# Goatgurl -  life goes on at someday farm



## goatgurl (Mar 2, 2015)

seems like I've been gone forever and its going to take me forever to get caught up on everyone.  on feb. 14th sil ran over the internet satellite cable that runs from the pole outside into ds3's house and killed my wifi connection and every time they are due to be out to fix things it either rains or snows.  no internet for two weeks.  didn't realize how much i would miss it when it was gone but man, i do.  its still not fixed but i am at ds1's house using hers and just had to drop in on you guys and say hi.... hi.  they are suppose to be here Wednesday if it doesn't rain but the weather forecast is for rain and or snow for the next 3 days.  AWWWW!!  but i will try to get back over here every few days and make sure youall are still going strong.  @Baymule are you all moved in and settled in yet and are you ready for your goat yet?  @Southern by choice do we know who the baby daddy is yet?  @Devonviolet are you all unpacked and have you picked up your puppies?  take care youall and i'll check back when i can.


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## Hens and Roos (Mar 2, 2015)

hope they can get out there and get it fixed


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## HoneyDreameMomma (Mar 2, 2015)

X2.  We look forward to hearing from you when you're back online.


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## OneFineAcre (Mar 2, 2015)

Bummer no internet.


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## Devonviolet (Mar 2, 2015)

goatgurl said:


> seems like I've been gone forever and its going to take me forever to get caught up on everyone.  on feb. 14th sil ran over the internet satellite cable that runs from the pole outside into ds3's house and killed my wifi connection and every time they are due to be out to fix things it either rains or snows.  no internet for two weeks.  didn't realize how much i would miss it when it was gone but man, i do.  its still not fixed but i am at ds1's house using hers and just had to drop in on you guys and say hi.... hi.  they are suppose to be here Wednesday if it doesn't rain but the weather forecast is for rain and or snow for the next 3 days.  AWWWW!!  but i will try to get back over here every few days and make sure youall are still going strong.  @Baymule are you all moved in and settled in yet and are you ready for your goat yet?  @Southern by choice do we know who the baby daddy is yet?  @Devonviolet are you all unpacked and have you picked up your puppies?  take care youall and i'll check back when i can.


WOW! Goatgurl! That's awful!  I was wondering why I haven't seen y'all. But, I am still having to limit my online time, due to limited data, so thought I might have missed you.

Yes, we got our puppies and they are awesome.  They are a lot of work.  We have been going slow, but are seeing progress. We took them for their first Vet visit, and they did well, once we got them in the office. They didn't like the idea of going in the crates, in the back of the truck, because they remembered the 8-1/2 hour drive to TX from KS.  This trip was a lot easier, so they relaxed.

I'll be looking forward to seeing you again, when you get your internet back up and running.


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## Baymule (Mar 2, 2015)

ROTFLMAO!!! We loaded up February 14, our 19th anniversary.  Drove 28' U-Haul, truck with 20' flatbed and my car, loaded to the Max. Unloaded next day. Drove back following day for dogs and chickens in pouring rain. They rode in vehicle with us! NO INTERNET!!! It is terrible! No providers love us, only one or two available and they cost a lot for limited internet. Has been raining, ice storms, snow storms and now here they come again! Gheesh! Hope your internet gets fixed soon! And I hope I can even FIND internet, this stupid smart phone sucks! Haha!


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## goatgurl (Apr 6, 2015)

I'm back, I'm busy,  and  yea!!!  it's spring.  things have kept on going here since the internet died, or was actually killed as it were.  for several years i have thought about getting rabbits to add another meat source to the farm but just hadn't gotten around to it and one afternoon ds#3 called me to let me know that a lady she worked with had some mixed breed rabbits she wanted to give away,  she had 4 does and two bucks and included the hutches, water bottles, feeders and hay rack.  i brought 2 does and a buck to my house and ds#5 took the others to her house.  since they were all together for transport i guess bunny magic occurred and 30 days to the day i had 14 more rabbits.  no one warned me how cute baby bunnies are or that they pop around in the nest like little jumping beans.  i may end up with a million or so rabbits before this experiment is over.
   cookie had two ram lambs and lama had a single eweling.  they are all growing like weeds.  will be selling one of the ram lambs and one of last years ewelings  in may when the lamb is weaned.  and by the way someone had asked sometime back about eating older rams and i said I'd keep youall posted.  last winter after all the ewes were bred and after the ram was out of rut i sent him to freezer camp.  he was a 2 1/2 year old kathadtin (sp?) and he is really good eating so i won't hesitate to butcher older rams in the future.
   the goats are doing good.  pretty aborted a set of twins about 3 weeks before her due date.  i had to lock the calf in the goat pen with them and he was pretty bad about butting them and i saw him hit her and send her flying.  not 100% positive but am guessing that is what caused it.  haven't had a doe abort for over 30 years, very upsetting.  will enjoy every bite of thar darn steer.  viola had a single doeling who is cute as a bugs ear and doesn't have wattles like her mama, she has earrings,  and vi is milking great.  spritzer had buck and doe twins, Fiona, a first freshener had buck and doe twins also.   milly, another ff had twin bucks and i sold her and the kids.   baby bang is due in 10 days and then i'll be done with the goats for this year.  that will leave the eggs in the incubator and more bunnies.  and the garden.  so glad we made it to spring after all the ice, snow and rain we had.  it's pretty hard for me to stay in and clean the house when all i want to do is be outside.  and i know, i know youall want pictures.  i'll get them in a day or two.


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## Hens and Roos (Apr 6, 2015)

Congrats, rabbits are just like everything else- can't have just 1


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## HoneyDreameMomma (Apr 6, 2015)

Wow - sounds like you've been busy!   Congratulations on all the new additions!


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## goatgurl (May 25, 2015)

just so youall know, i hate having an internet that only works when it wants to.   i have to admit that it is not all hughes net's fault, there is a sibling or two in the mix but after a several week absence I'm back again.  only the good Lord knows for how long.  about 3 months ago God, thru a girl my sister worked with, gifted me with three rabbits who in turn gifted me with another 14 baby bunnies one month after they got here.  both does kindled in the same pen, in the same nest box and raised the kits together.  and they did a wonderful job of co-parenting.  now i have 11 bunnies in a grow out cage getting ready for freezer camp.  i know i started out with 14 but one was a little runt who didn't make it, one fell out the cage door at 5 weeks of age and was gone before i could catch it and i sold one to the cutest little 8 year old boy named eli who had saved his money to buy a rabbit of his own.  he was so darn cute i just wanted to give him a bunny but his dad insisted that he pay for it because his older brothers had paid for theirs and fair is fair.  he very solemnly took his wallet out of his back pocket, removed his money and handed it to me.  he picked out his bunny and promptly named her sara.  i smiled and thanked him, his dad caught sara and they put him in a travel cage for the trip home.  i sure hope i did right when his dad and i checked the sex on said rabbit since I've only watched it on youtube etc.  
   now for a very disturbing picture.  youall remember me showing you pictures of gracie, the peepot paper shredder that my daughter gave me for Christmas.  she killed a bunny in the house last night!  bunny parts every!!  i about lost it when i heard a pop and saw he pull its head off.  poor bunny!


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## Hens and Roos (May 25, 2015)

Glad you were able to stop in and update everyone!  Sorry about the dog killing the bunny


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## frustratedearthmother (May 25, 2015)

Oh my goodness.... shame on Gracie.  Hope that's not an omen because my own new peepot, paper shredder came with the name Gracie also!  So far she's been pretty good.

Good to hear from you and congrats on the remaining bunnies!


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## norseofcourse (May 25, 2015)

I was going to 'like' your post till the part about the dog killing the bunny...    so sorry to hear about that.

Loved the part about the kid getting his bunny     and glad you have internet again!


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## Poka_Doodle (Sep 28, 2015)

Hows everything now?


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## goatgurl (Oct 12, 2015)

Hey @Poka_Doodle, things are going good here. 
DD and SIL were here this weekend and we got the last of the rabbit growouts butchered, 7 nice plump bunnies in the freezer.  got the compost bin moved over by the rabbit hutches and two of the goats bred.  i let the older clutch of baby ducks out of the pen but kept the younger batch locked up and will keep them safe for another couple of weeks.  @Ferguson K  and @Baymule these picks are for you.  all your talk about Muscovy ducks made me want to show off a little.   two hens hatched 30 ducklings and have raised 25 of them.  i have a lot of chocolate browns, a few black and white, a lot of different barred colors and some blues.  i have no idea what I'm going to do with all these ducks


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## Ferguson K (Oct 12, 2015)

They make delicious ducken. If you have any small chickens. Or grilled. Or fried. Or cut up and put in a casserole.  Cute ducks!!


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## Baymule (Oct 13, 2015)

I guess I am gonna have to buy a Muscovy and butcher it and cook it. Have never eaten one. But I admire them and their ability to multiply, seems like they are the ultimate small farm animal. They forage for a lot of their food, brood and raise their young and have a lot of meat for their size. I butchered 17 Pekins that I raised, but as I understand it, the Muscovy has a dark meat. Hmmmm...... going to look for a duck on craigslist.....


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## Ferguson K (Oct 14, 2015)

Haha! 

Ours, like most, are like rabbits when it comes to reproducing... We eat all of the young we don't sell.


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## goatgurl (Oct 16, 2015)

youall i just read my post from way back in May and realized that the picture of gracie's rabbit kill didn't come thru so I'm gonna try again.  don't be to mad at her or me... i had to laugh when i realized the picture wasn't there and i was imagining what youall thought.
had to go to the dentist and have a tooth cut out.  I'm such a baby where dentist are concerned, i was scared to death but i lived thru it and when he asked me if i needed pain pills i saw naw,  what!! was i thinking.  now I'm eating ibuprofen like m&m's.  did i mention I'm terrified of dentist..
picked the steer up from the butcher and stuffed it all in the freezer.  fat happy freezer right now


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## Latestarter (Oct 16, 2015)

OMG I had imagined blood splattered everywhere and fur/bloody pieces all over the floor!  LMAO  It was a STUFFED bunny!!  Well, THAT'S a relief! Sorry to hear about your dental issues. I have a bunch as well but can't afford the cost of repairs. Would love full implants top and bottom but they wan $44K and I haven't got it. Dental insurance is about useless for any real work needing to be done. It barely covers a filling...  You shoulda took the pain pills!! Normally when they offer them it's for good reason. Hope you feel better soon!


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## Baymule (Oct 17, 2015)

$44K for dental implants??? Good grief! The good news is, dentures are much much cheaper. They still cost too much if you don't have the money. I hope you can get your teeth issues fixed @Latestarter .  There's no pain like tooth pain.


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## goatgurl (Oct 18, 2015)

@Latestarter if i had to pay 44k for implants i would just have to just gum my food!  and you are right, dental insurance isn't worth much. 
and now you see why i had to repost the rabbit picture.  poor gracie, not really a bunny killer but heck on toys.
had fire ants get into an old chest freezer that i keep chicken feed in.  didn't know they were there until i had been stung 4 times on my right hand.  swollen with big blisters, ouch!!!  i hate those darn things, may they rest in peace.
spritzer spent the night with choco last night while meringue and black bang spent the night with dewey.  three more down and four to go.  that will be a fun day at my house next spring.


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## Southern by choice (Oct 18, 2015)

Not to be a pain but I need pics... and lots of them.
You know- face/name. I like to know who is who. 

Somehow I didn't think it was a real "bunny". Not sure why 

Healing up ok?


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## goatgurl (Nov 8, 2015)

@Southern by choice maybe you knew i wouldn't have been so calm if gracie had splattered a real rabbit around my house, lol.  and i promise that i will get pictures as soon as i can get them to cooperate.  they are either to up in my face or playing and won't stand still.   if i can talk ds#1 to help me maybe i can get it done. 
got back from my trip to west Virginia a couple of days ago.  i must be getting soft 'cause the trip wore me out!  loved seeing and visiting with old friends but the 4 days of driving (2 up and 2 back)  was exhausting.  riding with dd who was driving like a bat out of h--- was almost more than i could handle.  tractor trailers flipping in and out of lanes in front of us at 80 mpl scared me to death.  i was so glad to get off the 4,6 and 8 lanes of traffic and back to my slow pace.  had forgotten how pretty WVa is.  had also forgotten how everyone finds a little flat spot in the holler to build so you see 100 houses in these little hollers and no one living up higher.  and made me very sad to see how poor the state had become.  i feel so bad for friends who have lost jobs and have no real alternative for work. 
was glad to see everyone here is doing well.  has taken me a couple of days to get caught up with you guy.  things are good here, a sheep stepped on one of my black pullets and really smashed her little foot up but everything else is ok


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## frustratedearthmother (Nov 8, 2015)

Good to have you back - and so glad you 'survived' the trip.


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## goatgurl (Nov 8, 2015)

ds#1 was just here to get the pen for the back of the truck so we can go after the new ram tomorrow.  another purebred katahdins and is he a beauty.  i know, i know pictures.  i will when we pick him up.   instead of buying him i am leasing him this year.  way i figure it after he breeds the ewes i'll take him back home and won't have to feed him all winter or worry about how to keep him away from the does since to the ram and the bucks a willing girl is a willing girl even if they are dressed funny.
and @Southern by choice since ds#1 was here i got her to distract the goats so i could get a few pictures.  they aren't good pictures but they will have to do till we get more time.  these are all long yearlings, none of the older does would cooperate.  1.  black bang out of a celtic knot bred doe and my amberwood buck.  this is one of hairy girls twin does.  2. is cinnamon is also out of a celtic knot bred doe, hairy's little sister and my buck.  3.  is playne Jayne who is out of a forrest pride doe and my buck.  they are all three bred for spring freshening.  and last but not least is Janice Joplin, call name JJ.  she came from a English shepherd rescue gal in Joplin Missouri, hence the name.  she is 3/4 English shepherd and 1/4 Australian shepherd.  cute as a button and smart as a whip.  no she isn't here to be Katie the lgd's new helper.  she will be a general farm/yard dog who will help out where she can.  Katie will get her helper a little later on or at least that's the plan.  and @Baymule you'll notice all your darn ducks underfoot, lol


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## Southern by choice (Nov 8, 2015)

LOL my "hairy" girls are getting hairy. Some are ok hairy some I just want to shave the ugly off.

I so get the travel thing... it exhausts me. 

WV is beautiful. I LOVE the "rocks" (aka boulders that are big under the earth but look like just a rock on top). Wonder where they get their hay cuz ain't no land you can til or plant in. 

Seems poverty is everywhere and getting worse. 
JJ is cute! How old is she?


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## Baymule (Nov 8, 2015)

I am glad you enjoyed your trip. Traveling can be exhausting, it is nice to get back home. Your DD's driving might have scared you, but you can't drive like a sane person on the interstate highways or you will get run over. You just gotta fall in there with the rest of them and drive like a crazy idiot.

Your goats are lovely.  I am slowly being coerced into wanting goats..... just a couple..... probably works like chicken math.... 

And I see all those darn ducks underfoot.


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## goatgurl (Nov 9, 2015)

long day, took ds#1 to have an echo cardiogram this morning and then took off for northwest Arkansas to pick up the new ram.  his name is Raymond and he looks like an angus bull.  handsome and easy to work with.  he'll follow a feed bucket anywhere.  and look at that leg of lamb!   introduced him to most of the ewes this afternoon.  they aren't sure about him but he is crazy about them.  @Baymule and @Devonviolet if you change your mind about dorpers greg is selling some really nice ewes and has a few rams too.  has both registered and commercial stock, just a thought.   3rd pic is of Katie and little JJ.  kate is not real sure what to think of her but is pretty tolerant so far.  but jj doesn't go into the goat yard very often and if she does i am with her.  @Southern by choice JJ is 13 wks old btw.  4th pic is of chocodot.  she is the other twin doe from shebang aka the hairy girl.  and her dot is on her other side.  she has longer hair than her sister but thank heavens it is no where as long as her mothers.  5th pic is of princess Fiona, she is the daughter of my favorite doe viola.  vi was an accidental cross of a purebred lamancha and a purebred Nubian.  she was a dream to milk, gave a gallon+ a day and her udder milked out like a glove.  the Nubian half of her would scream bloody murder when she saw me come out the door and the lamancha part of her was loving and calm.  she died this summer after my sil left the gate unlocked.  i had told and told both him and dd how important it is to keep the gates locked but he "forgot".  he had closed the gate but not locked it.  ggrrrr  viola and Fiona had both got into the chicken corn and gorged themselves.  i did the antitoxin thing and gave them both every rx i could think of but viola died the next day and fiona pulled thru but still is thiner than i would like.  such is life... and pic 6 is of wanda the one winged blue maran.  i hatched her out this spring with a bunch of others and didn't even notice she only had one wing for a couple of weeks.  she is just fine, growing as well as the others she just can't fly over the fence.


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## frustratedearthmother (Nov 9, 2015)

Wow - that is one awesome looking fella!


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## Mike CHS (Nov 10, 2015)

Before I clicked on the thumbnail it does look like the ram is a bull.


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## goatgurl (Nov 10, 2015)

he is a chunk for sure.  i can't wait to have lambs on the ground next spring


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## Baymule (Nov 10, 2015)

That is one handsome fella! What a hunk!


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## goatgurl (Nov 21, 2015)

latestarter, youall were talking about big spools for the goats to play on.  thought i would show you what my girls play on.  they are big concrete culverts that i was gifted years ago.  they climb and jump on them, play queen on the mountain, use them for shelter, trim their hooves and scratch themselves on them from time to time.  and the chicken is old pink, yup her name is pink because all the other hens were dark red and she wasn't.   she is 6 years and molting, looks like i took the weedeater to her.


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## Ferguson K (Nov 21, 2015)

That is an amazing idea!


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## Latestarter (Nov 21, 2015)

What a great idea! Hmmmm now I have to try to find available culverts then figure out how to get them home


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## Southern by choice (Nov 21, 2015)

Love these!
The guy we got one of our Kiko's from had these but they were larger in diameter and that is what the goats used as shelter... So cool!


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## frustratedearthmother (Nov 22, 2015)

Would LOVE to get my hands on some of those!


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## OneFineAcre (Nov 22, 2015)

The culverts are great
I need some


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## goatgurl (Nov 22, 2015)

oh, @OneFineAcre  you would have to get smaller ones, your nigies couldn't jump that high, lol.  the high ends of those things are taller than i am.  it took a tractor and a whole lot of work to get those things in place.  they have set in the same spot for the last 12 years.


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## Ferguson K (Nov 22, 2015)

I could imagine  it would be a team effort getting those in. I showed my husband and he asked how I expected him to put them in place, as we have no tractor. I said well one day we will. That day, we do something like that. Until then its tarp covered cattle panels.


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## goatgurl (Nov 22, 2015)

it was no picnic getting them there but now that they are the goats really enjoy them, the sheep..not so much.  they rub on them once in a while but that's about all.
saw the first bald eagle of the season this afternoon.  they migrate here every fall, stay thru the winter and leave in the spring.  i love enjoy watching them.  I've gone down to the lake where they congregate and take pictures when i can.


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## Baymule (Nov 22, 2015)

Now you've gone and done it......everybody has concrete culvert envy!


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## goatgurl (Nov 22, 2015)

sorry everyone.  see, i was wishing they had a couple of those spools to play on.  they have a big tractor tire and the culverts but a spool or two would be nice.
and I'm amazed no one mentioned my poor naked chicken.  she looks like ---- but is still going strong for an old girl.  she has learned to cluck like a sitting hen when the roosters come near her so they leave her alone.  they fall for it every time.


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## frustratedearthmother (Nov 22, 2015)

goatgurl said:


> she has learned to cluck like a sitting hen when the roosters come near her so they leave her alone. they fall for it every time.



Well, I guess you can teach an old chicken a new trick, lol!


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## Baymule (Nov 22, 2015)

@Ferguson K if you get the chance to get some, just do it and worry about how to get them set later. I found a 7'x21' steel culvert in Beaumont when we lived in Livingston, for $750 and we drove over there to pay the man for it. Then by talking to everyone i knew, I found someone to haul it for $300. It sat in a ditch for over a year, then a neighbor bought a bulldozer and we immediately hired him to put it in.


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## Southern by choice (Nov 22, 2015)

Oh, if only you were closer...

We had a man pull up... remember we are RIGHT on the road 
anyway he travels past our house 2x day to/from work. He works for some company and noticed we had spools out for the goats and one was on its side because it was falling apart...

asked us if we'd like some spools? He was saying it is costly to get rid of them so if we can use them then great!
He has 14 right now... and he'd bring them by. 

Today he dropped off 2! 
Brought his wife also- they LOVE seeing the dogs  ... 
The dogs are as much attraction as the goats. 
While they were here someone else slowed down- real slow- I waved them in... thinking they were our visitors we were expecting... nope they saw the dogs and had to stop. 

I do love where I live.... that is how people are here... total strangers yet always willing to share with a "neighbor".
More spools coming this week!


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## Southern by choice (Nov 22, 2015)

Oh yeah... DD said we need to get some Lamanchas from you.


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## Hens and Roos (Nov 23, 2015)

Great find on the spools! Early Christmas presents for the goats & dogs  @Southern by choice


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## goatgurl (Nov 23, 2015)

oh man, free spools......  i wish we were closer too.   and @Ferguson K i just happened to know the foreman on a state road crew that was taking the culverts out and replacing them with metal.  they brought them here and dumped them in the front pasture.  it took three men and a boy with a big tractor to put them in the goat yard.
and @Southern by choice tell your dd that we could arrange that.


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## babsbag (Nov 23, 2015)

spools that are costly to get rid of ??? Here there are costly to buy. Go Figure. I love the culverts too; there are a few short ones abandoned in a field near me that would be just free for the taking, but they are big and heavy and my  little tractor can't move them. I guess I need to find the right person.


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## Ferguson K (Nov 24, 2015)

Here spools sit highway side unless someone stops and grabs them. Eventually road crews collect them up and take them god knows where. I've been eyeing all the road work watching for one. Then I'll strike! Small town means everyone knows everyone. 

The local road crews accidentally pushed some extra dirt in my driveway once with the grader. It immediately filled my pothole.


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## goatgurl (Dec 5, 2015)

well youall I'm not sure i can see to post this, I'm still crying.  went to the little town across the way for a late farmers market/Christmas parade today and when i got home my old cat Louis was stretched out on the floor barely breathing.  i called the vet, called ds#1 to drive us,  wrapped him up in a towel and took off.  as we got to the vets office old louie took his last breath.  i just sat in the truck, held him, rocked and cried.  i know that he was old, he would have been 21 in a couple of months and that his health was failing but finding him was such a shock.  he went outside with me yesterday.  i am going to miss my old cat buddy so much.   rest in peace louie amore, you were muchly loved old man.


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## Latestarter (Dec 5, 2015)

Sorry... He lived a long life and left it in your arms... I'm sure he'd have preferred it no other way.


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## Southern by choice (Dec 5, 2015)

So sorry. Glad you were with him for those last moments, so hard to say goodbye to a loyal friend and companion.


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## babsbag (Dec 5, 2015)

Aww I am so sorry...it never gets easy does it?   He was loved and he knew it and he was waiting for you to come home before leaving. Our animals just don't live long eoungh and we miss them all so much when they go. But we have to love them or our lives would be so empty. He was one lucky boy to have you for  so long, I am sure he gave you many good memories.


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## Baymule (Dec 5, 2015)

I am so sorry about Louis. Almost 21 years......he has been there with you in all the ups and downs in life, you have  a lot of family history wrapped up in that furry buddy. His long life is a testament to your love and care for him. We all have had a beloved pet leave us. There are pets and then there are those special animals that become family. There are those animals that become such a part of our daily lives, that loving them is as natural as breathing. I know there is a hole in your heart, I know you are grieving and I send you hugs and my sympathy. I am so sorry my friend for your loss.


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## norseofcourse (Dec 6, 2015)

I can't say it any better than the others...  so sorry for your loss, but I'm glad you were able to be there with him, difficult as it was for you.


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## frustratedearthmother (Dec 6, 2015)




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## Ferguson K (Dec 6, 2015)

I'm so sorry.


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## OneFineAcre (Dec 6, 2015)

So so sorry about your cat
I know it is tough
21 years is a good run for a cat though


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## Hens and Roos (Dec 6, 2015)

so sorry for your loss


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## goatgurl (Dec 6, 2015)

thanks guys.  yes, 21 is old for a cat and i knew he was failing but i guess i just wasn't ready for it.  he has been with me so long that I'm not sure how to act without him.  there is truly an empty spot in my house and i am so thankful that he stayed here till i got home and could hold and love him one last time.   he was attacked by coyotes 5-6 years ago and they ham stringed his left hind leg and it took him months to get over that but back he came stronger than ever.  couldn't jump as well as before but still got around very well.  just kind of walked 1, 2, 3, thump.  and slept with me every night.  I'm going to miss him a lot.


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## goatgurl (Dec 28, 2015)

didn't want to hijack @Devonviolet's journal with all the rain we have been having but wanted to show youall a picture of the water pot that i use to scald chickens when i butcher.  i had gotten it out Christmas eve and set it in front of the house because we planned to butcher a couple of ducks  to have for Christmas dinner but got sidetracked and decided not to.   it sat in front of the house until it started to rain the day after Christmas and this picture was taken 36 hours later.  having the chickens in the picture with the pot gives you a good idea of its size.  my rain gage ran over after six inches of rain had fallen but the folks on tv said we got about 9 inches.  water, water everywhere.   the night it started to rain the temps were in the high 60's and this evening when i let JJ out she came back in with snow on her back.  this has been the craziest Christmas in a long time.
and @Southern by choice have you ever seen a chicken with double dew claws?  ok, ok you know I'm just kidding.  this is my barred rock rooster who has double spurs.  I've heard of them but have never seen then till this year.  fortunately he is a good guy and has never offered to use them.
youall stay safe and have a blessed New Year!


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## Latestarter (Dec 28, 2015)

Man that's a lot of rain! Weather east of the rockies has been unbelievable! It's been more or less "normal" here...


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## sadieml (Dec 29, 2015)

SC is about like Texas these days - rain, rain, and more rain.  Today we had a sudden "cloud burst" that dropped 1" in less than 10 mins..  The ground is so saturated, the rivers and streams are full to the brim.  We need to wring out the top 4 to 6 inches of soil because everywhere is becoming boggy - and to think, for the last dozen or so years, we've had drought every summer.

@goatgurl  I only saw this thread today, so I didn't know about your loss.  I'm so sorry, I (I'm sure we ALL) know exactly how you feel.  God bless you and may the new year bring you a new kitty friend for the next couple of decades!


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## Devonviolet (Dec 29, 2015)

WOW @goatgurl! That is _amazing_!  I know y'all have been getting the same storm systems we have had, only by the time they get up your way, they seem to have strengthened!

 I love your "wring out the topsoil"  Wouldn't it be great if we could do that!!! All this mud & muck is getting to be a bit much!  Now, if we could only get the County Commissioner to do something about our roads. They are* [this]* close th being washed out all together! They have gone from bad to worse after being flooded multiple times this year!


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## Devonviolet (Dec 29, 2015)

I'm also sorry to hear about your loss! 
My heart cries with you goatgurl!

We have lost a number of cats over the years, and it never gets easier. They all have their own personalities, and seem to know how to wriggle their way into our hearts. We know they won't live more than 15 or so years, and if we get more it's a bonus. It doesn't make the hurt any less when they are gone. 

When I married DH he had a full size Tortoise Shell Persian (Mittens), who was 12. She managed to live to the ripe old age of 24!  Oh how we cried when she was gone!

Our most recent loss was Trish, a gorgeous white pure bred Persian, with blue eyes, that we rescued.   We had her eight years. She died just before we made the move from PA to TX.


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## Southern by choice (Dec 29, 2015)

That is strange with the double spur!
Imagine that could really tear up the hens backs.

Rain- did you say something about rain? 
This is like the 2012/2013 season... and I am worried.
Our front field- this is the little field that we have the dairy goats in and pups- flooded. It has NEVER flooded before.

Lets just say  I am a _*little*_ stressed over this.


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## goatgurl (Jan 1, 2016)

sky looks kind of scary today.  not gray, black or green but i think that's a color they call blue and there is a great big bright thing up there.  can't really tell what it is as it hurts my eyes to look at it.  wow...
my wish for you all is a happy, healthy safe new year.  God bless you all. 
now I'm heading over to ds#1's house for some black eyed peas, hog jowl, fried cabbage, cornbread and a little chocolate cake.  and of course that ever present glass of sweet tea.


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## Southern by choice (Jan 1, 2016)

We have the same thing here!  Strange....


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## OneFineAcre (Jan 1, 2016)

I don't have sunshine
But at least it isn't rainimg


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## Poka_Doodle (Jan 1, 2016)

I know that feeling, when "Partly Cloudy" is very nice weather.


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## Devonviolet (Jan 1, 2016)

Hahaha Hahahaha! We we're commenting earlier about having the same issue here! Although that bright yellow thing didn't stay for long. There is just a hint of that strange blue, but mostly that all too familiar, dreary, gray stuff!


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## goatgurl (Jan 11, 2016)

took Raymond the ram back to his owner today.  his duty here was done.  i promised his owner that i wouldn't let him out in the full 60 acres both he and all the ewes had to stay locked in the goat pen 24/7.  they went thru 6 round bales in the 7 weeks or so that he was here.  the girls were glad he left so they could get back out to pasture.  he taught me a good lesson last Friday night.  i was heading up to the barn to feed, feeling like heck warmed over from a case of tonsillitis and not paying any attention.  i had let emma and jj come up with me and Raymond went into protector mode for his ladies because of the dogs, came up behind me and wham!  fortunately for me it was more of a tentative whack then a full force one.  i was lucky that he didn't hurt me.  i know to never turn your back on a male of any kind but was just complacent because he has always been a real sweetie and had never even offered to be even a little cranky.  ok, lesson learned... again.  like the idea of leasing instead of buying.  he was here for 7 weeks, bred all the ewes and the sum total was $100. and gas to drive him back and forth.  way cheaper than keeping and feeding him all year long and way! cheaper than buying him.  yup gonna do that again next fall.  pix is of rayray and the girls last week, lama is trying to play in the wagon.  no matter how they try sheep just aren't as graceful and cute as goats when they play.  they don't have that jump/kick thing down.  youall have a good rest of the week!


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## Southern by choice (Jan 11, 2016)

glad you are ok. I have heard so many nightmares about rams. Crazy! How did your dogs handle it?  

  that picture is too funny! Kinda seems odd with sheep trying to play in the wagon. I will say the sheep look beautiful! Nice looking group there!

How is your weather? Freaking freezing here now. I hate it!


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## Devonviolet (Jan 11, 2016)

goatgurl said:


> like the idea of leasing instead of buying. he was here for 7 weeks, bred all the ewes and the sum total was $100. and gas to drive him back and forth. way cheaper than keeping and feeding him all year long and way! cheaper than buying him. yup gonna do that again next fall.


I'm not to the point of breeding yet.  Not having any does yet might have something to do with that. 

Anyway . . . I'm with you there, not wanting to feed a buck all year to breed a couple does once a year. But am wondering how you handle quarantine & keeping your ewes safe from the ram bringing something in with him.  Y'all must have some kind of contract to sign, what kinds of things are covered?  

You said your cost was $100 plus gas, and mentioned round bales. Did you pay a fee to the ram's owner?  How did you find the ram's owner?


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## Latestarter (Jan 12, 2016)

Glad you survived the hit! That could have been bad!


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## babsbag (Jan 12, 2016)

goatgurl said:


> i know to never turn your back on a male of any kind but was just complacent because he has always been a real sweetie and had never even offered to be even a little cranky.



Ain't that the truth...gave me a good laugh after a stress filled weekend with DH. I needed that.  

Seriously though, glad that you didn't get hurt; I have never owned sheep but I suppose that goats could be the same way, but there is a reason they call them a 'ram"...just sayin'  

I like the idea of leasing, but I also get a little freaky about bio-security so really not an option for me. I think AI is the way to go for me.


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## Devonviolet (Jan 12, 2016)

Bio-security is my main concern when bringing in new animals.  

I'm torn between that & feeding a buck all year for one or two hook ups.


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## babsbag (Jan 12, 2016)

I bought my first buck when I had 6 does to breed and then after 2 years I had to get another new buck as I won't line breed for more than one generation. If you keep kids you are often on the lookout for new blood. Horrible life to be a buck.


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## goatgurl (Jan 27, 2016)

sorry I couldn't answer youall, my computer went 10-7.  the screen went all jumpy and wiggly then faded to black, not good...not good at all.  since it is an old laptop anyway and I have already replaced the screen once I really didn't think it was worth it to replace it again.  so I have been computerless for the past couple of weeks.  bless her heart, my friend jb has let me use her laptop till I can get a new one.  she just uses her phone or gets online at work if she needs to.
as to problems with biosecurity fortunately for me I got my ram from the same person that I had purchased one of my ewes and my last ram from and he hasn't brought any new animals onto his farm in several years so if his animals have a problem mine probably do too.  if that weren't the case I would get a ram earlier in the year and isolate him in one of the back pens for a few weeks before letting him out with the girls.  @Devonviolet I met the owner years back when I bought my female maremma from him. he raises registered katadhin sheep, registered savanna meat goats and was selling his last litter of maremma pups.  nice guy, nice place and well cared for stock.  and @Southern by choice he has about as many dogs as you do.  they are beautiful and hard working.  seven all together, three with the sheep, three with the goats and a retired 11 year old male who stays the yard and barn area with his two border collie, sheep working friends.  and to answer the question about what the dogs did when Raymond whacked me, emma (the littlest and my avatar) charged his nose, she is the one who backed him away from me.  Katie got between he and I and made sure he stayed in front of me. baby jj ran for her life.  the sheep and the goats intimidate her.  the older she gets the better she gets but she still has plenty of respect for them and runs if they threaten her.   
other than the computer dying all is well with my world.  ground is drying well, the snow and ice missed us and I have been enjoying the warmer days.  goats are getting their little yup i'm preggers udders and looking the part.  sheep are doing well, glad to be out of lock up and the young hens are finally starting to lay.  yea!!!  little bitty eggs, makes me smile.  I've been working with the bunny poo and compost and getting the planting barrels ready for spring then I spend hours looking in the seed catalogs and convincing myself that I don't need all the neat things I find. 
its good to be back, I've missed youall.   take care


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## Baymule (Jan 27, 2016)

Glad you weren't hurt by the ram whack in the back. I don't have a ram yet, but will have to get one so I can have another lamb crop. I know how you feel with no computer. When we moved last February, we had no internet. I exhausted every avenue and finally 7 months later, DH saw a Hughes Net commercial on TV and I called them. It is slow, but it is a connection and sure beats using my phone! Glad you are back with us!


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## goatgurl (Feb 23, 2016)

well my friend had to borrow her computer back for a while so I've been gone again.  life is always interesting.  things are going well here, we're getting some much needed rain here today.  i'm trying to put off going out to do chores but the radar looks like it is going to last a while so i'm gonna send this and then go get started.  i have bunnys due tomorrow.  nest box in and bess the bunny  has it all fluffed and ready, is pulling fur and looking pretty preggo.  last time she and calllie were both in the same hutch, kindled on the same day and had a total of 16 kits.  now they are separated so it will be interesting to see who has how many.
had to add a couple of goat pictures for good measure.  the big gal is spritzer and the ff with the starter kit is baby bang.  they are due on the same day and have a month to go. i'm only freshening 8 does this year which seems strange but will be more manageable.  4 first fresheners, 1 - 2nd,  1- 3rd and 2- 4th.  five of them are due within 5 days.  what was i thinking???   well can't get the pictures to load, dang it...  you'll just have to trust me, they're looking pregnant,


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## Southern by choice (Feb 23, 2016)

Aw... wish the pics would have loaded. Something just oh so cute about pregnant goats! 

We had 4 go in 24 hrs. Leah the night before and then 3 the next morning it started. The girls were wonderful... each one waited til the other was done before they had theirs! Now those are some considerate does if ya ask me! 

It is nice when they all can be close together. 

I love to see everyone else with their rabbits and the kits... I am not brave enough to take on rabbits. 

We seem to be having extra rain.   So saturated, so sick of it and we are now in a 3 day spell of it. Tomorrow severe thunderstorms and wind.. probably because the temp is suppose to be almost 70... they are calling for possible tornadoes... more East of where we are.. Raleigh and East of... fortunately we are West. Still the crew is out picking up everything not nailed down... hmmmm they could be out there for days.

Glad you were able to poke yer head in!


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## goatgurl (Feb 24, 2016)

I sure hope that my girls are as considerate as yours are when it comes time for everyone to deliver.  I have been reading everyone's kidding threads and see so many doelings.  I sure hope my older does cooperate, I have never gotten doe kids out of the two oldest does and am getting pretty desperate.  i'm keeping my fingers crossed. 
I have to be the first to admit that if my sil didn't help with dispatching the bunny growouts I probably wouldn't raise them to eat.  I can clean them all day long but am a woose when it comes to dispatching them.


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## goatgurl (Mar 3, 2016)

as of today the score is opossum 4, me 6.   something had killed 4 of my young hens in  the past 3 weeks, have set live traps and prowled around the barn and chicken house in the dark to no avail but this afternoon Katie, the bwd was barking and carrying on up in the feed side of the barn so I took my trusty little pistol and headed up to see what she had cornered.  lo and behold there was my little chicken killer in the flesh.  it was quite the circus, there was me, Katie, emma, J.J. 8 goats, 4 sheep and a flock of chickens and ducks all crowded into the girls side of the barn but when the gun went off the only ones left standing were miss emma and I.  every one else was standing on the outside looking in.  the killer guard dogs were both outside, they said they were protecting the goats but I don't really believe them... ' good news is that ms. 'possum was dead, other good news was that I didn't shoot a hole in the side of the barn.  sort of sad news was that ms. 'possum was a mama and had 5 little babies stuck tight to her.  at least that's 5 less for the chickens and I to worry about.  last year it was raccoons, this year opossums.  never a dull moment around here.
on a lighter note, bess black bunny had her kits three days ago.  nine fat happy little bunnies.  1 black, 1 blonde, 1 broken blonde, and 6 broken blacks.  did I ever tell youall how darn cute it is when you pull back moms fur pile and little baby bunnies start popping up and down. makes me laugh.  callie is due tomorrow, Maggie next week and pinkie lee the week after that.  i'm going t be covered in baby bunnies pretty soon.
wrestled with 5 of the pregger goats today and gave them their cd-t boosters.  between the gun and the needles I am not their favorite person right now.  count down to babies.  i'm starting to get excited.  this borrowed computer still won't let me post pictures so youall will just have to use your imagination.  i'm still working on it tho.


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## frustratedearthmother (Mar 4, 2016)

Good shooting, GG!  Glad you got that chickin' killin' critter!


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## Baymule (Mar 4, 2016)

Awww......baby bunnies are so darn cute! And you have 5 goats due? Whew! You are gonna be busy!


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## goatgurl (Mar 8, 2016)

actually @Baymule I have 8 goats to freshen but 5 are due in a 5 day period.  when are you gonna come get yours? and bring @Devonviolet with you, she wants a lamancha for minimunchies and boy do I have a girl for her.    I guess i'm nuts but they just kept coming into heat so I kept taking them to the buck. 
so far baby bunny count is 14.  bess had 9 and callie had 5.  all fat happy little things. Maggie is due to kindle this thrusday and pinkielee the following Wednesday.  had fried rabbit for family dinner on sunday.  everyone enjoyed the fruits of my labor... SIL has a turkey fryer that he loves to use so I let him do most of the cooking.  he fried potatoes and the rabbit, I did the corn on the cob and mixed up a green salad and ds#1 made caramel brownies.  add a glass of sweet tea and what more could you ask for.


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## frustratedearthmother (Mar 8, 2016)

Sounds yummy!!


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## Devonviolet (Mar 8, 2016)

goatgurl said:


> actually @Baymule I have 8 goats to freshen but 5 are due in a 5 day period.  when are you gonna come get yours? and bring @Devonviolet with you, she wants a lamancha for minimunchies and boy do I have a girl for her.    I guess i'm nuts but they just kept coming into heat so I kept taking them to the buck.
> so far baby bunny count is 14.  bess had 9 and callie had 5.  all fat happy little things. Maggie is due to kindle this thrusday and pinkielee the following Wednesday.  had fried rabbit for family dinner on sunday.  everyone enjoyed the fruits of my labor... SIL has a turkey fryer that he loves to use so I let him do most of the cooking.  he fried potatoes and the rabbit, I did the corn on the cob and mixed up a green salad and ds#1 made caramel brownies.  add a glass of sweet tea and what more could you ask for.



Wow goatgurl! That sounds really tempting! I would LOVE to go visit you with @Baymule! 

However, we have so much going on right now, we can't add a couple dairy goats.(More for DH than me) You said you have one LaMancha doe. I would want to bring 2 together, for a number of reasons, one being I don't want my new girls to be lonely during the quarantine period, and have a buddy when they go in with the NDs.


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## goatgurl (Mar 8, 2016)

oh silly girl...  @Devonviolet I have way more than one girl.  I just have one picked out special for you.  I knew you wanted to make mini lamanchas and this gal was born last year, a twin.  her brother weighed 8+ pounds and she weighed 2.  she was so tiny i was amazed.  she is a spunky little gal and has grown out well but I would just feel better if she was bred to a nigie instead of a full sized buck.   we can certainly add her a friend.  just let me know when you're ready. lol.


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## Devonviolet (Mar 9, 2016)

All righty then! Per Hubby, we need to get the fencing done, before we can think about getting anymore goats. In addition to trying to get the fence done we have a couple more major projects that need doing. Once they are done, we can schedule a visit. 

I'm looking forward to it!


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## Baymule (Mar 9, 2016)

I am at a fencing place too. I have two little pastures for the sheep. In the meantime, I have a looooong stretch of fence that needs to be finished.....but DH just had knee replacement surgery and it might be awhile before I can get back to fencing.


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## goatgurl (Mar 10, 2016)

it's ok @Baymule, time is the one thing I have lots of. i'm in absolutely no hurry.  my sil is going on the 14th for his second knee replacement.  he did great on his first one last year.  he was in the army airborne and i've told him that's what he gets for jumping out of perfectly good airplanes. 
hope youall are staying dry in all the rain that you've been sending my way.  we have had about 5 inches so far and i'm sure youall have had more than that.  i'm about to need water wings to get to the barn.


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## Baymule (Mar 10, 2016)

Total we have gotten 11 inches. Where these little county roads dip down to go over a creek, they have flooded. Trees down, it's a mess. Fortunately, we are on high ground and when we can't see the end of the driveway for the rain, we have sense enough to stay home.   After DH gets over this, he is going to have a full shoulder replacement. He says he won't have that done until winter, we have too much to do for him to be laid up again.


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## Devonviolet (Mar 11, 2016)

goatgurl said:


> it's ok @Baymule, my sil was in the army airborne and I've to old him that's what he gets for jumping out of perfectly good airplanes.
> hope youall are staying dry in all the rain that you've been sending my way.


Interesting . . . my son was in the 82nd Airborne! He did boot camp at Lawton, OK & was stationed at Fayetteville, NC. I used to tell him the same thing about jumping out of perfectly good airplanes.


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## goatgurl (Mar 11, 2016)

well,  the games have begun.  ff kidded today, 5 days earlier than expected. good news, her udder is really nice!   bad news, one ginormus buck kid.  i'm so glad she was able to have him by herself because emma and I went to the vets this morning to get her flea allergy shot, then to mickyd's for a burger, then to the feed store, then to the nursery for a couple of cherry tomato plants, cabbage plants and some seed potatoes.  when we got home everyone greeted us except baby bang and Katie.  hummm.  when I got to the house there was kate laying in front of the barn, hummm again.  went up and lo and behold there was bang with her giant baby boy.   please, please, please don't let me have another buck year.  got her molasses water, some hay and got her put up away from the rest of the girls.  mother and baby are doing great.  and no... no pictures.  this computer and my camera card won't let me share for some reason.


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## frustratedearthmother (Mar 11, 2016)

Congrats!  Always nice when they do it all by themselves - especially with a big ol' single!


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## Baymule (Mar 12, 2016)

Congrats on the new baby and glad she didn't have any problems!


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## goatgurl (Mar 15, 2016)

miss spritzer came thru with a doe and buck twins.  yea!!!  I wanted a doeling from her so bad.  just tell me how a black doe can have a snowy doeling?  i'm thinking maybe the baby daddy had something to do with it.  still can't post pic's...


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## frustratedearthmother (Mar 15, 2016)

Congrats - so glad you got what you wanted!


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## Baymule (Mar 15, 2016)

goatgurl said:


> miss spritzer came thru with a doe and buck twins.  yea!!!  I wanted a doeling from her so bad.  just tell me how a black doe can have a snowy doeling?  i'm thinking maybe the baby daddy had something to do with it.  still can't post pic's...


Aren't genetics fun? One of my splotchy black and white ewes had twins, a snowy white (named Snowflake) and a light brown lamb.


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## goatgurl (Apr 28, 2016)

on a borrowed computer and just stopped by to say hi and let everyone know that we are all alive and well here in arklahoma.  all the ewes have lambed, a total of 5 ram lambs and 1 little cinnamon colored eweling.  they are all doing well and growing like weeds.  all of the goats have kidded except one and she is due next week.  I got doelings out of the two older does so i'm a happy camper about that.   going to keep them both which means that I've got to decide who i'm not going to keep from the others.    got a broody hen fixing to hatch and the mama bunnys have exploded and there are kits every where.  biggest litter was 12 and smallest was 6.  the new bunnys that i bought last winter are turning out to be great moms.  was actually able to post a couple of pics.  babies in the sunset and a wad of bunnies.  from the production white doe and palomino buck.  not a white pink eyed baby in the bunch,  yea!!  I like colored buns so much better.  i'll be back when I can.
     youall take care.  I miss visiting with you.


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## Mike CHS (Apr 28, 2016)

Congratulations but not being a rabbit person, I have to ask what is wrong/right with pink eyed bunnies?


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## goatgurl (Apr 28, 2016)

absolutely nothing is wrong with white pink eyed bunnys, the production whites are fast growing meat rabbits it is just a personal thing with me.  i'm just not a fan of pink eyed bunnys.  I do like the fact that she had 12 kits and is a really good mom so she is a keeper even tho she isn't my favorite color.


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## frustratedearthmother (Apr 28, 2016)

Good to hear from you!!  Sounds like things are going well at Someday Farm!


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## Ferguson K (Apr 28, 2016)

Good to hear from you!  Glad all is well.


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## goatgurl (Aug 17, 2016)

mki  back on jb's borrowed computer today and thought I would run by and say hi,,,,,,,,,, HI!  everyone.  you older folks remember the tv show heehaw right.  this summer I've sort of felt like those old guys who sang gloom, despair and agony on me.  if it weren't for bad luck i'd have no luck at all.   computer died, drowned my cell phone, killed my lawn mower grave yard dead.  ya know how the owners manual says to check the oil before every use... well I never did.  just checked it ever so often and it was always fine but youall should know that it makes big banging noises when you drive it dry.  new engine costs $950. plus another $125 for labor.  on a 9 year mower, I don't think so.  oh well another lesson learned.  even though I was on the no spray list  the power company sprayed brush killer all the way across my front pasture and I lost two young wethers.  took me a little bit before I realized what the problem was but contacted them and after personal visit from the contractors owner we got that all worked out.  I was not a happy camper and they figured that out pretty quickly.  at least it was wethers and not any of the does.
  other than all the nutty stuff life has gone along ok.  all the other goats are doing well.  the sheep are wandering around fat dumb and happy.  chickens and ducks ok too.  since I whittled the flock down from last year I have had more of a problem with ticks this year.  they were so thick out in the woods that the does would come in of an evening with multiple ticks on them, especially around their eyes.  I finally did something I've never done in the 40+ years I've raised goats and put cattle tags on their collars.  they have really helped.  big goats are not amused when you put them in a headlock and pull 6 or 7 tick off one eye.  they get really cranky.  and speaking of bugs, this summer has has been awful, I've had more chiggers bites and fire ant stings then I can remember in forever.  I actually have scars on my hands from the fire ants.  never thought I would say this but man I wish winter would get here and kill some of them.  Emma and JJ are both doing great, JJ has become a great farm dog, keeps squirrelsaway from the bird feeders and keeping strangers out of the yard.  I have never had a dog that notices anything unusual like she does.  and Katie is still working hard at guarding us all and keeping the coyotes at bay.
  hope youall have been doing well.  @Latestarter  I've caught up with your journey and hope you find the perfect place.  why don't you just buy a camping trailer and pull it on down to Arkansas.  you can park it out back under the pines and stay till you find the place of your dreams.  no need to worry about the neighbors, no one will even know you're there.  I have a shale bank that is great for target practice and since all the neighbors shoot too no one will care.  plus all the pigs you want to hunt.  please hunt the pigs.  seriously you are welcome.  I would hate to think you chose a place just because you have a deadline.  I live close enough to okla and texas that you could make day trips to look till you find what you want.   reasonable taxes here in Arkansas.  i'm 4 or so hours from baymule, 2 1/2 from Tulsa and 3 from little rock and 2 from fayetteville.  beautiful country.   think about it.
@Baymule ,@Devonviolet , @frustratedearthmother , @Ferguson K  and @animalmom I've sure worried about youall with all the flooding that went on.  devonviolet I read about DH's scare. first slap him on the back of the head for scaring you so and then hug him tight and take good of him,  and poor Louisiana,  those folks just can't catch a break.  @Southern by choice sounds like you are doing good too. I saw that you found my dog, not leo a family and great home.  he is such a special guy.  @OneFineAcre you seem to have been a bad influence on @Goat Whisperer you gave her the show bug.   you know there really isn't a cure for that.  and a big congrats on your wins at the nationals.  good job!  and you got a really nice new buck, very handsome.  @Mini Horses sounds like you are going strong.  good to hear.  and so many new people on here.  welcome to you all.  hope you all enjoy your journeys.  check back when I can.  doing some dog sitting and saving $ for a new computer.  soon I keep thinking, soon.  youall take care!


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## Latestarter (Aug 17, 2016)

Sorry you're having the run of bad "luck"... I told the last LO who was telling me 8 days and 45 days were "required" that I've considered just saying to hell with it and buying a motor home or pull trailer and just being a vagabond. She said she'd Email me a pre-approval letter... guess there's a mandatory 8 day wait on that as well since I haven't received it yet either...   I think I'm going to contact a manager and ask for a new LO. I mean really... just want one who knows their job, and understands customer service. Is that too much to ask? I mean I'm gonna pay them (tens of) thousands of dollars over the next 30 years for the "privilege" of borrowing their other customer's savings. 

I'd love to come for a visit. I'd be more than happy to eliminate some pigs too  Maybe we can get those things done regardless. I understand you breed Lamanchas and I'd like to talk with you about buying from you. Maybe a bred doe, or a couple of kids next spring. or some of each...


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## frustratedearthmother (Aug 17, 2016)

goatgurl said:


> if it weren't for bad luck i'd have no luck at all



Hate to hear that!  But, so glad to hear from you!


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## Baymule (Aug 17, 2016)

So glad to hear from you, been missing you. If it weren't for bad luck, you'd have no luck at all. I hate that about your property line getting sprayed, that sucks. I guess I need to call my electric company.... Hope you get a new computer soon, sure miss you on here.


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## Ferguson K (Aug 17, 2016)

Glad to hear all is going "well" for you over there!

Don't worry about us on this side, we've got good will and boats!

Hope you get to get back on sooner than later!


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## OneFineAcre (Aug 17, 2016)

Thanks for checking in
I really appreciate the fact that you checked in on me in particular 
Remember what my signature line says from that great poet Ronnie Van Zant
"Troubles will come and they will pass"
I have always found that to be true


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## animalmom (Aug 18, 2016)

So very considerate thinking of us in Texas, and so greatly appreciated too!  I didn't get all that much rain, so far, as East Texas.  It has been cloudy and stormy off and on for almost a week.  The rain is always welcomed and this storm brought cooler temperatures.  Normally this time of year we are high 90's flirting with 100 or on wicked years we are in the 100's.  Right now we're in the low to mid 80's.

Poor Louisiana just can't seem to get a break.

Glad to hear from you.


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## goatgurl (Aug 18, 2016)

after I reread my post I really didn't mean to make it a witch fest, just been a weird spring and summer.  I also dropped and broke my good camera but life goes on and when you look around you realize that you are truly blessed. God is constant thru it all.   troubles come and go but life continues.  garden this year has been a bust, just a few tomatoes and some cukes. I just replanted summer squash and peas for fall.  maybe i'll get more than the squash bugs this late in the season.  when the mower died I let the sheep in the yard to "mow".  didn't want the goats in because they "eat everything",  no one mentioned that sheep like rose bushes, dahlias, moss roses, garden phlox, honeyberry bushes,  stevia,  beans and peppers  oh.  life's lessons.  I had to laugh.    
  took 27 rabbits on a trip to freezer camp from the last batch.  am really pleased with the production white and palomino cross as well as the American chinchilla/palomino cross.  they both grew like the preverbal weeds.  only keeping three mamas and the buck and will breed them again when it is cooler.  when its just you it doesn't take long to get covered up with bunnys.  I love rabbit but honestly enough is enough.  first two rabbits I took to the sale brought $23 and $16 respectively so I thought ok, good outlet, i'll take more.  nope next two brought $2. each.  not enough to bother with in time and trouble so freezer camp it is.  and @Baymule remember how I liked having the big totes under the cages to catch the poo and piddle.  worked like a charm until we had those big early summer rains and the totes blew full of water from the roof runoff.  liquid cow pie consistently bunny poo is not easy to work with.  imagine little old "fluffy" woman scooping liquid poo out with shovels into 5 gallon buckets.  so totally gross.  who knew so few rabbits could produce so much poop.  garden tubs love it tho.    
  youall take care


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## Goat Whisperer (Aug 18, 2016)

So nice to hear from you!


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## Southern by choice (Aug 18, 2016)

I was so excited to see you had the opportunity to drop in.
I have missed you! 
 I think of you often and wonder how things are going, knowing you don't have a computer right now.

You are so right... ups and downs and everything in between... but God IS our constant. 

I have wondered how the family is doing and the farm.

Going to pm you... don't know when you will see it but that's ok.

Miss you my friend!


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## Baymule (Aug 18, 2016)

Haha, I always just let the poo fall to the ground. The chickens kept it stirred up and ate the fly larva. Poo-Goo in a tub? 

How do you cook your rabbit? Fried? Let's see, I used to have lots of recipes. I ground it up and made burger. Sometimes I ground bacon with it for the fat and made Bunny Burgers.


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## goatgurl (Nov 3, 2016)

hey guys checking in again.  have jb's computer for a couple of days so am taking advantage of it.  I've about gone blind trying to catch up on everyone and everything.  so many new folks, @NH homesteader, @CntryBoy777,  @Green Acres Farm, @Alexz7272, @cjc  and all the others that I can't remember right now,   hi to you all, you've come to a good place to share and learn.   and youall know there will be a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.  things are going well around here since the craziness of the spring and summer seems to be over.  I haven't broken anything for at least 2 months .   thank you Lord.  goats are doing really well. for some reason most of them are really slow coming into heat,  don't have a clue why but I only have 4 bred out of the 10.  thinking about putting the doelings in the buck pen where they'll be safe and turning the buck out with the does just in case they are having little heats that i'm not catching. makes me go hummm.  of the 4 does that are bred I traded two of them for a couple of half grown hogs.  a large black gilt and a yorkshire cross barrow.  so much for not raising a pig this year but at least I have a time table for them to go to freezer camp. ds#1 and i are going to share the large black and the yorkie is gonna be a Christmas present divided between ds#3, ds#4 and ds#5.  I think they'll enjoy that more than something frufru from wallyworld.  have another 21 bunnys to send to freezer camp and then i'm not going to breed them again till spring.  one can easily become overrun with the dang things.  sent a wether lamb and 2 goat wethers to freezer camp last week.  yum!  have a new ram for the sheeple,  leasing him like last year.  this time I chose a youngster so hopefully he won't get that whack-a-me mode like the last one did.  baymule you'll know which pictures are for you. 
@Baymule I was tickled to see how much you liked your first lamb.  so good huh.  and youall have made so much progress on your place,  wow.  and to answer you question about how I cook the rabbits I guess the answer is just about any way you'd cook a chicken.  last week I put a couple in the crock pot with some garlic and a can of cream of chicken, that was really tasty.  one weekend the sil cooked a bunch of them in his turkey fryer, good too.  barbequed too, again in the crock pot. 
@Latestarter i'm so glad to see that you finally got moved, i'm so happy for you. i'll even forgive the fact that now you are a dreaded texican.  mom raised me to cheer for the razorbacks and anybody that texas played and I guess it kind of stuck, lol.   now just don't kill yourself trying to fix everything in one fell swoop.  and i'm glad you, @Devonviolet & dh and @Baymule & her dh all got to meet and eat.  and latestarter you'll know which picture is for you.
@Southern by choice you just need to know that i'm pretty mad at you @frustratedearthmother and @babsbag.  just what I need to want, another puppy.  that gp/mastiff cross is a doll!  and we both know that I love not leo and would love a pup out of that cross.  you are all troublemakers! glad all seems to be going well.  and when are you moving?
@samssimonsays i'm sorry you are having so much trouble with your dogs.  I truly hope they can get over this and live long healthy lives.  @OneFineAcre  again congratulations on the show wins.  the girls are doing great, do you think it has something to do with the care they get at home.  @Ghost Whisperer you did so good for your first show really proud of you.  you do know that you have now gone over to the dark side and it's all OFA's fault.  you know i'm joking right.  I loved all the years that I spent showing.  so many good people you meet and so much to learn.  you go girl.  @Mini Horses hang in there, we need to have a long chat about things.  @Ferguson K exciting about job, hang in there. 
youall take care and i'll see you when I get a chance to get back.


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## OneFineAcre (Nov 3, 2016)

Hey @goatgurl
It has a lot to do with the care they get at home
My wife does a great job


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## Ferguson K (Nov 3, 2016)

Glad to see you around!

Stay safe. It'll be nice when you have a working computer again, yeah?


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## Baymule (Nov 3, 2016)

I love that ram! What a spotted up boy! I am in love!  So glad to hear from you, hope you get to come back and visit with us soon!


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## Latestarter (Nov 4, 2016)

Thanks for the update, the well wishes, and the pics.   Wish you could be around more as I've always enjoyed your posts. Keep not breaking stuff!


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## samssimonsays (Nov 4, 2016)

Awe thank you! So good to hear from you! Glad all is well and good to know about how to cook rabbit! 

Had my first taste of goat a little while back and it was


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## luvmypets (Nov 4, 2016)

So good to hear from you, I love your new Ram.


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## Mini Horses (Nov 4, 2016)

So glad you found a computer to use -- even if temp!   Winter is coming before long so no need for a mower for a while  I'm getting ready to park mine & winterize.    Just got last of pastures mowed and the dang bushhog off the back end of the tractor.   I'm seriously challenged with hooking up that piece of equipment!      Maybe your crew will surprise you with a little computer for Xmas.......drop a hint Mom!!

I don't butcher bunnies but, freezer full of pork & 2 gilts to farrow first week of Dec.   7 does will begin dropping kids next month & spread out over a couple months.  Not my preference but fences don't always work    At least all the baby everything will come along in similar times.

HATE winter cold but, like you, we need to kill off some little nasties.    Then I would LOVE a decent Spring without a monsoon or two, a small but nice garden and good pasture.   Dreams are fun, right  .   Guess I should add "win the lottery"    What the heck!

That buck looks like he can do the job -- if he doesn't run & beat himself to death --  
Otherwise, sounds like we are both "hanging in there" !!  Keep checking in when you can.  We miss your posts.


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## lcertuche (Nov 4, 2016)

goatgurl quote: I traded two of them for a couple of half grown hogs. a large black gilt and a yorkshire cross barrow. so much for not raising a pig this year but at least I have a time table for them to go to freezer camp. ds#1 and i are going to share the large black and the yorkie is gonna be a Christmas present divided between ds#3, ds#4 and ds#5. 

I don't know about others but I would be tickled pink if someone gifted me with meat. I'm always telling my family I don't really need anything and I don't. I do plan on buying myself a pressure canner soon but I would never turn down meat. It's been years since I tasted goat. How do you usually eat it?


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## frustratedearthmother (Nov 4, 2016)

@goatgurl - good to see you!  Glad to hear things are percolating right along.   I love the spotty ram too - hope he gives you lotsa babies that look just like him...minus the dangly things!

Isn't the new 'group effort' pup just a doll?  She's beautiful and from what Babs says - she's just a dear!  I can't wait for all this to come to fruition.

Totally agree with the suggestion of having your family chip in for a new computer for you - we miss you 'round here!


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## Hens and Roos (Nov 4, 2016)

glad to see you again @goatgurl, nice pictures!


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## norseofcourse (Nov 4, 2016)

Nice to see your update!  Glad your critters are doing so well and that's a good trade for those hogs.


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## Goat Whisperer (Nov 4, 2016)

So happy to see you update! I'm glad you haven't forgotten us!  Hope you can get a new computer soon. 

I love the sunset pic! That ram is a handsome dude too.  

Thanks so much for the compliments on the show. I agree, it's all OFA's fault 

I love how you still "check in" with everyone


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## goatgurl (Nov 6, 2016)

well guys, mr computer goes back this evening so wanted to drop in and say goodbye.   amd give one last update.  
   remember how I said I hadn't broken anything in the last 2 months, well... I still haven't but the young wether lamb that I was keeping to butcher came in today with his front leg broken between the knee and ankle.  fortunately not a compound break so he is splinted and put in a small pen with his mama where he'll have to live for the next couple of months so I can keep both eyes on him to see how he does.  poor baby.  if he develops problems then i'll decide what to do then but for now he is hopping around on 3 legs.  and I've gone from no goats in heat to 3 in standing heat at once.  choco isn't sure whether he is in heaven or h-ll.  3 very demanding ladies. 
youall take care of yourselves and each other and i'll see you when.


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## norseofcourse (Nov 6, 2016)

Awww poor guy, I hope he heals up fast.  You take care, too!


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## frustratedearthmother (Nov 6, 2016)

It was great to hear from you and get all caught up!  Come back when you can!


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## Hens and Roos (Nov 6, 2016)

hope his leg heals up!


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## Baymule (Nov 6, 2016)

I'm so glad that you were able to come in and update us on what is going on with you. Hope you get to come back more often. Hope your wether heals up.


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## goatgurl (Feb 4, 2017)

well, I snuck back in the back door again, jb is out of town for the weekend and let me borrow her laptop for tonight and tomorrow.  hope you are all doing well, things are marching right along here.  never a dull moment.  remember those pigs I traded for, well miss penny, the black gilt turned out to be preggers, yup as in bacon bits.  what is the one thing I have never had on my farm in the past 40 years??  mama pigs, why you ask?  well it's cause i'm scared to death of them.  have seen to many folks come thru the er or into icu that had been torn up by a angry pig and I want no part of it so to say that I wasn't thrilled is an under statement.  I had not raised this girl so I had no idea what her temperament would be, she came to me at 5 months old and I planned to butcher her right after the first of the year but that was shot to heck when her tatas started growing.  she had a total of 8 pigglets and lost the first 3, I think simply because she was a first timer and had no clue what she was doing. ds#1 and I had moved a calf hutch around so she could make a nest in before she farrowed  to keep them out of the weather but did she use it, no of course not.  cold rain, babys in the wet, not good.  now we are down to 1 little boy pig.  I feel really horrible that I wasn't brave enough to go in with her and start tossing babies into the hutch but just couldn't bring myself to do it.  ok, i'll admit it i'm a bad pig mama.


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## Bruce (Feb 4, 2017)

Or maybe your sense of self preservation rules!!


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## frustratedearthmother (Feb 4, 2017)

Great to hear from you!  Don't really blame you on the pigs.  We had baby pigs here too.  But, it really seems like the American Guinea Hogs are as docile and gentle as they are reputed to be.  I was in the pen during the birth of one set of babies and all was well.  And, thankfully, the mama's re not aggressive at all - BUT - I'd be terribly uneasy with any other breed.

How did the little wether with the broken leg heal?   For the first time in all the years I've been raising goats we had a little doeling break her leg right after Christmas.  She's done well and will go back in next week to have an x-ray and cast removal - thank goodness!  This little stinker can still jump 4 feet straight up with a cast on her leg... geeze!


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## Baymule (Feb 4, 2017)

Don't feel bad, I wouldn't tangle with a momma pig either. We only buy feeder pigs, they get butchered. I don't want a 800-1,000 pound hunk of mean with me in the crosshairs.


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## goatgurl (Feb 4, 2017)

maybe @Bruce, maybe.  i'm with you @Baymule, I've raised lots and lots of feeders but never had a litter.  being here alone I figured that if she ate me no one would know until I didn't answer my phone for a couple of days would anyone come and look for me and she would have me eaten and gone by then.  not really the way i'd choose to leave the planet.  @frustratedearthmother the wether is doing ok his leg didn't heal straight so he kinda walks on the side of his foot but he gets around great on it, just as fast as the others so i'm thinking he'll do finn until fall.  he is the first thing I've ever had break a leg too.  was weird.  the sheep were all turned loose in my yard and he was fine in the morning and hopped in for feeding time that afternoon.  ya just never know. 
all the girls are bred now, some of them rounder than others.  and the sheeple look like big fuzzy barrels running at you.  makes me laugh.  am so excited to have @Devonviolet and @Latestarter coming up next week.  and am so happy for falina and ruby to get to move to texas.  shame on you @animalmom for giving @Devonviolet a hard time for not posting a picture of ruby!  poor girl, she can't post what she doesn't have and because of my crazy schedule and rubys lack of cooperation I haven't sent her one. 
on a different note my brilliant neighbor almost burned my world down about 3 weeks ago.  lets ask ourselves who would start a brush pile burning when the wind is blowing 15-30 miles an hour.  answer... they would.  it took 5 volunteer fire departments and 2 forest service dozers to contain the fire.  got within about 100 yards of my house and barn.  ds#1 and #5 along with my neighbors helped load all of the goats and sheep plus my adult rabbits in the stock trailer so if we had to run we could. the critters were so angry at me because I wouldn't let them out until the next day.   the fire was still going in the pines behind the house the next twos day and I wasn't taking any chances on having to try to catch them all again.   like I said, never a dull moment


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## frustratedearthmother (Feb 4, 2017)

HOLY COW!   What a FLIPPING DUMBA$$ you have for a neighbor!  So glad it wasn't worse!


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## goatgurl (Feb 4, 2017)

you know, God is so good.  I was in town, had just pulled into the doctors office for my yearly appointment when my neighbor texted me asking if I knew there was a fire behind my house?  uuhh no!  she said, we've already called the fire department.  a drive that normally takes me 45 mins to make took me 29 mins.  drive fast, yup.  as I pulled up into my driveway where the sheriffs deputies and news crews were I saw a pair of jet con trails that formed a cross over my land and altho I was freaking out in my soul I knew that whatever happened would be ok.  still gives me chills to think about it.  and the neighbor who's son started the fire has never called me to see how much damage there was  or anything.  not the brightest bulb on the tree indeed.


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## CntryBoy777 (Feb 4, 2017)

@goatgurl Glad to see ya are back for a "Visit", sure hated to hear about your sister, and glad to hear she is doing better. Don't really blame ya about the pigs, especially out by yourself. Really glad the fire didn't damage ya other than the animal wrestlin'. Some people just make ya wonder how they pay bills every month, because they are so "Clueless" about life and reality.


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## babsbag (Feb 4, 2017)

Living in CA and the land of the summer wildfires I can certainly understand to making the 45 min. trip in 29 min. Fire can be fast and is always final; I have great respect for it. I have some friends that loss their home to a wild land fire that was stated by an arsonist. I think 80 homes were loss in that fire. I am very glad for you that your home was spared. 

About the pig, don't blame you one bit. DH tells a story of a man being killed and eaten by a sow when he cut through the pig's pen on his way home from a party. They found pieces of him the next morning.  I raised two feeders and never really got up close and personal with them and thankfully I never needed to.


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## Devonviolet (Feb 4, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> what is the one thing I have never had on my farm in the past 40 years??  mama pigs, why you ask?  well it's cause i'm scared to death of them.  have seen to many folks come thru the er or into icu that had been torn up by a angry pig and I want no part of it so to say that I wasn't thrilled is an under statement.


Gee Goatgurl!  That is totally understandable! I 'spose the fact that that sow is bigger than you might give you good reason to be afraid,of her!    Sorry to hear she lost all but one of her bacon bits.


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## Devonviolet (Feb 4, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> shame on you @animalmom for giving @Devonviolet a hard time for not posting a picture of ruby! poor girl, she can't post what she doesn't have and because of my crazy schedule and rubys lack of cooperation I haven't sent her one.


Aw shucks, Goatgirl, don't ya be givin' my friend, @animalmom too hard a time. It was all in fun.  Beside, I couldn't stop giggling.  She has a way of tickling my funny bone.   I knew you had a lot on your plate & would get a photo when you got a chance.



goatgurl said:


> on a different note my brilliant neighbor almost burned my world down about 3 weeks ago. lets ask ourselves who would start a brush pile burning when the wind is blowing 15-30 miles an hour. answer... they would. it took 5 volunteer fire departments and 2 forest service dozers to contain the fire. got within about 100 yards of my house and barn. ds#1 and #5 along with my neighbors helped load all of the goats and sheep plus my adult rabbits in the stock trailer so if we had to run we could. the critters were so angry at me because I wouldn't let them out until the next day. the fire was still going in the pines behind the house the next twos day and I wasn't taking any chances on having to try to catch them all again. like I said, never a dull moment


@frustratedearthmother got it right when she called your neighbor a flipping DUMBA$$!!!  

I won't do a burn pile, unless the wind is less than 5 mph AND it rained the day before.  Doesn't make for easy fire starting, but sure cuts down on risk of starting a grass fire, that could burn our woods down.

DH and I drove to Sulphur Springs today and on way there and back, we saw no less than FOUR fresh burn scars from grass fires.  Several fires were along the Interstate.

One of them was about a mile from our place.  Craig saw the smoke from it, yesterday, and thought some one had a burn pile going.  Well, maybe it started as a burn pile. But it must have gotten out of hand.  It looked like it burned about 20 or 30 acres!!!  Went right around the house & out buildings.  We have an awesome volunteer fire department. I'm thinking they worked hard to protect the buildings and had to let the grass fire do its thing.   I was really upset, though, when I saw that two big patches of wild blackberries, that I had my eye on, for picking in the Spring, got burned up in the fire.     I'm crossing my fingers   that by Spring, they will recover enough, to still produce berries.


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## OneFineAcre (Feb 4, 2017)

Wow
That fire sounds pretty scary
Glad you and all your critters are ok


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## Devonviolet (Feb 4, 2017)

OneFineAcre said:


> Wow
> That fire sounds pretty scary
> Glad you and all your critters are ok


YES!!! Like GG said, God smiled down on her & protected her and her animals.  Amazing how the con trails formed a cross over her land that day, eh?


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## Latestarter (Feb 5, 2017)

Welcome back GG for however short the time is that you'll be connected. Looking forward to meeting you this coming week. I still plan on coming on Thursday as I have that doc appt on Wednesday. So you'll have back to back days with company from TX.


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## goatgurl (Feb 5, 2017)

thanks @CntryBoy777.  sister is doing better.  being diabetic isn't easy and being a noncompliant diabetic can kill you if you aren't careful.  @OneFineAcre congrats on the quads, they are really cute but I am so glad you get to deal with all those litters of goats, would have me stressed out totally.  give me a bouncy set of twins and i'm a happy camper.
forgot to tell you about the bobcat in my back yard a three or so weeks ago. little emma was laying on the back of the couch going grrr, grrr and trying to tell me we had a problem.  as I looked out the door  he walked straight across the frozen pond toward my back door.  my guess is he was duck hunting as I've had a couple of drakes go missing.  next morning emma starts grrring again and I think oh great its coming back but nope was 6 wild turkeys marching across the pond.  regular wild kingdom around here.  @Devonviolet I bet the blackberrys will come back better after the fire.  so glad it wasn't close to you.


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## animalmom (Feb 5, 2017)

Life sure can Ruby give a person fits Ruby!  God is good for watching over you and your animals, especially Ruby, during the fire.  Some folks Ruby are just unconscious. Ruby.  

So, how's Ruby doing?


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## Baymule (Feb 5, 2017)

Ruby is packing her suitcase and getting her things situated for the BIG MOVE.


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## goatgurl (Feb 6, 2017)

shhhh, I haven't told them they are leaving yet.     @animalmom you are sooo bad.  makes me laugh. 
later guys, see you next time.


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## CntryBoy777 (Feb 6, 2017)

Sure hope all goes well for ya!...til next time.


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## goatgurl (Feb 14, 2017)

well ladies and gentleman, boys and girls guess who finally has a new computer???  yup, this girl!!!!  oh my youall are gonna get so tired of me being around again. 
  I so enjoyed getting to meet @Devonviolet, her dh and @Latestarter last week.  I enjoyed both visits so much.  yes, devonviolet talks as much as I do so we had a great time running our mouths and sharing war stories of our lives.  and latestarter is as ornery as you think he is, such a sense of humor.  I hade the best time both days that they were here.  and I am so grateful that my girls are going to new homes with people who will love and take care of them.  that means the world to me 'cause those are my babies. 
  been doing some repair to the bunny hutches after we had strong winds that blew the styrafoam tops and tarps off the cages.  what a mess.  fortunately it hasn't rained so they were safe and dry but got them put back together before todays rain hit.  I know that texas and louisana have had their share of rain and ours too for that matter but we have been dry, dry, dry.  it seems that i'm not as proficient at sexing bunnys as I thought either.  had 7 new kits wadded up in the hay on the floor of one of my grow out pens,  oops!  obviously I missed a boy in there somewhere.  mom had not pulled fur or provided them with any kind of a nest so I got a nest box, filled it with hay and put it in the cage with her.  she checked it all out, climbed in and fed everybody, yippie skippie.  next morning she had pulled a lot of fur and made them a proper little nest.  all 7 are doing great. 
  I have 2 of last years doelings that are still sneaking sips of milk from mom and since the moms are rebred that had to stop so got them separated and the babies in new housing.  they are not pleased with me at all but tuff stuff for them.  Fiona is pretty thin from having her daughter with her so what has to be is. 
  everything else is going good, the remaining bacon bit is growing well, he is starting to eat piggy feed and those little grunts and slurpy noises are so cute.  he trys to boss mama around and she tolerates him for the longest time and then just tosses him lovingly out of the way.  its a good thing they grow up into hogs or I would have a pasture full of piglets.
  later youall


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## frustratedearthmother (Feb 14, 2017)

WooHoo, you're back!  Congrats on the new 'puter.  I know you feel good about that.  Oopsie on the new buns - but all's well that ends well!


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## OneFineAcre (Feb 14, 2017)

Congrats on the new computer and finding a couple of great new homes for some of your goats.


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## babsbag (Feb 14, 2017)

Glad that you get to be a regular on here again. Welcome back to full time fun.


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## CntryBoy777 (Feb 14, 2017)

Glad ya will be with us more often now, and us new members will have the chance to get to know ya as well as the "Old Timers" here....


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## Latestarter (Feb 14, 2017)

Welcome back Lady! Been a "while" since my visit and was starting to wonder if something had "happened" or gone "wrong". Good that you're here!


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## Baymule (Feb 14, 2017)

*WHOO-HOOO!!!! GOATGURL IS BACK!!!!*


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## goatgurl (Feb 14, 2017)

@NewHampshireHomesteader i thought i would share some of my chocolate ducks for you to show your dh so that he knows they aren't all ugly.  and just because he is so cute, the bacon bit.
hey bay so good to be back,  i'll bring you some ducks when dstr1 and i come to teach devonviolet to disbud the babies.  what color do you want?


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## Goat Whisperer (Feb 14, 2017)

So nice to have you back!


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## NH homesteader (Feb 14, 2017)

lol! He laughed. I love them! We had ducks and they were ok, but I think the only way I would get ducks again is if we got Muscovies. Love the piggie too!


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## Southern by choice (Feb 14, 2017)

I MISS YOU! So happy to see you here.


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## Baymule (Feb 14, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> hey bay so good to be back,  i'll bring you some ducks when dstr1 and i come to teach devonviolet to disbud the babies.  what color do you want?



@Devonviolet 's lavender and white ducks sure are pretty, but you know I do love your chocolates. What about a trio, plus a drake? Pm me for prices. Muscovies are awesome!


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## Hens and Roos (Feb 15, 2017)

Nice to see you back


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## lcertuche (Feb 15, 2017)

Howdy.


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## norseofcourse (Feb 15, 2017)

Congrats on the computer and welcome back!


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## goatgurl (Feb 15, 2017)

thanks @Southern by choice,  @Goat Whisperer @Hens and Roos @lcertuche and @norseofcourse its good to be back.  feels like old home week.  and SBC when all is said and done i will have 2 adult does and 3 dry yearlings plus the buck.  i don't know how long its been since i've had so few goats and i'm not sure how i feel about it all.  kind of like when i sold my last horse it leaves me with an empty spot. 
  took off to town today with dstr's#1 & #5 for a much needed hair cut, lunch at one of our favorite Chinese places and a little grocery shopping.  i love going to aldi to shop but i also like that wally world will price match aldi's ads.  sad but true i spend way more on the animals feed than i do mine for the most part but i guess in reality when i buy their food i'm buying mine too. 
  tomorrow porkchop the white pig gets a free ride to freezer camp.  i'll be glad when he's gone, he's pretty mean to little spot.  had miss penny not surprised me with bacon bits she'd be going too.  the bacon bit got his first taste of mixed up pig feed day before yesterday.  his little slurps and grunts were so cute.
  night youall, got  to fold some laundry before i hit the hay.


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## BlessedWithGoats (Feb 15, 2017)

Welcome back!


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## Baymule (Feb 15, 2017)

We went to Aldi's today. We feed our animals well too. But we have pork, lamb and chicken in the freezer, plus eggs to eat. We're going to raise pigs again this coming fall/winter.


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## samssimonsays (Feb 15, 2017)

Welcome back!


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## goatgurl (Feb 17, 2017)

got porkchop gone yesterday, ya gotta love an animal that will follow you anywhere for a scoop of feed.  he hopped right up into the trailer like he did it every day.  good piggy!   then loaded my lawn mower into the stock trailer and took it over to get it worked on.  mechanic pushed it out of the trailer and turned the key... started right up.  grrr. he turned it off and I said ok smarty start it again which he proceeded to do with a turn of the key.  loaded it back up, brought it home, pushed it out of the trailer, started it up and drove it about 6 feet where it promptly died never to start again.  dingdang thing.  so it is now sitting in my front yard awaiting another ride over to craigs.  cleaned out the trailer from the night the goats and sheep stayed in it because of the fire, unhooked it and took off for the feed store.  on the way there sl called about a sick goat she had and asked us to stop by on our way home.  this is the lady that @Devonviolet got her ducks from.  we helped her do some goat wrestling and med giving and got some visiting done.  I'm going back today to take her some fresh goats milk and pick up a new drake.  think this one will be chocolate barred.  since the bobcat or whatever got my other 2 drakes I thought it would be smart of me to have at least one more in case something happened to heuy.  got home and unloaded 1100# of feed between the 2 places then went about doing all my chores.  long day but nice anyway.  weather was gorgeous


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## Baymule (Feb 17, 2017)

Sounds like my kind of day!


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## Devonviolet (Feb 17, 2017)

Wow! Your day sounds as busy as ours yesterday:

In the morning, I planted some seeds in one of six (72 cell) seed flats, that I'm starting for our new garden.

Then it was outside, to help DH load sod into our lawn tractor pulled yard wagon, to take out to the pasture, to fill holes.  While we were doing that, we stopped to look at the blasted burn pile (one of THREE) the previous owner started, but never burned.  It has been bugging me since we moved here. Last summer, wild bees took up residence, and attacked us every time we came near the pile. A quick assessment, of weather (low wind) and short, green, winter rye around the pile, we decided to light the burn pile. (Sorry, I didn't have my phone with me, so no pics.)

Once the wood had died down a bit, we started carrying wood, from the third burn pile to the burning pile.  Once that pile was gone, we took a look at some of the rotted, downed trees on the edge of the woods, and decided to add what we could to the burn pile.  What a job!  Now we need to bring the chain saw out and cut the rotting trunks to manageable lengths, and start up the burn pile one last time to burn that wood.  Once it is reduced to a pile of ash, that will go into our vegetable garden.

While the pile was burning, we went back to moving sod from the garden to fill holes/low spots in the pasture. Oh my aching back!

Then, it was time to give Falina & Ruby some attention.  I have discovered that they LOVE alfalfa pellets!  When they first came here, they weren't interested.  So, yesterday, I took that opportunity to touch the girls every time they took a pellet from my hand, they got a stroke on the back.  As usual, Falina was more skittish than Ruby. However, I am bound and determined that Falina (and Ruby) will learn that I love them and they are safe with me.  A wise woman once told me it takes patience. Well, patience takes time and I have plenty of that! So, fear not, Sweet Falina!  I shall prevail!!! 

This morning, DH is taking a break, as yesterday took it's toll on his poor aging body.  He is a bit sore today.  Me, not so much. So, I am back to planting more seeds.


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## Baymule (Feb 17, 2017)

I think we're at that stage where we're good for a good day of work, then lay off the next day.........


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## goatgurl (Feb 17, 2017)

well after a gooood nites sleep i'm ready to start again.  last time I went to the dr's I told her about the back spasms I have when I try to walk far or even stand to long so she gave me some muscle relaxers and last night was the first time I took one.  I can tell you that it knocked my socks off.  took it about 9:30 and by 10 I was sliding out of my chair I was so limp.  had been trying to text dstr#4 and couldn't focus my eyes or catch the letter keys on my phone.  went to bed and didn't get up till almost 9 this morning.  note to self, next time take half a pill,  if there is a next time.  i'm just not much of a pill taker.
and @Baymule I plan on taking my camera to sl's today and taking you some pictures of the ducks for color reference.  how is dh's shoulder doing.  i'm told that the shoulder is one of the most painful surgeries you can have.
@Devonviolet just remember falina's heart is thru her stomach.  she knows that her world has turned upside down and she is freaked out about it.  and they like all kinds of treats.  I've given them everything from animal cookies to fruit and veggies.  greed is your friend.  and don't work dh to hard, don't want to wear him out.


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## frustratedearthmother (Feb 17, 2017)

Know just what you mean about the muscle relaxers.  A couple years back I took one and thinking it wouldn't be that bad, I came to work.  Big Mistake!  I couldn't focus on my computer, I darn sure couldn't drive.  Good thing I have a great boss - I told her I'm taking the rest of the day off - but I can't go home until I sleep this pill off.  Literally slept in my office for about 4 hours before I could function well enough to get home...Geeze!

Half a pill for me too from now on...and like you...I don't take them very often.


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## Baymule (Feb 17, 2017)

Yay for duck pictures! LOL DH's shoulder isn't hurting like it was. It is still painful, but not the horrible pain he had to start with. Yesterday I was on the tractor all day and he had to watch. When he couldn't stand it any more, he'd come outside to tell me in minute detail what and how to do. I laughed at him, which made it worse. I put the tractor on High Speed, running from a mulch pile to the garden, which intensified every bump. I shook myself plumb to exhaustion and self medicated last night with boxed wine. Not a muscle relaxer, but it got the job done!


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## frustratedearthmother (Feb 17, 2017)

Wine does a body good!  It's my first "go to" for muscle relaxation and sleep enhancement, lol.  I find that regular use gives me quite a good result!


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## goatgurl (Feb 17, 2017)

ahhh yes, wine is fine.  the neighbor that i dog sit for gave me a bottle of really good merlot that i enjoyed very must last week.


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## goatgurl (Feb 17, 2017)

FEM i'm not sure what i would have done if i had taken the dang thing and had to go somewhere or do something that needed any kind of coordination or concentration.  i am sure glad you have a good boss,  lol


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## Devonviolet (Feb 17, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> don't work dh to hard, don't want to wear him out


I'm not the one working him too hard. He does that on his own!  I sometimes have to just about drag him inside to rest.

This morning he said he was hurting after yesterday.  So, I said we should take it easy and work on some other projects - like building a milking stand.***   So, he went in and took a nap.  2 hours later, he woke up and sat in his chair, holding his cat.  After about 20 minutes of that, he told the cat he had to get down, because he couldn't sit around, doing nothing.

He then went out to the feed shed to move things around, so we can free up a metal (30 gallon) trash can, to put the 100 pounds of Goat Ration, that we ordered, which came in today.

*** Speaking of building a milk stand, I got an amazing deal on an expanded metal platform, for the milking stand. Last week, we went to a local welder to see if they had a piece of expanded metal.  It turned out, when we were looking in their scrap pile, I found a 2x3' framed & painted, expanded metal platform. It gets even better! The guy sold it to me for 20 buck$!!!


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## Mike CHS (Feb 17, 2017)

We use an Inversion Table on a regular basis and it does wonders to shoo away back pain.


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## Devonviolet (Feb 17, 2017)

If we had sheep, I might get an inversion table.


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## goatgurl (Feb 19, 2017)

@Devonviolet you got a deal on that platform!  you'll love that it doesn't get slick, if they would happen to poo on there (of course my girls don't do things that uncouth) the berries will fall right thru.  good on you.  I hope falina is settling in and calming down for you.  I am sorry that she is acting like that.
    took some fresh goats milk over to sl's yesterday for her doe with the tummy issue and took some pictures of her ducks for Baymule while I was there.  I have decided duck math is like chicken math or goat math or any other kind of math and I plan to blame this math problem on @Baymule!  I came home with 2 new drakes and 3 new hens.  yup, just what I needed more ducks.  got a mostly coal black drake and 3 black hens and a chocolate barred drake for my chocolate girls.  Sl asked me If I would like some duck eggs too.  well of course I would, the price was right, free!  she had just delivered 700, yup you saw correctly, 700 eggs to the Asian market in fort smith and still had plenty so she packed me up a box with over 8 dozen fresh eggs in it.  I was thrilled, shared with dstrs#1 &5 and jb, the gal who let me borrow her computer and I still have 4 dozen left.  and for those of you who have never eaten fresh duck eggs all I can say is yumm-o.  sorry the pictures are so lousy but they refused to stay still.


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## Baymule (Feb 19, 2017)

Haha @goatgurl !!!! Yes you needed more ducks!  Those are some pretty ducks!


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## Devonviolet (Feb 19, 2017)

Wow, you got some good looking ducks there.  I love that irridescent green on the black ducks!  And the barred chocolate ducks are pretty too.  Your SL tried to interest me in a couple barred lavenders.  They were pretty, but the lavender & white ones just won my heart.  

While we are on the topic of my ducks. I have a question.  One of e two drakes keeps hanging out in the coop we have for them.  A couple days after we got them, I saw the other drake (the one we got to butcher) bullying the one, that is hiding out now.  That evening, he was hiding out in the coop and DH has only seen him out once.  Any suggestions?  We would like to just butcher the bully drake, but we have too much going on right now to take time out to butcher him.


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## goatgurl (Feb 19, 2017)

@Devonviolet my first thought is that the bully drake may be your aggressive breeder and you might want to keep him instead of the more timid one, just a thought.  I have never had one of the drakes become aggressive with me but they will bully one another.  my only suggestion is to separate them and I know that will cause a hardship on you.  if they have enough space to get away from one another they do ok but if they're in close quarters it can be a problem.  know that's not much help but really don't have any other suggestions.


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## Bruce (Feb 19, 2017)

Baymule said:


> Haha @goatgurl !!!! Yes you needed more ducks!  Those are some pretty ducks!



Yep @duckgirl needs more waterfowl


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## CntryBoy777 (Feb 19, 2017)

Ya sure gotta watch those relaxers, they will sneak up on ya, but I've gotten use to them by now....been taking them for 10yrs now....I only take as a last resort tho, and with one kidney have to shy away from alcohol.
The ducks are really nice and since ours started laying, they are like clock-work....get 11 a day now....and yes they are oh so Good....


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## lcertuche (Feb 20, 2017)

I really want to get me some muscovies. A woman here sells them for $15 a head. I'm hoping to get a drake and a couple of girlfriends for him this spring. I thought I could start them out in a chicken tractor for a couple of weeks until they get used to here but will have to build one or three soon. I also want to get some Dixie Rainbow chicks, the reason for 3 tractors. 

I still don't know if we have to move or not so it's all up in the air for now. I told DH if we do then it has to be somewhere I can keep my chickens and have a place for a garden. Time will tell.


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## goatgurl (Feb 20, 2017)

@lcertuche the lady that @Devonviolet and I got ours from charges $12.50 for the hens and $15 for the drakes.  someday when you're out and about holler at me and i'll take you over to her house or let me know what color you want and I can get them and them meet you at cv's in Mansfield or wally world in greenwood.  they are so much fun and I love the eggs and the meat is good too.  have you ever had the Dixie rainbow chicks before?  I've read about them but have never gotten any.  I am experimenting with crossing dark Cornish with rir, barred rocks and black australorps.  i'll let you know how it works out.  you're suppose to get a bigger breasted good laying bird.  we'll see.  I hope you find out soon if you have to move or not.  I hate having life on hold.


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## Mike CHS (Feb 20, 2017)

Do you need a body of water for ducks or can you use a pool?  We have thought about some Runners but we already have enough on our plate.  LOL


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## NH homesteader (Feb 20, 2017)

Please post how it works out for you with the Dark Cornish! We are going to cross a Dark Cornish with our Dominiques, Dorkings and several random layers (Wyandotte, Orpington and NH Red) to see if we can make a better meat/ dual purpose bird.


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## goatgurl (Feb 20, 2017)

@Mike CHS you can use a kiddie pool, a lot of people do but I do have a pond behind my house that they love to play in.  and for some reason in the winter time they love to go get in dstr#3's pool as well as using the pond.  come spring they quit using the pool and use the pond exclusively.  strange ducks.  the important thing to remember about ducks is that they need water deep enough to keep their nostrils   clean.  some folks say they need water to breed but no one told my guys that, lol.  the runners would be good for your dogs to herd, give the sheepls a rest.
@NH homesteader I got one hatch out of the dark Cornish roo and some black marans last fall.  after a raccoon did all the damage he could do before I did all the damage I could do to him I ended up with one lonely hen who is just beautiful and is laying beautifully.  I also have 3 dark Cornish hens and 2 of them will go broody at the drop of a hat.  I had one hatch out 6 chicks a couple of weeks ago.  crazy girl, its janurary and she wants babies.  they all 6 doing great, she's a good mama.  I also have a rir roo and I think he is the baby daddy.  i'll let you know how they grow and do.


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## Baymule (Feb 20, 2017)

Your chicken breeding program sounds interesting, keep us posted on it!


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## CntryBoy777 (Feb 20, 2017)

Ducks can do fine with a pool, and some don't have any water other than drinking. Runners are very comical and really sweet, but they are skittish, or flighty as most refer to them. A Khaki Campbell is a cross between a Rouen and Runner. We can see more runner in some that we have and they are priceless. Runners are suppose to be really good foragers too.


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## goatgurl (Feb 20, 2017)

I've never had runners but I did have a flock of khaki campbells and I really didn't like them very much.  they were wild as march hares where as my muscovies are tame to the point of being pests.  and the reason I got them was because of dd's alpha gal allergy and after she got better I've just kept them because I like them.


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## NH homesteader (Feb 20, 2017)

I had runner crosses. They were cool! DH is apparently allergic to duck eggs so we sold the last few we had that survived the Fisher attack. Every time I went outside they came running!


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## CntryBoy777 (Feb 20, 2017)

We have never had a problem with them or the rouens, they will come up and eat grass right out of our hands and come running anytime we enter their pen. They are the first ducks we've ever had and we love them.


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## goatgurl (Feb 20, 2017)

lucky you, mine were so flighty.  didn't have a problem getting rid of them.  @CntryBoy777 as I have been reading everyones journals i saw the pictures of you and dw with your grandkids.  made me smile.  treasure your time with them and teach them how to be cntry kids too.


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## CntryBoy777 (Feb 20, 2017)

We always try @goatgurl , we get the boys for a wk or two in the summer and they are still at the age that they like being here. I was told that the oldest....10yrs...wants me to teach him how to rig his own pole, catch fish, learn how to fillet them like I do, cook them and eat them. PawPaw makes the best fish of any. So, I guess I have my work cut out for me, this yr.


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## Bruce (Feb 22, 2017)

Always good to feel useful and wanted Fred!


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## goatgurl (Apr 21, 2017)

I know that I wander off and on here till youall can't keep up with me but i'm still alive and kicking.  lots of things going on here.  first, there is a new boy in town.  youall say hi to marco.  sorry but for some reason I can't upload pics.  Katie has another maremma to help with her guard duties.   he was raised with sheep but the goats are a learning curve.  he is a sweetie who has a big deep bark.  so far so good. 
as you know @Devonviolet and @Latestarter both made the trip from texas to Arkansas to get some of my girls to take home with them.  Makes my heart sad because my barnyard is so quiet now but also makes my heart glad because I know that each and everyone of them will be well taken care of.  now spot the flying pig is a whole other thing all together.  on one level you kind of want to laugh because who'd a thought it but on the other level it is really sad for spot and latestarter too.  I've put out an apb for her with the folks who live in that area but haven't heard anything.  I've had my goats and sheep locked in the pen for days and left all my gates open but if the fall didn't kill her then i'm guessing she is enjoying her freedom to much to want to come back.  guess it's time to close the gates so the girls can go walkabout. 
@NH homesteader, I was going to show you and @Baymule some pics of the dark Cornish x chickens but the darn site won't post pics for some reason.  they are growing like weeds.  i'll keep trying to post the pics.  I also saw your question about the NH red chickens and the ones I've had I really liked.  they would lay for years.  they'd take a little time off in the winter but started back laying in the spring and go all year long again.  I had some that were 4-5 years old that still laid well.  have you gotten your chicks from Murry McMurry yet?  I've bought from them off and on since the '70's, yes, i'm that old.  lol.  and I've always had good luck with their birds.  some of the rir's I have now that are 3 years old are from them.   I'm suppose to quit buying chicks from places like TS, atwoods and the co-op because you can never be sure what they say they have is truly what you get.  you'd think I would learn but I bought 4 ee pullets from my local feed store this spring and one of them turned out to be a roo.  now 1 roo shouldn't make me gripe but when you consider that 1 roo is 25% of the lot that's not so good.  and I don't need another darned rooster.  oh well... 
youall be blessed, i'm going out between rains and do a little transplanting of veggies and flowers.


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## CntryBoy777 (Apr 21, 2017)

Ya know @goatgurl , with LS and DV having your girls, it is like an "Extension" of your "Yard" and ya are so spread out ya had to hire "Overseers" to tend to all that ya have. Ya even can keep up with them thru their "Reports and Pics"....if LS ever learns to use his camera.........so, since it is a bit quieter there, they are just over yonder in the "Yard" and ya can't hear or see them....but, they are there. Ya trained them to teach LS and DV about dairy goats, and they are doing their "Job"....
It really is bad all the way around about ole spot girl, the initial facts will make ya chuckle, but all have really lost in that deal....all the way around....I guess the only good thing about it is we all have learned that it certainly is Possible, even to the best of us and always have room to Learn.


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## NH homesteader (Apr 21, 2017)

Oh I would love to see them, I hope you can figure out why you can't post! I get my chicks the week of May1st... So soon! Turkeys due to hatch the 25th, then chickens a week later! 

Good to knoe about the NH's. Mine might be stashing eggs, I think we'll find out when I fence everyone back in (which I will do before I plant the garden but they will still have a huge area).


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## Baymule (Apr 21, 2017)

Sometimes I can't post pictures and finally figured out that I had to resize them.


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## Latestarter (Apr 21, 2017)

I loved my New Hampshires. They were from Murray McMurry and they were my best layers. They did like to lay in the deep litter though so they may be hiding them from you.


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## NH homesteader (Apr 22, 2017)

I have a Dominique that does that too. If they're hiding them, it isn't in the coop.


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## goatgurl (Apr 22, 2017)

actually got a picture to load.  I have a question for all you rabbit raisers out there.  this 4 month old young man is a fg/nz cross whos ear tips for some reason has started to flop over.  no lop blood and if it were lop wouldn't it break at the head?  any ideas why?  
  meet marco.  he is an 11 month old maremma who has come to help Katie out on predator control.  he had been with sheep but had never seen goats or poultry so has had a bit of learning to do.  he and Katie are about the same height but he is heavier built than she is and has a big masculine bark.  he's a sweety and pretty darn smart.


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## NH homesteader (Apr 22, 2017)

I love Marco! I love maremmas and he is gorgeous!


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## CntryBoy777 (Apr 22, 2017)

I like the tips on the ears....gives him character....but, I certainly am not a rabbit person, I know nothing about them. Marco is a fine looking dog too, he has really good eyes.


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## Baymule (Apr 23, 2017)

Marco is so handsome!! Don't you just love that deep booming BOOF!!


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## Goat Whisperer (Apr 23, 2017)

Very handsome boy goatgurl! 
I think he's the the "prettiest" (handsome) meremma I've seen yet. 

So how many goats do you have left now?


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## goatgurl (Apr 23, 2017)

yes @Baymule, i do love that boof, boof, boof.  when you look at how big he is you tend to forget there is a big puppy hiding in all that fur until you see ducks and chickens flying for their lives.  he has never, knock on wood, been aggressive with them but he does love to run full tilt thru the middle of them with that goofy puppy grin on his face to see how fast and high they can fly.  of course i have to scold him and tell him what a bad boy he is but secretly i laff a little under my breath.  it may take him a while to be a dog but we've got nothing but time.
@Goat Whisperer i have 3 adults, 3 yearlings that i didn't breed and pretty had a set of twin bucks.  that's it.  i can't remember when in the last 30 years I've had that few.  i can't tell you how hard it has been to let go.  young lady i want you to make sure you enjoy every second of your goat raising, showing and all the other adventures you have coming up in your life because all to soon it will be over and done.  all you'll have left is memories so make sure they're good ones.  ok enough of that...
  well today is day 4 of the "a red wasp stung me on my face" adventure.  i can finally open and see out of my right eye again so that's all good.  i am no longer drunk on Benadryl and sleeping 22 hours a day so that's good too.  i didn't have a true anaphylactic reaction this time and i'm almost back to normal, well as normal as i ever am.  life is good. 
  played musical pens with a bunch of the critters today.  chessie the chicken, who was run over by a herd of marauding goats and got her leg broken has been convalescing in the truck pen, which is the  cage we put in the back of the truck to haul animals but had to be moved up to the dog kennel so mama duck and her 4 baby ducks could move there. then the bacon bit who has been living in the dog kennel to wean him from his mama had to be moved back in with his mom, it's ok, she won't let him nurse anymore and has an appointment in about 10 days to go on vacation to freezer camp.   choco is in the back pen, sheep are out to pasture mostly and the goats are in and out.  hope everyone gets resettled quickly.    
  put 10 duck eggs under one of the dark Cornish hens today.  she has been insisting on setting on a pink plastic egg no matter how many times i toss her off.  ok, lets see if she has the patience to sit for 35 days and then raise a bunch of water loving ducks.  aren't i mean


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## Devonviolet (Apr 24, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> put 10 duck eggs under one of the dark Cornish hens today. she has been insisting on setting on a pink plastic egg no matter how many times i toss her off. ok, lets see if she has the patience to sit for 35 days a


Well, what do ya know?  In the last two days, I put 11 duck eggs under a broody hen!  Every Spring since we got her 2 years ago, she has gone broody.  The first two, we didn't want more chicks. This year, I have been wanting mor ducks, and the ducks are too young to go broody. So, I thought I would give it a try.  We have drakes for both our Pekins and Muscovies, so at least we stand a chance of getting some ducklings.  

How long does it take for duck eggs to hatch?  When we get a little closer, to that date, we will put the hen and her eggs in one of the back chicken runs, so they can be separated until the ducklings are ready to join the general population.



goatgurl said:


> well today is day 4 of the "a red wasp stung me on my face" adventure. i can finally open and see out of my right eye again so that's all good. i am no longer drunk on Benadryl and sleeping 22 hours a day so that's good too. i didn't have a true anaphylactic reaction this time and i'm almost back to normal, well as normal as i ever am. life is good.


I'm so glad to hear that you are finally on the mend, from your red wasp sting!  Wow!!! That was a bad one!     I felt so bad, for you, with the whole right side of your face swollen up and your eye totally swollen shut! 

Those red wasps are SO NASTY!!!!    And very aggressive!!!    For us, here  in this part, of the world, they are a force to be reckoned with every Summer!  You just never know when you walk out the door, if one will attack and sting ya.      And it's never like a simple bee sting.   It swells, hurts, itches and is totally miserable for 5 to 7 days.  And then it leaves a little bump/scab, that lasts another two weeks!


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## NH homesteader (Apr 24, 2017)

@Devonviolet duck eggs take 28 days, except muscovies I believe. They're 35. I've never had muscovies but I always found that interesting. 

@goatgurl Ughh on the wasp sting. Glad you're ok now! 

My husband had a broody hen hatch out duck eggs when he was a kid. All was well until the ducklings found the pond and mama hen nearly had a heart attack from shore, ran around squawking and carrying on!


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## frustratedearthmother (Apr 24, 2017)

So sorry about the wasp sting!  Years ago, and it was bad enough that I still remember, I sat on one and it got me right on the back of my leg.  I was young and lithe waaaaay back then so was wearing short, shorts...  Got me at the very top inside of my thigh and I tell ya it was a literal pain in my "top inside of my thigh"...for weeks!  I can only imagine how bad it must have been on your face.  Hope it resolves completely!


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## Hens and Roos (Apr 24, 2017)

ouch, sorry to hear about the wasp sting


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## samssimonsays (Apr 24, 2017)

Glad you are feeling better from the wasp sting! OUCH!


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## Baymule (Apr 24, 2017)

I got hit by a yellowjacket last year, but it was on my finger. A wasp sting on your face! Ouch! Glad that you are all better now and on the mend.


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## OneFineAcre (Apr 24, 2017)

I really like Marco.  Nice looking pup.
Glad you are recovering from the wasp sting.


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## CntryBoy777 (Apr 24, 2017)

Those dang wasps sure are one creature I take pleasure in Killing. They were the cause of my foot getting so damaged for life. So glad there are no lasting effects for ya with that, too.
Something ya may not be aware of is, a Muscovey is not a duck.........it falls between a duck and a goose, but isn't a true duck. This is why they are different in many catagories, most just lump them in with the ducks, but they actually have their own classification. I'm not a stickler about facts, so I haven't posted it before, many consider them as such, so that is fine with me....


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## NH homesteader (Apr 24, 2017)

They are the only duck that does not descend from the mallard... But I do consider them to be a duck. Doesn't matter to me though, I just like them. They are an invasive species however, and they have to be reported to authorities (at least here in NH), and I don't like reporting to authorities so I don't have any! Lol


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## greybeard (Apr 24, 2017)

I had a pair of breeding age geese once..white ones with ruffled up feathers. I enjoyed them and let them have the run of the place and it worked well till they figured out where the feed came from--me. They just stayed up by the house, wouldn't waddle down to the pond any more and spent their days honking out by the back steps squirtin' poop every other step and generally making a mess in the dogs' drinking water container. Finally gave them away to a friend of mine that had a big chicken pen.

My brother once seined a little pond that the owner had kept dozens of ducks by for years. Was reportedly only 3' deep and the new owner was going to have it filled in. When they waded off into the pond, they sunk up past their belly buttons in old duck poop and that was the end of the seining project.
I'd love to have a flock of waterfowl on my pond, but between the occasional alligator and land based varmints, that would be a futile endeavor. Have to be content with the wood ducks that sometimes fly in there.


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## CntryBoy777 (Apr 24, 2017)

....since I can't post a link this may help in the explanation.


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## CntryBoy777 (Apr 24, 2017)

We have wood ducks, teals, and an occassional Canadian honker land in the pond here. I would like to get the ducks we have over there, but they would be just prey for many things too, so we just keep them on this side of the ditch.


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## Devonviolet (Apr 24, 2017)

NH homesteader said:


> @Devonviolet duck eggs take 28 days, except muscovies I believe. They're 35. I've never had muscovies but I always found that interesting.
> 
> My husband had a broody hen hatch out duck eggs when he was a kid. All was well until the ducklings found the pond and mama hen nearly had a heart attack from shore, ran around squawking and carrying on!


I've read that about Muscovie eggs taking loger to hatch.  I'm not sure how this is going to work out yet.  We have 3 Pekin hens & 3 Muscovy hens. I know we have a mix of both, because the first day we got 6 duck eggs.

Love the story of the ducklings going on the pond & mama hen frantic on the shoreline. No problem with that here - no pond. We just have a kiddie pool & a concrete mixing tub, for water, that we change every other day or so.

I could have sworn @ Latestarter posted that Muscovies are more of a goose than duck. But now I can't find it.  

That may well be. I was just sitting out here, in the shade, watching the ducks. The Muscovies do sound more like a goose & their body shape is more like a goose. Except for the red flesh around their beak & eyes, the would look like a small goose. I would like to get a pair of geese some day.


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## Latestarter (Apr 24, 2017)

Wasn't me posting about ducks... I shot a few one time (wild) and learned how difficult they are to de-feather  Then I tried a couple and found I didn't really care for the taste much. Then I heard and have witnessed what a mess they make, and decided ducks just aren't for me.


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## Devonviolet (Apr 24, 2017)

Latestarter said:


> Wasn't me posting about ducks... I shot a few one time (wild) and learned how difficult they are to de-feather  Then I tried a couple and found I didn't really care for the taste much. Then I heard and have witnessed what a mess they make, and decided ducks just aren't for me.


Ah, so now that you say that, I looked back and see that @CntryBoy777 is the one who posted it. 

As far as ducks making a big mess . . . Yes, they do produce more poop, and when they eat, they drink a lot more water, which gets splashed around the water bowl, and then they like to play in the mud they make. They love a pool to swim in, which needs to be cleaned out every couple days. But, if you keep it to smaller pools, or cement mixing tubs, as we have done, they actually use less water, and are easy to clean.  The Pekins and Muscovies tend to take turns bathing in them.  You will never see a Pekin & Muscovy bathing together. But, you will see at least 3 or 4 of one breed splashing in the pool at the same time. It is SO cool to watch!   

I LOVE our ducks, and am so glad I didn't listen when people warned me off, by them being noisy and messy.  DH really likes them too.  He likes their personalities and how they stick together. Not like chickens that tend to go off by themselves. He loves to see the Pekins waddling along in a line, going from point A to point B, and how they all start flying low, heading for the coop, when the dogs sound an alarm bark.


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## CntryBoy777 (Apr 24, 2017)

I agree @Devonviolet , they are messy, sometimes there is work involved, but we really Love our ducks too. Ours talk to us and really aren't very loud, most of the time...but, I have been around guineas so I know what noisy is. We have some real characters in our flock, and they have really great personalities. We can't wait to see them out and about chasing bugs....."Dotties" too.


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## Devonviolet (Apr 24, 2017)

CntryBoy777 said:


> We have some real characters in our flock, and they have really great personalities


Yeah, I know what you mean.  The Muscovy hens have figured out we are the source of all food, and wherever we go, they are right at our feet, looking up, like they adore us.  It's _sooo_ cute!!!


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## Goat Whisperer (Apr 24, 2017)

Gosh @Devonviolet I wish you weren't so far away. We have several Brown Chinese geese we are getting ready to slaughter. They are beautiful animals and their eggs are even better than duck eggs! They pretty much just live off of grass. 

@greybeard we have that problem too. They want to hang out on the porch. 

@goatgurl hope you are feeling better today!


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## goatgurl (Apr 25, 2017)

thanks for the info on the muscovies @CntryBoy777 .  I didn't know that about them, geese, hummm gonna have to search out more.  and yes they do take 35 days to incubate instead of the 'normal' 28 for most other ducks.  and I also know they are hard as heck to hatch in an incubator, all to do with time, moisture and such.  I just let the mama ducks do it.  so much easier for me. 
  and just so youall know I was an innocent bystander when the wasp stung me.  7am, laying in bed thinking about getting up and wham.  someone pounded a hot nail into my forehead.  and yes he did die a slow and painful death after I had doctored myself.
  will start having lambs in about 2 weeks.  looking forward to it.  Dstr#1 has already has lambs but since the ram came to my house after he left hers I am or they are running late. 
  youall have a blessed day.  i'm going to go mow the lawn so i'll see you later


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## Bruce (Apr 30, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> I was an innocent bystander when the wasp stung me. 7am, laying in bed thinking about getting up and wham. someone pounded a hot nail into my forehead.


That just isn't fair! Never saw one of those (don't need to either).


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## goatgurl (Apr 30, 2017)

just had to show youall a picture of one of my neighbors,  isn't she just the coolest old cow.  love her horns.  she could get you coming or going if she chose to.  and just because they are pretty a cloud or 2


 .
  not much going on around here, dodging storms and trying to keep things together with all the wind.   hen is still setting on the duck eggs.  some of the younger ducks have taken to laying in the metal hens nest on the wall in the hen house.  lot better for me, don't have to have an Easter egg hunt everyday and we know how much I like to eat duck eggs.  had 2 huge black snakes in the barn the other day, caused JJ to have a small heart attack.  she is coming 2 years old and has decided she is big enough to take on the world but 2 big snakes she wasn't sure of. 
goats are doing good, still waiting on lambs and all is well with the world.  youall take care.


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## CntryBoy777 (Apr 30, 2017)

I guess the cow's name is "Twisted".....least if she were mine that's what I'd call her, anyway....
I love watching clouds too, just haven't been able to just sit and watch 'em much right now. That'll change when we get in the house.....a porch and more Windiows.


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## goatgurl (Apr 30, 2017)

idk what they call her, lol.  new guy from texas bought the place down the road and replaced the angus who use to live there with  a bunch of long horns and brahma  crosses.  dstr#1 lives around the corner from me and on the way to her house that old gal caught my eye.  and the clouds were when I was at the barn with the girls.  don't know why but the gloaming sp? is my favorite time of day and i'm usually outside at that time.  happened to look to the south and there was that picture just waiting for me.


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## Baymule (Apr 30, 2017)

That's a cow skull I'd hang on my porch! Love her horns! There are several ranches with Longhorns around here, but none like that one!


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## Bruce (May 1, 2017)

CntryBoy777 said:


> I guess the cow's name is "Twisted".....least if she were mine that's what I'd call her, anyway....
> I love watching clouds too, just haven't been able to just sit and watch 'em much right now. That'll change when we get in the house.....a porch and more Windiows.


Maybe she was born during a tornado!


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## Devonviolet (May 1, 2017)




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## Southern by choice (May 1, 2017)

Wow! Love those horns!
The sky pic is gorgeous though! Absolutely beautiful!!! Good catch!


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## goatgurl (May 3, 2017)

cool, wet, and stormy day and of course this is the day that two of the ewes decided to have their lambs. out side, in the rain.   first up was cookie and her giant ram lamb.  he already has to get on his knees to nurse.  after I got him carried to the barn and dried of I went to the house and got a cup of coffee.  went back in about an hour to check on them and there was brownie with her twins, soaking wet in the rain.  got them carried in and dried them off and hoped the ewes wouldn't get them mixed up. the one thing I can say is that last years ram sure put some color on the lambs.


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## Baymule (May 3, 2017)

I am in love!!  Wow! What beautiful spotty babies!  That ram sure did spot up the place. Next to your Katahdins, Dorpers are pretty plain. My cross breds are spotty, but nothing like yours! Do you castrate the rams and serve them for dinner?  Are you keeping a ewe lamb?

What about the Katahdin rams? Do they get mean? All I've heard about Dorper rams is how onery and mean they are, but mine is pretty calm. He tagged me a couple of times, I immediately reacted and chased him off. He has half heartedly reared up in a charge a couple of times and I charged him and he ran off. LOL. Plastic grocery bags scare him to death too.


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## Goat Whisperer (May 3, 2017)

Beautiful lambs! That single ram lamb is huge!! Congratulations!


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## CntryBoy777 (May 3, 2017)

Those are some really Nice little Lambs!....
Sure glad  ya got them in out of the rain, dried off, and a little squeeze and hug, too....


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## Latestarter (May 3, 2017)

Nice! Congrats! Gonna share those pics with Dot... maybe she'll get the idea.


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## Mike CHS (May 4, 2017)

I really like all that color.  We are shooting for some of that but it will take awhile.


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## Southern by choice (May 4, 2017)

Those lambs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The one ram lamb is HUGE! 

Love their color.

Everyone I know that has Katahdin rams loves them.... apparently NOT like other rams (buttheads )


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## goatgurl (May 4, 2017)

@Baymule  don't you just love all those spots.  all of the katahdin rams I've had have been really easy going.  couple of years ago that big black ram tagged me on the backside one time but it was a half hearted effort and  I really blame the dogs not the ram.  jj as a puppy and dax, dstr#3's dog came busting into the pen by the house and ran past me and the sheep.  it really upset him to have the dogs near his girls and I was the closest one to him so i'm the one that got it.   the older they get supposedly the crankier they get but I have had the black ram who was 3 and a tan ram that was 4 and I never had any trouble with them.  since we lease a new ram every year I normally get a younger one so I don't have to worry about attitude.  I know where you can get a really cute ram lamb for this fall,
  @MikeCHS most all your ewes are registered, right?  the gentleman I lease my ram from has registered stock and ships them all over the country so if you might be interested in some color I can pm you his contact info.  he has some awfully nice stock.  yes, I'm an enabler, I admit it. 
@Southern by choice i tried to weigh the biggest lamb today.  the hanging scales I have only go to 12# and he was heavier than that.  gratefully his mom is a 5 yr old and this is her 4th lambing she's always had twins before.  if she were a ff I don't think she could have delivered him without a lot of help.  both mother and son have rested a lot today.  had to post a picture of marco with cookie and her lamb.  he spent a good part of the day laying by one new mama or the other.  he has been very respectful of both ewes and babies.  I've been very happy with his attitude so far.


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## lcertuche (May 4, 2017)

Great pics! 

Speaking of snakes. My eggs was disappearing and I thought I probably had a snake and sure enough DS came screaming bloody murder when he check on eggs yesterday. A big ole rat snake was eating my eggs. DD ended up getting it but now all my sons refuse to go in the chicken coop now!


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## Baymule (May 4, 2017)

I love that picture!! What a good dog!

That is interesting about the rams. Our ram is almost 2 years old and is still calm. I do keep an eye on him though. The lady we bought him from said that his sire would take your kneecap off.....


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## goatgurl (May 4, 2017)

@lcertuche  I had a hen duck setting on a big clutch of eggs in the barn and they all disappeared before I saw those two snakes.  I wish they would leave the eggs alone and pick on the mice in the barn.


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## lcertuche (May 5, 2017)

We had a rat snake in our garage that summer. I threatened the Wildbunch's lives if they bothered it since we have big ole pack rats in the house but that changes when eggs or chicks involed!


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## Mike CHS (May 5, 2017)

@goatgurl I would like the contact info when you get a chance.  We have several sources right now but you never know.


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## Bruce (May 8, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> I wish they would leave the eggs alone and pick on the mice in the barn.


The eggs are easier to catch 

Thankfully (and to my knowledge) I've not lost any eggs to snakes.


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## Devonviolet (May 8, 2017)

Bruce said:


> The eggs are easier to catch
> 
> Thankfully (and to my knowledge) I've not lost any eggs to snakes.


We have. But, fortunately, we were getting so many eggs, at that time, we hardly noticed the loss.

One evening, DH was checking nest boxes, collecting eggs. He reached into one box, and it had not one, but TWO King snakes!!!     Talk about heart failure!!! That night, we were about 6 eggs short.

I always look in each box when I am collecting eggs.  You better believe DH is doing that NOW!


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## Bruce (May 8, 2017)

Did you look for those six eggs inside the 2 snakes? 

I can only imagine what I would do if I found 2 big snakes in a nest box.


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## Devonviolet (May 8, 2017)

No, he said they were both BIG snakes with big enough mouths to eat the egg & crush it before swallowing.  There were no lumps in their bodies.


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## goatgurl (May 13, 2017)

WHAT THE FLOCK????   i'm gone for a few days and come back to find the pasture covered in poultry.  we certainly have gotten a huge influx of feathered friends.  instead of trying to welcome you all one by one i'll just say a great big WELCOME TO BACK YARD HERDS YOUALL!!  I was going to say make yourselves at home but I can see you already have.  please stay if you want to or we'll see you later if you go back home when they are up and running.  good to have you here, kinda, ok youall are just a little scary in mass.  but we'll survive and get use to you being here.  again, welcome.
  things have been going ok around here, i'm behind on everything but oh well.  lambs and kids are growing like weeds.  new baby ducks abound, chicks are big enough to let out with mama now so they are all happy.  new lamb pictures for ya.   these are from the same ram and one of the ewes I gave dstr#1 so she is giving me one back.   light spotted is carmalita lamb-a-lot.  she stays as I'm going to cull an older ewe when her babies are weaned.  carmie's brother will be dinner for some lucky folks.  are they cute or what




dstr#1 and I went walk about the other or actually drive about, over the little mountain behind my house it was a beautiful day, sun was shining and a light breeze was blowing.  we found scores and scores of wild blackberries, huckleberries, wild plums and muscadines.  if ya don't think we'll keep an eye on they for ripening you'd be wrong.  can't wait.  if I can just get enough plums for a batch of jelly i'd be happy but i'd really like to have tons of blackberries cause I love me some blackberry cobbler.

 


  all of you old pbs fans will probably understand when I say that bob ross has finally painted his happy little trees all the way up the mountain.  I used to love to watch him paint. every spring and fall he starts on the mountains around me.  in the spring he paints with shades of green from bottom to top and the fall he starts with reds, oranges and rust from the top down.  i gotta say, I love where I live.
@Latestarter the girls are looking.  and cc is a doll.  and no polled parents or grandparents so she is gonna have horns.  just takes a while for doelings to sprout.
@CntryBoy777 your place is looking great but dang you, @Bruce and @MikeCHS are making me tired with all youall's  fence building and stuff fixin'.  bruce i caught a black snake by hand the other day and carried him away from the chicken house where i have 2 ducks and a hen sitting.  now i'm not the tallest thing in the world but i lifted him up as tall as my 4'9" frame could and there was still a couple of feet dragging the ground.  he was mad at me.  gave him 3 swirls and a fling over the fence toward an old barn, hopefully he stays there.
   @FergusonK i m so sorry for the loss of your goat girls.  give yourself a really big hug from me.  i know things like this are never easy so grieve as you must and keep going.  good luck with move.
@misfitmorgan i'm so sorry about your mom.  basically all you can do is pray and be there for her.  you are both in my prayers.  i lost my dad to lung cancer and the journey is never easy.  
@samssimonsays lets just ask ourselves could there be a cuter little bubble mouthed baby than your new baby.   congrats.
@OneFineAcre  your girls look wonderful as usual and those steers look mighty tasty.
@Goat Whisperer your babies all look great too.  you are sure doing something right.  can't wait to see how you do at the shows this year. 
@Southern by choice i'm so glad you are doing better.  i miss you.  please take care of yourself and i happen to know where you might be able to find a chocolate LM.  huumm
@Baymule i'm sure glad you didn't get blown away the other day.  i had a cell tower to the west of me get blown down last year and it made my phone life miserable for months.  the sheeple are looking good.  how are the ducks doing?  getting any eggs?  so glad dh's shoulder is doing so much better.
@Devonviolet the girls look like happy campers and the babies are growing so well.  are your duck eggs anywhere near hatching?  hope the garden is going well.
   asking for prayers for dstr#3.  she has been in the hospital for several days.  really high temps, mental confusion and dehydration.   she has a roaring uti and they are also treating her for viral meningitis.  she has been a sick puppy. this is a different sister then the one in before.  not only is it hard when you get old but it also is hard to watch all your siblings get old too.  
   youall be blessed.  i'm going to try to stick around for a few days and catch up on everyone.


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## Southern by choice (May 13, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> all of you old pbs fans will probably understand when I say that bob ross has finally painted his happy little trees all the way up the mountain. I used to love to watch him paint. every spring and fall he starts on the mountains around me. in the spring he paints with shades of green from bottom to top and the fall he starts with reds, oranges and rust from the top down. i gotta say, I love where I live.



Oh my goodness! We have been watching all the old Bob Ross videos!  I remember Bob Ross and was always amazed... so it is really funny that the family wanted to watch them!
Happy little trees!    Yep and he would always add just ONE MORE!   ...and then one more...

The pics are beautiful! I could live there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## goatgurl (May 13, 2017)

come on kiddo.  i happen to know where there are 60 acres for sale in the valley i live in.  unfortunately it is unimproved.  has hay meadows and trees.. but you are always welcome.  and its not far from a chocolate lamancha or two


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## Southern by choice (May 13, 2017)

I got so caught up in the Bob Ross moment I didn't even mention the lambs!!!!!!!!!!  

Wow! Just love how much color you are getting.
I know "color means nothing" and ya don't breed for color and all that blah blah blah but dang if you can have some eye candy while it's with ya why not! 

Showed DH the pics... first thought when he saw unimproved was "flood plain".... "can we get up out of the valley?"

So beautiful! 

Something is weird... everytime (or most of the time lately) when I go to post on your thread the site freezes up.  so I never get to post. But I read! 
So happy to see you beautiful girls are in great homes. One day I will have my chocolate LM again!


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## samssimonsays (May 13, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> lets just ask ourselves could there be a cuter little bubble mouthed baby than your new baby.  congrats.


Lol thank you so much. There is not much cutter ham she. And her melting into me in the hammock was by far the most awesome feeling I have had. Maybe it's the baby fever but oh my gosh. She has made my heart whole again for the first time in a long time. Instant connection and she's been so great. Glad to see you back!


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## samssimonsays (May 13, 2017)

Those lambs are to die for as are those "happy trees"  we grew up on Bob Ross and I was always so mad he made painting look so darn easy!


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## CntryBoy777 (May 14, 2017)

Well, I tell ya GG, if looking and reading about the fencing makes ya tired....ya can just imagine just how tired it makes me Feel....
I've taken a break from it for a bit, but with the heat coming in....I have to get back at it. I have 2 more pulls in the sun, and the other 3 are in the shade.
Your little ones are just adorable, and so is your mountain...we watch Bob Ross at 3pm on our PBS station on Sundays....still...


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## Mike CHS (May 14, 2017)

We always feel sorry for folks that live on boring flat land.


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## Baymule (May 14, 2017)

Your spotty lambs are so pretty! Love them! I love your lambs! How many ewes do you keep?


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## misfitmorgan (May 15, 2017)

Adorable lambs and thanks for the kind words!


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## goatgurl (May 21, 2017)

@Baymule I have 4 ewes and a eweling to breed next fall.  that's the main reason I don't keep a ram full time.  my 4 ewes and dstr@1's 4 ewes aren't really worth keeping one when it is so easy to lease a good one and lots cheaper in the long run.  since I started this just to provide lamb for my self that is actually 2 more than I need but you know how it is when baby girls are born.  ya just want to keep them to see how they'll turn out and then when they turn out good well ya just have to go ahead and keep them.  it's even worse with goats. 
   boy did dstr@1 and I had a problem yesterday.  and Baymule i blame you for it.  first let me apologize to all you guys out there who will be cringing in your seats soon.  i've been castrating baby bucks  by banding for many, many years and have never once had one get infected or have any other kind of problem but one of sister#1's baby bucks had a very short, thick scrotum and when we tried to band him we were concerned that we wouldn't get "everything" we were after if we  banded him and decided to let him grow a bit more to see if they would drop better. two weeks later,  nope... he became rather obnoxious so sister#1 decided that we should cut him like Baymule did @Devonviolet's baby woody.  all good nurses know that you see one, do one and teach one and after all we are good nurses and we had seen baymule do woody she figured we could do it with no problems.  haaa.!!  after we had the bottom of his scrotum off we couldn't find his testes because of all the fat surrounding them.  finally dug deep enough to find one and started to pull only to find that the cord holding his jewel was about the thickness of a pencil and hard as heck to try to pull out.  lots of screaming and crying from both sister#1 and the poor baby.  with teste #1 finally out time to go back in for #2.   poor baby!  with #2 out we had to incise the fat wads out of his scrotum to keep it from hanging out the bottom so it would close.  I know lots of you do the snip and pull but I think that was my first and last time.  next time a kid with a short fat scrotum comes along he is just going to go live somewhere else. 
  baby ducks are due this coming weekend.  right now I have 2 ducks and 2 hens sitting in the hen house.  2 hens and 2 more ducks sitting under the out building.  if they all hatch i'm going to be covered in poultry soon.  one more ewe to lamb and then i'm done for the year.   
  golf ball sized tomatoes in the garden, all is good.


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## Latestarter (May 22, 2017)

words just seem inadequate... OUCH!!  But at least you got it done. Hope he heals up w/no issues.


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## babsbag (May 22, 2017)

My mom was a Bob Ross fan and she learned to do oil painting from his videos; she was already a pastel artist. My memory of Bob Ross..."there is no such things as mistakes, just happy little accidents".


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## Devonviolet (May 22, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> @Baymule d
> he became rather obnoxious so sister#1 decided that we should cut him like Baymule did @Devonviolet's baby woody.  all good nurses know that you see one, do one and teach one and after all we are good nurses and we had seen baymule do woody she figured we could do it with no problems.  haaa.!!  after we had the bottom of his scrotum off we couldn't find his testes because of all the fat surrounding them.  finally dug deep enough to find one and started to pull only to find that the cord holding his jewel was about the thickness of a pencil and hard as heck to try to pull out.  lots of screaming and crying from both sister#1 and the poor baby.  with teste #1 finally out time to go back in for #2.   poor baby!  with #2 out we had to incise the fat wads out of his scrotum to keep it from hanging out the bottom so it would close.  I know lots of you do the snip and pull but I think that was my first and last time.  next time a kid with a short fat scrotum comes along he is just going to go live somewhere else.


Wow! What a nightmare!  I don't blame you and your sister, from swearing off cut & pull castration!  I know when DH & I did our Linden, after doing one off @Baymule's ram lambs, I found some fatty tissue in the sack, and had to push it back up inside several times, before it stayed put.  In your situation, I would have been tempted to take some embroidery floss (heavy silk thread) and a needle, and do one or two stitches, which I would go back later and clip after the opening healed. I know in the heat of the moment, you weren't about to stop and go in the house to find a needle & thread. However, in the future, I'm thinking I will keep a needle & red silk thread***, so I have it available in an emergency. 
*** I would use red, so it would be easy to see it, when I go back to remove the stitches a week later.


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## Southern by choice (May 22, 2017)

Devonviolet said:


> Wow! What a nightmare!  I don't blame you and your sister, from swearing off cut & pull castration!  I know when DH & I did our Linden, after doing one off @Baymule's ram lambs, I found some fatty tissue in the sack, and had to push it back up inside several times, before it stayed put.  In your situation, I would have been tempted to take some embroidery floss (heavy silk thread) and a needle, and do one or two stitches, which I would go back later and clip after the opening healed. I know in the heat of the moment, you weren't about to stop and go in the house to find a needle & thread. However, in the future, I'm thinking I will keep a needle & red silk thread***, so I have it available in an emergency.
> *** I would use red, so it would be easy to see it, when I go back to remove the stitches a week later.



Did you wrap the cord around your finger? Then pull?  Also if you cut the scrotum too high you will have issues. You only want to cut that thick piece at the bottom. They should with pressure just pop out the bottom... never had to go up in. Is it possible they were not fully dropped?  Best to do at 8 weeks... if they are 12 weeks it is much harder.


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## Devonviolet (May 22, 2017)

I just cut the bottom, of the sack.  They were easy to find & pull out.


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## goatgurl (May 22, 2017)

trust me these weren't easy, had to dig thru the fat to find them.   I've never seen a scrotum like his.  as thick at the top as it was at the bottom.  yes we just cut the tip off and yes she wrapped the cord around her finger but it was almost to thick to pull apart.  globs of fat were hanging out after we got the things out.  darndest thing I've ever seen.  and he is 11 weeks old.  the day after he was running around playing and eating like nothing happened so I guess he'll be ok. 
  penny the pig is finally going to freezer camp this Thursday, yea!!!  thinking real seriously about keeping the bacon bit till the 4th of july and having a pig roast.  i'll just be glad when they are gone.  the plan was to butcher them right after Christmas last year until she turned up pregnant.  won't have to raise another piggy for at least a year and trust me that doesn't break my heart.  @Latestarter's pig is still MIA but she has been seen twice on game cams about a mile from my house.  I told the guy that there might be a reward if he caught her in his hog trap.  just what LS needs, a litter of half wild pigs.  I can attest to the fact that they taste good so it might be interesting.
  went and picked up feed today,  met a friend who raises bees and he gave me a couple of pounds of wax that i'm going to make lip balm and stuff with, went to the grocery store to get the coconut cream to make dstr#5's birthday cake tomorrow, delivered some things to dstr#4's house, spoke for some 2nd cutting hay and sold a couple of rabbits.  pretty productive day in all.  may the good Lord bless and keep youall.  nite


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## frustratedearthmother (May 22, 2017)

Ewwwww - that sounds like it was a mess!  I used to cut 'em, but thankfully never had a problem like that.  Much easier (on me at least!) to band 'em.


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## goatgurl (May 22, 2017)

i'm dang sure going to go back to banding.  they go from some nuts to numb nuts to dry nuts to no nuts without out problems.  I think sister#1 and I were a lot more traumatized then the kid, lol


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## babsbag (May 22, 2017)

Well you have convinced me that banding is what I will stay with. I have never had a problem with flies or infection and some we don't even do until 4 or 5 months.


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## Baymule (May 23, 2017)

Where's the video??  Of course, only us BYH'ers would find it funny-not exactly what you would send to America's Funniest Home Videos.  I haven't tried the banding, cutting is so easy and it is over in minutes. So funny goatgurl!


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## Bruce (May 24, 2017)

One variation on the "cut and pull" we used in class was "cut and scrape and pull". Grab the end of the testis with pliers and scrape down on the cord while pulling. Might be easier with those thicker cords to thin them down so they will separate.


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## CntryBoy777 (May 24, 2017)

Well, I wouldn't be opposed to cutting, as long as there was observance, instruction, and experience while being supervised.....but, if there are kids in the future, for me anyway they will be banded. I'm sitting here Cringing with the cut, pull, snap, and scrap testimony on such a delicate area.....


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## Bruce (May 24, 2017)

Ah but it is over in a few seconds! With banding, they have that pressure for days. I think of it somewhat like a bandaid. Do you rip it off FAST, or peel it off SLOW? With one the pain is extremely brief, the other drags it out. You guess which is which


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## CntryBoy777 (May 24, 2017)

Yeh, and you were "Instructed, Taught, and Experienced" it, also, ya "Witnessed" it. So, if it is up to me to "Guess", then I will go with what gives me the best opportunity for "Success"....not only for me, but for the animal too.


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## goatgurl (May 28, 2017)

@Bruce I've never had a lamb or kid hurt for hours much less days.  it doesn't take long for the numbness to set in after the band is on and they go about their business romping and playing. 
   well penny the pig went to freezer camp last Thursday.  i'm pretty glad she is gone but the bacon bit seems kind of quiet.  I think he misses his mom.
  just checked on the dark Cornish hen who is setting on duck eggs that are due to hatch tomorrow and i'm happy to say that two of them are already hatched.  she about chewed my hand off when I tried to check under her.  crabby little thing.  now I have 3 ducks and 3 hens setting on nests in the hen house.  plus a hen and a duck setting under one of my out buildings.  if youall don't hear from me ever again I have probably been covered in poultry.  i'm thinking of the good eating later this fall.
  goats are good, sheep are good.  last two ewes have lambed.  two singletons.  first freshener had the brown ram lamb and old lama had a single eweling that's white with dark brown spots.  ff gets a pass for having a single, lama has singled for the past 3 years so she will be culled after she weans her lamb.  should have done it last year but dang it I like her personality.  both doing great.  i'm just so impressed with how well marco is doing with the new moms and babies.  in my opinion you kind of gamble when you bring an older pup into the fold.  you never really know how they are going to be with the young ones but he has just been the best thing.  kind, patient, unintrusive and gentle as can be.  proud of him so far.
   you all take care and i'll catch you later.


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## Mike CHS (May 28, 2017)

Both of the lambs are cuteys.  Our girls are a bit ahead of yours in their shedding.   My fence looks like a long cotton row.


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## goatgurl (May 28, 2017)

I know what ya mean, between the maremma's shedding and all the sheep hair laying around it looks like a sheep exploded or something.  some of mine have shed off slick as a button and some still have hunks of hair hanging on.  I sit on a bucket in the barn yard and pull wool as they come up to visit.  have to say some of them appreciate it more than others.


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## Baymule (May 29, 2017)

Haha, places in our yard look like we had a pillow fight. I just pluck Trip instead of brush him. The sheep-not so much. They don't like it.

I have a brown ewe just like yours, named Lily. She is a FF and had a pretty half white, half black single ewe lamb. I love your pretty speckledy little ewe lamb!


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## Devonviolet (May 29, 2017)

Awww, what cute little lambs!


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## goatgurl (May 30, 2017)

alright, do youall want to see more cuteness than should be allowed by law?  ask yourselves, whats wrong with this picture.  that old biddie has 12 baby ducks under her. or under her and on her as the case may be.  what a good mama she is.
  drum roll please..........  today is the first day that marco has been turned loose on the whole 60 acres with the goats and sheep.  he stayed with everyone but came in the back way instead of thru the alley way with everyone else.  I was really nervous but said a little prayer and opened the gate for everyone to go out.  gotta trust him sometime.  he is turning into a good dog.


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## frustratedearthmother (May 30, 2017)

stoopid double post...


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## CntryBoy777 (May 30, 2017)

Awww!!....they are so Cute!....makes me think back to a yr ago when ours were hatchlings....
That momma hen is nice looking too, what breed is she?


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## goatgurl (May 30, 2017)

cntryboy she is a dark Cornish.  I got a few couple of years ago to try experimenting with crossing them with rir's to make a big large breasted meat bird.  she is a setting fool and a really good mama.  I have 4 young roosters growing out now and they look really good.  we'll see how they do at butchering time.


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## Baymule (May 30, 2017)

12 baby ducks under her? haha, she's like a fat lady in a large dress, hiding all her children!  She's a pretty hen, what a good mama!


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## Mike CHS (May 31, 2017)

That picture is a great way to start a day.


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## goatgurl (May 31, 2017)

@CntryBoy777 with all the talk about snakes on your thread I thought this might interest you.  yesterday a had another hen hatching eggs in the hen house, chicken eggs this time.  3 had hatched and we were waiting on the other 6 so I left her on the nest last night.  when I went in this morning to check on her I found 2 big old black snakes in the nest box next to her.  normally I just catch the snakes and relocate them to the old barn or somewhere but since mama hen was down to 1 chick and 2 eggs I figured if I tossed them out they'd just come back for another easy meal so I went ahead and made sure they wouldn't be back.  little emma who is the oldest dog here at 13 spent a good hour teaching JJ, the English shepherd just how a terrier shakes a snake.  by the time she was done she had beaten herself and JJ both to a frazzle with the smaller of the two snakes and was exhausted she had to go for a swim in the goat water trough to cool off.  then I had to check out the rumors that pigs really like to eat snakes.  yup, they do and with gusto I might add.  extra protein for the pig and I don't have to worry about the big one stinking up the place as it rots.  win/win for me and the bacon bit enjoyed his snack.


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## Mike CHS (Jun 1, 2017)

That snake looks huge!


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## misfitmorgan (Jun 1, 2017)

Good to know!


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## CntryBoy777 (Jun 1, 2017)

Yeh, hogs sure will kill and eat every one they find. Good thing ya got them, for sure....


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## Baymule (Jun 1, 2017)

ROTFLMAO!!!!! When a dog shakes a snake, they are FAST!! Slappity-slappity-slappity-SLAP!! They sure are funny! I got a good mental picture of your dog shaking that snake! LOL LOL LOL! That is one huge snake. Poor mamma hen, lost her babies and eggs to snakes. Glad the hog enjoyed the gourmet meal.


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## Bruce (Jun 3, 2017)

Mike CHS said:


> That snake looks huge!


Sure does! Wow.


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## goatgurl (Jun 3, 2017)

guys it was huge!  took me two try's to toss it over the top of a 5 foot fence,  I can tell you it was almost 8 ft long and weighed almost 25 lbs.  I've seen a lot of big snakes in my time but I think that was the biggest I've ever seen up close and personal.  hated that I had to kill it but also hated that it had eaten a nest full of chicks and eggs.
  i'm babysitting the neighbors dogs this week.  german shepherd mix and a black lab.  sweet and goofy.  only been one day and i'm already for them to come home.
  we actually got a little rain this evening so I thought i'd share some pics of a soggy sunset.  @Southern by choice this sunset is for you.  also thought I show youall the pictures of the chupacabra that was on the game cam across the road across from my house.  is he freaky looking or what.  gives me the willies that he is that close to my critters.  
  nothing new here, youall have a blessed evening.


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## Baymule (Jun 3, 2017)

And people say that chupacabra isn't real........


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## Southern by choice (Jun 3, 2017)

Beautiful country GG! 

Ok that is super creepy. I want to go sit with the LGD's just after seeing that! 



Baymule said:


> And people say that chupacabra isn't real........


I think today's are a hybrid.... but the name is fitting...


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## Baymule (Jun 3, 2017)




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## Bruce (Jun 4, 2017)

Some sort of wolf/coyote/dog hybrid??? Whatever it is I sure wouldn't want it anywhere near my place!

@Southern by choice I don't think you want to sit WITH your LGDs but SURROUNDED by them! Some sort of "carryable" personal protection wouldn't be a bad idea either.  I don't have anything that would take that beast down but if they were around here I think I would modify that situation. Sure don't want to run into that on a dark and stormy night.


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## lcertuche (Jun 4, 2017)

They say there aren't any true wolves in Arkansas anymore because of breeding with coyotes. I know it has been many years since I saw one but plenty of coyotes. They are the cockroaches of the bush around here.


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## goatgurl (Jun 10, 2017)

@Bruce if I were a guessing kinda girl I would guess a hybrid coy/wolf/dog.  you very seldom see any red wolves around here anymore and the coydogs are thick as fleas on a dogs back.  @lcertuche is right they are the cockroaches of the bush in this area.  that poor thing is a combination of scary and pathetic at the same time.  makes me glad I have a couple of big barky dogs. 
  my friend was down thrusday evening and got another wild hog.  boar this time, weighed in at 225#.  strange thing is that he had a really small set.  not much bigger testes than the bacon bit that I have left.  hopefully that will make the meat not as strong as some boars have since the meat will be going to a homeless shelter this time. 
   went back up on the mountain today and picked enough blackberries for a cobbler and a couple of gallons of wild plums to make plum jelly.  most importantly I found a place where we should be able to dig a few small plum  trees this fall and set them out at the house.  most of the blackberries aren't ripe yet so we'll make another trip in a few days and hopefully get enough to freeze for later use.


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## Hillaire (Jun 11, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> View attachment 35534 View attachment 35535   guys it was huge!  took me two try's to toss it over the top of a 5 foot fence,  I can tell you it was almost 8 ft long and weighed almost 25 lbs.  I've seen a lot of big snakes in my time but I think that was the biggest I've ever seen up close and personal.  hated that I had to kill it but also hated that it had eaten a nest full of chicks and eggs.
> i'm babysitting the neighbors dogs this week.  german shepherd mix and a black lab.  sweet and goofy.  only been one day and i'm already for them to come home.
> we actually got a little rain this evening so I thought i'd share some pics of a soggy sunset.  @Southern by choice this sunset is for you.  also thought I show youall the pictures of the chupacabra that was on the game cam across the road across from my house.  is he freaky looking or what.  gives me the willies that he is that close to my critters.
> nothing new here, youall have a blessed evening. View attachment 35532



appears to be a coydog and in the second picture of it looks kinda mangy.  I've been noticing quite a bit of mange this year every time I see a coyote or fox out and about which is surprising as it's been a wet year (at least here in NY).


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## lcertuche (Jun 11, 2017)

@goatgurl our blackberries are still red. Are you sure they're not Juneberries? I've never seen so much fruit set. I'm hoping the bear don't beat me to them (again). 

We have a lot of wild hogs here too. I'm hoping someday we can get us some of it. I scared up a herd of deer the other day walking to the garden. A bunch of white flags (tails) bouncing into the woods. I should be getting elderberries soon. I need to start checking everyday on the ripeness.


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## goatgurl (Jul 2, 2017)

just a little update of my world.  getting tomatoes from the garden tubs, picked over a quart of cherry tomatoes yesterday and have been eating them like candy, sooo good.  getting eating tomatoes from the mortgage lifters and better boys but not enough to do anything with except eat.  not a problem with that but I would like to have some to put up.  squash are coming along as are cukes and peppers.   and @lcertuche I honestly don't know what kind of berrys we picked but I can tell you they were good.  gotta go get more.  i'm watching elderberries too.  planning on both jelly and some of @Devonviolet's syrup for winter tonic.  wild plums in the freezer for jelly later too.
 dstr#3 has sold her 60 acres across the road and it looks like she will be moving to northwest Arkansas.  and who says God doesn't answer prayers.  I can't begin to tell you how happy I am about that.  now if she can just sell the doublewide setting on the hill in front of my house that will be great.
   all the goats and sheeple are doing well.  seems so weird to have so few goats around. ahhh well, life goes on.  
   I've been having a lot of trouble with black snakes this year robbing the nests my broodies are on.  I had two hen ducks setting on one nest with about 20 eggs under them and the day they were hatching the darn snake got in and there were only two to hatch.  i'm snake hunting again sadly.  dstr#3's dog got into the duck nest under the rabbit cages and ate all 14 of those eggs so my duck population isn't going to be what it should.  did I shoot the dog, no, did I want to, yup!  stupid cocker spaniel, hard of hearing,  blind in one eye and has a cataract on the other but he can dang sure find a duck nest with his nose.  he's lucky I feel sorry for him.
  and what would a post from me be without pictures so...   baby ducks are to big for mama's britches now a days.  big fat fuzzies, make me smile.  and I know you've heard of a blue footed boobie, how about a duck with black leggings and yellow shoes.  and last but not least miss Felisha with her head stuck in a feed scoop I made from a tide bottle.  marco had chewed it all to smithereens and she had to investigate.  silly girl.


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## Mike CHS (Jul 2, 2017)

One of our sheep was forever getting a bucket hung around it's neck by the handle.  We use 20 plastic tanks cut in half for fresh grass and one day I was looking out over the paddock and the tank started moving.  Stopped for a few seconds and then went scooting across the ground again.  Finally the critter in it evidently jumped and the tank went flying off the lamb.


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## goatgurl (Jul 2, 2017)

such goofs.  she just stood their with her head pushed in as far as it would go and wouldn't move a muscle until I took it off,  I bet your tank kinda looked like a turtle creeping across the pasture.  don't they make you laugh.


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## CntryBoy777 (Jul 2, 2017)

I'd be looking for those snakes too.....we are waiting for ducklings ourselves, they should start anytime now. We have 4 KC hens setting on a nest mound that covers a 6' span in their pen....they have abandoned portions of the nest, so unsure how many eggs they moved before leaving. It is making for a very interesting situation, and this is our first ever experience with ducks so just watching to see what happens.


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## Bruce (Jul 2, 2017)

You are happy that dstr#3 is moving? Maybe you don't like her much?? Hopefully whoever bought her land across the road from you is nice and keeps it agricultural.


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## Southern by choice (Jul 2, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> sold her 60 acres across the road and it looks like she will be moving to northwest Arkansas. and who says God doesn't answer prayers. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am about that. now if she can just sell the doublewide setting on the hill in front of my house that will be great.





I know that was an answered prayer! WOW ! and fast too!
Love the ducks!  Just remember if ya need goats.... 

Ya know how I was telling you about how I really don't care where I move to... well, not sure about that... the whole family was home again today. Usually a couple times a month they all come home... all I can say is I can't  leave 'em. Nope, noway, nohow. Too special! Before long I imagine in 5 y-10 years (hopefully 10) they'll all be married and moving on but for now I'll take the whole brood coming round. I love to see all the siblings having a blast. Laughing, cuttin' up, waiting for food, taking more tupperware(really rubbernaid) filled with the food and walking out the door on their way back home... just does the mind and heart good.
Such joy!  I just wish they'd bring back the casserole dishes and rubbermaid containers. 
Not to mention the "friends"... you know the NOT boyfriend and the NOT girlfriends... right 

I love cherry and grape tomatoes! They are to me like candy is to a child! Those and cucumbers. Potato chips- 2 and I'm done... cucumber slices.... at least 2-3 cukes!
Made lots of cheese today!  Wish  you were here!


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## goatgurl (Jul 2, 2017)

@Bruce do you have a sibling that you love and want no harm to come to but as a person they aren't your favorite on the planet.  having her live and hour and a half away is great, get together for holidays and special events, in my front yard... not so much.
@Southern by choice, I so understand about the not going anywhere.  were I in your place I would stay put until they moved me to a "retirement village".  you are so blessed to have them all around you, enjoy every minute of it.  life can change so quickly.  you know of course you will never see your containers again.  just an fyi I started sending things home in zip lock bags then I don't have to worry about it.   and yes, I ate fritos and tiny tomatoes. ummumm good.  and yes cukes are awesome.  I don't even salt them, if the skin is tender I don't even peal them, just crunch away.  wish I had some of your cheese to go with them.  what kind did you make?


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## Baymule (Jul 2, 2017)

My sister lives 3 hours away. I love her dearly. She is a bit of  drama Queen-where ever she is, drama is sure to follow. She also thinks I am cruel because I raise animals to eat--but it doesn't stop her from buying factory industrial meat where those animals don't have near the enjoyment of life as mine do. Yeah, 3 hours away is good. I totally get where you're coming from.


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## Southern by choice (Jul 2, 2017)

Today- all chevre
Blueberry Pie with graham crackers
Cranberry/Orange
Roasted Garlic & Spring Onion  (seems my DH cannot grasp that spring onion and chives are two different plants )
Plain

Tomorrow-
Lemon
Cucumber
@babsbag Truffles 
Fudge
Cranberry/Pecan

Yeah, these bottle baby Lamanchas take a lot of milk! MY TURN! 

GW is boss at the cheese! 
We had lots of taste testers today! 
Yep, it is pretty special when they all come home. My son bought a new toy! A Jeep! They all went muddin! Boy do I have laundry to do! He washed off the mud in the drive with the power washer... oh my goodness! It's gravel it'll wash out but oh my goodness!
My plan is to go to the boys house and cook for them and freeze a bunch of food! 
Nobody does like momma!  
There is a lot of things I just don't know how they will freeze though... need to try it out here but if I make it, it will NEVER make it to the freezer. 
Maybe you know... how well does Stromboli freeze? Or any stuffed breads?


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## Latestarter (Jul 3, 2017)

Well, they sell frozen stuffed breads in the grocery... I'd have to guess they freeze OK... Maybe just don't cook them 100%... maybe like 90-95%?


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## Bruce (Jul 3, 2017)

You must be feeling better @Southern by choice !!


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## Mike CHS (Jul 3, 2017)

We freeze our home made pizza and it thaws out fine.  I made a big dish of lasagna yesterday and froze it for 3+ meals.  It isn't the same but it thaws out and tastes like fresh made.


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## lcertuche (Jul 3, 2017)

Y'all are making me tired reading about all that work. I would love to learn cheesemaking. Maybe someday when I have a place for some dairy critters of course by then I'll be .


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## goatgurl (Aug 11, 2017)

want to guess what the girls got into today and no it wasn't Katie's lipstick.  no one seems any worse for wear for their pokeberry frenzy.  
took 4 lambs to the sale a couple of weeks ago.  got a good price for them.  a bit of extra $ comes in handy now and then.  
nothing new here.  goats got in and ruined the biggest part of my garden.  its beginning to become a yearly thing dang their hides.  youall take are


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## Southern by choice (Aug 11, 2017)

and  and


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## babsbag (Aug 11, 2017)

Pink goats, awesome, I like pink. I would not be happy if goats got in my garden but they do trim my blackberries on a regular basis and that does not make me happy AT ALL. Now if they could selectively eat last years canes and save me the pruning I would be thrilled but evidently last year's canes are not the preferred meal. BRATS.


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## CntryBoy777 (Aug 12, 2017)

It is that time of year, I went to feed the goats the other evening and as I was looking the goats over and watching them eat I noticed spots on Comets legs....he is white....and my initial thought was that he was bleeding....upon further examination it was pokeberry juice.........the goats eat the blackberry leaves and the strawberry plants....it upsets Joyce too. I keep telling her that I'll buy her a couple of more flats, but she still gets mad at them.


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## Bruce (Aug 12, 2017)

Do they sell for a better price if they are decorated with pokeberry juice? 

I don't think we have that here, at least I've never seen it.


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## Baymule (Aug 12, 2017)

My dog Trip had those same poke-pink spots on his pretty white coat. He was hunting rabbits.


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## Bruce (Aug 12, 2017)

Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits!


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## OneFineAcre (Aug 12, 2017)




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## Baymule (Aug 12, 2017)

Parker caught the rabbit and there was almost a dog fight over it. I put Trip up so Parker could enjoy his rabbit. He ate every bit, meat, bone, fur, everything.


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## Bruce (Aug 13, 2017)

Since it was Trip who was originally hunting that rabbit, I think Parker should have shared! After all, he may have had NO rabbit to eat if Trip hadn't been on the trail.


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## Baymule (Aug 13, 2017)

@Bruce  Trip did get to eat some of that rabbit. Parker threw up and Trip ate it.  I wasn't going to post that, but since you stuck up for Trip's right to eat the rabbit, here ya' go.


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## Latestarter (Aug 13, 2017)




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## goatgurl (Aug 13, 2017)

all right @Baymule that is just TMI.  makes my mouth sweat thinking about it.  wondering about the thunder shirts for dogs made me think of those Velcro abdominal braces.  if you wrapped that around their chest tight enough to give them a hug would that help ya think?  I saw a couple of them in a thrift shop a couple of weeks ago.  going to have to check that out.


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## Bruce (Aug 13, 2017)

Eewwwww!


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## Baymule (Aug 13, 2017)

It's @Bruce 's fault. 

I think i have an abdominal brace and I know I have a wide ace bandage. I might have to try it.


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## lcertuche (Aug 20, 2017)




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## goats&moregoats (Aug 20, 2017)

Just stinking gross! lol That is the one thing dogs do that turns my stomach every time I happen to witness it.


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## goatgurl (Aug 24, 2017)

that boys and girls is my happy dance because I got my winters hay for the goats and sheep in the barn yesterday.  $4.00 a bale for mixed grass/lespedeza that looks and smells great.  60-70# bales.  goats, sheep and rabbits love it.  feels so good to have that in and ready for cold weather.  the man I got the hay from had of clutch of turkeys and wanted to know if I had a broodie chicken, well... no but I do happen to have a broodie duck hen that just decided she wanted to set about a week ago so she is now sitting on 15 turkey eggs and dstr#1's broodie chicken is setting on the duck eggs.  this will be interesting, I have never raised turkeys before so will have to come to youall for assistance.  
    and to let you know that I truly am certifiable look what else I did.  
 because one never really has enough chickens right?  I got a couple of easter egger pullets this spring and they have started gifting me with the prettiest blue eggs.   makes me smile


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## Devonviolet (Aug 25, 2017)

WOW, My Ameraucana's never gave me eggs that were that intense!  That is amazing!  

Btw, I'm so jealous about your turkey poults!  I would love to raise some turkeys, but DH thinks we have enough in our plates right now. Oh well, I guess I can't complain . . . He did let me get 11 Khaki Campbell ducklings.


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## babsbag (Aug 25, 2017)

I want to raise turkeys too but I worry about Blackhead. I can't find much information about the frequency of it in my area and I need to find out who to ask before I make the jump. I can't keep them away from my chickens but I also don't want to raise them just to let them die from Blackhead. 

That egg is gorgeous, looks like a big Robin egg.


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## CntryBoy777 (Aug 25, 2017)

Well as Mom would say.....ya never Know til ya Try.....hope they Hatch and do well for ya along with the ducks, too. That sure is a nice looking egg....


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## Baymule (Aug 25, 2017)

Pretty egg! I have a few EE's, I love the colors!


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## Bruce (Aug 25, 2017)

Let's see:
Duck hatching turkeys
Chicken hatching ducks
Seems you need a turkey to hatch some chicks!


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## goatgurl (Aug 28, 2017)

I know @Bruce it's so confusing.  no body knows who they should be clucking to.  time will tell how it works out.   nothing new here, ssdd.


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## goatgurl (Sep 26, 2017)

alright youall I have a full fledged mystery at my house.  youall know the story of the duck setting on the turkey eggs, well Saturday when I went to check on her and the eggs 3 had hatched so I put a metal wire thingie over the front of her cage so she wouldn't take the poults out the next morning before the others hatched and were strong enough to leave the nest.  went out the next afternoon and the wire barrier was off and the hen and poults were no where to be found.  not a bunch of feathers like something had gotten her, not a sign of any babies or baby parts.  gone without a trace.  I have looked all over this hill  for days and can't find a trace???  the only thing I can think of that would make them all disappear like that would be 2 legged but no one except str#1 knew they were here. can you all think of any explanations?  i'm so disappointed.  from the number of eggs left in the nest it looks like she hatched 9 of the 15 eggs.  guess no turkeys for me this year.. 
@CntryBoy777 I have a question for you about your ducks, you have kc and rouens both right?  which breed do you like best and why?  I've been thinking about getting a few ducks that lay better than the muscovies since they are seasonal breeders and I do love me some duck eggs.  have looked a welsh harlequin, kc, and Rouen.  looking for an opinion?  @Devonviolet you chose the kc, why?  and how are you liking them so far?
  nothing else new around here, life is good, God is great and the world keeps on spinning.


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## goatgurl (Sep 26, 2017)

ya know what, I did kind of leave out an important happening in my life.  my dd and psil moved from Oklahoma down to eagle pass, texas last weekend.  right on the texas/mexico border.  don't think I've ever been that far away from her before and is going to take some getting use to.  he has accepted a job with the traditional Kickapoo tribe of texas and it looks like they will be there for several years if all goes well.  keep 'em in your thoughts and prayers because its a whole nother world for them.


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## frustratedearthmother (Sep 26, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> only thing I can think of that would make them all disappear like that would be 2 legged but no one except str#1 knew they were here. can you all think of any explanations?


That stinks so bad!  Sorry they disappeared.  I was about to make a bad joke and say that maybe she took 'em swimming....but I won't say it.  That would just be tacky!

Prayers for you DD!


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## Devonviolet (Sep 26, 2017)

Wow! So sorry to hear about your missing poults!  Drat! I was going to offer to buy a couple poults. 

I bought KC ducks because the can lay 300 to 360 eggs per year, and they aren't supposed to be seasonal layers - which means no dry spells like chickens & other ducks have.

So far, they are still ducklings. So no eggs yet.  Our chickens and ducks have been very stingy with the eggs lately. We are talking 1-2 eggs a day -- and we look EVERYWHERE in the yard, including the garage, where the hay is stored! Occasionally we will find one on top of the round bales, but nothing in the nooks and crannies. So, we are looking forward to getting eggs from these new girls!


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## Devonviolet (Sep 26, 2017)

frustratedearthmother said:


> I was about to make a bad joke and say that maybe she took 'em swimming....but I won't say it. That would just be tacky!


Yeah!  It's a good thing you decided not to say that, 'cause that would be very tacky, indeed!!!


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## CntryBoy777 (Sep 26, 2017)

First of all, I wouldn't give up on the hen and poults....she may have them hidden and she won't make a peep if something is close by, but lay very still covering them....they will also carry them with their wings, too. I really do hope they show up for ya, but I kinda doubt it was a predator....even a 2 legged would have to catch em all and there would be a much bigger disturbance in the area than what ya described.
Now to the ducks, it kinda depends on what ya prefer from your ducks. If ya are looking for eggs, a bit of comedy, and tenacious go-getters foraging the khaki campbells are the way to go. If ya want a bit bigger bird to harvest for meat and a decent layer, then a rouen will be better. My personal preference is the KCs. They lay better have much more personality and character, and will talk to ya. They may not be as big, but just how much is really eaten at one meal? Also, the rouens are louder than the KCs and don't prefer the water as much....they will get in, splash about and hop out. The KCs will continually hop in and out all day long. The rouens waddle for the most part everywhere....but, the KCs will run like the dickens everywhere they go. Both are very sociable and pretty much move about as a flock, unlike chickens that scatter in all directions. Neither are aggressive birds with anything, but bugs, frogs, and lizards. I truly love watching them and the KCs lay most everyday, but not always in a specific nest. We let them make their own nest areas and just gather them from those locations....they do return and use the same ones. However, if they are held in their pen until about 8-8:30am 85% of the eggs will be in the pen....they don't lay thruout the day like chickens either.....
I like them both, but I will always have kahkis, they are very comical....guess it is the runner blood in them.


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## Bruce (Sep 26, 2017)

CntryBoy777 said:


> First of all, I wouldn't give up on the hen and poults....she may have them hidden and she won't make a peep if something is close by, but lay very still covering them....they will also carry them with their wings, too. I really do hope they show up for ya, but I kinda doubt it was a predator....even a 2 legged would have to catch em all and there would be a much bigger disturbance in the area than what ya described.


I agree (scarily often!  ) with @CntryBoy777 Since she wasn't in a blocked off brooding space, she may have decided they would be safer somewhere more hidden. Here is hoping!


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## CntryBoy777 (Sep 26, 2017)

Sorry if this is a bit more than ya bargained for, but after making the pevious post, then doing the evening rounds I got a few pics for "Show and Tell". Tho, angles can be a bit deceptive...the size difference is like the difference between a fryer and a stew hen. This pic has 2 khakis between 2 rouens....
 ...the lighter colored one is in the process of moulting from the light phase to the dark phase, which can be seen on the one ahead of her. The darker hen is Lil Bit and she was the runt of the hatch, but these are the smallest of the khakis. This next one is of the khaki drake, rouen hen, and khaki hen...from right to left.... ...he has just about completed his moult, but is similar in size to 3 of the rouen hens. This next one shows 2 khakis that don't mind getting squirted, but the rouen will stay away from the spray, but bill in the puddle.... ....the darker khaki, in the middle comes up to me every evening and talks to me waiting for me to give her extra sprays.....
Anyway, I do like them both, but the khakis get my Vote as my favorite. The khakis start laying between 17-20wks, the rouens are more to the 20-22 wk range. Hope this helps and isn't "Overkill" for ya....anything else, just ask and I'll certainly let ya know my experience.


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## Bruce (Sep 26, 2017)

Super descriptions @CntryBoy777 Makes me want a few KCs. I'm still not going to do it though, not with their "open water" requirements and our winters. 

BTW, with colder weather coming on (hard to imagine the past few days) I've been thinking about your heated water barrel in the barn idea. I wonder if a plastic rain barrel is "drinking water safe" for alpacas. I could skip the "early season" stock tank heater in the chickens' water source (good to about +15°F and go straight to the aquarium heater so the stock tank heater is available.


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## CntryBoy777 (Sep 26, 2017)

I would think it would be safe, Bruce....especially in the cooler temps when algae would be difficult to grow....just be sure to get a big enough heater....or use 2 and start before it gets to freezing so it will be in maintain mode instead of trying to heat it all at one time....


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## Baymule (Sep 26, 2017)

For your DD and DSIL, moving to the Texas/Mexico border will shore 'nuff be a whole 'nother world! Talk about culture shock! I think they will enjoy it. Tex/Mex is great and what better place to eat great Tex/Mex then right where they are.


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## Bruce (Sep 27, 2017)

CntryBoy777 said:


> I would think it would be safe, Bruce....especially in the cooler temps when algae would be difficult to grow....just be sure to get a big enough heater....or use 2 and start before it gets to freezing so it will be in maintain mode instead of trying to heat it all at one time....


The rain barrel is black plastic with a drain cock on the bottom. Thus algae is highly unlikely and it would be inside the barn anyway. I just don't know if the plastic is "safe". If I use it, I plan to make an insulated box from rigid foam to help hold the heat. The stuff isn't cheap but as you know the reason for this is to make daily winter water toting from the house for the alpacas a "non event". Sure would be nice if that buried water line (wherever it is) hadn't busted.


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## goatgurl (Oct 1, 2017)

well guys, still no turkeys and still no mama duck.  sad I am.  .  maybe another time.  
I was going thru some old pictures yesterday looking for some pictures for a cousin of mine and came across some from "back in the day".  that I thought I would share.  no laughing please cause it will hurt my feelings and then i'll cry.  I know the pictures aren't sharp and clear but remember the cameras then were not the best.  these pictures were back in the late '70's and early '80's.  I think the show was in '83 at the nationals.  you'll notice that my goats had ears back then.  the black and white pics were at the state game farm in French creek, w.va.  I was selling them goats milk for $5.00 a gallon for them to feed to the orphaned wildlife that they got in.  anything from opossum's up to black bears with the fawn deer getting the most of it.  the last pic is of str#1's dairy herd at a show in ny state.  sorry about the condition of the picture but you can get an idea about the girls anyway.  long ago and far away...


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## goatgurl (Oct 1, 2017)

ya know @OneFineAcre i'm so glad you admired betty's wattles, lol.  she just didn't want to be out done by that pretty togg of yours.  another pic of her.  she is a little on the 'sharp' side be cause she has been being milked and nursing her twins.  i'd like to see a few more (20-30) pounds on her.  she has an awesome udder when its full.  this was a middle of the day what the heck picture.


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## Hens and Roos (Oct 1, 2017)

very neat, thanks for sharing!


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## CntryBoy777 (Oct 1, 2017)

It is always good to look thru old pictures and remember the days. I am guilty of doing the same thing, so no need worrying about me laughing. That's really neat that your milk helped a lot of animals out and the girls all look like they were quite the contributors, too.....
Sure sorry to hear the duck and turkeys haven't showed up, that just seems so strange.


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## Bruce (Oct 1, 2017)

CntryBoy777 said:


> Sure sorry to hear the duck and turkeys haven't showed up, that just seems so strange.


Me too 



goatgurl said:


> you'll notice that my goats had ears back then.


Was that before they got too inquisitive with regard to the cotton picking machine?


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## frustratedearthmother (Oct 1, 2017)

Love the pics!  Nothing wrong with a blast from the past - brings back good memories!


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## Mike CHS (Oct 1, 2017)

I really enjoyed the old pictures.


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## Goat Whisperer (Oct 1, 2017)

I love love love those pics! Thanks for sharing. I love seeing pics like this.


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## Green Acres Farm (Oct 1, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> well guys, still no turkeys and still no mama duck.  sad I am.  .  maybe another time.
> I was going thru some old pictures yesterday looking for some pictures for a cousin of mine and came across some from "back in the day".  that I thought I would share.  no laughing please cause it will hurt my feelings and then i'll cry.  I know the pictures aren't sharp and clear but remember the cameras then were not the best.  these pictures were back in the late '70's and early '80's.  I think the show was in '83 at the nationals.  you'll notice that my goats had ears back then.  the black and white pics were at the state game farm in French creek, w.va.  I was selling them goats milk for $5.00 a gallon for them to feed to the orphaned wildlife that they got in.  anything from opossum's up to black bears with the fawn deer getting the most of it.  the last pic is of str#1's dairy herd at a show in ny state.  sorry about the condition of the picture but you can get an idea about the girls anyway.  long ago and far away...
> View attachment 38997 View attachment 38999 View attachment 38998 View attachment 39001 View attachment 39002 View attachment 39003




ADGA Nationals?


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## goatgurl (Oct 2, 2017)

@Bruce about the ears, actually it was before I found out how good goat ears are deep fried..  
@Green Acres Farm, yes the adga nationals.  it was a lot of fun.   the black sr. kid was 6th out of 43 entries, the yearling milker was 20th of 35 and the 3 year old was 4th.  since that was my first nationals I was thrilled with the results.  and no I don't have a mega memory, all the results were written on the back of the pictures.
@CntryBoy777 it was so neat to be able to help save all those animals.  the director of the facility was a member of my church and was talking about how poorly the fawns were doing on milk replacer and I offered to give him goats milk for them but since is was a state facility he couldn't just take it but had to pay me.  they went from saving 2 or 3 fawns a year to 75 -100 a year.  next he was fussing that he was running out of places to release them.  I loved it and so did he.


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## OneFineAcre (Oct 2, 2017)

Great Pictures.


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## goatgurl (Oct 2, 2017)

thanks OFA.  so many years ago.  I loved every minute of it but wouldn't do it again I don't think.  I forgot to tell you that betty, the goat with the wattles belongs to str#1.  she is a really nice doe who milks like a dream.


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## Bruce (Oct 2, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> @Bruce about the ears, actually it was before I found out how good goat ears are deep fried..




So you turned them into LaManchas because you had the munchies??


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## Devonviolet (Oct 3, 2017)

Bruce said:


> So you turned them into LaManchas because you had the munchies??


  

Nice play on words, Bruce!!!


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## Devonviolet (Oct 3, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> came across some from "back in the day". that I thought I would share. no laughing please cause it will hurt my feelings and then i'll cry.


Love the old pics, from "back in the day". That was so cool, that you were able to be a part of saving so many animals with your goat's milk.


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## Baymule (Oct 3, 2017)

Enjoyed the walk down Memory Lane. It's fun to drag out old pictures and remember.


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## goatgurl (Oct 7, 2017)

@Bruce ya know sometimes when your young and foolish munchies happen, just sayin'.
  well boys and girls my goat breeding season started with a bang.  choco has been separated from the girls for about a month now so I could hand breed everyone and know for sure due dates but the old man reverted back to his foolish ways and climbed into the feed trough in his pen and up and over the fence he went.  sooo i'll be having kids born earlier that I expected.  dang his dirty hide.  I know at least two of the five are bred and suspect a third.  time will tell I guess.    
  have the ram lamb in with the ewes and at this point he just doesn't seem to interested.  guess he isn't as mature as last years ram lamb so looks like i'll have early goat kids and late lambs.  what is it they say about the best laid plans of mice and men...
  taking this years wether lamb and the old ewe to freezer camp on the 16th.  yea for summer sausage.  I always am able to get big cow bones for the dogs when I go there.  they love their knuckle bones as well as the big leg bones.  sometimes it looks like a dinosaur died in my goat pen.  its all fun and games until I have to pick them all up.
  till next time youall take care


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## Devonviolet (Oct 7, 2017)

DANG HIS DIRTY HIDE ANYWAY!!!!!  That _stinker_!  I'm thinkin' next year a six foot barrier wall might be in order!


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## goatgurl (Oct 7, 2017)

silly me I thought he had matured enough to be trusted.  hu, wrong again.  never trust a horn dog male anything.  next year he will be back the super tall, super strong horse panel pen I have up in front of the house that's full of ducks right now.  I guess I need to take some of the blame after all i'm the one who put him there and left the trough by the fence.  I should have known better.  coulda, shoulda, woulda...


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## CntryBoy777 (Oct 7, 2017)

Well, ya never now just how it will all turn out....ya just might be thankful it turned out this way when the time comes....could be better weather, or they could be anticipating the Doe/Ewe code and factoring it in ahead of time.....guess time will tell......


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## Mike CHS (Oct 7, 2017)

Every time I think I have a decent plan laid out I immediately start drawing up Plan B since I'm pretty sure Plan A won't work how I want.


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## Baymule (Oct 8, 2017)

Does it ever work out the way you planned?


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## goatgurl (Nov 5, 2017)

been a while, not really anything new.  got the sheeple back from the butcher shop.  don't you wish lamb chops were as big as T-bones.  I just love them but I can sure eat more than one at a time.  I guess if a sheep was as big as a steer i'd never be able to handle and take care of it so its a moot point. 

just have to say, I love southern funerals.  friend of mines DH passed away the other day and they had his funeral at the small town church he attended and then on to the country cemetery a few miles down the road.  beautiful service, even the Baptist preacher didn't talk for an hour which is hard for them.  please no offence intended but we all know that Baptist preachers can talk for a while.  going down the highway from the church to the cemetery every car, truck and big rig pulled over to the side of the road in a show of respect. made my heart swell that in this busy world it is so good to see that not all traditions have died.  old friends greeted one another as if it was last week instead of 10 years since we last saw one another.  as funerals go this was a good one


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## Baymule (Nov 5, 2017)

And what's a Southern funeral without a big meal for the family? I've seen it where people just showed up at the family's home with food, coffee, paper plates, cups and plastic forks, and someone was there to record who brought what so thank you cards could go out. And I've seen it where the family went to the church and ladies of the church put on a meal for the family. Nothing says love like food.


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## Bruce (Nov 5, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> don't you wish lamb chops were as big as T-bones. I just love them but I can sure eat more than one at a time.


There is nothing wrong with eating 2 or 3!!!


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## goatgurl (Nov 5, 2017)

you're right @Bruce there's not a thing wrong with eating 2 or 3, and I do that frequently.  i'd like to raise lambs who's back was 3 or4 feet long and had a bunch of extra ribs so I could have way more off each lamb.

 and yes @Baymule you always have to have a big dinner after the funeral.  folks from the church, the community and friends from other places all come together to eat, visit and remember.  it was nice.


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## Bruce (Nov 5, 2017)

Sheep built like Dachshunds!


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## Mike CHS (Nov 5, 2017)

Even though we didn't get as many we had them cut our last chops at 1" and they are super.


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## goatgurl (Dec 29, 2017)

thought I would catch youall up just a little on whats been happening around the farm for the past while.  first you may seen in the thread 'old school' that Katie and marco presented with a litter of the cutest maremma puppies I've ever had to pleasure to raise (of course the are the only litter of maremmas I've ever raised) but they are doll babies.  going to be hard to let them go when the time comes.  Katie is a great mom and marco is a little confused about what all the fuss is about.  
  finally got the bacon bit to the butcher shop last week, boy was I glad to see him go. you talk about a pain in the a**, he was.  forever tumping out water buckets, flipping feed pans upside down and screaming bloody murder when it was feeding time.  little things but he was driving me nuts.  told str#1 that it was going to be a long time before I raised another butcher hog.  i'm just pigged out and the very next day someone had an ad on CL for AG hogs.  I've wanted to try them for a long time but no, just no, now isn't the right time.  dang it
   had a hen come out from under one of the storage buildings with 16 baby chicks about 10 days ago, seriously its freezing cold and she has a wad of chicks to keep warm.  locked her and the babies in a small pen with a tarp over the top and the west (the weather) side of the pen and a crate full of hay for them to snuggle in and so far she has kept them all going strong.  I really didn't need more chickens but I've got them anyway.
   my friend that hunts on my property brought me 14 squirrels, cleaned dressed and rinsed.  all I had to do was give them another washing and cook them.  mess of fried squirrel for the sisters and I.  large pot of squirrel dumplings and still have 7 in the freezer.  yumm
    found out to late that my ram seems to be shooting blanks so had to go find someone else for the job. @Baymule you will be shocked to know that I ended up with a white dorper.  nice looking guy and i'm willing to try the cross to see if dorpers do indeed put more meat on the carcass.  if I don't like it we can always eat him.  
   have a dozen turkey eggs under a sitting hen and another hen that wants sit so i'm going tomorrow to get a another dozen.  will it work?  who knows but as mama use to say "time will tell".  I've never raised turkeys before but first time for everything.
   pictures of course for your viewing pleasure.  the new ram, the new chicks and my birthday chicken.  isn't he the cutest thing.  when you tip him he rocks for about 5 minutes.  love him


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## Mike CHS (Dec 29, 2017)

The Dorper cross will get bigger and we can't tell any difference in the taste with the full Katahdins.  The only thing I don't like is the lack of shedding but most did pretty well.  We have grown our last turkeys.  The two we had ate more than the other 10 hens they stayed with but we will be eating the male on Thanksgiving Day.

That ram has some good looks.


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## frustratedearthmother (Dec 29, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> my birthday chicken. isn't he the cutest thing


A rocking rooster!  How cool!


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## Southern by choice (Dec 29, 2017)

Love the rooster!

What kind of sheep are those? They are pretty!
@Goat Whisperer  doesn't like sheep very much mostly because they always look so dirty (not hairsheep) but she even likes yours! LOL They are so fluffy and clean! 

I love chicks, always have. I miss raising poultry, just goats take over everything or I'd still have 250 chickens.
The pups look awesome! So very happy for you. 

Turkeys- don't get me started. I love them as poults, and the females are usually ok but the daggone Toms. UGH. 
Turkey poults are born to find ways to die. Seriously. But they are so cute and follow you around like puppies. I love their sounds too.
The poults are not as hardy as chicks. We raised heritage breeds and had great success but they really can be stupid.


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## goatgurl (Dec 29, 2017)

@MikeCHS the gentleman I bought him from said that most dorpers don't shed out nicely until they are 2 years or older and all his older ewes and rams were slick as a whistle so we shall see.  his name is cotton and he has a nice attitude so far.  if I don't like the cross then i'll go back to the kathadins totally but my friend that I normally get a ram from had sold all of his better ones and I hated not having lambs this year, i'm hoping that late lambs are better than no lambs.
   and @Southern by choice  the turkeys, honestly this weren't  my idea at all.  my friend has a rather large flock of the bronze and keeps giving me eggs because str#1 has setting hens and he said he had never had much luck with an incubator sooo if the dang things hatch i'll figure out what to do from there i do not see myself with a giant pen of turkeys tho


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## Bruce (Dec 30, 2017)

goatgurl said:


> i'm just pigged out and the very next day someone had an ad on CL for AG hogs. I've wanted to try them for a long time but no, just no, now isn't the right time.


So where did you put the pigs?


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## Mike CHS (Dec 30, 2017)

I can't tell the difference in the way the cross tastes vs full Katahdin but our cross sheep have more size to them.

_I think part of shedding issue on ours is the little wimps must think they are goats and never got rained on for the 1st 6 months of their lives.  I started soaking them with a hose when it was warm while I had them in the working area and that has helped._


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## Baymule (Dec 30, 2017)

I pluck my sheep, that dead hair bothers me. Doesn't seem to bother them, but I don't like it. I am going to get a Katahdin ram in a few months. 

I like your rocking rooster. I want one of those 6' tall colorful metal roosters so bad!


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## goatgurl (Jan 3, 2018)

well I got the puddin' scared out of me night before last.  fed everybody out and around the place, noticed that Katie was playing with her puppies and basically thought 'how sweet is that' and since it was colder than a well diggers pick I went on back in the house while I could still feel my nose and settled in to get warm.  a bit later I thought that I should go out and check to make sure all of the pups had gone back into their calf hutch and gone to bed, colder than blue blazes I took a quick run out to check and nope I was missing 3 pups and the two left at home were whining and crying.  I started looking everywhere they might be and failed miserably before my flashlight died.  came back in the house to warm up and get the light recharged and did a lot of prayin'.  no puppies in any of the 3 calf hutches, no puppies in the goat side or the hay side of the barn, no body in the dog house, no one in the chicken house and no one around my house or outbuildings or around str#3's house.  by this time I was frozen, it was 4 degrees out.  came back in to warm up a little and do a lot more praying and headed back out.  checked in the hay around both round bales and that little voice said go check the chicken house again, for the 3rd time I might add, and there were 3 little brown puff balls, yes they are suppose to be white but they were brown from playing in the loose chicken dust.  I was so grateful to God that they were safe and sound, bundled them up and took them home to mom and siblings.  they all cuddled up and did fine but it took a hot shower and a big cup of hot tea before I warmed up.  I do have to say that between that giant moon and my flashlight the grass and hay looked like it had a million sparkly diamonds scattered around the goat yard.  it was beautiful in a frozen glittery  way.  2x4 panel gate was closed so there would be no more escapes.  Katie wasn't happy to be locked in with all of them but I didn't care.  dang dogglets!


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## Goat Whisperer (Jan 3, 2018)

Animals know how to give us a good scare! So thankful the lil fur balls are safe & sound!


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## frustratedearthmother (Jan 3, 2018)

Holy Cannolli - so glad you found them!  That could've ended badly - so glad it didn't!


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## Baymule (Jan 3, 2018)

Oh that WAS scary! You did what all of us would have done, freeze your butt off until you found them! I am so happy that you found them and returned them safe and sound back to Mom. 

So......their names will be Chicken House, Snowstorm and Chicken Sh!t?


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## Southern by choice (Jan 3, 2018)

Oh goodness. Yes, I'd have been mortified, scared, crying... but would have done exactly what you did- PRAY! God is so good!


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## goatgurl (Jan 3, 2018)

yes they do @Goat Whisperer, yes they do.  I think its a game with them.  @frustratedearthmother I had visions of them dying of hyperthermia because it was so cold that night.  and actually @Baymule I called them several names that might not stay with them as they get older.  I was freaking out but Katie didn't seem concerned at all.  I called her a name or 2 too.  
   on a lighter note today str#1 gave emma a new little jacket to wear outside to do chores because at 15 lbs its hard for her to stay warm and she will not stay in the house.  she is my shadow and protector.   she very proudly wore her jacket out to the barn tonight.  I heard little growly snappy noises and looked over to where she was and saw her dangling up in the air hanging out of marco's mouth by the top of her jacket.  I laughed so hard that I almost had tears running down my legs.  I asked him nicely to put her down and when he did she jumped up and bit his nose.  he just couldn't figure out why she was so upset.  totally priceless to see her so mad at him and him without a clue why.  I love my dogs big and small


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## Southern by choice (Jan 3, 2018)




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## Baymule (Jan 3, 2018)

Should have got a picture of that!


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## Latestarter (Jan 3, 2018)

So glad you found the littles. That would have been pure heartbreak. Funny about Marco.


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## CntryBoy777 (Jan 4, 2018)

It just always seems they pick the toughest weather to test your dedication to their care in....sure glad it all turned out okay.....these bone chilling temps have sure been tough on us here too....I touched the clasp on the gate the other nite and my skin stuck to it....figers were already numb giving ducks some warm water.


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## Bruce (Jan 4, 2018)

Gloves @CntryBoy777 GLOVES in sub freezing temps!

Did you carry the gate into the house so you could get loose with all your skin?


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## CntryBoy777 (Jan 4, 2018)

Naw @Bruce , I just poured the remaining water in the bucket I had taken to the ducks on it....dried it off on my pants and ski-daddled back inside to the propane heater....with froze, numb fingers of course....


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## goatgurl (Jan 10, 2018)

dang @CntryBoy777 that's kind of like sticking your tongue to the flag pole.  ouch!!  mot much new going on here.  thank the Lord that things have actually thawed out.  I wasn't sure I would make it thru much more of the bucket brigade.  you just don't think about how much water all those critters drink when it comes so easily out of a hose but dragging two 5 gallon buckets at a time is kind of hard on fluffy old women.  
  and @greybeard and anyone else who might have an answer, someone who shall remain nameless forgot and left the water hose on the outside spigot one night and the next morning it was frozen solid.  after the thaw it now has 2 pin holes that spray out the side of the thing up on the side of the top.  any way to fix that or just live with the holes?  btw it is one of those winter  faucets like someone posted on latestarters thread.  thought about smearing some J-B weld on the side but wanted youalls opinion first.  
   only lost 2 chicks to the 2-4* weather.  i'm totally amazed that the old hen kept them going as well as she has.  the pig is suppose to come home tomorrow all shrink wrapped and pretty.  I was so grateful that he was gone and I didn't have to deal with him during this cold spell we've had.  later youall


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## Baymule (Jan 10, 2018)

We are going back in the low 20's this weekend, but it will be above freezing during the day. I hate the bucket brigade!


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## goatgurl (Jan 10, 2018)

normally our weather follows yours by 12 to 24 hours and we are suppose to get cold again too.  I can deal with the cold nights if the days are bearable.  changing the bunny water 2 or 3 times a day got old as did carrying buckets to the goats and sheeple but as someone I once was married to use to say "ya gotta be tougher than the timber you cut".  I guess so???  after I went and bought the new ram my ewes have started getting a little wiggly in the udder department in the last week or so.  dang, anybody want to buy a nice ram?  I've got some goat udders that are getting a little wiggly too.  can't wait for babies.
  I just keep looking at seed catalogs and dreaming of warmer weather, not hot mind you, just warmer.


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## CntryBoy777 (Jan 10, 2018)

I didn't lose any skin, thankfully....but used gloves to clasp the gates until it warmed up.........I use a brass clasp thru the latch on that gate and not having to deal witb temps like that much it just wasn't on my mind. I'm not sure about the mending of the pipe, but JB does make a marine epoxy that sets even when wet....I used some on an aluminum boat I have and it did fine....but, with pressure on it I don't know if it would hold....but if ya do mend it be sure to insulate it....cause with a hole already there it could split much bigger if the integrity of the metal has been compromised. I hate toting water too....just for the record. I'm thinking of a solution for next year....if we stay here....


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## goatgurl (Jan 10, 2018)

well i gotta tell ya, the floating salt water bottles didn't work worth a darn but I guess asking water not to freeze at 4* is asking a lot.  still don't know anything about staying or going?  that stinks.  i'll just keep praying Gods will.


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## Southern by choice (Jan 10, 2018)

goatgurl said:


> the pig is suppose to come home tomorrow all shrink wrapped and pretty.


  You can make anything sound pretty!



goatgurl said:


> dreaming of warmer weather, not hot mind you, just warmer


I hear ya!

We did have to put a lamp up for the bunnies, they are dwarf rabbits but it was so cold they hung in there til just those last days... too many days in a row - water gave out too.
They did great with a tarp up and a lamp.


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## Mike CHS (Jan 11, 2018)

That bottle in the water only worked here till it got down under 20 but even only worked then when I put fresh water in before dark.  That way I was able to break the thin skin of ice in the morning and add fresh water so basically the bottle did nothing after it got cold and stayed there.


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## Baymule (Jan 11, 2018)

My "good intender" but ignorant of real farm life brother in law sent me the water bottle thing on facebook. When it stays below freezing for days and days, the water bottle doesn't work, I didn't waste my time on it.


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## goatgurl (Feb 7, 2018)

the spring games are beginning here at someday farm.  walked out to the barn day before yesterday and found a 
  surprise.  @Devonviolet's doe falina has twin baby sisters. whoohoo.  mama Fiona had them without any problems, all dried off and ready to play. now have to come up with more girl names that start with f.  notice marco's big face stuck in there checking things out.  he's such a good boy.  Katie and the pups had to stay outside because Fiona was not thrilled to have the pups romping around in the barn.  
sheep are definitely making starter packs so I have to publicly apologize to my young ram.  turns out he knew his job but was just bashful.  good for him.
got the bacon bit back from the butchers and boy did I miss judge his weight.  I thought he would go around 220# because he kept getting taller but not broader so I actually missed by 65#.  hanging weight was 285# and he is mighty tasty.
can anyone say dirty babies?  we got some light rain yesterday and the fluff balls loved it.  they are growing like weeds and spending all of their time loose with the goats, sheep, chickens and ducks.  had one of the little girls come out into the drive way, assume that stiff legged position and bark at a friend who was pulling up.  just so cute and just a taste of things to come.  only 3 more weeks until they will be 12 weeks and ready to go to their new farms and life's work.  I work so hard at trying not to get attached but it isn't working very well. 
nothing else new.  youall stay safe and i'll catch you later


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## Mike CHS (Feb 7, 2018)

I love what looks like a pose that deserves a caption of some kind by the pup in that second picture.


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## CntryBoy777 (Feb 7, 2018)

Looks like things are going well for ya there....all the babies look so Sweet and well....
"What's wrong ma?....don't ya want to join in?"....


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## Baymule (Feb 7, 2018)

Names;
Felicity 
Felicia
Flora
Fantasia
Fifi
Frieda


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## Southern by choice (Feb 7, 2018)

Loving the kids!  

Those are some gorgeous Maremmas.  So nice to see GOOD Maremmas. Not many good ones around this way.  Look at those faces.


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## OneFineAcre (Feb 7, 2018)

Nice.


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## Goat Whisperer (Feb 7, 2018)

Congratulations! The kids are adorable. Love lamancha babies!

The pups look great


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## Devonviolet (Feb 8, 2018)

That is so exciting that Falina has twin baby sisters!  I am so looking forward to Falina having kid(s) in April.  I pray that she has another easy birth, like she did with Woody last March!  

@Baymule, I love your suggestions for names beginning with "F"!

The puppies are just darling and definitely have that Maremma face. Lately I have been seeing that fluff on top of Deo's head, which reminds me of when Violet and Deo were puppies.  I don't see it so much on Violet, although they are from the same litter.



 
They were about 5-1/2 months old here.

Bacon Bit ended up being a nice, big piece of OOPS!!!  It sure did take a while to get him there though!


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## Wehner Homestead (Feb 11, 2018)

@goatgurl I managed to get caught up on your journal also. I enjoy your writing style and hearing your adventures. It’ll be fun to follow along in the future. 

By the way, the Maremma pups are precious!! Congrats on twin Does from Fiona! I’ve come to love the Mancha ears.


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## Latestarter (Feb 12, 2018)

Wait... manchas have ears?  Someone STOLE my mancha's ears!  They got left with nuthin' but nubs!


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## Wehner Homestead (Feb 12, 2018)




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## Bruce (Feb 12, 2018)

Somebody must have quite the collection of Mancha ears!!


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## Wehner Homestead (Feb 12, 2018)

I’m glad y’all latched onto my mention of “ears.” I should have labeled it “lack of!”


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## Bruce (Feb 12, 2018)

Well then we have to get technical and say Lamancha goats DO have ears, just not GOAT ears. Lots of gophers must be missing their ears


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## Wehner Homestead (Feb 12, 2018)




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## goatgurl (Feb 12, 2018)

back in the olden days when fairys and giants ruled the earth and i was much ornerier than I am now I used to tell people that we trimmed the ears off at birth and deep fried them as a snack, really good with dip.  yes, yes I did freak out a lot of people with that comment.  then i'd have to back peddle and prove that they were really born that way.  I know, i'm bad but you have to admit that it's kinda funny.
  look what I found in the trees back behind my house this afternoon.  I told you spring was coming.  cookie gifted me with  ram and ewe lambs.  of course the white one is the ewe and the brown speckled one is the ram.
   
I went out to feed this afternoon and when the sheeple came up cookie was among the missing.  I looked out back and saw her laying under the canopy of trees, called her and she just lay there watching me so I knew what was up.  after I got everyone else fed marco and I went to get her and the lambs.  pasterns look a little weak so they will get some bo-se tomorrow but they are both strong and healthy, both had nursed and were napping when I picked them up.  cookie is the first female, goat or sheep that has given birth outside of the fenced in "goat yard" I just hope she didn't give anyone else any ideas.
  ok @Baymule glad you  put your thinking cap  on and listed  female goat names starting with F.  mama is Fiona, first daughter is Felina, second daughter is Felicia, third and forth girls will be Felicity and Fantasia.  what do you think?  sheeple wise I have cookie, her daughters brownie and cup cake, pecan sandy and now the white baby with the black eye and spots on her back.  going to have to think on that one.
@greybeard as an old nurse that spent the better part of 25 years working on cardiac patients in icu the best advice I can give you regarding this upcoming procedure is to listen to what the dr's have to say, think about, talk to your wife about it, pray about it and do what you feel like is best for you.  you'll be in my prayers
@Wehner Homestead, I hope I didn't put you to sleep reading all of my rattling on.  I use to talk a lot more but since I have retired and scaled back on everything I've been a lot quieter than before.  i'm enjoying reading about your adventures with the goats, cows and just life in general.  I think you make a good addition to the group.  glad you're here.
  youall take care, next up is viola the goat who should release her prisoners in a week or so.  ttfn


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## frustratedearthmother (Feb 12, 2018)

Love, love, love the color on that little boy!  Congrats!


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## Bruce (Feb 12, 2018)

goatgurl said:


> of course the white one is the ewe and the brown speckled one is the ram.


Why "of course"??  He is really nice looking.


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## goatgurl (Feb 12, 2018)

because @Bruce I would love to have a ewe that color, i'd keep her.  pretty little boy, lamb chops.


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## Wehner Homestead (Feb 12, 2018)

Love the lamb pics! When you listed the Cookie line of names, I thought of Cookies n’ Cream, Oreo, Nabisco, Hot Fudge Sundae, Sprinkles...that’s all for now. I’m sure @Baymule will come up with better ones. 

Thank you! I’m really enjoying my time here.


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## CntryBoy777 (Feb 12, 2018)

How about Blizzard.....looks like ma went to DQ.....
Congrats!!....I think @Mike CHS ....would like to have him, but I don't wanna get blamed for stretching his Fence...., so I'll be quiet. Sure hope all continues going well for ya.....


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## Wehner Homestead (Feb 12, 2018)

Maybe @Bruce  does need some wether pet (to keep the peace with DD1) goats...


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## Mike CHS (Feb 12, 2018)

CntryBoy777 said:


> How about Blizzard.....looks like ma went to DQ.....
> Congrats!!....I think @Mike CHS ....would like to have him, but I don't wanna get blamed for stretching his Fence...., so I'll be quiet. Sure hope all continues going well for ya.....



I thought I had read all of the posts but I'm not sure about the mention of Blizzard  and I have a feeling it might not necessarily be a good thing.


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## CntryBoy777 (Feb 12, 2018)

Mike CHS said:


> thought I had read all of the posts but I'm not sure about the mention of Blizzard and I have a feeling it might not necessarily be a good thing.


Well, I was thinking along the lines of deserts and many people eat Blizzards....vanilla ice cream and cbunked up cookies and candies in them at Dairy Queen. I certainly wasn't wishing or hoping for a real weather Blizzard to visit her....


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## Wehner Homestead (Feb 13, 2018)

@CntryBoy777 I thought Blizzard was a clever suggestion, especially considering her markings.


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## Mike CHS (Feb 13, 2018)

I guess that shows how many times I have been to DQ.  Zero


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## Wehner Homestead (Feb 13, 2018)

Mike CHS said:


> I guess that shows how many times I have been to DQ.  Zero



You’ll have to try it sometime. We have two family-owned ice cream places locally and one serves Pleezers and the other serves Twisters. Personally, the local ones taste better and have more yummy addition since they aren’t part of a chain. I like Reese cups in mine, my kids like Oreos and cookie dough, my mom likes Butterfinger...


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## Bruce (Feb 13, 2018)

Wehner Homestead said:


> Maybe @Bruce  does need some wether pet (to keep the peace with DD1) goats...


I'll consider taking the pretty ram lamb if @goatgurl promises it will eat stinging nettle and burdock 



goatgurl said:


> because @Bruce I would love to have a ewe that color, i'd keep her.  pretty little boy, lamb chops.


Unfortunately being pretty doesn't make them taste even better.


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## Baymule (Feb 13, 2018)

I love the little ram's color.  Sounds like you and I are a lot alike, here all ram lambs lose their nuts and get named Dinner.  Glad you like the names, always glad to help.


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## goatgurl (Apr 3, 2018)

well its all over but the shouting, all does have kidded and ewes have lambed.  what could be better than chocolate for Easter. twin lambs, ran and ewe, chocolate with mocha face stripes and her vanilla twin sister, milk choc. eweling, choc. doeling and last but not least choc. frosting doeling.  
all the ducks are sitting now so in a couple of weeks i'll be over run with ducklings.  just put 6 goose eggs under one of the ducks.  hope I get a Christmas goose or two.  youall be blessed


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## Mike CHS (Apr 3, 2018)

Those are awesome pictures of some awesome animals.


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## Wehner Homestead (Apr 3, 2018)

Congrats on your cuties!! Chocolate is even better!!


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## goatgurl (Apr 3, 2018)

thanks @Mike CHS and @Wehner Homestead .  have had a good year.  all the ewes had big healthy twins except a ff and she had a single eweling.  all the does kidded with twins also mostly buck/doe sets, one set of twin doelings and two single doelings out of ff's.  now the hard part, I have to decide who I want to keep and who goes on down the road.  my old ewe had a single last year and I had already said that if she singled this year she would be replaced but she had a really nice set of twins of got to re think that.  goats have freshened with lots of milk and beautiful udders and lots of baby girls so that's going to be hard to decide too.
your critters are really looking good too.  and thor is just such a boy dog.  he's sure growing and looking so handsome.


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## CntryBoy777 (Apr 3, 2018)

Sure looks like ya got your hands Full over that way....and they are just Darlings I tell ya!!.....


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## OneFineAcre (Apr 3, 2018)

Awesome


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## Baymule (Apr 3, 2018)

You used a white Dorper this year didn't you? How so you like him?

Last year I set duck eggs in the incubator, but only got two to hatch. Then a duck went broody, AFTER they all quit laying! Really? Dumb duck.......grumble grumble.....

So when I saw that they were laying, I didn't gather the eggs. I checked a few days ago and there was this nice feather lined nest and a few days after that, I have a setting duck!!! 

I suppose I should butcher the drake I hatched out to see if we even like the duck meat. 

BTW, the 3 chocolate ducks I got from you liked the big white drake instead of the chocolate drake.


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## Baymule (Apr 4, 2018)

The chocolate drake, the one I wanted and the one the girls rejected, was dead this afternoon. He hasn't been acting sick or different, so I don't know why I found him dead. Reckon, since it's mating season, that the ugly white drake killed him? The white drake and the girls stand in a circle, bobbing their heads, making little noises and talking to each other. Chocolate drake was not invited.


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## Wehner Homestead (Apr 4, 2018)

I can’t like that. Sorry for your loss Bay. Hoping it wasn’t some illness that could bother the rest of your flock (?).


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## Baymule (Apr 4, 2018)

Wehner Homestead said:


> I can’t like that. Sorry for your loss Bay. Hoping it wasn’t some illness that could bother the rest of your flock (?).


I don't know. All the rest of them are ok. Only thing I could figure out is that he was the odd drake out, it's mating season and maybe the other drake beat him up badly enough that he died.


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## goatgurl (Apr 4, 2018)

bummer @Baymule.  wonder what happened to mr duck.  hopefully that nest full of eggs will provide you with a replacement or two.  and yes you need to eat that drake, why raise them if you don't like the way they taste.  str#1 ran over one of my drakes last week and we debreasted him, marinated him over night and enjoyed the heck out of him.  I've got ducks sitting everwhere. 2 in the hen house, 1 in the hay side of the goat barn, 1 next to the back door and 3 under the outbuildings.  if they all hatch i'm going to be covered up in ducklings.   a  friend of mine gave me a dozen African goose eggs to hatch and I stuffed them under 2 ducks too.  can't wait to see if they hatch too.  my ducks gather in groups too and bob their heads and hiss at one another.  drake fights on a daily basis.  I also have an incubator full of chicken eggs too.  hope to have a good hatch from them.   some black marans, black maran X speckled Sussex, maran X silver laced Wyandotte.  going to be an interesting mix i'm thinkin'.


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## goatgurl (Apr 4, 2018)

forgot to tell you bay, I bought the white dorper when I thought the ram I had was not doing his job, bad on me, I guess he was just bashful, never saw him so much as sniff a ewe much less try to breed one but low and behold all of the ewes lambed without a problem.  all twins except one single from a ff.  lots of spots and chocolate babies.  mr dorper is at str#1's house waiting for fall so he can have a turn. moral of the story is check closer before you leap I guess.


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## Baymule (Apr 5, 2018)

Don't feel bad about that, never saw my Dorper ram do anything either. But the black headed lambs I have running about are proof that_ something_ happened! LOL


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## goatgurl (Jun 23, 2018)

it's been a while so I thought I'd try and catch up on everyone.  gonna take a while. and be picture heavy too.  but since youall love pictures that shouldn't be a problem. 
on the family front, the good news is that str#3 finally moved into her own house about 5 miles from here, woot!!  the bad news, my dd and sil moved into the empty house to "take care of me".  thought they would drive me nuts, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.  other good news, sil has since accepted a position in Washington state so they moved there a couple of weeks ago.  all is quiet on the hill except for me and the critters and I like it that way.
animal wise took 5 lambs to the sale last week and made a nice profit on them.  was glad to see them go.  that's the last time i'll listen to @Baymule and @Mike CHS and leave the ram lambs intact so they grow better, they about drove me and every sheep and goat I have nuts with their boyish ways.  oh and yes they did grow better but all that humping just wasn't worth it to me.
poultry wise the young pullets from this spring are growing like weeds and looking quite lovely.  this year I got RIR, black australorps, silver laced wyandottes, golden laced wyandottes, barred rocks and brown leghorns.  a colorful group indeed.  the muscovey's are laying and sitting up a storm and i'm almost covered up in baby ducks. 4 big hatches so far and 2 more sitting on big clutches right now. its almost impossible to drive up my driveway because of the swarm that meets me coming and follows me going.  they make me smile.  almost forgot, because I don't have enough to take care of I also got a few guinea keets too. i'll let youall know if they really do eat fire ants.  
garden is doing ok, tomatoes, squash, cukes and peppers are doing well, peas, beets and carrots, not so much.
@Latestarter I think this time your pig really has made it home, floppy ears and the spots are in the right places.  she has grown really nicely and has some approx. 100# youngsters with her.  you're more than welcome to come catch them and take them home.  also is a hog on the game cam that looks like @Baymule's herefords.  I would like to get him in my sights, I bet he woud be some good eating.  and a big dark colored bobcat
   .  

@CntryBoy777 this pic is for you, seeing gabbys picture with her frisbee made me think of JJ and her ball, a little worse for wear but she still brings it to me to throw.   and have to add emma 'cause she is so cute.  she is starting to show her age a little, getting hard of hearing and a little stiffer and slower but she's going on 15 so she's allowed.
youall be blessed and i'll catch you later.


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## CntryBoy777 (Jun 24, 2018)

It sure sounds like ya have your hands full over there....and even more on the way.....JJ looks like she has really enjoyed the ball and could be in line for a newer one........sweet little Emma may have some issues, but she still looks vibrant. I know it is pleasing to see such colors meandering around the yard and their help with any bugs. Don't push yourself too much in the heat, but glad ya are staying busy.....


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## Baymule (Jun 25, 2018)

You love to see them coming and love to see them MOVE on! LOL We live 7 miles from our DD, her husband and 3 girls. If they lived here on our place, we'd ALL be nuts! 

Hey, I'm not going to leave ram lambs intact again either. I kept one for a flock sire for 1 or 2 lambings. I sold the other 2 because I didn't want to put up with them any longer! LOL From now on, it's off with their nuts and they better behave themselves! 

@Latestarter 's  pig looks good! LS, maybe you could go "hog hunting" and come home with a couple of ice chests of meat!

I want to know if guineas eat Fahr Aints!


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## RollingAcres (Jun 25, 2018)

I bet that hog (if caught) makes for some good eating!


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## Mike CHS (Jun 26, 2018)

My rams haven't been a problem at our place but most of them were sold at right around 3 months old.  The two that I still have haven't been any problem but that might be because the Akbash doesn't let them get near me.  If I want to mess with them I have to put the dog up.


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## goatgurl (Jun 27, 2018)

@Mike CHS it wasn't that the ram lambs were bothering me or were getting mean it's just that they were riding everything they could catch, hormones gone wild.  it was just to annoying to put up with.  you know I just had to giggle just a little when I read about you zapping yourself again.  maybe you should train thor to guard you from yourself.  I see your blackberries and raise you a bucketful.  I wish I could say they were some I raised but actually the neighbor has some beautiful bushes.  cobbler in my future i'm thinkin'.  .
   Mother nature gave me a gentle reminder today about how things work.  if you are mowing in the goat pen and you run over several stinging nettle clumps and the wind blows all those tiny cuttings back on you they still sting where they hit your skin.  and while you are mowing said goat pen and purposely run over a fire ant mound and the mower blows dirt and ants up and the wind blows them back on you they are pretty ticked off and will sting you as soon as they get a chance.  Benadryl and a cool shower for me.  i'll try to remember that next time.  @Baymule i'm sure hoping those guineas eat the heck out of fhar ants.


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## RollingAcres (Jun 28, 2018)

goatgurl said:


> Mother nature gave me a gentle reminder today about how things work. if you are mowing in the goat pen and you run over several stinging nettle clumps and the wind blows all those tiny cuttings back on you they still sting where they hit your skin. and while you are mowing said goat pen and purposely run over a fire ant mound and the mower blows dirt and ants up and the wind blows them back on you they are pretty ticked off and will sting you as soon as they get a chance. Benadryl and a cool shower for me.


Yikes! Hope you get some relief.


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## CntryBoy777 (Jun 28, 2018)

Cobbler sure sounds good to me.....and a scoop or 2 of some homemade ice cream with it would be Wonderful!!........not real sure about guineas and fahr ants, but those khaki campbells sure put an end to several hills before they left. I have to use a mulching mower to cut portions of the yard, because it is full of poison ivy and keeping it on the ground instead of airborn sure saves a ton of scratching and being daubbed with calamine lotion......


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## Mike CHS (Jun 28, 2018)

Thor thinks the weed eater is attacking me when it's running and he does his best to kill it.


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## Bruce (Jun 28, 2018)

Oh, I think he should not do that. He's a big dog but no match for those rapidly spinning plastic pieces.


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## goatgurl (Jul 2, 2018)

I found a used craftsman weed eater on wheels this spring and am loving it.  JJ and I had to have a serious discussion about "leave it"  she wants to catch the whirling string and let me tell you any weed eater that will whip holes in a 5 gallon plastic bucket will rip the hide right off a critter.  
@Mike CHS I keep forgetting to show you and @Baymule a picture of one of my ram lambs.  ever seen a katadhin with horns?  I hadn't ever but lo and behold one of this years lambs sprouted a pair.  I've read up and it is sure a disqualification for registering but since I don't bother I didn't worry about it.


 
how weird is that??  
moved the guinea keets outside today, yea!!!  noisey little rascals.  look out fhar ants here they come.  youall have a great day


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## Mike CHS (Jul 2, 2018)

We have had two that had little stubs of horns but they were both butchered at 6 months (not as big as those on yours though).  I don't think they would have gotten much bigger but both of those were katahdin/Dorper cross.


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## Baymule (Jul 3, 2018)

So ya' gotcha' yerself a horny ram! That's hardly surprising, rams are like that, ya' know..... I bet he tastes just as good as a un-horny ram. 

Waiting on Guinea Fahr Ain't Report.


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## goatgurl (Jul 21, 2018)

@Baymule you are so funny, yup I bet he is every bit as tasty as his brother.  that was their problem, they were just too horny so off to the sale they went.
   all is well here, hot as the hubs of well? but we're managing so far.  lost a bunny last week but I think it was from a heart attack as well as from the heat.  I drove the lawn mower past his cage and somehow caught the edge of the tarp covering his cage with the tailgate of the lawn cart and BAM down he went cage and all, rolling across the yard.  found him dead the next day.  poor guy, made me feel guilty for scaring him to death and I think the heat just put him over the edge.  bobcat has been around a lot snacking on young ducks.  somethings gotta give there.  gave permission for my hunter friend to poke a hole in him if he gets a chance.  hate doing that.
  so here is the new definition of a cow bird... what ya think?  chickens and ducks both follow the goats and sheep around in the pasture catching bugs that are flushed up by their grazing.
    JJ found another copperhead about 6 feet from my front door few days ago.  curled up next to the flower bed I had been working in the day before.  little bit of rat shot took care of him, thank you very much.  JJ and emma have both been much more leery of the snakes they have found this year.  I guess both of them getting bit last year put a little bit of sense in their heads and a bit more respect for things that bite.  J never left where it was but she darn sure didn't stick her face down at it either.  guess she's learning.  emma on the other hand was in the house and slept thru the whole thing.  i'm just as glad, she isn't as smart as her younger sister, the terrier just takes over and she grabs 'em.  this one was almost 3 feet long, old guy I guess.  the last two pictures are of  my granddog tilly and her brother bob.  they are staying with me until their mom can arrange transport to seattle. anyone want to go on a road trip, they'll pay for gas, lol.  
  been doing a little putting by the last couple of weeks.  got the blackberries worked up, a bushel of red haven peaches, half dozen jars of tomatoes, need more of them,  and three kinds of pickles plus putting a couple of quarts of  jalapenos in the dehydrator.  okra is next.  was blessed with a gift of almost 30# of presliced beef jerky yesterday.  can't wait to get started on that.  friend works at a butcher shop and he said he sliced it to thin and he doesn't like it that way so he gave it to me.  he also gave me a bear roast.  tickled about that, I've never eaten bear . any suggestions on how to cook it?
  its still july and my darn buck goat is starting to smell and swell already.  hate to separate him from the girls but i'm not wanting early babies.  he is fat slick and in all his glory in late summer after he has been on pasture all summer but looks like a sucked orange before breeding season is over.  he's just such a horn dog.  
@CntryBoy777   I just keep praying God's will over your situation.  @Baymule I can't believe you sold both of those Hereford hogs.  how are you going to judge how they taste by a couple of porkchops.  @Pastor Dave please don't wait to long to get that hernia fixed.  longer its there the bigger it can get and the more damage you can do.  take care of yourself, lot of people counting on you.
  youall take care and i'll catch you on the flip flop.


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## Baymule (Jul 21, 2018)

Boo on the copperhead!  Paris kills them, it is cool to watch her do the snake dance. 

We did good on the Hereford hogs. We'll pick them up next week and deliver them.


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## Bruce (Jul 22, 2018)

goatgurl said:


> chickens and ducks both follow the goats and sheep around in the pasture catching bugs that are flushed up by their grazing.


Looks like you are getting enough rain there, pasture looks green. We have a lot of brown here.



goatgurl said:


> any suggestions on how to cook it?


REALLY REALLY well. They are a good source of Trichinosis. Presumably the mother of a friend of DW's is in the medical books for surviving a really bad case of bear meat Trich.


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## Mike CHS (Jul 22, 2018)

Friends gave us some bear meat last year and the link they gave us about cooking is below:

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=295

It isn't something I would want on a regular basis but it tasted different than I was expecting and was pretty good.


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## Bruce (Jul 22, 2018)

And if it goes "crunch" don't eat it, those are the trichina worm eggs.


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## Baymule (Jul 22, 2018)

Bruce said:


> And if it goes "crunch" don't eat it, those are the trichina worm eggs.


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## Mini Horses (Jul 22, 2018)

Bruce said:


> And if it goes "crunch" don't eat it, those are the trichina worm eggs



what a crappy thought that is!    

Me?  I'd have said thanks but, no thanks.


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## goatgurl (Jul 22, 2018)

ewwwwww, thanks @Bruce i'm sure i'll enjoy that bear roast now.  
I forgot to show youall what i'm doing this summer to keep myself off the streets and out of trouble.  I am an apprentice learning to cut, shape and shine semiprecious stones.  str#1 is a self taught lapidary/silversmith and she is teaching me how to    
   make jewelry and i'm really enjoying it.  it is amazing to me the beauty you can find in a plain old rock.  there is no coating or finish on them, they are just polished.  enlarge the picture to see the detail on them.


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## Mike CHS (Jul 22, 2018)

Those are beautiful and an awesome craft to learn.


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## Baymule (Jul 22, 2018)

Those are beautiful! I have always admired that art.


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## Bruce (Jul 23, 2018)

I feel the same way about rough hardwood lumber. I love to watch the grain and colors come out as it goes through the planer and drum sander.


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## goatgurl (Jul 23, 2018)

@Mike CHS, now i'm just showing out.  I did the polishing of the stones and str#1 did the silver work.  maybe someday i'll be able to do the silversmithing too.  she not only makes the settings but the chains as well.    she's a very talented lady. here again enlarge the picture to show the detail.


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## Bruce (Jul 23, 2018)

Lovely!


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## Mike CHS (Jul 24, 2018)

Those are beautiful!  I enjoy your showing off so keep it up.


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## OneFineAcre (Jul 24, 2018)

That jewelry looks really nice.
As to bear meat, they look to much like a dog in the face for me to eat.


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## RollingAcres (Jul 24, 2018)

goatgurl said:


> ewwwwww, thanks @Bruce i'm sure i'll enjoy that bear roast now.
> I forgot to show youall what i'm doing this summer to keep myself off the streets and out of trouble.  I am an apprentice learning to cut, shape and shine semiprecious stones.  str#1 is a self taught lapidary/silversmith and she is teaching me how to    View attachment 50548 View attachment 50549 View attachment 50550 make jewelry and i'm really enjoying it.  it is amazing to me the beauty you can find in a plain old rock.  there is no coating or finish on them, they are just polished.  enlarge the picture to see the detail on them.


Those are beautiful!


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## goatgurl (Jul 24, 2018)

well @OneFineAcre fortunately his face is not in the package so I don't have to look at him.  youall are making me have second thoughts about trying this roast.  may leave it in the freezer for a while and think about making a Sunday dinner out of it.
   well I found out something today that I didn't know... a velvet tailed rattlesnake and a timber rattler are the same snake.  i'm a little tired of all these poisonous  snakes around here.  sorry, didn't get a picture of this one.  was at the neighbors house instead of mine for a change.  little one, only about 4 1/2 feet long.  
   youall say a little prayer for me, gotta have an MRI tomorrow.  sure would like to find out whats going on with my back.


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## Baymule (Jul 24, 2018)

Prayer said for you. You know you will have to fill us in on all the details. You can't just make a statement like that and leave us dangling...…..

Your and sister's work is gorgeous. Beautiful work.


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## frustratedearthmother (Jul 25, 2018)

Prayers for a good outcome!


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## RollingAcres (Jul 25, 2018)

Prayers for you.


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## OneFineAcre (Jul 25, 2018)

I pray all goes well with your MRI.


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## Latestarter (Jul 25, 2018)

for a good MRI outcome, answers and potential solutions to the issue. Back issues suck!


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## Bruce (Jul 25, 2018)

Just check to see what temp the meat has to be to kill any trichina cysts. People have been eating bear for quite a long time. In this case, just be conservative to stay safe.

Hope the MRI shows something that can get fixed.


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## Devonviolet (Jul 25, 2018)

Tell DS#1 I am very impressed with her silver smithing!!!  You do nice work on the polishing too!  VERY pretty!!!


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## CntryBoy777 (Jul 27, 2018)

Sure do hate to hear of ya having back issues, they certainly are no fun at all....hope ya get some answers and direction of focus from the MRI and it isn't too difficult to get over...


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## goatgurl (Jul 28, 2018)

youall I can tell fall's coming, mice always try to move into my house in the fall.  so ok, I now have a mouse in my house so I put out a sticky trap to catch it but no luck.  so far I have caught emma, my avitar, and tilly the granddog.  I personally found it pretty amusing but they didn't... dogs have no sense of humor sometimes.


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## Southern by choice (Jul 29, 2018)




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## Baymule (Jul 29, 2018)

I hate mousies in the house!


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## Bruce (Jul 29, 2018)

Must be s BIG sticky trap to catch the dogs!!


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## CntryBoy777 (Jul 29, 2018)

I probably shouldn't tell y'all this, but.....I was overseeing a warehouse for a grocery company and we had to be proactive for rodent control.....it was back when they were just coming out with the glue boards.....so, I got a few and brought them to Mom and Dad to help with mice in the house here....well, Dad has always been one to make use of everything to the fullest and never grasped the idea of something being disposalble....it just seemed a waste to him....well, I can down to visit and Dad was down stairs, so was talking to Mom and I asked what Dad was doing....Mom said he was down stairs attempting to get a mouse off the glue board so it could be reused.....I cracked up and told her they were to be thrown away....she said tell that to your Dad.....I did, but he didn't agree......he showed it to me and saud see it can be used again.....I told him it had so much fur all over in the glue that it wouldn't hold another......I went back up stairs to Mom and we laughed til we cried......I'd never believed it if I hadn't seen it......


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## frustratedearthmother (Jul 29, 2018)

I hate mousies in the house too.  But, we caught a little snake on a glue trap once and I couldn't stand it so I decided to get him off.  Some cheap cooking oil will release what is stuck...just have to pour it all around and under the "stuckee" until it comes loose.  But, I won't even try the catch and release method on a mouse....


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie (Aug 3, 2018)

Miss @goatgurl,

    As I mentioned on my own journal, I have caught up with what's going on with you.  Thanks for letting me see how things should be done.   I hope you catch the mouse.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## goatgurl (Aug 6, 2018)

alright all of you great minds @greybeard, @Mike CHS, @CntryBoy777, @Latestarter and anyone else that can help.  I need some help figuring out board feet on some hand hewn timbers that I am planning to sell.  these are from an old log cabin on my property that was built in the late 1890's and a contractor from the dallas area is interested in them for fancy houses.  the logs range in length from 5.5ft to 17ft and are approximately 12inx6in thick.  how do I figure the board feet and how much they are worth?
  had a good work day Saturday.  I only have 9 goats and 4 sheep left in my dwindling herd and at some point they got in my chicken house, i'm not sure how the ruckus started or who was at fault but they totally destroyed my old roost in there.  we have to remember that this chicken house is probably 50 years old and i'm sure the roost was that old too.  so my friend WR, the gentleman who hunts on my property, came over and with his trusty chain saw and other hand tools we cut down 7 nice sturdy persimmon trees (i'm sorry @Devonviolet) and made a new roost for the girls.  chickens aren't the brightest bulbs on the tree and they weren't sure they wanted to sit on strange trees, grrr  hopefully they will figure it out.  JJ's in the pic checking things out.
   poor old choco went into solitary confinement today for the duration of the breeding season.  talk about giving a person the stink eye he did.  if looks could kill i'd be laying out there in the grass beside his pen.
  JR & SW delivered my winters hay this evening.  looks really good and green.  the girls minus choco are out cleaning up all the loose that fell off the truck.  there isn't as much lespedeza in it as last year but its still really good grass hay and are you ready for this... it only cost me $3.50 a bale delivered and put in the barn.  what a blessing.  and speaking of blessings WR also brought me a 55 gal barrel of corn on the cob for the critters.  woot!!
   
  youall have a blessed evening


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## goatgurl (Aug 6, 2018)

I forgot to mention @Senile_Texas_Aggie I think you must have me mixed up with someone that knows what they are doing... not sure if they are right or wrong I just do things in a way that works for me.  but thanks


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## Bruce (Aug 6, 2018)

A board foot is 144 sq inches of 1" wood. So to make it easy, 12" long, 12" wide, 1" thick. But 24x6x1 is also a board foot as is 12x6x2. As such, your 17' timber is 102 board feet. 

I can't tell you what they are worth. Is this contractor planning to convert the beams into dimensional lumber or use them "as is"? If he is willing to travel from Dallas to get them, he is likely willing to pay relatively big bucks. He could buy new lumber cheaper than what people pay for "antique" lumber with "character". If he is going to keep them as hand hewn beams for fancy houses, make him pay, he'll pass it on the the rich people who will be buying the house  I hope that is his plan, someone went to a huge amount of work to cut down, haul, square and get to the dimension they wanted all by hand 120 years ago. 

And, actually, if they are truly hand hewn, they are likely 40-50 years older minimum. Before the US Civil war big beams had to be hand hewn, the water powered saws couldn't handle big timbers. Then the steam engine came about and those beams could be cut with large circular saws. Much faster and dimensionally consistent.


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## frustratedearthmother (Aug 6, 2018)

Poor Choco!  No action for him this year?  Not even a little bit?   Congrats on getting your hay, that's a good feeling.  Hope you get a great price for the lumber!


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## CntryBoy777 (Aug 6, 2018)

I thank ya for your confidence @goatgurl , but it has been sooo long since I messed with wood and board feet that I was racking my brain..........really glad that there are real Pros to ask.........thanks @Bruce ....and having an Amish community close by @Mike CHS may have an idea on the worth of those timbers, as timbers.....


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## goatgurl (Aug 6, 2018)

don't feel to sorry for that old boy @frustratedearthmother he gets ALL the action I just like to choose who and when.  don't like suprises and have 4 weanling does that I don't want him to have his way with.


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## frustratedearthmother (Aug 6, 2018)

goatgurl said:


> he gets ALL the action I just like to choose who and when.


Dang - must be nice!  Dusty, my Nubian monster, has jumped out of his pen twice in three days.  He got moved today.   Sigh...


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## greybeard (Aug 6, 2018)

goatgurl said:


> alright all of you great minds @greybeard



Not me...I detest and kill most trees..... remember?


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## Mike CHS (Aug 7, 2018)

I'm not much help there since I've never dealt in reclaimed lumber.  I know that in Charleston, where renovations are a big deal, old barn lumber was going for $15-25 a board foot.  The Amish don't sell anything for high cost so no help there either.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie (Aug 10, 2018)

Miss @goatgurl,

    I've been intending on asking you: do you butcher your own meat goats, or do you take them to a market to sell?  If the latter, where is that market?  I've just been wondering, in case we decide to get some meat goats one day.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Pastor Dave (Aug 10, 2018)

Have you had the MRI yet, and if so how did it go?


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## Baymule (Aug 10, 2018)

I googled 120 year old barn beams for sale.....

https://www.ebay.com/bhp/barn-beams

this link says it's important to know what kind of wood it is as some species are more valuable

https://www.longleaflumber.com/5-tips-for-selling-reclaimed-wood/

And I found these places that sell old lumber and barn beams. Stands to reason that they have to buy it from someone, might want to give them a call. 

Old Texas Wood
4.6 (7) · Flooring Contractor

Dallas, TX
(682) 888-5977
Closed ⋅ Opens 8AM Sat





Reclaimed DesignWorks
4.9 (43) · Flooring Store
Dallas, TX
(214) 220-4850
Closed ⋅ Opens 9AM Mon


This Old Wood
4.2 (13) · Woodworking Supply Store
Austin, TX
(512) 288-1194

Old World Lumber Company
4.8 (19) · Lumber Store
Houston, TX
(713) 534-2621
Closed ⋅ Opens 10AM Sat






The Reclaimed Wood Shop
4.8 (9) · Woodworker

Houston,TX
(832) 206-7300

Vintage Reclaimed Lumber Company
5.0 (11) · Furniture Maker
Oklahoma City, OK
(405) 702-0001
Closed ⋅ Opens 8:30AM Sat




"The items they are creating out of old lumber is no doubt heirloom ..."




Antique Woods of Louisiana
No reviews · Woodworking Supply Store
Sunset, LA
(337) 662-2121


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie (Aug 11, 2018)

Pastor Dave said:


> Have you had the MRI yet, and if so how did it go?



I am wondering, too.  I got sidetracked reading about the mouse in the house and how to calculate board feet, etc.  Did they find anything about your back?


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie (Aug 15, 2018)

Miss @goatgurl, we on BYH are wondering how you are doing.  Are you OK?  We're kinda worried...

Senile Texas Aggie


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## goatgurl (Aug 15, 2018)

rain, did someone say rain... yup we got our share and part of someone else's.  and you're right @Latestarter the pond was getting a little low but is back up to the little trees.  was glad to see it even if it meant playing in the rain for a bit.  got everyone's copper and cobalt bolus's down 'em today.  they just about whooped this old gurl.  and for those of you who have yet to tackle that chore make sure you do it of an evening just before its time to come in and take a shower.  I spent the afternoon being reminded of how much a buck goat stinks this time of year.  hope the oil and smell come out of my t-shirt as well as off my hands and arms.  tell me again why we do this??  bringing the ram from dstr#1's house in a couple of weeks and getting the ewes bred then its freezer camp for him.  why is it that when a ram gets to that 2-3 year mark they start getting stupid, testosterone  poisoning is my guess.
@Bruce thank you so much for figuring board feet for me.  I had no clue.  and a thank you to @Baymule for the sites that sell the wood.  I haven't heard back from the guy in dallas so i'm going to call several of them tomorrow and see if they would be interested in buying the logs.  here's hoping. 
@Pastor Dave and @Senile_Texas_Aggie got the results back on the MRI and my Dr. wants to set me up with a neurosurgeon to see what he thinks he can do for me. my guess is nothing that i'm willing to do.  as in NO surgery!   I've known for several years that my back was getting worse but I've just dealt  with it.  you can't be a nurse for almost 30 years and not mess your self up.  i'm just going to whittle down some more on the animals and take it a day at a time till I decide what i'm going to do.  i'm trusting God in all of it and as my old mama use to say "time will tell". 
   and youall know I have to send you a picture or two so the first pic is of the boar that was whispering sweet nothings to @Latestarter's wandering sow.  they were in the same picture on the game cam about a month ago.  check out the cutters on this guy.  wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley don't ya know.  and you'll notice that WR is showing off his new hand made knife .  its a nice one.  and this guy will add another approx. 150 pounds of sausage for the food bank I help out with.  sausage is much easier to distribute in # pkgs.  the 2nd pic is of the girls trying to sneak up on me.  they know if they're fast enough they can beat me through the gate and into the yard.  no flowers are safe if they get in.  and the 3rd pic is of some surprise lily's aka naked ladies just because.
   youall take care


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## Mini Horses (Aug 16, 2018)

I know the "no surgery" thoughts & feel the concerns with sympathy.  That said -- consider that things have come a long, long way and often the microscopic & laser techniques can work well. Just sayin' -- check out the prospects before saying no -- in case one may help without heavy artillery. 

That boar has some tusks!!  WOW 
Now, you complaining about a little bucky stink??    It's  a "love potion"  remember?


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## Latestarter (Aug 16, 2018)

Haven't finished the buck pen yet and got woke up this morning by my dogs letting me know that RJ was having his way with Dot.  Marked today on my calendar. Gotta get that pen finished and get him in it. Then gotta get me some Lute, wait ten days (for Dot or whomever the last one is he tags before confinement), and get those girls all dosed. I do NOT want to deal with mid January kids, and do not want my yearlings pregnant. Wish my hand(s)/wrist would work   Can barely hold my coffee mug with my right hand. Left isn't much stronger.

Glad that your pond has re-filled. When it was way down, you sounded pretty worried about it. Nice looking tusker there. I'm sure the folks who get free sausage will be thankful.


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## CntryBoy777 (Aug 16, 2018)

Sure hope ya have some welcomed options presented to ya for your back....it is always better to at least hear the options and decide, than to say no just thinking of the worst case scenario.....


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## goatgurl (Aug 16, 2018)

@frustratedearthmother I was going to answer your duck post last night but decided to go to bed instead, lazy me...  it is the time of year and the adults have faded out and are starting to molt.  I have a chocolate drake that looks like I hit him with the weed whacker, he fights with the other boys and looses.  he is finally starting to get new feathers and looking more like a duck again.  I also have a black drake that faded to chocolate brown and now has black spots coming back in.  the ladies do it too. pictures for your enjoyment/information.   you can see by the breast of the hen behind the black drake that she is mottling too.  hope your duckles get back to normal soon.
@Senile_Texas_Aggie sorry it has taken me so long to answer your meat goat question.  the answer is yes and yes.  at one time in my life we butchered the goats we saved to eat but now I load them up and take them to a place up the road and they kill, cut and wrap and I get nice wrapped packages.  they have reasonable prices and process whatever we take to them, so far steers, pigs, lambs and goats.  any surplus animals that I don't want to have butchered we (sister #1 and i) take to the auction over in wister, ok.  descent prices and by fall i'm ready for them to leave.  the butcher shop is outside greenwood so would be convenient to you too.


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## Wehner Homestead (Aug 17, 2018)

Buck smell, pig smell, basically any noxious smell can be removed from clothing with a little OdoBan added. I love the stuff and get the eucalyptus scent delivered via Amazon Prime every few weeks! (Life with kids!)


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## Baymule (Aug 18, 2018)

Back surgery ain't what it used to be. Now they can laser tag you, you're in and out in a day. It is worth considering.


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## Mike CHS (Aug 18, 2018)

I hope you can get a resolution for your back that you are comfortable with.  I had it done back in the mid 80's but I had no choice at the time.  Losing the pain was worth all of the risk to me then.


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## goatgurl (Aug 19, 2018)

i'm just gonna let God worry about my back until I hear what the dr has to say.  don't want to borrow trouble but don't have the wherewithal to take care of the critters like they deserve to be taken care of.  not liking having my daily life affected.  
I actually broke down and watched the news and weather on tv last night.  I knew we had gotten a lot of rain in the last couple of weeks but the weather man said that we got over 10 inches.  wow, no wonder things are soggy around here.
let the Guinea babys out with the rest of the crew into the big, cruel world.  now I just have to show them a fhar ant hill and see if they really will eat the dang thangs.  I can tell you that they are smarter than they look and will NOT eat a cow ant.   can't say that I blame them.
look who/what moved in down the road from me.  water buffalo  A Laotian family has several broiler houses and a herd of beef cattle and they have added a cow and bull water buffalo pair to the mix.  I was sort of surprised when I drove by them yesterday.  can they mix with cattle for a hybrid mix?  I don't have a clue.  the clouds are just because they are pretty and the poultry because who doesn't like a mixed flock of pretty birds


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## greybeard (Aug 20, 2018)

goatgurl said:


> can they (River Buffalo) mix with cattle for a hybrid mix?



Supposedly, yes, according to SE Asian reports, but they (the reports) are very rare and most in vitro pairings fail


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## Bruce (Aug 20, 2018)

A VERY mixed flock, not just breeds but 3 species!

Do these people have a big pond? I would ASSUME that water buffalo would be happier when they have water to wallow in.


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## Baymule (Aug 21, 2018)

Nothing like a taste of "back home". I like oddball things and having water buffalo for neighbors looks pretty cool to me. I like mixed flocks too. Do you have problems getting your guineas to come back to the coop? Or do they roost in trees? We just got 6 about 3-4 weeks old.


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## goatgurl (Aug 28, 2018)

@Baymule my guineas are just a few months old and right now they are sleeping in the trees above my chicken house with some of my maverick pullets.  because I have no close neighbors and my poultry all free range I really don't expect them to ever sleep in the coop.  as long as they roost where they are i'll be a happy camper.  I think you're right, having water buffalo for neighbors is pretty neat in my opinion. and @Bruce they do have a pond in their pasture, who knows if that's where these guys will hang out.  if you enlarge the pictures from the previous post you can see that they both gave the rope head gear the cows is threaded thru her nostril , ouch.  I look forward to watching them off and on.
   do youall remember when idiot choco got stuck between the barn and the t-post??  well it seems he did something to his back and is walking a little cattywhompas right now. I have a friend who raises meat goats and ever so often she uses an animal chiropractor on one of her goats.  i'm calling tomorrow to see if they are willing to work on a buck in full rut.  i'm hoping it will help the old man.
   why is it always one thing or the other?  with all the rain we have had the grass in my yard is high, high, high.. finally got the time to mow while it was dry and the mower started like a champ, engaged the blades, no problem and mowed about 5 feet before it quit all forward motion, engine still running, blades still spinning just no forward or backward motion for that matter.  I hate lawn mowers, just sayin'.
   alright youall I have a secret, been keeping this to myself because I feel like a bad dog mama.  katie is the proud mama of five beautiful new pups.  it was not my intention to breed her after her first and suppose to be last litter but she and marco are sneakier than I thought.  my timing was a bit off obviously.  I knew she was due to come in heat and already had an appointment to have her spayed but it didn't work out that way.  the best laid plans of mice and men often go asunder.  can you say cute babies.  they are indeed
       those tiny red things in my hand are a tomato called 'current' and that is as big as they get.  I wasted garden space for three of these plants and boy am I disappointed.  they are definitely on my do not plant list for next year.  and the flower, just because its pretty.


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## frustratedearthmother (Aug 28, 2018)

Oh my goodness!  Puppies!   They are precious!

Yep - I think I'd have those little 'maters on the do not grow list too, lol.


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## Baymule (Aug 28, 2018)

I love the puppies! I love puppy breath. Hard to believe these little furballs grow up to great big dogs. Adorable.

I wish I had the problem of rain and too much grass. Things are kinda dry, shriveled and brownish around here.


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## CntryBoy777 (Aug 28, 2018)

Awww!!....they are just as cute as buttons @goatgurl ....
I don't blame ya about those tomatoes....not much there for a nice BLT and it would take all those 3plants could produce to make a jar of sauce. The flower is really pretty....what kind is it?.....there are at least 2 things ya gotta watch for on the guineas.....coons and owls....I know ya have dogs, but coons can climb tree to tree like squirrels....both are plentiful here, so I have hesitated in getting some....the ones Mom and Dad had were gotten that way and even lost a peacock too...all in the same tree. Anything further on your back issue?


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## greybeard (Aug 28, 2018)

goatgurl said:


> the mower started like a champ, engaged the blades, no problem and mowed about 5 feet before it quit all forward motion, engine still running, blades still spinning just no forward or backward motion for that matter.


The drive belt for the rear wheels is far up inside the frame, coming from an upper pulley on the engine drive shaft (above the deck drive belt)  and going all the way back to the rear of the machine. Somewhere along that path, there will be and idler pulley that applies or releases tension of the drive belt when the clutch is depressed or released. This drive belt path is accessible only from underneath the mower and maybe (depending on model and make)  after removing the deck.

Possibilities:
1. Spring or belt broken on vari-drive. (there are 2 belts on the vari-drive. One comes From the engine pulley--the other goes From the vari-drive To the big pulley mounted atop the transmission)
2. Linkage fell off the idler that the clutch pedal moves.
3. Transmission has internal problems.
4. One axle is broken or is no longer engaged in wheel splines.

My guess is it will be #1. 

Like I said, the offending drive section is way up in there. (view of engine drive shaft from underneath)



 

A real goofy video, but has some good info on an example of several different kinds of mowers.


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## Wehner Homestead (Aug 28, 2018)

Puppies!!!  I think I need to cuddle with a puppy. Yes, I think that’s what I need!


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## RollingAcres (Aug 29, 2018)

goatgurl said:


> alright youall I have a secret, been keeping this to myself because I feel like a bad dog mama. katie is the proud mama of five beautiful new pups.


 How dare you kept a secret from us? lol 
Really cute puppies! 
I hear ya on the rain rain and more rain and the long grass...


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## Devonviolet (Aug 29, 2018)

goatgurl said:


> youall I have a secret



I WANT one of those puppies!!!    However, DH, budget and space preclude me getting one.  

I LOVE the pic of 3 of her puppies _standing_ to nurse!!!  That is just TOO cute!!!

We have tomatoes that are just a hair bigger than those.  The label says they are “Sweet 100s”.  What a waste!!!!  We get maybe 4 or 5 at one time on a HUGE bush.  I’m with you goatgurl!  I’ll never buy Sweet 100s again!


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## Latestarter (Aug 29, 2018)

PUPPIES!!!  GIMMEE, GIMMEE! Can I have one please?  They look fabulous! Didn't you only recently place the last pups? Glad you've had all the rain you need... Guess that was me last year and we've "swapped places" as I am dry, dry, dry down here...


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## greybeard (Aug 29, 2018)

Latestarter said:


> PUPPIES!!!  GIMMEE, GIMMEE! Can I have one please?  They look fabulous! Didn't you only recently place the last pups? Glad you've had all the rain you need... Guess that was me last year and we've "swapped places" as I am dry, dry, dry down here...



https://www.backyardherds.com/threa...ripes-and-grumbles.33505/page-518#post-565788


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## RollingAcres (Aug 29, 2018)

Good one GB! I was just going to "remind" @Latestarter  of his post in his own thread and you already did.


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## Latestarter (Aug 29, 2018)

I do want one... puppy that is, but I am not going to take on another dog right now... I sure would like to though...


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## Mike CHS (Aug 29, 2018)

We want to get one but I think Thor is going to be a puppy for several years so it might be awhile so we might look for an adult LGD.


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## Baymule (Aug 29, 2018)

I am thinking about a female puppy in the next year or so. Paris is 9ish years old and I need to think about getting another dog. Trip is a decent guard, but on his own terms and right now, at this moment, his terms include stretched out in the floor enjoying the AC. Trip with no Paris would be a disaster. Paris is the fierce protector, she loves what she does.


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## Latestarter (Aug 29, 2018)

Storms are basically over here but Mel is in no way eager to head back out to the pasture to guard the goats. Guess I'll take him out there though as that's where he's supposed to be. He'll be a muddy mess by tomorrow.


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## Bruce (Sep 1, 2018)

RollingAcres said:


> I hear ya on the rain rain and more rain and the long grass...


Funny isn't it that we are pretty close to each other and our near total lack of rain continues.


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## goatgurl (Oct 2, 2018)

well life continues uninterrupted here on the farm.  the older does are all bred but i'm holding off on the doelings for a month or two.  brought in a new guy to breed the younger girls to.  the first thing you may notice are the ears on this guy.  he is a kiko/boer/Nubian cross and from the side view you can't tell how wide he is.  his dad goes about 280# and mom is close to 200#  it will be interesting to see if the babies come out with ears.  

                                                                                                                           ram is here and i'm guessing that the ewes are bred by now.    time will tell on that.  everyone is fat and happy, the grass is still green and growing so that's all good.                                                                              
i'm still polishing rocks, here are a couple of the latest before and after pics.    keeps me off the street and out of trouble I guess.  
picking the last of the tomatoes and squash.  waiting on the chili peppers to turn red before I dry those.
puppies are growing like weeds. they are 12 weeks old and going to their new homes.   have 3 of the 5 sold so still have 1 male and 1 female.  they are so dang cute  its kind of hard to see them go but go they must.       marco is such a good and gentle daddy and katie is a patient mom.  
youall take care and i'll check back in later.


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## Mike CHS (Oct 3, 2018)

Awesome pictures as always


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## OneFineAcre (Oct 3, 2018)

I just saw the puppies
Very cute.


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## Baymule (Oct 3, 2018)

I admire your rock polishing, it really unlocks the beauty that lingers below the rough surface. Beautiful work!

The puppies are adorable and makes me wish for a white fluffy baby....NO! DO NOT LOOK! TURN AWAY!

That is a nice looking buck, no pictures of the ram?


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## Wehner Homestead (Oct 3, 2018)

@Baymule how old is Paris? Maybe it is time to consider one... Seriously though. Not just being an enabler.


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## Bruce (Oct 3, 2018)

I like the before and after stones. Watching the grain come out is one of the reasons I like to work with rough cut lumber.


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## Baymule (Oct 3, 2018)

Wehner Homestead said:


> @Baymule how old is Paris? Maybe it is time to consider one... Seriously though. Not just being an enabler.


She is at least 8 years old. I have been thinking about a puppy. Probably next year.


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## Baymule (Oct 4, 2018)

Wehner Homestead said:


> @Baymule how old is Paris? Maybe it is time to consider one... Seriously though. Not just being an enabler.


Reflecting on this, it's funny that you should mention this. Paris has told me the last few days that she doesn't feel good. She is not sick, nothing "wrong" that I could take her to the vet for, but she is telling me that she is not up to being herself. I spent a long time yesterday brushing her. She laid out, closed her eyes and enjoyed it. Normally, I brush her for a few minutes at a time, because she runs off to watch everything. My girl is slowing down. 

I have the new Lab/Great Dane puppy and have a King Charles Cavalier spaniel puppy coming in a few months, after the first of the year. So I am in no hurry to get another LGD at this time, but I am seriously considering next year.


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## Pastor Dave (Oct 4, 2018)

A glutton for puppy breaking punishment.


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## Baymule (Oct 4, 2018)

Pastor Dave said:


> A glutton for puppy breaking punishment.


Yup, I am!


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## Mike CHS (Oct 4, 2018)

We are thinking about getting an Akbash female and get one litter out of Thor.  He should be out of his puppy stage by the time he hits 2 years or so but then I would have to find a partner for Maisy.  I'm not sure she's up to breaking in another puppy so maybe not.


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## RollingAcres (Oct 4, 2018)

@goatgurl Love those puppies! They are such fur balls!
Those polished rocks are so cool!


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## Bruce (Oct 4, 2018)

Mike CHS said:


> We are thinking about getting an Akbash female and get one litter out of Thor.  He should be out of his puppy stage by the time he hits 2 years or so but then I would have to find a partner for Maisy.  I'm not sure she's up to breaking in another puppy so maybe not.


Wouldn't Thor be able to help on the breaking in or are you talking about getting one soon enough that he won't be ready to teach yet?


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## Mike CHS (Oct 4, 2018)

We aren't thinking real seriously yet. Thor has a bunch of maturing to do before we take him away from Maisy.


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## goatgurl (Oct 16, 2018)

and then there were two.  I have broken my own rule and given names to the two pups that are left.  meet jake the snake on the left (he got bitten on the face by a copperhead) and manny, big man on the right ('cause he's a big boy like his daddy).   the others have gone to their new homes.  all working homes at that.  had someone from tulsa wanting to buy a "pet" maremma.  ahhh, sorry no.  these dogs love their people but they love their charges too and are not ok in someones backyard.

sad day here yesterday, had to say goodbye to my grandfish bob.  bob was a 5 1/2 year old google eyed goldfish that I've been babysitting since my daughter moved to Washington state.  he had a regular indian burial, in a garden planter instead of the normal circle the bowl ceremony .  RIP bob now I have to tell my daughter that her fish is dead..
 and just because I think its so cute i'm including a picture of the guineas and the barred rock pullet they think is their mama.  she has no clue that shes suppose to be their mom but they follow her everywhere.  
wet and cold here already.  I sure hope fall comes back so we can beautiful warm days and cool nights before I have to break down and turn the heat on.  not ready for that.
youall take care.


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## Mike CHS (Oct 17, 2018)

I love puppy pictures.    We had to break down and turn on the heat.


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## Bruce (Oct 17, 2018)

We've managed to not run the propane furnace in the north building of the house so far. I suspect that will end VERY soon. Been running the wood stove in the south building. It isn't as well insulated, the north building was 95% rebuilt in 2013 so good insulation and triple pane windows.


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## RollingAcres (Oct 17, 2018)

Jake and Snake are just too adorable!!!  I want them as a pet but I know better.


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## frustratedearthmother (Oct 17, 2018)

Love Jake and Manny!  When you get to the naming stage it gets a whole lot harder to let them go....so...I think you should just keep 'em!!


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## Mini Horses (Oct 17, 2018)

frustratedearthmother said:


> so...I think you should just keep 'em!!



I'm thinking that's a given


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## goatgurl (Oct 21, 2018)

NO!! you guys, just NO.  I can't keep a puppy.  but I want to sooo bad.   Jake leaves next Friday to go live outside Nashville with a bunch of sheep and manny is still looking for a home.  the right place for him will come along when its suppose to.  
  well I killed my computer (sorry joe) by plugging a flashlight into a usb port to charge it.  same computer, same flashlight and same port I've used everytime I charged the dang thing but this time the screen went black and the right side of the keyboard got really hot to the touch.  computer guru said it would cost over $400. to fix it.  thank the good Lord that I had sold some of the pups and had the money to buy a new one 
  this springs pullets are starting to get those pretty bright red combs and talk to me, can't wait to start finding pullet bullets in the nests.  garden is done and all is at peace with the world.  i'm still shining rocks and starting to work at wire wrapping too.  keeps me off the street and out of trouble.

 bow season here, look what came out of my back pasture.  happy freezer.  thank you WR

 
and just because the sunset was so beautiful night before last

   youall have a blessed day


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## CntryBoy777 (Oct 21, 2018)

Sure hate to hear about your puter, but guess the pups came with an added benefit that ya was unaware of at the time....that is a nice looking buck and am sure the "rewards" will help to warm ya up on some cold days ahead....along with some of the "hen fruit". That is some interesting sunset pics and the distant mountain/hill reminds me of one over that way that I used to visit a couple who lived close to the top....tho, I know it isn't the same one...they lived up around Dardenelle....


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## goatgurl (Oct 21, 2018)

Dardenelle is a couple of hours east of me.  its pretty there, almost as pretty as here, lol.  big lake and good fishing.  we used to camp there a lot when I was a pup.  i'm nestled in between sugarloaf and Poteau mountains.  sugarloaf is the one peaking out from the clouds in the picture.  i'm not sure how tall sugarloaf is but I know its barely a mountain, lol.  Poteau mountain range is a little taller and a lot longer, it starts in Oklahoma and travels east and west into arkansas.  
and you're right about the pups being a blessing even tho I hadn't planned on them.  they paid my property and personal taxes this year as well as buying a new computer.  I love how God provides even before we know we need something.


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## frustratedearthmother (Oct 21, 2018)

Nice freezer filler there!  And, beautiful sunset!


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## Mike CHS (Oct 21, 2018)

I might know the farm outside of Nashville as that isn't that far from us.


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## Latestarter (Oct 21, 2018)

Sorry the computer didn't last longer for you...   No idea why using the USB to charge a flashlight would have killed the screen.  Glad the unexpected pups allowed you to replace it though. That's a really nice Buck there. 10 pointer from what I can see, and not an "old" deer either, so very healthy! Should make some really tasty eating!


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## Baymule (Oct 22, 2018)

NO! You cannot keep a pup! There, does that make you feel better?


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## OneFineAcre (Oct 22, 2018)

Nice buck
Sure you can keep a puppy if you want to.


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## RollingAcres (Oct 22, 2018)

Wow those are beautiful sunset pictures! I love your mountain view.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie (Dec 4, 2018)

Miss @goatgurl,

Are you OK?  I haven't seen you on-line in quite some time.  Just a little concerned about you.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## greybeard (Dec 4, 2018)

Latestarter said:


> orry the computer didn't last longer for you...  No idea why using the USB to charge a flashlight would have killed the screen.


Bad battery within the flashlight would be my guess. Bad batts can draw more current than the usb port is rated to deliver. They all output 5vdc but usb2 is rated for 500mA and usb3 is limited to 900mA. Most newer computers tho, have a Dedicated Charging Port (DCP) that has a limit of 1500mA to keep up with the newer high capacity batteries.


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## goatgurl (Dec 9, 2018)

ok, I just have to admit this... I hate all things electronic!!!  hate them!!!  now my new computer has died.  had the darn thing 3 weeks and it died on me.  took it back to wally world from whence it came and they were really sorry but they don't take returns on electronics after 2 weeks.  what?, seriously.  had it 3 weeks, its dead and you're sorry.  called HP, the maker of said computer who tell me that they have had problems with several of these computers and will try to fix it over the phone, oops, nope that didn't work so now they are sending me a flash drive so I can fix it myself and they will sell me an extended warranty for $79.99 on a computer that they knew before they sold it that they had problems with.   and of course the only person you can talk to is someone who speaks English as a second language.  I am not a happy camper.  God bless my friend jan who let me borrow her laptop for a few days.  then we have my phone which won't hold a charge and won't stay connected to the internet.  did I mention that I hate all things electronic.  well I do.
  on a lighter note, all the critters are doing great.  goats are looking preggers, sheep look like fluffy tanks and still have a couple of months to go before they pop.  bunnies are in winter mode and glad they get to stay in their own cages and not have to worry about babies in this cold wet weather, chickens are laying full tilt now, they are such a beautiful bunch of girls.  puckpuck who is a speckled Sussex hen has decided that she likes to ride around on my shoulder, makes me laugh, the ducks are wandering around fat, dumb and happy and the guineas are a loud and lively group. 
  drum roll please...... I have gotten a job, nope not in nursing but am working at a local museum 4 days a week.  have to admit that i'm loving it.  none of the stress that nursing lays on you, if I make a mistake nobody dies.  how cool is that.   they actually pay me to talk to people, make displays and catalog things. last week I put baby Jesus in the manger in one window and stuffed santa and put him and a couple of his elves in the other window.   only bad thing is that it takes time away from my rock polishing and jewelry making but that's ok.  keeps me off the street and out of trouble.
  youall take care and have a Blessed Christmas remembering that Jesus is the reason for the season.  i'll check back when I can, TTFN


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## CntryBoy777 (Dec 9, 2018)

That was really nice of your friend to let ya borrow the laptop to checkin with....sure sorry ya seem to be having such electronic issues and hope the gremlins find their way out of them for ya and leave ya alone........sounds like ya are enjoying the new job and sure ya have lots to share with the visitors....glad the animals are fairing well thru the difficult weather.....I'm sure ya can work on the stones and jewelry in your spare time when the weather adds to the 3days off ya have each week....at least til Spring.........oh, btw....when we get some chickens for the new place, I'm sure there will be a couple of the speckled sussex in the flock.....


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## OneFineAcre (Dec 9, 2018)

Sorry about your computer problem.  The new job sounds great.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie (Dec 10, 2018)

Miss @goatgurl,

So glad to know you're OK.  I feared that maybe health problems had you sidelined.  Glad to know it's just electronics, as annoying as those can be, and not your health.  Congratulations on the new job.  It sounds like something you will enjoy.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Bruce (Dec 10, 2018)

goatgurl said:


> now my new computer has died. had the darn thing 3 weeks and it died on me. took it back to wally world from whence it came and they were really sorry but they don't take returns on electronics after 2 weeks. what?, seriously. had it 3 weeks, its dead and you're sorry.


That is ridiculous. At worst HP should have a 1 year warranty on it. 

I bet the museum job is a lot easier on your body as well as your stress level.


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## greybeard (Dec 10, 2018)

goatgurl said:


> and of course the only person you can talk to is someone who speaks English as a second language


Get your tissues and hankies out and ready, because 
Someone, somewhere, even and including in these United States, is going to take offense at that, even tho you did nothing more than state a simple fact and tell the truth.


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## Baymule (Dec 10, 2018)

TWO WEEKS?  What a rip off. 

I would write politely scathing letters dripping with honeyed venom to every company email address I could find. 

Start here;

https://ssl.www8.hp.com/us/en/contact-hp/connect-with-hp.html

http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/execteam/email/bod/index.html

https://www.hpe.com/us/en/contact-hpe.html

I've been digging for contacts and these people don't want their customers to bother them. At. All. 
Warranty and Out of Warranty 1-844-806-3425


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## goatgurl (Jan 22, 2019)

greybeard said:


> Get your tissues and hankies out and ready, because
> Someone, somewhere, even and including in these United States, is going to take offense at that, even tho you did nothing more than state a simple fact and tell the truth.


@greybeard the first thing that popped into my mind is "frankly Scarlett I don't give a damn" but I guess that isn't politically correct either.  i'm back on my old new computer and after the flash drive got here and the sil 'fixed' it its working fine.  and no,  I still haven't forgiven wallyworld or HP for all the crap I had to go thru to get it fixed.  broke down and bought a new phone, cost as much to fix the old one as I it did to buy a new one so new it is.   I've never had an android before but DD talked me into it.  kind of a learning curve don't ya know.
  i'm kind of like the rest of you, sick and tired of the wet and cold.  I just remind myself that in 2 weeks it will be august and we'll be griping about the heat and dry.  I would gripe if ya hung me with a new rope I guess. 
  don't ya love Arkansas snow, here today and gone tomorrow.  I don't know about you but I also love a beautiful sunset.    and fluff on the mountain.  
  on the good news side all the critters are doing well.   have 2 goofy hens that are setting on a total of 26 eggs.  just what I need, more chickens.  between the chickens, the goats and the sheep  there is going to be a population explosion around here soon.  DStr#1 has already had her first set of lambs, twin girls, woot!!  mine will be popping in the next 2-3 weeks.  speaking of babies this pic is for you @Latestarter, this baby looks a lot like your silver baby.  her  last year  and this is her this year.  has turned out to be an almost frosted light brown.  what ever color you call it, I think she's pretty.
  on the bad news side, to be honest not all the critters are ok.  I lost my old buck Choco this last week.  youall remember when he got stuck between the tpost and the corner of the barn, he had just slowly gone down hill over the past year and no matter what I did his back end and hind legs just kept getting weaker until he was struggling.  well he isn't struggling now.  its silly how attached you get to them.  I raised him on a bottle and over the years we have had our differences and yes a couple of times we came to blows but I miss his ornery old hide.  he would have been 12 years old this spring.  RIP old man.


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## Baymule (Jan 22, 2019)

12 years is a long time to be arguing with a goat...….I remember when he got stuck. I know you miss him. Big hugs to you. 

those are some pretty pictures. I am sooooo glad that you have your computer back. I have really missed you.


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## Goat Whisperer (Jan 22, 2019)

I am so sorry to hear this! 
12 years is a long time for a breeding buck. You obviously cared for him well


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## Wehner Homestead (Jan 23, 2019)

Glad you are back! Sorry for your loss! It seems as though everyone here has dealt with a substantial loss in some way, shape, or form recently.


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## OneFineAcre (Jan 23, 2019)

Sorry about your buck


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## RollingAcres (Jan 23, 2019)

Sorry for you loss @goatgurl ! 

Your pics are beautiful! That sunset pic was stunning!


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## Latestarter (Jan 23, 2019)

Thanks for sharing @goatgurl that is one pretty doeling! Mine is more the same color throughout and it is indeed a silvery/frosted color, with white splotches/patches. Really pretty, especially in the sunlight. So sorry to hear that you lost Choco. I hear ya on having "words" with them stinky old bucks... RJ decided he needed to do a scur lift into my rib cage the other day while I was slightly bent over pouring pellets into their feed bowl. Normally he'll come up beside me or in front of me with his side presented vice facing with his head. I wasn't real happy about that and chased his stinky butt around the enclosure for 5 minutes   I keep a couple of foot long sticks on the ground just outside the gate into their pen. Sometimes he decides he wants to push against my fingers and hands when I'm trying to open the carabiner clips to the gate to get in with hay/food/etc. A solid tap on the nose has taught him that when I pick up one of those sticks he moves well back from my reach at the gate.


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie (Jan 23, 2019)

Miss @goatgurl, it is so good to see you back on-line.  I see you got about the same amount of snow that we did.  Ours lasted a bit longer than 1 day.  But I am glad we don't have to deal with it for weeks and months at a time the way Miss @RollingAcres and Mr. @Bruce do!


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## Bruce (Jan 23, 2019)

Time flies when you are having fun, soon it will be "no snow" season 
Still getting a lot of drifting of the snow that landed Sunday. Should have rain over night then back to snow. But no, our yard won't look a thing like @goatgurl's even after the rain. Most likely we'll have a ****ton of ice for the cars to TRY to drive on in the parking area. Might have to get out with the sand or some ashes tomorrow.


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## Hens and Roos (Jan 23, 2019)

sorry to hear


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## Bruce (Jan 24, 2019)

The cars were able to get out this morning no problem. I had to dump some sand on the big flat rock outside the porch door, sheet of ice. Above freezing, some rain, parking area turning into puddles. Gonna be ugly later. I'll toss some sand and ash after it starts to harden up presumably around 5 PM. Hopefully they will freeze into the ice as it forms and make a good scratchy surface.


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## goatgurl (Jan 25, 2019)

@Bruce glad you were able to get sand out for later.  I hate ice.  Dstr#5 posted a picture on her FB page entitled "pratt fall" which showed bare foot prints, slide marks and then hand prints on her iced over deck a couple of days ago.  she didn't know we got freezing rain over night.   I laughed out loud.  not nice but I did.  
   as some of you may remember I started to work a couple of months ago at a local little museum and have really enjoyed it.  today an elderly lady came in to donate some articles that were her brothers.  he had been killed in WWII, their parents had passed, he had no children and she brought his things to the museum for display so he wouldn't be forgotten.  among the things were pictures of him as a child with his parents,in his uniform, and pictures of his father and mother receiving his silver star and purple heart medals from the post commander at Camp Chaffee.  she also brought the telegram that his parents received to inform them that he was killed in action as well as the letter from Franklin D. Roosevelt thanking them for his service.   touched my heart and made me sad for that family.  his whole life in a little flat box.
  youall be blessed and stay warm and dry.


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## Bruce (Jan 26, 2019)

Must be Dstr#5 is a tough cookie, I don't go out barefoot when it is cold. Actually I don't go barefoot much at all.

Nice story about the museum. Maybe his life is in a little flat box but it can now be told to those who come to the museum.


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## goatgurl (Jan 27, 2019)

@Bruce she goes barefoot all the time, when she's not barefoot she's wearing those vibrams weird little toe shoe things.  what can I say, she's the baby, gotta love her, lol.   and yes I will make sure to include some of his pictures and things in our WWII display, just gonna need to rearrange a few things.  just hurt my heart that's all.

   now i'm just showing out a bit.  this is a rock that I shaped and polished and Str#1 did the silver work on.  I think it turned out really nice.  she always does a good job.   click on the pic to enlarge it so you can see the detail.  
'yotes were singing loud tonight. sometimes, like tonight they are so close it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand on end.  i'm so grateful for big barky dogs.  
  only other thing of importance is that my black hen that has been sitting on 15 eggs for the past almost 3 weeks decided to abandon her nest yesterday.  when I found them last evening they were stone cold, did I mention they were due to start hatching tomorrow.  and I already had them promised to someone.  stupid bird.  that's strike one for that old biddy.  nothing else new, couple of the ewes are starting to look like 55 gallon drums with legs, won't be as lone as it has been.  anxious for babies.  youall take care


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## Mike CHS (Jan 27, 2019)

I saw and disposed of one coyote yesterday that was brazenly pacing on our neighbors property that borders our chicken pen.

Your designs just keep looking better all of the time so show out all you feel like.


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## RollingAcres (Jan 29, 2019)

goatgurl said:


> as some of you may remember I started to work a couple of months ago at a local little museum and have really enjoyed it. today an elderly lady came in to donate some articles that were her brothers. he had been killed in WWII, their parents had passed, he had no children and she brought his things to the museum for display so he wouldn't be forgotten. among the things were pictures of him as a child with his parents,in his uniform, and pictures of his father and mother receiving his silver star and purple heart medals from the post commander at Camp Chaffee. she also brought the telegram that his parents received to inform them that he was killed in action as well as the letter from Franklin D. Roosevelt thanking them for his service. touched my heart and made me sad for that family. his whole life in a little flat box.


Awww...that's nice and sad at the same time. I'm glad she brought her late brother's things to the museum so his story can be heard by others.


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## RollingAcres (Jan 29, 2019)

Nice job with the rock! It looks nice!


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## goatgurl (Jan 31, 2019)

like a lot of you we have been enduring the cold of the past few days.  pond frozen over, ducks confused, walking around mumbling like it was my fault they couldn't go for a swim. 
  found one of the nests where the ducks have started laying, yumm-o.  had fried duck eggs and toast for supper last night.  love me some duck eggs.
  second broody hen is still on her nest, yea!!  chicks were due to start hatching on Tuesday but I guess its been so cold the little things are refusing to come out.  when I candled them night before last about 3/4 were viable and as of this evening only one has started to peep.  hopefully with the cold they have just been slow.
  worked on the WWII display today to incorporate the pictures, etc of the gentleman who's sister brought his things in the other day.  I think its going to look nice when i'm done.
  and this is who isn't living behind my house anymore.  not great big, about 80 lbs but is going to be the honored guest at my friend wr's super bowl party after resting for a while in the smoker.  i'm thinking its gonna be tasty what do you think?


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## Southern by choice (Jan 31, 2019)

I need to go back and catch up. 
Heading out now (milk test tonight) but maybe this evening. 
Miss you.   Haven't talked in a while now.


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## RollingAcres (Feb 1, 2019)

goatgurl said:


> worked on the WWII display today to incorporate the pictures, etc of the gentleman who's sister brought his things in the other day. I think its going to look nice when i'm done.


Can't wait to see it. I hope you take some pics for us when the display is done.



goatgurl said:


> this is who isn't living behind my house anymore.
> 
> not great big, about 80 lbs but is going to be the honored guest at my friend wr's super bowl party after resting for a while in the smoker. i'm thinking its gonna be tasty what do you think?


I bet it will taste mighty good! What time is the Superbowl party?


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## Bruce (Feb 1, 2019)

80 pounds should make some good eating at the party!


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## Baymule (Feb 1, 2019)

And here I'm fixin' chicken wings, chips and dip. Can I come to your SB party?


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## goatgurl (Feb 6, 2019)

now's a good time to tell you @Baymule but you but you would have been more than welcome to come to wr's to watch football commercials and enjoy the piggy.  he was cooked/smoked to perfection. 
  first picture is for fun simply because this poor hen, who is a great broodie and mama hen has had a really long molt and looks like the dogs played with her.  she is just too pitiful. the 2nd pic is of the current mama hen, she hatched 7 of 11 eggs and is taking such good care of her biddies.  just what I need more chicks but hey, what the heck.
   and first let me apologize for the quality of the pictures but it was the best I could do at the time, going to try to get better ones later.  first up is carmalitalambalot with her twins.  all those spots, to cute.  and next is carmies grandma cookie with her set of triplets.  this is my first set of triplet lambs, they are so tiny but I guess they have good reason.  I was just telling str#1 the other day that I hoped cookie did ok 'cause she is either 7 or 8 this year.  can't find the papers that have her dob on them.  I just hope she can handle feeding triplets.  got two more to lamb this year, see I have cut back a lot on the number of animals I have.  have one goat due in 2 weeks and the other 3 still have a month and a half to go.   junior, the puppy I kept, went out to check out the lambs and marco put him on the ground screaming like a little girl.  he's like dang dad, I just wanted to look.  nope, not having that young whipper snapper around his lambs.  he's much more protective than last year, age has a way of showing you the more important things of life.
 carmie cookie  @Mike CHS if you notice carmies lambs are down on their pasterns.  I always give my goats bo-se before they kid so the youngsters pop out strong but have seen that selenium will cause a ewe to abort.  have you had these problems?  @Baymule ?  and what do you do about it?  and the last picture of the day

  there has been a murder here at someday farm.  someone killed Barbie and the pony she rode in on.   have not a clue where these came from.  have never had the dogs go off the place, the closest neighbor is over 1/4 mile away and even if they did none of my neighbors have little girls.  the only people anywhere around are older, the youngest have 10 and 13 year old boys.  and the mystery continues
  youall take care.


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## Mike CHS (Feb 6, 2019)

I thought they were but wasn't sure.  I'm looking into another mineral by the makers of Sea90 that is a mild selenium mineral that several farms we connect with are using.  The lamb that had that problem was awfully big for the ewe so we think the position caused the problem.  The lamb is normal now.


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## goatgurl (Feb 6, 2019)

let me know how it works for you please.  I guess next year i'll give them a shot of bo-se before I put the ram in with them and see how that works.  oh, and they are better than they were the day they were born but I still don't to see that if I can help it.


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## Mike CHS (Feb 6, 2019)

I'll do that


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## Baymule (Feb 6, 2019)

carmalitalambalot  How didja come up with that name? 

Beautiful spotty twins. I haven't had any born down in the pasterns. I give my sheep Dumor mineral and Azomite. When they are not pregnant they don't eat much. But pregnant, nursing and the lambs, they inhale the stuff. 

Barbie. Reminds me of the Barbie game I played in the car with my daughter. We thought of Barbies Mattel never thought of.
Suicide Barbie
Plumbers Butt Crack Barbie
Zoo Doo Pooper Scooper Barbie
You get the idea…..


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## Bruce (Feb 7, 2019)

And how old was your daughter when you introduced those games? 

Good dog Marco, teach the new pup to respect the ewes and their lambs. Hope the little 3 get up to snuff soon.

Barbie trespassed, guess she got what she deserved! Maybe a hawk plucked her off some deck and didn't figure out she was inedible until it got over your place. Open the talons, Barbie and horse away! Lucky no one was hit by the projectiles


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## RollingAcres (Feb 7, 2019)

goatgurl said:


> carmalitalambalot with her twins





goatgurl said:


> carmies grandma cookie with her set of triplets.


Congrats! They are beautiful!
And the names Carmalitalambalot and Carmies Grandma cookie, too funny!


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## Bruce (Feb 7, 2019)

I wonder how you knew Carmalita would lamb a lot when you named her??


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## Baymule (Feb 7, 2019)

Bruce said:


> And how old was your daughter when you introduced those games?



7 or 8 years old


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## Bruce (Feb 8, 2019)

Did she turn out a bit twisted? Like her mother?


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## B&B Happy goats (Feb 8, 2019)

Bruce said:


> Did she turn out a bit twisted? Like her mother?



Dang dude...don't  ya know better than to mess with a mamma mules kid..especially  when its a @Baymule....you could get a back leg hoof in the side of your head, may knock some sence into you l


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## RollingAcres (Feb 8, 2019)

B&B Happy goats said:


> you could get a back leg hoof in the side of your head, may knock some sence into you l



Too late for that!  (Just kidding @Bruce!)


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## B&B Happy goats (Feb 8, 2019)

RollingAcres said:


> Too late for that!  (Just kidding @Bruce!)


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## Bruce (Feb 8, 2019)

Ah, @Baymule knows Iove her. We mess with each other all the time. I don't waste keystrokes teasing people I don't care for.


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## B&B Happy goats (Feb 8, 2019)

Bruce said:


> Ah, @Baymule knows Iove her. We mess with each other all the time. I don't waste keystrokes teasing people I don't care for.



 me neither  silly


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## RollingAcres (Feb 8, 2019)

B&B Happy goats said:


> me neither  silly


X3!


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## B&B Happy goats (Feb 8, 2019)

RollingAcres said:


> X3!


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## Baymule (Feb 8, 2019)

Bruce said:


> Did she turn out a bit twisted? Like her mother?


She has a great sense of humor. She is not over the top like me, sometimes I wonder how I pulled off raising such a wonderful young woman like her. She has boundaries, I don't.


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## Baymule (Feb 8, 2019)

Bruce said:


> Ah, @Baymule knows Iove her. We mess with each other all the time. I don't waste keystrokes teasing people I don't care for.



We have this mutual smartass thang goin' on.


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## goatgurl (Feb 8, 2019)

someone explain why an experienced ewe would have her babies in the blowing wind with a 12* chill factor.  poor little things were almost popsicles by the time I got home from work yesterday.  pecan sandy, another cookie daughter gifted me with the cutest set of twins last evening.  of course pictures to follow.  with the wind so strong and it so cold I moved them and cookie into the hay side of the barn for the night.  to cold for small or wet babies to be outside.  
  what a cute face, right.

  I posted a closeup of cookies triplets because @Baymule, @Mike CHS and i were talking about some hair sheep having some wool breeds in the wood pile and this is a prime example of it popping out randomly.  the three lambs in this picture are cookie's triplets.  note that two have hair and the one on the left has tight wool.  sure makes you go hummm.  
this is the snow on the mountain like @Senile_Texas_Aggie was talking about.  kinda pretty but dang cold.

 
and just because he's so danged prudy, youall meet buster, yup buster brown leghorn.  he was suppose to be a pullet but he's so handsome I almost don't mind.  I've been thinking about putting him and the 2 brown leghorn hens I've got in a separate pen and saving eggs for the incubator.  they are really beautiful birds and not flighty like white leghorns are.  they lay a nice big white egg too.   

 last week was such a tease, peepers croaking, daffodils and forsythia blooming and me thumbing thru seed catalogs for something I might have forgotten and now its back to blue cold.  sigh…..  youall be blessed and stay warm.


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## Baymule (Feb 8, 2019)

Congrats on the twins, glad you got to them before they went to freezer camp. That is a pretty rooster! Cold, yup. We are having winter here too, never got above freezing today, weatherman said it would be 42* Hahahaha. Dummy.


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## B&B Happy goats (Feb 8, 2019)

Baymule said:


> We have this mutual smartass thang goin' on.



Like no one noticed ?


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## B&B Happy goats (Feb 8, 2019)

Congratulations  on the kids, glad you got to them in time. Your  roo is handsome !!


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## RollingAcres (Feb 9, 2019)

Congrats on the twins!


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## Bruce (Feb 9, 2019)

goatgurl said:


> someone explain why an experienced ewe would have her babies in the blowing wind with a 12* chill factor.


MAYBE she doesn't actually have control over just when the lambs decide they are done being inside? 
Glad you found them, do you know gender yet?


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## goatgurl (Feb 9, 2019)

@Bruce i'm thinking she could have waited for at least another hour, just until I got home and got her in the barn. she could have crossed her legs, that would have helped.  with the lambs so far the count is boys 1, girls 6.  have one more to go.  if I wanted to keep more ewes that would be great, I could pick the best from the crowd but since they age destined for the dinner table maybe not so good a ratio.  suppose to having freezing rain tonight so cookie and her three are locked in the barn again tonight, the littlest of the three has a little bit of a hard time competing with her bigger sisters for snacks so thought it best that they stay in.  youall have probably noticed att the spots on this years lambs, not sure why, used the same ram I used last year but this batch has sure been a colorful bunch.  the one on the left with the eye patch is the only boy so far.


 
  made a big pot of mayocoba beans for supper today, complete with leftover ham bone, so warm and comforting in this cold weather.  @Mike CHS since I know you like good oriental food I thought of you when I saw it and thought i'd post it for ya.  

 
sorry for the poor quality but its hard to get a picture of a picture.  made me laugh.
youall take care and i'll see ya later.


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## Mike CHS (Feb 9, 2019)

It must be sun spots or something.  We have color this lambing with the same stock that has shown nothing but white the last two times.  I love those markings.

Edit I just saw your Moo Shoe post and had to Thank You for a good smiling end to the evening.


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## Baymule (Feb 10, 2019)

Wow you are getting some spotty lambs! So far, the pretty spotty lambs, for me, have been boys.


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## CntryBoy777 (Feb 10, 2019)

Sounds like there should be some crossing of some of the stock from different lines and ya could develope some with greater tendency to spot.........it would be interesting to see....unless, a spotty doesn't suit the market.....


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## Bruce (Feb 10, 2019)

goatgurl said:


> with the lambs so far the count is boys 1, girls 6. have one more to go. if I wanted to keep more ewes that would be great, I could pick the best from the crowd but since they age destined for the dinner table maybe not so good a ratio.


Perhaps the ewe lambs would sell for a good price?


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## goatgurl (Feb 12, 2019)

just because i'm insane I will probably keep a couple of the spotted ewe lambs but the rest will be gone by fall.  spots taste the same as no spots but maybe people who just want a few sheep like me would rather have a pretty spotted girl.  boys on the other hand bring a better price at market.  still have one more ewe to lamb, I thought sure she would have them today while I was at work but nope, still packed tight in there.  princess Fiona had the first set of goat twins this year.  twin bucks.  hope this isn't the norm because these are my last kids out of choco and I would like to keep another daughter or two.  
  had lunch yesterday with @Senile_Texas_Aggie and his beautiful gal.  a good time was had by all and I tried really hard to behave myself.  I look forward to watching their growth as land and livestock owners over the coming years.  they sure have the want to and i'm guessing they'll be successful at what ever they decide to do.


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## Baymule (Feb 12, 2019)

You_ behaved_ yourself?


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## Bruce (Feb 13, 2019)

goatgurl said:


> I look forward to watching their growth as land and livestock owners over the coming years. they sure have the want to and i'm guessing they'll be successful at what ever they decide to do.


I agree!


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## RollingAcres (Feb 13, 2019)

goatgurl said:


> sorry for the poor quality but its hard to get a picture of a picture. made me laugh.


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## goatgurl (Feb 18, 2019)

last ewe had her lambs day before yesterday.  another set of triplets.  this time 2 rams and 1 ewe so the final total is 10, 7 ewelings and 3 ram lambs.  two of the 4 goats have kidded and the count there isn't to great, 3 buck kids is all.  oh well, it is what it is.   
beautiful sunset last night.  have youall ever played the where's waldo game?  well this game is where are the guineas?  I think they are pretty easy to spot.  no way will they go in the hen house.

   youall take care, back to work for me tomorrow.


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## Mike CHS (Feb 18, 2019)

That was a beautiful sunset and the birds were easy to spot.


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## Baymule (Feb 18, 2019)

Love the guinea tree! I have 4, they haven't figured out to roost in a tree yet.


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## Bruce (Feb 19, 2019)

That may not be a bad thing!


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## RollingAcres (Feb 19, 2019)

goatgurl said:


> last ewe had her lambs day before yesterday.  another set of triplets.  this time 2 rams and 1 ewe so the final total is 10, 7 ewelings and 3 ram lambs.  two of the 4 goats have kidded and the count there isn't to great, 3 buck kids is all.  oh well, it is what it is.
> beautiful sunset last night.  have youall ever played the where's waldo game?  well this game is where are the guineas?  I think they are pretty easy to spot.  no way will they go in the hen house.View attachment 58239   youall take care, back to work for me tomorrow.


Beautiful sunset pic with guineas!


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## OneFineAcre (Feb 19, 2019)

Congrats on the lambs


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## goatgurl (Feb 21, 2019)

rained here again today, I have slide/skate to the barn and back.  I know i'll gripe when its july/august and September and its dry as a popcorn fart but if we could just get as little drying out it would be nice.  I have so much to do outside.  
  youall I need some prayers for a friend who is in the hospital in a pretty bad way.  please stop and take the time for just a word or two.  i'd sure appreciate it.  
  nothing new here, youall take care.


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## Mike CHS (Feb 21, 2019)

This kind of weather has made me Thankful that we have so many rock ledges on our place.  The ground is saturated but I only have ruts going down a couple of inches since there is so much rock.

Prayers up.


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## Bruce (Feb 21, 2019)

There IS a bright side to land so full of ledge that you can barely grow grass!


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## Hens and Roos (Feb 21, 2019)

prayers for a speedy recovery!


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## CntryBoy777 (Feb 21, 2019)

Hope ya can catch that break ya are so looking for....I know that feeling and it is so irritating to need to get something done and the weather has other ideas..........sure hope your friend can turn and improve.....


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## BlessedWithGoats (Feb 21, 2019)

Praying for your friend


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## Baymule (Feb 21, 2019)

Your friend has our prayers.


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## OneFineAcre (Feb 21, 2019)

Praying for your friend.


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## RollingAcres (Feb 22, 2019)

Hope your friend has a speedy recovery.


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## goatgurl (Feb 23, 2019)

youall, my friend is still in icu, still on the vent and they are wanting to start dialysis.  it all looks bad.  at this point only God can fix this.  please continue to pray.


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## frustratedearthmother (Feb 23, 2019)

Was hoping for better news....   but, thanks for the update.


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## goatgurl (Feb 24, 2019)

went to the barn yesterday evening to do chores and look what I found in the hay.  i'm as bad as latestarter, she was in with a group of dry yearlings that I tend to ignore for the most part and I didn't even know she was pregnant.  pretty ashamed of myself for not noticing but the first doe kid of the season and her mother has a really nice high tight udder, small, but tight.  guess she doesn't need gallons to feed one little kid.  


 she is about the color of a doberman all black and rust.  still a little wobble but cute as a bugs ear.  guess we'll have to see how things go.
  I want to thank you all for not griping at Devonviolet for honoring joe's wish for privacy.  it was really hard on her to do that.
  hope you've had a wonderful weekend, check with youall later.


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## frustratedearthmother (Feb 24, 2019)

Congrats on the baby!   Don't feel bad about missing the signs.  I missed nuts on a pig for months, lol!


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## Bruce (Feb 24, 2019)

goatgurl said:


> she was in with a group of dry yearlings that I tend to ignore for the most part and I didn't even know she was pregnant. pretty ashamed of myself for not noticing but the first doe kid of the season


 Bad goat grammy!

Pretty little doe.



goatgurl said:


> I want to thank you all for not griping at Devonviolet for honoring joe's wish for privacy. it was really hard on her to do that.


I know it was and I don't think anyone would gripe at her for doing what he asked. I think it was really hard for Joe (you know, the stubborn one) to even ask her to help feed the animals while he was in the hospital, expecting it to be temporary. He already poo-pooed the idea of people coming to help when he wasn't so sick. I think this was another "I'll get over it and get back to work" thing for him. 



frustratedearthmother said:


> Congrats on the baby!   Don't feel bad about missing the signs.  I missed nuts on a pig for months, lol!


I'm sure you just didn't want to be rude looking down there.


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## B&B Happy goats (Feb 24, 2019)

frustratedearthmother said:


> Congrats on the baby!   Don't feel bad about missing the signs.  I missed nuts on a pig for months, lol!


....gosh i like you


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## Baymule (Feb 24, 2019)

Congrats on the Dobie kid, she is pretty!


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## RollingAcres (Feb 25, 2019)

Congrats on the little doe, she is cute!



goatgurl said:


> I want to thank you all for not griping at Devonviolet for honoring joe's wish for privacy. it was really hard on her to do that.


I don't think anyone would gripe at DV. Respecting someone's privacy is an honorable thing to do.


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## Wehner Homestead (Feb 26, 2019)

You got a Choco doe! Congrats! She’s beautiful! 

Prayers for your friend!


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## CntryBoy777 (May 2, 2019)

Sure are missing ya....it has been a while since ya have been on here and just wondering if ya are doing okay?....hope things are as good as they can be for ya.....


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie (May 20, 2019)

Miss @goatgurl,

Just caught up from being offline.  Are you OK?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie (Jun 9, 2019)

Calling Miss @goatgurl, calling Miss Goatgurl, come in!  Over!


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## Baymule (Jun 9, 2019)

I miss her too!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie (Jul 22, 2019)

Miss @goatgurl,

I know you are busy nowadays working at the museum, but could you please let us know how you are doing?  We're wondering...

Senile Texas Aggie


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## goatgurl (Aug 12, 2019)

awww thanks for worrying about me.  weird spring and summer and have been crazy busy.  still working at the museum  4 days a week which 1 or 2 days to get caught up here and do my shopping and 1 day to polish rocks. these are a few I did last weekend.  still enjoying the heck out of it.



  the rains and flooding here this spring have caused so much damage and the cleanup and rebuilding will take years.  
I lost my katie girl about 2 months a go and am broken hearted.  she was my 1st maremma and probably as good a livestock guardian as I've ever had.  I took her and had her spayed, she didn't do well with the anesthesia and i'm convinced that he missed a bleeder.  she died late that evening with me beside her.  and before you ask, no I didn't take back for a necropsy.  she was 140# of dead weight and there was no way to get her in a vehicle.  dd and sil came later and between the 2 of them they got her in the back of his truck for burial.  it makes me so sad, I loved that girl.  I still have marco and the boys, junior and jake so the stock is well covered but I sure miss that kind, loving girl.  the pups are a year old now and have become excellent at their job.  I love how they work in shifts.  one of the 3 always feels the need to stay in my back yard at night and bark to keep me and the house dogs safe from boogers while the other 2 work at keeping everybody else covered.  I keep waiting for them to hit that stupid teenage stage but so far they are both great dogs.  i'll keep watching them tho and waiting for stupid to pop out.  I get tickled at JJ, she bosses them both around and treats them like stepchildren.  she doesn't let them get by with any silliness.
  don't know about your house but the snakes have been out in full force this year.  have killed 4 copperheads so far and sadly 3 black snakes.  2 of them were eating me out of house and home with duck and chicken eggs, some of which were ready to hatch.  the 3rd was about a 3 footer that was climbing up my back screen door on the INSIDE.  its good when you have an old wooden door and the rat shot in the 22 doesn't do much damage, just a few little holes, lol.  I don't know what i'd do without JJ and her alarm system.  poor Emma is now 15 and her hearing and sight are both a little worse for wear so she isn't much of a critter watcher anymore but she is still is the light of my puppy world.  she is even grayer than she is in my avatar and I now take her to work with me every day.  so far no one has griped at me for it but frankly it probably wouldn't do them much good.
  the goats and sheep are doing great, fat and sassy.   went last week and picked up a new ram for the breeding season.  nice looking guy, 10 months old purebred katahdin but he is a boring lilly white and youall know how I love me some colored sheep.  I know the rules and I should never have mentioned him until I have pictures in hand, forgive me @Baymule .  and girl friend that was an awesome score you made on your sheep working equipment.  good job.  and i'm tickled that ringo is doing so well at your house.  he's gonna give you some pretty babies for sure.  
@CntryBoy777, look what I have at my house.  3 khaki campbell hens, 2 welsh harlequin hens, 1 cayuga hen and 2 welsh harlequin drakes.  I love my Muscovy ducks and still have a yard full of them but really wanted ducks that weren't such seasonal layers so I went duck hunting and this is what I came up with.  they should start laying in the next month or so.  you ready for chickens yet???  don't answer cause I already know it... no not yet.  but sooner than it has been, right?  gabby has grown into a beautiful lady.  looks like you guys are settling into your new place quite well.  i'm sure glad you had to pick up all those rocks instead of me.  

 @Senile_Texas_Aggie   hope you and your beautiful gal are doing well.  looks like you've been working hard.  and as always @Mike CHS  things look great at your house and you always make me hungry.   youall take care and i'll check back soon.  one last picture just because.  heading up the road from my house.

 oh and I almost forgot, @misfitmorgan the problem you found with Arkansas is that you looked in the most expensive chunk of real estate going.  do the names Walton, Tyson, and the like tell you why you should stay away from that area.  you need to look a little further south where senile texas aggie and I live.  beautiful area and soo much more affordable.  and if he's going to work in texas we are lots closer.  boston mountains are pretty but so are the ouachitas.  that is pronounced wash-a-taw by the way.  look at the state some more but stay away from northwest Arkansas.  all the way down the Arkansas/Oklahoma line is some pretty country.


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## CntryBoy777 (Aug 13, 2019)

Well, just look at ya!!....get ready for eggs...cause the khakis are like clockwork....will lay 300-320 eggs per year and they will sure warm the heart and keep ya chuckling........so sorry to hear about Katie and hopefully the boys will not act out too much since they have a full time job.........your stones are much prettier than the chunks we got and I bet they are much lighter to lift, for sure.........it sure was good to hear from ya...and so thankful that ya are doin good.....


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## Baymule (Aug 13, 2019)

A snake on the inside of the porch door!  I can just see you shooting it! We found a rat snake in a chicken coop, I pinned it with a shovel, BJ held it down while I went to get another shovel to chop it up with, but it got away. We were looking for it and I heard Paris whining I the sheep lot. I let her out and she ran to the coop, had that snake in no time and killed it over and over again. LOL

A new ram! yup I want pictures! Your rock polishing is gorgeous. I think you have found a lovely art form. You do some awesome work.


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## Baymule (Aug 13, 2019)

Good Paris!


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## frustratedearthmother (Aug 13, 2019)

So sorry about Katie.    Really hurts to lose them to anything - but to a possible medical mistake...

My gal Maddie will be 10 in a few months.  Time will catch up with her eventually.


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## OneFineAcre (Aug 13, 2019)

I'm sorry about Katie.  I'm still really struggling over losing Angel.


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## Baymule (Aug 13, 2019)

Paris, my snake killing Queen is 10 or 11 and I see her slowing down.  Why do they have to leave us so soon?


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie (Aug 13, 2019)

Sorry for your loss of Katie.  Dogs give so much love and ask for so little in return. 

My Beautiful Gal and I are doing OK.  We work a couple of hours in the morning and then knock off for the rest of the day.  We can do that since we are "retarded".  

Miss @misfitmorgan,

Only recently have I started stalking you -- er, I mean reading your journal.  I am only up to page 30 or so, so I didn't even know you have been looking at property in Arkansas.  Miss @goatgurl is right -- NW Arkansas is expensive, but south of Fort Smith or east of Harrison, land is a lot cheaper.  I think we live in one of the most beautiful spots in Arkansas, and there are plenty of other such properties like the one we have.  If you would like, feel free to stop by, or we can put you in touch with a good real estate agent.

Senile Texas Aggie


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## RollingAcres (Aug 13, 2019)

So sorry for your loss of Katie. Dogs, they sure steal our hearts.


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## Bruce (Aug 13, 2019)

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> We can do that since we are "retarded".


Plus it is too hot to be out midday this time of year anyway!


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie (Oct 28, 2019)

Miss @goatgurl,

I know you are busy with the museum and all, but would you kindly update us on how you are doing?

Senile Texas Aggie


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## Baymule (Oct 28, 2019)

Yeah and more pictures of your lovely rocks?


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