Today was the day. Stubby went to auction. As I said in my last post, we had to assess the economic picture of neutering and keeping a male goat as a pet. It wasn't right to do that to him, and we don't have the resources to take care of him as a pet. KareDan Farming Initiative is run as both a wellness initiative, and a business. So...."thank you, Stubby, for fathering whatever babies we will get, and good luck in your new home."
Jacobs' "peeps" (chicks growing into chickens) joined the flock today. They are finally big enough to be in the coop with the other adults. Those same adults are finally over their fright of being chased and eaten (at least, the seven we lost to a wild animal who broke down the coop). They're finally coming down and being on the ground again. We'll be getting more peeps from Lisa when they hatch. And we may put them here at the Maryland Kinesiology and Wellness Institute for fresh breakfast eggs. Of course, it takes almost a year for a peep to become a laying hen. So we'll have more success from the hens that survived the attack than we will from new ones for quite some time.
That's it for today. It will be different to go out to the farm tomorrow and not see Stubby. But it will be good for Nana. Now that Stubby is gone, she can go back in with the other adults, and socialize her two kids with the herd. That will be good for the herd, good for the kids, and good for us as we'll begin to milk her again, and have fresh milk to drink! It's been awhile and we've missed it.
Our WWOOF volunteer should be here soon. More on this later.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Catching Up After Conference
Well, we're home. The conference was wonderful, entertaining, enlightening, informative, and"just great to be with friends" fabulous. If you want to know more, please ask!
There was not great access to the internet at the hotel, and we got so busy that we didn't really keep up with the animals. However, on Friday night Susan called Danielle to let her know that Snowflake, the male baby goat, was choking, and Susan was very nervous and wanted Danielle to let her know what to do! Danielle called Lisa and got some reassurance, called Susan back, calmed her down, and now....Snowflake only gets sweet feed from our hands, not the feed bucket! He'd gorged and didn't have enough water, and choked. But he's fine and Susan is extremely relieved we're back.
Actually, Susan seems to have had quite the time of it, taking care of everyone while we were at the Conference. She was literally run over by the sheep one day while bringing them into the barn.
What an experience. She was definitely NOT amused. Again, she is extremely glad we're back.
Okay, on to the farm stuff...UPDATE!
The goats have found a way to get out of the new back pasture. It's a good thing they love sweet feed, because they know they can only get it from people, so when we arrive, they come from wherever they are. The babies are getting bigger, and we are holding them much more often to keep them used to humans. We didn't have a chance to de-bud their horns so we'll have another horned female. Snowflake will not stay on the farm forever, as he could impregnate his sister in too soon a time. So he'll be a wether, and eventually, well......pet? dinner? sold? We don't know, but you'll know when we know.
Alpacas: we had boarded the six alpacas at Lisa's. Her mom, Jan, has been wanting alpacas for a long time. She wanted to keep two of ours! Now, a goat situation interlude.....Stubby is the father of at least three of the females' babies. We know he is the father of Cocoa's pregnancy. We're sure he is the father of Prissy and Magic's pregnancies. We have no idea who the father of Nana's twins is. Stubby is the popular favorite in the betting pool, but since he didn't have access to Nana until two months ago, as far as we know, we just don't know. So....he can't be with the "ladies" since all his daughters will be there too. As a working farm, we had to make a decision. Do we wether Stubby and keep him as a pet, or do we sell him to another farm? We realized that we just don't have the resources to keep him as a pet, so selling it is. And this took a lot of discussion. Stubby is very sweet and cute, and we really like him. But...economic realities took hold, and the decision was made. So......back to the alpacas. We realized that the alpaca wool hasn't sold as fleece, even though many people told us they were interested before we sheared. Now the fleece has been sitting. So we are going to send it off to be made into roving for spinners. We've been told that also doesn't sell very well, but hand made, local yarn, in natural colors sells best. So we'll try that. In the meantime, Jan really wanted alpacas, we weren't making any profit, we don't have the resources to keep them all, so....we sold her three alpacas, not two. They came together, and alpacas don't separate from their herdmates well. As a matter of fact, some will commit suicide when left alone. So three alpacas came home with us, and three stayed with Jan.
Someone is offering us two Nigerian Dwarf goats. We can't really take them. They'll walk right through our fences. But my cousin Abby has a wonderful farm in Florida, and they might go to her. Abby lost her husband several years ago in a terrible accident. Their son, Dustin, was also hurt, as was Abby, but she and Dustin survived. Abby has since created a wonderful place called Tomorrow's Rainbow, a place where children who are grieving come for therapy. She uses many miniature animals in the therapy. Mostly there are miniature horses, but there are many other animals as well. You can read about her work at www.tomorrowsrainbow.org and I think you will like what you find! We'll let you know if the Nigerian Dwarf Goats become the new therapy animals!
Danielle, Susan and Jacob trimmed hooves all evening. Every sheep and goat got done, except for Peaceful, Turtle and Snowflake, who had all been done a few nights ago. The little ones have such soft hooves that we must do them more frequently. Turtle and Snowflake also got their first vaccines today, too.
That's about it. We're back, and back in the swing of things. We'll keep you posted on all the happenings as they happen. Tomorrow, look for news about the garden!
There was not great access to the internet at the hotel, and we got so busy that we didn't really keep up with the animals. However, on Friday night Susan called Danielle to let her know that Snowflake, the male baby goat, was choking, and Susan was very nervous and wanted Danielle to let her know what to do! Danielle called Lisa and got some reassurance, called Susan back, calmed her down, and now....Snowflake only gets sweet feed from our hands, not the feed bucket! He'd gorged and didn't have enough water, and choked. But he's fine and Susan is extremely relieved we're back.
Actually, Susan seems to have had quite the time of it, taking care of everyone while we were at the Conference. She was literally run over by the sheep one day while bringing them into the barn.
What an experience. She was definitely NOT amused. Again, she is extremely glad we're back.
Okay, on to the farm stuff...UPDATE!
The goats have found a way to get out of the new back pasture. It's a good thing they love sweet feed, because they know they can only get it from people, so when we arrive, they come from wherever they are. The babies are getting bigger, and we are holding them much more often to keep them used to humans. We didn't have a chance to de-bud their horns so we'll have another horned female. Snowflake will not stay on the farm forever, as he could impregnate his sister in too soon a time. So he'll be a wether, and eventually, well......pet? dinner? sold? We don't know, but you'll know when we know.
Alpacas: we had boarded the six alpacas at Lisa's. Her mom, Jan, has been wanting alpacas for a long time. She wanted to keep two of ours! Now, a goat situation interlude.....Stubby is the father of at least three of the females' babies. We know he is the father of Cocoa's pregnancy. We're sure he is the father of Prissy and Magic's pregnancies. We have no idea who the father of Nana's twins is. Stubby is the popular favorite in the betting pool, but since he didn't have access to Nana until two months ago, as far as we know, we just don't know. So....he can't be with the "ladies" since all his daughters will be there too. As a working farm, we had to make a decision. Do we wether Stubby and keep him as a pet, or do we sell him to another farm? We realized that we just don't have the resources to keep him as a pet, so selling it is. And this took a lot of discussion. Stubby is very sweet and cute, and we really like him. But...economic realities took hold, and the decision was made. So......back to the alpacas. We realized that the alpaca wool hasn't sold as fleece, even though many people told us they were interested before we sheared. Now the fleece has been sitting. So we are going to send it off to be made into roving for spinners. We've been told that also doesn't sell very well, but hand made, local yarn, in natural colors sells best. So we'll try that. In the meantime, Jan really wanted alpacas, we weren't making any profit, we don't have the resources to keep them all, so....we sold her three alpacas, not two. They came together, and alpacas don't separate from their herdmates well. As a matter of fact, some will commit suicide when left alone. So three alpacas came home with us, and three stayed with Jan.
Someone is offering us two Nigerian Dwarf goats. We can't really take them. They'll walk right through our fences. But my cousin Abby has a wonderful farm in Florida, and they might go to her. Abby lost her husband several years ago in a terrible accident. Their son, Dustin, was also hurt, as was Abby, but she and Dustin survived. Abby has since created a wonderful place called Tomorrow's Rainbow, a place where children who are grieving come for therapy. She uses many miniature animals in the therapy. Mostly there are miniature horses, but there are many other animals as well. You can read about her work at www.tomorrowsrainbow.org and I think you will like what you find! We'll let you know if the Nigerian Dwarf Goats become the new therapy animals!
Danielle, Susan and Jacob trimmed hooves all evening. Every sheep and goat got done, except for Peaceful, Turtle and Snowflake, who had all been done a few nights ago. The little ones have such soft hooves that we must do them more frequently. Turtle and Snowflake also got their first vaccines today, too.
That's about it. We're back, and back in the swing of things. We'll keep you posted on all the happenings as they happen. Tomorrow, look for news about the garden!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Soothing Stress
Just wanted to share an article that is very relevant to what MDKWI and KareDan Farms is all about - peace, harmony, and balance. Good basic information and several other articles linked on the site.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090722110901.htm
Stop And Smell The Flowers -- The Scent Really Can Soothe Stress
ScienceDaily (2009-07-23) -- Feeling stressed? Then try savoring the scent of lemon, mango, lavender or other fragrant plants. Scientists in Japan are reporting the first scientific evidence that inhaling certain fragrances alter gene activity and blood chemistry in ways that can reduce stress levels.
If you'd like to know more information regarding aromatherapy and using scents alone or with other stress releasing activities contact MDKWI and KareDan Farms by e-mail: info@mdkwi.com.
~Submitted by Nicole Beus, Marketing Director
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090722110901.htm
Stop And Smell The Flowers -- The Scent Really Can Soothe Stress
ScienceDaily (2009-07-23) -- Feeling stressed? Then try savoring the scent of lemon, mango, lavender or other fragrant plants. Scientists in Japan are reporting the first scientific evidence that inhaling certain fragrances alter gene activity and blood chemistry in ways that can reduce stress levels.
If you'd like to know more information regarding aromatherapy and using scents alone or with other stress releasing activities contact MDKWI and KareDan Farms by e-mail: info@mdkwi.com.
~Submitted by Nicole Beus, Marketing Director
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
First Day Of the Conference
We were supposed to leave Baltimore last night to come down to Northern Virginia. We're staying at Bill and Flo's to be close to the conference in the Hyatt Dulles. We'll stay at the hotel Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. But with the Alpaca adventure yesterday, we were way too tired to drive last night. So we got up at five this morning, packed a little, and left to drive to the hotel at seven in the morning. We got there in one and a half hours. Danielle dropped Karen at the hotel, and then drove back to Baltimore to really pack and bring everything down. Karen was in the Touch For Health Board meeting all day, and Danielle was packing and driving back to Northern Virginia.
The update is that we found out what's been bothering, and eating, our chickens. Seven chickens, including Herald, our rooster, were EATEN by something. We thought it was a fox. Something broke down the coop and got our birds. We were so upset. The remaining chickens were so traumatized that they refused to come down into the main floor of the indoor coop. Just when we thought it was safe, and the remaining birds were sort of relaxing, we found out what was going after them. This morning, Jacob was woken up at three in the morning. Ruby, our red hen, was making enough racket for all the hens. He came down to the coop, and found a Raccoon had gotten in and was chasing the red hen around and around. She did NOT appreciate it. Jacob chased it out, locked the coop, and went back to bed.
Susan took care of the sheep and goats this morning. We haven't heard anything so we assume that everything is fine. Tonight, we are here at Bill and Flo's, getting ready to eat dinner, and head to bed early to try to make up for the lack of sleep from yesterday.
The update is that we found out what's been bothering, and eating, our chickens. Seven chickens, including Herald, our rooster, were EATEN by something. We thought it was a fox. Something broke down the coop and got our birds. We were so upset. The remaining chickens were so traumatized that they refused to come down into the main floor of the indoor coop. Just when we thought it was safe, and the remaining birds were sort of relaxing, we found out what was going after them. This morning, Jacob was woken up at three in the morning. Ruby, our red hen, was making enough racket for all the hens. He came down to the coop, and found a Raccoon had gotten in and was chasing the red hen around and around. She did NOT appreciate it. Jacob chased it out, locked the coop, and went back to bed.
Susan took care of the sheep and goats this morning. We haven't heard anything so we assume that everything is fine. Tonight, we are here at Bill and Flo's, getting ready to eat dinner, and head to bed early to try to make up for the lack of sleep from yesterday.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The Alpacas Go To The Dentist
Whew! What a day. We took all six alpacas to the dentist! Well, the vet actually did the work, but it took almost a month to get an appointment, and even then, we had to take the alpacas to Feederbrook Farm to have the vet come. Our location seems to be too far for any of the area vets to travel to.
Danielle went out early and Karen worked on laundry, dropped packages by UPS, got cash for the Conference (see details of the Energy Kinesiology Conference at www.mdkwi.com), filled the minivan with gas, and finally showed up at the farm. Danielle had already gotten the sheep and Cocoa out to the sheep pasture, and fed and watered the rest of the goats. Nana was bleating very loudly to let us know she wanted out, but we couldn't let her out with the babies until we'd gotten the alpacas through the front barn yard.
We shook a bucket of sweet feed at the alpacas and got them into the barnyard. Then we did the same thing to get them into the barn. We had to catch each one, put on it's halter, and tie the lead ropes to the barn walls and posts. One by one, we led them out to the waiting truck and van.
Oh my goodness, what a trick it was to get them up into the truckbed. Lift the front feet, make them bend, lift their tush and push and hope they hop up. Those guys weigh a LOT.
We finally got three of them into the truck, which had been outfitted with fencing to keep them in like a cage. And then we got the other three into the minivan. Danielle drove the truck, which is a stick shift, and we thank Mordechai for loaning it to us. Karen drove the automatic minivan (thanks Mom and Dad).
We started out down the driveway, and down the main street, but pulled off and decided to put twine across the top of the truck. We also unhooked the alpacas lead ropes, as we were afraid that they would break their necks if they fell. Then we started for the beltway down Liberty Road. You can imagine the looks we got from people we passed. We stopped at a red light, and an young man sitting on a bench at the bus stop looked up and started to laugh. Someone came up to the truck window to ask questions. People were pointing. It was fun.
Then we drove on the interstate below the speed limit with our blinkers on both vehicles all the way up to Feederbrook Farm, which is not far from the Pennsylvania State Line. Have you ever seen an alpaca jump OUT of a truck?
The rest of the day went well. The alpacas got sedated, got their bottom front teeth dremeled down, got their fighting teeth sawed down, and got checked by the vet. All of this because "someone" took a bite out of Trademarks' neck. We're not sure who the "someone" is. By the way, the alpacas came to us already named, so don't laugh at us for their nomenclature. Besides Trademark, who actually belongs to Jacob, and is actually the only animal on his farm that is his, the other alpacas are Senator, Led Zepplin, White Knight, Enapay, and Lallapalooza, whom we call Lolly, or Lalapooey, or "bad name" when he is being naughty.
Karen came home from Feederbrook earlier than Danielle to continue getting ready for the Conference tomorrow. Danielle stayed to help Lisa with her animals, and to help move Lisa's llamas to visit her sheep, so as to allow our guest alpacas to have the run of the llama field. Lisa has two neutered male alpacas, and one female. All our alpacas are intact males. Llamas and alpacas can interbreed, so we have to keep them separate. We are very fortunate to have Lisa as a friend. She is extremely generous with her knowlege, her time, her farm and her resources. We send her gratitude and blessings for this incredible gift of hostessing our "boys" on her farm during the week we're away at the conference.
Speaking of which, we were supposed to leave tonight to go down, but neither of us had enough energy to drive. So we're going down VERY early Wednesday, and Danielle, who is not in a Board meeting during the day, will come back and pack everything and come back down tomorrow evening. We figure a safe trip is better than an accident waiting to happen!
Our gratitude to Jacob, and to our friend Susan, for taking care of the goats, sheep, and chickens during our absense. Have a wonderful week!
Danielle went out early and Karen worked on laundry, dropped packages by UPS, got cash for the Conference (see details of the Energy Kinesiology Conference at www.mdkwi.com), filled the minivan with gas, and finally showed up at the farm. Danielle had already gotten the sheep and Cocoa out to the sheep pasture, and fed and watered the rest of the goats. Nana was bleating very loudly to let us know she wanted out, but we couldn't let her out with the babies until we'd gotten the alpacas through the front barn yard.
We shook a bucket of sweet feed at the alpacas and got them into the barnyard. Then we did the same thing to get them into the barn. We had to catch each one, put on it's halter, and tie the lead ropes to the barn walls and posts. One by one, we led them out to the waiting truck and van.
Oh my goodness, what a trick it was to get them up into the truckbed. Lift the front feet, make them bend, lift their tush and push and hope they hop up. Those guys weigh a LOT.
We finally got three of them into the truck, which had been outfitted with fencing to keep them in like a cage. And then we got the other three into the minivan. Danielle drove the truck, which is a stick shift, and we thank Mordechai for loaning it to us. Karen drove the automatic minivan (thanks Mom and Dad).
We started out down the driveway, and down the main street, but pulled off and decided to put twine across the top of the truck. We also unhooked the alpacas lead ropes, as we were afraid that they would break their necks if they fell. Then we started for the beltway down Liberty Road. You can imagine the looks we got from people we passed. We stopped at a red light, and an young man sitting on a bench at the bus stop looked up and started to laugh. Someone came up to the truck window to ask questions. People were pointing. It was fun.
Then we drove on the interstate below the speed limit with our blinkers on both vehicles all the way up to Feederbrook Farm, which is not far from the Pennsylvania State Line. Have you ever seen an alpaca jump OUT of a truck?
The rest of the day went well. The alpacas got sedated, got their bottom front teeth dremeled down, got their fighting teeth sawed down, and got checked by the vet. All of this because "someone" took a bite out of Trademarks' neck. We're not sure who the "someone" is. By the way, the alpacas came to us already named, so don't laugh at us for their nomenclature. Besides Trademark, who actually belongs to Jacob, and is actually the only animal on his farm that is his, the other alpacas are Senator, Led Zepplin, White Knight, Enapay, and Lallapalooza, whom we call Lolly, or Lalapooey, or "bad name" when he is being naughty.
Karen came home from Feederbrook earlier than Danielle to continue getting ready for the Conference tomorrow. Danielle stayed to help Lisa with her animals, and to help move Lisa's llamas to visit her sheep, so as to allow our guest alpacas to have the run of the llama field. Lisa has two neutered male alpacas, and one female. All our alpacas are intact males. Llamas and alpacas can interbreed, so we have to keep them separate. We are very fortunate to have Lisa as a friend. She is extremely generous with her knowlege, her time, her farm and her resources. We send her gratitude and blessings for this incredible gift of hostessing our "boys" on her farm during the week we're away at the conference.
Speaking of which, we were supposed to leave tonight to go down, but neither of us had enough energy to drive. So we're going down VERY early Wednesday, and Danielle, who is not in a Board meeting during the day, will come back and pack everything and come back down tomorrow evening. We figure a safe trip is better than an accident waiting to happen!
Our gratitude to Jacob, and to our friend Susan, for taking care of the goats, sheep, and chickens during our absense. Have a wonderful week!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Our First Triangle Loom & More
We finished making our first triangle loom today. It's been quite a process, and much harder than we thought. Between the wrong math angles for cutting, which needed to be redone by a professional, and the mess with the staining, and the sanding which removed most of the waterproof coating, and the glue that got all over the deck and took off more coating, and the measuring, and the measuring, and the measuring, well......I didn't think we'd ever get to the nail stage. But yesterday and today we nailed in three boxes of headless nails, and now all we need to do is screw in eye hooks to hang the loom on the wall so we can use it. Oh yes, and we have to learn how to use it too!! Well, we're off to Lisa Westra's at Feederbrook Farm tomorrow with the alpacas, so we can ask for an up-close and personal demonstration of the loom from her.....we hope!
Susan picked up thirty tomato cages that went around thirty of the forty four tomato plants. Danielle also staked up the pole beans. She brought in a handful of just picked string beans. Delicious. We should have a great crop by the time the annual Kinesiology Conference is over. Keep in touch.
Susan picked up thirty tomato cages that went around thirty of the forty four tomato plants. Danielle also staked up the pole beans. She brought in a handful of just picked string beans. Delicious. We should have a great crop by the time the annual Kinesiology Conference is over. Keep in touch.
Volunteers
We went early today with three of the teen brigade volunteers. Today's crew was Miriam, Penina, and Shira. The goats love the tall grass and vines in their new enclosure, but with all the trees surrounding the enclosure, there are no shady places for them to rest. So Stubby, Magic and Prissy came in around one.
We had an adult helper today, too. Meaghan came out and took pictures and videos. Then she and Karen went to get grain, sweet feed, chicken feed and alpaca feed to stock up the farm for the week. They also picked up a machete for Danielle to help her cut back the weeds, which is a win-win situation for all. Danielle loves sharp pointy objects (!) and the goats love to eat the weeds she cuts!
Later this afternoon, we got a call from the neighbors again. The sheep had found another way out, or just kept using the one they had used Saturday night. So even though we had found one hole Sunday morning in the sheep yard, and fixed it, we had to fix another one today. Luckily, not all of them got out, and they don't go far when they do get out. Cocoa, the pregnant Nubian goat, was just standing in the middle of the long driveway, waiting for Sweet Feed to lure her back into the main barn yard.
It was a "great escape" day. Nana and the new babies snowflake and Turtle, got out of the main barn yard and into the alpaca pasture! Houdini would have be proud today, with all the escapees! But everyone is in the right place, safe and sound, and fed and watered and happy and healthy. Whew!
After all this, and some food, it's time to work in the garden. This evening's project is
building "cages" to hold up the tomatoes, and poles for the string beans. We had our first three and they're delicious! We sell our "natural and organic" heirloom vegetables, so if you want some, please call!
We had an adult helper today, too. Meaghan came out and took pictures and videos. Then she and Karen went to get grain, sweet feed, chicken feed and alpaca feed to stock up the farm for the week. They also picked up a machete for Danielle to help her cut back the weeds, which is a win-win situation for all. Danielle loves sharp pointy objects (!) and the goats love to eat the weeds she cuts!
Later this afternoon, we got a call from the neighbors again. The sheep had found another way out, or just kept using the one they had used Saturday night. So even though we had found one hole Sunday morning in the sheep yard, and fixed it, we had to fix another one today. Luckily, not all of them got out, and they don't go far when they do get out. Cocoa, the pregnant Nubian goat, was just standing in the middle of the long driveway, waiting for Sweet Feed to lure her back into the main barn yard.
It was a "great escape" day. Nana and the new babies snowflake and Turtle, got out of the main barn yard and into the alpaca pasture! Houdini would have be proud today, with all the escapees! But everyone is in the right place, safe and sound, and fed and watered and happy and healthy. Whew!
After all this, and some food, it's time to work in the garden. This evening's project is
building "cages" to hold up the tomatoes, and poles for the string beans. We had our first three and they're delicious! We sell our "natural and organic" heirloom vegetables, so if you want some, please call!
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