Blessedfarmgirl's Journal

[blessedfarmgirl]

Here is the udder pics of Annie you asked about, @Youngfarmer2019! I finally got around to it. She's giving 3 cups at the morning milking and 2 cups in the evening with a buckling on her during the day, but even when she had the buckling on her full time she gave a quart per day! That milk star lineage is showing. But as far as attachments, she is not looking good. The RUH is not very good, laterals are almost non-existent, and her fore udder I can almost fit my whole hand in the pocket. But she'll stay on probably another year because I am not able to replace her just yet, and she produces well. She's a little lopsided, but that's not her baby's fault, actually. She came fresh already lopsided, probably because of her bout of precocious udder last fall. She was letting the kids nurse her then, and they may have caused her to be lopsided before I caught it and taped her teats. Since she was feeding kids that weren't hers before she even came fresh, I figured she'd be a great mom, and she is!

 

[Mini Horses]

BUT even with show fault udder, she's a great home dairy milker!

 

[blessedfarmgirl]

BUT even with show fault udder, she's a great home dairy milker!

Yes, absolutely! I was being a little hard on her, but she is a great homestead milker. I don't plan to show, my only concern with confirmation it's longevity and production, and I have to start somewhere! She's already better then my other doe.

 

[blessedfarmgirl]

I forgot to give an update on the little bucklings.
The one who was struggling to take a bottle never did get it, so I had to put him back with his mom. The other was sold at about a week old and went to my vet's family. I know he's in great hands!
This happy little stinker will go to his new home at weaning in a couple weeks. He got his way, and he's thriving. Mom took a couple days to remember that this screaming thing was her child, but miraculously she did. She has a great mothering instinct to take a kid back after over a week.

 

[Baymule]

You did something right for a doe to take a kid back after a week! Yay!!!

 

[Mini Horses]

He is so adorable! Well, in the pic anyway

 

[blessedfarmgirl]

You did something right for a doe to take a kid back after a week! Yay!!!

I was amazed! And happy I no longer had to do screaming bottle sessions with half the milk on me and the floor.

He is so adorable! Well, in the pic anyway

Haha, yep he's a little terror. He doesn't have any siblings to fight with, so he chose my junior doe as his special object to torment. She hates him. But at least he is a cute terror and will be gone soon.

 

[blessedfarmgirl]

We weaned lambs today for the first time. Last year we did not wean, just wethered the rams. That did not go well for the poor ewes who lactated all summer long and got as skinny as wraiths, poor gals. So this morning we caught 4 kicking screaming lambs (they felt like they weighed at least 60-70 pounds), tied them up and hauled them to the weaning pen we'd set up the day before. They are NOT tame whatsoever, so I'm going to have some battle scars and bruises after today. My dad was even struggling holding onto them.

Everything is done now and the rest of the sheep (ewes and 2 lambs that are too young to wean) have new pasture with tons of clover and ryegrass.

One thing that I think is hilarious is that the ewes who are missing their ewe lambs are screaming their motherly heads off and pacing the fence line. But the boy mom is eating away without a care in the world. I WONDER why?
Maybe the fact that whenever he nurses her hind legs leave the ground has something to do with it...

Ewes

Lambs

 

[blessedfarmgirl]

Oh, and if anyone has any tips on taming crazy wild lambs, I'm all ears. So far my plan is offering grain from my hand and sitting in the pen with them when I have extra time. That's all I can think of right now.

 

[SageHill]

Oh, and if anyone has any tips on taming crazy wild lambs, I'm all ears. So far my plan is offering grain from my hand and sitting in the pen with them when I have extra time. That's all I can think of right now.

Animal Crackers (I learned from I think everyone on BYH)