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Barnyard Buddies:  All Things Dairy (Goats, Cows and Sheep)  |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 05 2010 : 09:11:35 AM
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Never mind. I found it. It will be on it's way to you this afternoon.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Oct 05 2010 : 1:28:55 PM
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hi amy i give them alfalfa and black sunflower seeds not too much and molasses and DE. sometimes i use rolled alfalfa pellets if i have them. way less messy in the milk room. alfalfa gets everywhere. as long as my cow has really good grass hay and alfalfa and minerals she does great with quantity and cream. cream line goes down when grass hay quality goes down. i was just out and needed to pick up hay. we used some we had here for backup. her milk went down right away. just my thoughts happy days sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Oct 12 2010 : 3:02:15 PM
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it has been awile since anyone has posted here. so i thought i would offer a story on belle. well she is in her first cycle since calving. i decided to try my swivel pole in my yard. papa made it. WELL i clipped her on and went to get the phone. one minute later i am walking out to check her and she is upside down. oh man was i scared. in about one minute she wrapped the lead around her rear hoof. she had lifted the rear hing leg to unwrap the lead. in doing so she pulled her head down to her chest. she was so in trouble. i had taught her to stop and wait for cars and such. i grabbed her head and shook it and screamed belle wait. she froze i unhooked the lead off her chin and a 1100 pound cow rolled over on her belly. she layed there a minute. i said belle ya gotta get up girl and pushed. she rose and her leg was fine. boy the learn as we go farm learned. do no put cow on lead and leave her alone one minute. i am so glad the old girl is ok.. happy days here sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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windypines
True Blue Farmgirl
4260 Posts
Michele
Bruce
Wisconsin
USA
4260 Posts |
Posted - Oct 12 2010 : 4:14:12 PM
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Glad to hear your Belle is fine. Scarey. It would not take long for a cow to die either like that.
I have been milking again for 2 weeks now. Oh it is so good to have real milk and dairy products again. Summer had a heifer to boot. Little Ivy is doing fine, and filling out fast. No milk fever this year, thank goodness. I did have a bolus from the vet that I tried to get down her right after calving. The thing was about an inch wide, and 5 inches long. Trying to get that down her, at midnight, by myself did not work. About half got in her though, as it seemed to dissolve quickly. I did give her some epsom salt in warm water. That is supposed to help prevent as well. Something worked, so I was glad.
Good luck with your Belle
Michele |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Oct 12 2010 : 7:14:07 PM
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Michele, congrats on the heifer! I bet she's beautiful. It must be a year for girls. Good thing she didn't get milk fever.
Sherry, another disaster averted! These lessons sure are not fun are they? I'm so glad belle is ok again. So how many lives does a cow have?
I am getting more milk now. I think Abby was in heat. She is now over it. Roxie has been in heat since yesterday again. This sure is getting old fast. And I have to wait at least 5 more months to breed her.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2010 : 06:14:31 AM
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i think belle has many. she is such a great old girl. the act that she is ok is amazing to me. bless her heart. so we will breed her back next cycle. i am going to use the A>I> sticks i have of private pyle again. i am going to be sure to try to catch her early in her heat. we also give acv to help ph in hopes we can get another girl. we shall see. still no goats. you know i think betty can get no bigger and she does. i now think the babies in ginger must have been hiding the other day. she looks pregnant now. well see. very fyn. michele can you post pics. would love to see her. happy days sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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Candy C.
True Blue Farmgirl
823 Posts
Candy
Mescal
AZ
USA
823 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2010 : 3:25:34 PM
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Oh Sherry, I am so glad Belle is okay!!
Well, we took the little goat boys to the meat packer yesterday. I didn't even cry. They were sure bigger than we realized! The older one weighed 114 pounds live weight and the younger one was 97 pounds! Before we could even get them out of the trailer, the fella who works at the meat packer wanted to know if we wanted to sell them! Some guy from up north of here had dropped off a steer and a couple of goats and was looking for more goats. He sells meat at one of the Farmers Markets up near Phoenix and it seems he can't keep enough goat meat in stock to satisfy his customers. Since we weren't sure what we were going to do with almost 100 pounds of goat meat for just the two of us, we sold him the bigger one for the processing cost of $80. So instead of having to pay $160 for the two of them, we got our goat processed for free!! We could never get that much for a wether around here! Can't hardly give them away! Well, that is my update. The meat will be ready in three weeks after the aging is completed.
Candy C.
Farmgirl Sister #977
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. |
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amomfly
True Blue Farmgirl
658 Posts
Angie
LaGrange
IN
USA
658 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2010 : 4:17:04 PM
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Hey ladies I have a question. I have two bucks, brothers,and horned. They are both appr. 5 1/2 months old. These are my first bucks owned. I have been noticing more and more "fighting". I do not know what is I should do. I have Nigerian Dwarfs, these two boys are the begining of my herd to breed to my two females that are unrelated. I have their mom too. But will be looking to either sell one of these boys or just get a third. I got them at four weeks, along with their mom. We chose to leave these boys horned, are the horns the issue. Is it just how they will always be? They have a large pasture, two dog houses they use in bad weather. I put them on large pastures at least twice a week. But they are always together. The one, who aloso seems to be starting the worst behavior, is getting a bloody horn, often. Any advice is greatly needed and appreciated. All the books I seem to find either say little about owning bucks, or say not to because they never get enough room. I have worked hard to be sure the get plenty of room, play things and I pet them daily. Help!
God Bless
Angie-amomfly
#1038 |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2010 : 4:57:24 PM
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Angie, bucks are just going to do that. It's their way of showing who's the stronger one. They will get bloody too. Their horns might get knocked off or broken when they get to butting heads too hard. That just happens. Make sure you have some type of ointment spray to keep handy. What I would do since you only have 3 does is sell one of the bucks and get a wether to keep the one you keep company. Since they will not be in with the does except a few months a years, he will need a companion since they don't like to be alone.
Candy, that is great. What a deal. That meat should be really good aged that long. I can't wait to hear what you do with all that meat. Stew is really good.
Sherry, good luck with the goat girls. Should be soon now.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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amomfly
True Blue Farmgirl
658 Posts
Angie
LaGrange
IN
USA
658 Posts |
Posted - Oct 15 2010 : 04:28:20 AM
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Thanks Kristin, I thought that was the case. I have been using bag balm and or wound salve. I also found out hat my one doe is very much in heat. She has them really going. She is swollen,pink and a little flattened out. The bucks keep amking noises when they see her, pawing at the fence and then they fight. The one buck got in to her yesterday, so she may be prego. I didn't want that to happen yet, but I know how, I fixed that fence portion and all the rest has eletric around it so he cant get to her there either. We will also be putting another set of fence up w/ electricity that is putting them even farther a part. The doe is only like 8mos now, I wanted to wait till she was a least a year befor breeding her. I hope all works out with her. She is a really nice doe, nice breeding and a nice form. This is scary. Well thanks alot. I will work on selling the one buck.
God Bless
Angie-amomfly
#1038 |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Oct 15 2010 : 5:06:44 PM
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well howdy farmgirls, i think i can actually say betty boop the boer is getting a bag. so we MUST be getting closer. i know she my. she must have more than one kid in there. i hope they are boys.lol ginger i think is preg. she is getting a little udder too. yipee so jewel and i went apple picking today. what a fine day happy days sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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Candy C.
True Blue Farmgirl
823 Posts
Candy
Mescal
AZ
USA
823 Posts |
Posted - Oct 15 2010 : 8:18:43 PM
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Hey Sherry!
A bag is a good sign, hope she kids soon!
Candy C.
Farmgirl Sister #977
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Oct 17 2010 : 07:27:25 AM
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well i wish they would kid soon too. GKs are here. last night we cleaned their stalls and put them in for the night. no babies yet. happy days sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2010 : 08:35:45 AM
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Sherry, I hope they do too. They will when they are ready though. No use telling them anything. I am just now looking for bucks for mine. I am late. I usually have a buck.
Mazie is getting bigger every day. Her teats are hanging low so I notice them where I couldn't see them before. And we have 5 months to go.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Oct 20 2010 : 4:37:04 PM
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well this is a hoot. we know today that ginger is open. she is right on time for another cycle. so i am going to look for la mancha buck registered for her. i will breed in jan. we have long hard winters here. so one no babies and 3 to see. still looks to lisa and i that the boer betty boop is preg. so we shall see. then Marilyn looks preg. i also want to say that ebbie the one we thought had bottle jaw. well i think its thyroid. been looking on line and she is swollen where thyroid would be. jake is still needing to come amd do sophies horns so will check ebbie then. hope someone kids and soon. they get no grain just good hay and alfalfa. so they cant all be just fat..LOL many times LOL waiting for cold weather this weekend to kill all the horrible flies. then i am doing the 2 bucks then the fryers then the turkeys. want to get on with it. flies are horrible right now. beautiful day here fall leaves are so bright and colorful something ate a pumpkin. a perfect round circle about 4 inches around. like they spun inside and ate it. i left it. tomatoes are in. irrigation off. need to blow out the lines and pump yet.winter is here on sat. they say. i wish you and i knew how to post pics. maybe this winter i will learn kris. would love to see pic of maize and your place. happy days to all you farm girls out there sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Oct 26 2010 : 8:57:03 PM
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Hey Sherry. Any kids yet? I haven't seen you around. I hope that's why.
I am beginning to think we won't have any goat kids next spring. I am not having any luck finding bucks. I did go to some people not far away that has a farm. A friend told me about them. So I went to see what they had. It turned out they have a white Lamancha buck. But guess where they got it? From me. When I first saw him I said nope, I do not want to use another white buck. Plus I don't know who's son he is. Then I went to another place today about a Nubian and they didn't have any to sell or loan. So I am a little worried I may not find any. And time is running out.
Is anyone else having any luck with breeding?
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Oct 27 2010 : 07:17:05 AM
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goodmorming farmgirls, no babies yet. i am beginning to wonder if the buck shot blanks. we will see. kris i have been down. went to a house that the dryer had fabric softener going. made me very ill. no ambulance thats good. i just did my have toos. last night i moved some compost to one of the veggie gardens. it felt so good to get it done. we had snow and a big storm here on the west coast. si it will be coming you farmgirls east soon. still trying to find a buck for ginger, lamancha. would love a registered since she is. we shall see. i sure hope you find a buck. i may have to learn to A.I. really after calling the right day how hard can the rest be.lol hope you find your girls a boy friend too. any oregon farmgirls with a lamancha buck out there?happy days sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Oct 28 2010 : 07:22:13 AM
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I found a buck! I called a friend who has goats and asked her if she had one or knew where I could get one. She found a lady in Chickamauga with a beautiful black Lamancha buck but wants her to bring her does there. I can't do that because I am still milking. So my friend has an 8 month pld part Lamancha part Nubian bay colored buck she said she would bring here when she takes her does. She sent pictures and he's a handsome boy. She said she didn't think he was big enough to reach but he looks big to me. And from the back he looks more Nubian. So I can go ahead and use him for Sandy too. So I am excited! But I will be looking for some bucks to buy so I don't have to go through all this again.
Sherry, I am so sorry you got sick. I know how that is though. I can't stand to smell all that strong perfumy smell. I hope you find a boy for you doe too. Good luck. I think people must be eating all the bucks this year. I know we did!
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Oct 28 2010 : 07:31:14 AM
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wow that is great kris. glad you found a boy friend for your girls. i may have found one. was hoping for reg. though since she is. are you sure you want bucks permanent. i am sooo ready for my 2 bucks to be gone. stinky pushy boys.lol was your goat me good? i am needing to send you an email. so look for it. still no babies happy days sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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amomfly
True Blue Farmgirl
658 Posts
Angie
LaGrange
IN
USA
658 Posts |
Posted - Oct 28 2010 : 09:07:21 AM
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I am glad you found a buck Kristin! No babies yet Sherrye, that stinks.
The boys are always pushy, but I love them equally. I go out and rub on them and they love it, Hubby doesn't care for the smell!
God Bless
Angie-amomfly
#1038 |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Oct 28 2010 : 09:45:36 AM
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I was just thinking it will be so much easier to have my own and not have to hunt and borrow someone else's goat. I have a friend up the road that had plenty of room to keep them. Or they can stay in the pasture next door with mt cow girls. And this way I will know the health and well being of the bucks. And be able to care for them and trim their feet. Poor bucks are so often neglected so many months out of the year. AAnyway, that's just my reasoning on finding a buck and keeping it. Too much trouble hunting for one. I need easy right now.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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Candy C.
True Blue Farmgirl
823 Posts
Candy
Mescal
AZ
USA
823 Posts |
Posted - Oct 29 2010 : 09:45:26 AM
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Hope you girls get all your buck problems straightened out! We borrowed a Nubian buck from some friends from the Farmers Market. We had him for about 3 or 4 days and I put Madeline in with him during the day. She was acting like she was interested so I figured she was in heat. On the last day, she was no longer interested so I figured she had gone out of heat. DH just could NOT stand the smell of the buck so we took him back. Guess what!! About 3 days later she was in full RAGING heat and looking for Richard! LOL!! So, we had to go get him back! If it had been up to me, we would have just kept him for 4 weeks or so to make sure she didn't go back into heat. He has been doing his "job" for the past few days and today Madeline isn't interested again. Hopefully, we can just keep him for a few weeks to make sure she is bred. I am pretty sure she is but it's a pain to hook up the 4-horse trailer to transport one goat!
I gotta tell you girls, I feel like a real Farmgirl now. We have the chickens for eggs, the goats for dairy products, the garden for veggies, the fruit trees, and now we have meat in the freezer that we raised ourselves. We had the first goat loin chops for dinner last night and they were really good! I cooked them on the grill and then topped them with a roasted tomatillo "salsa" made with our tomatillos and served them with green beans from the garden and homemade rolls. What a neat feeling and a yummy meal!
Candy C.
Farmgirl Sister #977
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Oct 29 2010 : 3:41:10 PM
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Candy, that is great that you are raising all your food now. I love doing this. Just very satisfying to know where your food came from. That chop sounds good. Was it tender cooking it on the grill? We are going to be doing 3 roosters in the next few weeks, then 4 turkeys right before Thanksgiving. A freind is going to try to rig up a homemade plucker. That should help alot. I hope your girl is bred. I should get my guy in a few days. I can hardly wait. I know Abby and Sandy can't either!
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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amomfly
True Blue Farmgirl
658 Posts
Angie
LaGrange
IN
USA
658 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2010 : 07:34:29 AM
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Candy, how great to be doing all your own food. We grow most of ours too. I can't tell you how many times people say " yuck, your own chickens, how could you"! Whatever, It feels great to know where your food comes from and what it was feed.
Well I need to go to the barn. Everybody have a great day!
God Bless
Angie-amomfly
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Candy C.
True Blue Farmgirl
823 Posts
Candy
Mescal
AZ
USA
823 Posts |
Posted - Oct 31 2010 : 8:58:14 PM
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Hey all!
The chops were pretty good cooked on the grill. Not too tough, even though DH likes his meat cooked well done. They would have been more tender cooked to just medium-rare or medium. Tonight, I cooked a leg of goat, really good!! It took quite a bit longer to cook than the
"Joy of Cooking" suggested (for lamb) but it was way tasty and very tender. I think I might butterfly the leg and cook it on the grill next time. I am very impressed with the goat meat!!! I am already hoping for more "stinking boys" next year!! LOL!! I actually sold a shoulder roast to some friends from the Farmers Market today. Since the meat was processed at the U of AZ, it is USDA inspected and I can feel good about selling it. This might sound callous to some, but DH and I are saying that Chance is still a "good boy!!" Like Angie says, it is nice to know where your food comes from!!
Candy C.
Farmgirl Sister #977
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. |
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Barnyard Buddies: All Things Dairy (Goats, Cows and Sheep) |
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All Things Dairy (Goats, Cows and Sheep)
