We are back from the show and oh boy was that FUN!!!! I took my 8 year old daughter with me as my other daughter wanted to camp out with her grandparents. My daughter took our Obe milker out for showmanship as she's just such a sweet goat. Of course all the kids got something as there were no winners in that age group but she got the cutest stuffed goat and a book called 700 kids on grandpas farm and then of course a cute little ribbon. She just thought she was really something. I also let her show her dry yearling obe (who I helped nothing on and only brushed) and that goat gave Dakota a run for her money. She was on her back legs some and Dakota just yanked her down and went on. She ended up winning her class and Dakota was so excited as she got a 1st ribbon and $5. She just thought that was the coolest thing ever! Winning a class AND money. HAHA! But then when in the grand lineup I thought there is no way ...... this is Dakotas first time at an open show and that goat isn't even all dolled up. But ya know..... she went reserve! I was so proud of Dakota! It was so neat. And when Dakota got that big ribbon her face just beamed. She was so proud of her goat. She also got to show a couple of the kids that did ok and our heavy set dry saanen yearling went reserve but there were just 5 goats there. The kid that did win though was very cute. But oh man...... I was SOOOO proud of our milkers!! Here is how they did.....
GRAND, Best udder of breed, AND (drum roll please) BEST SR DOE IN SHOW! When they said her name for best in show I about fell over! I was so shocked and so excited! That was a totally thrilling moment for me. I was just stunned. And Gracious of course tried to eat the ribbon. That's all she cared about. But man oh man was I happy. I just didn't know what to say or what to do. I'm still a little like man oh man...... who'd have thought. I always knew she was pretty. HAHA! So now she just needs one more "leg" and she'll be a permanent champion. Talk about stoaked!!
So all in all we went away with 1 best in show, 2 grands and 3 reserve. And of course several first and seconds but that was all in the big stuff. My daughter just thought that was like the best day ever and was proud of her goat and all of them but mainly her own. LOL! If every show were like that I'd go to every one there was out there. HAHA! But we did just have a really good time. We got to sleep in the truck and it had a storm in the middle of the night and we had to move our truck so as not to get soaked as the windows were down. And we only got about a total of maybe 4 1/2 hrs of sleep at the most and it was all interupted by storms or goats hollering or something. But still it was a great time...... nothing like childhood memories. I hope that when my kids grow up they think of this stuff as fun and can tell the stories to their kids and maybe do the same stuff.
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I'm looking forward to yet another show. It's not all that far away and was the first show I ever went to last year. My first show out ever and my doe Gracious was reserve grand! Needless to say I was completely hooked. All my girls are lookin nice though so hopefully will do ok. Ya just never know though..... I might fall flat on my face. HAHA! I'm taking: Parsley our Oberhasli milker Prancy the saanen milker that was reserve at the bedford show Gracious who was grand at the show in Boone County Good who is 7 years old and just about 2 weeks fresh Janut who we're just taking for my daughter to have something to show as she likes the Obes and I like to show the milkers. She already has her "dry leg" and so I'm not gonna get her all dolled up or anything just gonna let my daughter show her and see how she does. Jazzy our yearling saanen who is kind of what one would call a leadbutt but still so pretty. Wild our recorded grade milker who doesn't look all that great but will still go to help those who are showing and it can be official. A couple of our saanen kids that are going just to get out there....should be fun. HAHA! But thats the list I think. I hope there is enough so that anyone who wins can have it count. That's what I like..... I'd rather lose and it be official than to win and it be unofficial. HAHA! |
I think I have found out why there are so many single women nowadays. They all must have short hair! HAHA! I was telling my aunt that this woman who has horses across the rd that she doesn't like me to help her husband as she is jealous of me. No idea why really as he's a LOT older than me (he's older than my mom even) and she's a really beautiful woman too. And the reason that I help him is because he lets us use his tractor a lot and he doesn't have anyone to help him sort out over 50 head of not so friendly horses and that's hard enough to do sometimes with 2 people! And she doesn't help him just doesn't want anyone else to either. Anyway I was laughing about it as I do think it to be funny as I'm just a plain ole housewife with 3 kids and a lot of goats and really don't consider myself to be anything fancy to where someone would get get jealous of me. When I told my aunt she said "well no wonder she's jealous of you with all that thick blonde hair you have!" HAHA! Not my smile or anything but my hair. HAHA! And that woman told her husband that if we ran off together she would hunt me down and cut off all my hair because I had more than her and her friend put together. Now I will say that I do have a lot of hair and it's thick and wavy with a lot of real light blonde highlights in there that just come from being outside as my hair goes down to my rear..... could you imagine how much time and money it would cost to pull all THAT through a cap?! HAHA! So after her talking about my hair and what my aunt said I think that the reason women must be single nowadays is for the simple fact that either their hair is too short or too thin.... LOL! Now if I could only think of a way to help all the hair challenged women out there..... giggle giggle.... |
Again sorry to brag but I'm really just relaying the facts. LOL! My saanen doe Gracious who I've always thought stole the show did this time. She went grand and there enough for it to be official so she has 1 of her 3 needed legs towards her permanent championship! Yippee! And my Oberhasli milker Parsley again went grand but there wasn't enoug for it to be official (explained in my last entry)so it doesn't count other than bragging rights but still.....And since you can only have 1 'dry' leg towards the championship and Janut had hers I wasn't going to show her except to make the count towards it being official and I just wouldn't stand her nice in the ring. BUT my friend was organizing the show and said that if there wasn't enough for it to be official and the win wouldn't count for anyone to bring it on. So since there wasn't enough for it to matter I did bring it AND..... we went grand. LOL! She told me I lost my parking space. Tehee..... It was a lot of fun. And the best part is that my husband was a real trooper and didn't moan about it too much. That was nice. I LOVED our friends camper trailer! It was so nice to be able to get a shower after cleaning and putting away the goats. It was AWESOME! I love that thing and it I had an $20K or so I think I'd have one but since we live in the poor house I don't see that happening any time soon. LOL!
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Every mothers day I have braced myself for the fact that my DH won't get me anything and that's fine but this year I had a request. That he go to a goat show with me! And he did. You have no idea how big that is simply because he hates goats and thinks showing is just silly. HAHA! So we are borrowing a friends camper trailer that's loaded to the hilt with full size shower and everything. So it won't be all so bad. Wish me luck! |
Sorry..... was that bragging.... anyway... we WON! 2 of my oberhaslis went grand. We took milkers and the jr class! And to top off that wonderful day there was enough for it to be official so they each have a leg towards their permanent championship! Now.... for those who don't show and don't have any idea what a leg is or what official means. Whenever you attend a show it is generally separated into jr does and sr does and then sometimes there will be a buck show also. So say that you have a yearling dry doe and there are at least 10 dry does then that is enough for it to be 'official' and it will count towards the permanent championship legs which there are 3 required. But say you go to that show and win grand and there are only 5 dry does then you may take grand but it won't count and you still need 3 legs. Same goes for bucks or Sr. milkers there has to be 10 of that breed at least for it to count permanently. So when I organized the show I tried to keep a count of how many there were in each breed so that way whoever won grand would be able to attain a leg. And by getting your permanent championship or permanent grand championship (requires a milking star which is attained by milking a certain amount and it being officially recorded) that makes your animals offspring worth more. And if they get their permanent and then their offspring do you can REALLy get excited! So back to the show! HAHA! We took grand with my Oberhasli milker Parsley (didn't I tell you she was beautiful? HAHA!) and my oberhali dry yearling Janut who is a total fox! HAHA! And with my saanens unfortunately my saanen Gracious who I think is just all that and a bag of chips didn't even win her class. But on a brighter note Prancy went reserve grand!! Woohoo for her as there were 19 sr does there! It was amazing. I was so excited. Thank you all for letting me brag.... I just had to.
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Only a couple of more days to go guys..... wish me luck.... I know I'll need it. I have found in my tack box (aka..... a rubbermaid locking lid container...haha) this awesome moisturizer which is really nice with the obes since they're dark skinned and have some flakies on them. It's through healthyhair.com (I think that's what it said as it's not here in front of me) and it's a conditioner. I've had it forever so the label peeled off but the web address was somehow still there so I plan on going there to see what it was called exactly other than conditioner or moisturizer. But I put that on a rag and wiped it on them girls and man did they shine! Glad I never throw anything away! LOL!
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Well, only a week till my first show and we're getting all nice and ready. And by nice and ready I mean shaving everyone. HAHA! I only had to shave I think 10 so that wasn't too bad. My bucks were actually my most well behaved! I was definately amazed as that was unexpected. My worst 2 were my dry yearlings and that wasn't a suprise at all as they think they are little goddess'. Hehe. And after their shaves that's what they looked like. Once all the hair was gone I trimmed their hooves and can't say that was enjoyable but oh well. I can't say that I really like shaving them all but man do they look good once they're done. At the end of winter they look like white hairballs and with all that gone you can see what your animal actually looks like! I must say that after looking at her Gracious is my best doe. Prancy though is awesome too. Her biggest fault is her teat shize which is large. Other than that she is beautiful. Gracious just has the body and udder and everything. I really like her. Then on to my Obes.... there are 2 that are just beautiful. My yearling and a milker named Parsley. She is just beautiful and will be hard to beat...... I'm keeping my fingers crossed! |
I mean so close I can taste it! I'm of course talking about the completion of my kid barn/pen. I have been working for what seems like forever although it has just been about 5 days. My mom came over and helped me get all the posts set on friday and since then I've been working on this thing as much as I can. It never fails though..... you walk out all ready to start work and you get into it baout 30minutes and realise that whatever it may be you don't have it. So therfore you have to stop and go drive to town and get it and then try to start all over. This morning for instance, I go out with the best of intentions and cut about 3 boards and found out that my saw was dull. Of course. Never fails it seems. I went to town and paid my electric bill, got hay, got dogfood and a new blade. Also I bought the hinges to hang my gate and from what I can tell there is nothing that I should have to buy any time soon! HAHA! I've got my fence up, my gate hung, the roof on (although 2 pieces were tacked on as it was starting to lightening and I've always heard that lightening and metal roofs don't mix LOL!), and it's fully enclosed. I have to make a door and line the gate with the 4"x4" woven wire and so little stuff like make hay mangers and feed troughs and a cute little window that will mainly be cosmetic but will also let some more air flow through. And then also eletrical will need to be ran which I'm not sure how that will happen. It would be nice if my husband would help me much but these are my goats and so therefore I need to take care of this all by myself or get rid of em. So since that isn't an option I'll try to be the makeshift carpenter that this requires. HAHA! I think that every part of me that can be is sore though including my poor thumb. I've done great so far but today my poor thumb got the brunt of my fatigue. HAHA! On the plus side though I'm beginning to get some real arm muscles! HAHA! I'm ready though for a break and once I get it to where I think that my little goats could live in there and not get out I'm gonna just relax and enjoy myself for a day or two........ oh I must be dreaming right? |
I'm sure all of you coutry gals out there know exactly what I'm talking about. The sale barn! My mom and I went to the not so local sale barn (it was an hour away) to take her stud colt and a total of 6 goats. I had 2 kids and a buck to sell as the buck was a donation to a livestock expo and so whatever he brings goes to them. My mom had a nubian doe and 2 saanen buck kids that I was done feeding as I'm running short on milk and they belong to her anyhow. Being there did make me realise that horse prices really have gone to total pot! Nice looking horses were bringing less than $200! I took Rowdy in and he's a double registered very nice looking mini stud. They asked if he was broke for anything and I said "yeah he's broke for breeding and does a great job and throws some nice colts." So the bidding was at $50! I told em I would see if he minded being rode and got on him and he just stood there and quickly went up to $130 so that worked out better. I don't think that my mom would have sold him for $50 as he was worth at least $300. But they have a gelding at home that Rowdy was fighting with and causing lots of problems so she didn't really want him home. But that's an amish auction and there was lots of good food and a LOT of people there. I of course had to have a piece of coconut cream pie as that's just my favorite. Then we tried the chicken tenders and french fries. Just so you all know..... mixing those 3 foods isn't a good idea. HAHA! My poor mom thought her stomach would explode it hurt so bad. But boy that was good pie. HAHA! |
Well, after some blood shed and sweat I finally finished my area of woven wire goat fencing. I was able to find the 4"x4" wire at Orscheln for only $190 for 330'! I was so happy as it was $230 at TSC which is an hr away but I didn't know Orscheln had it. I only put up about 450' or so but I've never done that before! And ya know what? It actually looks good! Much to my amazement anyhow. No one can get in or get it out now and no more neighbor complaining about his goats trecking that 800' to his house just to eat his shrubs (they never did that but that was his concern). I had a couple testers though..... the little buck kids tried and my wether Tucker who thinks more along the lines of a dog had to try it out too. Just in case there was a weak spot he was unaware of. HAHA! I think that tomorrow night I'll be heading to the sale barn with my kids and my mom. The auction is called Dinkys and it's over in a large amish community and they have some really good food there. And a bunch of pies including my favorite which is coconut cream pie. She has a couple of registered mini horses she wants to sell as she's getting overwhelmed. She's also going to be taking a couple of goats and I might too just to cut down on the chaos and so that I can maybe have some extra milk! HAHA! Lets just hope that people want some cute little baby goats.... |
The poor little colt didnt' make it. I'm not really sure what happened to him as he was fine when I went out before. There are a couple of things. Maybe his mom stepped on him or maybe he just didn't pass the muconium as I didn't give him an enema and I guess that is a big thing to colts. If they lay a lot they have a hard time passing it and it can become toxic and kill em. And I didn't think of that till my mom said it as I'd given it to my colt born here last year and the other one I tried tosave but that one just didn't have a chance. On the up note I did get to ride my horse today! Man I love her. She's such a good horse. I took her and rounded up the 9 little colts in my pasture as their owner was needing one of them because it is heading to texas. I was so happy with my mare! I tried to get them with grain but they could have cared less..... 9 colts in 33 acres of pasture. So I told him to keep my son and I'd take my mare and get em. Boy was that fun! Woohoo!! Got him up and in the trailer so that was a good day. At least it was a good ending to a bad start...... |
Today I was given the charge of a 1 day orphaned colt. His momma has no colostrum and I have goats and so..... here he came. I gave his owner a quart of colostrum which the vet tubed down him. I'm hoping he does ok as the last colt I got didn't make it although was in the sack way to long. This guys mom just has nothing in her udder at all. He wants to nurse and so I stuck him on my milk goats! LOL! he has chosen one in particular to nurse on which is a small oberhasli doe named Whipped. I put her on the stand and he goes to town. LOL! Can't say she loves it at all but oh well.... she'll get over it. So between going out to feed him every 2 hours and putting up fence I'm bushed. I think every part of me that could be is very sore and I have cuts all on my fingers from the fence. And the worst part is I'm not done! HAHA! |
Well, I guess you could say that I got a little ahead of myself and bought some fence and started putting it up without checking to see what type my husband wanted. Turns out he didn't like the horse fence because he says it made the place look like fort knox as it was the 2"x4" squares. So after having spent a few hours putting up the little strand (200') he said that he just didn't like it and wanted regular fence. Not this stuff. So I took it down today and we agreed on 4"x4" as it's good for goats and doesn't look like fort knox. HAHA! Fortunately for me Orscheln was really nice and said that I could bring it back. So first thing in the morning I'll be heading to Orscheln and then driving down to Corydon to get some goat fencing at TSC. Sounds like a plan to me. Lets just hope that the weather is good. I'm so sick of mud that I could scream. And my mud/water hating goats I'm sure feel the same way. I just hope that no one gets out of it and so therefore my neighbor will stay off my case. He lives several hundred feet from me and my goats got to his side of the fence as his grass is about 8" tall. Well he said that if the goats get out that they'll go to his house and eat his shrubs. HAHA! Yeah, why not walk that 1/4mile to his house just for them scrubs when they're thrilled with just the grass! LOL! We'll see how it goes I guess...... |
I got the first registry in the mail for the show I'm helping coordinate for the lawrence county livestock expo! I mean I have my own but this is the first one I got in the mail. I'm so excited! This should be lots of fun and I just can't wait to get going. I need to trim hooves and get my clippers in to the shop so that I can be sure they're on the up and up and sharp as can be. I don't plan on doing the whole body clip just trimming them up and shaving their udders and such. It's too cold to do the whole body stuff. Heck in Indiana the first weekend in may we could get snow! LOL! I'm ready to start showing I THINK..... think being the keyword.. LOL! |
Well, my poor little Hot Time didn't make it. I had went out and saw she was still alive and so headed to the vet to get what she needed. I bought her some tums for calcium and banamine for pain and propolyne glycol. When I got home I gave her the banamine and the propolyne and went to get her fresh bedding and when I got back she had already passed on. I think she had just had enough. She moaned in pain and when I got to the barn that afternoon I thought she just needed put down and I guess she heard me say that and took care of it for me without having me feel bad for doing that to her. She was a sweet and timid little doe and I hate that her life had to end this way. You always think you could have done something different even though that if you were talking to anyone but yourself you would tell them it was just meant to be. And that was probably true here too just still..... makes ya feel bad for her. But at least she had friends near her. The oberhasli babies from her sister had been sleeping with her to keep her company. So sleep tight little Hot Time.......
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Well my lovely Parsely had been bluffing. She knew I was wanting them babies out of there and thought she'd play some mind games. Needless to say she got a stern talking to about how it's not nice to treat momma this way and it's not good to cry wolf. All I got was a blank look..... think it sunk in? I'm thinking not. My poor sick little doe Hot Time isn't looking very good. She has milk fever/ketosis and isn't doing so very good. I'm not sure how long she'll make it but so far what I'm doing isn't working very well. I'm hoping that she makes a turn around as her body is locking up and she just doesn't want to eat now. She had been eating ok but seems to have stopped doing that. I put stuff down her to help out but doesn't seem to be working. So for those of you with goats, when the freshen and seem depresed for whatever reason start paying really close attention as I thought she was just glummy cause her little doe didn't make it. Turns out she really did have a problem...... |
Just had to share that my Obe doe Parsley looks like she'll be blessing me with babies tonight! Just had to share! |
Well one of my Oberhasli does has decided to become ketonic and so I'm trying to get her a little better. I've treated her with a dose of propylene glycol and some penicillin in case there is any infection inside. She's eating some hat and some small amounts of grain and drinking ok so that's good. I also gave her some probios and made her drink some sunny delight. I'm hoping that she gets better and know that she will it's just that at this very moment she looks bad. We'll see what happens I guess though just so long as she hangs on. Poor little gir. She freshened with one doe kid that didn't make it and has been bummed out since. Other than that all the animals are doing good. We're up to 31 babies so far including boers and dairy goats. I still have7 more to kid although 2 aren't due until may and june. The one in June is the one I'm really wanting to see babies from. She's one of my best does. I've got I think 6 babies so far that are going to be staying here: 1. Hickory Sticks OTC Evie Lee 2. Hickory Sticks Gracusakesalive 3. Hickory Sticks OTC Ello Lovie 4. Hickory Sticks Just WildNCrazy 5. Mortgage Hill NT Tiki Torch 6. Mortgage Hill NT Tinsel Town 7. Hickory Sticks Sneak a peak The one that is due in June is named Good and I'm planning on naming her doe Hickory Sticks GoodNPlenty and another due on May 15 her name is Popcorn and her kid will be Hickory Sticks Pop A Top. HAHA! Thanks all~ |
Well we got spoiled for a brief time here in southern IN. We had 80 degree temps for a week or so and all was great. Today it was in the high 30's and cloudy most of the day. Needless to say I wasn't impressed. HAHA! I had to go and get some square bales today and that was barrels of fun. Shelled out $44 for 11 bales. But from looking around at all the other hay out there this is the best deal. The bales weigh about 60lbs each and are pure alfalfa. Makes a HUGE difference in the milk production of my does. I have one named Blanco that is milking over 2 gallons a day! She's awesome as a milker. By the time it's all said and done here in about a month I should have cannons for arms though! Man between carrying around them 60lb bales and unloading 765lbs of feed every couple of weeks and carrying in 36lbs of milk twice a day..... if that don't do it nothing will. LOL! Hope all of you had a good day. It all in all wasn't a terrible day just wasn't my favorite. All are well minus one little oberhasli doe who I think will be ok. Just will take a little while. Kids are all healthy and my husband's been in a good mood and that's always easier! Have a good night all! |