rachels.haven's Journal

[rachels.haven]

There must be a rule that if you pen breed 145 or 150 days after removal of the buck, that will be the day all your does decide to kid-ALL of them (just kidding, more like the same week).

Summer still has ligaments. She has dropped, but that poor girl is holding out. Probably for the better. Emi is still in the kidding stall. Summer's probably going to lose her ligaments then go 5 minutes later and chances are I'll have just checked her and gone in and I'll be in the shower or bathroom or something. If Summer has does, they will stay.

 

[rachels.haven]

Single doeling for Summer on day 157!!!!

(Heat lamp is cool to the touch on the outside, I used a lower power bulb, btw)

 

[rachels.haven]

Emi's buck/doe twins. They are a tad slabby in build right now so I'll need to evaluate her before deciding to keep the doeling.

 

[rachels.haven]

Buck pen breakfast. I trimmed their feet last night and collected dna on the young lamanchas for profiling as adga requires now.

 

[rachels.haven]

Everything is mud right now, btw. Melt is coming.

 

[Bruce]

Melting here now but it will be 0°F by 3 AM. Nothing like a nice solid freeze to make dangerous ice.

 

[rachels.haven]

Bruce, tell those weather guys to take that back!
Well, kids aside, during the latter part of last week DH decided that after having to live and try to work through our usual swamp fly palooza this summer and fall (and winter since the first part was so warm) he doesn't want to spend another season in this house, so we're going to try to move. He doesn't feel good about leaving his current job yet, so we're looking in the area.
On Saturday we found a 5+ish acre horse property in Harvard with most of it cleared and fenced off with horse fencing that needs to be replaced (horse fencing doesn't work for goats anyway), but it has a 3 stall, one tack room horse barn with a loft and two hay doors. The house is a little smaller, but it's less extravagant than the one we're in, which would be a relief. No ac, but the house appears to be built to cool itself, and we are ready to put it in if we get the house.The schools are on the level, the medical is the same as here. It's closer to a bigger office for DH's work where he can have more employment options if things sour or fold further in his organization.
So we're going to put in an offer.
I'd rather leave the state but I can't force DH to. He's willing to sacrifice the budget to get me a cleared property, no swamp critters to go after the children, with the bonus of bigger, nicer barn, andmore normal house...I'll go with it. Mass is creepy, but it appears to be good for the kids and DH's eyes. I'll put up with it for now. I'm incredibly lucky as it is, I keep reminding myself.

...And if this house or the next or next doesn't happen after we've done all we can do, it wasn't meant to-and maybe I get to move to TN instead, right? Dh is having fun knocking around his maternal-grandparents' stomping ground. Someday I'd like it to be my turn to go live near my family again (and get out of dodge).

 

[Bruce]

More big changes Rachel!

 

[rachels.haven]

Also, as a side note, after removing Avalon the whole herd relaxed and suddenly milking and handling became a breeze. Then both DH and another mom breeder near me advised me not to get out of nigerians completely and to decide after the worst of it is over (little big baby, lots of kidding in cold weather, everyone but one nigerian a to be trained FF), and I thought about it and found it logical so I'm just downsizing the adult dwarves. Sugar (ava spawn), Buttercup, Chip, the two Sugar doelings, and the Eri doeling will be staying. Eri's going back with her breeder who wants her back, (I'm not fond of her feet or 90lbs nigerian train size, or smaller orifices anyway), and Lavender is being sold because while her udder is perfect in attachment, her teats and orifices are too small for anything but feeding kids. All the bottle bucklings have gone, and all four dam raised bucklings have deposits on them and will go March 26thish.

In the meantime, we get at least 3-4 weeks before the next kidding, which will be a race between Trinka the FF lamancha (possible trips?) , and Lady the FF 200 pound nubian (possible quads). Lace, if she is pregnant, is then due at the end of May. She was bred to kid last week, but she got caught in the fence by her scur and miscarried. I wish my vet would remove that sucker.

AND the mosquitos are out again. I kid you not.

 

[Baymule]

You have mosquitos??? Heck, WE don't even have mosquitos! At least not yet.