Sunday, January 11, 2009

Sunday On The Farm



Sunday...the day of rest. I try to not write a lot on a Sunday. Not talking much is difficult for me. Enough said about that. :)

It is a cold morning here in Ohio. We just put a front behind us that brought rain, ice, and fog with it. This morning the remnant is frozen mud. I do not mind the cold, in the 20's, nor the frozen mud. The temporary lack of mud is a good thing, and it will be back later this evening!

This is a picture of Annie's kids from several years ago. She always has beautiful twin kids, normally bucks.

On the subject of kids, I have several things in alignment today (and this week). A full moon, boer goats that have not started kidding yet, udders coming in, ligaments loosening, and at least one (as of this morning) with an udder that tells me kids within 24-48 hours. Last but not least, we are going to see single digit mornings this week.

As an 8-year on the job farmer, I have learned several things. One is to watch the weather forecast. In the summer it can mean running the water hoses to the vegetable garden. In the winter it can mean plugging the barn monitor in to ensure I do not have newborn kids with frozen ears. It definitely takes calendars, weather forecasts, and my attention. If I get quiet, or if I start writing weird things, you'll know the ball has started rolling. I don't mind a correction now and then, I might need it! :)

Take care...and have a beautiful Sunday!


11 comments:

The Scavenger said...

Mary, love the goat pics. Do you use a baby monitor in the goat barn?? I have another boer that crossed with a pygmy buck getting pretty close to kidding. The last kidding was on Dec.31 by another boer/pygmy cross and I missed the whole thing. All was well though, I looked outside and there they were, 1 little doe and 1 little buck. Wish I could have been there to at least watch. A baby monitor would let me know if something is up down in the barn. Thanks,

Chris

Lomond Soap said...

Sending you luck with the kidding (or births) hope all goes well with them. Do let us see when they arrive :)

Anonymous said...

Good luck with your kiddings Mary, I just looked at our 10 forecast, Thursday it's supposed to be 13 but with the wind chill it could be -2 though and Friday it's supposed to be 7 degrees, I'm glad I get alerts through the weather channel to let us know when bad weather is coming though since it's right on my desktop so I don't have to go to the web site all the time, it alerts for my County and the surrounding areas.

I am glad I won't have to be sleep deprived with kidding season for awhile now though, I'm not sure when we'll get back into breeding goats again really, haven't bred the doe for the lady that lives down the road from us yet because of our weather we've been having lately since I don't want to take the buck out of his pen in this kind of weather of course since I don't want him catching a cold or something! We really need to get our herd down more before we consider breeding again.

Mary Humphrey said...

Chris, thanks for commenting on my blog. I use a monitor in the barn during inclement weather. If the temps are mild enough inside the barn I leave the monitor off when the boers are kidding. I pay close attention to the ligaments and other signs of impending labor. I bottle raise the dairy kids. When the dairy girls are due I have the monitor on 24/7. Yes, the monitor is great! I use one from Radio Shack. If you have electricity in your barn, and if your house is close enough, you can plug one monitor into a barn outlet, and two monitors in the house (or one), with great reception. I love them! I hope you get to witness a birth soon. Most are uneventful, but I never stop feeling amazed! Take care.

Mary Humphrey said...

Corrie, I will be sure to posts pics! Thank you for the good wishes. :)

Amy, now you see what I mean about the timing (based on our forecast)? Remember the blizzard last year? Needless to say, I have a bunch of blizzard baby pics. They do pick the worst weather, low temps, snow, ice, a full moon, you name it. It happens every year!

Anonymous said...

Yes, I remember the blizzard, it is snowing again here and it is pretty slick out too, my Mom and I were on our way home from church for Youth Group tonight and it was hard getting up our drive too.

Oh, I have been there done those types of kiddings, ours have kidded in rain storms some in the coldest temperatures ever, one time I had to carry a baby goat in a cooler to just get up the hill to the house since she wouldn't nurse her momma so she became a bottle baby and I know those sleepless nights well,ha ha- fun stuff, LOL! I am glad we have a surveillance camera monitor.

KathyB. said...

I too am checking animals late at night. I don't have any monitors except me, so I keep the coat, flashlight and mud boots by the back door. Several of my ewes have uddered up and 2 have loose ligaments, so we'll see. My sheep have been known to put on a show for me and then not lamb for another month!

I do fondly remember my Nubians kidding and having to pull a few out into the world too. One ewe would not stop eating during kidding...no kidding. I went to check on the goats and there was a doe chomping away while half a kid was sticking out of her. She only seemed annoyed I penned her up to pull the kid out ( healthy) and after licking baby , she went back to eating.

Mary Humphrey said...

Kathy, it sounds like you field breed your sheep like I do the boers. The dairy girls generally have a due date, but with the boers it is a hit and miss thing with the kidding dates unless I see the breeding. Good luck with your lambing!

Hidden Brook Farm said...

Ooooo babies soon. Wishing you many does & restful nights.

Bethany said...

The babies are so adorable!

Mary Humphrey said...

Thank you, Bethany! I'll have more soon...thankfully they were not born this week. Thanks for stopping by my blog!