B&B Happy Goats....journal

[Mike CHS]

We trim them when they are in the chair. The back has gotten stronger in the last few years so any pain now is more annoyance than anything else.

 

[AmberLops]

Man, I want more rain and thunderstorms!!
We had thunder/lightning storms in the forecast for 12 days straight...and the only day it rained was yesterday and now the entire forecast changed to full sun and 90 degrees Oh well!
It's always nice to have company but then it's also nice when they leave ha ha

 

[CntryBoy777]

Well, it seems things are changing and very little is expected for the next 5-7 days....here....but, that means Heat and Humidity will rise....I do need some rain free parts of the day to get a few things done....gonna try to get brakes on the truck in the morning....have tried since monday, but each time I try it....it begins to rain....Gabbie is going "stir-crazy" also....
Glad ya had a nice visit with your company....hope everyone behaved, appropiately!!.....

 

[PattyNH]

look like some kind of mite, similar to scabies.
They're under your skin, crawlin about, makin babies, watchin TV and drinkin beer and poopin everywhere...under your skin.

Are you referring to me or BB? Because that is totally where my mind is going to with my rash. The goats show NO sign of mites and get Python Dust monthly. But I'm not convinced that is keeping them of ME!!

 

[Baymule]

Go Leon! Aren't you proud of how he stepped up when it was needed! Beautiful kids too.

 

[Baymule]

The things we do to our men...….

 

[CntryBoy777]

I've been meaning to tell ya to give Leon a big "Atta Boy" from us...........I sure didn't figure he'd go "elbow deep" tho....maybe shin or knee.........as far as the "behavior"....I was meaning the whole "lot and gang"....animals and humans....sometimes things don't "go as planned or hoped" they would.....at least that is what I was-a-meanin....

 

[Baymule]

Mawnin' gal. Up and at 'em! See you this evening, got chicken backs and necks cookin' on the stove. Going to be canning them for dog food today.

 

[greybeard]

@PattyNH...lol..@greybead is teasing....one of us, I am pretty sure the mites are host specific, you may get some on you, but i do not believe they can live on humans....but not to worry @greybeard will stop by to correct and educate on the subject......

Only partially kidding..
There are hundreds of different types (species) of mites, maybe thousands.
Most do have a "preferred" host, but all except dust mites will bite humans. Some common sources/preferred hosts are bird and poultry, dogs and cats, grasses and hay.
Some just bite, others, like mange mites (the most common type human infestation) (Sarcoptes scabiei) burrow but almost all mites cause itching and red spots. Common source hosts of what is generally called scabie mites are poultry, cats/dogs, fur & hair bearing farm animals such as rabbits, equines, bovines and other ruminants...and contact with humans already having them. Scabies used to be so common that schools would do inspections of kids' hands.,,between the fingers especially where the skin is thin and soft. They may still do.

Many mites live on and in the soil, but few of those ever infest humans.
Others that live close to the ground DO infest humans and other mammals and birds, the most common usually being called Chiggers. Chigger are the larval stage of Adult trombiculid mites..there are several sub species of this family of mite. We've all gotten chiggers at one time or another.
Adult trombiculid mites are about 1-2 mm in length, bright red or reddish-brown in colour, and of velvety appearance. The nymph is similar but smaller. The larvae, also called chiggers, are very small, being only 0.15-0.3 mm in length (Fig. 4.30). Neither the adults nor the nymphs bite animals or humans; they live in the soil and feed on other mites, small insects and their eggs. The larvae, however, feed on skin tissue.
After emerging from the eggs the larvae crawl onto grasses or low-lying vegetation and leaf litter to wait for an animal or human host. They attach themselves to the skin of reptiles, birds, mammals and humans walking or resting in the habitat. On humans they seek out areas where clothing is tight against the skin, the waist and ankles being the parts most commonly attacked.
The larvae remain attached to the skin of the host for between two days and a month, depending on the species. They then drop to the ground and enter the soil to develop into the harmless nymphal and adult stages.
Mites have a very patchy distribution over small areas because of their special requirements. The nymphs and adults need certain soil conditions for their survival and development while the larvae require host animals, such as wild rats, other small rodents and birds. Suitable habitats are found in grassy fields, shrubby areas, forests, abandoned rice fields and cleared forests. The mites are also found in parks, gardens, lawns and moist areas alongside lakes and streams.

Another common source of biting mites on a farmstead is hay. They aren't attracted to the hay itself but to the dust and mold spores that are in all hay to some extent, and of course, in colder weather, to the warmth the hay provided. Animals graze the hay, mites transfer from animal to hay then to humans when the hay is broken apart and fed by hand. Getting mites from hay used to be much more common when people handled hay more than they do now..round bales greatly reduced the exposure to that type of mite.

 

[greybeard]

I have to cull more as I don't have the land to move them for rotation. Contacted cow neighbor (he has like 90 acres) and asked him if he would be willing to sell one acre just for the goats, but he isn't very interested at the moment.

One of my neighbors made the same pitch to me not long ago, for a different reason. He wanted 4 acres. I declined and made a counter proposal, telling him I'd entertain an offer of $347,000 and throw in 37 more acres and barns and house for nothing.
He declined.
Not many are willing to break up their property just to sell a small parcel. You might ask about leasing whatever additional acreage you need. For what my neighbor wanted, leasing wasn't an option, as he wanted the 4 ac to qualify for the 20 acre minimum needed for ag exemption.