What To Do In Our "Down" Time

As many of you are aware, we are now in a bit of a "down" time. Milk production had dropped so much due to the does being at the end of their lactation as well as the cold weather so we finally made the decision to dry them off and wait for the next set of does to freshen. Friday morning was our last official milking day of 2011, however we did a partial milking on Sunday and a full milking this morning which is part of the drying off process.

So.....What ever will we do in our "down" time?

Sunday and Monday we worked on getting wood cut. We are almost to where we need to be in order to have our winter supply of wood. We heat totally with wood so it usually takes between eight and 10 ricks of wood to see us through the winter. It just depends on how bad the winter is.

Monday I (along with Daddy's help) gave all of the young girls their Christmas pedicures. They weren't really sure about all of that, but their hooves all look really nice now. :)

Tuesday we went out and delivered the last of the cheese and milk for the 2011 season. When we got home, I moved the bucks out back with Charlie Cow and then turned the young girls in with the mature does. I don't think that they really thought that they were goats and they sure didn't understand why I would make them leave their deluxe accommodations and make them live in the big barn with "those goats". I stayed out there with them for quite some time and then finally came to the house. About 10:00 last night Chrys and I went out to check on them and had to bring all of the young girls "back" into the barn and lock the gate so that they couldn't go over and stand beside their previous pasture. When I let them out this morning guess where they went? Right! They went straight back to stand by their previous pasture. :(

I moved eight does to the maternity ward (previous barn and pasture of the young girls) this morning. I gave them pedicures and also gave them their yearly vaccination that we give about 2-4 weeks prior to having babies. I don't have exact dates on this group of girls since we pasture bred them, but none of them are due before January 5th. I normally wouldn't have moved them to the maternity ward this soon, but since we have the young Livestock Guardian Dogs now and I don't trust them yet since they are still just pups, I thought it would be best to have these does in an area that the pups can't get in to.

There's not much else to tell at this point. I have a list as long as my arm of things to get done during this "down" time. We'll see if it all gets completed or not. :)

Below are a couple of pictures of the young girls today, standing beside their old pasture and begging to return "home". These girls are all 6-8 months old and there are 20 of them.

Here is a photo of some of the does munching on hay inside the big barn.

Poor Charlie Cow

Poor Girl Charlie Cow (yes that's her name). We moved the does that were in the back pasture up to the big barn this morning. Charlie Cow has cried and cried ever since. She has never ever been without goats. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure that she knows that she is of the bovine species. Poor thing. She thinks that she is goat too.

Most of the day she has stood at the fence and cried for her goat friends. A few times she would go off and graze or go get a little hay. When I would go out there she would come to the fence and just want to be petted. I finally felt sorry enough for her to give her a little "extra" grain at feeding time.

Next week, after we get some hoof trimming done on the teenagers we will move them back there with Charlie Cow and I am sure that she will be happy again......although they may not be. They are used to staying at the Ritz. LOL

Disaster Diverted

A disaster was diverted this morning thanks to our WONDERFUL and ever FAITHFUL Livestock Guardian Dogs. Both of the younger adult dogs, Shasta & Gypsy, came up with blood on their necks (not their blood) and one of Shasta's hind feet is sore. When Chrys left for work he said that there was a pack of dogs out on the road. All of the LG dogs, including the pups, have been on high alert ever since. Shasta won't leave the milkers (although she rarely does anyway) and Gypsy won't leave from the perimeter of the dry does pasture. Both of the pups are even on high alert and periodically sounding off at the perimeters this morning. Sadie, of course, is alert close to the house and barking directions to the others. :) (The Alpha female position must be a good spot to be in.)

I wish people would keep their dogs at home. Just because you live in the country does NOT mean that it is okay for your pet (cared for, neglected, or otherwise) to go onto someone else's property and wreck havoc. I have seen what a pack of "pet" dogs can do to a herd of goats. It is NOT something I ever want to see again!

Shasta this morning in the milking does pasture. You can see a faint red color around her neck. Gypsy's looked the same but she wouldn't let me get close enough this morning for a photo shoot. :)

This is Mya. She and Tess (the pups) have both been on high alert this morning and have stayed close to the milking does and Shasta.

The dry does coming up when I called them so that I could inspect and get a head count. (Everyone was accounted for and looking good.)

Dry does still coming up......

....and they are here and getting all of their little noses counted.
(Notice Gypsy behind the group that is around the tree.)

Cammie and Charlie Cow counting each other's noses.
Yep! They are both here! LOL

Airi, in the milking doe pasture. Not a real good picture of her, but it kind of goes along with her attitude. ;)

Cammie

Cammie is now almost a year old. If you remember, she was a birthday gift this year from my wonderful husband. It took her a long time before she really liked me. Seems that for the longest time she much preferred Chrys or Megan. Once I was home full time we became fast friends though......or maybe she just likes me now because it is usually just her and me......and the goats......all day long. :) At any rate, Cammie is always by my side now. We seem to do everything together. :)

Two things Cammie seems to hate are birds (which is ok, they don't stand a chance of getting in the gardens) and she seems to HATE having all of the dog bowls where they are suppose to be. We have six dogs. Five are Livestock Guardian Dogs (3 mature and 2 pups in training) and Cammie (who is a Sheltie and should be a herding dog, but doesn't seem to have a lick of herding instinct). Anyway, Cammie is always carrying off the dog bowls. Not just one or two, but ALL of them! I line five bowls up along the fence (about 10 feet apart in order to give each dog their own space) and I no more than turn my back and Cammie is carrying them off. The next day I have to go find them all again. It is like easter every day. The only bowl she doesn't carry off is the metal one that I left at the end of the shop.

Well, I'm a little slow I guess. After about three weeks of the daily dog bowl hide and seek game I finally got smart. I drilled a hole in each bowl then I ran baler twine through the hole and tied each one to the fence. Now Cammie can't carry them off and hide them. And when I go to mow along the fence all I have to do is throw them over the fence with the twine still attached and they will still be right where I need them to be. :)

I finally got all of this done on Saturday afternoon. Several of the twines have been taught where Cammie has attempted the dog bowl hiding game. :)

New Feeder

Our daughter's boyfriend made this "Really AWESOME" new goat feeder for us and just delivered it 2 days ago. The goats all seem to be really enjoying it (is there food in it???) and it is perfect in EVERY way!

It has a metal pipe frame that he welded together then painted and the trough is made from extra heavy duty conveyor belt. The trough is bolted/screwed onto the frame and is open on each end. Being open on each end not only means that it won't hold water, but it also means that it is easy to clean. In addition, with the ends being open, they are designed so that another feeder can be added in the future by butting it up to the current feeder and over lapping the ends creating one continuous feeder.

I am SOOOO proud of this feeder and SOOOO thankful for someone being thoughtful and caring and making it for us. Thank you Matt!!!!!

Note: I think he would make these feeders for others by special order. If you want one, let me know and I can put you in touch with him.

Random Photos Of Some Of The Goats

Here are just some random photos of some of the girls.

Some of the younger girls. These girls are between 3 and 6 months old and will one day be a part of the milking girls.

This is Norma. Norma is a very special girl to me. If you haven't read the story about Norman, then please do. Then you will know why she is so special. Norma is a full sister to Norman.

A group of yearlings getting their chance at the dinner table before we let the rest of the girls in.

The pictures above and below: Dinner time for most of the herd. This is what 54 does look like all eating at the same time. Of course the rest of the herd was served their dinner in their own pen/pasture.

Good Dogs Gone Bad????

The new livestock guardian dog pups are now about 3 months old. For the most part it seems that they are really good pups. Shasta has taken the reign on their training, as we had hoped, and "most" of the time she has them in the goat pastures with her or if it is milking time then she makes them come into the holding area with her and goats.

Shasta with Tess (what you can't see is that the goats are just to the left of the dogs eating their dinner)

Tess

Mya

Cammie (about 8 1/2 months old now)
Not a livestock guardian dog, however she is suppose to be a herding dog and she is definitely my little buddy now.

Cammie


Now.........Remember that I said that Shasta has the pups in the goat pasture most of the time........Well, she does seem to let them have a little R & R time in the evenings. I'm wondering if maybe she should re-think this policy.

Just who I thought was tearing up the cushions on our swing. :(

What we didn't know is that Cammie was also one of the culprits. I guess there is a reason that Shasta wouldn't let the pups play with her when they first arrived at the farm.