Moving the Funny Farm

Exactly 3 days after my 23rd birthday I packed all of my belongings into my car, all of my chickens into crates and loaded all of my goats into the trailer and moved my entire life (28 goats, 4 dogs, 11 ducks, 7 guineas, 5 geese and 25 chickens) to my boyfriends up in northern NY.4 hours away from home.  It wasn't a spontaneous decision, it was something that had been thought about, discussed and planned over and over again. My boyfriend and I had been together for over a year, and we were friends before that, he has a farm with 25 registered herefords and a few laying hens.

To say I expanded his animal population was an understatement. He took it all with a grain of salt, helping me set up pens for the breeder chickens, getting buildings cleaned out to move my goats and get a parlor set up in. He supported me and helped make the transition as easy as possible on both myself and my critters. While I was getting ready to move there were some major things to take into consideration. I did research on all of them and came up with such little information I decided to make something available who are preparing to move with livestock.
I have dairy goats 8 that were in milk at the time and 1 that was pregnant I have 4 boer goat does and 5 yearlings and 7 kids that were at the time still on milk. I also have two livestock guard dogs that are in with the goats 24/7 that had little traveling experience. To make it easiest on them I opted to load them into the trailer with the goats, because that is where they would feel the most comfortable.
Here are some tips and tricks that I used to make it an easy experience on everyone:
Goats the Day Before:
- I began giving the goats an electrolyte solution in their water to help keep them hydrated and healthy during the move. I started the day before so it was already in their system.
- I packed all the goat equipment that I could; first aid supplies, collars, leads, clippers, extra feed buckets. I did not pack the milking stands, milk buckets, teat dip and feed as I would need them to milk the next morning before loading up.
- I checked everyone health wise, if there was someone sick it would be concerning to put them under the stress of moving and I would have to make other arrangements.  Check for wheezing, coughing, runny noses, sore legs or a general "offness" in your goats. I have an old boer goat that is 10 years old, she is showing her age and was one of my primary concerns. She seemed healthy and happy and was actually the first one to jump on the trailer!
- My next concern was my pregnant doe, I did not know she was bred until about two months before the move, I did not know when she was due, but I did not think there was a danger of her kidding during the actual move. She was getting a larger bagged udder, but her ligaments were not broke down and she did not act "off" like does do before they kid. I wanted it to be the least stressful it could be for her because I was worried about abortions, miscarriages and all the other scary things that come with pregnancy and stress.

My 10 year old Boer doe checking out her new pasture after the move

Chickens the day before:
- For the chickens I also gave them an electrolyte solution the day before to get it into their system.
- I caught and crated guineas, geese and ducks the night before the move because come morning they would be difficult to gather up. I made sure they had feed and water in the cages as they would have 4 hours without water the next morning. They weren't happy  but it was for the best.
- I made sure I had carriers around and adequate room for each bird to travel comfortably. One less thing to worry about the next day. 

- Once again check the overall health of the birds, make sure no one is coughing, wheezing, thin, seem to have a pale comb or wattles or otherwise unhealthy. Moving and putting stress on sick birds is a very risky thing, often a sick bird that is put under stress can die. If you have a sick bird try to make other arrangements instead of moving it. It's also a good idea to do this check two weeks before so you have a chance to treat them before the move.
The day of the Move:
- I made sure the poultry had water and feed for about an hour before I stated putting them in crates.
- While they were eating I fed and milked the goats, I locked them out of the pasture so they were all in the barnyard to make catching and loading easier.
- I also gave my Great Pyrenees a dose of antihistamine to make him tired because he has serious travel anxiety.
- After loading my own belongings into the car and giving the critters a chance to get a drink and finish eating, I began loading.
- I loaded the rest of the stuff I had waited to load, the milk stand, milk buckets, cages that I was taking with me etc..
-  I crated the chickens, making sure any that were in crates/cages together were getting a long and not fighting with each other, and started loading the carriers and crates into the back of the truck with a cap. I opened the side windows so they would get ventilation and not over heat.
- After chickens were loaded we began loading the goats. The trailer had a front compartment and I put the kids and yearlings in the front so they wouldn't be in danger of being knocked down, stepped on or beat up by the big goats.
-I loaded the big goats into the back of the trailer, and removed ALL the collars for fear of them getting snagged or tangled with other goats.
-I loaded the livestock guard dogs (the great pyrenees was very nervous and groggy so we had to carry him, not an easy task for a 140 lb dog . . . . ) Once everyone was in the trailer I did not want to keep sitting still. It was time to get on the road.
- I loaded my other two dogs one in the truck that was hooked on the trailer that my boyfriend was driving, and one in the car with me and all my belongings. The third truck was driven by my little brother and he was hauling the chickens, ducks and guineas. The geese were secured in a crate in the back of the truck being hauled by the trailer. I am sure we looked like a funny convoy going down the highway. My life was packed in the trailer, truck and my car. . . . it was on to new beginnings for me and my funny farm!

Arrival:
-We did stop once to check on how the animals were handling everything. Everyone was doing well, settled in and seemed to be pretty calm (including the great Pyrenees Dude, he was sound asleep on the floor of the trailer!)
- The chickens arrived first we had about half an hour to get them settled in before the goats got there. I had helped my boyfriend set up the pens for the chickens a week before. We unloaded crates and began putting chickens where they belonged and gave them water. We put the ducks in a large pen with some of the chickens, I wanted them to free range but first they needed to learn where home was. I did the same with the guineas.
- I gave everyone water and feed and let them get accustomed to their new home.
-By the time the birds had been cared for the goats arrived. I was so happy to see everyone pulled through the trip like champs! We unloaded the adult goats and yearlings first leaving the kids in the trailer for a bit longer because we did not have their pen set up.
- I walked the main guard dog Sydney around the whole fence line so she knew her boundaries and learned where she was guarding. Most of the goats followed me eager to see the new surroundings and discover new things.  The yearlings were especially happy to stretch their legs, running and jumping!
- I showed the goats where the brook was to drink out of, all of them were afraid to cross it at first but once they got a drink and figured out the water wasn't going to hurt them they were much happier. The goats went right to town eating the rose bushes that were in their pasture. Everyone was very happy.

After walking my other dogs around the new property and showing them the house I tied them in the front yard so they could adjust to their new home. It was an exhausting adventure, but I was very grateful everything went smoothly. The older doe traveled fine and the pregnant doe did too. We got the pen set up for the bottle babies and they settled in just fine. It is worth taking the time to make sure the animals are okay, happy and adjusted. It's not worth rushing through things and making sure they are not stressed. 

 Other things to consider:
- I moved from one area to a completely new one, which means the feed store I got my chicken feed from, goat grain and dog food from was no longer an option. Prior to moving I made sure I had enough feed for the first week. The last things my animals needed was a change in diet too. I did change it, but bringing familiar feed with me allowed me to change it slowly over time.
- With my house dogs, I made sure I brought them their blankets that they sleep on and their food dishes so they had familiar things to associate with. Moving is stressful on people and we understand what is going on, can you imagine how hard it is to adjust when you were just put into a car and brought to this new place? I kept them on a leash outside with me for a while (4 days) and walked them around the yard until I felt they adjusted enough and understood their boundaries before letting them off lead.
- Watch goats for stress related things even after the move. There was a slight drop (much less than I imagined it would be) in milk production for the first few days after moving, but it came right back up and they began milking more than they were at home!
- I checked on the pregnant doe (Joplin) throughout the day and the day after the move. I watched for discharge, heavy panting and any other signs that could indicate she was going into early labor. She did not and exactly a week after the move on my mothers birthday she delivered a healthy full term doeling!

That is everything for now, I will keep everyone updated on the move, the garden planting and the goat/poultry shows I plan on attending. I hope you got something you could use out of this post. Is there anything else special that you feel should be considered before moving with your animals?

Preventing Goat-Cicles in the Polar Vortex

Lucifer my Alpine buck seeking shelter from the cold and snow.

With temperatures that plummeted to -35* with the windchill, I found myself worried about all of my animals. The goats; are they going to be warm enough? Will they get to cold and not drink and get dehydrated? What about the kids, will their 2 heat lamps be enough?The poultry; should I put a heat lamp in each coop (with 4 of them that would be a lot!), I should keep the  ducks locked up so they don't try to go swim in the creek, bed the turkey pen again?
   I am a worrier, it's what I do. Especially when it comes to keeping all the critter happy and healthy. I am happy to report that everyone made it through the "Polar Vortex" safely and are healthy and happy.







It wasn't easy keeping everyone going, but I would of course do it again in a heart beat! Here is what I did to keep everyone warm and healthy during the cold snap of 2014.

       For the adult bred goats, I fed them a lot of hay three times a day to keep everyone up and going and keep their rumens (stomachs) active. I also carried bucket after bucket full of warm water out with extra electrolytes three to four times a day and made sure everyone drank. I paid special attention to the three bucks to make sure they drank enough, because if they get dehydrated they are at a higher risk for urinary calculi something similar to kidney stones and get sick and possibly die.
        The goats also got their regular amount of grain twice a day, but instead of making them eat outside I fed them inside of the barn. I also gave them extra bedding and put up an extra piece of plywood to block the wind more.

Becca the Alpine/Nubian with big "airplane" ears

 With goats like my yearling Becca that has large ears I checked carefully for frost bite. I locked the four yearlings in their small barn at night and gave them extra bedding. One of the little does was already fighting pneumonia so for a little extra protection I put a "goat coat" on her. It was a simple out grown sweatshirt with the sleeves and hood cut off and then modified to fit her correctly. She didn't seem to mind it wasn't extremely fashionable because it was warm and that's all that matters!

 The four alpine doelings I purchased in December were snuggled all warm in their hutch with two heat lamps and extra deep bedding. I don't think they even knew it was cold outside! They kept romping and playing, bouncing off of the wall (and each other!). I did put extra electrolytes in their breakfast and dinner on the coldest days just to give them an extra boost.
     I woke up in the middle of the night one night and decided to go out and check on everyone. I bundled up tight after looking at the thermometer and made the trek through the snow to the goat kid hutch. They were cuddled together sleeping not even shivering.

 I decided to try to take a picture, but of course as soon as I did that they heard me and jumped up and wanted me to feed them. Silly girls! I was satisfied they were warm and went back inside.

The next morning I went out extra early with their milk and found Little Jeanie apparently had  a brilliant idea! After watching her get waaaay to close to the heat bulb for my comfort I moved the lamps up just a little more so she can't touch it.

I was grateful that the goats made it through and are all healthy and happy! Look at those smiling faces, don't they just warm your heart!

For the poultry I locked the ducks up in their spacious coop and carried them warm water everyday about three times a day. I gave them deep bedding and offered them extra corn for energy to keep them warm. I can't say they were extremely amused with me since they are used to free ranging and swimming in the creek whenever they want, but I know it was for their best. The nine turkeys were moved into a smaller, but more protected coop and given extra corn and some hay to keep them from getting bored. My Tom frequently gobbled at me as I walked by his coop as if to yell at me even though I reassured him it really was to protect him!

Barney the extremely hardy Buckeye Rooster

As for the chickens I kept them all locked in during the coldest part and gave them extra feed and alfalfa hay to keep them from getting bored. I also took precaution and put Vaseline on combs that were large and at risk for frost bite.  No one had any interest in coming out in the  cold anyway. I only had one rooster that refused to stay inside. I tried to lock him in the dog house with my "backyard chickens" these are the ones that stay with the goats during the day and usually sleep in the dog house at night, except for one rooster Barney the Buckeye, always slept on the goat fence. I could not keep him in for anything. So as hard as I tried, he slept on the fence in the middle of the freezing cold temperatures and wind chill. I prepared myself to find a dead rooster in the morning after the worst night, but when I came out he was out scratching in the snow looking for little scraps of corn the goats may have missed.

Everyone made it through, including myself, I do have to say I HATE cold weather and I find myself dreaming of Spring more often than I did. Spring with chicks hatching, ducklings running around and goat kids bouncing off the all and their mothers. Yes spring is just a much happier time of year and the most important part it's WARMER!

Mutants?? No Muscovies!

Muscovy Ducks are possibly not the most beautiful of all creatures, with the red rubber like skin on their faces and around their bills, and they don't make the most melodic sound, actually they sound more like someone with a terrible head cold with their hissing. That being said though, I highly recommend having a few muscovies on your land if you have the room. They come in a variety of colors, usually black, white, chocolate and blue or a combination of the colors, and can be found in pied variety, solid or even barred. They are highly entertaining to watch wattle around the yard with their large tails swaying from side to side, and bobbing their heads back and forth. They eat slugs that may bother your garden and they are fairly self sufficient  in the spring and summer months. Muscovies are also one of the few breeds of domestic ducks that can fly for a greater distance than a few feet, actually they are very good flyers with a massive wing span. Some people prefer to raise them as pets to wonder the yard with their chickens, but Muscovies are actually bred to be meat ducks, and they are good ones as the males can grow up to 10-15 pounds!! Hopefully you will fall in love with the breed and will want more, because chances are if you start with a pair (a male and a female) you will have more before to long. The Muscovy ducks are great mothers! They can cover a lot of eggs and have a lot of dedication and usually have a really high hatch rate. Let's face it there really isn't much cuter than a bunch of ducklings following their mother around the yard. 

 In my experience even the father gets in on parenting with muscovies, which is strange for most ducks and chickens, usually the father fertilizes the egg, but doesn't really keep tabs on the ducklings growing up. My males follow the females around with the ducklings and frequently can be seen walking the ducklings around themselves. I don't know if this is standard practice for most males or if my males are just great father material, but it is funny to see them wondering with the "kids" following them while mom goes off to swim alone.

Even as the ducklings grow they still run to mom to seek warmth at night, regardless of having their own feathers to keep them toasty, they prefer to sleep underneath moms wings. Which is a pretty funny sight when they are almost the size of their mother and 15 of them are still trying to huddle close to her, but the mothers are very tolerant of their now preteen ducklings still wanting to be coddled in their pre-adulthood stage.
This summer I was surprised with three mothers that sat one eggs, one presented me with 17 ducklings, one with 13 ducklings and the final one descended from her nest with 8 ducklings. Sadly, but not unexpectedly we did loose 5 total from the three batches, but the rest grew and are still growing. Many are black and white, some solid white, and some gray(blue) and white. Some have found new homes, because I am pretty sure I would go broke trying to feed all of them this winter, but I did keep some. They are full size now and some have broken off from their mother and go about their day hanging out with other young ducks, but there are still four that like to stay near their mothers, all of them are females and I am sure come spring they will venture away from their mother and sit on eggs of their own and emerge with 15 darling ducklings of their own!

If you are considering getting ducklings please consider Muscovy ducks, they are a treat to have around and provide entertainment for everyone as they waddle through the yard looking for slugs and bugs to top off their meal.

Building Goat Fence (Always an adventure!)

She looks cute and innocent, but she is very sneaky...

Yesterdays project was to fence in the alfalfa strip dad plants in front of the garden. I didn't think it would be that big of deal, except I have a goat that is a professional escape artist. I am pretty sure she is a decedent of goats trained by the great Houdini. So every fence I build (even this fence that is temporary) has to be Houdini proof.
  

So I gathered my equipment which consisted of:
- Plastic fence posts, which had to be removed from a previous fencing project and led to me getting into the nettles
- Spool of wire
- Wire cutters

 As soon as I got out to the goat barn and started reassessing my situation and figuring out what I wanted to do I realized I was short of equipment. I forgot that I would need insulators to connect the fence to the barn, do you think I could find insulators? No of course not! So I improvised. I found an

old piece of hose no longer useful for transporting water throughout because it had some minor holes, and ran the wire through it then looped around the beam of the barn and tied it off. It worked better than I thought it would! My father always called this streak of brilliance "Redneck Ingenuity"
So I got the fence jumped (attached it to the other electric fence so it would also be electrified) and ran it from the barn and post to post. It took me about half an hour to do this project on my own and that was running two strands (you know because of Houdini goat). I think pushing the fence posts into the ground took the most time, we have A LOT of rocks. . . . .. . . . But now that the fence is done the goats are happy. I am limiting the amount of alfalfa they get to prevent any health issues. They seem very content grazing and the ironic thing is little miss Houdini goat doesn't even venture out into the new pasture, she's content to stay in the regular pen all day while everyone else is out enjoying the nice green grass.

A Donkey Tale

I have always wanted a donkey, who wouldn't? They are cute, funny and make an awesome sound!!
So an opportunity arose for me to purchase a donkey and I did. I can't say my parents were to amused with me, and I can't blame them. I was at college when this "oppurtnity" came around. So I asked my father and he said he did not want another animal to take care of while I was off at college.
So I called a friend and arranged for my little donkey to come stay at their farm until I got home to take care of him.

Two months later I came home and my donkey was dropped off. I put him in with my dairy goats for company and there seemed to be no problem with him adjusting to his new friends and surroundings. I even took him to our local 4-H event Old McDonald Farm, which is set up so children (and adults) can be educated on agriculture and it gives them a chance to interact with farm animals and learn about where their food comes from. He was a great and a crowd favorite with his long braying. He let kids pet him and give him kisses and he loved getting pats behind the ear.

   I have now had Willie for two months and love taking him for walks, letting him out to graze, brushing him and most of all listening to him HEE HAW HEE HAW. There have been little problems in the past, but recently Willie has been causing some problems in goat paradise. don't exactly appreciate this kind of behavior.  So Willie has been cast out of goat paradise until he gets "the big snip". I don't want the goats to be under any stress while they are milking or carrying kids. He doesn't enjoy being away from his friends, but he is adjusting. The goats don't really seem to miss him at all, but I'm sure they will welcome him back once he has his "manhood" under control a little better. It's not fun to be woke up at midnight when your brother hears a goat screaming in the middle of the night, you rush out in your pajama pants and flip flops to find a goat cornered and a donkey holding it by the neck trying to "get it on" with her.... The goat was a little traumatized, but was not injured fortunately.  I wanted to give Willie another chance thinking he was just in a "mood" that day and it wouldn't happen again. WRONG! It did and once again the goat (a different doe this time) was screaming and cowering in the corner with Willie trying to create a new species...... So Willie is currently in solitary confinement until the vet comes out

Welcome to my Crazy Life!

I have never had a normal childhood, not that I'm complaining. Family time to me is going out in the garden and pulling weeds, unloading wagons full of hay, canning tomatoes and working with livestock to get ready for upcoming shows. I have always loved family time, but let me give you a little run down of my life:

Mornings:
- Get up around 7:00 and have coffee with mom and my brother Fred (after dragging him out of bed. . . not a morning person at all!)
- Fix breakfast so when dad gets in from his morning chores at the dairy farm
- Let dogs out (1 border collie, 1 husky/sheperd cross, 1 beagle/sheherd cross and 4 beagles. Yes that is a lot of dogs)
- Feed and milk goats, Right now I only have two in milk and five more to kid. I have a set of twin kids I am bottle feeding (can you say adorable?)

- Feed the four pigs their grain and milk (we feed our pigs milk because it makes them grow faster and they love it!
- Feed, water and let chickens out (we have over 20 different breeds in pairs or breeder pens, we raise meat birds, show birds and layers so our total is somewhere in the 250+ range)
- By this time it is normally around 12:00 and usually we have customers for chickens or are doing random jobs (i.e. castrating pigs, trimming hooves, weeding the garden) today though it's kind of rainy and mom and I are making goats milk soap.

Then it is lunch time and depending on how mom feels (we will get into that later) I will be fixing lunch or helping with lunch. Then my brothers do the dishes and put laundry away.)

3:00 p.m. is kind of my downtime, usually I do English homework (I am finishing up a few classes and then will be completely done with my Bachelors degree in Animal Science.) Occasionally I will use this time to do other odd jobs. Around 5:00 you start chores all over again, hopefully finish up by  9:00 if all goes according to plan (lets face it it rarely does) be back in eat dinner and be in bed by 10:00. Often times I look forward to nothing more than curling up in bed with my two dogs and getting sleep so I can start all over again in the morning!

So now that you know what a BASIC day looks like, I hope you follow my blog so you can see what else I do throughout the day. I will be offering tips on things such as trimming goat hooves, making soap, preparing chickens for show, feeding poultry, the importance of local meats and many other things. I will try to post everyday and show you the exciting things going on in my life.