We started out today by getting the dogs and goats fed and their hooves trimmed (more on that in a minute)... it was darn cold today, clear and windy! When we were done feeding and trimming the goats and were standing at the hose at the house washing off rubber boots, a pickup truck slowed down in front of the house and stopped just on the other side of the driveway.
We didn't recognize the truck, but watched as an older man with a cane got out and walked up to where we were standing. He introduced himself as our next door neighbour (not on the vacant lot side, the other side... the people whose lot didn't have road frontage and were sold a tiny corner of our property in order to get frontage many years ago.)
He's got a British accent and is an interesting person... he's a machinist for Lee Valley tools and he does sold machinist work out of his house as well. Him and his wife have been in that house for about 25 years and knew the previous owners of our house... but not well, he said they did keep to themselves a bit. He also does model train stuff.
He had all sorts of info and trivia about our house and his as well... who knows if its all true or not, but it was interesting. He seemed to think that our house was originally a log house, then refaced with brick and most recently with vinyl siding. We're not sure if that's true... but we think maybe when we gut the kitchen we will find out more about that.
Originally, our 6 little acres were part of a 100 acre place....which we figured was likely true. The neighbour was most familiar with the dad of the guy we bought the house from and had a few funny stories to relate about him.
He also confirmed that the previous owner's wife did die of cancer 5 or so years ago, which we had heard from various other sources too.
I asked him who owned the vacant land beside us and he was pretty sure it belonged to the Pakistani people that also ran a store ... I can't remember the store's name now! Maybe it'll come back to me.
He pointed in the general direction of where our house used to be located (closer to the middle of the property) and thought it was moved in 1948... similar time frame to what we'd been told. He also told us of a beautiful custom made gate that hung over by our stone dust pile with an "H" on it.. the first letter of their last name.
He was quite a character and Shawn is absolutely taken by him and is fascinated and would like to adopt him, I think :)
After a while, he had to go, he was meeting a friend that is part of his model train club and was running late.
If I remember the order of events today, I think we came in and had brunch... fried double yolk eggs and bacon and walnut toast (its got walnuts in a "birdseed" type bread... very tasty... from Farm Boy!)
Then it was time to get some work done and we went out and started laying out fence posts again. Shawn put in about 10 of them today... we didn't get to putting up the wire part yet as the next section is kind of a long run and more posts need to be installed before we start that part.
Shawn was tired and I was cold so we came in for a break... I made popcorn in the microwave in the special bowl that Shawn's mom had bought for us and added melted butter to it.. yummy! (According to some study, microwave popcorn that you buy from the store causes some bad thing that I'm also drawing a blank on and kills you... hence we now can have NO DEATH microwave popcorn... and its yummier and doesn't have that gross stink to it!)
We sat around for a while and then I was looking out the window and what did I see?? SNOW! Snow flakes in the air!! No wonder I was so friggen cold.. it was cold enough to SNOW!! It didn't last long and of course didn't stick... but it was creepy.
We then decided that maybe we were tired enough to take a nap... so we did. Just after we woke up, but before we got up, Jess called and I chatted with her for a while. It sounds like she and Kyle had a nice weekend!
Then we got out of bed and decided we'd put up some Halloween stuff. So Antoinette is hanging in the front yard... the grave marker crosses are out... and some of the new head stones we bought this year we put out too. I had got some curtains from Ikea that are like mosquito netting with the idea of using them for Halloween so we hung them from the tree so they kind of billow behind Antoinette when the wind blows. I have some pics, but I probably won't get them posted until at least tomorrow.
We fed the goats and tucked them into their goat house a bit early tonight, given it was so cold... they don't seem to mind and they were very happy to get their grain tonight, as always.
This morning we trimmed their little goat hooves... it wasn't hard and went remarkably well. We did Ernie (the bad goat) first... I haltered him and put twine around his neck (I like to have a backup in case they get out of one of the restraints!) and led him into the little white building that I'm using as a feed room. We left Bert locked up in the shelter, so he wouldn't hurt himself... poor little baby cried the whole time being alone for one of the first times of his life.
I bought a pair of sheep hoof rot shears at TSC a few weeks ago for this purpose... they worked ok, but not great, they require a fair bit of force to operate and my wrist was awful tired by the time I was done... I'm going to try getting tree pruners and see if they work better... I read online about someone using them.
Shawn held his head and offered him his grain pan and we had one side of him up against the stack of hay. I put down those interlocking rubber mat things to kneel on and trimmed up his feet. It went really well and he was pretty well behaved, not that he had much choice with both of us right there.
Goat feet grow weird... not like horse feet, obviously, plus they are cloven hoofed... but its the side walls that grow over the surface of the foot. If you don't trim them often enough, they can get foot rot... in fact, one of Bert's smelled an awful lot like thrush in horse feet, but I trimmed it away, so it should be ok now, until next time.
We took Ernie back and put him in the hut and brought Bert over... it was a decent place to work, out of the wind, but the sun was shining in the window. We're going to install some sort of light in that building for times like this... or like when I have to feed them after dark!! Bert was also very good and inhaled the grain so fast we had to top it up to finish the last foot.
I was really pleased with how it worked out, I wasn't sure if it would be a horrible battle or not, but apparently a pan of grain and some twine around your neck while being sandwiched against hay bales means you can just stand patiently ;)
Their leading is coming along... Ernie must have forgotten to have a temper tantrum today and didn't throw himself to the ground. They still don't walk really willingly or where you want them to... but I did notice less resistance... maybe I can train goats yet?
Tonight, I'm feeling less healthy... my throat is rather sore... I looked at it and its red and raw again... and my left ear is a touch tender. I'm not really coughing much, but I may still consider going back to the doc... I noticed my throat hurt quite a bit while eating bbq'd steak and mashed potatoes for supper tonight.
Sorry about the long winded rambly update... its just who I am :)
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Finally! The Fencing Has Begun!
In spite of the crappy weather today... (on and off rain and just general dreariness, but not freezing cold, luckily!) we started putting up fences.
We got the short length done on the north - ish side of the house between the house and the existing fence line. Its about 60 feet long. It's only to contain the dogs and keep them off the road... we're starting with that so we can get the hang of putting up the fence. Its not perfect and we're not using a fence stretcher since we're only using t bars, but so far it looks good. That length is done.
We also started putting in t bars along the back, behind the septic up to the existing fence next to the vacant lot... that's also only for dogs and we got all the t bars in for that, other than the corner one, which we still have to finalize how we're going to make it work. (We have ideas, we just don't know if they'll work well until we start actually doing it!)
We also got the goat hut cleaned out and dumped back in the manure pile / compost area so they are good to go again for another week. (I clean out what I can daily and fluff the straw so all the poops I can't get (raisin poops) fall to the bottom and then it gets cleaned out right to the ground and raked once a week.
I'm using about a bale of straw a week... and I could use less... but I don't want them to get damp from underneath or anything so its pretty deep. I finally finished the first bale of hay, it lasted a week and a half... that should change as they grow.
We also gave them their dose of oral dewormer that will kill tapeworms today... they get that once a month for 4 months. Poor Bert wore some of his dewormer because he flicked the end of the syringe with his tongue and sent some flying. I think he got most of it though. Surprisingly, Ernie wasn't too bad to do... I'm sure he'll have some plan in place by next month!
We're tired for the day.. mostly Shawn... he did all the post pounding... I tried once... but apparently that motion hurts my shoulder / collarbone, so I stopped. I'm not feeling any sicker than yesterday, but still not 100%... maybe I'll recover on my own yet? Hard to say.
I'm hoping to get better right away though... on November 1st there's a flu shot clinic in Carp that I would like to take advantage of. So I'm hoping we'll both be healthy enough to get that done.
Most of the leaves are now gone, after today's rain and wind. Its definitely starting to look like winter trees around here... kinda freaks me out!!
Anyhow, enough for now, its 5pm and I'm gonna go bbq some meat for dinner... I have both steak and lamb chops... haven't decided which yet!
We got the short length done on the north - ish side of the house between the house and the existing fence line. Its about 60 feet long. It's only to contain the dogs and keep them off the road... we're starting with that so we can get the hang of putting up the fence. Its not perfect and we're not using a fence stretcher since we're only using t bars, but so far it looks good. That length is done.
We also started putting in t bars along the back, behind the septic up to the existing fence next to the vacant lot... that's also only for dogs and we got all the t bars in for that, other than the corner one, which we still have to finalize how we're going to make it work. (We have ideas, we just don't know if they'll work well until we start actually doing it!)
We also got the goat hut cleaned out and dumped back in the manure pile / compost area so they are good to go again for another week. (I clean out what I can daily and fluff the straw so all the poops I can't get (raisin poops) fall to the bottom and then it gets cleaned out right to the ground and raked once a week.
I'm using about a bale of straw a week... and I could use less... but I don't want them to get damp from underneath or anything so its pretty deep. I finally finished the first bale of hay, it lasted a week and a half... that should change as they grow.
We also gave them their dose of oral dewormer that will kill tapeworms today... they get that once a month for 4 months. Poor Bert wore some of his dewormer because he flicked the end of the syringe with his tongue and sent some flying. I think he got most of it though. Surprisingly, Ernie wasn't too bad to do... I'm sure he'll have some plan in place by next month!
We're tired for the day.. mostly Shawn... he did all the post pounding... I tried once... but apparently that motion hurts my shoulder / collarbone, so I stopped. I'm not feeling any sicker than yesterday, but still not 100%... maybe I'll recover on my own yet? Hard to say.
I'm hoping to get better right away though... on November 1st there's a flu shot clinic in Carp that I would like to take advantage of. So I'm hoping we'll both be healthy enough to get that done.
Most of the leaves are now gone, after today's rain and wind. Its definitely starting to look like winter trees around here... kinda freaks me out!!
Anyhow, enough for now, its 5pm and I'm gonna go bbq some meat for dinner... I have both steak and lamb chops... haven't decided which yet!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Busy Week!
T'was a busy week around here...
The goat vet came Wednesday afternoon... gave the boys a rabies shot, an 8 way shot that includes tetanus and a shot of ivomec dewormer. I had noticed they had tape worms, so I mentioned it to her and she hadn't brought a dewormer that would kill tapes, so we arranged that I would go to the clinic in Pakenham and pick it up. (I did that yesterday afternoon).
Because of mass parasite die off issues, we wouldn't have given them both dewormers that day anyhow, so this weekend I'll give them their first dose and then once a month for 4 months and they should be clear after that.
Really liked the vet... she was friendly, competent and efficient and was a wealth of goat information. Talked to her about dehorning the boys and after we thought about it we decided that if it wasn't too expensive, we'd go ahead and do it... they really should've been disbudded when they were like a week old, but the person we got them from doesn't believe in that... she believes they need their horns for defense purposes.
Dehorning them now is a bigger deal... the process is pretty much the same as when we used to dehorn calves years ago... (I bet there's one or two of you reading this that can now smell THAT smell, right??) and is more dangerous to the animal as time goes on. So while I was at the clinic yesterday, I asked about cost... it'll cost approximately $50 each... which seems really cheap to me... so I set up an appointment for November 5th.
The vet prefers to do them at the clinic, in case they run into problems (uncontrollable bleeding, etc) so we'll take them up there in the morning, drop them off and pick 'em up at the end of the day. She also sedates them a bit and gives them painkillers as it IS quite painful... (those of you that were smelling THAT smell are also likely hearing the calf screams in your ears now???)
I'm happy with this idea... I'd rather not have to be responsible for holding the little buggers down and still... they are little, but they are strong enough and definitely quick enough that it could go very badly... being so small is almost worse than 400 lb calves because if you use too much body weight to subdue them, you'll crush 'em!
Dehorning them means they'll be safer to be around... no more worrying about getting a horn in the eye... they wont be able to be destructive to buildings or fencing as they grow and it wont hurt if they learn to butt... they also wont be able to cause any damage to any other livestock we might acquire over time. Mostly, I can't think of any good reason to keep them. And by doing it now and at the clinic, we'll be able to minimize the risk to them as well.
I imagine they could easily cost you more than $100 over their life time in damages to stuff, people and other stock... seems like a good investment really :) Plus putting them back in Pixie's crate and driving them 30 - 40 minutes away in the mini van first thing in the morning, just sounds like a blast to me... haha!
For their 3 shots, I just picked them up and held them tight and reminded the vet that *I* did not need a rabies shot... or deworming ;) She was quick and the boys struggled, but nothing I couldn't handle... though I bet next time they need shots I won't be picking them up to do it!!
The goats are doing well... Ernie is a wild man... he jumps and bites (which technically shouldn't hurt as they don't have top teeth at the front) but he is very quick about getting your fingers to the back of his mouth and chomping down... even the vet was... surprised! We refer to Ernie as the "bad goat"... he's also the one that while trying to halter break him will have a temper tantrum and throw himself onto the ground in protest. Our little ADD /ADHD goat!
Often all you hear when I'm trying to work with the goats or clean up is "ERNIE...NO!! BAD GOAT!!" In spite of all this, he's still cute and I'm really hoping he'll outgrow some of this stuff. The joke HAS been made in his presence about tasty he looks ;)
Bert is a lot more even tempered... he jumps up, but not like a wild man.... he mouths you, but it doesn't hurt.... he doesn't like the halter on him, but he reluctantly follows. He doesn't mob you when you're giving out little treats of sunmaid raisins (they LOVE them!).
It's funny how different they are from each other... they definitely have their own unique personalities!! (the little buggers!)
Anyhow, my big job today is having a nap and catching up on lost sleep. I'm not feeling as well as I was last weekend... I'm a bit sick again... I think it wasn't enough days of antibiotics to get rid of the bronchitis... only 5 days of zithromax. Shawn's not 100% either, but I think he'll be able to fight off the last bit on his own, with his super human immune system. I'm hoping I will too, especially if I catch up on sleep... but I'm suspicious I may need another doc visit to get 'er done!
That's it for now!!
The goat vet came Wednesday afternoon... gave the boys a rabies shot, an 8 way shot that includes tetanus and a shot of ivomec dewormer. I had noticed they had tape worms, so I mentioned it to her and she hadn't brought a dewormer that would kill tapes, so we arranged that I would go to the clinic in Pakenham and pick it up. (I did that yesterday afternoon).
Because of mass parasite die off issues, we wouldn't have given them both dewormers that day anyhow, so this weekend I'll give them their first dose and then once a month for 4 months and they should be clear after that.
Really liked the vet... she was friendly, competent and efficient and was a wealth of goat information. Talked to her about dehorning the boys and after we thought about it we decided that if it wasn't too expensive, we'd go ahead and do it... they really should've been disbudded when they were like a week old, but the person we got them from doesn't believe in that... she believes they need their horns for defense purposes.
Dehorning them now is a bigger deal... the process is pretty much the same as when we used to dehorn calves years ago... (I bet there's one or two of you reading this that can now smell THAT smell, right??) and is more dangerous to the animal as time goes on. So while I was at the clinic yesterday, I asked about cost... it'll cost approximately $50 each... which seems really cheap to me... so I set up an appointment for November 5th.
The vet prefers to do them at the clinic, in case they run into problems (uncontrollable bleeding, etc) so we'll take them up there in the morning, drop them off and pick 'em up at the end of the day. She also sedates them a bit and gives them painkillers as it IS quite painful... (those of you that were smelling THAT smell are also likely hearing the calf screams in your ears now???)
I'm happy with this idea... I'd rather not have to be responsible for holding the little buggers down and still... they are little, but they are strong enough and definitely quick enough that it could go very badly... being so small is almost worse than 400 lb calves because if you use too much body weight to subdue them, you'll crush 'em!
Dehorning them means they'll be safer to be around... no more worrying about getting a horn in the eye... they wont be able to be destructive to buildings or fencing as they grow and it wont hurt if they learn to butt... they also wont be able to cause any damage to any other livestock we might acquire over time. Mostly, I can't think of any good reason to keep them. And by doing it now and at the clinic, we'll be able to minimize the risk to them as well.
I imagine they could easily cost you more than $100 over their life time in damages to stuff, people and other stock... seems like a good investment really :) Plus putting them back in Pixie's crate and driving them 30 - 40 minutes away in the mini van first thing in the morning, just sounds like a blast to me... haha!
For their 3 shots, I just picked them up and held them tight and reminded the vet that *I* did not need a rabies shot... or deworming ;) She was quick and the boys struggled, but nothing I couldn't handle... though I bet next time they need shots I won't be picking them up to do it!!
The goats are doing well... Ernie is a wild man... he jumps and bites (which technically shouldn't hurt as they don't have top teeth at the front) but he is very quick about getting your fingers to the back of his mouth and chomping down... even the vet was... surprised! We refer to Ernie as the "bad goat"... he's also the one that while trying to halter break him will have a temper tantrum and throw himself onto the ground in protest. Our little ADD /ADHD goat!
Often all you hear when I'm trying to work with the goats or clean up is "ERNIE...NO!! BAD GOAT!!" In spite of all this, he's still cute and I'm really hoping he'll outgrow some of this stuff. The joke HAS been made in his presence about tasty he looks ;)
Bert is a lot more even tempered... he jumps up, but not like a wild man.... he mouths you, but it doesn't hurt.... he doesn't like the halter on him, but he reluctantly follows. He doesn't mob you when you're giving out little treats of sunmaid raisins (they LOVE them!).
It's funny how different they are from each other... they definitely have their own unique personalities!! (the little buggers!)
Anyhow, my big job today is having a nap and catching up on lost sleep. I'm not feeling as well as I was last weekend... I'm a bit sick again... I think it wasn't enough days of antibiotics to get rid of the bronchitis... only 5 days of zithromax. Shawn's not 100% either, but I think he'll be able to fight off the last bit on his own, with his super human immune system. I'm hoping I will too, especially if I catch up on sleep... but I'm suspicious I may need another doc visit to get 'er done!
That's it for now!!
Monday, October 22, 2007
In This Week's Police Report...
I received my weekly police report today, always good reading :)
There was a shocking thing though... there's a section that reports deer/vehicle collisions and in that section this week, it added a BEAR/vehicle accident! At 11pm one night in the last week a BEAR was struck by a car not more than 10 minutes from our house. In order for this report to have been marked "confirmed", the bear must have either been killed or severely injured and unable to leave the scene.
I've heard people say there are bears in the area, but who knew they were living like just up the road!!
It kinda creeps me out... we're OFTEN outside around 11pm with the dogs. Seems unlikely that a bear would bother with goats, but I can imagine us popping outside with 2 alert and noisy dogs might cause an issue!! Guess I'll be looking around carefully when I go outside at night now!
***************
Moving on... we didn't get any fencing started this weekend, AGAIN... there were just too many other things that had to get done... then we were out of time and especially ENERGY!! By the time we went to bed last night, we were exhausted.
Its warm here again today... almost a bit unpleasant... not really used to this kind of warmth... but I'm not complaining...it just sounds that way :) Starting tonight its supposed to cloud up and the rain will start and then for the rest of the week will be cooler... more seasonal.
That's about it for now.
There was a shocking thing though... there's a section that reports deer/vehicle collisions and in that section this week, it added a BEAR/vehicle accident! At 11pm one night in the last week a BEAR was struck by a car not more than 10 minutes from our house. In order for this report to have been marked "confirmed", the bear must have either been killed or severely injured and unable to leave the scene.
I've heard people say there are bears in the area, but who knew they were living like just up the road!!
It kinda creeps me out... we're OFTEN outside around 11pm with the dogs. Seems unlikely that a bear would bother with goats, but I can imagine us popping outside with 2 alert and noisy dogs might cause an issue!! Guess I'll be looking around carefully when I go outside at night now!
***************
Moving on... we didn't get any fencing started this weekend, AGAIN... there were just too many other things that had to get done... then we were out of time and especially ENERGY!! By the time we went to bed last night, we were exhausted.
Its warm here again today... almost a bit unpleasant... not really used to this kind of warmth... but I'm not complaining...it just sounds that way :) Starting tonight its supposed to cloud up and the rain will start and then for the rest of the week will be cooler... more seasonal.
That's about it for now.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Quick Update... We're NOT Dying :)
Or at least not from bronchitis ... cause really you never know what's in store for you from minute to minute.
We actually had enough strength to get a few things done yesterday... cleaned the goat hut... put up markers where the fencing will go... that sort of thing.
Today, we have some more stuff to do... a trip to home depot (of course!) and a few other things I hope to get done.
We'd like to start on the fencing, but I don't think there will be enough time or energy to do that today... we'll see.
The weather here is gorgeous today... so we're off to go try to enjoy it as much as possible... goodness only knows how long it'll last!!
We actually had enough strength to get a few things done yesterday... cleaned the goat hut... put up markers where the fencing will go... that sort of thing.
Today, we have some more stuff to do... a trip to home depot (of course!) and a few other things I hope to get done.
We'd like to start on the fencing, but I don't think there will be enough time or energy to do that today... we'll see.
The weather here is gorgeous today... so we're off to go try to enjoy it as much as possible... goodness only knows how long it'll last!!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Still Alive
Sorry there haven't been any updates this week.... we've been sick and I've been just getting done the bare minimum things, like getting everyone fed and cleaned up. Tuesday, Shawn took off work... we were both really sick and had had a bad night Monday night... we were both coughing like maniacs all night and ended up eating cup a soup on the couch around 3am in an effort to calm down the coughing.
So Tuesday, when he was off, we made the trip into the walk in clinic in Kanata. Its a very different experience from the urgent care clinics in Kitchener... much less busy... much quieter... they play a movie in the waiting room that you can actually hear... and you don't acquire many more gray hairs while waiting to see the doc.
We arrived at the clinic at 9:30am and then we were all done filling our prescriptions and ready to head home at 11:30am (plus we had to drive to the drug store in there, as they don't have one onsite at the clinic)... so not too bad at all. The doc said we both had bronchitis, gave us zithromax and a puffer for me (which i didn't fill, I left in on file at hte drugstore in case I decide I need it, which I don't think I do.)
We spent most of Tuesday afternoon sleeping and felt some better that evening. Shawn went back to work on Wednesday and is there today. Neither of us feel great yet... but better than Tuesday... still, I would've thought I'd feel quite a bit better by now... my throat still hurts... and my ears too.
The goat babies are doing fine and are settling in... the crazed "scream like you're being murdered" has subsided and mostly only happens at feeding time now.... or for a few minutes after I leave them to go in the house. They are eating well... pooping well... all the main things. They are very friendly and interested in everything you do.. so much so that I'm attempting to train them to not jump on me constantly and not to mouth me the whole time I'm in the goat nursery!
They would be far more entertaining if I didn't feel like death this week... walking out there a couple times a day to check on them, feed them and hang out with them is about all I can manage... its too bad we had to be so sick for their first week here... oh well.
As soon as Shawn and I can walk more than 50 feet without being exhausted, we'll start trying to teach them to lead. I bought dog collars and leashes for them... I had lead ropes, but they all have huge heavy clips on them that I thought were just a bit overkill. The collars need more holes punched and burned into the nylon before they will fit... again, once we have enough energy, we'll do that.
They did entertain me from the bedroom window for a while yesterday... they were running and chasing each other around and around the nursery pen, jumping obstacles, etc. Quite amusing to watch.
It's kinda weird to have such small livestock... I'm used to horses, drafts at that... and more distantly, cattle. The goats eat and drink almost nothing in comparison. A handful of hay (like a 1/3 of a flake) that would be a quick snack for a draft horse, feeds the both of them for about 1/2 a day. I'm not even feeding ONE full flake of hay per day!! And there's waste... they don't even clean that all up!!
I have an 8 quart bucket... smaller than those plastic flat back buckets that I have for horses and they drink *maybe* a 1/3 of a bucket a day... between TWO of them! For a draft horse, they would drink between 3 and 4 larger buckets of water a day!
They do eat a fair bit of grain, probably more than they should, but I'm not positive yet... I have 2 rubber grain pans, that hold about 2 quarts each... total per day they are getting about 4 quarts of grain, shared between the two of them... so about 2 quarts each per day, spread out in two feedings. (I'm sure I made that more complicated than need be!)
I would like to see them eat more hay and less grain, but that'll have to happen gradually and I'm working towards that. They also nibble the grass in their pen, but they are not grazers like cattle... they are browsers, more like deer. In fact, they are very much like deer. They would rather eat bark and your bushes in your garden than the grass. They love the dead leaves they find on the ground.
A couple people have asked if I'm enjoying them... and the answer to that is complicated by the fact that I've been so sick this week. I think I'd be enjoying them better if I wasn't sick and having a hard time mustering the energy to walk out there, never mind feed, water and clean up after them.
Hopefully, I'll be better by next week and will be able to give a more positive answer! :)
Anyhow, that's about it for now... time to go rest again.
So Tuesday, when he was off, we made the trip into the walk in clinic in Kanata. Its a very different experience from the urgent care clinics in Kitchener... much less busy... much quieter... they play a movie in the waiting room that you can actually hear... and you don't acquire many more gray hairs while waiting to see the doc.
We arrived at the clinic at 9:30am and then we were all done filling our prescriptions and ready to head home at 11:30am (plus we had to drive to the drug store in there, as they don't have one onsite at the clinic)... so not too bad at all. The doc said we both had bronchitis, gave us zithromax and a puffer for me (which i didn't fill, I left in on file at hte drugstore in case I decide I need it, which I don't think I do.)
We spent most of Tuesday afternoon sleeping and felt some better that evening. Shawn went back to work on Wednesday and is there today. Neither of us feel great yet... but better than Tuesday... still, I would've thought I'd feel quite a bit better by now... my throat still hurts... and my ears too.
The goat babies are doing fine and are settling in... the crazed "scream like you're being murdered" has subsided and mostly only happens at feeding time now.... or for a few minutes after I leave them to go in the house. They are eating well... pooping well... all the main things. They are very friendly and interested in everything you do.. so much so that I'm attempting to train them to not jump on me constantly and not to mouth me the whole time I'm in the goat nursery!
They would be far more entertaining if I didn't feel like death this week... walking out there a couple times a day to check on them, feed them and hang out with them is about all I can manage... its too bad we had to be so sick for their first week here... oh well.
As soon as Shawn and I can walk more than 50 feet without being exhausted, we'll start trying to teach them to lead. I bought dog collars and leashes for them... I had lead ropes, but they all have huge heavy clips on them that I thought were just a bit overkill. The collars need more holes punched and burned into the nylon before they will fit... again, once we have enough energy, we'll do that.
They did entertain me from the bedroom window for a while yesterday... they were running and chasing each other around and around the nursery pen, jumping obstacles, etc. Quite amusing to watch.
It's kinda weird to have such small livestock... I'm used to horses, drafts at that... and more distantly, cattle. The goats eat and drink almost nothing in comparison. A handful of hay (like a 1/3 of a flake) that would be a quick snack for a draft horse, feeds the both of them for about 1/2 a day. I'm not even feeding ONE full flake of hay per day!! And there's waste... they don't even clean that all up!!
I have an 8 quart bucket... smaller than those plastic flat back buckets that I have for horses and they drink *maybe* a 1/3 of a bucket a day... between TWO of them! For a draft horse, they would drink between 3 and 4 larger buckets of water a day!
They do eat a fair bit of grain, probably more than they should, but I'm not positive yet... I have 2 rubber grain pans, that hold about 2 quarts each... total per day they are getting about 4 quarts of grain, shared between the two of them... so about 2 quarts each per day, spread out in two feedings. (I'm sure I made that more complicated than need be!)
I would like to see them eat more hay and less grain, but that'll have to happen gradually and I'm working towards that. They also nibble the grass in their pen, but they are not grazers like cattle... they are browsers, more like deer. In fact, they are very much like deer. They would rather eat bark and your bushes in your garden than the grass. They love the dead leaves they find on the ground.
A couple people have asked if I'm enjoying them... and the answer to that is complicated by the fact that I've been so sick this week. I think I'd be enjoying them better if I wasn't sick and having a hard time mustering the energy to walk out there, never mind feed, water and clean up after them.
Hopefully, I'll be better by next week and will be able to give a more positive answer! :)
Anyhow, that's about it for now... time to go rest again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)