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.

Friday evening our friend Sarah gave us a handsome young blue Ameraucana dubbed Blue Jr.   He is young enough that he hasn't started to crow yet, but he does fluff up like he is thinking about it and he is trying out his mating dance with the hens who ignore him or scamper away.    We are looking forward to hearing his adult crow and are really hoping that he will turn out to have a melodic five note crow.  (Not all roosters do, some only have a screechy 3-4 note crow.)

Our previous two roosters were respectful of people and protective of their hens, although Shrek rode them a little too hard.  Hopefully JR will develop into a respectful protector of his harem. 

Last week we sold all our old hens and roosters with the thought that we would borrow my dad's incubator and hatch out replacement chicks.  But it didn't take long for us to decide that we missed the pastured eggs way too much to wait that long.
So yesterday we brought home eight new pullets ranging in age from 9-14 weeks old.  Three of the breeds are new to us and we are looking forward to seeing the variety of color.

Bekah is holding one of the two Delawares and we also got two Speckled Sussex, one  Golden Laced Wyandotte and three Ameraucana/Golden Laced Wyandotte crosses.  We have had the Ameraucana's previously and always get a kick out of their green & blue eggs.

The Golden Lace bunch were all hatched and raised by banty hens so I'm hoping that will be a factor in getting broody hens that will raise a flock of chicks.  That way we can raise replacement hens, and Bekah is "just dying to see a Momma hen and her babies."

Hopefully in a couple of months we will be back to getting those wonderful tasty eggs from pastured hens again!

Our big sweet goofy boy is two years old today.  His yard looks out on the goats pen and he does a good job of helping us keep an eye on them.

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.

Saturday night I had a coughing fit that ended with me screaming in agony from a burning pain at the base of my skull.    My first thought was I was having a stroke or aneurysm.  

Sunday morning I was feeling a little better and managed to stagger out to the barn with Bekah's help to get the milking done.   I'm sure if someone saw me all but crawling across the lawn to get to the barn they would have been thinking I was recovering from a hang-over.

I wasn't getting any better so Tuesday I went to see my doctor who ordered neck and chest x-rays because he thought I had pneumonia again.    Chest x-ray came back clear, and the neck x-ray only showed that I had arthritis in my neck so the pain was coming from a torn or sprained (i.e. whiplash) tendon or ligament and not a bulged disc.

On Wednesday the pain grew increasingly worse until I finally had my husband take me to urgent care.   The doctor there examined me and sent me over to ER where a CT scan was ordered.  I am happy to report they did find a brain in there! They also found several areas of sinus infection, but no bleeding on the brain.  

It took four rounds of pain and anti-nausea meds before I was finally able to return home.    The final diagnosis was a trifecta - a migraine triggered by the neck and sinus pain.    So now I am on antibotics and am hoping for relief from the sinus pressure in another day or two.    The neck will take 2-3 weeks to heal but hopefully I will have full functioning by the time we show on Labor Day weekend.  

Thanks to family and friends for watching the children for me and for getting the tattooing done that was needed for the show.    (The green ink on Itty-Bitty is from the tattoo's in her ears.)  I am so blessed to have all of your help!

As for the show, I still plan to attend and show the three goats in entered.   But I have lowered my expectations drastically in light of the fact that I will not be able to much if any training with the goats before hand.