Am I Pregnant?

I have no idea if any of the sheep are pregnant, can anyone tell me what the early signs are?

Dress Up

I needed to worm the goats but it was WAY TOO COLD out in their barn to do it, so once again I had goats in the house. I don't have a bathroom scale so I used the WII Fit board to get it done.



Here is chip taking his turn getting weighed, he is so lovable. Now that I have their weights I could give them the proper dosage of wormer.



Chip just loved all the attention he was getting while I trimmed his hooves and gave him a general cleaning up. I was happy my mother was here to help, otherwise I'm not sure I could have got this done.



Gidget liked it too, she fell right to sleep while she was getting her manicures.




I picked up these vests at goodwill in case it got really cold, I figured I could get them to fit the goats if needed. When it got to 15* below zero and their fur was covered in frost I decided to give them a try.




Chip's was open down below so he could do his business. He didn't seem to mind the jacket at all.




Becca Boo wasn't too excited, but she seemed to be warmer and happier over night in the barn.



Addison didn't like it, so I took hers off yesterday. She also seems to be the least effected by the cold.




Gidget seems to love the jacket. She always seemed to be cold but not now, she goes outside more than she did.

I will take all the jackets off today as it is unexpectedly warming up to above zero, who knows for how long?

How Cold Is It?

This cold! It is forecast to be at least 15 degrees below zero every night for the next week - brrrr.

Visits

My mother and father are visiting from Michigan and I am really enjoying their company. Mom and I went to several antique and craft stores, I even picked up some crochet projects and books.

My father went right to work and assembled my spinning wheel, it looks great. He also installed a new bathroom fan, put up some drywall, fixed the kitchen faucet, and moved some hay. I love you Mom and Dad!

Gentle Giant

Killarney is such a gentle soul. He is so friendly and caring that I have to remind myself that as a ram he can be dangerous. When I bring the boys out food or grain he runs right up to the gate and waits for me, he even nuzzles up against Sara.


Ironwood is doing much better since I started treating him. I want to thank everyone who commented with suggestions and well wishes. I am still very new at this goat/sheep thing so I very much appreciate any advice that helps me keep them alive and happy.


For the two days that Ironwood was very sick Killarney stuck right by his side, inside the shelter, spending most of his time providing comfort and support. This couldn't have been easy as he has been "noticing" that one of the girls is in heat and has been curling up his lips!


That is friendship for you, he is my Gentle Giant.

Worried

When I went out to feed the boys this afternoon Ironwood was acting "off", much like Katydid was before she passed away. I didn't want to take any chances so I broke out my Medicine Kit and gave him a battery of treatments. He got a penicillin shot, a vitamin B shot, pro-biotic, and baking soda for bloat. I took his temperature and it was normal but his eyelids looked a little white - anemic - so I gave him some wormer as well. Later on I gave him some Gatorade and some iron in case it was worms.

Ironwood was looking better this afternoon but tomorrow morning should tell, I sure hope he gets better.


For whatever reason I was under the impression that pregnant ewes should not be wormed, but I contacted another blogger and she gave me some ideas about what medications I could use. I checked the ewes eyelids and they looked good, but they still got a wormer treatment and some pro-biotic. Kia (pictured on the far left) is really smart, and she tried to trick me by not swallowing her medicine, so I had to treat her like a dog and rub her throat and hold her nose.

I checked the goats and their eyes looked good, but I'm going to weigh them tomorrow and give them all a dose of wormer as well.


On the good news front the chickens gave me 8 eggs for 8 laying hens, a 100% performance for the girls.

Trails

We have had over 52 inches of snow so far this year so to get to the animals we have had to make trails through the snow. If one keeps walking the same path an ice trail builds up, but one step either way off the trail and you will find yourself up to your knees in snow.



Notice the trail on the trail, looks like someone else has been using these to get around.



Addison and the rest of the goats hate the snow, but every so often she gets the urge to run around. When that happens I just let her loose on the trails and she just runs and runs. The rest of her herd joins in and it leads great winter fun.


I don't know what has gotten into the chickens but we got 7 eggs today from 8 laying hens, a new record!