Muck Boots

Everyone will tell you when you get a farm, the first things you'll need are fences. Nope, you need muck boots. I don't care if you have animals or not, of you'll garden or not, if you live on farm land, you need muck boots. What are muck boots? I honestly couldn't tell you exactly, but I've got some. They're sturdy boys, waterproof and they're somewhat easier to put on and take off due to a stretchy ankle bit and boot strap. All I know is you can step in all sorts of things in these boots, hose them down and be done with them. 

Granted, it's our winter right now and I've got the tendency of stepping in all sorts of stuff. I don't try to, the animals actually push me into it. But sure enough, these boots do their job. In the summer though, it's croc season. Some may say flip flops, and that's fine, too. I actually have croc flip flops so I'm covered either way. But again, you need shoes you can hose off and not wear in general public. 

Fine, yes I still wear them in general public, but I try to hose them off first. I'm lazy and if I've already got shoes on when it's time to go, then that's that. I generally smell of goats and cows and donkeys now, so it really doesn't matter if I've got added flavor under my soles. 

Rain Delay

We finally got some rain today! Boy howdy, we sure needed it. Although, we don't need these winds we're getting tonight!  Why do cold fronts in Texas always got to come in like a speeding bullet? Just weird. 

Because of rain, I'm late in all things pretty much today. I was late waking up, I was late getting this blog out, but I wasn't late in feeding the animals. Nope, I know better!

The workers should be back tomorrow and we're still on kid watch. I asked Cocoa when she's going to deliver, and she just looked at me bored. When I was due with my own kid, I was so ready for her to pop out!

Banding & Billies

I figured I'd get the educational blog out of the way for this week. As we still wait for the kids to be born (I'm guessing tomorrow since it's going to be raining and cold), I thought I'd share our thoughts on banding and billies. 

Males have it rough on farms. At birth, or shortly thereafter, it's decided whether a male will one day be able to reproduce or not. As we've seen how Nutty is during rut, and the fact he got the job done for the ladies, very few intact males are needed. Depending on how varied you want your bloodline, is how many billies you have. We're not into goats for their bloodlines, we're in it for their milk. 

So, most if not all of our bucklings born will become banded. Essentially a river band goes around the sac and it dies off due to lack of blood flow. It's humane and it makes them into wethers. The only males I would consider keeping intact to sell are those who are naturally polled (out of Cocoa or Caramel). I haven't decided how many wethers we'll keep as is not wise to count your chickens before they hatch. Or rather, count your kids before they're born. 

Looks and Brains

Still no kids yet, but soon! Anyhow, I just got to brag about my micro donkey Fancy tonight. This past week, we had the back portion of the barn, including the gate, blocked off for the animals in order to have the floor cemented. During the whole week, we were constantly coaxing the cows to come in the front gate. Every single night until the back gate was opened back up to them. They go out through the front and in through the back, there's just no other way they want to go!

Back to Fancy, now that the concrete is fully dry, anyone can walk on it. Well, Patches would walk on through the back gate and then back up. It took several treats to finally get her in her stall. But Fancy, she wanted nothing to do with the concrete. Instead, and I kid you not, she had a lightbulb moment and took off running. She ran clear around the barn and came in the front way! She even hee-hawed and was just so proud of herself for figuring it out! I sure love her and all my animals. 

Barndo!

As we end this week of blogs, I thought I'd update everyone on the barndo build. It's coming together fabulously and everyone is just doing a fantastic job. 

Interior wise, I believe we have all the walls up! We now know exactly where every room is and how big it is. Rob is a little disappointed in the size of his office, but all he needs is a laptop and chair, I think he'll be ok!

For the exterior, we've got it halfway done. The backside and the carport walls are up! Tomorrow, they'll either do the front or the remaining side. The ever present wind here will decided for them which it will be. It's difficult to get the colors right on camera, but it's burgundy with a dark grey trim. The roof will also be in dark grey and should look perfect for where we are. Let's just say we've got school spirit in more ways than one!

Next week, there will be even more greatness to share. In the meantime, we're on goat watch and ready to welcome all the new kids!

Polled, Disbudded or Horned

As we're approaching the start of our goat kidding season, I thought I'd share a little information about goats and their horns. Forgive me if I've mentioned this before. 

We have two females that are polled, Cocoa and Caramel. This means they were born without horns. When someone wants a goat that is Disbudded, this means they want the kids to have their horns cauterized to prevent further growth. Horned means they stay natural with their horns. 

A lot of people will mix up polled versus disbudded and a lot of people prefer their goats to not have horns. Why? The people want to protect themselves from the head butting goats do at times. Also, several people are misinformed about horns claiming they aren't necessary. I disagree and I keep the horns for the goats I currently have. Most likely, I will refuse to disbud for potential buyers, but I'm going to speak with my veterinarian first. Anyhow, I believe in animals staying mostly the way they're born. Goats who have horns are given a better chance at weathering extreme temperatures of cold or hot. Hello, we're in Texas, let's give them a fighting chance in the summer!

Now I said mostly I keep them the way they are born. I will be banding my bucklings who are born. Essentially that means neutering them. I'll explain more about that another time. Going back to horns, I've also found those with horns tend to love scratching themselves with them. Who doesn't love a good self scratching?

Mama Done Said

Do you know what helps when you're scolding your cow? Get her name right! Flora decided she wanted to act like Fiona today and vice versa, so was it any wonder I kept telling the wrong name? Rob alerted me Flora might actually listen if I stop calling her Fiona. Highlands are so sweet and loveable, but goodness they can get stubborn!

That's ok, everyone got extra treats, big scratches, and lots of love anyway. But a cowboy trick I inadvertantly learned today, stomping your feet while simultaneously slapping your knee will get cows to hustle. So apparently, I can officially check square dancing in an actual barn off my bucket list. I swung my partners in their stalls and kicked my heels to get off the cow paddy. All in a day's fun on the farm!