Thunderclouds...

Everything was "perfect" about little Frankincense being born--a beautiful healthy kid, wonderful timing, lovely weather, no complications, etc.  I am so grateful!

(Ooops!  During Frankincense's entry, Elly May grabbed these paper towels I accidentally left near the fence!)

It felt so satisfying for the suspense to be over!  Then... thunderclouds rolled in.  The sky got almost as black as night.  There was wind and torrential rain!  Our dog that is never allowed in the house was so terrified of the storm that she was allowed to sit in the entryway!

A sopping wet "Blue Bell" enjoying her illegal napping spot.

It rained so hard that Edna's and Elly May's goat hut blew over!  Oh-no!!!  Edna and Elly May were dripping wet!  They were moved to the cattle trailer (which is also used as a hay barn) for some protection from the storm. Elly May thought this arrangement was great because she found a bale of alfalfa to eat!

The "tipped over" goat hut!

When the storm subsided, we tried getting the hut back on its right side, but it fell apart (many of the boards were weak and the whole thing needed a "tune up" after a year of three goats living in it!)  Amazingly, we were able to salvage the materials and build a new shelter on Friday.

This shelter has posts that are set into the ground.  It is a bit "cozy" for the goats and the roof line keeps the rain out much better than the other design.

I didn't think about the fact that Elly May would be able to climb up the roof.  Hmmm...This design might need some adjustments in the future.  But goats are designed to climb, so maybe it satisfies a missing aspect of their habitat. 

Since then, things have been peaceful.  Today more thunderstorms rolled in.  Except this time they SAVED the day!  I went to the goat pen and found Frankincense panting very hard.  His mouth was open and he had no energy.  Although he was in the shade, he couldn't not seem to stay cool.  I took his temperature and it was 105 degrees (normal is 102-103).  I was almost sure he had heat stress.  Then, the thunderclouds rolled in...No rain, but the temperature dropped over 10 degrees and cooled down the overheated baby goat!  He got up and scampered around!  Praise the Lord for His perfect timing in cooling the earth!

Panting!

Hot goat!

Until next time...

Another "Hoop Hut"

I felt that it was important to build a second "hoop hut" at this stage of "goat keeping."  Ideally, the does will be able to kid in this area.  It will also serve as a covered area for the milking stand.  And hopefully the kids can stay in it when they are separated at night.

I commissioned the menfolk in my family to build it.  They decided it would be cheaper to use corrugated metal instead of fiberglass.  They built it outside our utility barn then dragged it over to its final resting place.

The goats were TERRIFIED when they saw a "hoop hut" traveling behind a tractor across the field.  Charlotte leapt up in the air and started dashing around the pen.  She then hid behind her shelter and cautiously peeked around it!  Funny goats!

Here it is!  (It is being used to store hay right now, thus the big brown tarp you see in the pictures.)  The pen is 40' by 20' (half of the size of the other pen), but it will serve the herd well.  We made sure to use 4"x4" goat panels like the other pen.  We still need to install a gate between the pens, but other than that it is ready for use!  

The grass is growing, the goat herd is growing, and the goat pen is growing!  Spring is the time for lots of exciting growth!

Rain, Rain, Rain (Again!)

Rain, rain, rain!  We received 6 inches of rain in the past two days.  Combined with the 7 inches we received two weeks ago, we have had 13 inches of rain total this month!  Wow!

Our bottom land flooded...We baled hay on the "lake" earlier this spring.

The sky cleared a little bit last night around 8:30, so I thought I would go cut some browse for the goats since they had been stuck in the shelter all day and needed a treat.  I retrieved the hedge trimmers and headed to the grove of trees down the hill.  By the time I got down there, it had started raining again!  I quickly cut some branches and headed back to the house.  The goats wanted to eat the browse, but I didn't want them to stand out in the rain.  So, I tied the branches together and clipped them to the inside of the goat shelter!  It was a little hanging tree inside the hut!  I laughed, inspired by my own ridiculous ingenuity.

The hanging of the greens…

Just trying to keep everything and everyone DRY!

"Sisterly" love?  I suppose so.

Edna and Elly May are glad the clouds have cleared so they can enjoy being outside!

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!

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!

Got Milk?

My #2 reason for owning a goat is for the excellent milk production. (My #1 reason, of course, is to enjoy the goat adventure!)  Goats produce more milk for their body weight than cows (from what I have read).  The entrepreneur in me understands that that is a better return on my investment.  I have "milky" dreams of drinking cool glasses of yummy milk and even trying to make soft cheeses.  

The ironic aspect of raising a "bottle-baby," is that I first have to put milk "in" to one day make milk come "out!"  Edna doesn't seem to be gaining as much weight as I would like her too (she is maybe a pound or two under weight).  So, I have started adding a little bit more fat to her diet.  There is a common bottle-feeding recipe circulating using whole milk, buttermilk, and evaporated milk.  I poured out about 1/3 of the whole gallon, then added the can of evaporated milk and a cup of buttermilk.  I refilled the gallon with the milk I had poured out, shook it up, heated it up, and fed it to the goat!  Hopefully, it will help her gain weight at a steady pace now!

 Poor Edna!  She had to wait to be fed until I took this picture for the blog!

 Got Milk?  Yum! Yum!

The other excitement of the day consisted of getting a new collar!  Edna now has a sporty pink collar which is a lot stronger than her previous ribbon around her neck.  She is getting quite zippy when I open the gate and sometimes needs to be puuuuullllled back into safety!

 Edna happened to be munching on a flower in this picture!

The permanent shelter in the goat pen isn't up yet, so she is still sleeping in a dog crate filled with hay on the front porch!  I still have a heat lamp on her, not because it gets that cold at night, but because I like the warm, comforting glow as a night light shining in the window!

Edna is ready for bed!

Unpredictable.

I truly intended to post yesterday.  In fact, I even had the post written.  But being an aspiring goat farmer is sure to be unpredictable!

In my communication with the goat breeder where I purchased Edna,  I expressed an interest in seeing a goat give birth.  She said she would try and call me when some does were in labor.

Last night around 8:30pm, I was finishing up the day's duties.  The phone rang.  "Does in labor…Do you want to come?"  Within minutes, the car tires were crunching the dirt road while the full moon and twinkling stars smiled down.

When I arrived at the breeder's farm a little after 9pm, I found two little bucklings from two different does.  One goat that had given birth to a strong baby buckling.  The goat kid was a little bit premature, so his pointy Alpine ears were flopped down. Another doe had given birth to another buckling shortly before I arrived, but this buckling was in trouble.  His umbilical cord looked funny, and he was very lethargic.  The doe was supposed to have twins, but the second kid had not arrived.

I helped with the healthy buck.  For being only a few hours old, he was quite strong.  In the early hours after a kid is born, it is crucial for the kids to get their colostrum (a pudding-like milky substance full of antibodies and nutrients for the kid).  I fed him some out of a bottle, then helped him latch on to his dam.  The mama goat was really short, and the baby could hardly fit under her tummy to nurse.  He eventually resorted to laying down to get underneath her!

We kept waiting for the other doe to kid.  I got to feel her tight tummy, trying to feel if there was another kid or if she was contracting.  I had to leave at about 10:30pm, and there were still no more births.  However, I am still thankful for the opportunity to help with the newborn goat kids.  It was a sweet time!

Edna all cuddled up...

On the home front, I am experimenting with a new bottle-feeding schedule and some shelter changes.  I am especially trying to get the puppies to "bond" with Edna.  Although the puppies and the goat are only together with supervision, the new shelter arrangement allows them to watch each other 24/7.  Edna seems a bit more "tired" than usual, so I am watching her closely to make sure she is not getting sick or stressed from the changes!

Edna being "Protected"

Puppy and Goat Love!

Coming up next: To worm?  Or not to worm?

New Goat Ownership

There is something awe-inspiring about a tiny creature being entirely dependent on you.  The first full day of goat ownership was filled with many of these moments.

Edna seems to be thriving!  She frolics around the yard, her wobbly legs bouncing up and down as she chases me around.  It is amazing how she can climb (She is a goat!), and she easily jumps up into our troughs we use as flower beds.  She has also been socializing with the Pyr Pups (our twelve-week-old Great Pyrenees puppies).  "Blue Bell," the female dog, seems to be especially protective of her new "charge," licking Edna all over and showing attentive interest in her.

Kisses!

With Daylight Savings Time today, it seemed to take all day just to bottle-feed and care for the goat!  The lamb nipples are still working excellent for bottle-feeding.  I purchased them at Tractor Supply Company in a package of 3 for about $8.  I cut a tiny slit in the top of the nipple.  The milk drips out slightly when turned upside down, and it squirts out in a steady stream with the slightest bit of sucking! The nipples fit over a standard soda bottle.  I am using a glass bottle from a Mexican Coca-Cola, which makes it easy to heat the milk in the bottle.  At each feeding, the milk is heated to around 103 degrees, although I don't think Edna is too particular about the exact temperature.

Bottle Feeding! 

Edna has been guzzling down the goat's milk.  At her last feeding, she drank a whole 12 oz.!  I presume missing several meals yesterday has added to her greedy appetite...

Hungry Girl!

Shelter is still a bit of an issue.  The original "Goat Cave" on the front porch didn't seem to work out, so Edna now has a dog crate in the barn.  She has a "play yard" around her crate, but she is almost able to jump out of it.  So, if the weather stays cool, it will not be too much longer before she will be sent out to the big goat pen waiting for her!

Other points of interest:
I took her temperature for the first time, and it registered 102.7, absolutely perfect for a goat (normal temp is 102-103)!

Her nose seems a bit stuffed up, so I gave her a little bit of Probiotic paste (Acidophilus) to boost her immune system.

Taking care of a goat is hard work, but it is very rewarding!  It was a wonderful "first day!"

Home!

 Edna the Goat is finally on her new homestead!  She was picked up around 10:00am this morning.  Goat ownership has been wonderful so far, although not without its challenges!

As far as I understand, goats in Texas must be tattooed before they leave the farm they were born on.  Edna was tattooed with the 2WS (the farm identification) in her right ear and E4 (E for 2014, 4 for the 4th goat born on the farm).  This tattoo will serve as an identification of the goat, with "codes" for identifying where she was born and what year she was born.

The tattoo process was quite interesting.  First the numbers are loaded into the tattoo gun and tested on a piece of cardboard to make sure the configuration is correct.  The numbers are formed out of many tiny "needles."  The numbers are pressed into the goat's ear, puncturing the skin slightly.  Then, bright green ink is smeared all over the ear and absorbs into the punctures.  The excess ink will be wiped off in a day or so.  Although the tattoo may fade, it should be readable for many years.

In order to prevent the green ink from getting everywhere on the car ride home, I tried placing socks over Edna's ears.  It made for a cute picture, but the socks easily fell off!  Oh well! 

Ahhh....The joys of bottle feeding!  Both Edna and her owner have been trying to figure this one out!  She is being fed pasteurized goats milk for now.  Originally she was drinking from a baby bottle.  She would only drink 1 oz. at the most, and put up a fight every feeding!  After a couple of failed attempts, I tried a larger lamb nipple on a soda bottle.  This arrangement was much more successful and Edna downed several ounces at once.  There is still no schedule to it, except for trying every couple of hours, but hopefully that will come soon.

 Edna stayed in her goat cave for the first couple of hours.  However, it started pouring down rain and the arrangement got all wet.  Uh-oh.  So for now, Edna is staying in an enclosed area in the barn.  I plan to work out more permanent shelter, but raising a goat is just a lot of "trial-and-error!" 

Raising a goat is also a lot of fun!  Edna has the cutest little cry (I think she is looking for her real Mama.)  It feels so good to tuck her wobbly legs under her body and stroke her baby hair.  I look forward to the days and weeks ahead, watching her grow and watching me grow as well!  Warning: Character Lessons Ahead!