Horrible Disbudding Day

Yesterday was traumatic. We disbudded Rhianna and Frosting. It was horrible, but an "industry standard". This means the the vet came and made sure that the little goats would not grow horns. Most goat farms in this country disbud their goats for the safety of the people dealing with them, and the safety of the other goats, including the pregnant ones. If you want the gory details, look it up for yourself. Suffice it to say, goats scream. Danielle was not happy with me, since I insisted. We didn't get to Snowflake and Turtle in time, so they will have horns. They are both an alpine mix from their mom, with the pygmy borare of their father. Cocoa's girls are a nubian/pygmy borare mix.

Cocoa is not milkable. She must have had terrible mastitis from a past owner's time. She has plenty of milk for her babies, but she refuses to let us milk her. We'll try again when she is weaning them, but it is our feeling that she will never be a milker, so she'll be a breeder.

We have farm time down to a science. Each goat gets their own amount and blend of sweet feed and grain. The sheep know what to do, the goats go right to their spots, Turtle and Snowflake wait "im"patiently to be let out to Nana in the mornings after she is milked, and Rhianna and Frosting are just beginning to nibble things other than our hair and shirts!

The vegetables are getting the least attention, and the garden still needs weeding. Calling all volunteers....!!!

I finished the first shawl on the triangle loom and took it off this evening. I have been cutting fringe pieces for the last forty five minutes, but I'll probably need another hour or two, just to have enough pieces cut. Then it will take awhile to put the fringe on the shawl. We took pictures of it just off the loom, so look for them on Facebook and here on the site, soon. I hope to start another shawl next Tuesday.

We have to get a seller's license for Pennsylvania next week. Danielle is going to do the Sproutwood Fairy Festival October 4. We are working on soap felting kits, soap, and whatever else we can think of. If we can make enough spindles, she may sell those as well. We'll have Lisa Westra there, with her handspun wool.

We sent in all the alpaca wool, and it's being cleaned, carded and turned into roving for spinning. Lisa is going to hand spin it for us. I'm excited to use it! One day, I will learn how to use a spinning wheel.

Danielle mucked out the front of the barn this evening while I was on a conference call Board meeting. We'll get the three stalls done soon, and probably only do them one more time before winter. The "mess" in the straw actually heats up during the winter, keeping the animals warm! We're also going to have to improve the alpaca shelter so they can be out of the weather. They make a giant mess in the barn, so we want them to be comfortable in their own shelter.

I think that's all for now. Danielle is on her way home, and we will rise and start the day with a farm visit. Goodnight!