Good morning everyone. Maureen is taking a break this morning (hair needs drying!). So its me, Greg to try and match the literary skills of Maureen. We were sorry to see Holly's smiling face leave yesterday. Holly showed her mom, Angie, around the animal barn before she took off. I am sure all the animals were just as sad to see her go.
The day started with Lamb Chop being put in the head stocks to get get his morning spray down. The hat choice was better suited to Maureen though.
It was time for the horses to get a new set of shoes and Lesley and Derick got a chance to see how good horses behave while getting a manicure and new shoes. Charm and Roman were great subjects and Carlos was able to show all the ins and outs of good horse foot care.
Lately we have had a concern that Dolly the cow, is not carrying a calf. So it was decided that Greg would try his hand (or is it ARM) at doing a palp to determine the state of the calf. Well first we had to get Dolly into the squeeze. Now one would expect that this is a simple task. Just put Dolly's head collar on and lead her into the squeeze chute. NOT! Dolly is the rodeo cow. She will let you feed her carrots but go to touch her head with a rope or collar and she is off bucking and kicking. Thank heavens she must have paid enough attention to Molly's demonstrations during milking, Dolly was a little easier to catch and get collared. Well I didn't say docile! But at least there was no kicking or pushing. Three circles around the pen and she gave in. But that wasn't the end of it. As we were getting her into the squeeze, and I was leading her through, it was in her mind to trap me in there as well. With a few frantic shoves, I was able to get out first and get her head trapped. Maybe Dolly was realizing what she was in for. Well for those of you that don't know, a palp involves putting your arm into the nether region (where spent grass is eliminated!) and feeling around to determine if there is an object that feels like a calf in the proper location. Thats "internal", inside the body cavity. Well the results were not satisfying. I could not feel any fetus. Now I know this was my first time, and I was not sure I was in far enough (I thought I was based on Dolly's growns), but there was no big lump as expected. So we are going to talk to the vet next tuesday to make sure I did it right. Oh yeah, I was wearing an arm lenght glove, so the unthinkable was not on my arm!
Well the rest of the day was spent trying to finish little projects. Derick and Lesley finished repairing the screen door to the barn kitchen. Nice job team! I got the maure pile turned so that in the fall, there would be a hefty pile of well seasoned manure and worms ready for spreading. This was not a pleasant job as it was a bit warm yesterday and the pile generates its own heat as well. At least the smell is not so bad after is has been digested a little.
Later in the evening, after all the horses and little ones were bedded down in their respective stalls, Lesley wanted to try her hand at milking Molly. Well lucky for her we use the old fashioned easy way out here, the Surge milking machine. With all our frailties its a more efficient and quicker way of getting the job done. Just to note we do milk our goats by hand. Lesley got right in there and was able to get all the cups to stay on with the milk flowing in a steady stream. Meanwhile, Molly was oblivious to the novice at work. Molly was enjoying her bowl of dinner goodies and milk was flowing.
Well again as Maurren would say, time to go. Its 0730 and the animals are calling. Hope you all have a great day and Maureen should be back tomorrow. G
The day started with Lamb Chop being put in the head stocks to get get his morning spray down. The hat choice was better suited to Maureen though.
It was time for the horses to get a new set of shoes and Lesley and Derick got a chance to see how good horses behave while getting a manicure and new shoes. Charm and Roman were great subjects and Carlos was able to show all the ins and outs of good horse foot care.
Lately we have had a concern that Dolly the cow, is not carrying a calf. So it was decided that Greg would try his hand (or is it ARM) at doing a palp to determine the state of the calf. Well first we had to get Dolly into the squeeze. Now one would expect that this is a simple task. Just put Dolly's head collar on and lead her into the squeeze chute. NOT! Dolly is the rodeo cow. She will let you feed her carrots but go to touch her head with a rope or collar and she is off bucking and kicking. Thank heavens she must have paid enough attention to Molly's demonstrations during milking, Dolly was a little easier to catch and get collared. Well I didn't say docile! But at least there was no kicking or pushing. Three circles around the pen and she gave in. But that wasn't the end of it. As we were getting her into the squeeze, and I was leading her through, it was in her mind to trap me in there as well. With a few frantic shoves, I was able to get out first and get her head trapped. Maybe Dolly was realizing what she was in for. Well for those of you that don't know, a palp involves putting your arm into the nether region (where spent grass is eliminated!) and feeling around to determine if there is an object that feels like a calf in the proper location. Thats "internal", inside the body cavity. Well the results were not satisfying. I could not feel any fetus. Now I know this was my first time, and I was not sure I was in far enough (I thought I was based on Dolly's growns), but there was no big lump as expected. So we are going to talk to the vet next tuesday to make sure I did it right. Oh yeah, I was wearing an arm lenght glove, so the unthinkable was not on my arm!
Well the rest of the day was spent trying to finish little projects. Derick and Lesley finished repairing the screen door to the barn kitchen. Nice job team! I got the maure pile turned so that in the fall, there would be a hefty pile of well seasoned manure and worms ready for spreading. This was not a pleasant job as it was a bit warm yesterday and the pile generates its own heat as well. At least the smell is not so bad after is has been digested a little.
Later in the evening, after all the horses and little ones were bedded down in their respective stalls, Lesley wanted to try her hand at milking Molly. Well lucky for her we use the old fashioned easy way out here, the Surge milking machine. With all our frailties its a more efficient and quicker way of getting the job done. Just to note we do milk our goats by hand. Lesley got right in there and was able to get all the cups to stay on with the milk flowing in a steady stream. Meanwhile, Molly was oblivious to the novice at work. Molly was enjoying her bowl of dinner goodies and milk was flowing.
Well again as Maurren would say, time to go. Its 0730 and the animals are calling. Hope you all have a great day and Maureen should be back tomorrow. G
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