo, One Day Old-

He looks amazing now that he is a couple of weeks old and a bit bigger and much stronger. I will post new photos in the next week.

-Gomer, One Day Old-

Again, he is much nicer looking now. AND, I lucked out again with blue eyes on both of these guys! Unfortunately, Gomer injured his leg at a week old. We are not sure how, but we moved them into a different paddock until I can figure out where he cut himself. A flap of skin over his rear left leg was completely ripped off, down to the bone. I almost wonder if our cat attacked him. He was very tiny, and our cat is very big. It really looks like something grabbed him, but in the ten plus years I've lived in that house we have never had any predators, no matter how small, in our field. And he was up at the top in and around the barn. I was very worried, particularly that the tendon may have been damaged. But only a week later he is finally running and jumping on it like a normal kid. It is firmly wrapped up so that the tissue remains still and clean. I have a ton of medical supplies and a giant pile of gauze and vet wrap. I am very grateful that I keep my veterinary kit well stocked. It seems that if something can go wrong around here, it will.

In any case, I'm going with a Gremlin theme for these two, and am thinking "Mogwai at Mignight" for Gomer. In the movie, the cute little Gizmo is called a Mogwai. In Chinese culture, however, a Mogwai is a human type spirit. It casts no shadow, and wears unhemmed clothing. It can not see humans properly. We appear to it as a red light. Apparently they can breed, and reproduce in the rain. From what I can tell, they are mischievous spirits, but not actually malicious. The people pay them now and then to leave them alone. I thought the actual history of the term was interesting. Gomer is black, which helps with the midnight part of his name. That, and it just seems to me that midnight would be an appropriate time to run into a spirit, and that it would also be the freakiest time. I also thought about "Russian Rhapsody." Its the title of a Bugs Bunny cartoon featuring Gremlins that try to sabotage Hitler's bomber. For Gizmo, I have a ton of different ideas, but none seem to fit. I thought of something as simple as Gremlin's Gizmo, but that seems a little corny. I also thought of "Gremlin in the Gears" or "Gremlin For Hire", since Gremlins are traditionally little imp-like creatures that climb into machinery and break it. I have awhile to decide.

I will leave you with new photos of Pearl's kids, now over two months old. Dutch, the buckling (with less white), is for sale. I am retaining Jolie, the doeling.

-Tualatin Acres Flying Dutchman "Dutch"-

-Tualatin Acres Jolie Rouge "Jolie"-

Escape Artists

Well, anyone who owns goats eventually realizes that the entire species are the animal equivalent of a bunch of little Houdinis running amok. I found Narf in our neighbor's yard this morning. She had managed to climb through the larger holes in the fencing way up above her head. This is the second time she has done this. I guess I need to go and buy some more chicken wire, or she needs to grow faster! She is the only one who does it. And because she had possibly spent the entire night grazing on his lush lawn, she has diarrhea again. She went straight to the big pen I recently built and have been rotating my little pests through. Le sigh. Every time you think you have a great pen or fence built, that is escape proof, one of them proves you wrong.

Doll went to her new home today. I'm not sure how long it has been since the new owner gave me her initial deposit. Quite some time I believe. I didn't mind. She made a great companion for my buckling, who is struggling with being a buck. He isn't even remotely bucky at four months. My week old buck, Dutch, is already acting like a raging ball of hormones. I'm not super concerned, but was glad to have a chance to allow him to socialize with some girls. I have him in with my last pregnant doe, since he obviously can not accidentally get her pregnant at this point. Doll's new owner wanted her bred, so I turned her out with him, knowing there was little chance he would do a thing based on his behavior. He is simply still a baby. I generally don't like to "run" a buck with girls because if a breeding does occur you don't know a due date. However, they were only out together two weeks and I checked her every day for signs of heat.

She started coming in today, when her new mom came to get her. I just told her I'd give her a buzz when Tomahawk is ready. He needs more time to mature. Even if he was super bucky at this point, he is still awfully short to be breeding a full grown doe successfully. My last buck, Dante, didn't start attempting to breed does until 9-10 months old, according to the breeder.

Not much else to say. I've moved Pearl and her kids outside with Val and Narf in that big pen so they can stretch their legs and start socializing. Narf and Val are still small, and Pearl isn't overly protective and allows them to sniff and investigate her babies. Romeo, my Appendix Quarter Horse gelding had his first ride a few days ago. We just walked around and around in circles. No turns or stops. I don't want to throw too much at him at once. Step by little step, and easy and slow. Some people think its cruel to start a two year old these days. I think it is fine as long as the horse is mature enough, you aren't too heavy for it's size, and you don't do anything overly stressful with them. From what vet's have told me, its not the joints on a two year old you really have to worry about..but their backs getting sore and having that spiral into chronic back pain into their adult lives. Which can result in lameness when the horse steps wrong because its isn't moving properly, etc. Time to go and do homework.

Disbudding Experiences - Paste

Both of my new kids were disbudded yesterday. The buck already had pretty large buds pushing up. The doe's were definitely smaller, but you could easily see and feel them. I shaved their heads and decided I was going to give Dr. Naylors Disbudding Paste a chance. All the goat people I asked said, "No no, don't use it!" When I asked them why, they generally said that they had never used it themselves, but thought it sounded cruel. Some said they had heard it leaves scurs frequently. I heard from one or two people that they used it on a regular basis, and that if done properly it was extremely effective and it was less bothersome to the kids than burning with an iron. Still others felt it was too dangerous, due to the fact that if it got into their eyes it could blind them. Here are my experiences with it, since its hard to find any reviews of using paste from goat people. If you look for information concerning cattle you'll find a ton of cattle people use it, and very effectively.

I didn't don gloves because I forgot to buy some, and decided to be very careful. Perhaps that was stupid, because I did get a small smudge on my hand, but I wasn't burned. People act like the stuff is molten lava, but it takes a few minutes to start burning I think. I left it sit on my skin for about two minutes before simply splashing a little vinegar on my hand, then rinsing with water. I felt a slight tinge, like I had rubbed a jalapeno on my skin, but it didn't damage my hand or hurt. As soon as the vinegar hit, the sensation halted immediately.

Continuing the tale of my experience, I used a popcicle stick to to apply a thin layer to the button, and in a cirlce about the size of a penny around the button. I didn't make it so thin it was transparent. I wanted to make sure I had enough to do an effective job. I made sure it was thick enough that you could see the orange color throughout, but no thicker than I needed it. I then duct taped a "helmet" on their heads. I put tape over the buttons and under the chin, then I attached tape to that which went around behind the ears...kind of criss-crossed to be very secure. We then allowed them to frolick around the barn while we watched them carefully and started a countdown. I let the stuff sit for the full thirty minutes and checked their heads. It didn't seem like long enough, although it had burned all the hair off the spots. We left it on for a full hour on the buck, and about 45 minutes on the girl. They didn't seem to be in any pain, although they shook their heads a little at first. It seemed more from having the duct tape all over their heads, however. After a few minutes they went about exploring the heck out of the barn. It was not stressful for them and they were fine. The stuff isn't runny, so it isn't hard to keep it out of the eyes as long as you make the duct tape bandages for them.

We rinsed thoroughly with vinegar by holding them upside down, with their legs in the air. Then we followed with water and repeated twice. We had to use an icky throw away cloth to completely rub off all the goop. The result was very white skin, they way your skin looks if you stick your finger on a burner. About an hour later it was very pink. Today it was blood red, but there was no actual blood. It was very clean, and they went right back to playing and nursing when we put them back from mom. The vinegar wash neutralized the acid very well and mom has no marks on her udders from leftover chemicals. Now to see if scurs form. The thing is, I currently have two I bought from other breeders who have scurs. They were burned with irons. In fact, Pearl has a scur, although it is very tiny. Tomahawk seems to be growing pretty significant ones, but I'm hoping they stop where they are. It just proves that you can mess up with any method, and that even if you don't mess up scurs can still manage to show up. I'll update on if they have any horn growth in the future or not, but it is looking super promising. I think some people may put the paste on the buds only and neglect the ring of skin around the button, where the horn actually grows. Missing that will net you horn growth.

I have decided on names for both of my new kids. Both will need Tualatin Acres placed in front of their names, as they were the farm who bred the doe. I certainly don't mind. I really like the place, and they have gorgeous animals. The woman showed me some young kids the day I picked up my does, as well as a gorgeous and immensely spacious black doe who had just kidded and sold with her babies. If I had more room and money I would have been sorely tempted to buy both her and a few of the kids. Alas, I do not, but am very happy with Pearl and Dakota. More than happy, actually. I'm near ecstatic about Pearl's amazing udder and the gorgeous kids she gave me. Now I just need the service memo from the ranch so that I can have the babies registered. I've sent a couple of emails over the last week, but no response. If I don't hear back by next weekend I'll be trying to track down a phone number.

In any case, back to the naming of Pearl's kids. I decided that the buckling will be Tualatin Acres Flying Dutchman, and the doeling will be Tualatin Acres Jolie Rouge (Pronounced shjolie roushe..at least the best way I can explain the pronunciation.) Mom's name is Black Pearl, which makes me think she was named after the cursed ship in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. The Flying Dutchman is Davy Jones ships in the 2nd and 3rd films. Jolie Rouge means "Pretty Red" in French. Originally, pirate flags were red, to signify the bloodshed that would occur should ships refuse to surrender. The French called them "Pretty Red", being a little sarcastic I suppose. No one knows where Jolly Roger came from, which is what you call a pirate flag now, but I imagine it came from the British or other cultures slaughtering the French "Jolie Rouge." I just though it was perfect for her. Piratey, in relation to her mom's name...but beautiful and feminine. Pretty and dangerous at the same time, and with some great history. I am calling them "Dutch" and "Jolie" for short. No one else says Jolie right. They make a hard J sound, when it has a French flair at the beginning, a kind of shhh...

I also finished building a second pen today. I was really happy to get it done. My buck pen is out of commission until I go find an appropriate roll of chicken wire-type mesh to secure over the panels. Tomahawk is just too small, and can wiggle through the holes. So, I've been having to rotate him every couple of days with the two young girls I don't want bred. They take turns in the dog kennel, but I feel bad because it is small and I don't like to use it for more than a kidding pen or a quarantine for sick animals. So, I finished a bigger pen next to my barn with ample room to play and lean-to for shade. Not that he is being bucky in the least, but although he might not be mentally capable he is physically. You never know when it might click. I have him out with my last pregnant doe and a doe I sold that is waiting to be picked up. The new owner requested if I could leave her out with the buck in the off chance he might breed her. I doubt he will, but it teaches him social skills with the ladies.

I was petting him today, and I felt an odd lump. I thought tick at first, and parted his fur to investigate. I saw something bronze and shiney, so I picked it out of his side, where it was partially buried. It was a BB pellet! Someone had shot my goat! I was furious. I knew exactly who did it as well. We have had some new neighbors within the last few months. They bought the house next door, and promptly let some weird guy rent their garage. Or maybe its the wife's brother, I don't know. In any case, he is a backwoods redneck. He gives nice rednecks a bad name. I had a little trouble keeping my goats from getting in their field for a few weeks, and he took to shooting a shotgun up in the air when they crossed the line. I was scared he would kill them. I got an electric line up that kept them out, and they haven't been in their field for over six months. I was pissed anyways. Although they shouldn't be in his field, he could have came and talked to me about it rather than go for a gun. That, and half the time I didn't know they were getting over because they would come back before I saw them.

Well, I had my buck in the dog kennel and he was throwing a noisy fit. Apparently he got irritated and decided shooting it with a BB gun was appropriate. I went over and asked him if he knew who had done it, to which he played dumb. There is no other neighbor anywhere close, and our field is very closed in and far from any roads. It was him, no doubt. I informed him that I was almost finished with the new pen, that if the goat irritated him he needed to discuss it with me like a normal human being, and that I would be watching him. If I found another pellet in any of my animals or witnessed him shooting at my goats I would call the police immediately. He just tried to look retarded. Or maybe he is. I don't know. But there is no excuse for that kind of behavior. Tomahawk wasn't hurt in anyway, and it was no more than a scratch..I think the pellet was more stuck in his fur than anything.. But that is still unacceptable. Sorry for ranting, I am just still very angry. I won't be using the dog kennel again any time soon, but I want to I don't think I should feel like I shouldn't for fear my animals might be shot at! Maybe I should shoot his damn dog next time it scales the fence into our field and starts chasing my poor goaties. Not that I ever would hurt it, unless it actually was in the process of viciously attacking something. Le sigh. Why couldn't we get civilized neighbors?

New Babies!

Pearl kidded last night at 9:30 p.m. I have been checking my pregnant girl's ligaments in the morning and night when I go to the barn to feed. I had noticed that Pearl's were feeling pretty loose the night before, but they were still fairly easy to feel and I didn't want to separate her from the herd prematurely. I checked her first thing the next morning, and they were still faintly there. She was eating and acting normal. At 1 p.m. I went in to check her again, and her ligaments were complete gone. Her udder had also tightened considerably.

I put her in the kidding stall and checked her constantly throughout the day. She didn't seem to be terribly uncomfortable at all. She stood in her pen bleating very softly and looking at her tummy on occasion. I finally saw contractions at about 7:30, but she didn't seem to be in allot of pain or distress. She started pushing a little at 9:30, standing up, and after a few minutes she went down and got to work. It only took about 15 minutes for both kids to be born. They were lively and up within another 15 minutes and were nursing almost immediately. I was extremely happy to have zero complications with the birth, and strong kids! I've already spent plenty of time nursing failing kids through the night this year, and pulling very stuck babies! A smooth delivery was great, and earned Pearl a "keeper" star. I was super impressed by her body capacity, width of her rear stance, and elegant head and neck from day one. The stunning udder this girl filled along with her ease of kidding has cemented her a place on my mini farm. I'm glad I sold off my grade does, particularly Witch. She had several flaws, which resulted in the horrendous time I had with her triplets this spring. Without further ado, some photos of the new arrivals:

Pearl's buckling and first born of the two. (Above and Below)

It is nearly impossible to get a newborn into a stance that properly shows conformation, but I think this is a pretty decent photo. It does make his neck look a little shorter and coarse than it is because he kept wanting to look at me. However, I think he would make a nice buck prospect. I really wanted a quality buckling out of this doe, because I need a second one and she is so amazing all around. However, I also got this stunning doe out of her that I just can't see myself parting with:

How flashy! She is also a little more level out the rump than this, but she was just preparing to scrunch up due to my approaching dog. She is extremely uphill, very feminine and elegant....great rear leg angulation. Just stunning. I really don't need to keep a doe and a buckling from the same kidding, however. I really have to make my mind up on this one. I might just take them both to a show in July and see if that helps me make up my mind after getting input from three or four judges.

I also seem to have gotten the scouring in my two doelings under control. Scour Halt did the trick, and keeping them out of the alfalfa seems to be keeping it at bay. Of course my buckling started scouring after all of that, due to my husband throwing alfalfa to the goats (because he has selective hearing and didn't listen to me tell him not to.) Now that I know the cause, I started him on a two day treatment of the Scour Halt. I need to wash his little white bum however. White goats.....Why did I get a nearly pure white goat?

I am CUTE and I know it!

Scour Nightmare!

I just can't shake this episode of scours that my doe kids are having. Both Val and Narf had liquid diarrhea a couple of days ago, after some success with the Pepto Bismol. I obviously can not continue giving them Pepto constantly, especially if the problem is deeper than rich feed. I separated them from food for 24 hours to see if it helped. It seemed to somewhat, but still no real pellets. So now I'm treating them with Scour-Halt to see if that does me any good. It treats for E. Coli. Le sigh. Next option will be to send poo samples to a vet. Problem is, vets around here look at goats like someone might look at a Rubix cube. They don't know what to do with them.

I am, however, excited to say that Tomahawk's legs are improving. He has been out in the field on an off with the pregnant girls, learning to socialize with women without the risk of knocking anything up I don't want bred at the moment. In the short time I have had him, they seem to have straightened up considerably. The photo I have of him as a very young kid showed very straight legs from behind. I'm guessing they were somewhat weak due to being penned up constantly. I'm not sure how he was being raised, but its a good explanation. I got my ADGA handbook finally, and was reading a section in which it pointed out that some bucks can have weak legs simply because of the fact they were raised in small areas with a lack of exercise. This can cause them to tilt in or out or look crooked. He certainly has had plenty of room to roam, and I can definitely see a change. Its extremely encouraging, and his hocks have gone from moderate to slight. I think I'll start hand-walking him a few times a week up and down the road for some additional leg strengthening, to see if that helps him. He is still young enough that he is certainly developing, and I think any weaknesses caused by confinement and lack of strength can still be helped.

No photos today. I'll have new ones of Narf up soon, as I took a photo shoot of her last week. I also clipped Pearl today, and plan to take more photos soon. Still no new kids. I think that Pearl might really hold out until June after all, based on her development. :)

My First Show Experience!

I would have posted sooner, but I have been both busy and exhausted all weekend. I got up at 6 a.m. on Saturday. Check-in was supposed to be between 6-8, with the show starting at 9. Well, I happened to have a floral order for that day for a funeral, and I couldn't deliver it before 7. I had made it the day before, so I rushed about getting properly dressed for the show, digging out my dog chains, etc. I got the arrangement at the church at 15 minutes past 7 and rushed towards Grants Pass. I arrived about fifteen minutes past 8, worrying I was too late to check-in. The woman told me not to fret, that they were allowing check-in all the way up to 9. I wish I would have known that sooner, but was relieved at the same time. It was very laid back. I'm used to horse shows, which are a little more stressful. At a horse show, its gets very political, and people are all trying to look better or more professional than everyone else. You catch a lot of flack if you don't be pretty professional about how you do things, and that includes the judge's impressions of you.

I almost felt silly worrying about my clothes. You are supposed to wear all white, but I had to settle for clean blue jeans and a nice white shirt with a collar. I figured I had half of my attire correct. Only two competitors were wearing all white, and most of the people were showing in frumpy jackets and ragged jeans. About a third of the exhibitors hadn't clipped their animals. I immediately felt more relaxed. I quickly discovered my little buckling hadn't been clipped, or worked with as far as walking and posing goes. I think he would have done much better if he was clipped, so that the hairy ridge on his back, and the mass of fur between his rear legs didn't distort his build. Also, he was nearly the worst behaved at the show when we went into the class, hunching down into a ball most of the time despite my best efforts. Unfortunately, this makes it nearly impossible for a judge to see how his built. In the one class where he finally decided to relax a little and stood up well, he got a second place ribbon. He got fourth in the other two classes. I couldn't even get his legs out in those two. He insisted on shoving them as far up under himself as he could, and ducking his head down in his own personal imitation of a turtle.

-The ONLY class where he didn't try and curl up in a ball. I think he was trying to watch something the entire class. Ignore my big ole butt. -

In any case, I am going to take him to at least one more show this summer. More if I can find any reasonably close with buck classes. So far I've only found one, the rest are does only. I am also going to be taking Narf, Dakota, and Pearl to some shows. I don't know who will go to what. It all depends on when the give birth. I don't want to take a doe on the verge of kidding to a show, and I'm not sure on the exact due dates as the previous owner had them in with the buck for four months (apparently.)

Here are photos of Tomahawk, all clipped up and posed. His hocks do turn in somewhat when viewed from behind, and he could do with stronger rear pasterns, but I like his build overall, and his breeder claims that his sire's kids always gain more length of body as they mature.

His rump looks a little steeper in the second photo as his rear legs need to be set out further. However, I really love a super level rump, and feel like he could use a little work there. That being said, his dad's rump is the same and he got allot of compliments from the judges at the show regardless. They didn't seem to mind that his rump wasn't perfectly level. I have to rotate him between the dog kennel in the field (I have a huge kennel I use as a pen), and indoor pen in the barn until he gets older. He is still too small for the buck paddock. He just squeezes through the squares in the panels. Little turd. I am still hoping for a quality buckling from one of my new girls, so he'll have a constant companion. At least his two pens are right next to common hang out areas for the girls, so he is always surrounded by other goats, he just can't touch them.

Val has some icky diarrhea. I'm not sure what is going on. I treated her for Cocci, but that didn't seem to do anything. Its green, rather than blackish or bloody...so I'm thinking its not Cocci anyways. I wormed her again, just in case. I've also been giving her Probios to help her system. I'm going to try some Pepto-Bismol. I think it might seriously just be that her diet is too rich. She has access to lush spring grass AND alfalfa. The alfalfa is actually for my pregnant does, but the kids can get to it with some effort. I need to separate the pregnant goats while they eat so the others can't get any, and I shouldn't have that problem anymore. I'll simply finish the additional pen I am working on. Its in the planning stages, but once Mother's Day week is done I should have the time to build it.

Pre-Show Jitters

I use to have pre-show jitters when I showed horses. I know I shouldn't be super nervous about my first goat show, but I am a little wary. I showed lambs for two years, and I showed a Pygmy once at a county fair. I remember it being pretty laid back and simple, but I'm afraid of making a fool of myself by doing something completely stupid. I need to dress in white, although its going to have to be blue jeans and a white shirt, because thats what I have. I at least have some nice chain collars to use. I need to be there between 6-8 a.m. Oh joy. Ha ha. If all goes well, Tomahawk will get some nice marks, as long as I don't mess things up for the poor guy. If nothing else, I get some show experience, so does he, and I get to finally bring him home!

Poor little Narf and Val seem to have some sort of issue going on. They both have some pretty nasty diarrhea. I started treating them for Cocci immediately, and I put them up in one of the pens so they can't eat any rich alfalfa or spring-time grass right now. Narfs "output" seems to have tightened up already. She seemed a little uncomfortable and bloated looking, although she was still nibbling at grass. So I sat with her and rubbed and patted her belly for a good half hour. She burped a little and seemed to relax. She didn't look overly bloated, and I'm not sure if she WAS at all...but I felt better about taking the precaution. When I put her back in her pen, she sprang to life and started crying and leaping off of the walls. I'm sure she'll be just fine. I get over paranoid about the health of my goats. :) Better safe than sorry. Thats my motto anymore. Val didn't seem uncomfortable or bloated at all. She just had the diarrhea. If the Cocci treatment doesn't help, I'll worm them again and see what that does for them. It might simply be the rich diet they are on. I might need to start penning the pregnant girls at night so the young ladies don't get to share their food with them. I don't need fat little cows with runny poo. Its not healthy for them.