Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

[Latestarter]

Got the 7 kids their CD&T booster this evening. Boy were they some unhappy campers. Only one more booster to do for CC's baby girl. Still haven't named her In reality I've only named 3 of the 5 new doelings; Double Stuff (DS), Champagne (Champ), and Beauty. The all black one I've been calling Blacky, and then CC's I have no idea... She has (almost) peanut butter colored stripes on her face so I'm thinking something along those lines... Maybe "PBJ" for peanut butter jaw? The wether to replace Moose is Frost as his hair has frosted tips. I've been calling Dot's boys Beast and Slick. Beast is the largest kid w/Slick pulling up a close second. Neither are banded (yet) but if they don't sell within the next say 3 weeks, it's gonna happen. Had quite the work out catching them, flipping them, and holding them to give them the booster shot. If I could register either of them, I might have considered keeping Beast to replace RJ as his scurs have gotten very bad.

The wethers Henry and Bobby will be headed to their new home tomorrow mid morning. I bought them collars, checked to make sure no scurs coming in, ball sacks are drying out and shriveling up nicely. I hope they turn out to be real nice wethers for the buyer.

 

[Bruce]

If I even look like I'm headed toward or near a hose, he will not come to me or let me get near him.

He doesn't want you to wash the "Eau du chèvre" off him!

.....I have nothing nice to say

Me too!! Regular tainted (10% ethanol) gas at the cheaper stations is $2.96.

 

[Mini Horses]

Yep, scurs....So, if they are large enough, consider banding them. ? this little one I bought a month or so ago is starting to have them. Darn, I wish not but, there they are! He had some sizeable marks from the dehorning but, they didn't get along one edge. Just checked them today as I put him into his new field. Oh, don't feel badly, I haven't named mine! He "has" a name for registry but, that's not what I wanted. Oddly, since the mature buck is in the field next to this one now, I realized I have a black one & a white one. Black is registered as something Boaz....I call him Bo or Mr B...This one? Poor guy. He's really a sweetie. Shortly he will have the buckling babes from this year join him. Plenty of room & pasture.

Used to spend a lot of time naming horses & donkeys -- poor goats, not so much. I did name one little doeling "Peanut". She's the trip that is a bottle baby. Mom does everything but let her nurse! So, milk & feed. I need to do better with goat names!

At home all day and if it could go wrong, it probably did. Mower wouldn't start, jumped it and worked a while -- drive belt broke! Ended the mowing. BUT I had a belt that I had bought last yr on close out -- 9.97 for 39.97 belt Got that rascal out, left mower to cool. Reveled in my good fortune for price & "in stock" at home! Also have new blades at ready -- bought, couldn't find them (last yr) bought more, then found. I'm sure I will need them soon. Actually helps with cash flow right now.

CDT -- yeah, time for mine to get theirs...the kids, that is...mom's ok. Have vaccine & needles, guess while I'm off on Sunday I should do that! I see a hussle day for that task. I can do the shots quickly but, penning all to catch will be the fun part.

After a couple weeks of rain, we had a HOT day of sunshine. 91 & melting. But washed sheets and on line dried...smells so nice. I'm ready to use them!

 

[Latestarter]

Maybe when my son gets here later this month I'll hog tie RJ and do some serious scur work on him. I'd ask Devonviolet's husband to help but he's got ten years on me and RJ is a pretty powerful buck. No offense intended to her DH, but I'd hate to have him get hurt trying to help me. I could get RJ down (and have), or even tie him off to a post or tree, but no way to control him and work on him at the same time.

 

[Mini Horses]

My adult buck is about 200# (Nubian, mini no less) Tame but not always as cooperative as I need. So, I hook a lead line on his collar and tie him at a board fence. Then, use a wide tie down strap -- like you see truckers use on loads -- hook that to the fence & wrap him once on midsection, just in front of back legs, tie to fence. He then stands nicely. He is already tame but, not always willing to stand WHERE I need him. When he's hooked front & rear he becomes docile. Trim hooves this way mostly but, if I need to do something else. it works.

I do have some 8' long fence panels that I can connect like a chute but, this tie method stops them from jumping up, also. Doesn't hurt them in any way just adds another restraint at the other end. The 4-6" wide tie down doesn't hurt them. You could do the same with a sheet, folded lengthwise....tie them.

 

[Latestarter]

I would guess that RJ is in the 160-180 range and still growing. He's only just a year old. His sire was well north of 250#. I can clip his collar to the fence and he stands for hoof trims. I can grab him by his lower jaw with thumb inside and head between my arm and side to give him stuff orally and he stands nice and still. He's really a very friendly fella and follows me around basically in heel position and wants to be right at my side. He tries to rub his face on me and I stop him. Then he wants to rub his forehead on me and I stop that. I push him past me so I can scratch his neck and withers, his side and his hips. He likes all that attention.

I've worked on his one scur before and it drew blood and he screamed bloody murder and I had to stop before I could finish because he kept whipping/turning his head around to where I couldn't continue the cuts I'd started. What I did accomplish solved that immediate problem as that scur was pressing his head above his eye. I cut through enough to relieve the pressure and the horn tip curled further around and is now pressing back against itself. The other is now the problem as it's more like a full horn as opposed to a scur and it curves back, across, and down, and is pressing against his neck. Like almost pointed directly in toward the neck and growing/pressing.

When I grab him by that horn, I can feel the heat from the blood inside it and that heat reaches well past the 1/2 way point. I'd have to get his head stationary enough to cut/grind a couple of notches at the very base to hold the band in place. Or, hold him long enough to cut through at least a portion of the horn tip/end to get it off his neck. Or most likely both...

 

[Mini Horses]

My young one is about 5 months and was a bottle baby, tame. At this time his scurs feel like some little scruffs of concrete and are on the outer edge of the horn bud area, which makes me hope it will only be some surface growth which will be rubbed off as they scuffle. I've had this with a doe some time back and every once in a while I'd see a little bloody spot...not deep and we were good for another yr. It was almost like a tall scab. Tomorrow I will check it out with more intensity. It sounds like RJ has a much larger area going on. I have not tried the banding method but it is a method and some farms have felt it worked well.

It's kind of sad when we buy these boys, really LIKE them, their personality and their kids, then realize we have to sell because too many of their girls were kept. It's partly why I bought this one (I have GOT to name him! Nothing fits yet) and partly because I really like the Saanens I have -- who are 50/50 nub. He is FB Saanen and will give me those genetics. Yep, one breed drop ears & one not but, mostly that comes out one or the other on the kids--the Saanen breeds strong to their lineage, even mixed.

My mini nubs only breeding back as same thing. I sell most & those are all registered(able). This year I got twin doelings from one, so will register those & decide to sell or not in Spring. There is farm not far with reg mini nubs -- may use a buck breeding, will have 5 does for that. Don't want to buy another buck! May be able to "trade" service with my reg mini nub buck. Would love to trade services. Mine is from a well respected farm & throws lovely kids.

Tomorrow I'm off work and will switch out the broken drive belt on mower to finish my yard.... and play farmer, give goat kids shots and whatever else.

 

[Latestarter]

My buyer has already been here and left with Henry and Bobby. She seemed very happy and pleased and catching the boys up was no huge effort although they weren't too happy once caught... She said she's looking forward to providing them as companions for her other goat Winchester as he was obviously getting lonely... She said he's been trying to befriend a deer Now if I can just sell the 2 bucklings, I'll be thrilled! Gonna need to hit TSC later today as I need more goat feed.

 

[Mike CHS]

Congrats on the sales!!!

 

[Latestarter]

So I had to climb under the bushes to where Mel hides in the hole he's dug to try and clean up his neck. I brought my clippers using an extension cord and a big bowl of hot water with dawn and bleach. I was finally able to get the fur around the area clean enough to actually clip it close/bare. The raw patch extends from the base of his earlobe down into his neck and around to his throat. I got the whole area exposed and just got back from TSC with the following two items:

I used the M-T-G first as it's an oily sulfur based product, then sprayed over top with the other stuff. Now we'll do that twice a day and monitor and see what happens. If I don't see improvement by mid week, it's off to the vet.

Also got another 5 bags of goat feed. All totaled another quick hunert dolla down the drain...