rachels.haven's Journal

[rachels.haven]

Hi, the hay is mostly gone. I think we can eat through the rest. Apparently it goes over well with cows and sheep. New hay comes on the 7th.

I've started breeding goats. Lamanchas should start up tomorrow.

Pepper the L*S lamancha buck, ai son of famed Little Orchard Pure Thrill, is going to have to give me lots of daughters next year and then leave if i cant remember to bring my personal defense shocker in the pen. He is 900% used to bullying women. I may need to make a point of having "words" with him every morning and evening when i feed. Sparky, shocky words. *Deep breaths* Be the electric fence.

Anytime i have to do anything "persuasive" when he comes at me instead of backing down and running away he puffs up even bugger and taller and cocks his head and looks at me down his cheek but doesn't "give" an inch or submit a thing. I usually let him have it a second time when this happens and he'll act like he "has better things to do" and sort of walk off, still puffed up like he's king of the pen.

Today i forgot and he wouldn't let me have a ND buck to breed the nd doe in heat despite maybe getting a lead rope buckle hard in the face when he came at me suddenly like a snake (cue more puffing up and regarding me coldly like an otherworldly king). But i got the gate closed in time. So i used one of my baby bucks in the barn and took away his girl on the other side of the fence to breed to another. Tonight i will see if my device still works and we will parley (probably safe from the other side of the gate first since he thinks he owns the space now). I haven't had to use it in a while and he's pretty wound up. Its just a pocket shocker for joggers, but i need short, grippable, reliable for when he's close enough to touch and not a long prod that can be knocked away.

Until a week or two ago i didn't need my little pink sparky thing to go in the pen. Stinking bucks.

I may be working on a separate pen for Pepper and the other big boys so i don't have to fight to get the little boys out. The ND and mini bucks are actually pleasant to handle.

I'm hoping I don't have to milk Pepper before i breed him...a little worried because he's pretty bagged up on one side. Needless to say he's NOT docile and the proud turd WOULD hit the roof.

 

[Baymule]

You don’t need a buck that has you in the cross hairs. Thats damage (to you) that’s waiting to happen. What a jerk.

 

[rachels.haven]

I'm looking forward to that. I just can't take another year in a row where I keep a bunch of lamancha doelings to make his purchase and transport worth it. The temptation is definitely there the though.

I think the ethnic market will like him if nobody else wants him (with disclosure of course). Posting him in our Lamancha group will probably move him fast too.

Unfortunately I'm discovering that the more high production a line of goats are the worse their males act in rut and I think I'm going to have to dabble in it every once in a while to keep that production up unless I get good at AI (and I do, but IDK if I'll pull it off). Hormones are hormones I guess? I'm going to have to up my rut handling game. I'm just not seeing the conformation or milk in the supposedly more chill lines. Getting tired of it though. This is another push towards minis. They just do not do this.

 

[Baymule]

I have 3 rams. Cooper, chill, easy to get along with, will do anything for getting combed.
Little Ringo, son of Ringo who was a sweetheart. His son, not so much. He’s a jerk but seems to have calmed down a little. We’ll see.
Rocky, just gets more and more calm. Loves animal crackers and getting the side of his face stroked.

I’ll probably be putting Little Ringo up for sale next summer. I don’t want injury.

 

[rachels.haven]

I’ll probably be putting Little Ringo up for sale next summer. I don’t want injury.

Me neither!

(Visible udder half in this pic, not weenie)

 

[Ridgetop]

He is 900% used to bullying women. I may need to make a point of having "words" with him every morning and evening when i feed. Sparky, shocky words. *Deep breaths* Be the electric fence.

Anytime i have to do anything "persuasive" when he comes at me instead of backing down and running away he puffs up even bugger and taller and cocks his head and looks at me down his cheek but doesn't "give" an inch or submit a thing. I usually let him have it a second time when this happens and he'll act like he "has better things to do" and sort of walk off, still puffed up like he's king of the pen.

Sadly, lot of people don't train their bucklings to behave when they are kids. Bucklings have a lot of character so often they are made into pers. They need to be handled but not as pets. Can you put him in a small pen where you can get a rope or halter on him from outside?

DS1 had a champion registered Hampshire ram almost as big as our Shetland pony. He was docile in a halter and lead, but ctching him in the pen was suicidal. DS1 could handle him although one day he forgot and turned his back, BAMM - got knocked across the pen! I used to take the halter and crook with me whn i had to go in the pen. I would spread the leather halter across the top of the fence feeder, then put some grain in his fence feeder and when he went to eat, grab him around the neck with the crook long enough to get the halter on. Then I tied him to the fence before going into the pen. He was a beautiful animal, produced nice lambs, but he was dangerous ad I was glad when DS1 sold him. Our other rams (we had 4 or 5) needed to be watched but were fairly docile.

If you can get a couple years of doe kids from him and even a couple nice bucklings for future breeding from him, you will feel more comfortable about selling him. Hopefully his evil attitude won't come through in his offspring. I wonder if his attitude in rut is why he was sold.

 

[Ridgetop]

BTW, that 3rd photo looks like he is sticking his tongue out at you! Daring yoi to come in HIS pen.

 

[rachels.haven]

Welcome to the milk room. Feeding a froot loop pregger yearling. Kidding date is second or third week in September. I have 5. This one may need a more patient hand than mine unless she suddenly bonds to me (lol). Briefly enjoying not being dragged around while she forms positive associations with not being a froot loop.

These are her spirit animals.

 

[rachels.haven]

Pepper changed toons when he realized i didn't forget the stun gun this time. Then i kidnaped him to the barn/a stall I set up.

My mini buck that previously refused to breed anything but his friends also changed his toons and covered two does. He's pretty and well behaved.

My Kastdemur's buck that i bought foundered appears to also have something wrong with his back and can't cover does. I think he covered one, but he may have collapsed first. No interest in trying again. Just fussing over her. We'll see. I remembered thinking his back was funny when they unloaded him but I dismissed it thinking i knew nothing and it was just his feet making him walk funny. His feet are indeed swollen and unbalanced but he cant work now either and he's in pain. Somebody wanted to use him after me, but i think it's time to call the meat men.
Four does down, two more tonight and then three tomorrow.

And then breed the last 5 ND.

Ups, downs... let's just get them done.

 

[rachels.haven]

Three Lamancha does to go. Pepper ran out of gas. Still hates me, but he barely had enough jumps to do the third doe that was previously Dator's that he's stuck with (what a sacrifice!). We'll see who settles.