At least two of our new hens have started laying eggs.   It will be a few more weeks until the eggs are up to full size, but for first eggs they are bigger than I was expecting to see.    We will be so glad to go back to fresh eggs from free range hens! 

In other news, today is day 141 for Tsunami and she is acting very much like she is ready to be done with the kids kicking her ribs.   Unfortunately temps are barely above freezing at 10am this morning so we will have to keep a close eye on her as babies born in these temps run the distinct risk of getting frost bite before she could get them clean and dry on her own.    And that means I may very well find myself sleeping in the barn tonight in a sleeping bag that is only rated to 40 degrees!   Can you say COLD!

Here is Tsunami a few days ago after her maternity trim - something she was less than thrilled to participate in. 

The OSU ultrasound and surgical castration clinic is going to be held on Friday, February 10, 2011 from 11am-4pm.    The dehorning clinic will be held the following Monday at the same times.  The clinics are free, but advanced registration is required and can be made by calling the large animal services at 541-737-2858.   

They will not dehorn pregnant goats, but if you have goats you want to have an ultrasound done on AND goats that need to be dehorned you can make arrangements to do both on Monday so that only one trip is needed to their facilities.

I checked with the OSU vet college today to find out when the annual goat & sheep week is going to beheld this year.   The students will be studying goats and sheep the week of Feb 6th - 13th, but they have not yet determined on what day they will have the ultrasound clinic. 

They will call me when they have nailed down a date and I will pass that info along so if you have does that are at least 30 days bred you can bring them to the University for an ultrasound.  

Prior registration is required, but the ultrasound itself is free.   They also usually have a free dehorning and surgical castration clinic offered during that week as well.   And I will get those dates published as soon as I get the info.

And yes, you read that right.  ALL of the specific training that these future vets are getting is ONE WEEK that covers both goats and sheep.   And it is precisely this reason that so many goat owners learn to do so much of their own veterinary work.

Had a bit of sunshine to welcome in the New Year and decided I'd better take advantage of it to get my least favorite chore done.   Because the only thing worse than trimming hooves is trimming the hooves of wet goats!

While we are out there we noticed that some of the ladies seem to be suddenly showing especially Tsunami (the mostly white doe on the right).   I think she is due the end of January or in early February, although it is possible that she isn't bred to Sparky, but is bred too Mojo which would put her kidding date in March.

There is a very good reason Mojave Blue has the nickname Mojo, he is one smooth operator!   Sparky Joe gets overly excited, Sunny is polite but gets right down to business and then there is Mojo.  He takes the time to really romance the ladies, and they all seem to love him for it. 

By the time I was ready to take Maple away from him today she was totally smitten with him.    That combined with the size of kids he throws makes him a good match for just about any first time doe.   The paring of him and Maple should result in some very colorful blue-eyed kids.

It is shaping up to be a very busy April for us with Mame' x Sunny due April 1st, Rita x Sparky Joe on April 5th and Maple x Mojo due on April 9th.   Millie is still scheduled to be bred for a June kidding, and Tsunami is anyone's guess.   I haven't seen a real strong heat from her since the time Sparky Joe paid her a visit, so it is quite possible that she is already bred to him with a due date at the end of January.

Breeding season got off to a shaky start this year.   A couple of weeks ago Mojo & Sunny exploited a hole in the fence and went to visit the ladies.   Which meant for the first time ever we had to use Lute (Lutalyse) on the does since we didn't know who was bred by whom.   Unfortunately the dosage we got from the vet was too small, and we had to redo the injections.  

Today we were finally able to get Mame' bred to Sunny.   Her due date will be  around the 25th of March.  If the rest of the season goes according to plan. next up will be Tsunami x Sparky Joe and  Maple x Mojo due in April.  Then Rita x Sparky Joe in May and finally Millie x Sunny in June.   Although with the way things have gone so far I'm not guaranteeing anything at this point.  :)

In other news our pup Cleo turned one year old last week, and Izzy will be two years old in a couple of weeks.   Both of them are starting to get over their puppy ways although they still have PLENTY of energy!  Izzy sleeps every night with Ari and it is obvious they miss each other whenever we have been away from home.

I saw this posted on a goat forum and just had to share it.  The only thing the anonymous author missed was the joy I get from seeing my kids learning and interacting with "just a goat".

"Just A Goat"

From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a goat," or, "that's a lot of money for "just a goat". They don't understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a goat." Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a goat." Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a goat," but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my...... saddest moments have been brought about by "just a goat," and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a goat" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day. If you, too, think it's "just a goat," then you will probably understand phrases like "just a friend," "just a sunrise," or "just a promise."

"Just a goat" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. "Just a goat" brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person. Because of "just a goat" I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future. So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a goat" but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment. "Just a goat" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away. I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a goat" but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a woman." So the next time you hear the phrase "just a goat" just smile, because they "just" don't understand.? ~Anonymous

Meet Oak Tree Meadows Maple.  Her breeder had pens next to ours at the Oregon State fair and I asked if she might have any dry yearlings available.   She only had this one, who just happens to have been born on Bekah's birthday last year.

We went up to Molalla to check her out today and I must say pictures just do not do her justice.   She is a beautiful girl with a great deal of Tupence in her pedigree  and we are looking forward to breeding her to Mojo this fall.   And of course Bekah is thrilled to have a "birthday buddy".

We were gone on vacation last week and Choc-o-latte apparently missed Bekah just as much as Bekah was missing her.   Latte has been jealous of Bekah's attention and this afternoon apparently decided to take drastic measures when Bekah's attention wandered.  (We do not normally allow our goats to chew on u

The Oregon State Fair is an ADGA sanctioned show and this year's judge was Carrie Kahle.   In my previous post I mentioned that this was the first time showing for humans and goats and that I didn't have high expectations given the obstacles we faced just prior to fair time.  

The goats behaved reasonably well in the show ring with our highest placing being a second for Rita in her class.   The competition was very lovely and the doe that placed first went on to win grand champion.   So overall I was pleased with Rita.

Choc-o-latte and Itty-Bitty place 6th & 8th respectively in their class and Rita & Choc-o-latte placed 5th in Produce of Dam.   My 7 year old daughter  who was showing Choc-o-latte was so excited that her baby had finally gotten a ribbon that she wasn't about to give any of the credit to Rita.  :)

It was an interesting and educational experience and I couldn't have done it without the help of my friend Sarah of Mac's Rainbow getting the does tattooed for me when I was sick/injured and helping with the clipping.  And of course a big thanks to  Dorothy and Bekah for helping at the show.

Next Sunday we will be showing Rita, Itty-Bitty and Choc-o-latte at the Oregon State Fair.
Today we starting prepping for it with a full body clipping for all my does.   In the past I've only done dairy or maternity clips, never the full body clipping necessary for showing.  So it was a new experience for everyone involved and the goats were less than impressed!

It was interesting to see some of the changes, for example Rita;s gold spots are more pronounced when she is clipped and her daughter Itty-Bitty is covered in spots!  I still need to get the #40 blade put on my clippers and get the close finishing work done on the three that will be shown next weekend, but the bulk of it is finished and I think they look pretty good for my first try.