We picked up the goat babies this morning... all went well... we brought them home in the back of the van inside Pixie's dog crate. They both fit in there just fine. I put a thick layer of straw down and they were quiet and laid down almost the whole time we were in the car! They were so good in the car that we actually stopped and went through the McDonalds drive thru to get lunch on the way by! Bet not many goats can say they've done that! :)
They liked the dog crate so well it was actually a challenge to get them out... we ended up having to carry the dog box through the gate and took the top off... and then still had to kinda force them out. We washed out the dog box (it had goat poop and pee in it!) and now its back up where it belongs and Pixie is relieved.
We hung out with the goats for a while when we got home. First I sat in the shelter with hay in my lap while they gobbled it up. Then after my legs fell asleep, I finally got up and we sat in chairs for a while. At first, they didn't want to have much to do with us... but then their curiosity got the best of them and they came over to be scratched and petted.
Bert (the brown and white one, who is the bigger and bolder of the two) actually leapt up onto Shawn's lap to explore him... apparently according to a "goat lady" on the internet, that's quite a goat compliment.
We worked out how to temporarily fasten a gate to their shelter so they can be locked up at night... I figure its maybe safer for them to be in their shelter than wandering around the dog kennel / goat nursery at night... at least in the beginning.
While we were working on fastening the gate, they were being very "helpful" and interested in what we were doing. They jump up and put their front feet on you to get a better look.
Every time we left the goat nursery, they would stand at the fence and call for us to come back.... mostly it was Ernie... he's the mostly brown one and he's very talkative... he even grunts while eating. He got quite demanding and pitiful... almost screaming at us and demanding our return... but we've been in the house now for about an hour and that's died down finally.
We took the dogs out once and over in that direction and nothing horrible happened, but the goats are terrified of the dogs and the dogs are WAY too interested in the goats. I imagine that will improve slightly, but we'll never be able to trust them together... instinct is hard to fight.. for both of them.
I keep looking out the window like every 2 minutes to see if they are ok... and they seem to be. My guy hay brought hay and straw yesterday, 20 hay and 10 straw and there's plenty of room to store it in the little white building. (We cleaned it all out first!) I could probably store 50 - 60 bales total in there, if I needed to. The hay he brought is gorgeous... horse hay really.... lovely green, sweet smelling 2nd cut... and they goats think its awesome! Really too good for goats! *shrug*
We built their shelter yesterday, from start to mostly finish (minus painting). We ended up building it in two pieces... each are 4 feet wide, 4 feet long and 4 feet tall. They then push together to make a 4 ft x 8 ft hut with a door cut into one of the long sides. I have pics that I will post later. It turned out well... and we're very glad we made it in 2 pieces, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to move it when we were done.
Yesterday was cold and rainy all day (off and on) and windy and we built the shelter under the tarped building, which worked out well. Once the 2 pieces were built, we then just rolled them to where we wanted them... didn't even have to carry them which was nice. We were both feeling sick yesterday and hanging out building in the cold, the wind and rain didn't leave us a lot of strength to carry heavy stuff by the end... we were really dragging.
We also got the dog kennel / goat nursery moved last night, but not reassembled. It was getting dark and we were DONE... so we did the assembly this morning... only took about 20 minutes.
We also went to look at a donkey yesterday... and it was a nice enough donkey... but for lack of a better way to describe it, it wasn't OUR donkey. So we'll keep looking... no big rush. I'll know our donkey when I see it.
I've got some pics to upload and they should be up in the Four Horse Haven album by later this evening... tomorrow morning at the latest.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
Still Sick, But Got Lots Done
Just wanted to start this post with a big Happy Birthday to Kyle! Hope its been a great day!
Shawn and I are still sick... I feel slightly better than I did yesterday, but still crummy.
In spite of that, I still got lots done today... I read the TSC flyer first thing this morning and this week they have steel t bar posts on sale! So off to Arnprior to pick up 30 t bars. (Clearly, that won't be enough, but its a start and they were plenty heavy given the way I felt. Guess what is on MY Christmas list this year!!)
While at TSC, I also bought two little goat sized black rubber feed pans and a small black rubber water bucket. I have larger of both those things, but they are really draft horse sized.... a goat could sleep in the rubber feed pan I have. My bigger water buckets will become more useful as they grow, but for now, they can have something reasonably sized that they should be able to reach.
Then I went to the feed store in Kinburn and inquired about hay and straw.... they don't sell it, but one of their employees does.... so I made arrangements for him to bring me 20 bales of hay and 10 bales of straw tomorrow evening. He happened to have 4 bales of hay with him on his truck, so I got to see it... its beautiful 2nd cut.... really more appropriate for horses than goats, but it was handy and easy to arrange. I may look elsewhere for more in the future as this is a bit pricey also... though, really, how much hay are the little buggers gonna be eating for a while anyhow? I'll be surprised if I use more than a bale a week in the beginning.
Last night we picked up all the wood we need to make a shelter... we will work on that tomorrow... we would've started tonight, but we both felt crappy and we only have about an hour before dark now, which SUCKS! Plus, we had to clean out the white building where the lawn mower used to live, as that will temporarily be my hay and straw storage area. It's cleaned up now and will do temporarily... I hope it'll hold 30 bales. Nothing like not really being prepared to bring the animals home, eh? (We really didn't expect to pick them up so soon... we figured near the end of the month... but the seller seems to be getting antsy to have them gone.)
So tomorrow, we have to move the chainlink dog fence, as the goats are going to stay in that temporarily, til the rest of the fencing goes up and they have someone to look out for them. Chainlink will be harder for predators to get through... at least that's my hope. Then we'll slap the shelter together and put it inside the chainlink area. I'm going to add a gate to the opening of the shelter and then the goats can be locked up in there at night also. That's the plan, anyhow, who knows how it'll actually work??
They just seem so little to be fending for themselves and they are used to having mom's protection as well as llamas and sheep in the same area. I keep thinking that I should bring 'em in the house and put them in dog crates overnight ;) Maybe when it gets really cold. haha
Anyhow, that's it for now... time to rest so tomorrow we can finish up our goat prep. Oh and we're going to see about a donkey tomorrow afternoon... I almost forgot!!
Oh and we put on the furnace tonight... it was 61 F in the house and there might be frost tonight... it was getting awful chilly. It seems to work, but I wouldn't say its a real workhorse... similar to the air conditioning (not surprisingly) the heat trickles out... but its better than NO heat... we've lived THAT before!!!
Shawn and I are still sick... I feel slightly better than I did yesterday, but still crummy.
In spite of that, I still got lots done today... I read the TSC flyer first thing this morning and this week they have steel t bar posts on sale! So off to Arnprior to pick up 30 t bars. (Clearly, that won't be enough, but its a start and they were plenty heavy given the way I felt. Guess what is on MY Christmas list this year!!)
While at TSC, I also bought two little goat sized black rubber feed pans and a small black rubber water bucket. I have larger of both those things, but they are really draft horse sized.... a goat could sleep in the rubber feed pan I have. My bigger water buckets will become more useful as they grow, but for now, they can have something reasonably sized that they should be able to reach.
Then I went to the feed store in Kinburn and inquired about hay and straw.... they don't sell it, but one of their employees does.... so I made arrangements for him to bring me 20 bales of hay and 10 bales of straw tomorrow evening. He happened to have 4 bales of hay with him on his truck, so I got to see it... its beautiful 2nd cut.... really more appropriate for horses than goats, but it was handy and easy to arrange. I may look elsewhere for more in the future as this is a bit pricey also... though, really, how much hay are the little buggers gonna be eating for a while anyhow? I'll be surprised if I use more than a bale a week in the beginning.
Last night we picked up all the wood we need to make a shelter... we will work on that tomorrow... we would've started tonight, but we both felt crappy and we only have about an hour before dark now, which SUCKS! Plus, we had to clean out the white building where the lawn mower used to live, as that will temporarily be my hay and straw storage area. It's cleaned up now and will do temporarily... I hope it'll hold 30 bales. Nothing like not really being prepared to bring the animals home, eh? (We really didn't expect to pick them up so soon... we figured near the end of the month... but the seller seems to be getting antsy to have them gone.)
So tomorrow, we have to move the chainlink dog fence, as the goats are going to stay in that temporarily, til the rest of the fencing goes up and they have someone to look out for them. Chainlink will be harder for predators to get through... at least that's my hope. Then we'll slap the shelter together and put it inside the chainlink area. I'm going to add a gate to the opening of the shelter and then the goats can be locked up in there at night also. That's the plan, anyhow, who knows how it'll actually work??
They just seem so little to be fending for themselves and they are used to having mom's protection as well as llamas and sheep in the same area. I keep thinking that I should bring 'em in the house and put them in dog crates overnight ;) Maybe when it gets really cold. haha
Anyhow, that's it for now... time to rest so tomorrow we can finish up our goat prep. Oh and we're going to see about a donkey tomorrow afternoon... I almost forgot!!
Oh and we put on the furnace tonight... it was 61 F in the house and there might be frost tonight... it was getting awful chilly. It seems to work, but I wouldn't say its a real workhorse... similar to the air conditioning (not surprisingly) the heat trickles out... but its better than NO heat... we've lived THAT before!!!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Surprised, Shocked & A Bit Horrified
I forgot to mention the Ontario election results.... I am personally rather surprised, shocked and a bit horrified to find out that the majority of the people living in Ontario that chose to vote, think Dalton McGuinty is doing a good enough job to have another majority government.
I am pleased to see the referendum results though, that people voted against the new MMP system... or maybe they actually voted for the current system... either way, I'm glad the new MMP system won't be happening. On the surface, it seemed to have many pros... but after reading and thinking about it more, there were a bunch of things that seemed kinda creepy to me. Or at least had big potential to be creepy.
Obviously, we voted last night... was a bit of an adventure, being as we weren't on the voter's list in this district. I had attempted to fix that by calling Elections Ontario weeks ago, but they told me it was easier to do it on voting day... yeah easier for that person on the phone right then!!
Not surprising in our riding, the conservative candidate was re elected.... after reading the interviews with each candidate in the local paper, he seemed to be the lesser of the evils... who knows though? I know the liberal candidate in this riding really creeped me out... young, female lawyer with ideas that mostly seemed to benefit the urban dwellers in the riding.... don't people know that Canadian politicians HAVE to be old guys that look like they are about to die??? Its a Canadian tradition ;)
Oh well... it never seems to matter who you vote for... in the end, they are all creepy and do bad things... lie, cheat, steal... another Canadian political tradition!
I am pleased to see the referendum results though, that people voted against the new MMP system... or maybe they actually voted for the current system... either way, I'm glad the new MMP system won't be happening. On the surface, it seemed to have many pros... but after reading and thinking about it more, there were a bunch of things that seemed kinda creepy to me. Or at least had big potential to be creepy.
Obviously, we voted last night... was a bit of an adventure, being as we weren't on the voter's list in this district. I had attempted to fix that by calling Elections Ontario weeks ago, but they told me it was easier to do it on voting day... yeah easier for that person on the phone right then!!
Not surprising in our riding, the conservative candidate was re elected.... after reading the interviews with each candidate in the local paper, he seemed to be the lesser of the evils... who knows though? I know the liberal candidate in this riding really creeped me out... young, female lawyer with ideas that mostly seemed to benefit the urban dwellers in the riding.... don't people know that Canadian politicians HAVE to be old guys that look like they are about to die??? Its a Canadian tradition ;)
Oh well... it never seems to matter who you vote for... in the end, they are all creepy and do bad things... lie, cheat, steal... another Canadian political tradition!
Cold, Damp & Miserable
That pretty much sums it up around here right now. Shawn and I are both sick... not horribly, but enough to make everything a huge effort... like eating... showering... that sort of thing. Super fun.
Its cold and rainy around here and its starting to get to be time to turn on the furnace, I think. We've had our little electric heater that looks like a fireplace on the last few evenings while we've watched tv and that does a nice job of heating up the living room... the heat does go upstairs some, but I've not been leaving it on long enough for it to really make a big difference upstairs yet.
Our goats are supposed to come home Sunday morning... we still have quite a bit of prep to do... after work tonight we'll stop and pick up the wood we need to slap a little shelter together for them... nothing fancy... and small enough that the two little guys will have a chance of keeping themselves warm in it... too big and they'll never warm it up. Wont take long to slap it together, we have a plan... and its very simple.
I still have to get some hay, straw and shavings... I only need small amounts right now, so I'll just find somewhere to pick it up myself in the van... that'll be fine for now.
All sorts of things that need doing, but before I can actually get to them, I need to lay down for a few minutes and stop the friggen coughing that keeps causing my shoulder / collarbone to pop out. The common sound around here is *cough, cough, SWEAR, cough*... pretty classy, I am ;)
Its cold and rainy around here and its starting to get to be time to turn on the furnace, I think. We've had our little electric heater that looks like a fireplace on the last few evenings while we've watched tv and that does a nice job of heating up the living room... the heat does go upstairs some, but I've not been leaving it on long enough for it to really make a big difference upstairs yet.
Our goats are supposed to come home Sunday morning... we still have quite a bit of prep to do... after work tonight we'll stop and pick up the wood we need to slap a little shelter together for them... nothing fancy... and small enough that the two little guys will have a chance of keeping themselves warm in it... too big and they'll never warm it up. Wont take long to slap it together, we have a plan... and its very simple.
I still have to get some hay, straw and shavings... I only need small amounts right now, so I'll just find somewhere to pick it up myself in the van... that'll be fine for now.
All sorts of things that need doing, but before I can actually get to them, I need to lay down for a few minutes and stop the friggen coughing that keeps causing my shoulder / collarbone to pop out. The common sound around here is *cough, cough, SWEAR, cough*... pretty classy, I am ;)
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving... (a little late)
We had a lovely weekend around here, even if the weather didn't cooperate and stay as nice as it had been all last week.
It was so nice to see Jess, Kyle and my parents again! It seemed like a very short visit, but it always does... we managed to eat well enough that we didn't starve to death ;) Mom and Dad bought us the Super Scrabble game (more letters, more spaces, more scoring) and we fit a couple games in this weekend... the real contest was between Daddy and Shawn, the rest of us were just along for the ride, I think! :)
We celebrated my parents anniversary, Kyle's birthday and mine too. Thanks to all for the lovely gifts... they were all thoughtful and very appreciated.
Thanks to Mom and Dad for #1, making the big drive and #2, making the big drive with Jess and Kyle... having them chauffeured by someone other than me was really appreciated!! You guys are awesome :)
Shawn and I both love when everyone comes and our house fills with love and laughter, it feels so empty when y'all go home. Thanks for coming to visit.. it was so nice to see everyone again!!
*Livestock update*... I think our baby goats will be coming home this weekend... they are eating really well and seem to be ready to go... I think we'll pick them up Sunday. On Saturday, we're going to another place not far from where our baby goats are to see about a donkey... we'll see how that works out!
It was so nice to see Jess, Kyle and my parents again! It seemed like a very short visit, but it always does... we managed to eat well enough that we didn't starve to death ;) Mom and Dad bought us the Super Scrabble game (more letters, more spaces, more scoring) and we fit a couple games in this weekend... the real contest was between Daddy and Shawn, the rest of us were just along for the ride, I think! :)
We celebrated my parents anniversary, Kyle's birthday and mine too. Thanks to all for the lovely gifts... they were all thoughtful and very appreciated.
Thanks to Mom and Dad for #1, making the big drive and #2, making the big drive with Jess and Kyle... having them chauffeured by someone other than me was really appreciated!! You guys are awesome :)
Shawn and I both love when everyone comes and our house fills with love and laughter, it feels so empty when y'all go home. Thanks for coming to visit.. it was so nice to see everyone again!!
*Livestock update*... I think our baby goats will be coming home this weekend... they are eating really well and seem to be ready to go... I think we'll pick them up Sunday. On Saturday, we're going to another place not far from where our baby goats are to see about a donkey... we'll see how that works out!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Short Update
Monday night we got the machine shed doors installed... they look ok... they'll look way better when the rest of the building gets painted, of course.
Last night, we cleaned up all the tools from that job and moved some of the machinery into its new shed... it fits really nice... such an improvement!! I have pics, but I haven't offloaded them yet, I'll post when I get that done.
We also decided that the footing in the tarped building needs to be deeper. Partly, we didn't make it as deep as we first planned... then it settled quite a bit with watering... now I noticed there's a few weeds growing through the landscape fabric and through the footing... so we'll have to move some more stonedust... not a huge deal and I'm glad the first stuff had a chance to really settle... it'll make it pack tighter... I still may need a compactor for that footing, especially if we make it deeper, but that's not a big deal, you just rent 'em.
Other than that, I'm starting to make preparations for the weekend... my parents, Jess and Kyle are coming for a few days... I'm so happy they are all willing to make the trip here... it'll be so nice to see them all again!! Yay :)
Not much else going on... I need to pick up some fence posts and get started on that, but I think it might have to wait til next week.... we'll see what time I get!
Shawn's head seems to be healing... nothing points to it being infected yet, so that's good! The puddle of glue seems to be shrinking and now instead of being flat, its got some jagged points and stuff... seems like that might mean the whole would is tightening up underneath... I hope so. You can't see the actual wound anymore, the glue is now white and not see through. But I keep checking it a couple times a day, just in case!
That's it for now!
Last night, we cleaned up all the tools from that job and moved some of the machinery into its new shed... it fits really nice... such an improvement!! I have pics, but I haven't offloaded them yet, I'll post when I get that done.
We also decided that the footing in the tarped building needs to be deeper. Partly, we didn't make it as deep as we first planned... then it settled quite a bit with watering... now I noticed there's a few weeds growing through the landscape fabric and through the footing... so we'll have to move some more stonedust... not a huge deal and I'm glad the first stuff had a chance to really settle... it'll make it pack tighter... I still may need a compactor for that footing, especially if we make it deeper, but that's not a big deal, you just rent 'em.
Other than that, I'm starting to make preparations for the weekend... my parents, Jess and Kyle are coming for a few days... I'm so happy they are all willing to make the trip here... it'll be so nice to see them all again!! Yay :)
Not much else going on... I need to pick up some fence posts and get started on that, but I think it might have to wait til next week.... we'll see what time I get!
Shawn's head seems to be healing... nothing points to it being infected yet, so that's good! The puddle of glue seems to be shrinking and now instead of being flat, its got some jagged points and stuff... seems like that might mean the whole would is tightening up underneath... I hope so. You can't see the actual wound anymore, the glue is now white and not see through. But I keep checking it a couple times a day, just in case!
That's it for now!
Monday, October 1, 2007
The Goats
Yesterday we went and met our new goat babies... they are adorable! The pics are up! We put down a deposit on them and should be picking them up sometime in October, once they are weaned and eating grain well. I don't imagine it will take too long.
We have officially named them Ernie and Bert... funny story... Shawn and I have been kickign around names and I came up with Ernie and Bert... it was kinda our top choice.... I phoned back to my parents house last evening and talked to Mom, Jess, my sister Tricia and Dad... and Dad wondered if we had picked names yet... I told him no, because we hadn't really decided yet and he said he had an idea for names... Ernie and Bert!!
At first I thought there must be some sort of conspiracy going on behind my back involving Shawn and Dad, but it turns out that both Dad and I thought of the same names independently of each other!! How weird, eh?
So Ernie and Bert it is! I figure with a big coincidence like that, its meant to be!
Along the same lines, I think a cute name for a donkey would be Grover ;)
That's the goat update for now... I'll certainly post when I know they are coming home! Should be an adventure!! Wheeeeee :)
We have officially named them Ernie and Bert... funny story... Shawn and I have been kickign around names and I came up with Ernie and Bert... it was kinda our top choice.... I phoned back to my parents house last evening and talked to Mom, Jess, my sister Tricia and Dad... and Dad wondered if we had picked names yet... I told him no, because we hadn't really decided yet and he said he had an idea for names... Ernie and Bert!!
At first I thought there must be some sort of conspiracy going on behind my back involving Shawn and Dad, but it turns out that both Dad and I thought of the same names independently of each other!! How weird, eh?
So Ernie and Bert it is! I figure with a big coincidence like that, its meant to be!
Along the same lines, I think a cute name for a donkey would be Grover ;)
That's the goat update for now... I'll certainly post when I know they are coming home! Should be an adventure!! Wheeeeee :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)