What a beautiful day we had today! I spent most of it weeding and landscaping the gardens and yard. Tomorrow it's back to dehairing my cashmere. It's looking like I won't be able to get all of mine done before the outside cashmere starts coming in. I've got 36 fleeces to do. But, I'll get enough done to fill the CSA orders and a little more, then do others, then go back to mine.
I have 69 total goats now. 11 dairy and crosses, and 58 cashmeres. The kids are all doing great. I'm only keeping two of the boys bucks, the rest are getting "wetherized". One of them is white with a silver dollar sized spot on his neck, and the other is a pretty shade of brown with some neat looking facial markings. Both are nice square bodied kids. The white one is really stout. He's a chunk. He'll make good meat babies, along with the fiber. His parents both have outstanding fleece, so he should, too. The brown one isn't quite as stocky, but he has nice conformation and is just cute. :-) He comes from parents with great fiber, too. When I get decent pictures of them, I'll put them on here.
The baby chickens had their first day out in the big world today. They weren't quite sure what to do at first, but by the end of the day, they were having a grand old time out there. They are big enough now that I don't have to worry too much about a raven or hawk picking them off anymore. I'm so used to the Jersey Black Giant chickens we used to have, that these are looking a bit strange. They are Silver Laced Wyandottes, with two Golden Wyandottes in there as well. The golden ones are really pretty! I might have to get a couple more of them. It's nice to have something besides black in the poultry department around here. I'll be ordering turkeys again here pretty soon. I have a few people that want me to raise them a turkey or two, plus we want some for ourselves, too. I'm going to get some Naragansett ones this time. They are a heritage breed that gets to a medium size from what I've read about them. Somewhere around the 18 to 25 lb range. I might keep a breeding pair and let them raise a hatch or two.
My daffodils are blooming nicely, and the tulips are about to start. There are over 100 buds in the tulip garden again. It's going to be pretty! I'm going to start planting the vegetable garden this coming week. We had a couple of really good frosts this last week, so I'm glad I hadn't planted anything yet. I got the beds all ready to go. One nice thing about raised beds is they don't take long to get ready for the new season. The Square Foot Gardening method really works good, too. It's surprising how much food you can grow in a small space using that method.
Well, Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. Have a great day!
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
It's May already!
There are 28 kids all together now. They are more entertaining than TV! I have some nice colors out there, too. I was wanting more black kids so I'd have the various colors, and now there are 7 of them. They are getting hard to tell apart. Two of them are solid black with no white hairs at all. Both boys. One is going to be a little leggier than the other, so that will be how I tell them apart. That, and putting different colored collars on them.
There is a good range of shades of brown out there, too. So far the girl/boy ratio is even. That is unusual. Most years I have an abundance of boys. Especially with this many, but not this year. I'm glad!
The interns leave this week-end! They've been here for 8 months now. I think they've experienced just about every aspect of goat raising and farming. From breeding, to kidding, to having to put a couple of them down, to butchering one, to harvesting the cashmere fiber, even milking them. I think they now know a whole lot more about goats than when they arrived. :-) They also learned how to butcher chickens. A well-rounded venture into the world of goats and homesteading. I'm going to miss them! Now they are on to their next adventure en route to their own place some day. I wish them well! Heidi is on her way to becoming the best Special Ed teacher out there, and Colin is a wonderful carpenter and worker. They have both been a huge help around here. They made surviving winter around here much easier this last year. I'm pretty sure I got the better end of the deal, too. A remodeled kitchen, a closed in combing room for the goats, all the roofs vertical again after the 2010-11 winter made them all lean. A new dehairing room door, lots of help with fencing, pen cleaning (especially pen cleaning!), flower beds weeded, a whole lot of clean-up out in the woods/pastures picking up sticks and thinning out the trees, the ability to do a little traveling without worrying about this place. That was especially nice! It was so nice to have help around here! People that actually like the goats and have respect for them. Thanks you guys!!! It's been great!
I'm waiting for the last two does to have their kids, then kidding will be over for this year. I'm starting to think the one doe isn't pregnant anymore. There is no milk in her udder, and no bulge in her side at all, at least not enough to be a kid, I don't think. We'll see by the end of next week. The other doe is definitely pregnant, though. Hope the boy/girl ratio stays even!
Well, that's it for now...
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Kids are everywhere!
April was also the orneriest goat out there, so I don't think anyone is really missing her that much, except maybe her daughter Oreo, who just had a kid and doesn't have grandma to babysit like she used to. :-)
I've also had to really pull hard to get a couple of the kids out. They did come out in good order, though. The boy/girl ratio is even, too. So there are good things in with the not so good.
On the dairy side, I'm dealing with a bad case of mastitis, which I've never had before, either. What a year! At least I'm learning a lot, and so are H&C. They are getting to experience just about everything, both good and bad, to do with raising goats. I do have a really good looking kid crop, though. Some of the best I've had come yet. I think I have a replacement cashmere buck in there, too. He's a cream colored one, so that will be a nice contrast to the two black bucks I have now. He's a very solid nice looking kid! We'll see what he looks like as he gets older.
I'll be getting some good pictures of all the kids on the computer one of these days. They are on the camera, I just haven't taken the time to get them on here, yet. One of these days.....
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Kids are arriving!
The Kids have started popping out! The dairy goats are going first. Dottie had twin boys on Thursday morning around 5:30. Then Speckles had hers yesterday morning around 7. I totally missed that birth! I was out there at 6:30 checking on her, she didn't look like anything was going to happen anytime soon, so I went back to bed. Went out at 8 and here were two kids up and cleaned off and nursing already. Speckles must have had them shortly after I came back in. The only time I've seen her have her kids is when she was having a hard time getting them out, so she had them when I was there to help. Goats really do know when they are going to need some help, and when they can handle things themselves.
So now there are four kids, 3 boys and only one girl. i suppose I should use correct terminology and say 3 bucklings and one doeling. Now I'm waiting for Belle and Brownie to have theirs. So far they are just laying around looking ready to pop, but not doing anything. Belle I'm not too worried about, she's an old pro at kidding, but this will be Brownie's first time, so I want to be there to make sure she takes care of the kid(s) and doesn't have any problems having it.
I'm over half-way done with the combing of the cashmere goats now. There are 18 left to do. I was going to comb all afternoon today, but it started raining/snowing, so the ones that I was going to comb got wet. Since they still have all their fleece, they stand out in the precip while the ones that have been combed head for shelter. I might get in one or two combings if the rain stops pretty soon. Colin and Heidi have been helping to comb. They are getting pretty good at it. It goes much faster when there is a person on each side of the goat combing at the same time. The goat doesn't move around as much either, they aren't sure which way to go. ☺ I'm getting a good yield off everyone this year. Lots of cashmere to play with! I'll have more shares to sell than I was figuring on earlier. I think I'll offer some half-shares, too.
I've decided to go back to dehairing batches of cashmere for people instead of just individual fleeces. I'd rather do the individual ones, but so many have asked me to do batches, that I'll go back to that, too. Only 3 pounds at a time, though. The dehairing process is so slow that if a huge amount arrives at once, it just overwhelms me and I get disheartened. 3 pounds I can handle, it takes almost a week to get that done. I want to do the best job possible and return the fiber as guard hair free as I can, so that takes a lot of time. I do love doing it. I have the best job, being up to my elbows in pure luxury every day. I haven't run into any "bad" cashmere yet. It's all been of a good quality. Some has been better prepared than others, but after it's through the machine, it's all looking pretty nice. I've seen a good cross section of North American Cashmere now, and overall I think we have cashmere that is as good as and better than most foreign cashmere. Yea team!!
I think the only way it's going to really pay though is for regional groups of cashmere producers to get together and buy their own dehairing machines. Lots of mills can spin it, but very few can dehair it and do a good job. The dehairing is the slowest part of the process and makes the least amount of money for a mill. But if cashmere producers pooled their resources and went together and got dehairing machines, then that would speed up the whole deal. The machines don't take up a huge amount of space, I have mine in a 9 x 16 foot room and there is enough room to move around it and run it properly. They aren't hard to operate, you just have to be able to figure out what speed to run it for each fleece. No two fleeces go through at the same speed! The fineness and length of each fleece determine what the speed will be. It's actually an interesting process to do.
Well, now that I've written a book, practically, I guess I'll go out and check on the goats again and see if anything is happening. I'll post pictures of the kids after they are all born....
So now there are four kids, 3 boys and only one girl. i suppose I should use correct terminology and say 3 bucklings and one doeling. Now I'm waiting for Belle and Brownie to have theirs. So far they are just laying around looking ready to pop, but not doing anything. Belle I'm not too worried about, she's an old pro at kidding, but this will be Brownie's first time, so I want to be there to make sure she takes care of the kid(s) and doesn't have any problems having it.
I'm over half-way done with the combing of the cashmere goats now. There are 18 left to do. I was going to comb all afternoon today, but it started raining/snowing, so the ones that I was going to comb got wet. Since they still have all their fleece, they stand out in the precip while the ones that have been combed head for shelter. I might get in one or two combings if the rain stops pretty soon. Colin and Heidi have been helping to comb. They are getting pretty good at it. It goes much faster when there is a person on each side of the goat combing at the same time. The goat doesn't move around as much either, they aren't sure which way to go. ☺ I'm getting a good yield off everyone this year. Lots of cashmere to play with! I'll have more shares to sell than I was figuring on earlier. I think I'll offer some half-shares, too.
I've decided to go back to dehairing batches of cashmere for people instead of just individual fleeces. I'd rather do the individual ones, but so many have asked me to do batches, that I'll go back to that, too. Only 3 pounds at a time, though. The dehairing process is so slow that if a huge amount arrives at once, it just overwhelms me and I get disheartened. 3 pounds I can handle, it takes almost a week to get that done. I want to do the best job possible and return the fiber as guard hair free as I can, so that takes a lot of time. I do love doing it. I have the best job, being up to my elbows in pure luxury every day. I haven't run into any "bad" cashmere yet. It's all been of a good quality. Some has been better prepared than others, but after it's through the machine, it's all looking pretty nice. I've seen a good cross section of North American Cashmere now, and overall I think we have cashmere that is as good as and better than most foreign cashmere. Yea team!!
I think the only way it's going to really pay though is for regional groups of cashmere producers to get together and buy their own dehairing machines. Lots of mills can spin it, but very few can dehair it and do a good job. The dehairing is the slowest part of the process and makes the least amount of money for a mill. But if cashmere producers pooled their resources and went together and got dehairing machines, then that would speed up the whole deal. The machines don't take up a huge amount of space, I have mine in a 9 x 16 foot room and there is enough room to move around it and run it properly. They aren't hard to operate, you just have to be able to figure out what speed to run it for each fleece. No two fleeces go through at the same speed! The fineness and length of each fleece determine what the speed will be. It's actually an interesting process to do.
Well, now that I've written a book, practically, I guess I'll go out and check on the goats again and see if anything is happening. I'll post pictures of the kids after they are all born....
Friday, February 24, 2012
Happenings
All sorts of things have been happening this month! I had a great time on our "fibery" week-end get-away. It was so much fun to be with like-minded people. The weather wasn't the greatest, but it was okay. Got a lot of spinning done, ate quite well, and did lots of talking, well, mostly listening, on my part. I usually don't say a lot in a group setting.
I got a newer computer now. It's so fast compared to the old one! I didn't realize how slow and outdated my old one was till I started using this one. I am sometimes slow to accept change. Then other times I'm all for it.
It has been snowing a bit here and there. It's also got above freezing during the day, so the road is rather interesting again. Not too bad yet, but the potential is there.
The goats are doing well, except for Ariel. She aborted her babies 38 days early, then went blind right afterwards! Miss April really nailed her one day last week, and I was afraid this was going to happen. I was watching her carefully over the next few days, and sure enough, she lost the babies. Two little doelings. She pinched a nerve in her neck during the birthing, which has made her temporarily blind. I wasn't out there when she had the second one, I had gone inside for a minute, so I didn't see how she pinched it. She's starting to get some sight back. She can definitely tell light and dark, and she's seeing some shapes again. Poor goat. I have her in the grooming area so no one can bother her. She's got a pretty comfortable spot in there. I've been massaging her neck and giving her herbs to help her get her eyesight back. Ming had this happen a couple of years ago, too. She went blind for two weeks, then got her sight back. I do not know why this happens, but at least they come out of it. Ariel throws really nice fiber in her kids so I am very sad these girls didn't make it. One was going to be a tan color, and the other was a dark brown with a white stocking on one front leg and a white ankle bracelet on the other. Everything happens for a reason, so we'll see what that reason is at some point.
I have ended up with a very bad cold this week. I haven't been sick in years! This is not fun. I had forgotten what it felt like to be sick, I am ready to be well again. I've been downing tons of Vitamin C, Cayenne, Echinacea, and eating good foods, so I'm almost well.
I am now busy getting my cashmere processed and making things. Got one order for a customer done, now it's time to start on the next. The kids are due to start coming out in two weeks, so I want to be ahead of the game a little so I can spend time with the newborns. I'm starting to line up dehairing customers now, too. It's going to be a busy, fun year! I do love my job. :-)
Spring is almost here. Although up here it won't show up till sometime in April. We've had a pretty mild winter so far. There is 12 inches of snow on the ground here. There isn't hardly any at all down in the valley. All the fields are bare, the roads are clear, then I come home and it's all white. The avalanche danger is really high now for elevations above 4500 feet. We are at 4700 feet, but I don't think there is enough snow on the hill behind the house to cause an avalanche. The dogs run up there after deer and don't trigger any, so I think I am safe. Of course the deer have been going back and forth across there all winter and haven't caused anything.
I was watching Nellie today barking at a deer. The deer are not afraid of her at all. She gets within 5 feet of them barking her head off, and they just look at her and go about their business. Grandma deer taught her offspring well. She chased Nellie and Dani so they are afraid of all deer, for the most part. They bark at them, but if the deer turn towards them, they back off rapidly.
H&C's dog Ryder, on the other hand, goes after them and they run. He's not afraid at all. I think I'll employ him to guard the gardens this summer.
Well, that's it for now. Think Spring....
I got a newer computer now. It's so fast compared to the old one! I didn't realize how slow and outdated my old one was till I started using this one. I am sometimes slow to accept change. Then other times I'm all for it.
It has been snowing a bit here and there. It's also got above freezing during the day, so the road is rather interesting again. Not too bad yet, but the potential is there.
The goats are doing well, except for Ariel. She aborted her babies 38 days early, then went blind right afterwards! Miss April really nailed her one day last week, and I was afraid this was going to happen. I was watching her carefully over the next few days, and sure enough, she lost the babies. Two little doelings. She pinched a nerve in her neck during the birthing, which has made her temporarily blind. I wasn't out there when she had the second one, I had gone inside for a minute, so I didn't see how she pinched it. She's starting to get some sight back. She can definitely tell light and dark, and she's seeing some shapes again. Poor goat. I have her in the grooming area so no one can bother her. She's got a pretty comfortable spot in there. I've been massaging her neck and giving her herbs to help her get her eyesight back. Ming had this happen a couple of years ago, too. She went blind for two weeks, then got her sight back. I do not know why this happens, but at least they come out of it. Ariel throws really nice fiber in her kids so I am very sad these girls didn't make it. One was going to be a tan color, and the other was a dark brown with a white stocking on one front leg and a white ankle bracelet on the other. Everything happens for a reason, so we'll see what that reason is at some point.
I have ended up with a very bad cold this week. I haven't been sick in years! This is not fun. I had forgotten what it felt like to be sick, I am ready to be well again. I've been downing tons of Vitamin C, Cayenne, Echinacea, and eating good foods, so I'm almost well.
I am now busy getting my cashmere processed and making things. Got one order for a customer done, now it's time to start on the next. The kids are due to start coming out in two weeks, so I want to be ahead of the game a little so I can spend time with the newborns. I'm starting to line up dehairing customers now, too. It's going to be a busy, fun year! I do love my job. :-)
Spring is almost here. Although up here it won't show up till sometime in April. We've had a pretty mild winter so far. There is 12 inches of snow on the ground here. There isn't hardly any at all down in the valley. All the fields are bare, the roads are clear, then I come home and it's all white. The avalanche danger is really high now for elevations above 4500 feet. We are at 4700 feet, but I don't think there is enough snow on the hill behind the house to cause an avalanche. The dogs run up there after deer and don't trigger any, so I think I am safe. Of course the deer have been going back and forth across there all winter and haven't caused anything.
I was watching Nellie today barking at a deer. The deer are not afraid of her at all. She gets within 5 feet of them barking her head off, and they just look at her and go about their business. Grandma deer taught her offspring well. She chased Nellie and Dani so they are afraid of all deer, for the most part. They bark at them, but if the deer turn towards them, they back off rapidly.
H&C's dog Ryder, on the other hand, goes after them and they run. He's not afraid at all. I think I'll employ him to guard the gardens this summer.
Well, that's it for now. Think Spring....
Saturday, February 11, 2012
February already
It's already February! We got another 5 inches of snow last night. Now the goats have a fresh "dinner plate" to eat off of. There are a couple of feeders out there, but I also put little piles of hay out and around for the lower ranked goats to eat.
I have a question for you all that raise goats. How do you keep your bucks together without them fighting and killing each other? I had to put Hercules down because him and Midnight were fighting and Midnight won. He did some serious internal damage that I didn't realize until Herk was too far gone to repair. So now I'm down to just two bucks! Both black. Herk and Midnight were the same age, grew up together, and were kept in the same pen, except for breeding, when I took Herk clear to the other side of the place to do his job. After everyone was done, I put them back together and Midnight tried to kill Herk. I separated them as soon as I saw what was happening, but it was one blow too late.
So from now on, there will be permanently separate pens for each buck! Preferably on opposite sides of the goat areas, too.
Only 4 weeks to go till kids start popping out! I am getting excited to see what comes this year. What colors they are, and hopefully more female than male this year! There should be around 30 kids born, so I will probably be selling a few this fall, or next spring. I might wait till next spring so I can see how their fiber looks when I comb them.
I get to go on a "fibery" week-end get-away tomorrow. Six of us are renting a fs cabin down the Swan and taking our spinning wheels, etc., and playing outside in the snow skiing and snowshoeing, then spending the rest of the time spinning and visiting, eating and just having a nice relaxing time with our various fibers. H&C are going to take good care of this place so I don't have to worry about anything, just go and have some R&R. I'm looking forward to it very much!
The combing of the goats is going well. Glad they don't all shed at the same time! It's looking like a very good harvest this year. I'm getting to them on time this year, so the yield is much better. I got some free plywood that is in great shape, so we built a solid wall on three sides of the combing area, so now it's much better. The wind can't blow any cashmere away anymore. ☺ Or, I should say, I can now comb even if the wind is blowing a bit. The weather isn't playing quite as big a factor in the combing schedule this year. As long as the goats are dry, I'm combing.
Well, Happy Valentine's day to everyone...
I have a question for you all that raise goats. How do you keep your bucks together without them fighting and killing each other? I had to put Hercules down because him and Midnight were fighting and Midnight won. He did some serious internal damage that I didn't realize until Herk was too far gone to repair. So now I'm down to just two bucks! Both black. Herk and Midnight were the same age, grew up together, and were kept in the same pen, except for breeding, when I took Herk clear to the other side of the place to do his job. After everyone was done, I put them back together and Midnight tried to kill Herk. I separated them as soon as I saw what was happening, but it was one blow too late.
So from now on, there will be permanently separate pens for each buck! Preferably on opposite sides of the goat areas, too.
Only 4 weeks to go till kids start popping out! I am getting excited to see what comes this year. What colors they are, and hopefully more female than male this year! There should be around 30 kids born, so I will probably be selling a few this fall, or next spring. I might wait till next spring so I can see how their fiber looks when I comb them.
I get to go on a "fibery" week-end get-away tomorrow. Six of us are renting a fs cabin down the Swan and taking our spinning wheels, etc., and playing outside in the snow skiing and snowshoeing, then spending the rest of the time spinning and visiting, eating and just having a nice relaxing time with our various fibers. H&C are going to take good care of this place so I don't have to worry about anything, just go and have some R&R. I'm looking forward to it very much!
The combing of the goats is going well. Glad they don't all shed at the same time! It's looking like a very good harvest this year. I'm getting to them on time this year, so the yield is much better. I got some free plywood that is in great shape, so we built a solid wall on three sides of the combing area, so now it's much better. The wind can't blow any cashmere away anymore. ☺ Or, I should say, I can now comb even if the wind is blowing a bit. The weather isn't playing quite as big a factor in the combing schedule this year. As long as the goats are dry, I'm combing.
Well, Happy Valentine's day to everyone...
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Interesting Winter, so far
After two months with virtually no new snow, we got dumped on again, with 12 1/2 inches! It was really cold, too. Down in the single digits. Now it's warmed back up to 42 degrees today! The snow really settled down again.
It's been a rather sad January the last couple of weeks. Colin's cousin back in Vermont died of hyperthermia a couple of weeks ago while out hiking. H&C went back there for the funeral this week. My sincere condolences go out to his family. 19 is too young to die! At least he died doing something he loved.
Then this week in the severe cold, I had to put my buck Rusty down. So now I'm down to three bucks. It seems things go wrong when I'm here by myself, instead of when there are others around. The bus is having some issues, too. The propane isn't working right, so I turned off the tanks and am running back and forth, keeping the fire going in the woodstove to keep it warm enough in there. Luckily it's fairly warm out now! What with all the snow, having to put the buck down, and then the bus issues, it hasn't been that good of a week! But, I've got things pretty much under control again now. I'm all dug out from the snow, the goat is gone, the bus is warm, and I'm back to doing the cashmere again. All is well, once more. Till the next time. ☺
At least I'm finding out I'm capable of handling things, for the most part. After my initial panick attack, I figure things out and deal with it all. One thing about it, there aren't too many dull moments around here!
That's the update for now. Time to get to spinning again. More as it happens...
It's been a rather sad January the last couple of weeks. Colin's cousin back in Vermont died of hyperthermia a couple of weeks ago while out hiking. H&C went back there for the funeral this week. My sincere condolences go out to his family. 19 is too young to die! At least he died doing something he loved.
Then this week in the severe cold, I had to put my buck Rusty down. So now I'm down to three bucks. It seems things go wrong when I'm here by myself, instead of when there are others around. The bus is having some issues, too. The propane isn't working right, so I turned off the tanks and am running back and forth, keeping the fire going in the woodstove to keep it warm enough in there. Luckily it's fairly warm out now! What with all the snow, having to put the buck down, and then the bus issues, it hasn't been that good of a week! But, I've got things pretty much under control again now. I'm all dug out from the snow, the goat is gone, the bus is warm, and I'm back to doing the cashmere again. All is well, once more. Till the next time. ☺
At least I'm finding out I'm capable of handling things, for the most part. After my initial panick attack, I figure things out and deal with it all. One thing about it, there aren't too many dull moments around here!
That's the update for now. Time to get to spinning again. More as it happens...
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