The wait has begun, both Giselle and Cinder are making nice milk bags. Giselle looks like she could go at anytime. Morning still is not bagging up and doesn't look as heavy in foal as she should, so we may have her due date wrong. She was our stallion's pasture mate, so it is possible that she was bred later. Dandee is already making a milk bag, she always bags up early and gives gallons of milk. We always get extra colostrum from her to freeze in case of future emergencies.
Here is the schedule of events:
Morning (the injured Black Tennessee Walker mare) Due - March 12th (Walkaloosa Foal)
Giselle and Cinder (Does) Due - sometime around March 19th
Sissy (Chestnut AQHA Mare) Due - March 28th (AQHA Foal)
Dandee (Bay AQHA Mare) Due - April 1st (Appaloosa Foal)
Collette, Paris and Calico (Does) Due - sometime after May 11th (if they are bred)
Quizzy (Sorrel AQHA Mare) Due - June 17th (Appaloosa Foal)
Sleepless nights, flashlights, batteries, alarm clocks, homebound, nervous, anxious, impatient, cell phone, kidding kit, foaling kit, towels, iodine, enemas, tetanus shots, tail wrappings, shovel, straw, manure fork, lounge chair, blankets, long underwear, heavy socks, face mask, gloves, carhartts, I LOVE SPRING!!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Doe's Secret Code of Honor
The Doe's Secret Code of Honor is as old as goats themselves and is ultimately the species best kept secret. No doe shall ever kid before its time. (Its time being determined by the following factors):
1. No kid shall be born until total chaos has been reached by all involved. Your owner's house must be a wreck, their family hungry and desperate for clean clothes, and their social life nonexistent.
2. Midwives must reach the babbling fool status before you kid out. Bloodshot eyes, tangled hair and the inability to form a sentence mean the time is getting close.
3. For every bell, beeper, camera or whistle they attach to you, kidding must be delayed by at least one day for each item. If they use an audio monitor, one good yell per hour will keep things interesting.
4. If you hear the words, "She's nowhere near ready. She'll be fine while we're away for the weekend," Wait until they load the car, then begin pushing!
5. Owner stress must be at an all time high! If you are in the care of someone else, ten to fifteen phone calls a day is a sign you're getting close.
6. When you hear the words "I can't take it anymore!" wait at least three more days.
7. You must keep this waiting game interesting. False alarms are mandatory! Little teasers such as looking at your stomach, pushing your food around in the bucket and then walking away from it, and nesting, are always good for a rise. Be creative and find new things to do to keep the adrenaline pumping in those who wait.
8. The honor of all goats is now in your hands. Use this time to avenge all of your barn mates. Think about your friend who had to wear that silly costume in front of those people. Hang onto that baby for another day. OH, they made him do tricks too! Three more days seems fair. Late feedings, the dreaded diet, bad haircuts, those awful wormings can also be avenged at this time.
9. If you have fulfilled all of the above and are still not sure when to have the kids, listen to the weather forecast on the radio that has been so generously provided by those who wait. Severe storm warning is what you're waiting for. In the heart of the storm jump into action! The power could go out and you could have the last laugh. You have a good chance of those who wait missing the whole thing while searching for a flashlight that works!
10. Make the most of your interrupted nights. Beg for food each time someone comes into the barn to check you. Your barn mates will love you as the extra goodies fall their way too.
Remember, this code of honor was designed to remind man of how truly special goats are. Do your best to reward those who wait with a beautiful doeling to carry on the Doe Code of Honor for the next generation of those who wait.
--Author Unknown
1. No kid shall be born until total chaos has been reached by all involved. Your owner's house must be a wreck, their family hungry and desperate for clean clothes, and their social life nonexistent.
2. Midwives must reach the babbling fool status before you kid out. Bloodshot eyes, tangled hair and the inability to form a sentence mean the time is getting close.
3. For every bell, beeper, camera or whistle they attach to you, kidding must be delayed by at least one day for each item. If they use an audio monitor, one good yell per hour will keep things interesting.
4. If you hear the words, "She's nowhere near ready. She'll be fine while we're away for the weekend," Wait until they load the car, then begin pushing!
5. Owner stress must be at an all time high! If you are in the care of someone else, ten to fifteen phone calls a day is a sign you're getting close.
6. When you hear the words "I can't take it anymore!" wait at least three more days.
7. You must keep this waiting game interesting. False alarms are mandatory! Little teasers such as looking at your stomach, pushing your food around in the bucket and then walking away from it, and nesting, are always good for a rise. Be creative and find new things to do to keep the adrenaline pumping in those who wait.
8. The honor of all goats is now in your hands. Use this time to avenge all of your barn mates. Think about your friend who had to wear that silly costume in front of those people. Hang onto that baby for another day. OH, they made him do tricks too! Three more days seems fair. Late feedings, the dreaded diet, bad haircuts, those awful wormings can also be avenged at this time.
9. If you have fulfilled all of the above and are still not sure when to have the kids, listen to the weather forecast on the radio that has been so generously provided by those who wait. Severe storm warning is what you're waiting for. In the heart of the storm jump into action! The power could go out and you could have the last laugh. You have a good chance of those who wait missing the whole thing while searching for a flashlight that works!
10. Make the most of your interrupted nights. Beg for food each time someone comes into the barn to check you. Your barn mates will love you as the extra goodies fall their way too.
Remember, this code of honor was designed to remind man of how truly special goats are. Do your best to reward those who wait with a beautiful doeling to carry on the Doe Code of Honor for the next generation of those who wait.
--Author Unknown
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Got Gravel
Our drive is passable again, can't keep the people away now. Our peaceful, quiet life is over and we are $600 more in the hole.
We live here in the Limestone Capital of the World, as a matter of fact we have one whole hillside that is nothing but limestone with a little dirt spread here and there. But it still cost us $600 for a few rocks for our drive, we ran out of money before we ran out of drive.
When we first moved here and cut our driveway, my Husband and Sons took rock from the hillside and put it on the drive, then took sledge hammers and broke it up. They all got very good at it, they know just how to hit it to bust it up with the least amount of blows. If any of them ever have to work on a chain gang they will be prepared. Some day my kids may even get nostalgic at the ring of the hammer hitting rock.
We live here in the Limestone Capital of the World, as a matter of fact we have one whole hillside that is nothing but limestone with a little dirt spread here and there. But it still cost us $600 for a few rocks for our drive, we ran out of money before we ran out of drive.
When we first moved here and cut our driveway, my Husband and Sons took rock from the hillside and put it on the drive, then took sledge hammers and broke it up. They all got very good at it, they know just how to hit it to bust it up with the least amount of blows. If any of them ever have to work on a chain gang they will be prepared. Some day my kids may even get nostalgic at the ring of the hammer hitting rock.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Horse Treat Recipe
We have a dear friend who owns several acres that she keeps mowed like a golf course. She only has three horses and each Spring they tend to founder on the plentiful, weedless, rich grass. We help her out each year by taking our broodmares with the new foals to her place to help eat down the grass.
This is a great solution for all of us, her horses don't get as much grass and don't have to be locked up in her corral as much. Our mares get good grass, the babies get their first experience of being loaded and hauled in a horse trailer. They also get hand fed treats and get lots of handling and attention (she loves the babies). The extra bonus is that we just pick the mares up in the fall and bring them home to wean the foals. Usually we bring the weanlings home before bad weather sets in but this year we only had two babies left that didn't sell and Diana kept them all winter. So, both Biscuit and Diva got some extra spoiling.
We put Diana's hay up for her each year and try to help with other problems that crop up at her place from time to time, like downed fences, trees or injured horses. We have one lame mare that she always winters for us also.
Diana buys carrots in bulk from Sam's Club as treats and also has a nice apple tree in her yard that supplies treats in the fall but she was buying expensive horse treats as well. So to help out, I found a recipe online that looked good to me and started making treats for her to feed during the winter months. I don't like baking during warm weather, so I only make them when it is cold outside. All of her horses and our horses love them, my goats do double back flips for them too, my dogs even like them.
Diana's Favorite Horse Treats and My Favorite Goat and Dog Treats.
Recipe:
1 cup of quick oats
1 cup flour
1 cup shredded carrots
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons corn or vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup real molasses (real molasses is a good source of iron) or you can substitute pancake syrup or corn syrup
Mix all ingredients into a large bowl. Make small balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350ยบ for 15 minutes. Shut off the oven and leave them in the oven for several days to harden. I always double or triple the batch, I cool them on a cooling rack while the others are still baking, then pile them all back on the cookie sheet for the hardening stage in the oven. Letting them set out in the open for a few weeks takes any softness out of them, making them crunchy and more desirable for the horses and goats. They also store better if they have no moisture in them.
This is a great solution for all of us, her horses don't get as much grass and don't have to be locked up in her corral as much. Our mares get good grass, the babies get their first experience of being loaded and hauled in a horse trailer. They also get hand fed treats and get lots of handling and attention (she loves the babies). The extra bonus is that we just pick the mares up in the fall and bring them home to wean the foals. Usually we bring the weanlings home before bad weather sets in but this year we only had two babies left that didn't sell and Diana kept them all winter. So, both Biscuit and Diva got some extra spoiling.
We put Diana's hay up for her each year and try to help with other problems that crop up at her place from time to time, like downed fences, trees or injured horses. We have one lame mare that she always winters for us also.
Diana buys carrots in bulk from Sam's Club as treats and also has a nice apple tree in her yard that supplies treats in the fall but she was buying expensive horse treats as well. So to help out, I found a recipe online that looked good to me and started making treats for her to feed during the winter months. I don't like baking during warm weather, so I only make them when it is cold outside. All of her horses and our horses love them, my goats do double back flips for them too, my dogs even like them.
Diana's Favorite Horse Treats and My Favorite Goat and Dog Treats.
Recipe:
1 cup of quick oats
1 cup flour
1 cup shredded carrots
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons corn or vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup real molasses (real molasses is a good source of iron) or you can substitute pancake syrup or corn syrup
Mix all ingredients into a large bowl. Make small balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350ยบ for 15 minutes. Shut off the oven and leave them in the oven for several days to harden. I always double or triple the batch, I cool them on a cooling rack while the others are still baking, then pile them all back on the cookie sheet for the hardening stage in the oven. Letting them set out in the open for a few weeks takes any softness out of them, making them crunchy and more desirable for the horses and goats. They also store better if they have no moisture in them.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
In Like a Lamb
March came in like a lamb, which means that it will go out like a lion. That is why I had a hard time blogging today because I was outside enjoying the weather.
I kept a close eye on my Chickens today and am convinced that they are not hiding their eggs. I got 2 eggs early in the morning. Then around noon, one of the Rhodies went into the goat/chicken shed and set on a nest for a long time but didn't produce anything. They don't seem to be molting, so I don't know why they have stopped laying with the nice weather that we have been having.
My cousin's D'uccles have started laying eggs for him, but mine are still not laying. I bought some oyster shell to put out for all of my hens but I think they are laying less since I put it out.
My mud turned slightly solid today, it was nice to walk on top of it again. However, our driveway has fallen completely through. We have put tons and tons of gravel on that thing throughout the years and it has just eaten it up or hard rains have washed it down the hill and out into the pasture. This is the first time that it has gotten so bad that you have to have a 4-wheel drive just to get up the hill when it doesn't have any snow or ice on it. It is also starting to get ruts.
The weather forecast is for hard, heavy rain for the next few days, so we need to get gravel on it Monday, but all of our savings are in our horse's bellies and we hate to put gravel on it only to have it washed down into the pasture again. Hard rains will wash even the biggest sized stone down that hill. It looks like we have no choice but to go ahead and gravel it or some unsuspecting visitor, like the Mailman or the UPS guy, is going to get hung up right in the middle of our driveway. They both hate coming down here already.
I kept a close eye on my Chickens today and am convinced that they are not hiding their eggs. I got 2 eggs early in the morning. Then around noon, one of the Rhodies went into the goat/chicken shed and set on a nest for a long time but didn't produce anything. They don't seem to be molting, so I don't know why they have stopped laying with the nice weather that we have been having.
My cousin's D'uccles have started laying eggs for him, but mine are still not laying. I bought some oyster shell to put out for all of my hens but I think they are laying less since I put it out.
My mud turned slightly solid today, it was nice to walk on top of it again. However, our driveway has fallen completely through. We have put tons and tons of gravel on that thing throughout the years and it has just eaten it up or hard rains have washed it down the hill and out into the pasture. This is the first time that it has gotten so bad that you have to have a 4-wheel drive just to get up the hill when it doesn't have any snow or ice on it. It is also starting to get ruts.
The weather forecast is for hard, heavy rain for the next few days, so we need to get gravel on it Monday, but all of our savings are in our horse's bellies and we hate to put gravel on it only to have it washed down into the pasture again. Hard rains will wash even the biggest sized stone down that hill. It looks like we have no choice but to go ahead and gravel it or some unsuspecting visitor, like the Mailman or the UPS guy, is going to get hung up right in the middle of our driveway. They both hate coming down here already.
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