Ready for spring...

2010-02-23T19:38:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, we survived the first major snow of the year. The dogs had a BALL in the snow. The field was pretty with the snowfall until Aslan, Snow, and Koda decided to play tag in it. After that it ended up being a mushy mess of course I got to walk through to go to the barn. They absolutely love it, rolling and throwing the snow up in the air. But then they hear a noise and they are on guard. When the thaw started, and the ice started falling from the trees sounding like glass breaking, they were all over the field trying to figure out who was doing the damage.

The barn held. I was so happy and impressed with the job my husband and his friend did. All we lack to finish it is installing the 3 windows we got from a demolished building, finish the siding on the left side, and then install the doors on either end. A neighbor has offered to do this for us, and when the weather gets warm we're giving him a call. The goats will appreciate it I'm sure! The dogs and geese, probably not so much. They won't have free access to it like they do now.

If you've never had a barn cam before, I urge you to do so. It saves many an unnecessary trip on many a cold night out to check on the goats. Turning the volume up let's me hear everything that is going on in the barn...and makes kidding time that much easier and more exciting without having to run to the barn every few minutes.

Taxes are done, plans are being made for the spring. First are about 3 loads of gravel, especially since the recent snows have demolished what was left here in the yard. It melded with the mud and now we have grass and not gravel. In 3 different places!! And I've already gotten the car stuck in the yard. Great....is it spring yet?

A couple of weeks ago we headed to my friend Dr. LaNita Flannary's office in Paducah KY to get BB castrated and get Esther the goat who was trapped under the hay bale checked out. Oh, did I forget to tell the tale of Esther and the hay bale? Well, on Jan. 20th it was pouring down rain. As I pulled back into the drive after picking my daughter up at school I saw that the round hay bale out in the filed had fallen over on it's side. The goats having eaten out the side of it and the rain having soaked it to the point it just caved in. I said "I hope no goat was trapped under there, and as I went out to feed and count heads I realized 2 goats were missing. The oldest doe Paris and the newly acquired goat (October) Esther. At that point I just knew. So I went to the hay bale where Snow the LGD was already sniffing around. Lifted it a little...mind you it is probably about 300#. And heard a wheeze. With all the strength I have, which wasn't and isn't much, I rocked it, and got it off of her. Bless her heart....couldn't believe she was still alive. After about 15 minutes of letting her catch her breath somewhat I carried her into my kitchen and we took her temperature. 109! I have never had a goat with a temp that high. EVER. I ended up putting ice packs on her pulse points under her legs, and just kept the AC on her. Believe it or not, after about 4 hours it was back down to normal and holding. But no idea about the kid(s). Well good news is we saw a heartbeat on the ultrasound and it was beating very well and strong!

Now for what else has been happening around here. Last Wed. we had a nice surprise. Snow gave birth to 2 male and 7 female pups! Sadly one was crushed the next evening, but other than that they are doing fine. So now we have 1 male and 7 girls left, and they should be able to go to their new homes around April 17th. We are asking $100 each fo them and we'll post pics as they get older on the website. They have had their dewclaws removed, and will be dewormed and have their first vaccinations before they leave. They are 1/2 komondor and 1/2 pyrenese and will be raised with the goats until they go to their new homes.

This morning we started out our kidding season on a sad note. Olson Acres Whispering Storm kidded with twins, but only the doeling survived. She is a gorgeous little light paint and we are retaining her for the time being.

We also picked up Ruby, the nubian who is bred for an April delivery. She is quietly making herself home here. She is a wonderful and easy tempered goat we hope to milk when she kids.

And then last but not least little nubian Holiday Magic is coming to the farm the middle of March, to add to our mini nubian herd.

We have added to our chicken population with 5 americauna pullets, 5 cinnamon queen pullets, and this weekend 20 speckled sussex straight run chicks. I also have a friend who is getting some welsummer eggs and after they hatch we are getting some of them. We are selling our phoenix and mixes and concentrating on the silkies and the layers.

As you can see things have already started hopping here at the farm..now if only spring would arrive!

Back to blogging

2010-01-18T14:49:00.013-06:00

Well after a few months of what I call microblogging...ie Facebook fan page and Twitter, I finally decided to go back to my blogging, but switched to blogger instead of the homesteadblogger site. You can still view my old blog at homesteadblogger, but I won't be adding to it, just follow the continuation here.

We should start kidding in March. I did end up selling quite a few bred does to LaNita Flanary at Flanary Keepsake Farm in KY and can't wait to see what she ends up with. We have reserved the right to buy back the buck she bought from us "Critterhaven's Court Jester" a gorgeous paint buckling, and one of Zorro's offspring, but I'm glad he is getting use on another farm. Too many mouths to feed here, and with hubby working 2 jobs it was a little hard to do it all myself.

So plans for the 2010 year here at the farm. Garden plans...Yay!! I love planning out a garden. Last year we moved the garden to a permanent spot in what was the old buck pen. It did extremely well and this year we plan on doing the same. Right now this winter it is housing the pot bellied pigs, and both Cheetah and Butterball are doing their part in 'donating' to the fertilizer cause as well as rooting up all the weeds that were there. This year I'm debating on some raised beds, but will definately redo the rows. Last year I did about 6 long rows, but this year I'm going to do the opposite and have many short rows. I think it will be easier to control the weeds that way. And I can rotate the veggies a little better.

The Egyptian geese should start laying this year according to the man I purchased them from last year. The plan is to make a more suitable and realistic habitat for them in their pen, which from what I can read will consist of a rocky bluff, old trees for crevices, and a sunken water hole for them to use as a 'pond'. It should be interesting to see how that will progress.

The silkies are OH so ready for their new pen! With the cold and then the rain, it was hard to decide where to put them and then when to move them. I decided to relocate them to the pen up front which held the young kids for awhile, but now they are at the barn so that pen sits empty. My biggest concern were the hawks which frequently fly overhead. I am looking for some netting to solve that problem now. They are divided into 2 pens now, and I'm debating on putting them all together to get the lovely splash color I keep ending up with now, or to put the white pair together and get a few more pure whites before something happens to my one white hen and roo. But that splash is oh so pretty!! I hope to be able to show one day at the state fair. They usually have so few entries in the silky category. I'll take new pics of the pen once we get it up and going.

Lancelot was after Auralia this morning, and that should be a very nice pairing. She has never been bred to him, and he is polled, so I'm hoping for some lovely babies. Seeing as how she is 7 years old we will probably retain any offspring she has from this point on, as she is our herdqueen and a beloved goat in these parts. Her daughter has the same wonderful temperament as she does, and is bred to Hot Spot who is now gone, so we'll be retaining her offspring also.

We are holding a contest on our Critterhaven Farm Facebook Fan page. Our new venture this year is opening up the farm to school groups and kids for a learning center of sorts. So we are having a contest to name our new venture. The winner will receive a prize of some sort. I'm leaning toward some good old cookbooks and some goats milk soap. Entry deadline is Jan. 31st and you can submit your entries via our facebook fan page. Or direct message us at twitter. While you are there follow us...we LOVE our followers!

Our newest addition to the farm is Koti. We were fortunate to be able to add him to our growing family. Small at less than 4lbs. at 4 1/2 months old, now at 6 months old he is up to about 10lbs. now and growing every day. He has a bad habit of sucking the end of his tail when he stressed or antsy, but we're hoping to cure that little quirk too. His main diet is fruit of any kind, but bananas are his all time favorite. He is also partial to canteloupe and watermelon, but we add in grapes, mealworms, granola, fig bars, and little handfuls of alpo along the way. Right now his cage consists of a 3 story Marshall ferret cage, but this summer we'll be building him an outdoor 'coatimundiary' off the back deck, complete with a swinging bridge and a LOTS of toys. He sulks when I take his stuffed animals to wash them, then rejoices when I bring them back like they are all new. He will be a big hit with the kids during our educational ventures.

Time to head out and feed before it gets dark. The chickens are calling, and I have miles to go before I sleep. Join us on Facebook and Twitter for the quickest updates on the happenings around here, but I'll be sure to blog a little more each day now that I have the template set the way I want it.

Til then...happy tails from here at Critterhaven!

Susan