It's Been a Long, Busy Week...

It's been a long, busy week here.  I've been neglecting the blog...and many other things, like laundry, dishes and sleep.  So, since it's Saturday...and the fair is over...I can actually sit and do a little catching up!

Here are just a few random thoughts from the past week or so...

1.  I'm ready for the week to be over.  I've had a headache and felt a little crummy since Monday, and it can't last much longer...can it?

2.  This was West Lampeter Fair week.  It's been very busy...seemingly more so than other years.  Why?  I'm not sure, but we are all exhausted!  Last night we said good bye to Jenna's goats.  This morning was clean up, and it was so quiet and empty there without all the animals.

3.  Last week Jim and Eric went to a Philadelphia Eagles game with our brother in law and nephew who are big Kansas City Chiefs fans.  Two of them came home happy, and two came home a little disappointed, but they had fun...

4.  We're still enjoying beautiful fall weather.  It just doesn't get much better than this.  I've actually seen a few leaves starting to turn, and if what I've seen so far is any indication of the beauty to come...it's gonna be a gorgeous show this year!

5. The harvest is in full swing.  Chopping corn is almost finished, except for the ag bag which will go out hopefully at the beginning of next week.  The rest of the corn, and the beans are getting dry.  I saw this view of the west side of our barn on my way home from an errand this morning, and just had to grab my camera and drive back to snap the picture...

Now it's on to face the day.  There's a mountain of laundry to do...a ton of redding up to do...and a whole lot of weeds that need to be pulled out of my flower beds.  If the caffeine kicks in soon, I just might get some of it done!

The Goats Have Arrived...

It's time to meet Jenna's new 4-H goats.  We brought them home on Wednesday evening after school.

Last year we had a bad experience with the dreadful Urinary Calculi, and were determined to come home with two females this year.  However...it didn't happen.  Instead, we came home with one of each.  Hopefully, using what we learned last year will help us to have a better experience this year!

Bringing them home was a bit different than before.  This time we put down some towels on the back seat of the farm car, and took our chances.  We could hardly believe our eyes, when they curled up together on the back seat like puppy dogs for the ride home, not making a sound...or a mess!  Yay!

This adorable little guy quickly wrapped himself around our little fingers...

 He's tiny...only twenty pounds...but boy oh boy is he feisty!

The girl is a little bit bigger,weighing in at thirty-some pounds.  She was a little bit more shy...

They love having that big tree inside their pen.  It's great fun to hide behind!

It's also fun to climb up on the old stump and make yourself look mighty, even when you aren't...

It didn't take them long to find their jungle gym...an old wagon and a board. (Who needs something fancy?) Can you tell...he's getting ready to buck her off the ramp.

Right now, our focus is on getting these kiddos used to us and their new surroundings, keeping them healthy, and getting them to grow.  Before long, Jenna will practice walking them and setting them up.  It's never too soon to start!

Here's hoping for a good 4-H year!

West Lampeter Fair 2012

Fair week is always busy, and almost always fun.  This year was no exception.

Tuesday...entries were accepted for judging...flowers, veggies, baked goods, quilts and other sewing items, photography, crafts, canned goods, and of course...animals.  Various food stands prepared for the crowds...milk shakes, french fries, funnel cakes, sausage sandwiches, hamburgers and hot dogs, pizza, baked potatoes, and more.

Wednesday...entries were judged and awarded ribbons and prize money, and the fair officially opened to the public at noon.  

Throughout the rest of the week, lots more took place...auctioning of the baked goods, the Fair Queen contest, animal judging, antique tractor parade and pulling contest, horse show, FFA contests, and I'm sure I'm missing a lot.

Our focus was on the goat show yesterday aftenoon.  Jenna's goats were lightweights this year, weighing in at (Dilly) 70 lbs and (Pickles) 77 lbs.  Her goals had to be adjusted a little bit in the last few weeks, because Dilly had a recurrence of the Urinary Calculi that he had in June.  As a result, we had to cut way back on the grain again, so both goats lost a little weight.  However, Dilly once again made a surprising recovery, and was able to participate in the show!  

Jenna had a cheering section...my aunt and uncle from NY, and my aunt and a friend from Colorado were visiting, so they came with my parents to watch the show and eat some good fair food!  I have to point out the lady second from the left.  Her name is Eileen, and she is a friend and co-worker of my aunt.  She has a blog called Little House Quilting.  We've been reading each others' blogs for a while now, and what fun it was to meet her in person! Check out her blog when you get a chance.  My sister and my niece were there too, along with some other friends.  It's nice...the kids who show always seem to have such support from family and friends...

Jenna and Dilly waiting to enter the ring...

The judge, checking out Pickles...

Pickles did well, and placed second in his class.  Dilly didn't do as well, and placed fourth in his class, but we  are thrilled that she was able to bring him alive and healthy to the fair.  He's energetic and has a great appetite, which indicates he's feeling much better!

I've collected a variety of other pictures from the week.  Enjoy!

Finishing touches before the judging begins...

The two girls in the blue FFA jackets are sisters, and friends of ours.  They placed first and second in their respective classes with their dairy beef...

Antique trucks, tractors and farm equipment...

Whoopie pies...

French fries waiting for the fryer...

A duct tape dress, from the youth division...

Tug of war...

I was over to feed the goats this morning, and squished through the mud.  It rained last night, but now the sun is shining and the birds are singing outside the window.  Hopefully it will be beautiful for the last day of the fair.  We'll head over again tonight for the livestock sale...Jenna will have to say good bye to Dilly and Pickles, and that will be sad.  But it's been a good week.

If you're in the area, and haven't been there yet, you still have a little time to enjoy the fair!

The End of a Busy Week...

It's been a busy, busy week around here...we've had cousins from Virginia, and cousins from Illinois visiting...and on Friday evening Jenna showed her goats at the 4-H Round Up!


We've had a little rain on Thursday evening...

...almost an inch!  The storm ended up not being nearly so wild as it looks in this picture.  We've been VERY fortunate around here.  While it was a little dry for several weeks, we can be very thankful for the rain we've had!


And then it was Friday  and time for Round Up with Jenna, Dilly and Pickles...


In the afternoon, Jenna washed her goats one more time, and around 4:00 we headed over to the fair grounds for weigh-in.  Dilly weighed in at 66 lbs, and Pickles at 68 lbs, both middleweights.


Here she is, waiting to go into the ring with Dilly...

Lining up for the judge during the showmanship competition...

That's Dilly, during the market goat competition, doing his dance.  Goats have minds of their own, and it doesn't matter whether or not they're in the show ring.  If they want to dance, they dance...

Here, the judge is checking out Pickles...he's feeling the loin...the most important part of the market goat...

It was a long, hot evening...but the goats did well.  Dilly came in 4th out of 9 in his class, and Pickles came in 2nd, finishing behind the goat that eventually won grand champion!  Not bad for the goat with the most unique personality (and loudest mouth) that I've ever met!


It was late until we got home, as we had to help clean up the barn after the competition was over.  Luckily, we live only a few miles from the fair grounds, so Dilly and Pickles were soon home in their pen and settled for the night.  Jenna gave them a snack of Maple "helicopters" and we said good night.


The rest of the weekend has remained busy, and we will have family visiting until late this week.  which makes for a lively house hold.  If I don't keep up with blogging, you'll know why!


(and if anyone can tell me why my text is highlighted, I'd be glad to know!!)

Preparing For Roundup...

It's getting closer...Friday night is the 4-H Roundup where Jenna will show her goats.

There's a lot to do to get ready.  Last week we clipped their hooves and weighed both goats.  Dilly weighed in at 68 lbs. and Pickles at 66 lbs. so they're right on target.  Weighing is "interesting". They're heavy enough that I can't lift them very easily any more, so Jim holds them and steps on the scales with and without a goat.  They don't exactly like to be held!

On Monday, Jenna's 4-H leader came to help clip the goats, answer any last minute questions and give pointers for the show on Friday.  I must say, she has a great leader...he goes above and beyond to help out, especially with new(er) members.  It's a priority for him to help the kids have a good experience so that they continue with the program.

Monday morning bright and early, Jenna gave both goats a bath...it's easier to clip them if their coats are clean.  Surprisingly, for as much as goats don't like water, they actually seemed to enjoy their baths!  Maybe they just liked the attention...

Dilly is always a bit more high strung for things like this, but he did well.  Look how his ears are at attention...

Of course Murphy always needs to be in the middle of it all.  She parked herself a few feet away to make sure everything went well...

The goats had a little while to dry before Jenna's leader arrived for clipping. The cows were out of the barn this morning, so we put the blocking stand inside the barn and out of the sun for this job.  It's a time consuming job, about an hour total between the two goats, but it went pretty well.  Pickles did great.  Look who had to be right in the middle of things again. Can you find her?

While Dilly got clipped, Pickles was bored, but he found ways to amuse himself...

After they were all clipped, they got another dose of wormer, which Pickles immediately spit out.  We use "brand A" and Jenna's leader brought "brand B" along to dose them with, as it's good to use different kinds.  Some kinds work better on different types of worms, so this way our bases are covered.

Then Jenna did a brief run through of showing, with her leader pretending to be the judge.  The goats need to be used to being "set up" and touched.  If they freak out when the judge touches them, we have a problem!

The rest of the week here we'll continue walking them, wash them again on Friday, and head over to the fairgrounds for weigh in around 4 pm on Friday afternoon.  If you're not doing anything Friday night, come on over and watch the show!

On another note...an update on my friend Glenda...


After being in a medically induced coma for 7 days, all sedation has now been stopped, and they are waiting for her to wake up.  We are waiting with her family, hoping and praying for her recovery.  Yesterday she began wiggling her toes and jerking her arm when a main nerve was pinched.  I haven't heard any updates on her progress today, as they are 3 hours behind us out in Oregon.  If you'd like to read her story and follow her progress, here is the Caring Bridge website.  Thanks for your prayers on her behalf!

Dilly and Pickles...

Here are a few recent picures of Jenna's goats...

Dilly is doing well after his episode with Urinary Calculi.  We know it may recurr, but so far it hasn't.  We've been doing some preventative measures and hoping for the best.  He might not be quite as "fleshy" as the judge might like, but being healthy is more important.

Jenna's giving him a treat of  maple tree "helicopters" as a reward for walking nicely tonight.  Doesn't he look happy?

Pickles has one thing on his mind when he's out of his pen...green stuff!  It makes it a challenge to walk him, but he really is sweet.  After all, he's a goat!

We moved the wagon in their pen so that they can more easily reach the yummy tree leaves...

Pickles will go to great lengths to get to extra food.  He's quite the acrobat...

It's been fun interracting with these guys.  We had them out walking tonight, practicing for the 4-H Round-up, which is in less than two weeks.  Round-up is where 4-H'ers from all over the county come together with their projects...steers, dairy beef, pigs, sheep and goats for a show.  The kids have opportunities to win prize money for their animals and for showmanship, and it's great practice before their respective fairs, where they will again compete and then sell their animals.  It's a nice way to get an idea of how their animal looks in the eyes of the judges.

Next week, we'll wash Dilly and Pickles, get them clipped, trim their hooves, and do a "mock show" with Jenna's 4-H leader.  It will be a busy week!

Doctoring Goats...

We had our first real experience with doctoring goats last week...and we really wish we hadn't had it!

Dilly meets Kitty

On Tuesday evening, Jenna came into the barn to tell us that her one goat, Dilly, wasn't eating, and was just laying down inside his hutch.  I went to investigate.  He would stand up and walk around, but then go right back into the corner and lay down.  His temperature was only slightly elevated, but he seemed uncomfortable...straining as if he needed to urinate, but wasn't able.


Light bulb!


We were taught about this at many goat meetings...the dreaded Urinary Calculi  (a fancy name for kidney stones)   Jim talked to the vet, who confirmed our suspicions just by asking a few questions.  He agreed to come to see what he could do for Dilly.

Here's the good news...

He sedated Dilly and was able to remove the  tiny stone which was blocking his urinary tract, offering the poor goat some relief!  He's been fine ever since...eating vigorously and yes, peeing as any goat would.  We celebrate every time we see it happen!  (it's the simple things!)

Here's the bad news...

This condition doesn't often have a happy ending.  Once a goat develops these Urinary Calculi, even with a successful procedure like the vet performed on Dilly, there are usually more stones that make their way down the urinary tract, causing more blockages.  If they can't urinate, their bladder can burst within 24-28 hours. 

Here's what we can do...


We got some Ammonium Chloride powder from the feed mill, mixed it with Karo syrup and a little water...

Pulled it up into the drench gun...

...and administered it to both goats every day for five days.  The purpose of this is to hopefully dissolve any more stones that Dilly may have, and also prevent Pickles from having the same problem...

Pickles in his favorite spot

Dilly

We really weren't expecting this to happen...we were feeding them a goat feed which already had Ammonium Chloride in it, for this very purpose...to prevent Urinary Calculi.  We were feeding them the recommended amount of grain, and the Phosphorus/Calcium ratios were correct.  We thought we were doing everything right.  However, for various reasons, it happened anyway. 


Young male goats that have been castrated at a young age are most susceptible.  Females rarely have this problem, because their urinary tracts are short, straight and wider in diameter.

Boer goats are also susceptible...perhaps because they are raised primarily for meat, and are often fed more grain to get them ready for market. 

We are thrilled that for now, Dilly seems to be doing just fine, and we are getting more attached to him every day. We won't know the end of the story until "who knows when"  He might get sick again, and we feel a little like we're sitting on pins and needles, just waiting.

But for now, we'll enjoy listening to him yell every time he sees someone who might give him food, watching him eat huge mouthfuls of weeds, and watching Pickles stand on his back to try to reach the leaves on the tree that are just out of reach!

We've Got Goats...

They're here...and very dear...

Isn't that the way the saying goes?

Somehow it didn't quite feel like that this afternoon when we brought Jenna's 4-H goats home...

All was going smoothly...and that's when we should have been ready for trouble!   We had goat #1 unloaded and safely inside the pen.  However...we forgot to fasten the gate securely while we retrieved goat #2 from the truck.  Big mistake!

Goat #1, from hence forth referred to as "Speckled Ears", escaped from the pen, just because he could, and took off running across the yard, with the dog in close pursuit.  Before we knew it, he had crossed the road, run across the neighbor's yard, wiggled through the fence, and took off across the open fields.  Once he tasted freedom, he couldn't get enough.  On and on he ran, for about a half mile, across two farms and into the third before he finally slowed down.  (Sorry Reuben...I didn't want to run across your newly seeded alfalfa, but I had no choice!)  A friend and I chased on foot, and my Dad hopped in the truck and met up with us down the road a piece.


Once "Speckled Ears" tired...I was huffing and puffing too...my Dad and I finally were able to grab hold of him and carry him to the truck, and back to his pen where goat #2 was patiently waiting bleating his little heart out, wondering where his friend had taken off to.

Goat #1 on the left...aka "Speckled Ears", and Goat #2 on the right... 

The rest of their day went much better, at least from our perspective.  They hid behind the big tree for a while, and then ventured out to explore their pen.  Most importantly, they found their hutch, their feed and their water. 

These guys aren't quite as tame as the does Jenna had last year, so there's a lot of work to do, taming them and handling them.  I would imagine that she will have to spend a lot of time in their pen, just letting them get used to her.

 In the next few days Jenna will also come up with some real names for them...I'm interested to see if she sticks with the original names she thought she would use..

They're here, and they really are very dear!  And they ought to sleep good tonight, after that adventure!

Linking up today to Farm Girl Friday !