Dairy Goats: August 2007 Archives

Not for me. Although I could use one. My feet are no good in the summer. Where I go around the house and yards mostly barefoot my heels crack and look aweful. I have to sand them down with a pumice stone almost daily. I really should treat myself but someone was in greater need than I today. Lilah's feet where in bad shape. When she came here one of her hooves had a broken place on the outer wall that I believe she sustained in route on her 5 hour van ride to our house. She has one hoof that has a case of hoof rot. Not good. It is/was smelly. Taking care of the hooves of my goats is a responsibility that I do not take lightly. I have read extensively and looked at photos on the internet almost daily. I need/want to learn how to do this properly. To properly stand on the legs without stress the hooves much be trimmed and sanded to a specific shape. Practice makes perfect in this case. A lovely young woman from our church came by tuesday afternoon to show me how to trim. Not only did she trim and treat Lilah's hooves for hoof rot but she trimmed all six of the goats. 24 hooves. That is a lot of hooves. It is also a heck of a lot work in the blazing sun. Every girl got a pedicure and a good painting of hoof conditioner and hoof rot treatment. They don't even know how very pampered they are. Lilah ate so much watermelon her lips were pink.

The guineas are really starting to grow and get some size to them now. They are slow eaters at times. They love ticks and other insects. They are very good at policing the area for parasites and other bugs. They are finally big enough that we feel comfortable letting them free range. They don't look like it int he photos but they are all bigger than a shoes box. A full grown size 10 shoe box. The barn door to their stall is opened every morning. They are free to come and go as they please. They know where home is and come back to it each evening. They are an excellent alarm system. The least little thing startles them (talk about being chicken) and they begin to scream and caw and shrill to beat the band. You always have a fair idea of where they are. They like high places and can be found more often than not on the roof of the poultry barn. Just before dark they begin making their trek back to the barn door and to their roost. We go out later and shut the doors. Not to keep them in but to keep night scavaging beasts out. Possum, raccoon, weasles and the like will feast on them. The turkey roost is right next door and I plan to have turkey at Thanksgiving. I do not plan to let some other varmit feast before hand. Which isnot really a feast because those animals would only eat the head off of them and leave the carcass for us to find the next morning. Last night we went out just at night fall to shut the doors. Our soft speech and foot steps did not go unnoticed. Over in the first section of the barn both windows are filled to the brim with nosey neighbors. I looked up and had to take a picture of these two silly goats. This is Cindy. She does not liked to be milked. We talk about the situation but she isn't sure about it. So we have to do things the hard way. I feed and protect her so I am the boss. This she must learn. I never milk her dry. Usually she gives me a quart and a half and I leave the rest for the two babies she really needs to wean. This is Lilah. She is my favorite. She just stands there util you are finished with her at milking time. She gives a whopping half gallon of milk every single morning. I don't milk her out completely because she has a baby who doesn't want to be weaned yet. So a little milk for the baby is spared. Silly goats faces. They make me happy.

It took the goats about 2.1 days to eat everything they could reach on all the trees where they are pastured. It is rather funny to watch them attack a branch of leaves. They wrap their tongues around a bunch of leaves and strip the limb clean in a matter of second. It is almost like watching something being sucked into a vaccuum cleaner. Sluuurp. And it is gone. So the kids go out in the evenings and hold down the higher limbs and let the goats munch and crunch for as long as their arms will hold out. You should hear the giggles. Steven isn't the least bit afraid. He seems to think the goats are purely for his own entertainment. This is one of my favorite photos of Gracie. School starts back on the 22nd. When I look at her I already miss her. I feel a little pang in my chest. 4th grade already. She is funny and smart and quick witted with a come back. She also has a very caring heart. She volunteers her time at the food bank once or twice a week helping to stock shelves and carry out bags for the elderly. She and J. have decided that it makes them feel really good to know they are helping someone who hasn't got the advantages they have. Back to the goats. I milk twice a day. Morning and Evening. 12 hour intervals. I get just a little over a gallon of milk per day. What do we do with it? We drink it. Cook with it. Make yogurt. Make ice cream. Make cheese. I plan to show you how to, too. But right now, I have to go milk. They are calling me. Yes, they are. They call me "Maaahhh".