Last night I became a midwife... er, um... that is, GOAT midwife. I officially straightened out a baby's leg while inside its mama's womb so it could come out-- because I have tiny hands and my husband has giant ones. Everyone was so proud of me. I became a heroine in just one evening. My young son has showered me with kisses, drinks of water and a foot rub because I apparently saved a little life. I'm feeling quite pleased with myself.
Last week I knew nothing about goats. But GOOGLE has been a great teacher and I'm learning new things every day. Yesterday, we had 18 Boer goats. Today we have 21. I suspect we will have 22 before this day is over. Why do we have all these goats, you might ask? I am still trying to figure that one out.
By the way, would you like to know the babies names? Just say, "yes."
Well Miss Carmen, the black goat is a proud mother of twins, Thing 1 and Thing 2.
(You have read The Cat in the Hat, right?)
And here we have Jerusha
(You have read The Five Little Peppers and How they Grew, right?)
and her cute little baby, Sassafras.
I think I'm falling in love with goats.
Shh... don't tell.
I loved having goats, when we lived on a farm.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and daughter would love to have goats and I feel exactly the way you did! I don't mind living in the country even though I never had before, I can live with the old farm house, but don't ask me to touch the animals! :) Right now they are not in the budget anyway, so I am safe.
I did have a question for you. I was wondering about how you prioritize your time. Since moving, I have had a really hard time figuring out what I should do first. There are inside chores, obviously, but now there are so many outside things and I don't know where to start. I was wondering how you have handled this change in your circumstances.
Thanks again for sharing with us!
I want goats. But my husband, who grew up with goats, and those goats got out of anything and into everything ~ refuses. You know what he tells me? "On your next husband you can have a goat." (Tongue in cheek)
ReplyDeleteI'm doomed to never have a goat! (Which is in reality, a good thing.)
:)
Thing 1 and Thing 2...OH HOW CUTE!!
ReplyDeleteAnd Sharron...I know I'm not Linda but I sort of have a priority answer...and not a day goes by here that EVERYTHING gets done...so I guess I live by priorities...
Feed
Clean
Organize/prepare/repair
(i.e. everybody gets fed every day. Almost everybody gets cleaned up after every day...people first, then animals...that is, if there's only time to clean one thing, it's people and their stuff... If there's still time left over, then things get fixed and mowed and weeded and painted and such).
Well that is exciting! Aren't you glad you have small hands?
ReplyDeleteThe goats are very cute (and so is your son's excitement).
I love the names too. I'll think of them when we read Five Little Peppers and How They Grew.
Do you drink the milk? Perhaps you will have to learn how to make goat cheese :)
Enjoy those goats.
Stacy
Wow! Nicely done! That must have been quite an interesting experience!
ReplyDeleteI must say, I love goats. We had them when I was young. I would love to have them again.
Good for you! I think goats are sweet!
ReplyDeleteYou are a brave woman...
ReplyDeletewouldn't catch me doin' that!
Way to go! :-) You should be proud of yourself. And, I don't know why, but I've always wanted a goat. I don't know if I'd want them reproducing quite so fast, though. But, have fun with them!!
ReplyDeleteSharron,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Karebeagle that feeding the family and cleaning come first. I might expound a little on it by saying that some days when the weather is so beautiful or the garden MUST be tended to, etc... that going outside is priority for us. So the feeding and cleaning get done but only the bare minimum. I make a crockpot meal and we tidy the house and sweep the kitchen floor, nothing else.
I really, really like how flylady.com recommends home blessing days and zone chore days. This is what we do and it has made our cleaning times so efficient.
We work as a team in our home and have established routines so that rarely if ever does the house become a disaster. It gets a little messy and kids track dirt and grass into the kitchen DAILY, but everyone knows their jobs and when we all work together the day's cleaning never takes more than an hour and usually just 30 minutes plus meal dishes. Oh, and I make sure laundry never gets behind. It is a daily quick and easy task that we begin first thing each morning. We all take turns doing it, too.
So, I guess what I'm trying to say is ROUTINES are the key for us. (and it took years of training for us to get it down to a science)
This may sound as if my house is spotless. NO WAY. We are too busy living to keep it perfect. There is dirt in the corner and cobwebs on the ceiling even as I type, but I've learned not to fret over them. They will get cleaned on the day that we work on that zone. Not today.
Lindafay,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! We've had goats for over five years and I've never had to turn or pull a kid yet, thankfully.
Sweet pictures. :)
Thanks for the tips ladies! I guess I kind of know the inside comes first, but it seems like since it's never "done" that the outside is sorely negelected. I'm still working on that routine! :) I only have one 9 yo helper and one 2 yo mess maker and I haven't decided yet which one DH isl :)HA!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Goats aren't so bad after all, are they? And they save time mowing and trimming and weed eating, and... Wish you lived closer. I'd come over and visit those babies every day! And maybe buy a few off you if they were available. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the blog. I enjoy it often, though rarely comment.
On the time saving techniques.. I could use all the help we can get! Especially with our new adventure of living in a new place, building a new home and raising new animals. Thanks for all the other comments, for a new wife to learn from.
Oh goats are just wonderfu!! BBQ-ed that is! lol....Actually your little farm is coming right along. Jerusha is also one of my favorite names--from, among other places, the movie of Michner's Hawaii!!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how populated it is where you live, but we have "neighbors" with goats. I say "neighbors" because it's a 20 minute walk there, or a 5 min. car ride.
ReplyDeleteWhat they do is they have a metal box that is filled with cups of cracked corn. The cups are old recycled yogurt cups. There is one empty cup in the box for putting in the money, 25 cents per cup on the Honor system. They are out in the country, but there are several subdivisions nearby. Every mom within walking distance visits The Goats. It is high fun in the preschool crowd. In fact, on nice days in the summer you can pretty much count on the feed being gone by supper time. There is also a box of baby wipes in the box and a small trash can so you can wipe off the goat spit. I bring a bottle of Purel with me.
I spoke with the goats' owner and he says the money just about covers the expense of having the goats.
Sharron,
ReplyDeleteMy husband is definitely a 'mess maker.' :)
I know it can be difficult when the children are so young. You will never get it all done. My advice is always do your best, never being content with mediocrity, but don't let it consume you or get you down. It's just part of being a mother. Somedays, I put practically everything on hold and go play with the kids. They are with us so briefly. I'm much more relaxed than I used to be about this.
Amy lu,
ReplyDeleteWe live far from subdivisions and most of our neighbors have livestock so it wouldn't be a novelty for them to visit our goats with their kiddies. I think it is a wonderful idea, though!
BJ,
I didn't think goats were so bad until SUnday night. They got out of the fence and into our yard. Ate EVERYTHING in sight. Ruined our fruit trees, rose bushes, blackberries and blueberries. My husband may have to enter some recovery center... ; ) I think I'll buy him a pear tree for Christmas, poor guy.
Stacy,
ReplyDeleteWe may drink some of the milk in the future. We have to have them tested for brucillus (sp?) first. I said I would NEVER do this. sigh...
Too cute! I can't wait to have kids. My girls are only 6 months
ReplyDelete