Post by Laura G in Idaho on Mar 8, 2005 15:20:45 GMT -5
No, I'm not dead. And no, I haven't fallen off the edge of the earth. I've been outside so much lately because of the beautiful weather we've been having here in Idaho. Beautiful, but extremely dry (we are in a major drought and expecting a big fire season, nasty hot summer, and insects are going to be really bad!).
Hope, the 2 1/2 yr old Dexter cow, is being rebred this afternoon. Let's hope she takes and stays that way this time.
Yesterday evening, Sunny, one of my 5 yr old Saanen goats, gave birth to two lovely does. We are naming them Violet and Rose. All went well and they are doing just fine. I milked Sunny out this morning because her teats were so effaced that her babies couldn't get a good latch on them. She gave about 3/4 gallon colostrum, WOW!
Windy, the other 5 yr old Saanen, has not given birth yet, and she looks so small, I keep wondering if she is pregnant or not.
Thunder, my yearling Saanen buck, is in the paper to be sold. I am buying a new buckling this year... Durango is his name. I'll pick him up after payday (so I can pay for him!) on the 15th. Thunder's mother had a small, pendulous udder, but he was registered, and I was desperate to find a buck for my girls, so I bought him. This year, I have been able to find a buckling whose mother has an excellent, well-attached udder, and his half-sister and aunt do as well! And Durango is registered, too, so I'm really doing a lot better this year.
The three pigs were slaughtered on Friday. I'm having my butcher do some of my hams and bacons nitrite-free so I can try it. I think I'll like it, because I don't really care what color the meat is. I just want it to taste good. I had a mobile slaughterer come out and do it... there were two men and they were here and gone in less than an hour. The pigs didn't know what was coming when they were shot, and there was absolutely no stress to them at all. I liked the humane way in which they were killed. It seems the best way to do things, if you can.
My boys are doing 4-H this year for the first time. Alexander, 9, is going to show one of our doelings. Matthew, nearly 7, is going to show one of our chickens. I'm happy that they are going to have this experience. My only worry is that I'm due with a baby right around fair time. I have two friends who are also doing 4-H with their children who said they would help me with transporting children and animals when the time comes. Let's hope it all works out... lol.
So, that's what's new here. Time to put the peas in the garden... actually, I should have done that a while ago. One thing at a time!
~Laura
Hope, the 2 1/2 yr old Dexter cow, is being rebred this afternoon. Let's hope she takes and stays that way this time.
Yesterday evening, Sunny, one of my 5 yr old Saanen goats, gave birth to two lovely does. We are naming them Violet and Rose. All went well and they are doing just fine. I milked Sunny out this morning because her teats were so effaced that her babies couldn't get a good latch on them. She gave about 3/4 gallon colostrum, WOW!
Windy, the other 5 yr old Saanen, has not given birth yet, and she looks so small, I keep wondering if she is pregnant or not.
Thunder, my yearling Saanen buck, is in the paper to be sold. I am buying a new buckling this year... Durango is his name. I'll pick him up after payday (so I can pay for him!) on the 15th. Thunder's mother had a small, pendulous udder, but he was registered, and I was desperate to find a buck for my girls, so I bought him. This year, I have been able to find a buckling whose mother has an excellent, well-attached udder, and his half-sister and aunt do as well! And Durango is registered, too, so I'm really doing a lot better this year.
The three pigs were slaughtered on Friday. I'm having my butcher do some of my hams and bacons nitrite-free so I can try it. I think I'll like it, because I don't really care what color the meat is. I just want it to taste good. I had a mobile slaughterer come out and do it... there were two men and they were here and gone in less than an hour. The pigs didn't know what was coming when they were shot, and there was absolutely no stress to them at all. I liked the humane way in which they were killed. It seems the best way to do things, if you can.
My boys are doing 4-H this year for the first time. Alexander, 9, is going to show one of our doelings. Matthew, nearly 7, is going to show one of our chickens. I'm happy that they are going to have this experience. My only worry is that I'm due with a baby right around fair time. I have two friends who are also doing 4-H with their children who said they would help me with transporting children and animals when the time comes. Let's hope it all works out... lol.
So, that's what's new here. Time to put the peas in the garden... actually, I should have done that a while ago. One thing at a time!
~Laura