Frustration

My sister and I were discussing the word “frustration” today.  We were talking about how it is an abstract word which is difficult to precisely define.  Frustration comes in many shapes and sizes.  The New Oxford American Dictionary defines frustration” as “the feeling of being upset or annoyed, esp. because of inability to change or achieve something.”  I especially relate to the last part of the definition…“because of the inability to change something!”  Yesterday brought a situation that I was powerless to change, yet it frustrated me.

I woke up early Saturday morning looking forward to a relaxing, restful day.  It had been a long week of learning to milk and care for the goat, and I had carefully planned to get up and milk then go snuggle back in bed.  Ha!  The life of a “farmer?”  Anyway, I prepared the scale, milk strainer (which consists of paper towel on top of a pitcher right now), the iodine teat wash, and the bottle for Edna.  7:30 am and I am out the door. 

The night before had been “perfect.”  Charlotte had eaten all of her food and we had a lot of fun directly squirting the milk into our mouths (nothing like milk straight from a teat!).  Well, I went out to milk and Charlotte would NOT eat her food.  She nibbled a little bit, but she is supposed to eat 2 quarts!  Then, she just laid down on the milking stand.  I set the little bit of milk I had milked outside of the goat pen because the kids were trying to drink out of the bowl.   Another uh-oh: The puppies came bounding up to the milk bowl and spilled most of it!  Frustrated, I next tried bottle-feeding Edna.  She has always had a voracious appetite, but this morning hardly sucked.  Why do I worry myself silly over these ridiculous goats, I thought to myself!  So much for my relaxing morning.  I did go back to bed, but it was more in retreat than in relaxation.

I thought I would try giving her more grain later.  I tried, but still she didn’t eat.  More frustration—I couldn’t change the situation.  I noticed Charlotte laying on her side in the goat pen.  I tried to keep from over-reacting, but I didn’t know if skipping a meal and laying down funny was serious or not.  Did she have some sort of “disease?”  Was the weather changing?  Could Charlotte sense something I could not?  Did I need to give her any type of medicinal “boost?”

Dinner-time rolled around.  Charlotte only ate a handful of grain.  I called the farm where I purchased Charlotte and they graciously told me to just wait.  It is probably the heat, they told me.

Thankfully, this morning and evening Charlotte ate about a quart of grain at each feeding!  She still needs to eat more, but at least she has an appetite.  Edna drank her milk, too. 

What I learned from my frustration:  A friend was recently explaining about worrying about new animals.  She explained about having a lot of “head knowledge” but only a tiny bit of “experience.”  I must gain the experience in order to truly understand what is worth concern.  I learned a little bit more about the nature of frustration, more about how Charlotte reacts to weather changes, and how to trust the Lord in all situations (like when the goat doesn't eat!).

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6&7

The "Set-Up"

About 7:15 this morning, Charlotte started her desperate calling to be fed (and milked).  Guess where she chose to perform?  On the milking stand!  Whew!  She had gotten up there by herself, so no more lifting that silly goat.  She also ate all of her grain this morning.  And, she gave another 3 pounds, 9 ounces of pure, frothy milk.  She stood still for the whole milking and didn't put her foot in the bucket.  Lots of positive improvements for Miss Charlotte!  But lest you think she is perfect, she really butts poor Edna.  She also doesn't let Elly May nurse very much.  And she is still looking for Elvis like everyone else (Elvis is Elly May's twin who was left behind).  But life with a goat is good.  I have a growing appreciating for these amazing creatures.

I thought I would post a few pictures of the "set-up."  Although it is far from perfect or permanent, it seems to be working for now.

The goat pen:
The goat pen is made up of 8 "goat panels."  These panels are 5 feet high and 16 feet long, with 4 inch square openings.  Even with the small openings, the kids still poke their heads through the fence.  Eventually, I would love to have a goat pasture instead of a goat pen, as there is soon not going to much vegetation left!

The hay bag:
Building a real wooden hay feeder is on the list of projects, but until then, a hay bag intended for horses is working just fine.  It doesn't waste too much of the expense alfalfa hay Charlotte, Elly May, and Edna seem to think is so tasty.

The water trough:
This big black water trough is next to the hay bag.  It was at an unsightly slant, but a few concrete pavers put under it quickly fixed the problem.  We have to keep the trough full so the Edna and Elly May can reach the water level, but that will change as they grow.  It has already had to be scrubbed out once because it got leaves and goat hair floaties in it (and someone on the farm washed out their ice cream bowl in it, what!?).

The mineral feeder:
This mineral feeder is zip-tied onto a piece of wood in the shelter.  It has baking soda (needed for good digestion) on the left and minerals on the right.  The goats really go after the baking soda!

The kid crate:
We have tried several methods of separating the kids at night.  We tried putting them in the cattle trailer at night, but Charlotte and Elly May start "singing" to each other.  So, for now, Edna and Elly May sleep in a large dog crate in the shelter.  This seems to work good because Charlotte can lay next to them in the evening.  I feel good about leaving the kids under Charlotte's "care" at night, too.

Until next time...Elly May says thanks for stopping by the Great Goat Adventure!

Mix It Up

Good grain is important for goats.  For my goats specificially, Charlotte needs a quality daily ration because she is producing a ton of milk (not a ton literally, but 1/2- 3/4 gallon a day!).  And Edna and Elly May are growing kids, so they need a good feed too.  Feeding my goats a high quality, natural grain ration is important to me because I am drinking what I put into the goats!  No GMO's allowed.  I had begun feeding Edna the Texas Naturals Sheep & Goat feed before I got the other goats.  However, Charlotte and Elly May had been eating a special homemade mix that I thought would be fun to try.  I wrote down the recipe when I picked them up and I was able to find all of the "ingredients" at Tractor Supply and the local feed mill.

The mixture is half barley and half oats with a few other things.  The originally recipe made 100+ pounds of feed, but I only wanted to make about a third of that to try it out.  We decided to use 17 pounds from each of the 50 pound barley and oat bags.  17 pounds filled up a 3 gallon bucket to the brim.  We also found out that oats and barley weigh about a pound per our scoop.  (Wonder how we got these specific amounts?  The bathroom scale.  We really need to invest in a "barn" scale!)

Here is the oat bag (I didn't get a picture of the barley bag, it was just plain brown!).

The bucket of barley.

 We also added about a scoop of BOSS (Black Oil Sunflower Seeds).

 A little bit o' beet pulp...

 

 And a cup or two of molasses drizzled over the mixture.

 The feed was mixed in a wheel barrel with a hoe.

In the end, there was about 40 pounds of feed.  It is being stored in a cow lick tub that has a snap-on lid.  It seemed a tad sticky, so next time I might reduce the molasses.

 The grain mixture was well received by the kids!  (Charlotte's appetite is still a little off due to the stress of moving.  She is eating a little over half of what she should be eating.)

Yum! Yum!

Milking for the First Time

Having a full-grown goat for the first time brings with it a long line of "firsts."  Maybe most importantly is the "first" milking.  Although I know I can milk, I woke up yesterday morning with a knot in my stomach.  It was anticipation all rolled up in a tight ball.

What a beautiful morning!

I don't have all of the supplies needed for milking yet--like a nice milk pail or strainers--but I collected what I could from the kitchen.  I mixed up an iodine/water solution in a small cup.  It was mostly water with a few squirts of iodine.  I also grabbed a metal mixing bowl and some rags.  Then I headed out the front door.

Charlotte has been spooked by almost everything, and getting her on the milk stand was no exception!  We chased her around the goat pen, grabbed her collar, hugged her, pulled, and coaxed.  We offered some grain and led her to the milking stand.  She was NOT going to hop up on it.  With no other options, I lifted her front legs onto the milk stand.  But I was only halfway there!  I also had to lift up her back legs.  Goats are heavy, not to mention determined to have their own selfish way!

Charlotte's head was safely secured in the milk stand and soon began munching away at the grain.  There were a few large rocks placed in the feed box to cause her to manipulate the grain thus make the grain "last" longer.

Charlotte's udder was not quite full in this picture, but it gives a good idea!

I gently wiped off Charlotte's udders with a rag dipped in the iodine solution.  Her udder was really tight, like it might pop.  I placed my fists around the teats and started squeezing.  I tried several different methods, squeezing both teats at one time, squeezing alternately, squeezing fast, and squeezing slow.  It was fun!  I leaned into Charlotte's side.  My arm muscles ached, but it was good.

The goat did well.  I estimated that the whole process took around 10 minutes.  Charlotte got a little antsy and somehow her foot got in the bowl.  There was milk on me and milk all over the stand.  Uh-oh!  But my goal was just to get the milk out, not necessary get it ready to drink.   I'll work on precision later.  I didn't milk Charlotte until she was dry because I wanted to leave a little milk for Elly May to drink later.

 Getting a sip!

After milking time, I weighed the milk.  She milked 3lbs. 9oz. which is about a half gallon!  She probably milked more than this because I didn't get it all in the bowl!  

I poured the milk into two quart mason jars and put it in the freezer to cool it down.  I will eventually feed this milk to Edna.  Those two full glass jars made me feel like a real milkmaid.  I had successfully milked my goat for the first time, and the satisfaction that came with it was wonderful.

Mission Accomplished...

 

Goat News! {Introducing Charlotte & Elly May}

I had just gotten off the phone with yet another goat farm.  I felt jittery, thrilled, nervous, elated, and every other intense emotion on the spectrum.  I was getting another goat!  Well, I was actually getting goats--plural.  And, I was getting a full-grown goat already producing milk.  The adventure sure took an unexpected turn.  Here is how it happened:

The breeder where I purchased Edna never had anymore available doelings.  So, I began calling around to try and get a goat from another breeder.  Strangely, many of the farms had stillborn doelings and/or a huge crop of bucks.

After much fruitless searching, I finally found a "lead."  However, the goat owners were reluctant to sell a doe kid by itself.  They felt that a goat kid really needed to be raised on goats milk (not cow's milk from the store like I had been feeding).  They explained the benefits of raising goats this way and offered to sell me a milking doe with her doeling.  She was a first freshener (first-time mama) with twins, a buck and doe.

As I got off the phone with the farm, a nagging feeling came over me.  A full grown goat?  No.  I don't have a milking stand or a permanent shelter built, I reasoned.  But then again, how hard is it to build these things?  I called the farm back to tell them I seriously wanted the pair!  My only concern was that the kid's name was Enya.  With Edna around, that name would have to be changed to Elly May!

 Enya--now Elly May

Early Monday morning, my alarm woke me up at 5:15 am.  I hurriedly fed Edna, cared for the puppies, and climbed into the van pulling the cattle trailer.  I was so excited (to say the very least)!  About 8:15, we pulled into the farm.  The owners of the farm led us to their goat barn.  It was more like a goat palace!  We started the tour in the milking room.  Charlotte (the goat we were purchasing) was eager to be milked.  She hopped up on the stand and greedily butted her head for some grain.  I learned the process of wiping her teats off with an Iodine solution.  Then I started squirting away.  The milk came out easily, although the whole process was a bit laborious and tedious (teat-ious!)!

A rear view of the goat barn...

Next we were given a demonstration of how to mix up goat ration.  The goats have been on a barley/oat mix.  These grains are mixed together in a large barrel with some sunflower seeds, beet pellet, and molasses.

The goats at the farm had a lovely yard with lots of trees.  Charlotte stood on her hind legs trying to reach some high branches in the trees!  While the big goats played, Elly May got tattooed.  Her one ear has the letters SHTX while the other ear has E4 (E for 2014, 4 for the 4th kid born on the farm).  It is quite funny, Edna is tattooed with E4 as well!

We brought the goats home without event (except for stopping at three feed stores looking for alfalfa hay).  Charlotte seems quite stressed out by the huge change, however she is settling in nicely.  Edna loves having a little playmate, and Elly May is very sociable.  They weigh the same amount (22 pounds) even though they are 3 weeks apart!

Elly May rode in a dog crate, and Charlotte carefully guarded it the whole way home!

Finally Home!

I am learning so much through this process…flexibility, patience, persistence, trust, etc.  "Everything you need to know about life, you can learn on the farm!"  I am thankful to the Lord for setting me in this marvelous classroom.

Sneak Peak: I plan to post a "milking update" soon, but Charlotte milked almost 1/2 gallon just this morning!

Exciting Milestones

Each new week of goat-adventuring brings new challenges and new joys.  There are many fun experiences and many frustrations along the way.  Through it all, it is amazing to observe the way God designed goats to function and how to be a good goat keeper.

 

One new milestone this week was Edna's increased grain intake.  She should have been eating grain several weeks ago, but she didn't seem too interested in it.  I had it out in a little feeder for her, but I had not forced her to eat it.  This past week I realized: my goat is 6 weeks old and not eating solids!  I kicked in a grain-eating scheme.  I crushed up the pellets into little pieces and held Edna in a "head-lock."  I pressed the handful of goat feed to her mouth and forced her to take a nibble.  Crunch, crunch, crunch.  Hey, it wasn't too bad!  My goal is to get her to eat about a handful per day.  Edna now is starting to nibble on grain when I leave it out "free choice."  The challenge is to keep the puppies form gobbling it up and the rain or dew from soaking it!

The other milestones reached this week were the building of the shelter and milking stand!  These had been looming projects and it is nice to have them finished

Building the shelter:

First, an 8' by 8' square was framed out of 2x4's.  Then two 16' cattle panels were bent over the top.

The cattle panels were secured with fence staples.

After that, 8' fiberglass sheets were screwed into some wood strips on the other side of the cattle panels.

 Ta-Da!  The finished product!  

I realized didn't get any pictures of building the milking stand.  The two middle pieces of wood on the milking stand will be able to "clamp" a goat's head to constrain the animal during milking, hoof trimming, etc.  The floor is braced underneath the platform so it should be strong and wide enough to hold a heavy goat and let me sit next to it to milk.

Edna already likes the set up!

Other notable facts this week include closely monitoring Edna's weight.  She is a few pounds underweight still.  She is 6 weeks, and has just hit 20 pounds.  I have started looking into the possibility of coccidiosis (worms).  This disease is a leading cause of stunted growth, and it could be mineral deficiency.  I plan to continue to check into these different causes to figure out what might be the problem!

I have also continued the goat shopping this week.  I have called many different goat farms in search of another doeling.  Edna is still so lonely!  Thankfully, I have a couple of leads.  I hope to bring home more goats this week!

Looking back over this week, all of the frustrations and joys combine into a long string of milestones…What an adventure!

Scrub-a-dub-dub

Edna got really dirty this morning.  So dirty, I deemed it necessary to give her a bath!  After a quick Google search, I figured out it would probably not hurt to dunk her in the tub.  An old molasses cow lick tub was moved into position on the front porch for the purpose at hand.

(Notice Edna looking over the edge as the tub filled with water...she is very curious!)

 

I swiped the shampoo from the bathroom.  Edna got organic shampoo!

I plopped Edna in the water.  I was very careful not to get her head wet, as her disbudding scabs have just fallen off.  The water was not terribly frigid, although she her back arched considerably.  She was peaceful as I squirted a bit of shampoo and scrubbed her body.

Scrub-a-dub-dub!

I sprayed her off with the hose to get all the suds off.  She smelled sweet!

I dried Edna off with an old sheet.  She bounced up onto the puppies crate and proceeded to shake vigorously to get dry!

She was a wet...but clean...goat!  (Her head looks sad with the scabs gone.  Hopefully her hair will grow back soon!)

Thus, was the adventure of giving my goat a bath...

Around the Farm

 It is fascinating to observe the symbiotic relationships of farm animals.  The dogs "protect" the goat, the goat produces milk, the chickens produce the eggs, and the cattle produces beef.  All of this works together to create the complex relationships of farm life.  Simply beautiful.

Okay, back to reality.  It doesn't always work perfectly.  The dogs sometimes terrorize the goat, the goat and chickens don't even produce their "products" yet, and the cows fight the neighbor's cows over the fence.  Although the animals can create challenges, it is still interesting to watch them interact.

 

I don't think Edna realized this steer was several hundred pounds bigger than her.

 

The puppies' crate makes a great stage for Edna's performance!

 Edna's goal: Higher and Higher

 Whoa!  She surprises me when she jumps down so quickly!

 If there is one word that describes Edna's behavior, it is "feisty."  She likes to challenge the dogs!

 

 The chickens don't interact with the dogs or goats too much, but they are still a vital part of farm life.  Their happy chirps fill the air!

It truly is an amazing sight to see the animals living together on the farm.