We had a snowstorm blow through this afternoon –
Unfortunately you can’t see the snow that was blowing almost horizontally. The wind is supposed to be upwards of 30 mph tonight. Fun to be out doing chores in, especially with branches crashing down all around you. This winter really needs to end. I’m supposed to be shaving goats this weekend for a show!
Looks like the 4-H group has quite the hatch going on! Check it out!
The buckling pen was getting a bit too crowded — 6 of them are already sold, just waiting for their rides, 2 are mine, and 4 others still are for sale. One of my AI (artificial insemination) boys from one of my best does ended up with crooked front legs. :( Actually he was one of triplets, and I see the same defect in all of them, but he was very blatant. I’m keeping the other boy to see if it straightens out, and of course the girl will stay until she freshens. But this boy really needed to go. So, we put him into the freezer yesterday. Or more accurately, he is in the fridge until I move him to the freezer later today.
*****Here’s the disclaimer — these are actual butchering photos — dead animal, guts and all. If you are sqeamish, please do NOT scroll down. Thanks. ********
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Okay. So I managed to talk the farmer into doing the killing/skinning/gutting for me if I did the cutting up and packaging. Deal! Buckling was quickly dispatched with a shot to the head, and bled out over the compost pile.
Getting the skinning started, and opening the abdomen:
I was really amazed at how much hay such a young kid (about a month old) had in his stomach! We opened it up later to look at. There was also an amazing amount of body fat on him. Guess we know they are getting enough to eat.
The carcass all skinned - we cut the hind legs off at the hock right before we take it to the house to wash.
Washing the meat before cutting it up and packaging. This month old kid provided over 20# of usable meat! All naturally raised and fed. I’m going to marinade some of it in a few days in a mix of merlot, soy sauce, garlic and rosemary — yum!
It was interesting to note that after we dispatched him, I tried to straighten that really bad leg out — it was impossible. The leg bone itself was actually attached wrong to the shoulder. Sometimes those breedings that look wonderful on paper just don’t mix the right genes together.
It’s freakin SNOWING. AGAIN! ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Just after daybreak:
Woke up to discover that it had been raining for quite a while. At least it is warm enough to rain instead of snow. It’s also helping melt off the snow that is left. I think I am going to lay on the couch and listen to the birds a bit this morning before I get on with the daily routine. It’s overcast and now the wind is picking up out of the SW.
We had a real disappointment last night. One of the yearlings does (bred to our now deceased buck) kidded 10 days early. One kid was grossly deformed, and it was most likely the cause. The other kid, a pretty doeling, looked fine, but was dead by the time we found them — or could very likely have been dead at birth. Sadness. Two does left to go, hopefully with no further problems.
One of the kitties left me a prezzie on the front step this morning.
It’s nice to be appreciated.
We haz it.
These are the 15 yr old Siamese twins (lol) We’ve had them since they were tiny kittens, after they were discovered having fallen into a wall at a local school. Very different personalities, and only one of them is very vocal.
Do you not like how we chose the sofa color to perfectly coordinate with them? 
Okay, here is Deedee getting ready to kid — I was alone with this one, so not so easy to get pics :) Again — those with weak stomachs, just don’t look. Trust me, lol.
Checking baby presentation -
Birth fluids starting to really drain prior to kidding- There is no smell to this fluid, and it’s fairly thick.
Here is the first foot peeking out. Babies are normally born front feet first, with the head laying on top of the legs. Sometimes they come out breech - rear legs first. That is normal as well, but we hang on to the umbilical cord as they come through to ensure that it doesn’t break too soon and they end up sucking in a mouthful of fluid.
Here is the first wet baby waiting to be dried off - She ended up having healthy triplets - 1 girl, 2 boys.
And that brings us to the afterbirth. Interesting stuff really. This is the placenta that attached each kid to the uterine wall. It all comes out in a big glob soon after kidding. The does quite often want to eat it …. this is an instinctive reaction to avoid drawing in predators in the wild. Since we attend births, we pick it up and feed it to either the dogs or chickens. :) It tends to give the new moms the runs if they eat too much.
All right, here’s the warming — VERY graphic and messy birthing pics below. Run away now if you have a tender tummy.
This is one of my favorite does, getting ready to get down to business. How many do you think she has in there?
We always check for proper presentation — you don’t want to have 2 heads trying to come at once. Here I am trying to show the photographer the bubble inside — but I put a hand completely in to ascertain that the proper parts are coming out.
Alright, now we are making some progress.
And some more progress! Here comes baby #1!
And here we go again-
Hey, it’s cold out here!
Would you believe we had a total of FOUR? Three boys, one girl — all have been sold! It’s a good year for one of my favorite gals.
