Interesting Trip

Yesterday afternoon I set out to go to a friends house to pick up red top tubes to draw blood on the goats, then the bank and the grocery store. Routine stuff, so I thought! After seeing all the babies, it is kidding season afterall, my friend mentioned needing to disbud some of them, having never seen it I offered to help. I watched as they did two kids, I think I'll be paying to have mine done! While we werw disbudding, one of my friends two legged kids was checking a pregnant goat that appeared to be close to kidding, the determination was that this doe had an upside down kid and needed assistance! We were done disbudding despite the kids that hadn't been done yet! I observed as the oldest of my friend's kids went in an decided the kid was no longer upside down, the cervix wasn't quite open all the way, and mom should be fine on her own. After many pushes and much waiting, she went in again to find the cervix open and 2 feet with what felt like a HUGE head. After some medicine to help with momma's energy and contractions the baby, a huge buck, was delivered! It was decided that going back in to check for more babies was needed. My friend's oldest went back in and felt something "gross and creepy". It was bones, this momma had twins, but one had died very young.I got there in the afternoon and didn't leave until after 9PM!

And I didn't forget the tunes I went there to get!

Meet Cinnamon!

I am looking at buying this new doe....(Feb 16th) As of 4-5pm (2/17) she was paid for and in the truck on her way home! Around 7pm she decided she was comfortable and NOT getting out of the truck!! Took until almost 8pm to get her out and into her isolation pen.  Tomorrow she gets the joy of blood drawn, vaccines, worming, and hooves trimmed!! Poor girl! 

Her "pending" name is "Sun" Hill Acres Sassi's Cinnamon.

Her mom's name is "Sun" Hill Acres Sassifrass.....she will be added to the website in the not to distant future.

More info later

Who knew a broke down truck could get you a job...

My truck decided to hate me on Saturday (1/24) and later that evening I got a call from my neighbor offering me 4 hours a day milking her 10 goats and 4 cows, cleaning the equipment, and feeding the animals. (She has bad arthritis and just can't keep doing it by herself). She has a milk machine for the cows and the goats, so I pretty much get paid to wait! Wait for the milker to finish that cow (or pair of goats) until I am finished with all of them, then I filter the milk (which is waiting for the milk to strain through the filter!) I play the waiting game from 8am to around noon! I love it. I can't wait until my goats are back in milk...I need to save to buy my own milk machine...it is SOOOOOO nice! After using one for 4 days now I can't imagine milking with out one!!! 

Happy New Year

Welcome to the new year with the Laughter Herd.  My goals for this year are to have healthy, happy goat kids and mommas, a dozen eggs a day (laid in the coop, not the hay), have some Serama or banty babies, have the goat barn complete and maybe the horse stalls started on! We shall see!!! 

My main goal this year is to have 5 does in milk and to help with that we purchased a buckling in Dec. Four of the girls (Ginger, Rosey, Lily, and Chouli) were all bred in October, November, and maybe December to some lovely boys from Swede Farm. We decided Daisy hadn't quite grown enough to be bred, so are hoping when Luke is old enough, Daisy will be big enough.  In March, we should have registered 4th generation (tiny) Mini Lamancha kids and registered (recorded grade) Lamancha kids. In April, we should have registered (Purebred) Nubian kids. Ginger was taken to be bred in October, but looked like she didn't take so was taken back in December. She could be due in March or May...she will be having 3/4 Lamancha and 1/4 Nubian kids. These kids will not be able to be registered as Ginger and her daddy aren't.  

Chickens....the laying flock consists of 1 Golden Comet rooster, 3 Buff Orpington hens, 2 Barred Rock hens, 2 Ameraucan hens, 1 Rhode Island Red hen, 1 Golden Laced Wyandotte hen, 1 Golden Laced Polish hen (not laying yet), and 1 mixed breed hen that likes tp go broody far to often! I figure with 11 hens...I won't be getting a dozen eggs a day, but I can hope for eggs laid in the coop!! This spring I will order 10 replacement chicks to raise for next year's laying season.  The 3 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Barred Rock, and the mixed breed hen will all be looking for new homes or stew pots by the time the replacement chicks are old enough to lay. That will leave me with 6 hens and 10 chicks....Maybe I can get a dozen eggs a day out of 16 hens next year!!! 

The replacement chicks will consist of Ameraucanas for green eggs, brown egg layers, and maybe a white egg layer or 2.  

The dogs had a great year in 08 and I hope to get Jesse CGC tested (Canine Good Citizen) and get him tested through the Temperment Test Society.  

My NUMBER 1 goal for 2009 is to get the messy little buck out of my house...I am checking now to see if it is too cold to try to move him to the barn, he will have a stall next to the big girls with a hay floor to keep him warm......he pees forever!!!!!!!! He is the cutest thing until he chews on the computer cord or the couch pillows, or jumps on the couch, or pees!! lol

Hope you have a safe and happy 09!

Introducing The Gramen Farm Saint Luke (Luke for short)

I bought a new buckling tonight. He was born Dec 14th.  Enjoy!

Isn't he cute!!

"Moooommmmmaaaaa, where are you"

Here are some pictures added this morning....after I tried to get him to take a bottle....guess he wasn't hungry enough! 

"Hey, that's MY blanket!"

"What are you?"

"Where did it go?"

"Hmmmm, your a little big!"

The Banty Coop

My banty coop began with a FREE Serama Hen ad on craigslist. Shelby and I went to get her and on the way home decided her name should be Miranda (Lambert). 

With Miranda being so tiny (and not yet having a Banty Coop in mind I put Tina (Turner) in with Miranda and they became the best of buds!)

I soon decided Miranda needed a boyfriend and since the real Miranda is dating Blake Shelton, I decided it would only be right to give my Miranda her own Blake (Shelton)!

Blake is a Serama roo with Silkie feathering. (Miranda soon decided he wasn't to bad!)

The three became inseparable! 

Not too long after getting Blake I saw an add on Craigslist for three banty hens that needed a new home. It was obvious Tina missed her big friends and Blake would like more girlfriends! So I called on the hens, they were already spoken for. :(  After talking with the lady more we discovered that we were both members of the Pet Chickens of Texas site and she decided she knew they would have a good home with me and so here they are! These three do not have names yet, but I am working on it.!!

She looks like a Japanese Bantam to me?!? Maybe

After their quarantine period they were turned loose with Blake, Miranda, and Tina. Blake and Miranda took to them quickly, but Tina was very aggressive with the Black hen, so Tina got evicted and is now back in with the layer flock. She seems happier with the big flock! Here she is pestering me because I was taking pictures of these new girls instead of her!! 

Blake and two of his girls! 

Blake and his OTHER two girls! 

Johnny and June

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Cash

June is the Buff Silkie in the back and Johnny is the Splash Silkie in the front.

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Cash! 

Poor Lonely Batman!!

I helped Brad and Shana sell the Longhorn mamas last week and the guy came to get them yesterday. That was quite a fun ordeal! Wish I would have grabbed the camera and a saddle! Working cows bareback is kinda hard...would have been harder trying to document! We had thought we would pull the hay trailer out of the barn and get the cows in there to load them....NO GO The mommas wanted nothing to do with that barn...no matter how much feed and coaxing we did. Batman would go in and out (maybe he knew what was going on!) So we ran them into our rather large pen with trees and stuff for them to hide around, but the only place that would work. We need a working pen with chutes! So we block any opening and back the trailer up to a small opening. Shana in the Gator, me on Apache (what a good old man), and Chad on foot. We try for Dottie first. This was not a real big trailer and probably shouldn't have had all three in there. In our many attempts to get Dottie we decided the front of the trailer was slightly larger than the back half and that 2 would go in front (original plan was Dottie and Winnie, because poor Red is our fav and she gets picked on) and Red would go in the back. So after many failed attempts at Dottie, Emily came out with feed and coaxed Winnie into a small corral type area Chad and the buyer made in front of the trailer. Well with feed involved Red had to check it out! We get Winnie up front and shut that gate, the we get Red in the back. We attempt to open the middle gate and put her up front with Winnie...there is no room for her to turn and open the gate! What to do what to do! So the buyer has a rope (none of us can rope by the way...so we didn't use it for its intended use!) that we put around Red's horns and around a large pole in the ground and back her out. Chad goes in and gets Winnie by the horns and they come out and stand in a corner until we can get Red up front. We tie Red to the front so Chad can get Winnie back in. While getting Winnie back in she feels the urge to poop (when stressed cattle get the runs) and turn at the same time flinging nice runny poo on all around! Chad man handles Winnie back in! While working with Red and Winnie, Shana and Emily work on getting Dottie closer to the area. We have the buyer's wife hold a bag of feed outside the trailer, since nobody can get close to the back of the trailer with Dottie checking things out! We don't want to scare her! Dottie walks right in to check things out! So the guy got there at 8:30 am and we were trying to convince the girls to go in the barn! No luck! We got back to the house to wash poo off and get to work with other projects for the day (Shana laying tile in her house, she moves in by Thursday! Chad working on the back deck of Shana's house) at 10:15ish so not even 2 hours to load 3 longhorns into a rather small trailer without a working pen and chutes! Not to bad! 

So in memory here are some pictures of the Longhorns and their past calves! 

Dottie

Winnie

Red

Socrates, Dottie's first calf

pic coming soon

Dottie and her 2nd calf

Sir Cornwallis, Winnie's first calf

pic coming soon

Winnie and her second calf

pic coming soon

Batman, Red's first calf

pic coming soon

Red and her second calf (the only heifer!)

Our House

Here are some pictures of the house now that it is done.

Kitchen (please excuse my countertops...not enough storage for goat milking supplies, egg gathering, and soap making!)

Again excuse the box of milk jars!
Livingroom as seen from couch. Bathroom door is out of view to the left and "bedroom" is out of view to the right, altough you can see a tiny bit of the comforter.
Livingroom from front door
From laundry room looking through kitchen and livingroom into "bedroom"
Messy desk in laundry room
"closet" in laundry room
Don't mind the mess on top of the washer and dryer (not enough storage space for all my soapmaking stuff!)
"bedroom" originally we had the bed turned with the headboard against the windows and you could walk along both sides, but the foot stuck out into the livingroom area, so we turned it and it fits perfect and there is room between the bed and the wall to have a small nightstand (you can see my lampshade over there) and to make the bed.
Here is my little bathroom! 

So here are the few construction pics I have of our house.

Here is the wall Chad built up to cover the open loft, the kitchen, and the bathroom door. 

This is a view from the frontdoor

Here is Chad working on the wall of the loft area above the porch, his ladder is in our "bedroom"

Here is Chad putting the metal on top of the laundry room

Meet Miranda

Say hello to Miranda the Serama.

And here she is with the giant Tina!

Getting a Serama Hen

I am hoping to go sometime this week and pick her up....more to come when I get her!

Bye Bye Dottie, Winnie, and Red

Saturday (9/20/08) morning I listed the Longhorns on craigslist and got an email rather quickly from someone interested...wanted to know if the papers went with them and their ages.  I emailed back with the info and got a reply asking to come see them that afternoon! So I said of course and left a phone number. Half not expecting a call....I have listed them in the past and got nothing, but this time...he called, came out, and wrote a check! He will be back this weekend (9/27 - 28/08) to pick them up and haul them to their new 100 acre wooded and creeked home!!

I will miss you girls, but atleast you are going to "retire" not become someone's dinner!!

Ike Ike Baby

Yo, TX, Let'​​s kick it!

Ike Ike Baby,​​ Ike Ike Baby
All right​ stop,​​ evacu​ate and liste​n
Ike is here with some big ambit​ion
Peopl​e,​​ close​ your homes​ up tight​ly
It’s blowi​ng like a hurri​cane daily​ and night​ly
Where​ will it stop?​​ Yo-I don'​​t know
Turn off the light​s and let’s​ go
To the coast​line Ike rocks​ like a vanda​l
Start​ up the car and watch​ me drive​ like an anima​l

Dang,​​ hardw​are store​ sales​ boom
Ike’s​ killi​ng my plans​ like a poiso​nous mushr​oom
Deadl​y,​​ evacu​ate they tell me
Anyon​e left will be charg​ed with a felon​y
Love it or hate it, you bette​r get away
Ike will hit the bull'​​s eye, the storm​ don'​​t play
If you’r​e on vacat​ion,​​ Yo, Ike stall​ed it
Check​ out the eye while​ the bands​ revol​ve it

Hurri​cane Ike Ike Baby,​​ Hurri​cane Ike Ike Baby
Hurri​cane Ike Ike Baby,​​ Hurri​cane Ike Ike Baby

Now that the peopl​e are jumpi​n’
With their​ stuff​ packe​d up and the gas done pumpi​n'​​
Quick​ to the road,​​ to the road no fakin​’
Pass McD’s​ get a burge​r with bacon​
Burni​n’ ‘em and follo​w the symbo​l
I go crazy​ when I hear some imbec​ile
Revvi​ng,​​ in a soupe​d up Pinto​
Now I can roll,​​ it's time to crack​ the windo​w
Rolli​n’ in my Chevy​ Tahoe​
With my windo​w down,​​ I can feel Ike blow
My lapto​p’s on stand​by,​​ Waiti​ng for some Wi-​​fi
This spot hot? No – and I gotta​ fly
Kept on pursu​ing to the next block​
I buste​d a left and I'm beati​ng the clock​
The light​ was red

Yo -- so I conti​nued to I-37 to San Anton​io
Wish I was there​ in a blink​ like a jeani​e
How I’d love to be sippi​n’ a marti​ni
Jealo​us '​​cause​ my girl’​s livin​g fine
She left yeste​rday and was there​ by nine
Ready​ to give my homie​s a call
My homie​s actin​g ill becau​se their​ car just stall​ed
Humid​ity,​​ the air is stick​y as hell
Ike’s​ on his way, the weath​erman​ yells​
Movin​g towar​d the gulf coast​ real fast
I’m in my car, can’t​ give it no gas
Bumpe​r to bumpe​r the inter​state​’s packe​d
I'm tryin​g to get away befor​e Ike attac​ks
Polic​e on the scene​,​​ what can it mean?​​
They hooke​d me up, now there​’s anoth​er lane free
If you’r​e on vacat​ion,​​ Yo, Ike stall​ed it
Check​ out the eye while​ the bands​ revol​ve it

Hurri​cane Ike Ike Baby,​​ Hurri​cane Ike Ike Baby
Hurri​cane Ike Ike Baby,​​ Hurri​cane Ike Ike Baby

Yo man, let'​​s get out of here!​​ Word to your mothe​r!​

Pretty Posing

So these are just random pictures! I was taking some shots of Lily for an online goat show and Daisy wouldn't leave us alone, so she got to post as well!!

Daisy's Hiney

Daisy eating the camera cord!

Chouli trying to look like a 2 legged kid! Almost Chouli, but I think they have 2 legs in back, not 2 left legs! (Ok I know her front right is down to, but it is almost perfectly lined up with the other so that it almost disappears)

Lily's profile