The kids are coming!

I spent the weekend preparing the maternity ward for my mamas-to-be. Patty is only about a week and a half from her due date and Holly should be right behind her in line. Besides cleaning, I had repairs to make. Before they went to their new home, my pygmy billies tore the shed up pretty good while they were occupying those stalls. The exterior wall of the two stalls became their target when only one of the two felt like sparring. Sigh... good thing I had some extra lap siding in the barn to replace the damaged wall. The goat shed was built (as a garden shed) by the previous owner and thankfully he was a "waste not, want not" minded person like myself. The extra siding has been in the barn since I moved here ten years ago. I'm SOOO glad I held on to it!

I had a visitor stop by to meet Patty goat the other day. He'd heard through a mutual friend that I had goats and he happens to be looking for a pair of kids to purchase for his grandchildren. He liked Patty and how tiny she is, and put his claim tag on her babies (or baby) before it's even arrived. It's a good feeling to know they have a home waiting for them that's as excited as I am about their arrival.

Patty goat

Do you think Holly wonders if she has to kid with this company?

Llama learning

I stumbled upon a fun website last night while surfing for llama grooming information. It's called 'Llama Journal' and it's a social networking site for Llama and Alpaca enthusiasts. It looks like it might be a lot of fun if other folks are using it regularly!


Visit Llamas And Alpacas

 My llama Fluffy, is extremely soft and well... fluffy. But whoever had him before me didn't take care of his lovely locks. He's a matted MESS and I've been aching to groom him. I've heard that llamas despise being groomed however, and I want to have a little education before I dive into the project. I'm afraid I'll end up having to shear most of his fiber off, but it would be nice if I could save it. It's soooo long. There was no history available when I bought Fluffy and llamas are something new for me, but I believe he's a Suri Llama. He's an intact male who's age has yet to be ascertained. He is mature though and is very well behaved. I believe he must have been someone's show animal at some point because he's very well trained and seems quite used to being handled.

I'll take photos as I go along and eventually I'll share a step by step account of taming Fluffy's hairdo! Whether it be picking and brushing, blowing, washing or shearing!

Just another day...

I got a text from Makarov's new family yesterday. They said he's settling in and they're all getting along. They put a saddle on him and he did really good. I was glad to hear it. It's been a long time since anyone played with him, he's probably loving the attention!

As for my remaining ponies/horses... they're having a slumber party tonight! My neighbor called this evening and said she was down the hill at one of our other neighbor's farms. One of their ponies was out on the road, a pony that they got from me. Naughty boy! Neither of us had current phone numbers for the folks who own the farm and no one was down there. The fence was damaged but we couldn't get the pony to go back in where he belonged... so I brought him up the hill with me and put him in one of my stalls. He's hanging out with my own little escape artist who's currently jailed in the neighboring stall.

I did finally get a hold of the owners and they'll be back tomorrow to fix the fence and bring their boy back home. Fun stuff... just another day.

Changes

One less pony.
Today was bittersweet. A pony I bred and raised who's lived here for ten years, went to a new home this morning. It's always sad to see one go even if it's to a good home. Makarov is the sweetest little horse and is off to a new life as a little girl's companion. I hope she has as much fun and as many memories with him as I had with my first horse. I do hope his new family will let me know how he's fitting in and how he's doing.

Mak (left) with his buddies Toby, Mesa and Melina.

Goat addiction begets goat additions!
 I love our new buck Aidan and am trying to find just the right ladies for him. I'm very excited about the prospect of adding some Kiko/Boer cross goats to my little herd and have been put on a waiting list for some new kids this spring. Kikos are supposed to be good mothers with excellent parasite resistance and the Boer blood adds bulk. Should be fun to see what we get!

Industrial Goat Herding

Heather's girls from last Spring turned out to be pretty little things. Mette is jet black and Titan is black but marked like an Alpine. We found a home for them last year but it fell through... and I'm SO glad. I just love these two girls. They're very sweet and both will be big enough to breed to the new buck, Aidan.

Industrial goat herding?

Back to blogging!

I haven't blogged in nearly a YEAR but am determined to get started again. Real life pulled me away from the farm and sent me to work full time. I enjoy my job, but the hours are long and the work is physical. When I get home I do chores and little else. I WILL get back to my projects!!

Once again, we're expecting kids in the next couple months. This time, the pregnancies were planned. I found new homes for my Pygmy bucks and Holly's twins from last year, then bought a young Boar cross buck to use. Holly is carrying his first babies which are due in a couple months. Patty is also expecting but her babies are Pygmy kids. Last Spring, Heather had twin girls we named Mette and Titan. I'm planning to breed them to the new buck as well. I need to get pictures of them to post here. All black and mostly black, they're very pretty.

We also brought home a new critter recently... our first llama! He's a lovely creme colored boy with orange polka dots like a leopard Appaloosa. We were only kidding when we said we'd name a llama 'Fluffy' if we ever got one, but the idea had already stuck by the time we found him and got him home. So Fluffy it is. He's very good natured and quite tame. Most llamas won't endure being fondled, but he tolerates our petting and cooing. We believe he must have been someone's show animal because he's so tolerant and well trained. We don't pester him too much though, since we know he's truly only tolerating us... he doesn't enjoy the attention.

That's it for now but I'll be back soon with pictures and more droning. Like it or not. LOL

The kids are here! The kids are here!

Patty naps with little Lena

Too much FUN! Having purchased kids at weaning only, I've never had babies this tiny and adorable before. Patty gave me a surprise introduction to keeping itty bitty adorable kids. She had hers before Holly, who we were expecting to go first. Patty's doeling was only 8 inches tall at birth. She looked too tiny to function, but function she does! She's every bit as boisterous and happy as any kid I've ever seen. She appears to be naturally polled too, how lucky. We named her Thumbalina, Lena for short.

 Next came Holly's twins. She had a big sturdy buckling and a small dainty doeling. They seem to be opposites in every way! He's mostly black, she's mostly white. He's a wild child and in your face, she's reserved and a little bit shy. He's big, she's small. He had horn buds, she's naturally polled. I'm sure as they grow I'll find more. lol

Rigby and Mordy drying under the lamp.

 All three of the kids have already been claimed by the first people to lay eyes on them. Lena went to the vet to be disbudded and one of the techs there decided she had to have her as a friend for her lonely LaMancha wether. That's when we realized that she didn't need disbudding!

The twins were claimed by their first visitor when they were only two days old. Our neighbor Rachael, just fell in love with the buckling and his antics. Turns out that her boyfriend wants a doe. Perfect! Brother and sister get to stay together! Since Rachael put her claim tag on them so early, she got to name them. The little doeling is Rigby and brother is Mordecai.

Mordy wasn't lucky enough to be polled so he had a quick trip to the vet to get disbudded and castrated. We do things with as little insult as possible here, so he was anesthetized for the procedure and given an injection for pain before he awoke. Once he was fully conscious he was up and running and you would never have guessed he'd had anything done. I know there are plenty of folks who would have just put him in 'the box' for the disbudding and simply banded him instead of castrating. But it's horrific to see how much pain it causes them and for how long they have to endure it. Banding may be cheap and accepted... but I don't think it's kind.

So... back to the fun stuff. PICTURES! I've included a handful below. I just can't get enough of these babies. Check back soon, I'm sure I'll have more posted before long.

 

 

Lena, barely a handful at birth.

 

Cell phone for size reference.

Lena meets Graham!

Trying to master climbing. It took her a few tries.

Sweet Patty, such a good mama.

The new kids next door!