A Journey Through a Different Way - Funny Story Pg. 69

[CoyoteMagic]

Oh my gosh!! Look at that baby's beatiful blue eyes!!!! Put her up in the tower now and keep the boys away!!!!

I'll take Cowboy off you hands! and the blue eyed baby too while I'm at it!!

 

[WriterofWords]

Glad to see you and thanks for the wonderful updates.

 

[ruth]

Thanks ladies - it's good to be back. I love that picture of Khloe with the cake on her face, she looks like a Kewpie doll.

Cowboy is my little "baby". I've spent several months bottle feeding him, holding him up to surrogate "moms" to nurse, trying every wormer, antibiotic, Kaopectate, food, no food - trying to keep him alive. He has had chronic diarrhea his whole life. Initially with high temps but he hasn't had a temp since he was just a few weeks old. I can get it stopped for a few days but then it's back again and he hasn't grown. He's 5 months old in that picture. Everyone, including all the other goats here, baby him. Now he's got a marble size bump on his bottom lower jaw right on the teeth line. Our vet is clueless as to what is going on. But he acts and plays like he's fine. He's such a sweetie and I've grown quite fond of him. Because, as you all know, I'm a sucker for an animal in need.

 

[RedStickLA]

Awww two more boys wow! That’s a lot of little bucks for sure. I am glad you were able to sell the four. I hope you get some girls from the other moms. Did y'all end up getting a disbudding iron to disbud the kids? I know John was looking at them in the catalog when we were there. I got mine…now if I can only get some does bred!

Mitzi

 

[ruth]

Quote:
Actually Mitzi, I've finally made peace with myself and my decision to NOT disbud any of them. I didn't disbud the two little girls Confetti had a couple of months ago and their little horns are just too cute. I know, I know, I've read and listened to everyone's opinion pro and con and have finally made my own decision. If I'm running an organic and natural farm and I'm not using vaccines, wormers, antibiotics or other meds on my food or animals, it doesn't make sense, to me, to cut or burn off the natural body parts of an animal for cosmetic or convenience or show. My little herd of 11 bucks and a matuer ram all have horns and I haven't had any problems. I may regret that someday but for now, that's the route I'm taking in part because those males that had the disbudding now have one or both horns growing back as scurs or stubs and I would have much prefered the beautiful horns to ragged stubs.

I know you and Cindy will probably someday say "I told you so" but for now, it's horns for everyone. By the way, I read that Europe has come full circle and doesn't allow disbudded goats in shows or dogs that have had their ears cropped or tails docked or animals that have been cosmetically altered. Seems they now want their animals au naturale - same with me.

 

[RedStickLA]

Hey Monique if that is what works for you then so be it! I know you never really liked the idea of disbudding them and in the end... it's your choice! I did not know that Confetti had two more doe kids.

What did they look like? I would love to see some pics of them.

 

[ruth]

Quote:
You asked for pics......

The two boys born yesterday - Gazelle's boys - one looks just like her, the other like Big Jack (da daddy???)

Goldie's boy - born about a week ago - "Little Boy Blue" based on those eyes. I had no idea she was pregnant, she's always been fat and her udder was absolutely flat. Sadly, she had two babies while I was at my granddaughter's 1st birthday party in Baton Rouge. She had obviously cared for the first born and possibly ignored the second because it was still in the sac, dead. Heartbreaking especially since she had just lost her little girl, who was 5 months old, and killed by an eagle, best we can tell since we happened upon the eagle eating it in the front field and it had just been killed. Not sure if you remember the pretty little golden girl, she was a single birth and quite large by the time the eagle (or whatever it was) killed her. She was almost the size of her mama and would have been almost five months old. Goldie kidded again shortly thereafter so I think her hormones were all mixed up and at first I didn't think her milk would come in/down but it did and he's doing great out running around with them all.

And Confetti's two girls - Patches and Princess - born in May. I'll have to get current pics of them.

 

[ruth]

I guess this part of the Journey is all about goats.

Here's Confetti and her two newest does born in May - Patches and Princess

Patches:

Princess:

And Mitzi - remember Betty - the one you and Cindy oohed and aahed over and said she had such potential? Well she's potentially pregnant again. She kidded in March only days before you were here and there have been no bucks loose since then.

But we also have:

Bella

Bitsy - for those that have followed this thread, Bitsy is the one that broke her leg right after we got her and we spent a lot of time and a lot of money trying to get it to heal and eventually had to take her to LSU medical school to have plates put in her leg. She had two babies 5 months ago also - a boy and a girl.

Mitzi, since you and Cindy liked Betty so much, I think Bitsy's baby girl, who I initially called Itty Bitty looks a lot like her - sleek and shiny but is growing so tall. Her mama still lets her nurse.

Question - do you see the same qualities in her that y'all liked so much in Betty?

Finally - here's my buck pen and my herd of worn out, stuffed full, lounging bucks right after being put in the pen so the girls could go out. Just like a bunch of men at Thanksgiving - sleeping it off with their guts stuffed full. So, since I keep them separated, is it possible they are breeding through this wire pen cause, if not, it's like Desi Arnez used to say "Lucy, you got some splainin to do."

 

[TwistedSerpent]

I have read a good chunk of this thread, and would just like to say thank you for convicing me to go keep chickens the way I wanted to from the start. I'm getting my first batch of chicks soon and I dont have time to baby them under a heat lamp before it starts getting cold, I need them to mature fast and be able to handle the Montana winter coming up soon, plus it just feels so much more natural. I fully expect to take some losses especially whil eI'm figuring out the predator situation here. My only wish is that I had more land, more money, and more time spent on farm life, but that could very well be in the future. I love your house and property too, I am very much a northern girl but if I was ever offered a place like that I would move in a heatbeat.

 

[Slinkytoys]

Congrats on the great looking goats. Oh, it's the male who determines sex, the female how many.
Slinky