alsea1

alsea1

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Well, I do not have a name for my little operation. It is a hobby at best with the ability to provide the family with meat. Most of the time. LOL

I turned 50 this year and am just glad to still be healthy enough to do the things I want to do.

My husband is quite tolerant of my hobby and is willing to help out when nec. with building stuff for me.

When he helps with the day to day chores I usually get an email about the misdeeds of this goat or that goat. LOL

He does enjoy the goat milk and is adept at taking on the morning milking. This really helps when you have a day job you gotta get to.


I raise a generic strain of meat rabbits. I sell off my surplus rabbits to a lady that sells to the feeder market. It pays for the rabbit feed.

I have five American Black Belly sheep and one Katahdin ewe sheep.

I have three goats. One Boer doe and a Boer Buck and a Nubian doe. I am pretty sure my Boer doe is expecting in the next few weeks. Not sure about the Nubian.

Southern and Straw are making a good argument for the Kiko breed. I'm thinking about introducing that as my next choice in goat bucks. I do care about my Lil Eon but sometimes change is a must.

I have two grade mares I keep on my friends property. They are a true waste of resources lol, but I just cannot sell them. Literally. No one will pay what a good horse is worth these days. So I guess I must keep them.

We got into this hobby farm because I enjoy puttering with the animals and it also decreases the property tax on our place.

At this point it certainly is not going to pencil out. LOL.

My place is a work in process.

Just when I think I have it covered something comes up. lol

The other animals on the place consist of an old beagle and a young yellow lab and a cat.

I am very interested in the process of culling for a more natural parasite resistant animal and in trying use more natural methods such as herbs for treating the everyday things such as wounds, conditions and parasites.

I don't have a problem using chemical means if I must when nec.

I live in Oregon near the coast. Our climate is pretty wet and warm. We get some cold weather, however it is a climate that really is quite hospitable to things that make farm animals sick and miserable. Like wet feet for months at a time.

Nothing much going on today though. The animals are all good, except me. I have caught my husbands cold and cannot talk. Thankfully I am feeling up to cleaning the horse stalls.
 

greenbean

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Welcome to journaling! I can't wait to read your future posts. :D

I'm right there with you on the Kiko thing!
 

Straw Hat Kikos

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I was hoping you would start a journal. I really like your sheep. (and I'm not really a sheep person)

Kikos? You're both on the right track!
 

alsea1

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Thank you guys.
The sheep are pretty nice to look at.
My only complaint about them is that they do take much more time to reach butcher weight. They are a much smaller carcass as well.
On the up side, they take very little care, have easy birthing and appear to be fairly parasite resistant.

Contrary to what my first thoughts were, they are indeed just as destructive as my goats and horses can be in regards to the things you build for their area's. Its almost like they try to see if it can be demolished bits at a time. Ugh.

I thought that maybe the katahdin had been bred, but the ram was acting like she was in season the other day. So that means I don't have a lamb by Jimbo the katahdin. Oh well. Guess we will see what Black belly crossed on katahdin will look like.

We are having a nice day today. No rain and it is fairly warm. Such a waste as I have this darn cold. My husband keeps telling me to settle down and take it easy. I know he is right and I should lay low as I have to go to work this week. So guess I will just do the most important stuff. Horse stalls really need done. And sheep paddock needs raked. That shouldn't tax me too much.

I am looking forward to trying out some gardening this year. I have plenty of fertilizer. LOL With food prices going up the way they are it seems silly not to do it.
I am cautious about overusing our well, so will be experimenting with using stuff that helps conserve water and use it sparingly. Yet still water plants adequately. If you guys are gardeners I don't mind suggestions at all.

I'm thinking about using pots and things of that nature. We have tons of huge slugs and I am not wanting to use slug and snail stuff because of the dogs. I imagine Spud would eat it up and then need to go to the vet.

Hay is going to be a major concern for me this year. Trying to buy enough and afford it. How about the rest of you. Are you worried about hay supply and its affordability.
 

alsea1

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Just got done working on the hay manger repairs. Its us against them I think. LOL
Anyway they had broken the rails loose and were crawling inside to lay on the nice soft hay. Well, I just cannot handle this cause I know that they just casually deposit poops whenever and where ever.
So I put set screws to hold the rails where I decided. Lets see how long it takes em to outsmart me.

I still have to rebuilt the other side. Seems the ram wedged his fat head in there and then just pulled back and took the side out with him. For the time being I have some two by fours wired on there to resemble a side and hold the hay in. So far its working as is. Not the nice finished look we had when my husband got it finished.

As for the goats. Eon has figured out how to open his stall. Now I am going to have to use some baling twine to tie it closed until I rig up a cotter pin for the latch. Hope he can't undo knots. Or think of chewing it to bits.

It is three twenty two and the goats think its feeding time. They are out there hollering.

Mouth is looking quite cumbersome these days and I can outrun her to the barn. I am hoping that she has her kids smooth with no issues. Her last set of twins did not go so well. They came out fine but the doe baby died within a day. Not sure if I killed it with my attempts to help it or what. I just remember it being horrible. Her buck baby did very well. I named him Chester. He grew up to be a very nice little buck. I sold him last year. The price was not good, but ow well.

:cool:
 

alsea1

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Got home from work today. Went out to do chores.
Found that the sheep had destroyed the hay rack again. Apparently we are underestimating their ability to destroy stuff. My husband pointed out that the ram has made the shelter out of whack via his ramming. So we have decided to stake it down.
I had no idea it was going to be so difficult trying to design stuff they cannot ruin. LOL.
I am glad I had the forsight to put up hot wire so they cannot ruin the fence.

Well, I better get off here and go put the goats up. Was gonna leave em out then I read Bridges post about losing her boer triplets. So I've decided to put em in.
 

bonbean01

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I believe your sheep are just that kind of breed...a little wilder than some, but very beautiful! I'm curious how the cross with a Katahdin will look?

And wishing you healthy babies...stressfree!!!
 

Bridgemoof

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alsea1 said:
Well, I better get off here and go put the goats up. Was gonna leave em out then I read Bridges post about losing her boer triplets. So I've decided to put em in.
:D
 

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