Subscribe To New Posts Via Email

Email Address:
After submission, check your email for a verification message.

@WardehHarmon on TwitterWardeh on Facebook
Wardeh at GNOWFGLINS™Posts RSS

Farm Animals

Kids At Heart

Kids At Heart

We walked quite a bit this weekend around our property, and of course the goats go with us. They are so fun! When the sun shines and there’s lots of good pasture to eat, their energy picks up and they have a blast. This video shows what they love to do best ~ good thing we live on a hill!

Goat Hay Rack

Goat Hay Rack

I presented Jeff with two hay rack plans: one off the internet and one from the book, Natural Goat Care. But they were just ideas to get Jeff’s creative juices flowing. We figured we needed a hay rack, because otherwise the goats would eat their (expensive) alfalfa hay in a big bin in the center of the barn. Most of it would end up on the floor. After Jeff thought awhile, he decided to part ways from the plans and do it his own way.

Goats

Goats

Now that we’re moving into winter, have the goats into their final home, and are preparing ourselves for breeding, I thought I’d do an update post regarding the sweet loves who are now part of our family.

In The Nick of Time

In The Nick of Time

We worked from sunup to sundown Saturday and Sunday, and then from noon to past dark on Monday, to finish our barn. Or at least get it done enough to keep the animals dry and shelter the remaining water and electrical work ahead of us.

Paisley’s Progress

Paisley’s Progress

Even though these pictures won’t show it, things are going better with Paisley. The first five minutes of milking is always pleasant and peaceful. Paisley eats happily. Then, for whatever reason, she decides that she’s done with milking. Well, I’m not done yet, so I don’t let her off the hook.

Paisley

Paisley

We’ve been up and down with Paisley, one of our milking goats. She’s an edgy goat. We never know what will set her off. When she goes off, she does things like this – get spooked easily (from sounds, unfamiliar people or animals), try to sit down while I milk her, generally be uncooperative during milking, be uninterested in food, buck and kick during milking, and/or not come readily to the barn for milking/feeding. Frequently, all these things happen during the same milking hour. But I do love her and I want her to fully settle in here. She may not, though. She’s more than 3 years old and probably this is her personality. Which beg the questions, is temperament passed on through breeding? I really don’t want any kids like her! There’s so much I could say about her and the recent ups and downs. I’ll try to categorize.

Sally Scratching Her Bottom

Sally Scratching Her Bottom

Just for fun, I have a video to show you today. I took it this morning during the milking time. In addition to our Nubian milkers, we have Nigerian Dwarf goats (who we do not milk). One of them, Sally, is a butt-scratcher. She will find the most curious places on our property to give her bottom a good scratching. I’ve been trying to remember to take the camera with me outside, the greatest purpose for which is to catch Sally scratching. And this morning, I caught her at it. So here she is – meet Sally!

Wild Turkey Hens and Chicks in the Barn

Wild Turkey Hens and Chicks in the Barn

This video shows the wild turkeys – hens and chicks – who are sleeping in the barn at night. They hang out on the property alot during the day, too. We often find them with the goats. This morning, when I went to do the milking, three hens and just as many chicks were still nesting in beds of hay in the milking area. There is lots of dropped hay on the floor and I guess they think it is pretty comfortable.

Lonely (Hungry) Turkey Hen

Lonely (Hungry) Turkey Hen

This wild turkey hen in this video doesn’t have any babies. She hangs around and even comes in the barn during milking to scrounge for spilled food. The goats are notoriously wasteful – and this hen has figured it out! She’s scared of me. If I come in the stall where she is, she will run in circles, frantically, looking for her way out.

Jail Break

Jail Break

The last two weekends’ work has broken us out of a jail of our own making. Because our animals were free-ranging over most of our property, we had (until now) put up temporary cattle panel/t-post fences right around the perimeters of the pole barn, temporary barn and house. Every time we went in or out, we had multiple gates to open and close, poop to try to avoid, and animals to keep from jumping on us out of curiosity (why do goats always think you’re carrying food?). We’ve got some big projects to accomplish this summer ~ plus we were fed up with animals lounging on gravel instead in green pastures (does that make sense?)! So we put up a temporary fence that casts a wider net all around the people areas ~ driveway, barns, and house ~ locking the lovable creatures out and giving us some more room! That’s why we feel we’ve just been set free. :) Here are some pictures of all the work and fun we had doing it.

Recent Comments

  • Wardeh: An update: I am no longer able to to fulfill hat orders. I am sorry.
  • Wardeh: Hi, Kare! That does help. We have been having him sleep in a separate stall from the does. My husband put up...
  • Angela: Traci Thanks this is a great idea and I am so going to use it I am a mom of almost four and we homeschool as...
  • Kare: Hi Wardeh, Your goats are so sweet! Sadly, we just sold the last of our goats last Saturday and I miss them. I...
  • Jessica: Please do not use candle wax. I have tried that with a letter to my friend and it ran through the entire...
  • Jen S: Wardeh, the goat is adorable! I am so glad you were able to get him. Have a great week! .-= Jen S´s last...
  • Michelle: Nice find, Cosmo is pretty, I like his coloring! And wow, walking sticks, fun! I heard they reproduce...