“A day in the country is worth a month in town”Christina Rossetti

Monday, February 22, 2010

A Few Changes

Since we got the two feet of snow starting February 5th the kids have not been able to go out all day into a field. The snow was too high for them. and it was so difficult accessing another gate. That changed Sunday when Dave hand dug around a gate, and up to the shed in the upper field. I had planned to take my Deere out and mash my way out there, but I never got to try. The fear was getting me stuck in the now heavy, slippery snow.Today, after watching Brees eating grain with his mother, I took the time to set up a creep feeder. We have a futon frame I got for a couple dollars at an auction. With a couple of bungee cords, I cordoned off a corner, and put in a bowl of grain and minerals. He caught on very fast!A creep feeder is a place where the kids can get to, but the mothers can't. That way there is a supply of food that only the kids can munch on. Brees already is a bit stocky for the spaces here, but it will work for a few days anyway.
VIDEO OF BREES BUTTING MY BOOTS AND RUNNING IN THE BARN

Naturally, today the rain and wet weather came along, but luckily short lived. Everyone but Twee and Brees got to spend the day outside, but they did get out for a while this morning.Tomorrow, they will have the company of Vinegar. Her due date is the 24th, and she is "ripening" up. Her udder isn't tight yet, but that could come quickly. I think she looks very good with two days to go. Her hips are changing, and her belly is dropping, but she looks very fit. She's been put in her own clean pen so that she can relax, and have some space of her own to birth. Can't wait! She's a good mom, so I expect no problems, but the baby monitor is on!

6 comments:

Carla jacobs said...

Hello deere driver,
I've tried to make your days a little less complicated, I've put a blog translator on my blog. It's only gonna be a little bit easier, cause Google isn't that good in Dutch :-)
I am following your blog because I fell in love with your farmhand :-) But I also love the stories about Mia and the other cats. The pictures are beautiful, you are living in a very nice piece of the world. I'll have to us Google Earth to look up where Ligonier, PA exactly is (somewhere in the USA, is all that I know :-)) Please feel free to become one of my followers, you would be the thirth en the first one that hasn't been bribed :-)

Kittie Howard said...

Brees looks very healthy and is growing fast. Cute creep station. Good luck on being a granny again!

Jada Hill Farm said...

great photos..is that shreaded paper you use in there pen???? great......feel free to follow our blog,we are setting up to get our goats in the spring, once the barn is built!

Amy L. said...

Goodness, she IS huge! Is she any closer to kidding yet?!

Deere Driver said...

Jada,
Yes its shredded paper. Worked a lot better when we only had five goats, but now its a serious effort to get a supply. Hubs brings some home, and a few offices call me with their collection. We are also working with the high school doing their office white paper as part of a school recycling project.

My mom does the shredding in the summer and gets our supply built up. See her under "Paper Factory". She is so into it!

Deere Driver said...

Amy,
Still waiting! I thought for sure we'd have new kids by now.

They say the animals know to wait till weather breaks for the better. If that's true, then we will have to wait a bit more. The snow has been pounding down all day. I think I cleared a foot and there is six more inches and counting. Big fluffy snow now.