Devonviolet Acres

[Devonviolet]

Thanks @farmerjan! I've never heard of that before. I looked online, but didn't find much on how to do it.

Do I put my fingers horizontal? Am I feeling for 2 bumps with a space (top to bottom) between them?

Would that work for ducks also?

 

[Bruce]

I have no idea why it's a one-way flyway to them.

Maybe they are part guinea.

 

[farmerjan]

Hold the chicken in the palm of your hand with one or two fingers of that hand between its legs so it cannot get away. So that the head is towards your body. In other words, slide your hand under the bird with the breast towards your wrist and it's butt towards the end of your fingers. This way you can tuck it's head under your arm so to speak. With your other hand you take your fingers like you were going to spread the feathers to look at it's butt. You will feel the 2 pelvic bones on each SIDE of the "hole" where they do their manure and lay the egg. If they are very close together then it is not laying. If there is a good amount of space between them then she is laying. That is what I meant by 3 fingers. A full size hen you can put 3 fingers between the bones, reaching down from top to bottom.

{ lll } { } equals the pelvic bone on each side. lll equals 3 fingers inbetween . I don't know how to "draw it" on the computer. I am not electronic/computer literate.... Does this make more sense? Fingers are vertical, bones are on each side of the butt hole.....

 

[Devonviolet]

Thanks @farmerjan! I'm getting ready for Farmer's Market tomorrow, so will have to wait 'till next week to try that.

Taking a break, to get my arthritic ankle in the air, so thought I would post a darling shot, that I got, this morning, of Falina & Hope on the milk stand.

 

[Bruce]

Won't have any problem getting Hope up there when she is in milk!

 

[Devonviolet]

Won't have any problem getting Hope up there when she is in milk!

ABSOLUTELY!!! I'm planning to keep Hope and sell Faith. But, in all fairness, Faith did get up, on the stand, with Mom, before Hope did. They are both going to be excellent dairy goats!

 

[Baymule]

That is a precious picture.

 

[Devonviolet]

Yesterday, we made another addition to our herd!!! Goat math at its finest!!! It’s been in the works for a while, but I didn’t want to say anything until we actually did it!

We bought a beautiful Myotonic buckling! He is registered and is only two weeks older than our two little girls. But, I have carried him, and he is definitely heavier!!!!! In the next day or two I will get him on the scale in the barn.

I was looking at a beautiful 5 year old black, long haired, polled Myotonic buck, that someone had told me about. I actually had sent a payment check in the mail. Then I remembered that I had forgotten to ask if the herd had been checked for CAE, CL and Johnes. So, I called the owner and was shocked when he said No, and since a positive isn’t necessary positive and a negative isn’t necessarily negative and can change if retested, he wouldn’t be testing.

And by the way, I’m sure you would take good care of him, but since you don’t trust my herd, and if he did test positive I wouldn’t give a refund or take him back, I don’t think I want to sell him to you. So, he sent my check back, and the sale was off. I’m sure, since it is a closed herd and they have been doing myotonic goats for 20 years, with none of these diseases, it would have been fine. But, in the end, I’m fine with not getting this buck.

It turned out, I was then referred to another polled, myotonic buckling, from a clean tested herd, with great blood lines. His eyes are brown, his name is DannyBoy, and he is just beautiful.

I have some photos, but I’m on my iPad and the pics are on my android phone. So, I will have to post photos later. They were taken in the evening, so are a bit grainy. Of course, I will be taking lots of pics in the next few days, and will be sure to post them.

 

[Devonviolet]

Here he is shortly after we brought him home yesterday evening. Its hard to see his eyes. One might think they are in the tan stripe going down his face. But actually they are in the black area on the side.

Here he is in the side yard, shortly after we let him out, to roam, this evening. I clipped a rope to his collar, so we could step on it, to be able to easily pick him up, to put him in the hoop hut, for the night. It really does make things a lot easier.

Rosemary was fascinated by him, and couldn’t wait to give him a sniff.

Falina and the girls were also very interested.

After a while, though, Falina started a bit of through the fence head butting, and it was so cool to see both Violet and Deo run interference, so she couldn’t get at him. In the following photo, Deo had stepped in front of Falina and was pushing her back with his head.

Here, DannyBoy had been put away, in the hoop hut, for the night. We pushed a few Oak leaf branches through the wire, and he was enjoying a bedtime snack.

As you can see, the photo quality isn’t all that good, as it was almost dark, so the flash went off, and focused on the wire, instead of DannyBoy. Tomorrow, we will be putting some fencing around the front of the hoop hut, to give him a bit of room to roam in the sunlight, so I’m sure I will get better pics in the morning.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

Congratulations!! He looks very sharp!!