Every morning

Every morning, this is what I see out my kitchen door. There are usually a few more cats. Looks like they are all in line, waiting. Stella was laying down when I opened the door. Of course I had to go find my camera and when I got back, she was standing up.

The dogs are the first to get fed. Bubba and Sophie eat outside. Stella eats inside. I don't know why, but that's the way we do it. Then the cats get fed. Then I get the milk goats and feed them. While they are eating, I fix all the feed containers for the chickens, sheep and the rest of the goats. I go feed all of them and let the meat chickens out. Then back to milk the goats. Stella is still inside because she aggravates the goats. She does come in at the evening milking though. The dogs and cats are in the milk room for their bowls of milk. They love goat milk!

And then we do it all again in the evening, except the sheep and dry goats don't get feed. I put the meat chickens back in their pen and let the laying hens out for a few hours.  The dogs get meat bones. And the cats get rabbits and birds. Really. This morning I go out to feed the back yard goats and there's a dead rabbit in their shelter. With the middle eaten and a pile of puke next to it.

Sometimes I feel like I am in the movie Groundhog Day. Same thing over and over. Day in and day out. Every day the same thing. But I love it. This is my life right now. I can't imagine it any other way.

Farm Country

There is corn in North Georgia. There is a huge field across the road from us and they are harvesting the corn today. Big trucks loaded with corn from the big corn combine. It's really interesting to watch that big machine cut through the tall dried corn stalks and then go to the big trucks waiting to be filled. I love living way out here and hearing the big farm machinery. Seems like there is a tractor or some type of machine for everything.

And all around us are hay fields. There is haying going on everywhere right now. We have had a great year for hay. I don't think any animal will go hungry this winter. I have around 180 bales right now and will be getting another truckload in a few weeks. My truck holds at least 40 and sometimes 45-50 depending on who stacks it. You can see a round hay baler here in this picture. This is to the South of my property. You can see Lookout Mt.

Here is the field to the North. And there is Lookout Mt. through the trees in the middle of the picture. I love the smell of hay after it's been cut and it drying. Just don't like loading and stacking it. But the smell is amazing.

I had to cut some privet and honeysuckle for the goaties. They love that stuff. They have eaten every tree and bush in their pasture. It was full of blackberry bushes and those thorn trees. Lots of stuff back there and now there are only some big tall trees. Nothing much but grass back there for them now. So I go and cut them branches for them.

There is a lot going on around me here in farm country. What's going on in your neck of the woods right now?

Adalaide

Little Adalaide is walking on her foot now. She seems to be ok. It could have been bruised in the commotion yesterday morning. I hope that's all. I mixed the Red Cell into their feed and they all ate it up. I like it this way. SO much easier. I won't know how much each one got this way but I know each one got some. I just could not put them or myself through that again.

Just another day at the spa.

This afternoon, I went to check on the boys. They were snoozing under the shade tree. And getting massages from the nice chickens. And getting there wool all fluffed. I thought this was so funny and so sweet of the chickens. It must have really felt good to the rams. They never batted an eye. Such is life at Outback Farm. And they looked so good after their spa treatment too.

And now...

a broken leg. Poor little Adalaide must have broken her back right leg this morning during the chaos and confusion in the stall. I got all 8 ewes in the stall for their Red Cell and B Complex shots. It was a little crazy in there. She must have been hurt in the shuffle then. I feel so bad for her. It's right above the hoof, like the ankle. I noticed her limping this evening. I am going to see if it heals on it's own. I just can't put her through any more stress like she's been in the last few days. I need them all to be calm and happy. If it looks like it's getting worse or she's in pain, then I will have to take her in to the vet again. She's supposed to go back in 2 weeks for another blood test.

I am going to try putting the Red Cell in their feed in the morning. I just can't do all that again. It was horrible. They were all scared and running and I can't put them through that again for 13 more days. This better work.

It's always something around here. This morning when I looked out the kitchen door, there was Iris and Brie, the 2 little doelings. At the kitchen door. I looked to see how they had gotten out. The sheep were all at the gate, looking at them. The gate was open at least a foot wide. And the sheep were all behind it. Such good sheeps. I just love them.

So I put the does in the milk room. BIG MISTAKE! They had that place in the biggest mess I have ever seen. Stuff all over the floor. Broken glass under the shelves. Stuff inside the mineral bag. Poop all over the stanchions. A MESS! And they were only in there while we were drenching the sheep, about 30 minutes. Those girls are wild!. So had to clean the milk room before I could bring in the milk goats. Such fun on the farm.

How was your day? Anything like mine?

Went to the vet today

And learned a lot. I brought Adalaide with me. She has had a hard time the last month or so. As soon as she walked through the door she pooped, so Dr. Miller told his assistant to hurry up and get some to do a fecal test. Then they drew blood. It took about 15-20 minutes for them to see what was wrong.

First, they only found 2 worm larvae. That was great news. I had wormed her again last night with Ivomec because her whole head was huge and I was afraid she would not be alive this morning. I had also taken a syringe of B complex to give her but didn't. She looked a little better this morning.

So he said her red blood count was 9. The scale goes to 35 I think he said. They did it twice just to make sure. He said she should have a blood transfusion. But he didn't know what blood or how. He has done horses but never sheep. But that's how low her red blood cells are. That's bad. He said all the others are more than likely that low as well.

He told me I need ed to get some Red Cell and give them all 1 oz. every day for 2 weeks plus a shot of B Complex. We need to get their blood levels built back up. I can also give them kale and other greens too. He said the goats would probably need this treatment too. I know Adabelle does for sure.

I found a gallon at the co op in town. He gave me a huge drench syringe. I have 11 sheep and 9 goats. That's 20 oz. a day for 2 weeks. I am going to need another gallon I think. It's cherry flavored too! Yum.

So gave Adalaide her Red Cell before I let her out. I forgot the B complex. I gave the rams all theirs this afternoon and Darla too. She's a pig ewe.

Also gave all the does theirs tonight. I am wearing a lot of theirs. They apparently don't care for cherry flavored anything.

I will start all the others in the morning. My daughter Heather is here for awhile so she will be helping check off their names in a book to keep track of who had what. I hope all this will get them healthy again. He also said that rotating pastures is the best thing to do. He did say that since I had the pasture mowed Sat. that the worms should be dead. But I have to keep them in the smaller pen with a stall that has a door to give them all this stuff.

I have to take Adalaide back in 2 weeks to do another blood test to see how they are by then. They sure could use some good prayers for this to work. I sure wish I had gone to the vet sooner. Lucinda would still be here with us. I miss her already.

Sad news this morning.

I was hoping to wake up this morning to a healthy ewe, all better and up and eating with the rest of the flock. But when I went out to feed and do chores, I saw all the other sheep but not her. I went on in and saw her laying flat on the ground. I knew right away she was dead.

I feel bad because this could have been prevented if I had just gotten the vet to come out last week. She might be alive now. And her daughter Anabelle and the other ewe lamb Adalaide would be ok too. But those 2 have very swollen jaws even this afternoon, even after 2 rounds of Ivomec, Cydectin and Valbazen. Plus antibiotic and Thiamine shots. I might lose them too.

I am calling the vet first thing in the morning. And I will keep calling if I don't hear from him. I need him to come out here as soon as possible to check on them. And the others too. Then I am calling the guy who runs the agriculture department in town and get him to come out and evaluate my pastures to see if there is a problem with them. I need to know what is going on here and why I just lost one of my favorite ewes. What am I doing wrong?

I rotate. I keep the grass and pastures mowed. I give them organic minerals. And apple cider vinegar in their water. They get good grains and hay. I just don't know. And I only had 9 ewes. And the 3 ram lambs are in another pasture across the yard. It's not like I had a thousand sheep.

So I called a friend up the road with a backhoe. He's coming in the morning to bury her as deep as he can. I wanted to take her to the dump, as far away as possible because of the worms. Or take her way out back for the coyotes to at least have a good meal. But I don't want them to get sick. I think getting her buried at least 5 feet deep will be ok.

Right after I found Lucinda, and after milking the goats, I looked over at one of my does, Sandy, and she is in standing heat. I saw Lil Red trying as hard as he could to mount her. I hope he did. And I thought how one life just ended and one more has just been conceived. So life goes on. And I just witnessed that. I am ok with death. Just right now, knowing I could have done more, I am a little sad. I will miss Lucinda. She was one of my favorite sheep. It took her a long time to let me get close enough. But after that, I could pet her and give her kisses. She was a good ewe.