Asha Delivers Twins

This morning while we were graining the goats, M mentioned to me that Asha had a "balloon coming out of her butt."  I told him that this meant she was going to have the babies today.  He and Z were both still home, so we decided to keep them home to watch the delivery.  I ran in the house to get dressed (doesn't everyone do their chores in pjs?)  While inside, M yelled to me that the balloon had popped!

Asha has kidded before and done it without complication so I knew that she would be fine.  She walked, pawed the ground, lay down, got up, and walked some more.  Two little black and white hooves began to poke out of her rear end.  Each time she would lie down, the baby hooves would come out further.  Each time she would stand up, the baby hooves would suck back inside.  I wanted so badly to just reach over and tug...but I had to trust the momma.  She knew what to do.

Here's our goat delivering twin A.

The boys and I watched for what seemed like forever, but was actually about a half an hour.  Finally, we saw a head and with a few hard pushes, the baby was born.  Asha went right to work cleaning her baby up.  She made sure that he was breathing and stimulated, just like she should.  There was no need for us to intervene.  She made sure that the amniotic sac was gone and that he would begin to dry soon in the morning sun.

Soon, the second "balloon" appeared.  It popped almost immediately.  Asha alternated between standing, lying, pushing, and cleaning.  Soon the first baby was up on his wobbly legs.  He walked right behind Asha as she began to deliver the second baby's head.  As she delivered him, she paused - his hind quarters still inside her, but his front already out and starting to breath and move.  She seemed a bit confused, stood up quickly and turned.  Baby B came slipping out quickly.

Within fifteen minutes, both babies were cleaned up and drying.  Asha is a little protective and it was hard to get close enough to check to see if these were boys or girls.  But after several failed attempts, we determined that we have two beautiful, albiet unmilkable, Apline bucklings.  They look just like their daddy.

Here's a photo of the two boys a few days old on their first romp.  Introducing Rogers' Roost Romeo in the foreground, and Rogers' Roost Freestyle in the back.

Show Ducks?

I'm a sucker for ducks.  So when this gal was looking for 4-H kids who would like to have some show ducks, I responded.  I figured that they would want more money than I was willing to shell out.  But no...they were free.

Z and I went to select the three ducklings that we were going to bring home for him.  There were several varieties of Runner - white, pencil, black, fawn & white.  It was hard to choose.  So we came home with four.  I think it was either the ducklings or the two extra turkens that K brought home for me that put hubby over the edge.  He came up to my room and quietly asked me what keel-hauling was.  I've been married to a sailor long enough to know this one, so I batted my eyelashes and coyly agreed to a moratorium on all things poultry.

Here is a picture of our four Runner ducklings - Pencil, Chalk, Sharpie, and Crayola.

I mean really, who could say no to those faces?

Lucky for hubby, possession date for 4-H is today.  So...we won't be adding any more livestock - until the meat chickens arrive in June.

Our Family is Whole Again

This weekend we brought home the goats.  It was fantastic.  We didn't have the palace set up as much as we'd like, but it is something we can continue to work on as we go.  And now we'll have help.  Goat help.

We went to our friend's house to pick up the goats in the Expedition.  Now, we have been struggling with hoof rot, hoof scald, and lice at their house.  Because we didn't have a trailer to quarantine the goats in for a few days (and hubby refused to let them stay in the car that long), we had to do our best to treat as we moved them.

To this end, we cleaned and treated their hooves as we loaded them into the car.  We treated their hooves again when we got to the house.  And we treated for lice the minute they were out of the car.  Permethrin really stinks so I didn't want it in the car.

Here is the video of the goaties unloading to their new home.

By the way, we tried a new procedure for delousing this time.  Because I usually use Eprinex Pour-On, I had to do some searching to find the correct dosage for Permethrin - what I had bought at the store, thinking that is what I always use.  I mixed Permethrin 10% at a 1:2 ratio with vegetable oil.  That brought the percentage down to 2.5%.  I saw several references to 1% and several to 5%.  I figured 2.5% was a good compromise (and an easy ratio to convert).  With a small syringe, I poured no more than 1.5cc's of the mix down the spine of each adult goat, and about .75cc's for each little one.

NOTE:  AFTER TALKING WITH THE VET, WE LEARNED THAT USING PERMETHRIN AT FULL STRENGTH IS JUST FINE FOR GOATS.

Show Chickens

We are now the proud owners of show chickens.  We've had them for about two weeks now and while some of the chicks are easy to tell which breed they are, others are still a mystery.  We got the chicks through Urch Hatchery - as a favor to our poultry 4-H project.  It was a great deal.  We ordered 100 chicks.  He sent us 100 chicks at $2 a piece.  He guaranteed that all chicks would be show quality birds, but that was it.  He got to choose the breeds and it was a straight run.

We shared the chicks with all of our poultry project kids and Z kept eight of his favorites.  Here are two that we can tell will be fun birds for fair.  This first one is most likely a Plymouth White Rock Frizzle.  His/her name is currently Mrs. Frizzle.

Our second favorite is a Naked Neck Red.  Her/his name is Ostrich (for obvious reasons).

Oh, it is so much fun to watch them grow into their breeds.  I love my chickens.

Springtime Looks Different This Year

It's amazing when I reflect on how far we've come.  Not only are we in a new state, with new jobs, but we also have a completely new climate to adjust to.  It's been a little over a year, yet I am newly amazed by the beauty of this place.  The chickens seem to enjoy their new digs too.

More Chicks

I took in 13 wayward chicks today.  The owner was a friend of our previous landlord's daughter (if you can get further away in connections than that...).  Her hubby was in a horrible accident and she will be spending most of her time at the hospital.

I know nothing about the chicks other than what I can see.  It looks like I have two ages.  There are Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, Americaunas, and Black Australorps.  Some will go to a friend's house, but the rest will live with us.  We'll have to wait and see if they are boys or girls.

Hubby doesn't understand how this happens.  But really, I'm not out looking for chickens.  They just find me.

New House

We have finally found a place that we can afford with a little land.  It's beautiful.  A little under two acres, with woods all around.  The house is a 1900's farmhouse that has been overhauled inside.  There is room for the goats and chickens, and every kid gets their own bedroom!

As we've explored the yard, I've found lots of fruit trees - one cherry, three plum, two pear, and three apples!  It's gonna be fun to try to keep up with the bounty.

I'm looking forward to creating a nice garden here too.

You drive through a marsh to get to the house.

First glimpse of the house.

Looking up the driveway.

The chicken coop in the back and part of the shed/shop.

Looking at the house from the chicken coop.

Another view of the yard.

Love the back decks.

We have a working wood burning stove.