A walk on the farm

   Took a walk in the woods yesterday. Very nice day. Thought I would do a photo post for the spring.

Theses are some of the girls laying in the sun ,chewing their cud, and singing to themselves.

Flame azalia didn't bloom as nicely this year.

Fungi

?

Trillium

??

Carolina allspice

Trillium

Mulberry

Momet and Sweetie March kids

Look mom I can get my whole foot in my mouth.

Goat Barn

   Been really busy around here lately. My husband got his hay baler and I got my goat barn. Should be safe from the tax man next year. We will see. This weather has been crazy either burn up or freeze. The blackberries are not even blooming yet?

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This is the goat end of the barn.

This is my end of the barn.
The warm weather made everything bloom at once so the pollen around here is terrible. Then it turned cool so it is staying around forever! ICK!!!

Dogwood

Hickory pollen!

  I have a trainer coming out to the farm to train the Haflinger sisters and Velvet. She is doing a great Job. I will have to get some pictures now that I have the new computer set up to do my editing.

Overfed Goats

    I have been raising goats for going on 8 years now. Those of you in the south know this is especially challenging due to the heat, humidity, and worm load. We started using a nubian buck 3 yrs ago on some of our registered Boer goats to get some moms with better milk. I chose a spotted one "Mo Mo" with good milking lines. My full Boer does are Okay moms but not enough milk to raise multiple meat kids. This is Mo Mo's fourth batch of kids. So far I have gotten 4 nice Boer/nubian does. None with spots. I have gotten numerous beautiful spotted bucklings. Last weekend I got my first spotted doe. What a beauty she is ! We named he Momet. He full sister looks just like her mom a full boer doe, a little on the leggy side like the nubians.I'll have to get pictures later as I don't have the picture software loaded onto this computer yet(hard drive on the other crashed).
     Here we get to the title "Overfed goats". I don't have a proper barn or creepfeeder for the kids. So some of my smaller does slip in and eat the creep with the kids. Two to be exact! The were both pregnant and kidded this weekend. I found and helped one with a huge 10lb buckling. I thought I was going to have to feed him but we finally caught mom and got them penned up together. The does mom was a terrible mom and we took her to the sale. This mom is small because her mom didn't feed her properly.
Anyway because she ate the creep her kid was too big and she had trouble delivering him Now she is partially paralyzed on the back end  and should not be allowed to kid again. I could take her to the sale but then someone else might let her kid. The other doe I found yesterday. She had a huge red buckling dangling dead out of her back end.  He was stuck by the hips . We were lucky though, in trying to catch her the kid came free and she passed the after birth with no problem. So because of an improper creep I have lost one doe and two bucklings. Don't let pregnant does overeat! Yes they need proper nutrition to maintain their condition but not get fat.
   Well the shopping for a proper barn and then creep begins! Any good links to how others have their creeps set up would be appreciated. I will get pictures of the new kids. The huge buckling who survived my grandaughter named "jelleybean" because of easter.