Bad Farm Day

We took the kids in for disbudding. Most farms will do the disbudding themselves. I am too much of a whimp/city person to do it myself.

Disbudding is burning the horn tissue on a kid's head to prevent horns from growing. There are many reasons to do it. It makes the adults easier to handle, there is less risk of injury to another goat and to any human working with them, the goats won't get their heads stuck in a fence which can kill them etc. Some people opt not to do it. However, we disbud our kids and will continue to do so.

I have done it. In my 20's I helped to castrate and dehorn some calves. I thought it would be really cool! Once it was over tho, I felt sort of sick to my stomach to hold down an animal and cause it that much pain. I know it's for the good of the animal down the road and it has to be done. I didn't chicken out, I did the job, but that is where my city upbringing gets in the way of my love for all things agriculture. I was raised in the city with our pets inside and learned to take our animal to the vet and treat it like a member of the family.

I know that farmers and ranchers care for their animals and treat them well. They also are running a business and can't afford to make a living if they take their stock to the vet for every little procedure. Think about it. If you were running hundreds or thousands of cattle, it doesn't make much business sense to pay a vet for vaccinating, castrating or dehorning all these animals and using drugs for pain management when those are things you can learn and do yourself and the animals don't "need" those drugs to live.

I think of it sort of like circumcision in babies. It hurts them and it's traumatic, but the babies and animals get over it and don't have lasting fear or pain once it's over. Our kids are just as happy after it's done as they were before - they frolic and play and suck down thier bottles and come running to see us.

Anyway, we took our kids to be disbudded one year to our very favorite dairy goat farm of all time - Harmody Farms. After learning how and seeing it done to the kids - I decided that I did not want to do that myself. Since we have a very small "herd", I have the luxury of taking the kids to a veterinarian who will put them under general anethesia to burn the horn buds so they don't feel it. She charges $10/head so people will use her service and to me, it's worth it. I know anyone reading this who runs cattle or has large herds or was raised on a farm or ranch is rolling their eyes right now. When we only have 4 or 5 kids a year, it's just not that big of a cost to us. Just seems like in this world, you do what you have to do to feel comfortable and everyone does things their own particular way. It's not right or wrong - just different.

That said, we took all the kids in for their disbudding like we have every year. The vet lost one. She lost it because there was an accident. She felt awful. I know it was unintentional. However, Furry Husband and I felt awful too. It was our first kid loss. Hard to lose a fresh new life... hard to lose any life, but a baby that new was very sad to us. Especially since Sonata and I worked so hard to get all those babies into this world! It carries even more of a sting because the kid was a doe, does are worth more money and usually go to good homes with families that use them for their milk production or to children that show them in 4H and love them. This doe was the right color and sex for someone - she would have had a good home.

There is an old saying: When you have livestock, you are going to have deadstock.

It is so true, no one likes it, no one means for it to happen, but accidents occur, mistakes happen, bad things come around from time to time. I don't like it and I'm not happy about it. It was a bad farm day. There is nothing I can do except feel sad and at the same time look forward to the new life that Spot and Savannah will give us. We will enjoy the kids we still have and find the million other good things in each day.

And we have BABIES!

Yesterday Chocolate Chaud sort of picked at her breakfast when normally she is a chow hound and she was standing around looking "dumpy" vs. trotting around all full of herself so I was pretty sure she was going to pop yesterday.

Last night we got home and she was still standing around looking uncomfortable but no imminent signs of kidding. She didn't eat dinner at feeding time either. I started to worry about ketosis - a problem where the doe stops eating and can die but Chocolate's feed hadn't changed and she has remained a good body weight.

I was pretty suprised she hadn't shown signs of kidding yet. At 8:30, just as I was getting a good buzz on nice wine I thought - hmmm, I'd better go check Chocolate. Good thing I did cuz there was a long, clear, string of mucous hanging from her vulva indicating that kidding is well under way.

Was trying for a shot of the mucous string (we call it the shoestring) but it's not so visible.

Furry Husband and I started getting things ready. Iodine for navel dipping - check. Thermos filled with hot water so when we put the heat treated colostrum in and have to hold it at temp for an hour, it won't drop temp - check. Birthing kit complete with towels to dry off kids, shoulder length gloves and KY jelly if it comes to that, newspaper to wrap the placenta in - check. Teat dip made up for Chocolate after she is milked for the first time - check.

We went outside to wait. Dave called some people we know were interested to let them know babies were coming. I told him he should call our friend, Ms. K. "Ms. K? Hurry up or you'll miss the birthin' " and without batting an eye she replied, "I'll be right there!" click. 10 minutes later she was at our house and ready to help! We LOVE Ms. K!

Chocolate was taking her time and I was starting to worry that there was one HUGE kid in her and she was going to have trouble. Around 9:30pm she really started pushing and 2 tiny hooves showed up.

I don't know how much experience any of you have witnessing or helping with birthing animals. I've seen dogs and cats have litters and have watched horses on video/t.v. - all of them are pretty stoic and except for a some groans and soft grunts, they don't make much noise.

Goats are different.

Goats will SCREAM bloody murder at the top of their little goat lungs - I'm talking SCREAMS.

About the time the hooves showed up, Chocolate began screaming. I forgot how loud they can be, and inside the quonset hut - well talk about your acoustic chamber. I was beginning to worry something was wrong (I am a chronic worrier) but at this point there is no backing down.

Look closely at this pix - Chocolate is screaming to the left of Furry Husband and to the right of him, you can see the kid coming. In hindsight, one should not wear fleece pants - straw sticks EVERYWHERE.

That baby has to come! I grabbed the kids legs and would pull each time Chocolate would push... I knew once she got the head and shoulders out, the rest would be easy. The kid's nose arrived so I knew everything was going along normally so far. A few more blood curdling screams, some more pushing with me pulling and voila! An all black 8lb buck kid.

I thought he might be the only one but Chocolate began pushing again. Furry Husband took the new kid over to our nursery to be weighed, have his navel dipped in iodine and to finish towelling him off. I stayed with Mom for the second kid. The second one was much smaller and easier with a much quieter delivery - no screaming. A 6lb doe kid - she is so dainty and pretty!
I handed her to Furry Husband and Ms. K to take to the nursery and gave Chocolate a bucket full of warm molasses water. She gratefully drank it all down. Then I picked up the towels, shook them out, brought the birthing kit out of the pen, went inside to get the milk bucket and teat dip for Chocolate's first milking. She stood really well and gave us 3.5 lbs of colostrum. What a good Mom!

We heat treat the colostrum to 135 degrees in a water bath on the stove top, empty our thermos of hot water and put the colostrum in, wrap the thermos in a towel, put it in a cloth cooler and place it in a warm oven to hold the temperature for an hour. This kills any CAE virus that might be lurking in the milk.

CAE is harmless to humans. However, it is a crippling disease for goats that primarily affects their joints. They can carry the disease and not show signs of it and there is no cure or vaccine for CAE. We test our herd each spring for CAE, and to make sure that nothing is ever transmitted to the babies through the milk, we heat treat the colostrum, pasteurize all the milk and bottle feed the babies. Not only does this prevent CAE transmission, the babies LOVE humans and they are much easier to work with and handle throughout their lives.
Once the hour is up, we put the colostrum in bottles and head out to the nursery. The kids' nursery is in an out building that we use for storage. It has electricity, heat and is completely sealed from the weather. The kids hang in a stock tank with straw for the first week or two.

The colostrum is filled with the doe's antibodies giving the kids all her immunity until their immune systems begin to work on their own. The first bottle feedings are always really messy, the colostrum is very sticky and thick and gets everywhere. I think it's sort of like getting melted, french vanilla ice cream all over you.
Chocolate is fine - but dang her teats are SMALL! Look at your pinkie finger - that is what I'm milking with my big man hands. I hope they get bigger - at least the milk flows freely from them. The babies are strong and healthy. It was a great first kidding!

Heeere kitty, kitty, kitty....

Allrighty - think this blogging thing is going to be addictive!

Furry husband does not like being called "Furry" so much. Dunno what I'll refer to him as? Anyway, he is in Denver tonight for wine meetings, leaving me alone with about 100 bottles of wine....pinots, chards, cabs...you name it and it's here. I can hear them calling to me.... MMMM

I purchased girl products today. Lately, I've been trying to improve my appearance. Going from frumpy goat farmer to half-way decent member of society.

I had my hair cut yesterday - it is a new short stylish do - received lots o' compliments and two people called my hairdresser, Sally Ann, to make an appointment. I was a good billboard for her - just wait til they all see my hair tomorrow when I've had a shot at styling it!

I don't wear make-up very often. However, when I do, the product I have has been giving me a rash around my eyes for that oh, so attractive, diseased, sickly look. Either the product is old and a bacteria creeped in or there is something in that brand I'm having a reaction to.

I went out on a limb and bought some Arbonne cosmetics today from a fellow horse woman who lives in OK. She knows my trainer, there was a skin care party at my trainer's house involving LOTS of wine, I mean LOTS of wine. Now I've done gone and bought girlie items. http://www.dancinghorses.myarbonne.com/

I feel guilty for being a girl and being so 'spensive. I know I shouldn't but I do. I'm always thinking things like - the cost of this shirt is equal to 3 bales of 3rd cutting alfalfa hay or something like that. I only buy at consignment, thrift or discount stores...Ross, TJ Maxx, places like that. And I only get my hair cut maybe 2 or 3 times a year... but still, I am such a friggin' cheap skate and don't like spending the money on myself so much.

The drama of the evening and at our little farm is Split Pea Soup, our tortise shell kitty.

Let me preface. We have SIX cats. They are not barn cats, they are not outdoor cats - they are cuddly, purring, loved felines ranging in age, color and size. I have a soft spot for cats. Yeah, yeah, I know the chances of becoming a crazy cat lady in my 80s only increases with each cat.

Well Split Pea went to the dark side. We brought home one cat too many and she won't live indoors any more - we keep trying but so far have had no luck.

We have a heated outbuilding we use for storage. We put food, water and bedding in there for her - we turn the heat on in the winter and hope she'll be o.k. Figure a short, happy life is better than a long miserable one. For the most part, she sticks close by and follows us all around for our morning and evening chores. She gets a bowl of fresh goat milk when the goats are milking and she seems pretty content.

Well, a big tom saw how good she had it and moved in. He fought with Split Pea a few times before we trapped him and took him in for neutering and vaccinating. Since he is truly a feral cat, we turned him loose again. The neuter didn't help with his aggression toward our little dainty kitty. We discovered a pretty big wound on the inside of her thigh that needed doctoring and stitches.

She is picking at the stitches and opening everything back up - I have her locked inside, much to her dismay. She is hissing and snorting uncontrollably - I think almost to the point of seizures. But I'm not putting her outside to be another cat's bitch - well until she's healed up a bit more.

She isn't happy 'bout being locked up, the rest of the cats are all gathered around the door and between her hissing/snorting/clawing to get out and the other animals interest at what's behind door number 3, I'm guessing I won't be getting much sleep tonight.

Cat needs it's nuts cut and I don't give it another thought. I want some make-up that won't turn my eyes into diseased looking cesspools and I drive myself crazy with guilt. Sheesh!