Lowry B.

Our latest goat kid, born Thursday night, Feb. 24, just before my hip surgery, turned out to be spectacular! He’s every bit as big as the others and they are two or more weeks older then he. I haven’t seen him in person yet but Claire took these pictures for me. His dam is Cana (poor thing, she’s tiny!). She only has singletons and not only are they always born huge, but they always stay huge due to her abundant milk. I’ve named this guy after my surgeon, Lowry Barnes, M.D. I hope he’s not offended! (I don’t think I’ll even tell him!) Isn’t he colorful!

Mother and Son

First Place at First O’Rama!!!

Well, she’s done it before, but she was only a Cloverbud and could not be judged. They don’t judge you in 4H until you are a Junior. This was her first year as a Junior. Her first year being judged. And she won! Twice!

First Place, Fashion Review, Purchased Casual!

First Place, Fashion Review, Purchased Dressy!

Claire Introducing her Triplets

More New Kids

Cheatah had a set of twins today, bucklings named Kit (white) and Jesse (tan). She was so polite about it – having them in the middle of the day and in 69 degree temperatures. She obviously has much better manners then her sisters who both kidded in the middle of the night in 1 degrees. Kid total: 7 bucklings, 4 doelings, 4 deaths.

Can you believe how big these guys are at only a couple of hours old!?!

The Goat Drama Never Ends

Ted went out about 9:00 P.M. to do his last check on the does and found this pair, just born, out in the does’ pen. Their dam, Brook, is one we didn’t think was quite ready. They were still wet and quite cold and didn’t perk up as quickly as we wanted so we brought them in the house. It’s only three degrees outside! We’ve milked Brook and given each kid two ounces of colostrum. We’ll give them another two ounces in a little bit.

This is a doeling and her name is Frankie. Her core body temperature was low so she’s lying on a heating pad and we’ve been blow drying her. She’s warming up, though and is not as weak as she looks - just resting.

This big boy is Tommy. He’s doing well and is quite huge!

It always seems that some drama takes place on the coldest day of the year! Tomorrow will be in the 40’s and the kids will go back out to mama. Please, girls, no more kids tonight!

TWO HOURS LATER!!!!

No one ever listens to me!

I woke Ted up at 4:00 A.M., finally satisfied that the new kids were warm enough and feeling that they really needed to nurse their mama, and sent him back to the barn with them while I crawled happily into bed. He was gone a bit longer then I expected and when he returned, I heard “baaaaaaa”. I couldn’t figure out why he’d brought them back with him! “Two new ones!” he calls into the bedroom! Sure enough, when he went to put two back, there were two more.  This time, it was Meanie. 

Here they are after they’ve been dried, fed & given Goat Drench, and navels dipped. These are clearly ready to nurse and so, after just an hour, they are going back out. No names for them yet – two doelings – ClaireAnna was too exhausted to think about it. Kid total so far: 3 bucklings, 4 doelings. We're expecting more kids soon! Thank goodness we're not expecting any more cold weather for awhile!

(Names have been chosen. The white one is Olga and the red one is Piney.)

TWO HOURS LATER!!!

More kids! When Ted and Kate went to the barn to take the second set back to their mama, they found a third set of kids!

Third pair of the day.  These are Misty’s bucklings.  They are HUGE, healthy, and gorgeous!  They were born lively and vigorous but after a couple of hours with their mama, they were still icy cold and a little wet so we blow dried them too! The lighter one is Cowboy and the redder one is Justus. (After a friend with a red beard!)  Kid total: 5 bucklings, 4 doelings.

IT’S STILL ONLY 6 DEGREES!!!

A Visit From the Snow Geese

ClaireAnna took all these pictures today.  You can double click to enlarge them.  This is the first time we’ve seen a whole flock of Snow Geese on the farm.     
Today we’ve learned that Snow Geese come in two colors: white or blue/ grey.  The grey coloring is from a single dominant gene.  The white bird is homozygous for white.  Birds of either sex can be either color.  Mated pairs tend to be the same coloring but not always.  ClaireAnna’s made Punet squares to see what coloring the offspring will be based on the genetics of their parents. 
(We turn everything into a science lesson!)

Payback Time – The Blizzard of 2011!

Last night at 10:00 pm the skies were clear and there was zero snow on the ground.  We woke up to this much accumulation and we are expecting it to snow heavily for the rest of the day and into tomorrow.  I guess I’m getting my payback for making fun of all my northern friends during their latest blizzard!  Trouble is, we don’t even own a snow shovel!  And no street plows or salt trucks will be coming!  I don’t think I’ll even leave the house till most of this melts…….. on Friday…….when our temps will be in the 50s!  Nanny Nanny!  Ooops!  There I go again!!!
 

Superbowl 2011

ClaireAnna’s ready for the game!

Mini Mania Continues

We may not NEED a miniature cow, but wouldn’t it be FUN to have one!  We have friends who raise Dexter Cattle.  Dexter’s are much smaller then the average cow. They had a little heifer born last spring that is even smaller then their other Dexters.  So……we’re buying her!  She’ll just be our pet, to go along with our other mini creatures and be in the petting zoo!  Isn’t she adorable!  She’s only 8 months old right now, but she isn’t going to get very big at all and she’ll be the perfect size for kids to pet and lead around on a halter.  Her name is Ellie May.  Welcome to Harmon PFarms, Elli!
You can tell how small she is compared to Ted in this picture. 

FINALLY! THE KIDDING BEGINS

  Lola had triplets!  (One kid is hiding behind her.) This is her second kidding.  Her first year, she had twins, but she is one of triplets, so we knew there was a possibility.  She has a HUGE bag and we think she’ll be able to feed them just fine.  There are two buckings, Oreo and Icarus, and one doeling, Snow.  In the picture, Oreo should be obvious – looks just like his dad.  The other two are white with light tan heads.   Happily, this kidding went well, the kids were up and cleaned off by the time we found them.  All kids have nursed and seem vigorous.

Barn Fun

ClaireAnna and her two friends, Malcolm and Kurt Penka, just being farm kids, playing in the barn.

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Jes & ClaireAnna on a Winter Ride

Jes and ClaireAnna on Woodrow and Missy

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Goat Problems

Grace and Teddi Bear are still struggling, unfortunately. Grace has mastitis on one side of her bag so bad it feels like a brick. We’ve been treating it but it’s not improving at all. This is such a huge disappointment because she is our most valuable, highest quality goat, not to mention, she’s a sweetie and we just love her. Severe mastitis ruins a goat’s udder and now, even if Grace lives, she will probably have to be culled. It’s just devastating. Little Teddi Bear is nursing vigorously on Grace’s good side, but does not ever seem to be full so we are bottle feeding her as well. She’s a cutie and Claire just loves her. I hope she makes it. She will be Grace’s legacy. My evaluation: Purebred goats are a pain. Our hybrids are so much easier to care for, never get sick, stay fat, have vigorous kids year after year! So why are the purebred babies worth so much more?? Doesn’t make sense.

Post Script: Teddi Bear died.  She had no immune system.  Grace's bag never recovered.  She was sold as a non-breeding brush goat.

Who Knew ClaireAnna Would Love Basketball!??

ClaireAnna started Upwards in 2009. They offer basketball and cheerleading and since she had never tried either, she decided on cheerleading. She really had a great time that year. Then, later that summer, she attended a free, 3 day summer basketball camp at the same church. It was the first time she ever played and it really turned her thinking around. So for 2010, she played basketball. They had about 8 practices and 8 games and she just loved it. After that season, she said, “Now that I know how to play basketball, I would NEVER pick cheerleading!” This is her second year to play and she went from the youngest, least experienced on the team, to having a leadership role on the team this year. In game two, she made 20 points out of the 29 scored by the whole team! In Game 3, featured in the videos above, she made about 10 baskets also.  In the first two videos, she runs the ball down and makes a basket first try.  The third video is a little of her defense, then she gets the rebound and takes the ball down, attempts a basket, then runs back and more defense.  Final score: 36 to 24 Lady Wolf Pack!!!
FYI: Upwards is a low competition church league for kids who mostly want to have fun and learn how to play basketball.  It is decidedly and unashamedly Christian.  There are weekly Bible verses to learn at each practice and a half time devotion lesson for kids and parents at each game.  We LOVE it!   

Teddi Bear the Goat Kid

Our first kidding of the year was way too eventful for my taste. Grace, a 94% registered Boer doe and our ‘09 Grand Champion Market Goat, was bred to a neighbors show buck. We are really excited about her kids since they are sure to be high quality. She kidded last night about 6:30. Thank God Ted was there and checked on her again just before heading home from chores. Her first kid was born naturally but the second kid had her head bent back and was presenting us with only two, long, front legs. Ted had to glove up, push the baby back into the uterus and then manipulate the kid into the proper birthing position with her head forward. He then pulled the kid out but she was already dead. Thankfully, Grace did not prolapse, something common to goats with difficult births.

But the first doeling, now named Teddi Bear by ClaireAnna, was born quite weak and unable to nurse.  Here she is immediately after birth.

We had to bring her home, blow dry her to warm her up and give her some milked out colostrum. Then we put her back out with mama. This morning, she still hadn’t nursed, so we milked the mama again and brought Teddi Bear home to give her a bottle. Claire had a fun morning taking care of her.

No comments about what a wreck my house is. Ted’s been busy and I’m broken!

Teddi Bear had a nice nap on the kitchen floor with Claire’s hat for a pillow.

Here she is with her sweater on, just before we put her back out with her mama.

Grace was doing poorly this morning, so I decided to call in the vet. Birthing problems are not common in goats, but when they have them, it really knocks them for a loop. Grace had a fever, was dehydrated, not eating or drinking and having trouble standing. And trust me. A goat the won't eat is a very sick goat indeed. The vet came out and treated her for infection and hydrated her. By evening, she was doing much better and started to eat on her own and little Teddi Bear was finally nursing properly. We are still concerned about both of them since there is a chance that Teddi did not get enough colostrum and Grace may still not recover. But we are doing everything we can to help them through it. Lets pray the rest of our kiddings go more smoothly then this one!