Last Friday I finally got the mama goats up on the stand and made sure all the working parts were working correctly. I decided at that point that I would let the kids have all of the milk for another week or so. Well, that week is up. The kids are doing well and it’s time to begin the milking schedule once again.
I will be milking every other day for a week just to ease them into the increased demand. I think that, barring any problems, I can milk once/day for the rest of the year. People have been asking when milk will be available. I tell them the kids have first priority.
Speaking of kids I noticed today that Rusty was trying to breed Domino, and she was letting him. At 6 months old he is NOW tall enough to reach. So I put him in the buck pen with his papa and the FatHead. Now several goats are upset with me. Starting with Rusty including Abby, Domino, and the two males he is now encroaching on. You would not believe the whining.
Rusty has developed a case of the scours. at first I could not see who it was and thought it might be one of the new mamas, since that is one of the effects of the oxytocin release when they first start nursing their babies. I don’t see any signs that it is affecting his health or mood. It may have been a bit of moldy hay I didn’t screen out in a feeding this week. I will need to keep an eye on him for the next few days and make sure he does get over it. And I still need to sell Rascal. He has fulfilled his purpose here. I can do with one less mouth to feed.
Speaking of his purpose, Alex’s goat Zoe has started to develop an udder, which means she is definitely pregnant. I calculated her due date for 5/4/2014. I will offer to do a full trim (nails and tails) so she can be ready for the event.
I tried soaking oats and sprouting fodder for the goats and chickens this last week, but I tried to leave the grains outside in the greenhouse and the weather has not been cooperative. Wednesday I moved the whole mess into the basement and so far I have seen absolutely NOTHING happening. I think that the grains froze and now will not sprout. I may need to just start over. This is disappointing in view of the fact that one of my kids may have the scours due to moldy hay and I have nothing different to offer them.
So, egg numbers for the week of 3/30/2014 thru 4/5/2014:
- Eggs collected – 53
- Eggs Sold – 7 dozen
- Cartons filled – 5
No ducklings so far, next month maybe.