newton's the goats journal

[newton the goat]

Well...I think of ya as a younger sister, so just a bit of advice....learn all that you can at each step that you are given and know "Why" ya are doing it a certain way....learn the terminology of the business.....ya are wanting the "End" result, but ya are over-looking the little things that make a difference. In anything that matters there is always "Grunt" work, but to get where ya want to go ya only build a wall 1 "Brick" at a time. Butchering is a "Trade" and requires a certain apprentice period. The kill floor has to be prepared for and at each step ya can create difficulties if 1 cut is too far up or down....plus, with so much going on there is a ton of "Liability" that goes along with it....lots of knives, saws, and the weapon that puts em down. So, pull orders and learn what a maw, melt, and fries are and where they come from...terminalogy is a major part to learn. The more pressure ya apply to advance, doesn't show respect for the Butcher and his experience....if ya are looking "Past" him to clang the next "Bell"....then ya are telling him that what he has to say or teach ya....ya ain't "Listening" cause your ready for the next step. Just cool yojr jets just a tad and Enjoy the "Learning".....ya know ya can do it....if it makes ya feel good to be in that position, then just look at it in that fashion....because, a butcher never goes "Hungry".....there aren't many butchers left and the modern day meat markets have meat cutters, not butcher......I asked a so called butcher in FL one time if he had a whole pork shoulder?....I said I know that a boston butt and a picnic constitutes a whole shoulder, but when it is cooked on the grill....there is a huge difference in flavor.....ya know what he tried to sell me for a whole pork sboulder?.....a freaking fresh Ham....I actually told him.....ya must be a meat cutter, cause ya sure don't know the difference the head the the a** on a pig........I had to just turn and walk away.....

Lmfao damn that' disappinting that your butcher turned out to be a meat cutter. I have talked it over with the big boss and requested not to be placed up front since I'm. Not good with people. So at the moment I am apprenticing under their sausage maker.... or trying to since he is adamant that there is nothing I can do to help him and it's useless for me to just stand there and watch. I have backed off on requesting to be put on the kill floor and am just trying to get a proper foot hold in the buisness.

 

[Baymule]

I worked in a lot of "Man" jobs and had to work double hard to gain respect. It can be done, don't give up. Being a butcher is a good career, you might even open up your own slaughter facility someday. But in the meantime, you have to get started and fight your way to where you want to be. You can do this.

You are a lovely young lady with a good head on your shoulders. Your baby brother is adorable and my bet is that he will idolize his big sister. Big hugs.

 

[Bruce]

What's wrong with barn hair??
Didn't see a picture of who?? I see only sheep

What Babs and Cntryboy said about work. Yep, young girl in a "man's" job. I have to believe you have a hill to crest with those guys. They have probably never had a female in the place other than at the counter. Something THEY have to get over, one step at a time.

This is an internship IIRC. Let the sausage guy (who has sausage for a brain ) know that part of YOUR job is learning how everything in a slaughterhouse/butcher's business works including his part. I would think most people would like to have an eager apprentice. They can feel good about passing on their knowledge ... and give the apprentice the dirty/boring parts of the job to do, at least until they learn the more complex parts. It is up to the boss to make sure you are given the opportunity to learn and assist the business. I hope he'll let you work your way out to the kill floor.

 

[Latestarter]

Thanks for sharing the picture of you and the new roo! What a handsome bird, and all I can say about the handler is that "barn hair" has rarely looked as good. You are a very attractive young lady. Don't settle for the first guy that comes along with a good line and a smile... The Butcher career will be an uphill battle, but I'm sure you can do it if you set your mind to it. Learn all you can a everything you're asked to do. There are very few single sex jobs left and even those north woods butchers have to come into the 21st century at some point. It's about "can you do the task" and if so, then the job should be open to you.

 

[Bruce]

Yep.

And on the description of Newton and her new rooster, though I think at this point he is still a cockerel.

 

[newton the goat]

Yep.

And on the description of Newton and her new rooster, though I think at this point he is still a cockerel.

Ya sadly his comb is already showing lol.

Btw Josie has taken to attacking things now lol. She attacked my dog Cora, the neighbors dogs my little ram bandit, Sara, etc etc welp this is going to be fun lol I can' wait to see how weaning goes

 

[newton the goat]

Well this week has been fun with the new lambs born and whatnot it' been organised chaos around here. So anyways introducing Casper lilys smallest lamb who is most unimpressed by the new snow fall

Him and his sister Luna have been doing Well, Lily is doing better almost daily as a mother.

She' becoming more attentive and will panic and call for her lambs if they aren' by her side. Honestly I was scared that I would end up with two bottle babies in the end but her improvement gives me hope.
Meanwhile Josie is an obsessive mother.... where ever her baby goes she follows him yelling the entire time like cmon momma give the poor guy a break.

is it normal for a ewe who is usually fairly distant to become extremely needy near the end of her pregnancy? Sara is clingy all of a sudden. I go out to see the lambs and there she is leaning against me begging for attention.. actually more like demanding it. It could be due to the fact that Romeo now has this obsession with her and follows her everywhere she goes,but I'm not thinking that' the issue.

She doesn't do this ever so it kinda has me worried. She is fairly expressive especially with her ears so having them back like she has in the picture makes me wonder if something is up or if she is just being grouchy and needy.

Btw does it look like mabels sides are sunken in? By the looks of her she should be due any day now.

I mean with how her sister looked before she lambed she should be only hours at most days away. The lambs are no longer active or AS active as they were before. She is also being a major grouchy.... if any sheep (besides sara) tries to eat from the same spot in the bale as her she head butts them and chases them off especially lambs...

Finally to kind of end this random blurb about my week Romeo and eve are doing well and seem to be fitting in just fine.

I'm so happy I got Romeo he is a lot prettier in person. Now that I have better pictures what do you guys think? He is 6 months and is around 65lbs. He seems to have good legs and his muscle structure is deffinitly better in person than it is in picture. He has good hips and I think pretty good shoulder but then again I am no expert. And although he is shy he allows me to pet him occasionally and comes to investigate me whenever I'm in the field. Eve is another story though...

She is still scared of me... won' let me near her... welp once we have the ewes and rams separated I'm gonna work harder to gain her trust..

 

[Mike CHS]

Something I have done with my most skittish sheep is to hand feed. It takes them awhile to get up their courage but it shows them they have nothing to fear. It's easier said than done though since the ones that aren't scared will get there first.

 

[newton the goat]

Something I have done with my most skittish sheep is to hand feed. It takes them awhile to get up their courage but it shows them they have nothing to fear. It's easier said than done though since the ones that aren't scared will get there first.

When I was unloading her and Romeo I hand fed them hay since they wouldn' yet take corn out of my hand. If I'm going to be trying to feed them out in the field by hand then I will need multiple other people to feed the rest of the flock and distract them but that isn' even going to assure her warming up to me sadly enough. It took Sara up until recently to learn that I'm safe to be around. So I'm not gonna give up yet

 

[Bruce]

I don't know about sheep and Sara's sudden friendliness but ... I have noticed that my more "distant" pullets often get a lot friendlier just before they start to lay. Sort of like "I'm feeling all kinds of weird and this funny looking non feathered chicken takes care of us, feeds us, maybe I better hang closer to it."

I expect Eve will come around eventually, once she sees that the other sheep aren't being mistreated and notices they get TREATS!!.