Carla D-Great new adventures and an Amazing Life

[Carla D]

Dont be so hard on yourself. Everybody makes mistakes. You need to take care of yourself. Get some sleep. Write stuff down and think about it first. I know all about doing stuff on impulse. Ive learned to think, rethink
Thank you for the gentle words, and think some more. Nothing wrong with that.
I hope you and hubby get to sit down and talk when things settle down a bit. Maybe its just he is concerned your taking on too much. Slow it down a little and take time for you.
Dont feel like you are messing up. Sometimes its just the universes way of teaching and self realization to the lessons we need to learn. We dont always pay attention.

 

[Carla D]

Thank you Rammy. Those kind words brought a couple tears to my eyes. But I’m only holding myself accountable and to slightly higher standards than I do others. It may have been a harsh self assessment, but it was made while being open minded, wide open eyes, and careful consideration.

 

[Senile_Texas_Aggie]

I have been super stressed, caught off guard more than once these last six weeks. Slowing down has become a necessity. I’m frazzled, I can’t get more than 3-4 hours of sleep for several weeks now. The change in seasons this year has been very hard on me. I can’t focus, think, reason, do or say anything very well right now. I will be slowing down. I have to for my health and safety as well as others around me. Thank you for pointing that out to me.

My husband has been a bit angry with me lately. I haven’t figured out why yet. I’m assuming it’s because lack of thought, jumping before I look, and acting way too quickly. I had to of said or done something really dumb to irritate him to this level.

Miss @Carla D,

Please take care of yourself. And don't feel like you are being a burden. Several people on this forum have had rough times, like Miss @Rammy with her crazy neighbor and the boss from hell, @CntryBoy777 with the troubles with his sister, Mr. @greybeard with the fun he had with Hurricane Harvey, Miss @Baymule with her mom and when buying her current house, and many others that I can't recall at the moment. I say this not to make you feel like you have it good compared to them. Just the opposite. I say this to let you know that there are folks here who feel your pain. So feel free to share as much as you like.

Senile Texas Aggie

 

[Devonviolet]

You are on the right track, girl! Baby goats are SO cute, and the price was too good to pass up. I can totally understand why you wanted to help them all out.

Since you are new at this, it's easy to get over zealous and a bit carried away. However, you have done nothing that is unfixable over time. As others have already said, kick back, take a deep breath and get some rest. It's hard to be calm and relax when you are exhausted and frazzled. Use this as a learning experience and move forward from this day on. Yes, you have a lot of cute little goats. But, you have to be realistic. These goats will go from being cute little goats to being cut bigger goats with bigger appetites. if you feed goats well (quality hay and feed, plus additional supplements) and give them appropriate health care (including supplemental shots, etc.) it can get expensive for that many adult goats. you may want to reassess and consider selling some of your sweet babies to good homes.

it's too bad that your hubby is not happy. There can be a multitude of reasons for that. But, one thing that I have learned over the years, is that communication is crucial in a good marriage. See if you can find a peaceful time and place (after baby is in bed), when you can gently ask him what is going on. Don't assume it is you. It could be something totally unrelated to what you are doing with the goats, that he hasn't discussed with you yet. The important thing is to approach it with the attitude that you are concerned about him. Don't take it personally if he is upset with you. Ask him what you can do to help work through it, and make it right. Keep in mind you may have to make changes, that you don''t want to make (like getting rid of all but a couple of your sweet little goats. It doesn't make sense to save a batch of little goats, to the detriment of your own life and marriage.) Maybe down the road will be a better time to increase your herd. Just be open to and willing to make changes, for the benefit of your marriage, and remember that goats will come and go, but your marriage is for the rest of your life.

Something that I have also learned over the years, is that if I put my husband's needs above my own, he turns around and puts my needs before HIS own. That seems to work in almost any relationship, except for my EX husband - it was ALL about HIM. And that didn't change for the entire 16 years we were married. I waited 12 years, to meet my sweet husband, and it was well worth it.

 

[Carla D]

I certainly hope I didnt make you feel bad. That wasnt my intentions. Even I have major F ups and had to come to hard realizations of my limitations or bad judgement on alot of things. I also learned you can look at it as a learning experience or let it get you down. One thing I have found on here is that if you need advice or just to vent, there are people on here willing to give you a shoulder to cry on, advice, or support for anything you need to get off your chest.
I know you will and are taking great care of your little babies and will always do so. Go hug your Goaties.

No, you didn’t make me feel bad about anything. Nobody has in this forum. I was given the same or similar advice from a lot of people on this situation. That made me realize I needed to sit down and rethink situation. I do feel really good with the way things turned out. Actually I got several positive things out of this situation. And only one bad thing came out of it. The fact that I don’t get see or be around two incredibly sweet, gentle, and loving goats everyday. But the benefit of having them for a day or two, making a new friend, getting a new vets contact information (whom I’ve already been having a conversation with), learned a few things, and a little bit of information about holistic care of animals. These by far outweigh the one negative. I learned from her that a holistic approach isn’t nessecarily a different way of treating an issue. It’s more eating your vegetables and taking a really good multivitamin. It helps boost and supplement the animals natural ability to build their defenses and increase their natural ability to fight of some common ailments. Kinda like building more white blood cells or a transfusion of white blood cells. At least that is how she uses her holistic approach. It may be different for other people as well.

 

[Carla D]

Miss @Carla D,

Please take care of yourself. And don't feel like you are being a burden. Several people on this forum have had rough times, like Miss @Rammy with her crazy neighbor and the boss from hell, @CntryBoy777 with the troubles with his sister, Mr. @greybeard with the fun he had with Hurricane Harvey, Miss @Baymule with her mom and when buying her current house, and many others that I can't recall at the moment. I say this not to make you feel like you have it good compared to them. Just the opposite. I say this to let you know that there are folks here who feel your pain. So feel free to share as much as you like.

Senile Texas Aggie

I did take your words as I believe you intended for me to take it. I honestly don’t feel bad about anyone’s advice or suggestions. It the opposite. If I was going to have a deal/transaction go bad I couldn’t of had happen with a kinder and nicer person than I did. This wasn’t a bad thing that it happened. Many people don’t get the chance to either do things over differently or undo/fix one that went not so well or badly. This has been a very good experience to go through.

 

[Carla D]

This was a very good experience for me to have. I’m very grateful to have had it and I couldn’t of had it with a nicer person than I did. I am not upset, disappointed by anyone for their insight, advice, suggestions, and experiences. Honestly, I am very grateful and lucky to have this type of experience. Thing could of ended up very differently if it were with anyone other than Josselyn. Neither one of us lost anything major or expensive. Neither one of us have bad feelings about the other person or the experience. I choose to look at it with grateful eyes instead of bitterness. This was a great thing to have gone through and experience. There isn’t anything I feel bad about. Well, except possibly my stopping to say hello and see the animals. That was a spur of the moment thing and she was caught off guard. Lesson learned.

 

[Carla D]

Yesterday I took two stool samples to the vet in the morning. I did get a call just before 5pm telling me that my little goats do indeed have parasites. They didn’t have the count of them at that point. I was told they had barbers pole, round worms, and either Coccidia or coccidiosis I can’t remember which was said. I was told I’d need to give them three different medications and I could get them in the morning. I did go in to pick them up this morning. They were set aside in a bag with my name on it. But, there were no directions on any of the medications. The vet forgot to give them or tell his staff what they were. Unfortunately, today is his day off and there won’t be any instructions available until tomorrow when he returns. I’m a little annoyed that I didn’t get instructions today so I could start the medication today. I suppose it’s possible he wanted to know how bad the counts were before he decided how much needed to be given. That’s just my guess though.

I also took the heat lamp out of the goat pen as well. A couple of my goats figured out how to get to them and the fire risk greatly increased at that moment. So the lamp is completely out of their area, not just turned off. They do have the warmest area on the farm with the only exception being my SIL’s house. I will have to wait and see how they tolerate the cold at this point. It had been cut back so it was off more than it was on. I’m hoping they will do ok without it. I’ll need to keep an eye out for shivering and make sure there is no significant decrease of intake for the next few days. I can’t believe I’ve had these little guys for 6 full weeks now. The time seems to be going by really fast, yet it feels like I’ve had them for several months.

 

[Carla D]

You are on the right track, girl! Baby goats are SO cute, and the price was too good to pass up. I can totally understand why you wanted to help them all out.

Since you are new at this, it's easy to get over zealous and a bit carried away. However, you have done nothing that is unfixable over time. As others have already said, kick back, take a deep breath and get some rest. It's hard to be calm and relax when you are exhausted and frazzled. Use this as a learning experience and move forward from this day on. Yes, you have a lot of cute little goats. But, you have to be realistic. These goats will go from being cute little goats to being cut bigger goats with bigger appetites. if you feed goats well (quality hay and feed, plus additional supplements) and give them appropriate health care (including supplemental shots, etc.) it can get expensive for that many adult goats. you may want to reassess and consider selling some of your sweet babies to good homes.

it's too bad that your hubby is not happy. There can be a multitude of reasons for that. But, one thing that I have learned over the years, is that communication is crucial in a good marriage. See if you can find a peaceful time and place (after baby is in bed), when you can gently ask him what is going on. Don't assume it is you. It could be something totally unrelated to what you are doing with the goats, that he hasn't discussed with you yet. The important thing is to approach it with the attitude that you are concerned about him. Don't take it personally if he is upset with you. Ask him what you can do to help work through it, and make it right. Keep in mind you may have to make changes, that you don''t want to make (like getting rid of all but a couple of your sweet little goats. It doesn't make sense to save a batch of little goats, to the detriment of your own life and marriage.) Maybe down the road will be a better time to increase your herd. Just be open to and willing to make changes, for the benefit of your marriage, and remember that goats will come and go, but your marriage is for the rest of your life.

Something that I have also learned over the years, is that if I put my husband's needs above my own, he turns around and puts my needs before HIS own. That seems to work in almost any relationship, except for my EX husband - it was ALL about HIM. And that didn't change for the entire 16 years we were married. I waited 12 years, to meet my sweet husband, and it was well worth it.

I think I’m considering selling possibly as many as four of them. After having the two big ones for two days I have a better idea about feeding them is going to be costly. In just the two day period of having the bigger goats there was more feed and hay eaten in those two days by all ten of them then these eight have in total over the six weeks I’ve had them. I do have a really tough time placing any animal in a new home. I have no control over how well they are being treated, fed, and cared for. I worry about the small amount of animals I have actually parted with in the past. I don’t have a problem get them into hands that are better off than we are financially, more experienced than I/we are. I don’t think about an animal being passed off to different owners during their lifetime. From my understanding wethers are considered worthless to many people, and they believe the only thing they are good for is burning up their money because eating is the the thing they are really good at. So I’m concerned that would happen to any of my goats that I may get rid of. And on the other hand I don’t think anyone wants an intact buck if they aren’t registered or of breeding standards. I don’t feel that way about bucks or wethers. I think I might prefer males or wethers over females or breeding bucks. That is just me though. I’ve always gotten along better with people of the opposite sex. And all of my truly special or favorite animals have been fixed males. So now that I’m remotely considering to part with a few of them I’m left in a new dilemma. Which would be easier to find good homes for? And which stands a better chance of having a great life. Buck or wether? I don’t put time into my animals to make a profit off of, to breed them, or to be eaten. I’m pretty sure that the outcome for any I may part with will one of those three things. I’ve never had an animal that I didn’t try very hard to give them a good life, lots of love, and taken care of the way I possibly could. These goats are going to be outdoors with a pasture of really nice alfalfa/clover/tall grass all mixed together. They won’t have acres to be on so I don’t consider that being pasture grown. They will have only about 1200-1300 sqft to eat, graze, browse, play, and do the goat thing. That is probably a space more appropriate for 3-4 goats than it is for 8 goats. At this moment and with what I’ve learned this week I’m not comfortable getting anymore goats. If I ever do gat more goats I’m thinking with the amount of space we can dedicate to goats, the amount of money, feed, hay, and vetting would also be better suited for 4-6 small or mini goats. There is a chance we could get our hands on two more acres to do our farming thing on. Then we’d have more space, hay, and grazing for them. But being really new at the farm thing, I don’t even know if they too much to where the field would continue to grow all year and sustain their bellies and bodies. Or even if long time poorly managed field has goat quality greens to provide the majority of their nutrition or if we will have provide mostly pellets and grains for them. I can’t tell the difference between different types of hay. I can tell that they are different simply by looking at them but anything more than that is a guessing game for me. I did buy bales of hay that they really, really love but honestly I don’t know what type of grass hay it is. To me and to my husband think it’s pretty much overgrown lawn grass. But from what I’ve been reading that’s one of the last things a goat will eat and only if they are hungry. I know everyone starts their learning process at different times and stages of their lives. I just found out my goats definitely have a triple parasite problem. Is it something I could have prevented, did I not do something I should have? They are growing like weeds. I think they have possibly gained 20-25 pounds since I brought them to our farm. That either tells me I’m doing a really good job taking care of them, or I’m overfeeding them. I’m not sure which. I’m all of a sudden feeling too uneducated and non experienced to be having any goats much less eight of them. I have thought about getting goats for two or three years now. But thinking is not knowing or having experience. I don’t have any interest in breeding goats not in the least bit. I don’t wish to be a dairy farmer and having to milk goats a couple time a day. It’s always been more of wanting to love them them and giving them a good life. With the added benefit of weed/brush control. Basically a glorified pet. The only reason I bought 9 babies is it cost less to buy all 9 than it would to buy three or five of them. They do it 1-4 bucklings $20 each, five or all but one of them for $10 each, or all of them for $5. At the moment it made more sense to buy all 9 of them. But in all honesty we really planned on having 3-4 goats. Yet another thing I should have thought about at least a little bit longer. Their size as adults doesn’t bother in the least. But I’m now wondering if we really have enough space and greens to properly feed and care for them.

So now I’m in another thought provoking and stressful position. I just got one issue resolved and I worked out for the best. Now do I leave them all bucks, wether all of them, or wether all but the one that I would want to use for breeding if I ever decided to breed a goat or a few goats. I think being disabled to the point where I can’t escape some of these thoughts or stresses momentarily by going to work is a whole lot more difficult than the 100 hours per week was. Odd! I guess it time to either throw caution into the wind and take things as they come. Or significantly slow myself down. I’ve never been any good at moderation. It’s either more than I can and should or not at all.

 

[Carla D]

Why can’t I write simple short replies or posts? I’m starting to think that may be my method of working through issues or questions. Why can’t I just write this stuff in a journal?