gimpymom2goats
Just born
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2013
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- 9
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Okay, here it goes,We got them home and everything was lovely! They were in their new home with cool fresh water, a fleck of alfalfa and a clean pen. Well the clean pen did NOT last too long, ohh, maybe 2 mins at the longest. No big deal. But while we were getting them situated, the sun was up high and Dolly my milking doe was panting like crazy! I went in the pen and it was hot in there but the worse part was NO SHADE! Sure we put the shady stuff on top of the pen but it was not enougn! I was trying to thing of what to do, went inside got my husband out of resting from getting the goats and not sleeping enough. We got them out and put them under the covered patio which is half occupied by junk!! (I don't get out much because of Lupus and severe pain from an accident) When I saw all that mess I tried to get them close to where the backdoor is because it's nice and cool there. Problem is that goats don't say oh, don't want to pee and poop on the concrete, I better go over to the grass where it could help that day brown stuff out! yup all over and the dog just loves the sweet feed poop we found out! Our milking bench for Miss Dolly was not ready and milking time was upon us. My husband read on some website, why make one, use an old coffee table! So we did, it didn't work, which I knew already. I need the goat elevated and I can't do this on the ground like my husband thought I could until he found that did not work either. Our buck wanted milk! 7 wks old and we were attempting to wean him. I got a bowl of her milk which came from the person we bought him from. He did not want it! He was eating alfalfa and drinking the water without a problem. Come milking time??? disaster on top of the mess above, we were dealing with an unruly buckling who wanted grandmas milk FRESH and the sweetfeed we were giving her. Which I don't like her eating.
Today my husband is feverishly working on the milking bench and I tried desperatly to put more cover on the pen so that it was not as hot in there. I'm so afraid we are going to drop from the reported 1 gallon a day to a lot less!!
my q's to all you lovely people out there:
How do you deal with a naughty little buck(ling)?
How do I keep him quiet and in control during milking our doe?
Is there a better way of keeping a doe still during milking without giving sweet feed?
Is there an organic sweet fed pre made?
If not, is there a special recipe for it?
Is 4 min of continuous crying allowable when you leave them alone to go inside? Or am I a bad goat owner of 30 hours?
What do you do with a little escape artist? (oops forgot to mention that one!
This one is for me: besides osha for the arthritis what can help with my energy level because it's noon and I'm exhausted!!!
Thanks bunches from very sunny Arizona!
