A New Year, A New Farm!

We finally found our dream rental in November, after having searched for an entire year. We began to move in the 1st of December. It is a roomy little house on five wooded acres. There are clear spaces where little meadows flourish and it is very private. We have spent the month moving things and getting acclimated to our place. For January, our goal is to fence areas for our horses and our goats! We are extremely excited about being able to move our small herd up to this slice of heaven. It is far superior to their current location. Because there is no fencing in place at our new rental, I had to take all of our animals to my dad's place. He has a small piece of acerage with a large run in shelter. There is a small seperate pen with a lean-to that I am keeping my bucks in. All of the does can go inside to be warm and dry, and I put up some panels that they can go under to get away from the horses. However, my dad's property does not drain at all, and the field is a muddy disaster. I also am unable to seperate anyone efficiently for any reason and feeding everyone so that no one gets bullied out of food or steals grain from one another is quite difficult at this point.

I have also collected an enormous pile of pallets and tin roofing material from which I plan to construct several small goat houses. I plan to have three or four roomy pens with a goat house in each one, then put up two or three does in each pen at night and during feedings, then open the gates during the day to allow them to roam their field. Our new house also has a deck on the front and back of the house, and I am making a portable kidding pen to sit on the back porch. All night kid-watch will be much easier if I can simply open the back door and check on a laboring doe once every 30-60 minutes. I'll have plenty of lighting available and any supplies I need available directly through the kitchen door.

All of my does are now bred, except for Banshee. She is simply still too small. She has honestly doubled in size at this point, which is amazing. She looks stunning, and reminds me of an ugly duckling morphing into an elegant swan. I plan to show her as a dry yearling. If she gains enough size, I would love to shoot for a Jr. Championship and earn a leg with her. I definitely think she has the potential. She has already gained a great amount of length. I am floored by her progress. She has a ton of capacity, a very wide stance and large little teats for her age.

She did come down with some sort of respiratory infection this last week. She had runny eyes, and although she ran up to the fence when I came to the barn and gobbled up her grain, she retreated to a corner by herself afterwards and only nibbled at her hay. I decided to take her temperature because she was acting a bit abnormal and had those goopy eyes. She had a fever of 105-106 (my thermometer was being a little strange.) I gave her some LA200 for a few days and a baby aspirin to bring down her fever, and she is back to her loving, perky self. I am going to see if I can find any of the pasturella vaccine at the Grange. I checked for it at Big R but they didn't have any. I have heard a lot of controversy about the vaccine, that it is a waste of money, that it is a miracle, etc. The thing that turned me was the positive things some breeders I respect had to say about their year on the vaccine opposed to their years without it, and they report that they are now pneumonia free. I reason that it isn't too spendy, and the worst that happens is that it doesn't really work. However, I find that preventative actions are a lot less spendy and heart breaking than attempting to deal with diseases when they crop up. Especially something that can be as sneaky as pneumonia and take your animals down without notice.

I don't have any more photos at this point, but I plan to take some over the next week so I have fluffy winter pictures. I also decided to sell Val. I may wait until she kids, but I also may simply sell her bred if I have anyone who is interested. It is time that I switch over to all registered stock if I am going to be as serious as I want to be about my program. I have a doeling reserved out of one of Camanna's does that is due in August. My first choice is Camanna CS Sweet Harmony (TX Twin Creeks AB Cresendo x Mountain Quest Cinammon Swirl). She can be seen here: [Harmony]

She is out of Black Pearl's grand-dam, and I am trying to diversify my herd a little more...However, I have always really adored this doe. She is very long bodied, has that elegant look I am really looking for in my animals, and is so very dairy and angular. And boy is she flashy. I would love to get a clone of her in terms of color. She is bred to an absolutely amazing buck, an instant favorite as soon as I saw a photo of him. He has gorgeously correct legs, a problem area I see in a lot of Nigerian bucks. He is very long and uphill and you can see how correct and conformationally gorgeous he is even under all the thick fur in his pictures (which is usually very hard to do on a lot of animals.) I am also floored by his pedigree, I just love it and could really use those lines in my herd. He is Dill's D Lucky's Image, and can be seen here: [Lucky] He is the second buck down.

My second choice is Camanna TC Arabesque. I am not looking to add too much to my herd during kidding or show season, so I was looking for anything she had due in the summer. That and she already has a lot of reservations for the does I really liked due in the spring. I already (hopefully) have a doe kid coming from Bellafire Farm during the spring. I will know what my options are when the two does I am interested in from their farm are ultrasounded in January. That way we at least know how many kids are cooking and can see if there is a chance to get on a waiting list. The owner wants to retain a doe kid from my first choice, who is a first freshener. So if she is carrying a single I am out of luck and go with my second choice, hoping that she doesn't decide to retain anything from her if she only has one female. In any case, Arabesque is by Pecan Hollow SF Texas Crusader and out of Camanna CS Acapella. She is very long bodied, correct, with great legs and a nice topline. I love her coloring as well and her breeder commented that her sire's mammary systems have been very impressive so far. I would love to see her bred to Lucky as well, but will be happy with whatever the breeder chooses. She definitely has more experience than I do and an eye for what crosses well. She also noted she would like to see more leg angulation on both Arabesque and Lucky, so I am guessing she won't breed two animals she feels has the same issues. If I were able to choose which buck she were to be bred to, and it is not to be Lucky...I would love Flamin Fiasco, who is by Red & Blue Paisano. I know that wouldn't add diversity to my herd because I have two breeding animals by him, but I was very impressed by his get. I am also fond of Moondoggie from Poppy Patch. I could use more moon spots!

I am almost, most definitely purchasing a kid from Bellafire Farm, but she asked that I hold off on my deposit until she has them ultrasounded. My first choice is Pholia Farm HB Macy Marie. She is by GCH Piddlin Acres Hit the Bullseye +B and out of Pholia Farm RA Mirage 5*M. I always love Piddlin Acres and Pholia Farms animals, and she has a lot of Jobi in there, which is a line I'd love to have as well. She can be seen here: [Macy] She is the third doe down. She is a beautifully light buckskin with blue eyes. If she only has a single doe, my second choice is Poppy Patch PB Peggy Sue, who I really like. She is by NC Promiseland PAL Playboy *B and out of Poppy Patch FM Daisy Mae. Definitely wouldn't mind some more PromisedLand in my herd. Tomhawk's grand-sire is PL I believe. Peggy Sue can be seen here: [Peggy] She is the third down.

Progress!

We are seeing progress with the new girls. Banshee already seems to have grown a bit, which really excites me. When she arrived, she seemed hunched up. Her front end appeared shrunken, and was both smaller and shorter than her rear end. She almost looked like a big tick! Her front end seems to have grown in the short time she has been here. I started her on Purina Goat Chow, and she gets a good portion every night. I have seen both her and Poit scarfing down minerals like crazy, so I am hoping that some of their deficiencies may be reversing. I have been giving them a vitamin gel once a week, with A/E/D & B12.

I still need to get some Copasure so that I can bolus them. I have been looking at their tails, and I think they show signs of being a bit deficient. They don't have obvious chunks missing from their tails, but I think I can see a little of a "fish tail" look to them. My other goats have much more full looking tails. I also need to get some selenium gel to give to Poit. If I give her the recommended dosage once a month, I highly doubt I will be over-doing it. I think I have seem some improvement in her way of moving, but her legs don't seem any less crooked, and I may be imagining an improvement. She has been getting grain as well.

I will have to post photos soon, but I haven't had time to do anything with the goats beyond their daily maintenance and some teasing. It took me awhile to finish the cocci treatment for Poit and Banshee, and I will be worming them with Valbazen tomorrow to be double sure about any worms. Dakota turned out to not be bred to Tomahawk, so I took her to visit the last two days of October. If she is pregnant this time around, I may just think of some Halloween themed names for her kids. I haven't seen Pearl go into heat again at all since she was bred in the first week of October, so I am feeling good about her being settled. I am going to be breeding Jolie this month, and possibly Val if Gizmo is up to it. Jolie may not be as old as I would breed most kids, but she is enormous. She is nearly as tall as her dam. I am crossing my fingers that she doesn't go over height, because I would love to show her, but I am feeling more and more as if that is a hollow wish. At this point I can only hope that she was simply fast to mature, and her growth will slow dramatically. I delivered her full brother, Dutch, to his new home this weekend. He wasn't nearly as enormous as his sister, so I am sure his new owners will have no issues with his height. I am excited about his new home!

The herd keeps growing!

I am very excited to say that we purchased two new does this month. Apothecary Farms Poit and Apothecary Farms Banshee Wail. Poit is by Pholia Farm KM Goliath *B, who is a stunning buck. I absolutely adore him. Both of her grand-dams have their milking stars, and both of her grand-sires are +B. Her dam's sire is AGS Rosasharn SS Aquarius, who is another drool worthy buck that I greatly admire. Besides Pholia Farms and Rosasharn stock, she also has Kaapio Acres in her immediate pedigree.

Unfortunately, something went wrong with her as a kid. She seems to have some sort of deficiency (my thoughts are selenium or Vit. E). She is severely cow-hocked and lost her first kid with Apothecary Farm to white muscle disease. I have heard of deficiencies happen in an otherwise healthy and well managed herd. Sometimes things that happen with goats are a complete mystery. The breeder's vet advised them not to allow her to produce kids again. However, he also told them to worm with Safeguard, which I personally believe (as do many other breeders) has serious resistance issues and is non-effective. Many experienced breeders have suggested several therapies to bring her up to breeding shape and to reverse some of the structural issues in her legs. Looking at her parents, grand-parents and overall pedigree, they all agree that her legs are either a fluke or a result of management issues (I am not saying Apothecary Farms is at fault. Not at all! They take great care of their animals. Things simply happen sometimes.) I doubt I can straighten them out enough to show her, she is two years old and they have been that crooked since she was only a kid. However, if I am correct, she shouldn't pass the fault on to her kids. I just have to make sure her babies don't succumb to a selenium deficiency.

*Click to see a larger image.*

She has great rear angulaton despite her issues. She is a little pot-bellied. I am going to start exercising her this week to cut back on that extra fat and help strengthen her legs. I don't want to cut out the grain I have started her on, as I feel she is nutritionally unbalanced and it can go a long way to help her with that. She has amazing length of body (she would appear longer if she wasn't so chubby.) I also wormed her with Ivermectin because I don't believe in the effectiveness of Safeguard nor herbal de-wormers (which they also used.) I am worming her with Valbazen tomorrow to make sure I catch any tapeworms, and am going to repeat the treatment for two more cycles to get any unhatched eggs. She has amazing width and capacity, an upright stance with sharp shoulders and a beautiful neck. If she wasn't curling her tail you could see how level she is out her rump. She was starting at the dogs on the other side of the fence. She isn't a fan.

Banshee Wail:

*Click for larger image*

Banshee has the most adorable face. We ended up with both of these girls because I contacted Jillian (from Apothecary Inn), and asked if she had any doelings for sale that were related to Narf. We really wanted a replacement with similar genetics. We ended up with two new girls, and Banshee is a near clone of her half-sister. She is out of a different dam, and by the same sire. It seems to me like he stamps all his kids with the same small stature and identical little faces. She also has an identical personality. It made me tear up a little, remembering poor little Narf, but I am also extremely happy for it. She seems a little stunted for a nearly 9 month old doeling. Her front end is especially short and shrunken compared to her rear end. Granted that her sire's line is very slow maturing, but I think she also may have some deficiencies. It makes me wonder about the soil and hay in the area where she came from. There are so many variables out of a breeder's control.

I am hoping she will bloom for me. I put her on Purina Goat Chow and am giving her monthly doses of Vit A/E/D/B12 gel (along with Poit), to ensure she is getting the proper nutrition for her growth. She also seemed like she was turning in a little behind as well, but her feet were quite over-grown. After a good trim she was standing very straight. If her front end catches up with her hind end, and she gains some length, she should make a nice little doe. I am particularly excited about her milking abilities. Her lines are great milking lines, and I definitely need to focus a little more on udders. I have been focusing more on general appearance and conformation. I think crossing her on my extremely correct and long Gizmo in the future should give me some excellent kids. I also have Purina Goat Minerals available free choice for all of them. I have seen everyone but Banshee using them, so I sprinkle some on her grain to ensure she is getting enough. I don't worry about her eating too much, because if she gets enough on her grain she won't consume the free choice. I also have a cattle salt mineral lick available with added selenium that the goats use a little bit.

In other news, I sold Gomer as a wether to a woman who was building up a mini farm and was very excited. She had an older milking doe to keep him company. Dutch was just spoken for by Liz of North Fork Nigerians, the farm I purchased Tomahawk from. I am very excited about his new home. I am glad to know he will get to be used on some very nice animals. I am hoping some of his kids will end up in the show pen! I know North Fork sells quite a few kids to showing homes. I haul him up to Sutherlin next Friday.

Dakota and Pearl are both bred for March kids. Dakota was bred on October 3 (as mentioned in my previous entry), and I had Tomahawk cover Pearl a couple of days later. I will be using him on Jolie next month for April kids. I know that she will only be six months old. Most people wait until seven or eight months at the least. However, Jolie is enormous. I believe that the most important is physical maturity, not age. She is plenty large enough to be bred and carry kids. She will be nearly a year old when her kids are born, and I expect her to be the size of her dam by then. I am nervous that she is going to go over-height and I won't be able to show her. Which would be a shame, because I think she could do fantastic in the show pen.

I won't be breeding Poit until late December, that way she has two full months to bring up her nutrition. I will be giving her some selenium gel a couple of weeks before breeding as well. I probably won't breed Banshee until February or March considering her size. I also don't think Gizmo will be ready to cover any does until then, and I really would like to use him on her and my one grade doe, Val (who I would be breeding at the same time.) So as the plan stands, I will be having two does due in March, one in April, one in May and two in July or August. At least that spaces things out for me a bit. It means I can't show Banshee's kids and it will be awhile before I can breed them should I retain any. However, I plan to show Banshee as a dry yearling in the early stages of her pregnancy.

Horny Goats...

I still wonder at how disgustingly horny goats are at times. When a woman remarks on how disgusting men can be, I point towards the goat species. I have yet to see a creature that has more disgusting habits. They pee on their faces, drink their pee (and the pee of other males), hump just about anything regardless of species or sex, paw and basically molest the females, and "waggle" their tongues at them like weird sex perverts.

This is all leading up to the fact that Tomahawk escaped tonight. I went down to give him and Dutch some fresh water in the buck paddock. I turned my back on for once second to pet Dutch, forgot to latch the gate, and he shoved it open. He didn't just saunter out, he took off like a bullet all the way to the top of the field. I shut the gate and ran after him. The does were in the corral at the top. The goats can go right under the panels. I have to stop at the gate to open it. When I got to the gate he was sniffing Dakota, who decided to be in strong heat today. He hopped on and started going to town. He was literally up there for maybe two seconds before I swung the gate right into him and he dismounted. However, he might have still managed to breed her. She hunched up after the dismount, there was fluid, and he may have thrust his head back (a good sign of a successful cover.) Sooooo, Dakota may be bred for March. I wanted to wait until December or January to breed her, since she just had kids in July. However, it may not be in the cards. At least I know Tomahawk isn't disintersted in covering females.

All the babies are growing so big. I have someone interested in Gomer as a buckling. I was planning on wethering him this week, but promised to hold off until she gets a chance to see him. I am still torn about wethering Dutch. I have had no interest in him as a buckling. However, he is so nice... The problem is that I only have four does right now. I have two for each of my bucks, at least that is my plan. I don't have any does for him to cover. If I keep him a buck, I would show him next spring and have him produce a few babies to show he is a proven buck with some show experience. However, I would have to convince some doe owners to breed to him to allow that to happen. If I wether him, it needs to be now, before he is too big. I am still conflicted....

Here are some new photos of Gomer and Gizmo. I think I said it before, but I am keeping Gizmo as my second herd sire. I am breeding his mom, Dakota, to Tomahawk for next spring. I want to get a doeling from her. Then I want to trade her for a doe with bloodlines that are different from all of my stock. I have too many related goats right now.

Click these to see the full photos....

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?