Tuesday, June 8, 2010

The Doelings are coming! The Doelings are coming!

You heard right folks, we are finally going to get out doelings this weekend! I'm so excited!!!!! I hope I can be a good goat farmer. After reading about how a sick goat is a dead goat, I'm kinda nervous. What if I don't take good enough care of them? What if they get into some poisonous weeds? What if coyotes get them? Oh, I'm making myself even more nervous. I had better stop thinking about it.

Hubby went back to work Sunday. Boooooo! Oh well, I had better look on the bright side, at least the bills are starting to get paid. Oh, and I get the bed to myself. YEA!!!! (To all of you girls out there that sleep with your husbands, you know what I'm talking about.Wink)

Our garden is starting to really look good. Four rows of beans, two rows of onions,over 80 tomato plants,(some that I have never even heard of before. I mean, come on, a WHITE tomato?lol)one row of beats, peppers,squash,zucchini, corn, potatoes(that aren't going to make it) and cucumbers. Wow! That's a bunch of veggies. Next year we plan on having our garden in a different place. Hopefully it will be bigger and laid out better. We shall see. (Am I the only one who plans on doing something, and then when the time comes to do it, there is no way that it is going to get done? hehehehe.)

I asked the question last week on weather you staked your tomatoes or not. Well, we have done both. When we don't stake them, they touch the ground and start rotting sooner. When we DO stake our tomatoes, the wind whips them really good and they break off where they have been tied. I'm not sure what we are going to do this year. Not yet anyway. We still have a while. I probably wont have to worry about it. The goats will get out and eat them. LOL!!!!

Another thing that I have been doing, is late spring cleaning of the house. There was more dirt in here than in the garden. But when you live in an old house that once was used for storing hay, what can you expect. At least it is looking like it's cleaner.

I've been practicing on the fiddle a little too. I'm getting better if I do say so myself. It's either that, or the dogs are going def. :) I just wish I had some music to play with. I can play with my Dad and uncles, but that only happens every so often. Not enough for a beginner like me. Believe me. Just ask the dogs.

Well, I had better get back to more cleaning. It just never ends.

So until next time,

Small Farm Girl, house cleaner and soon to be goat farmer.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been a goat farmer, and I currently have sheep. If they want to die, they'll die for no reason. You can't worry and fret about it. If they have a will to live (I had one breathing through her neck when a dog attacked her and slit her throat) they'll live. You'll be fine, just get good fences. Trust me!

Tonia said...

I have had a few sick goats and Very few dead ones over the last 7 years. If you have dogs in the yard I doubt you will have coyotes close enough to bother them.Unless its something really poisonous it probably wont do more than give them a belly ache. Goats are browsers and eat a little here and there. So unless they are just scarfing down massive amounts of something toxic they usually dont have much of a problem. Also weeds are goats friends. Alot of them are really good for goats and other animals if they will eat them!
I had all sorts of plans this year and... well... some of them got done...some are put off till next year. Just the way things go..

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Oh yes, that's me...plans on doing something, and then when the time comes to do it, there is no way that it is going to get done. Oh yah! lol!

You'll do fine with the goats. They are tough little critters. Get a llama and you'll never need to worry about their safety. Llamas will attack and kill a coyote or stray dog to protect their flock. They won't hurt your own dogs or pets, though. They're smart enough to know the difference.


Good luck!


~Lisa

V.L. Locey said...

You`ll do fine SFG. Goats for the most part are pretty easy animals to take care of. And if you do have any problems, you know quite a few goatherders that will try to help!

Can`t wait to see the doelings!

Aunt Krissy said...

What kind of goats? I just got into goats last year. I think that if if give your goats fresh water, plenty of room, good food and a dry place they will do fine. Thats what I have done and my goats are doing well. Lets not talk about being a new milker and the goats are also new at it. You can cry over spilt milk!

Anonymous said...

A goat farmer huh! I can't wait to see your goats. Don't you have to keep them in a fenced area? I have no idea. I just have heard they are great escape artists! But, what do I know. Are you going to make cheese? your garden sounds like it's really coming along great. You planted so many veggies. That's wonderful! I admire your energy!! ...debbie

Faith said...

I've raised goats in California and in Tennessee. Don't stress too much, they are pretty healthy animals. But you do need to pay attention to a few things. The two times I had trouble were when I did not understand the uniqueness of the areas I lived in.

In California there was a deficit of copper in our soil. Copper deficiency led to ill health, birth defects and death. I good mineral block was essential.

In Tennessee the parasite load is much greater. I lost goats using the same practices that had worked for me in CA. until I figured out how much I needed to stay on top of it. Here, worms and coccidia took their toll.

Talk to local goat owners near you and find out what you have to watch out for in your area. Also, find out from the owner of the herd what program her goats have been on. I suggest you keep them on that same program as they adjust to their new surroundings.

Goats are fun! What kind are you getting?

~Faith

duckidaho said...

We just got our goats last friday. A mamma and her two kids. We are having a blast. Plus a little milk for ourselves.

Mum of four said...

Hi. Hope you are well. How exciting to bo getting goats! What breed are you getting? I am not able to keep goats here (or anything else with cloven hooves), due to our dairy cows being a closed herd. I checked with our vet the other day, and he said I'd be stupid too! (Don't sit on the fence then! You tell it like it is!!) Enjoy your goats. I'm sure you will have no major problems, but if you do, you will work them out just fine. Good luck. Sarah xx

Sarah said...

Can't wait to hear about the new goat members of the farm!
You make me feel better! Just last weekend at my parent's I was going to get the bed to myself (b/c husband was staying at his uncle's to visit) I found myself looking forward to it, and then wondered if that was a bad sign, adn felt guilty! Nice to know I'm not alone!

Chai Chai said...

You are going to have so much fun.

Anil P said...

White tomatoes? I used to see them in the villages back here, not bright white, but more of dull white.

An interesting farm you've got yourself. Would've loved to see pictures of the farm.

The blog header is a lovely picture, the cow and her calf very endearing.

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Yuk, I just hate cleaning the house. I'd rather clean the barn and be outside with the animals and kids. bleh!

Your graden sounds great! You'll laugh at me, but I can never grow tomatoes as I am deathly allergic to their vines as well as eating raw tomatoes. Crazy, huh?

I hear ya on the hubby-bed thing, too. With my hubby only coming home once or twice a month, I am loving the extra space, quiet, (fresh air..haha!), and cleanliness. That's not to say I don't love the big guy, but a girl loves her personal space so very much, too. Right? hehe!


~Lisa