Millie, the milk stealing goat

I have mentioned previously that our youngest goat (Millie) is still nursing her mama (Aurora) at 9 months old, and I am trying to stop it.  We were separating them at night, but it is so cold that they need the warmth of cuddling, so we are trying taping to wean her.  When you tape the udders, it is simply a piece of low stick tape you place over the teat, going down one side, covering the hole, and coming back up the other side.  This was working well, except that it made Aurora kick like a maniac every morning when I went to take it off, and again when I tried to put new on after milking.  

Saturday, my parents came up to stay the night.  I wanted to make pancakes for breakfast, and just needed 1 and 3/4 cups of milk to add to the whey I was using.  We have been getting 3-4 cups or more of milk a day, so I saw no problem and premixed everything except the milk in before I went outside to do my chores.  As soon as I walked into the goat shelter I could see her udder was empty.  The teat tape was completely gone!  Millie had somehow managed to get the tape off and drank all the milk.  She was quite pleased with herself and was happily munching on hay while I put Aurora in the milk stand.  After getting every drop I could, I still had less than 3/4 of a cup.  Before I headed back inside, I made sure to not only go up and down the teat, but also around that tape with another piece to secure it.  She was not getting my milk again!  Poor Aurora though, she hates that tape.  

Fortunately, I had more whey, and a tiny bit of milk in the fridge so I combined those and made the pancakes.  They ended up very flat, but tasted good. The good news is, I did end up running to the farm store and got a heated bucket, so at least I wasn’t breaking ice!  Best $25 ever spent.  

With goats, it is always something.  

No time for cozy, there are chores to be done!

Today is one of those days where you question your life choices.  At 7 a.m. while most people are warm and cozy in their home or office, I am suiting up and heading outside.  The sun isn’t fully up, and as I make that first step outside, milking supplies in my arms, I immediately feel my nostrils freeze and my lungs seize.  First, I go to open the chicken coop door, even though I know they will not come out.  Their water is frozen solid, even with the heated cinder block, so I put it outside run and check for eggs.  There are none, so I head over to the goat shelter.  

I forgot to put teat tape on Aurora yesterday after milking, so all it takes is one look at her udder to see that Millie - the 9 month old “baby” who is larger than her mother - has emptied it.  I get 1/4 of a cup, and resign to just give it to the cats.  I do remember to put the tape on today, and make sure to let Aurora eat all the grain before I let Millie the pig out of her side of the shelter.  Their water is frozen rock solid as well, and weighs a ton, so I haul it out of the pasture also.  

Gloves aren’t really an option when you use your hands as much as I do, so my fingers are frozen, my cheeks are burning and my eyes are watering as I walk back into the garage hauling the milking supplies and frozen water. As I fill a new bucket with warm water in my kitchen, I reminisce on the days of summer, when my morning chores took 15 minutes and I did it in a t-shirt and jeans.   (Have I mentioned that winter has not even begun yet?  It’s only December 15th…)  I head back out with the water for the goats and chickens, place them in their appropriate spots and watch as Aurora gulps the water.  Poor girl.  I look around the shelter and am glad that I decided to pile straw in their bed last night, but notice Millie is eating the hay we stuffed in the cracks to block the wind.  Goats.  

I trudge back through the snow and cold (I’m so dramatic, there is only 3 inches of snow, but it is well below freezing!), take off my boots and layers, and head inside.  I’m grumpy and I know it.  It’s nearly 9:00, I haven’t had my breakfast or tea, and I am frozen.  I realize I am writing the “for sale” ad in my head for the goats and stop myself.  No, I can’t give up.  I want to see their babies, and I’m looking forward to attempting to get more milk than last year so I can make yummy things.  I set my tea, clean the milking supplies, and make breakfast while I ask myself whose idea all this was, anyway.  Oh, right.  Mine.  

For now, I will enjoy my warm home and hot tea.  In a few hours I’ll be back out replacing the waters with unfrozen ones again, and I just may run to the farm store for that heated bucket later.  Maybe we should move the goats and chickens closer to the house, after all.  I’m thinking directly out the garage door.  Who needs grass?  

How we deal with a sick day

I woke up to Kayla’s pitiful voice last night telling me she was cold.  When I got to her, she was shivering and could barely hold herself up to walk, so I took her to the bathroom just incase.  It seemed to take forever to get her warmed up, even with her body pressed against mine under several blankets in my bed.  Eventually we moved to her twin bed, and slept on and off until morning.  Farm chores are taken down to "necessity only", so I let the chickens out, checked their food and water, milked and fed the goats, and filtered the milk for the fridge.  Feed the dog, the cats, and done.  I'm praying I do not get sick, because just these few things will be way more difficult when I am sick.

When the girls are sick, I let them stay in bed with books, Sparkle Stories, and an occasional movie.  (I wish I could do this when I am sick!)  Chelsey started feeling bad after breakfast, so she joined Kayla in their room for the Martin and Sylvia Sparkle Story, “The Crud”.  Appropriate, right?  Martin was sick in this story, and couldn’t do something special he had planned.  So thankful for our 15 day trial, we will be continuing it for at least a month after we finish the trial. 

After being up most of the night with Kayla, I didn’t have a lot of energy for detailed homeschool lessons, so Julia and I snuggled up on the couch in front of the Christmas tree with tea and blankets to finish our book, The Wishing Spell from the Land of Stories series.  It was a very good book, and once we finish some school related books we are going to move on to book 2 in the series.  We also started Meet Felicity from the American Girl history book series.  I love using these books in addition to our history curriculum.  Julia is currently learning about the end of the Revolutionary War and this ties in nicely.  She enjoys hearing stories that are written as if the person lived through it.  It is a much better way than the dry facts I learned (and promptly forgot) back in school. 

At lunch time, I went in to ask the girls if they were hungry.  Kayla was sound asleep, and I think Chelsey was as well, but heard me walk in.  Poor babies.

I guess if we are going to be sick, we picked a pretty good time.  The rain was relentless today, even the cats and dog didn’t want to go outside to play.  Lennon is our dog, whom we rescued from a shelter about 6 years ago.  He is a good, lazy dog.  Before my cat Daisy died, she tormented him constantly.  I’ve never seen a dog scared of a cat, but even without front claws, she had him terrified.  When Daisy walked in a room, Lennon would turn his head away and “hide” from her.  If Daisy came over to drink from his water bowl while he was eating, Lennon would stop and go to another room.  Up to the day she died, he was afraid of her and all cats.   When Miss Kitty came, she was such a different cat than Daisy.  She always wanted to rub against Lennon and he would yipe or run.  Today I saw this:

Is that not the most adorable thing ever?  It took over a year of Miss Kitty living with us for him to come around and not be afraid of her.  She will rub on him, and now even lay with him.  I had to snap a picture.  

Come dinnertime, I was so grateful that Kevin got me the Instant Pot for an early Christmas present.  There is nothing better than homemade chicken noodle soup when you’re sick, or in this case, turkey noodle soup I made with leftover frozen turkey from Thanksgiving.  I’ve only used the IP three times now, but I am impressed and looking forward to finding more recipes.  It took 20-25 minutes from starting cutting to finish for the soup.  Amazing.  Several of my friends have sung it’s praises for months, but I wouldn’t buy into it.  When Amazon had it on sale for $69 after Thanksgiving, we decided to take the plunge. 

The younger girls got to watch Rudolph while eating dinner, poor Julia was stuck with us adults talking at the table.  She wanted to watch Harry Potter, but it was already too late in the evening for that.  

It's been a long, tiring day.  I'm glad for it to finally be bedtime, and I'm crossing my fingers that everyone sleeps through the night tonight!  

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More goat breeding! Fingers crossed this is the last time...

A month ago, a friend came over to artificially inseminate our mama goat, Aurora.  Wednesday of last week was her expected cycle date, so we were hopeful that the AI had taken, and she was pregnant.  Monday, however, she was in heat worse than we had ever seen her so far.  She was yelling loudly, her tail was messy with mucus, and her tail was wagging (also called "flagging") constantly.

We could have had her artificially inseminated again, but I recently met a woman who is very near my house that just got a lamancha buck.  I connected with her, and she allowed us to bring Aurora over to her farm and see how things went.  With Aurora in standing heat, she was very eager and willing to accommodate her new boyfriend.  He was quite a handsome guy!  Unfortunately this is the best photo I got of the two of them, but he had such beautiful color.

After they accomplished their task a few times, I led Aurora out of the pen.  She was not happy to leave her new friend!  We began walking away to find the kids and next thing we knew the buck was right next to us.  He had jumped the fence and ran over to find Aurora!  I really hated pulling them away from each other, they were so cute.  My husband had the van that day, so I had to hoist her up into our Pilot, which is considerably higher.  I could have sworn I was going to put out my back, but I did not, and we were able to get home without incident (read; she did not pee or poop in the back of the car).  After the breeding, Aurora did continue to yell and search the fence line for a friend, but has now calmed down.  Fingers crossed this is the last time this year I have to transport a goat anywhere!  

Aren't they adorable?  I can't wait to see what the babies look like!!

Homeschool real-life lesson: Experiencing goat kids being born

Birth on a farm is amazing, whether it is a baby chick hatching under its mama, or a goat kid being born in the barn.  On Tuesday, my friend Melody over at Solstice Sun Farm invited the girls and I over to watch her goat have babies, and we were happy to have the opportunity.  

Amber, the mama goat, had been contracting all night the night before, but thankfully held off until about 10:00 a.m. before really progressing.  At 10:14 Melody sent me a message to head out, so we grabbed our things and hopped into the car.  Once we arrived, I could hear Amber vocalizing and knew she had to be close.  I got to the stall just as Melody was giving a little tug on the babies feet.  He had been in the birth canal for nearly 30 minutes at that point, so she felt like the mama could use a little assistance.  The baby slid out and was dried off.  I watched Melody take a little of the afterbirth and feed it to Amber.  She explained that if you do this, you can sometimes get the mama to “adopt” you, which makes her more willing to share her milk with you.  Amber did begin licking Melody, which is a good sign.

A few minutes later, the next baby came.  It happened much quicker this time, and slid out with no assistance.  The baby did need some vigorous rubbing to get her moving around, and some help removing the caul.  One boy and one girl!  Amber was only slightly interested in the babies, but more interested in eating the afterbirth.  Once the babies were cleaned up, we both took a baby and headed to the house to warm them up.  

On Melody’s farm, she likes to bottle feed the babies.  It is said to make friendlier goats, and also helps with stand manners once they have their own babies.  (I can attest to her goats being very people friendly and sweet!)  In order to do this, the babies are removed from the mom so that they form an attachment to the person taking care of them.  Instead of nursing, the caretaker milks the mama goat and feeds it back to the babies via a bottle nipple.  It takes a lot of commitment from the caretaker.  In the beginning, you need to feed the baby every few hours, even at night.  The frequency of feedings decreases, but you still need to bottle feed them for 12 weeks.

We were so excited to be able to witness the birth!  It was the first time any of my girls have gotten to see a mammal give birth (they have only seen baby chicks hatch), so it was extra cool for them to be there.  The whole thing made me even more excited for our own goats to have babies.  Aurora and Millie have both been bred, but we are not sure if either are pregnant yet.  If so, they should be having babies in early and late April.  

Farm update - November 4, 2016 Breeding the goats - Artificial Insemination...

I can certainly say I didn't know what I was getting into when we decided to get goats.  Of course we knew that you had to breed them in order for them to make milk, but we didn't realize how difficult that could be when you do not own your own buck!

Your options, if you do not own a buck, are to either take your doe to a buck, have a buck brought to your doe, or artificially inseminate (AI) your doe.  The first time Aurora went into heat, I talked to my friend and arranged for us to visit her buck, who was in "rut".  Oh my goodness, was that ever hilarious.  After I packed her up into a dog crate in the back of my van, hauled her over there, watched the (fruitless) mating session and, ultimately, her deny him, we were still without a pregnant doe.

Fortunately, my friend also just got a tank (I cannot recall what it is called right now) that holds frozen "straws" from a buck.  So, I looked through the online catalog (this was hard, considering I had no idea what we wanted from a buck, genetically) and finally chose one.  My friend bought the straws - we choose a nice Lamancha buck) and held onto them until Aurora went into heat again.

A doe cycles every 21 days.  I took that little fact to heart and really thought they would be like clockwork.  They are not.  Well, finally on Friday we noticed she was in heat again, and my friend came over to AI her.  I felt awful for my poor girl.  It seemed awful.  5 minutes and we were done, and now we wait!  If she goes into heat again we will know it didn't take.  AI is only about 50% effective, whereas the traditional method is more like 90%, I believe.  If it doesn't take, we can AI her again, or breed her to a buck.  Fingers crossed we have babies in 5 months from her.  We still need to breed Millie, and for her we may do a Nubian buck, I'm still not sure of my plans.  There are extra straws if we decide to AI her with the Lamancha.

This is the only photo I have of her that day.  I was trying to get a "before" picture for size comparison.  

Farm Update, October 28, 2016

This has been such a busy summer!  I can still remember last winter, sitting in our house and looking out at the snow covered field.  Dreaming.  Hoping.  Waiting for Spring.  At that time, we had just 5 chickens, a dog, and 2 cats.  And a large, empty field with nothing but weeds.  How things have changed!

Our field has been harvested twice now.  The first time we got 111 bales, and it was mostly oats.  It was terribly difficult to get rid of (and then after it was nearly gone, everyone wanted it!  Of course.)  The second cutting, we got a surprising 160 bales of beautiful alfalfa, and pasture mix.  Half the field is in alfalfa and the other half is a high quality alfalfa/pasture mix.  We sold 100 bales and kept 60 for ourselves for the winter.

The field today, after 2 cuttings this summer.

Kevin and I built this storage "hut" from cattle panels.  It held 61 bales, which will hopefully be plenty of hay for our 2 goats this winter.  It is a challenge not having a barn, or even a shed, but we are doing our best to make it work!  

Aurora is doing well.  She has improved so much on the stand!  She no longer fights me at all (unless a fly is bothering her.  Thankfully those are gone for the year)

Millie is as big as her momma already.  And still nursing at 7.5 months old.  I thought she would wean on her own, but no such luck.  I am going to have to make a sling to keep her from Aurora's udder during the day.  I still only milk in the morning at this point. 

Isn't Millie pretty?  I just love her spots and band.  That fluffy tail is adorable!  But those horns!  She was disbudded three times, and they still grew.  That is why one points forward, and the other points back.  

Both goats are ready to be bred, and I have even noticed good signs of their fertility.  A friend of mine as "straws" from a lamancha (frozen semen) that we will artificially inseminate Aurora with.  Millie will be bred to one of her nubian bucks the old fashioned way.  I have been tracking their cycles according to their signs, but we keep missing the window!  I am hoping this next cycle they will both be bred.  

The garden is pretty much done.  It did really well, especially the tomatoes and peppers.  There are a few carrots in the ground, and a lot of sweet potatoes that need dug up this weekend.

 We were doing so good keeping up on the weeds, until the last couple months.  There are even a few peppers in there we could still harvest.  

This was our "oh no, a frost is coming" solution.  We had the squash on the porch curing, so we put them in an empty cabinet we had in the garage.  Then we grabbed buckets and picked as many tomatoes and peppers as we could in the dark.  We actually didn't end up with a frost that night.  Our first frost was October 24th.  

The ladies have been enjoying the spent produce.  Tomatoes, watermelon rinds, and squash everywhere! 

Such pretty ladies.  They aren't happy that it is getting cold, though.  The egg production was amazing about 2 weeks ago, but has slowed down dramatically.  We are down to about 3-4 eggs a day right now, and I bet it gets to be even less next week.  We were getting up to 9 a day a couple weeks ago.  

We have them in an electronet fence.  The main coop is to the upper left inside the fence/kennel.  The chicken tractor on the right houses the bad rooster until we can find a home for him.  This weekend we will probably open the fence up to surround the garden so the chickens can get the remaining veggies and bugs. 

I love the fall colors.  You can see how the neighboring farms have been plowed.  That happened just a couple days ago.  It's so weird not to have that "wall" anymore.  

Miss Daisy's tree.  She passed away early this year and we planted a new tree with her.  I am happy to see it is thriving.  She loved Christmas trees, so we thought it was a good choice.

So that is the current farm update!  Lots going on, lots more to do to put the farm to bed for the winter.  Unfortunately, the chores don't stop in winter, and Aurora has already expressed her dislike for cold hands on her udder.  Poor girl!  I'll have to find a way to keep my hands warm on the walk out.  

Goat update

In March, we got our first goats.  2 Lamancha/Nubians, and I was so excited!  Once I started milking, my excitement waned.  It was not good, I posted about our milking woes here, here, and here.  Oh, and here.  And here.  Needless to say, it wasn't easy for me and I had plenty of challenges.

So, how are we doing now that it has been almost 3 months?  I don't want to jinx myself, but it has been better!  Here is Miss Aurora this morning after milking.  She loves her feeding time.  See her standing nicely?  It doesn't always happen this way, but the majority of the time, she is being a good girl.  She still tries to kick her back legs or dance when she is out of feed, or needs to poop...

I give her 1 pound of Dumor pelleted goat feed, and mix in about a half cup of Alfalfa pellets, 1/4 cup whole oats, and 1/4 cup sunflower seeds.  It is making her coat so shiny and she looks great.  I haven't weighed her in a long time, but I need to.  

I swear she looks like she's smiling.  :)  The pic is a little fuzzy because she was moving her head back to her bowl.  

Nom.  

After milking, I release her back to the pasture and let out her baby, Millie.  Millie is huge already!  I need to weigh her as well.  She is still nursing, so I only have to milk in the morning.  They crushed my dog crate that I was using to keep them separated, so I haven't been separating them.  Even so, I've been getting just about a quart a day, sometimes 3/4.  We really can't use more than that at this point.  My friend is going to teach me to make cheese and soap, I can't wait!  She is the goat queen and runs Solstice Sun Farm and keeps all Nubians.  We might be using one of her boys to breed the ladies in the fall, or she may practice with Artificial Insemination.  

Millie is a bit of a stinker.  Her horns, even though they were disbudded 3 times, have come back as scurs.  Thankfully they don't look bad, but she does use them to her advantage.  She also eats holes in the tarp, sticks her head out, tries to headbutt me, and is generally naughty.  I'm hoping this passes when she gets older.  She also loves a good scratch and some occasional bites of grain.  

I won't lie, I tried hard to sell them.  I listed them all over Facebook, because I just couldn't deal with the kicking and small orrifices.  I guess it just wasn't to be, because every interest fell through.  I've accepted that they are staying, and have gotten into a routine.  If she was still kicking as bad as she was, I would reduce the price and try harder to sell, but for now we are doing good.  

So many roosters!

In February, a friend hatched Barred Rock eggs for me.  Out of 24 eggs, 12 hatched.  And out of those 12, 9 were cockerels.  I purchased 3 Easter Egger pullets from a friend, 1 died, and 1 ended up being a cockerel!  Apparently this is the year of the rooster for us.  All said and done, we ended up with 10 cockerels and 4 pullets.  Insanity!

It has now been 17 weeks, and they are crowing.  It is adorable and soothing - maybe some of ya'll wouldn't agree, but I love the crow of a rooster.  (Ask me again in a few months.  ha!)  However, we only have 5 hens - 1 of which is currently broody.  That means, these poor ladies are getting quite annoyed at all the attention, and it is time for the extra roosters to go.

Aren't they handsome?  

I hate doing it, because so many of them grew up to be absolutely gorgeous, they all have a nice crow as well.  But I can't keep 10 roosters, and like I said, we have a broody hen sitting on 11 eggs right now.  *Please* let us have a better pullet ratio!  

A friend is processing her extra chickens Saturday and invited me to bring mine.  I am so nervous!  I have never processed a chicken before.  When we did the cornish cross, we took them to a local Amish family.  I guess it's time to "farm-girl up".  Ugh.  I'll let you know how it goes.  The temporary drop in the feed bill will be nice, and I'll be adding to my freezer supply - so that's good.  My hens won't complain about the break, I'm sure.  

This is why you don't go barefoot into the chicken yard...

I love being barefoot.  It's not always possible around here with all the glass in our field, but the yard is mostly safe.  We recently put the chickens in the yard so they could have shade while Lucy broods. Sometimes I forget, and go barefoot into the chicken yard, and this happens.

They were quite interested in my aqua toes and, let me tell you, they can peck hard!

Re-potting

Every year, I buy tomato plants. I have tried starting them myself, but the most success I have had is 2 plants making it. This year, I decided to try again and started... Way too many plants. This weekend I re-potted the seedlings that look too tall. 

I have 4 different varieties of tomatoes this year. Bonny's best, Amish paste, fox cherry, and riesentraube. This weekend, I only re-potted the Amish paste and Bonny best that were tall. About 25 plants. There are still a ton that will probably need done next weekend if not sooner. 

I couldn't find pots, and they are probably expensive anyway. So I used cheap meijer brand plastic cups!  If I'm careful, I may be able to reuse them. After poking 3-4 holes in the bottom with an awl, I put a little organic soil in each. Then Kaybug helped by putting eggshells, old coffee, and Epsom salt in each cup. 

I put each plant into the cup, added more dirt, then transferred them back to the sunny window. 

Hopefully they all make it! If so, I will have more than I need. It would be nice to sell some to help pay for all the organic/heirloom seeds!  Gardening can be expensive, but cheaper than the grocery in the long run!  

A full udder can be hard to milk

Saturday, my husband "taught" me how to milk. I had planned on not milking Sunday and taking a day off but I was too excited to see how it would go. So Sunday I got up bright and early, excited and prepared for the milk to flow like it had the day before.

Why do I think things might get easy?  Haven't I learned?  

Aurora had a nice, full udder this morning. That made the whole "grab higher on the udder" thing impossible. I had to go back to milking her tiny teat, exhausted hands, and hurting back. Once the udder was about half empty, I was able to grab higher and get a longer stream. Things did go quicker then, but it still took about 30-35 minutes to milk her out. An improvement for sure, but still a long time. 

I had Kevin milk the other side, while it was nice and full, to show him that it isn't always quite as easy as he had it Saturday. I had already been milking her for 40 minutes before he came Saturday, so she was nice and soft. He definitely didn't have as good of luck this time, but his hands do work better than mine because they are so much bigger. I have a hard time clamping down tight enough to keep the milk from rushing back up - which is bad for her. 

We still ended up with a quart of milk, but it was definitely not quick and easy as I had hoped. I'm going to stick it out a while longer and see if I can improve my technique and get better/faster. If not, I'm not sure what to do!  My hands and back can't take these long sessions daily. 

But first, I'll take a day off. One benefit to having a dam raised baby is that you can just not separate them and skip the morning milking, so that is what I did Sunday night for Monday morning. My body appreciated the rest. We will see what Tuesday brings. 

Homemade milking machine fail, husband win!

We have had the goats a few weeks now, and it has truly been a struggle milking Aurora every day. It takes 40 minutes for me to milk, and I get about 2-2.5 cups each day. I'll be completely honest here. It is not worth it to spend 40 minutes getting 2.5 cups of milk and having your hands and back hurt so much that you can barely make it through.

Friday, after forcing myself through another milking,  I decided to make a homemade milker and thought, if this doesn't work, I may have to sell the goats. I don't want to, I love them both and it's been a dream of mine for a while to have them. So I bought the supplies and the husband and I built the milker Friday night. 

Saturday morning, we woke up and I couldn't wait to get out there. This was going to be the day that I got half a gallon of milk in 10 minutes!  

No. The darn thing kept coming unattached, and even when I held it all in place it barely had enough suction to get a small stream of milk. This was NOT what it looked like online. 

After messing with the milker for 15 minutes, and Aurora taking it pretty well, I threw the thing to the side and started milking her the old fashioned way. Even I was faster than that contraption, and you still have to hand squeeze it. 

20 more minutes of me struggling to get my hands to squeeze the milk out, her kicking, etc and my husband says "can I try?"

Yes, go ahead. Please! 

I position myself behind the goat, hold her legs, and watch him get a few misfires. Then, out of no where, this glorious stream came out and went on for several seconds. It just floooowwwwed out. My mouth dropped open and I repeatedly said "no way!" as I sat in awe. I wish I had taken a picture of my husbands grin, he was so proud of himself. I did get this picture though. Gosh he is handsome...

He showed me how he was grabbing higher on the udder, where I was only milking her tiny teat. He milked for a few minutes, then I tried with the new technique. It worked!  All this lovely milk came out and she even kicked less!  We ended up getting a full quart of milk. 

Isn't it beautiful?

Sunday did not go quite as well, but I'll save that for another day. 

Gotta keep 'em separated

Have you heard that song?  I think it was by Offspring? Ah, my fun alternative "grunge" stage. My poor parents.

Anyhow, last night I put Millie into a dog crate inside the goat shelter. I have been getting 1/4 cup or less each time, and the no kicking was a fluke, if you remember my last post about that. Aurora is not a fan of being milked. I kept getting advice to separate mom and baby at night and milk in the morning. I finally sucked it up and did it. 

So this morning, I grab all the supplies and head out. I decided to bring an extra bowl, and a jar with a lid to try to save some of the milk when she kicks the bowl.  I should have gotten about 5 extra wipes, as well. 

Aurora used to hate getting on the stand, but now hops up eagerly and puts her head in the catch. Good goat, things are starting off well. I empty her food into her bowl and she eats like she hasn't had food in weeks. In reality, it has been 12 hours and she has unlimited access to Alfalfa hay. 

Time to get to work. There is no comfortable position to do this in, I have come to realize. At least not when you have to push yourself against the side of the goat to keep her still, while holding one of her legs and the bowl in one hand, and reaching past your arm to milk with the other hand. I am right handed, so I think I need to adjust how I have our stand situated. 

In several books I have read, they talked about "milking routines". Many people will play music, hum, or sing to keep their goats calm. After she kicked the bowl a few times, I started singing. It definitely calmed her down (and made Millie stop calling for mama) so I kept going. You're dying to know my song selections, I just know it. So here they are:

Hush little baby

ABC's

Twinkle twinkle little star

Old McDonald had a farm

John brown had a little Indian

Rock a bye baby

And any other nursery rhyme I could remember

After I had repeated each of these a thousand times, I began making up my own songs. I should start recording myself because I'm kind of a musical genius. 

When I stopped singing and focused too much on milking, she would remind me by kicking the bowl to the ground. Sometimes I got her so relaxed she pooped. Thankfully I am aware of the signs and removed the bowl as soon as I saw her tail go up. Three times she pooped!  This is why I wish I had brought more wipes. I kept knocking the poo off the stand with a wipe, and when she kicked me she would get mud on my hand and arm, so I needed to clean myself. Next time!  Live and learn. 

There were times when things would go really great and I would try not to think about how great it was, or adjust myself in any way, hand cramp be darned, incase it reminded her that she should be fighting me. During those times I felt like this awesome farm girl, milking and singing out in the pasture on a sunny morning. Ahhhh. Just as I start to feel confident she kicks me. Thanks for keeping me humble, Aurora. 

After 40 minutes of this, my back and hands could take no more. I released her, then released Millie and watched as she effortlessly finished milking Aurora. I thanked them both, and took my milk inside where I filtered it 4 times, once with a coffee filter added in for good measure. It wasn't dirty, but it did have hair in it and who knows what else so I felt better filtering it repeatedly. I put it in the freezer so it could cool quickly, then placed it into the back of my fridge. 

We ended up with 2.5 cups of milk before filtering, and about 2.25 after filtering. My daughters were so excited to see so much milk after my previous attempts that they all congratulated and praised me, so it's worth it. 

Seedlings

A week or two ago (I'm so scientific with all this), I started seedlings in these "jiffy" green houses. They were nearly $5 each and you still had to supply your own soil. 

So, yesterday I decided to use paper cups (I actually purchased them for this purpose and forgot I had them!), a toy box bin, and plastic freezer wrap, to start more. Can you ever have enough seedlings?  We plan on growing a LOT of tomatoes, and everything else. I wouldn't mind selling me a few plants as well. Organic, heirloom seeds are expensive!  

We will see how they work out!  

I have never been so happy to see 1/4 cup of milk

That's right. One quarter of a cup of milk. Less, actually but I'm rounding up to feel better.

Today I have had the goats for one week, and one day. I've milked Aurora twice a day for about 5 days and, as my previous post explained, it has not been pretty. As a first freshener (this is her first baby, and her first time giving milk) she has not learned any milking stand manners. Without manners, it is difficult to milk a goat, and almost impossible to actually get milk. 

Last night, I stared up at the stars, requested the universe help some family members that are struggling, and before closing added that, if possible, I could really use some help with the goats and the farm. Trivial things in the grand scheme, but you know, it doesn't hurt to ask. 

This morning I had almost decided not to milk her. Who wants to start their day off by failing?  But at the last minute, I grabbed the supplies, warmed up the wipe, and headed out the door. 

This is me staring at the shelter, dreading going in. I took a deep breath, unlatched the door, and managed to get past the two eager goats. 

A little coaxing, and Aurora was on the stand.  Push Millie off the stand, repeat, give up and let her stand next to momma. Wipe the teats (this keeps autocorrecting to tears. I almost left it) and begin. 

After a few squirts up my sleeve I realize I forgot to take my coat off. I'm wasting precious time here!  So I rip it off and go back to milking. Squirt the ground, squirt my leg, hey she isn't kicking me!  Squirt the bowl, her leg gingerly moves and I grab the bowl, but she doesn't kick. I keep going, switching from teat to teat after a few squirts, fully expecting the bowl to fly across the shelter and spill all my hard work. 

Aurora is gobbling up her feed at a quick pace, even with a mini basketball in the bowl and I mentally note that I *must* get alfalfa cubes soon. She finishes, and the leg jerks. I take one last squirt, grab my bowl and stand, running it to the opposite bench as fast as I can to save my precious milk. Back to the stand, apply teat dip, give her some good scratches and praises, and release her. 

We did it!  Maybe it's a fluke. Maybe she was just really hungry this morning. But I'm calling it a small success. I go inside with my liquid gold and decide to measure it and keep a record. 

We will continue to work on stand manners, and soon (I hope!) we will begin working on quantity by separating her and Millie for a few hours at a time. 

Baby steps. The human kind, not the goat kind, because those are leaps. 

Milking woes

Have you ever watched someone milk a goat?  It looks terribly simple. I have been told it is different from how you milk a cow but I have nothing to compare it to. I can, however, tell you that it is NOT as easy as it looks.

Photo for cuteness. They sleep *under* the bench we made for them. 

When Aurora and Millie first arrived, I decided to let them get used to their surroundings and not milk for a couple days. By day 2 or 3, they were adapting well and I knew I had to begin. 

This is Auroras first baby, which means that, other than the 2-3 times her previous owner milked her, she has never been milked. 

This is my first goat experience, which means that I have never milked an animal. Ever. 

I would like to give you first goat owners a piece of advice. If you're new to goats, and it is at all possible - get a second or third year freshener. Being a newbie with a newbie is HARD. 

Here is another piece of advice. Get or build a milk stand. Maybe you'll get a dream of a goat, who stands still and just lets you do your thing. But I doubt it.  So, Sunday evening hubby and I set out to make a stand. 

Here Aurora is already done and I have unlatched her, she is just looking for more. 

It turned out great and it definitely helps keep her in place. It does not stop her from kicking the bucket across the yard, or trying to lay down so I cannot access her udder, or squeezing her legs together. And she does all these things. 

Have mercy. I keep trying to tell myself that we are both new and have only been together for a little over a week. I need to show her and myself some grace. This morning I prepared everything, put on some doTERRA Serenity essential oils and went out. It went better. She still kicked the bucket, squatted, squeezed her legs together, and made it impossible. BUT!  I am getting the hang of the milking motion, was a lot calmer, and I am hopeful we are turning a corner. A positive corner. 

Please. 

Our first goats

In Indiana it is illegal to purchase raw milk for human consumption. You can, however, purchase it for "pet consumption". Standard store bought milk has enough issues that I no longer want to buy it. So what is a girl to do?

Well, I could buy a herd share and get my raw milk that way. But that would be too easy!  

So, we bought some goats. Meet Aurora and Millie. (Millie's tail is green from where her previous owner tattooed her. It is required for registered goats)

Aurora is 50% Nubian and 50% Lamancha with good milking lines. She is 1 year old and Millie is her first baby. 

Millie is almost a month old, and is 75% Nubian 25% Lamancha. And adorable. For a dam raised baby, she acts like a bottle baby. Normally when a goat is dam raised, they aren't real interested in humans and are skittish. We are doing our best to spend a lot of time moving on her so she doesn't get that way. As of now, she is quite interested in humans and will pounce me like she does her mama. It's hard to discipline her because it's kind of adorable. But we have to. *sigh*  I know it won't be so adorable when she is 80+ pounds. 

So far, they are adapting well to their new home. The first couple days, Aurora would bleat a lot - I am assuming she was calling for her friends and her momma, who use had never been away from. Broke my heart. 

Right now, I'm thankful Millie is milking her for me, because that is not going quite as well. More on that in another post!!

The chicks have hatched!

In late February, we purchased 2 dozen fertile eggs from a local friend who raises Barred Rock chickens. With high hopes, we transported them over to another local friend who offered to incubate them for us.

20 eggs went into the incubator, but only 12 hatched and survived. One of them is a "runt" and I'm not sure how long it will survive, but it has made it over a week so far. 

I am not sure why there are batches where almost all hatch, and batches were barely any hatch, but it is definitely a lesson to be learned. That old saying "don't count your chickens before they hatch" was right on. We were expecting at least 15-18 chickens and were very surprised when only 12 did. 

But, we are thankful to have this many!  I cannot determine the gender of them yet, but I hope we have some pullets in there and not all roosters. We plan to keep all pullets and 1 roo. Aren't they cute?

Last week, I picked up 3 Easter Egger when we picked up our goats. More on them later!  I just love the green eggs my current Easter Egger gives us. Maybe I'll add an Ameracauna at some point for their beautiful blue eggs.