Posted By admin on March 9, 2010
Well, the time had finally come. I wasn’t really ready for what was about to transpire. Yoohoo was looking a little different to me. I was concerned and called the breeder, Karen. She didn’t know exactly what to make of it but she did have several ideas. Later I went out to the the barn to implement her advice and when I saw her in the light I saw the signs of labor. I kind of giggled and then I was like WHAT!? LABOR!? I don’t know what I am doing! I called the breeder back and she kind of chuckled with me. She gave me some instructions and told me to call her in the morning with a report.
Yoohoo in labor
Well, I went out almost every hour to check on her. I was excited when her water broke at nearly 5am. Still, labor went on….all day and into the next night. After numerous calls to the breeder she tried to reassure me that everything was ok. Yoohoo was not under any stress. She was not screaming or grinding her teeth, she seemed very calm and focused. Never complaining.
After another long night the breeder finally came to the farm early Sunday morning. She was going to try to pull the kids out. Alas, it was not to be, and after deliberating we took her to the breeders’ vet in Clarksville. She had a C-section that afternoon.
Unfortunately both kids had died, probably even before she went into labor. I have been told on multiple occasions that goats kid without problems 95 % of the time. It seems anything I try that is new is usually met with difficulty and heartache. Firsts are hard. There is a learning curve and the “if onlys” will drive you crazy.
I am definitely way more apprehensive about Stitches going into labor. Yoohoo is home but still very sick. This week will be touch and go for her.
Y’all come back now!
Category: goats, homesteading |
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Posted By admin on March 4, 2010
I had a conversation with Mr. Winter, and for the record he doesn’t like to be called and “Old Man”. In our conversation I figured out that he doesn’t want to leave because everyone is complaining about him so much. We love the snow. We love the roaring fires in the fireplace. The hot chocolate and the hot tea are enjoyed in winter. Spring will be here soon enough and we will be busy and complaining about being so busy. So sit down in the easy chair with a good cup of hot chocolate and embrace Mr. Winter. He just wants to be loved…is that so wrong?
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Category: Uncategorized |
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Posted By admin on February 23, 2010
headed out
This weekend was so beautiful! 63 degrees and sunny, it was a taste of spring that we thought would never come. Hard to believe that the low tomorrow is supposed to be 19 degrees. Yikes. I was happy the warm weather was on the weekend so that Quinn could enjoy it with us.
On the decent
After church we went on a hike on the property. The boys love to go exploring! We headed down the slope and found lots of cool things.
small creek
following the creek
Bullet in on the fun
Look what I found!
I will help you Mom.
Icicles
Where the creek disappears
Look at this, Sam
It was a very cool walk. We saw lots of really neat things, like the creek disappearing. Jacob found a geode as well. We ascended the hill to the right of the last picture. Forgive me for not taking pictures on the way up, I was trying to breathe stay on my feet. We saw a bunch of mounds of dirt at the top and said that it looked like indian mounds. It was a fun day in the woods.
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Category: Family, Field trips, dogs, schooling |
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Posted By admin on February 22, 2010
Samuel had his 4-H Demonstration today. He did a fantastic job! He got first place for his grade level and topic.
Poster for his demonstration
The demonstration was “How to Make a Survival Kit”. He did very well with the speech part. He does very well with public speaking. Samuel said that he was nervous but you couldn’t tell. He was awesome!
demonstrating a tourniquet
Because he placed first he gets to go to County. The youth leader, Katie, gave him a few pointers about how to best use his poster(s). His was a beautiful poster but we know now how to make them better for the bigger competition.
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Category: Family, schooling |
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Posted By admin on February 17, 2010
The girls are settling in nicely. It is so nice to see them in the morning. They call out to me when they see me coming.
View from the barn
It has been so cold this winter but the good thing is that it also has been very pretty. This is the view from the goat shed early one morning in the snow.
Stitches
It is really hard to get a good picture of the girls now because they mob me when I walk into the yard. No more cowering in the corner…it is full on. This is Stitches. I make fun of her because she is quite the junk food junkie. She will do anything for a cookie or grain. She does not like to eat her vegetables very much. She would like me to hold the hay for her…Diva. I had to get this picture of her actually eating her veggies.
Yoohoo, breakfast!
This little girl finally has a name. We named her Yoohoo. She has a sister named Yodel so we had to rethink that. Yoohoo is perfect for her. She is a black goat with chocolate color on her cheeks and ears. She is a delightful goat. She loves her vegetables! She loves her grain and cookies but is not picky when I bring them hay.
Where are the cookies?
Life is so busy now but so much fun! I can’t wait for babies! Well, I can wait, but with much excitement. Yoohoo is going to be the first to have her babies sometime in March. Stitches will be due at the end of May. Stitches seems more like a puppy sometimes. Yoohoo is definitely a goat, and what a delightful goat she is.
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Category: barn, goats |
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Posted By admin on February 13, 2010
With the great incubation experiment over I can honestly say that I have learned a lot! After consulting with books, friends, and the guy at the feed store, I now know way more than I thought there was to know about hatching eggs. God knows it is best to have a Momma. There are so many factors that the hen takes care of naturally. Because I didn’t know what I was doing…even though I thought I did… I only have one tiny chick.
One little chick
This little chick hatched out of a green egg so I know his Momma was an Araucana. This is probably a baby rooster but we will have to wait 11 weeks to figure out if my prediction is correct. He did have a clutch mate that died last night. I knew that one was not going to make it because his legs didn’t work. It was very sad to see him flop all around. The guy at the feed store said that it was probably due to the humidity or the lack there of.
One cute chick
It is so sad seeing only one chick. It is kind of like a real life “Where’s Waldo”. If he is a rooster I will name him Waldo, if it is a hen her name will be Lucky. See if you can spot him.
Where's Waldo?
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Category: barn, chickens, homesteading |
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Posted By admin on February 8, 2010
Well, the chicks were supposed to hatch on friday. I had a very hard time achieving enough humidity. I was able to boost it a little and for a short time with small jars of boiling water to produce steam. I dreaded emptying the incubator so I put it off until after church on Sunday.
I came home and unpluged it and then lifted the lid to peeping. Three had busted holes in the shells. Two died in the shells and another started breaking through. At 6:30 this morning finally one of them broke free and then the other broke free around 10am. They are drying completely and cheeping loudly when they are awake.
Two little peeps
This was a huge learning experience for me. I know what not to do next time and not to give up too soon.
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Category: chickens, homesteading |
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Posted By admin on February 7, 2010
We have two new additions to Heaven Scent Farm. We picked up our new goats on Saturday!
Alpine Goats
The one that has white on her is named Stitch. She is the more social of the two. She is still pretty scared but will take food from my hand now.
Stitich and Yodel?
The other one that is all brown does not have a name but whatever we name her it has to start with a Y. We have been tossing around the name Yodel. Since she is an Alpine…If we think of something better we will let you know.
Yodel is very scared. She has not been handled very much so this is brand new for her. We let her spend the night with the crate we used to transport her in but when the boys and I arrived home from church she was still in there. She did not want to come out! Not even for a cookie. She would eat the cookie but not come out to get it so we had to remove the crate vertically. She was not happy about that but she calmed down after a little while.
Yay! We are goat people!
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Category: Uncategorized, barn, goats, homesteading |
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Posted By admin on February 3, 2010
Confusion.
The fencing is going up! The chickens are a little confused how some are on one side of the fence and some are on the other.
beautiful fence
The fence is up all the way down the hill and in the woods. After I took the picture I noticed the beautiful valley all covered with snow still. The fence might be finished by tomorrow but definitely by the weekend! Yipee! Goats are right around the corner.
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Category: chickens, goats, homesteading |
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Posted By admin on January 31, 2010
Well, the snow yesterday was too dry but as it began to melt a little today we were able to make it stick better to make a snowman.
putting on the finishing touches
This was the boys’ first snowman and the first snowman on the farm.
The finished man.
You know, it is not every snowman who can pull off ears and a sombrero.
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Category: Family, homesteading |
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