48 Hours Later And A Nice Surprise (Or Two)

Lucky for us we have great neighbors, and neighbors that love our goats.

Julia came twice on her school conference day to help get the orphan twins bottle fed.  Trust me. No easy task. We are not as good as mom.

Then her mom Allison came today and came up with a better technique and the twins ate twice as much as they had the first day.  Luckily, no scours (diarrhea) after 48 hours on powdered supplement. 

They are probably not getting as much as they would with mom, but we are getting used to the bottle and hopefully they will get used to the change and get easier to get started.  There is a lot of resistance, but patience is key.

After the morning shift and watching the herd come and take care of the orphans, we were closing up the barn when I looked on the hill and saw a bear walking the tree line.  As it turned out, after closer observation, he is sick with mange.

Our Game Warden was called, but of course, the bear ended his one hour nap in the sun and wandered off before he could be caught. We have the neighbors on the look out as none of us want any of our animals, or us, to share the bear's affliction.

Then just as things were settling down, Allison noticed Vinegar on her side in the corral. Yes, she was starting to kid. 

I struggled to get her out of the field with the buck, and once through the gate, she took herself into her stall. 

After a long half hour, she gave birth to a single, lovely, paint buckling.  Here she is unwrapping him!

 This evening he was fluffy and soft and a great cuddle after a long couple of days. 

Another Family Moves In

Here comes the moving van.Our driver Brian gets ready to unload.
What a smart uniform he wears.
Ah! Its actually our new Game Warden.

VIDEO OF PHEASANT RELEASE

A new family of birds again no less.
These birds are ready to nest and are part of the Pennsylvania Game Commission's breeding and hunting program. We are not a regular place for them to stock, but it seems there were some spare birds, and we have a suitable spot for them to nest. Lets hope for some happy pheasant families to join the robins.This is the male who seems to have claimed the left side of the hill. This fellow has the right hill, and I think the majority of females.
They flew and ran so quickly I lost count, but I think eight females were with the two males.There were a few eggs in the crates although they are slightly damaged.
If the membrane is still okay, I wonder if we can incubate them.
Twenty one days from now we could really confuse the hens with baby pheasant.