Baa Baa Baad Goat

We have been working on leash training our goats by taking them for walks to the park.  Some days they do well, some days we have to practically drag them the entire way.  It helps when Adam takes the girls and walks ahead so the kids have something to follow.  Carmen is growing a lot she is a bundle of spindly legged energy.  People who see us walking down the street are often intrigued and ask to pet the goats.  We oblige, but warn that Carmen is sassy.  She invariably lunges at the poor people and jumps up, prodding them with her stiff hooves.  Rico just sidles up, fat and agreeable.

Adam and I recently replaced the dog crate with a more permanent housing structure, a three sided lean-to made from pallets.  I thought that four feet would be high enough to deter the goats from climbing up on top.  But that Carmen, she is incorrigible! For the summer we are leaving it as is but when fall comes around Adam is going to insulate at least two of the sides. I haven't put in a permanent feeder yet but we are getting close to weaning them.

Rico and Carmen, little miss sassy pants

New Home!

They only have approximately an week separating them age-wise and yet their sizes are still very different.  I thought that Rico, being a male, would have had a growth spurt and caught up to Carmen in height.  It hasn't happened yet but maybe that is the effect of castration at such a young age.  This slow growth is making me curious about the lineage of my goats.  Rico very much looks the part of a Boer goat but I expected him to be putting on weight more quickly if that were the case.  Maybe he will escape the butcher block and I will sell him as a pet... We will see how much weight he puts on by September.

I am constantly perusing Craigslist to see if there is a deal on goats that I just can't pass up.  At this point I am leaning towards purchasing a doe and buck, so I can get Carmen serviced without taking a blood sample and going through all that business.  In theory it makes sense, if I can get a decent deal, that I would get a two goats from the same place. Keep the buck around long enough to impregnate Carmen and then send the new buck and Rico to the butcher together.  Logistically we will see what works out.  I just hope that September won't be too late in the season to find some decent goats.

In other news, Lavender is doing well. She is hopping differently, keeping her tummy aloft as she gingerly moves around her cage.  I have been trying to leave her alone for the most part, ever since Adam reached in and she snapped at him.  It could be that I am imagining it, but she seems to be enjoying herself, like this is what she was supposed to do in life.

Candace is sitting on a nest full of eggs! Last time I counted there were twelve, it could be there are more now!  I am excited for ducklings! I don't want to get too excited though, the Muscovy duck incubation period is 35 days, gasp! That is a long freaking time!  I can't tell but I think Lucy started laying too.  Both are looking ragged from breeding.  The feathers on their backs are grimy and shredded.  Ducks really get the short end of the stick with mating.  At least I don't have a water feature for Ken to drown them in as he does his stuff. It's bad enough that he is twice their size.

I have been incubating quail eggs too and the first set should hatch tomorrow... If they are going to hatch... ever.  I am not holding my breath.  The second set looked more promising when I candled them.  I might have to break down and buy an actual egg incubator.

I pickled seven quail eggs today.  I wasn't satisfied with any of the pickle mix recipes that I found or did not find.  So I kinda winged it.  I took apple cider vinegar and added sugar, salt, coriander, cloves, and ground red pepper. I microwaved it all in the mason jar and stirred, microwaved one more time just to be sure I got it hot enough and of course that was the time that I didn't watch it and it boiled over.  Then I added the hard boiled and shelled eggs to the hot mess and screwed the lid down tight.  I put the jar in the fridge and when I checked it a couple hours later the lid had sealed.  I am debating how long to wait before I try a pickled egg.  I hope to forget that they exist and surprise myself with them in a month or so.

Nothing helps me forget current projects like take my goats for a walk.  It is possible that walking the goats would be enjoyable if I did not bring my children along.  Not that my girls aren't adorable and lovely, because they are!  It's just their legs.  They have these little short legs and it takes them FOREVER to walk anywhere.  Unless, of course, you carry them.  But maintaining hold on two goat leashes and carrying one of two toddlers is a precarious endeavor.  Not that I haven't managed this task, I would not say I succeeded at it, but I have managed it out of necessity.  It requires a lot of guiding goats with your feet (to the untrained eye it might look like kicking), skillfully leveraging children onto hips and muttering frustrations always helps class up the operation.  I have tried to delegate and carry Aida while giving a tether to Mildred.  Most of the time Millie just drops the leash the moment the goat pulls against her.  The last time however, I was coaching her to hold on to it, hold on tight!  And a second later the leash was gone and she was picking herself up off the pavement in a deluge of tears.  Awwww, poor Millie.