The unintentional goat post.

Wow it's been a long time since I last blogged. I have been nursing a sick goat for the past several days but luckily she's doing a lot better. Tuesday Dym the goat stopped eating her grain. Always a bad sign. She was active and moving so I didn't freak out. Plus she was still somewhat eating hay. So I took her temperature which was exciting (please note the sarcasm). If a 150 pound goat doesn't want a thermometer up her bum then she's going to get her way. Naturally I was too lazy to lead her into the shop where the milking stand is still set up. With her head in the stanchion I would have easily been able to get an accurate reading on a thermometer. But as it was I ended up shoving her up against the shop, grabbing a hind leg (she she couldn't run off) and getting that thermometer where it needed to go. Seeing as she's got some weight on me I was thrilled to have won that battle. Her temp was a little low but not too bad. I wormed her and gave her some probiotics to get her rumen working. I also made her some MAGIC (which is equal parts molasses, corn oil and corn syrup) to give her some energy and iron. She loves that stuff. Next day still wouldn't eat grain but ate her hay with a vengance. Finally got her back to eating grain yesterday. Still don't know what was wrong with her so I'm going to get a fecal done at the vet clinic, maybe they'll have some answers for me. 

Dym's babies turned a year old on new years eve. Coco, the girl, has turned into a flirtatious little thing. She had her first heat and was romancing the heck out of GoatMan. GoatMan hasn't been romanced ever so he was really enjoying it....to say the least. I was under the impression that after a goat had been neutered they would loose all of the hormones that would make them "flirty" with the ladies. Boy was I wrong. I just stood out there watching this in shock and awe. Coco would come dancing up to GoatMan, nuzzling him, batting her eye lashes, then turn around and flick her tail in his face. This would drive him nuts and off they'd go, rutting like crazy. I had to cover the kids eyes at one point because it was a bit too graphic for their young eyes. Plus, it lead to way too many questions. I'm just seriously hoping that they castrated GoatMan correctly and didn't miss a testicle, because I don't think I can handle another round of goat milking.

Looks like this is turning into an animal post. Last weekend Sean was nice enough to scoop out the corral for me. Manure really piles up in the winter since I'm too lazy to go out and shovel it when it's cold. I would LOVE to own a tractor with a front end loader. That's what I drool over on Craigslist. But spending 8-10 grand on something that would be used for scooping poop just doesn't add up. So Sean gets out the old Cub Cadet with the front blade on it and shoves the manure into piles in the back of the pen where it composts and I can then scoop it onto the garden in the spring (with the wheel barrow). Maybe one day I'll have a nifty small tractor that I can play with.

It's been such a mild winter that I discovered several brussel sprout plants still alive out in the garden. Here's a little video of the animals enjoying it.