No Kids Yet!

The days roll on and the rain continues.  The more rain we get, the deeper the mud gets and the dirtier the animals become.  Even Betty White is a muddy brown mess.  It is really hard not to get discouraged with the bad weather, especially when the ten day forecast is for rain, rain and more rain!  The only sign of the changing seasons are the blossoms that appeared almost overnight on the pear trees.

For some reason, our neighbors' cows have decided that the very best place to graze in the morning is in our back pasture.  We have a very large hole in our fence (which they no doubt created years ago) that they wander through so they can eat our grass and leave large and soggy cow patties everywhere.  In attempt to preserve the grass and cleanliness of our property, Brian spends his mornings chasing the cows back through the fence.  Yesterday he snapped some photos as he ran them out. 

One of the neighbors cows recently had a calf that had been rejected by its mother.  So every morning, our neighbor has been driving out on his ATV and bottle feeding the calf.  The other morning, the calf got stuck on the opposite side of the fence from the rest of the herd.  Brian went to help it get reconnected with the others and the calf immediately ran up to him.  It was pretty cute.  It is amazing to see the difference in friendliness between bottle fed verses dam reared animals.

Wendy is doing well and has not started to show any signs of impending labor.  She has been eating lots of grain and alfalfa and enjoys browsing in the backyard.  She is still curious about the other animals and tried to make friends with both cats the other day.  It was a little more than shy Rambo could handle.

Her favorite spot in our makeshift barn is on top of a hay bale where she can look out at the dogs and little goats.  She now sleeps in the stall that Brian made in anticipation of the kids.

Hopefully my next blog entry will be to announce the arrival of a couple of healthy kids!!

Wendy Settles In

Wendy has now been living with us for six days.  For the first few days, we kept her primarily in our carport barn.  Brian bought lots of hay to provide a warm, draft free space during this weeks' rain, hail and snow.

It is great to have Wendy so close to the house, especially because there is a window that opens from the basement to the carport.  We can pass grain and water through the window and can check on her without going outside.  She also likes to look into the window for Brian and Betty White.

For the last few days, we have let Wendy out in the backyard, first on a lead and then free range, to browse on the grass.  The dogs and little goats watched Wendy as she emerged from the carport barn.  At first everyone was excited.  The little goats were so excited that they started headbutting each other.

As the week has progressed, the goats and dogs have become more accustomed to each other.  Yesterday, Brian and I decided it was time to introduce the little goats to Wendy.  We let them in the backyard together to browse. 

The goats mostly ignored each other, although the little ones ran away from Wendy when she sniffed and inspected them.  No signs of hostility yet and we are hopeful that after the kids arrive all the goats will continue to peacefully co-exist!

Wendy also had a visit from Arthur.  For some reason, he was not threatened by her and was especially happy to eat her droppings.  Yucky little Arfie loves to eat goat poop!

We have nearly finished compiling our goat birthing supply kit (which includes handy things like iodine, shoulder length gloves, and scissors to cut the umbilical cord) and have been reading all of our books on kidding.  Only four days until her due date!!



Meet Wendy

Yesterday marked a turning point in our quest to start a goat dairy.  Brian and I made the drive out to Cave Junction, Oregon to pick up Wendy, our first dairy goat!  Wendy is a Sanaan who lived in a herd of six other goats.  Their owner had been raising dairy goats for twenty-five years and decided it was time to thin out her herd.  When Brian and I first saw the Sanaan herd we were impressed by the size and appearance of these large animals.  Quite a difference from our stout little Nigerian Dwarfs!

We loaded Wendy in the back of our Jeep and hoped that she would tolerate the hour and a half drive home.  We were especially concerned about her well being because she is very pregnant, due to deliver in about two weeks!

Thankfully, Wendy did very well on the drive, with only the occasional bleet.  When we got her home we immediately took her to the make-shift barn Brian created.  He turned the car-port into a safe structure where she will spend most of her time before and after delivery.  We decided not to put her with the dogs and other goats yet as introducing her to so many new faces at once may be too stressful for the pregnant doe. 

Gretel and Bea were extremely excited to see the new member of our animal family and excitedly cried for a few hours.

The move to a new home makes any animal nervous and Wendy is no exception.  She spent part of the night calling for the rest of her herd but was calmed when Brian and I sat with her and allowed us to pet and talk to her.  Today she seems more relaxed and we are confident that she will easily adapt to her new surroundings.  Our main goal is to ensure she is eating a large and healthy diet of alfalfa, grain and selenium minerals so she will have the strength to deliver her kids in a few weeks.

Wendy is three years old and weighs roughly 170lbs.  This will be her second kidding.

Nearly Spring

  The last few weeks have been filled with rain, mud, and more rain.  With few breaks long enough to dry up the ponds forming in our animal enclosure, the mud pit has grown, binging with it a suction-type quality, a bit like quick sand.  Brian unfortunately learned this the hard way.  He backed the truck into the enclosure one day to do some clean-up and spent most of the day digging the truck out of the mud. 

The goats and dogs have coped with the mud in their own ways.  The dogs run and play as usual and are a filthy, muddy mess.  The goats do their best to stay clean, spending much of their time climbing to higher ground.

Brian has turned his energy back to the outside, making improvements to the soggy pasture and preparing for the changes that come with spring.  We are anticipating an exciting addition to our animal family: stay tuned to discover who this new member will be!

Mud.

Those of you who live furthur north will laugh when I say that I cannot wait for winter to be over.  I know that Southern Oregon has mild winters as far as the cold goes.  But it's not really the cold that's bothering me.  It's the mud.

I cannot imagine how much of a challange cleanliness would be if our huge pups lived inside.  When Gretel was sick a few weeks ago, we brought her in at night to eat large amounts of fancy wet dog food and sleep in a warm environment.  She not only tracked mud and hay all over the house, she also didn't know what to do with herself!  She sniffed and sniffed and walked in circles for hours and was particularly confused by the noise of the tv. 

I am happy to report that Gretel is doing much better and is back outside with her sister.  Although we never did figure out what was wrong with her, we are keeping our fingers crossed that this time she will be healthy for many, many years!

All other animals are well and we are hoping to add a milker to our goat herd this spring or summer.  Our next hurdle: fencing the back pasture.  It's hard to believe we have been here nearly a year but I think we have made a lot of progress, one small step at a time!

Gentle Gretel

February has been a quiet month for the blog but I assure you that things have been busy around here!  Most of Brian's energies have recently been dedicated to a project that had little to do with starting our goat dairy, but about improving our quality of life in a different way. 

Our 1970's kitchen has been brought into the 21st century and I am hoping it will inspire an improvement in my culinary talents as well!

Our routine has otherwise continued, taking care of all of the animals through this last part of winter, my work at the hospital and the occasional visit from family and friends.  We continue to have a mild weather for this time of year with a few beautiful dustings of snow.

The only difference has been that poor Gretel has gotten sick again.  As we endure visits to the vet and bloodwork and xrays without a proper diagnosis, we are keeping our fingers crossed that she will be ok!

Due to the recent snow and Gretels' illness we have been bringing her inside at night.  Brian has somehow managed to maintain order in our house while finishing the kitchen remodel, and dealing with Arthur, Betty and Gretel under the same roof.  Arthur and Betty are very nervous around Gretel and although Gretel is unsure of her new surroundings inside, she is eager to make friends of our smaller indoor animals.

Bea continues to grow and thrive and both girls are happy when we let Gretel back out in the mornings. Today she woke with lots of energy and is happy to be outside in the sunshine.

Now that Brian's inside projects are coming to an end, he will return his focus to the outside and we will hopefully add to our animal family in the near future!

We Made It!

For months Brian and I anxiously anticipated the spaying of our huge puppies. I am pleased to report that the girls are fully recovered and are happily back outside.  They have resumed their nocturnal ways, barking at night to protect the goats and our property.  They still very much enjoy when we go to visit them. 

The goats are also happy these days, not so much because of the girls' return to the outdoors but because things are starting to turn green.  Maia and Weekend defintely enjoy the larger variety in their diet.

The animals have recently displayed a few new behaviors that keep us laughing.  Gretel has developed the habit of walking the inside perimeter of the dog run, in the small space between the dog house and the fence.  This is characteristic of the Great Pyrenees protective instinct.  Bea tried to do the same once but because she is bigger than Gret, she got stuck and it took some force to get her out! 

The goats spend a lot of their time on the roof of the A-Frame.  They look like tight-rope walkers with their incredible balancing abilities.  We are hoping to build them a bigger playground this summer.

February has brought many beautiful, sunny days and although it's still chilly, it is starting to feel a bit like spring!