Worming Goats

 Let’s talk about worming goats. I’m not sure if anyone has goats like mine but mine are difficult with worming. You would think I’m trying to harm them but I promise you, I’m not. I have a farm calendar and I keep it up to date with shots, worming, etc for all of the animals. That way I know when to do it again. I do have one little goat that has had far more trouble with worms than any of the other goats. I am not sure why that is, but regardless, I stay on top of it. Yesterday I noticed this little goat having some issues. Last time he had diarrhea like that, he had coccidiosis. So, I decided to get them all taken care of since it was within a couple of days of it being due anyway. It’s like a rodeo around here trying to give them meds. I go in and grab Hercules and Ronnie gets the meds down him. Well, after that, the other 3 are running off. They don’t like it and want no part in it. I grabbed Romeo who is having the issues, Ronnie gets the meds down him. Now, the last 2 are not having it. I chase Carlos for a few minutes. That doesn’t work. I let Hercules, Romeo and Cracker Jack our of the pen so I don’t have to fight them protecting the other 2. I finally grab Carlos but he won’t take the meds and I end up wearing the meds, but so does he. Then we try again. Ronnie gets Carlos and I get the meds down him. Then we have Lucky. Lucky has never been friendly to humans. He isn’t aggressive, just very shy. He won’t come up to anyone. We have to put the meds on some feed for him while the other goats are outside of the pen. It’s never a dull moment around here for sure. They all got their meds and that’s all I wanted to do. 

Dog Treat Fiasco

 I usually give the dogs treats every night before I went to bed. It’s something I have done with Maggie and Pepper for over 10 years. It was a routine. I don’t do this anymore and here is why. One night I gave them treats and not sure exactly what happened, but all of a sudden I hear someone squealing in pain. I jumped out of bed to see what had happened. I have done this before and jumped in the middle of a dog fight, big mistake. I still have a scar from a tooth. Anyway. I go and look and they all look like they knew they were in trouble but I don’t know which one of them did what. I have suspicions but no proof. What I do know is Maggie was injured in this altercation so much so was limping. She was fine the next morning. I have learned my lesson and they don’t get treats anymore. 

Loudest Birds Ever

 So, when my husband is gone for work, he calls me every evening. Instead of me holding up the phone to my ear, I would just put him on speaker phone. There was one night I remember him asking me if I was outside. I found that odd. I was inside the house. I was hearing birds outside but did not know they were loud enough for him to hear. They were the loudest birds I have ever heard. I figured out later that these loud birds must have had a nest close and were perching lip on the top of the fireplace in our room. They finally moved on, but this loud chirping lasted for weeks. I cannot explain to you how loud these birds were. I also figured out that the fireplace wasn’t closed when Oreo decided to jump in it. I didn’t realize that at the time and really did explain why they were so loud. Now it makes me laugh. 

Pink Eye

 I am so behind in posting so I will be trying to catch up. A few months ago, I came home and Carlos looked terrible. His left eye was really red and kinda bulging. He looked miserable. Of course I start googling and figure out he has pink eye. Then I start getting concerned about all of the other animals in the pen. I go to the store and get meds for Carlos and enough in case any of the others ended up with it. Now, I have a secret... eye stuff creeps me out so badly that it almost makes me sick. I’m so grateful Mya was here for this part. Eye stuff doesn’t bother her at all. She was able to deal with the medicine part of it. That girl had it down to an art. She would give treats and while Carlos was near the fence she would spray and rub on the meds. It was something to see how fast she got it done. Carlos healed up fine and none of the other animals got it. I also didn’t realize how serious pink eye could be in animals. It could actually cause blindness. As luck would have it, a few days after all of this, I was at my cousin’s house and they had a cow that was getting over pink eye and the cow was blind in that eye, but the eyesight was returning slowly. I’m glad Carlos got over it as quickly as he did. 

Manipulation

 That Cracker Jack is something else. He has mastered the art of manipulating me to get what he wants. It’s actually hilarious if you think about it. Every morning and every evening that donkey brays until I take him some hay. Last night around maybe 7 pm, Cracker Jack started braying again. I should have known better, but I went out and gave him some attention and peanuts. Tonight, he did it again and I almost fell for it. I got up and started out the door and it hit me what he was doing. Then I just couldn’t stop laughing. You can’t tell me these animals aren’t smart. I know better. They prove it to me daily. 

Wayward dogs

 I am telling you... these dogs just know there is something out in the dark. I mean, of course there is. As soon as I open this back door and it’s dark outside, they run as far away from where I can see them. It’s crazy. Pepper is my only one that doesn’t run off. She stays where she is supposed to stay. I really think the other dogs are checking to see if the guineas are there, but still. I am going to be grateful for a fenced in place. I can feel it now. At least they come back but good grief. It’s never dull around here, that’s for sure. 

Great surprise

 I had a fantastic surprise today. I had a comment on Facebook asking me if I let visitors come by. I said yes and she asked me if she could come by today. Of course, the animals love visitors. It really brightens their day and mine. So, they came by and we had a very good visit about animals. It then comes to my attention that one of them saw my books in the store and that is how she found out about my farm. That made me so excited to hear. I truly think animals are amazing and they really do bring happiness to people. I’m so glad we had some visitors today. 

Hiding place

 Persia is a moody cat. She is amazing and then not so amazing. She was terrible to Oreo when he first got here, but they seemed to be working things out. During the time since Oreo got here, Persia had found a new hiding spot so he would leave her alone. There have been days I had been looking for her for so long and could not find her. She is so good at hiding. This morning, I decided to just relax and read a book. All of a sudden I start hearing what sounded like something sliding across the carpet. Bubba and Oreo were asleep on the bed. Oreo jumps up to investigate the noises. Well, I found Persia’s hiding place. Oreo finds under the side table by the bed and she starts hiding and throwing a fit. At least I know where she is hiding now.  Not sure how she does it, but gets under there somehow. 

Guineas

 Have any of you been around guineas?? I haven’t at all. Our neighbor has some. These guineas have decided they like being at our house. It started about a week ago. I couldn’t figure out what in the world the dogs had been chasing, but now I know. It’s the guineas. Those things are so fast. I pulled up in the driveway earlier and there were 2 standing in the driveway not moving out of the way. I got out of the car and boy, did they run. I really liked the noise they make. It makes me laugh. I go further up the driveway and there are 3 more. They did the same thing. For some reason, I have decided I might need to get some of these!! They are fun!! 

Donkeys

 I learn something new everyday. I had started getting concerned again about Cracker Jack. He has been laying down more often than normal. It’s not a long amount of time

. I was not sure if that was a bad thing. I actually googled it and google said that donkeys do need to lay down to get the maximum REM sleep pattern. It also said they will not lay down if they do not feel safe. It made me feel good to then see him laying down in his shelter that Ronnie built him. I know Cracker Jack is getting up there in years but he still has a lot of life left in him. I think I have been more worried about the move we are fixing to do with all of these animals. I want to make sure they are going to be able to make that long trip okay. 

Oh Daisy

 This dog is a great farm dog. She is also a great protector around this place. Not much gets past Daisy. She has guided Treat home more than once. The draw back here is that if there is a wild but small animal and that animal is not supposed to be here, she will kill it. I have had to dispose of lots of dead animals. I do not believe she kills them all, I think (and hope) some of them are already dead before she brings them home. This morning I am a little bit in disbelief and a little heartbroken and even a little nervous. I couldn’t get her to come into the house. She finally runs up to me and has something hanging out of her mouth. I instantly recognize what she has and I don’t really have the words to describe what I felt when I saw this animal. It was a baby pig. I really do not think Daisy killed it. It still had the umbilical cord attached, so I think the mother left it. I now am not really sure what to do. It means we probably have wild hogs out here and Daisy could get hurt if she finds one. It also means that she may break my heart again if she brings me another one. It has not been a good morning. 

Goats

 So, the goats are in rut. Oh my goodness. I didn’t remember it being so bad last year around this time. I know these guys are not exactly young goats. Hercules is the father of Lucky and Romeo. I kept them together when I got them. They really are funny little animals. Right now they are not their normal selves. They are running around their pen acting like crazy goats. I guess because they are going crazy. I do not remember this from last year at all. Guess I will be getting them fixed soon. 

Spoiled donkey

 I think CrackerJack is becoming spoiled. In all this moving process. I have been home a lot more, so I have been outside with the animals more than normal. Today isn’t as nice outside as it has been, so I have been doing things inside. Well, Cracker Jack wasn’t having it. He has been braying at me about every hour. That’s not a normal thing. He always does bray at me in the morning and evening when he knows it’s feeding time. Truth be told, he is usually spot on with what time he starts braying. Animals are much smarter than we think they are. Anyway. I go out to see what in the world Cracker Jack is doing. He just wanted some attention. He has grass and I have them some hay this morning. He has water. He really just came to the fence to be petted. I have a strange feeling he also wanted some peanuts. They are his favorite. Yep. That was all. I have him some attention and some peanuts and now he has stopped braying. He really is spoiled. But, that’s how it should be. He is well loved, as we say in my family. I’m just thankful he is feeling better and is braying at me again. When he wasn’t feeling well, there was no braying at all. It broke my heart. 

Bubba

 Bubba has been sick for a bit. At least I think he has been sick. I took him to the vet and they gave him some meds. The pain meds seemed to make him lethargic and he had just been laying around the house. More than normal. We had an open house here a few weeks ago and he acted like he was more than fine. He would roll in the floor to get people to pet him. He would jump up on the stools to get people to pet him. He would stop right in front of people and plop down so they would see him and pet him. He doesn’t act like that for just me being here. He is a mess for sure. At least he is feeling better. Crazy cat. 

Spam

 Spam is one of the first pigs that came here. Yes, my husband names her. Insert eye roll. She has not been the friendliest of pigs here. She has been through a lot. When I got her and her sister, Treat, there had been another sister with them, but she passed away. So, that was already their second home. They came here and Treat had pneumonia and sarcoptic mange so bad her skin was turning black. Treat had to go to several vet appointments and then had to go through shots and lots of spray to get rid of the mange. Spam ended up with mange also. Spam had to watch all of this and had to endure some of it also. She never really trusted me. She would lunge at me to protect Treat. Then Treat went missing 3 different times. Spam was so depressed each time it happened. It broke my heart. When they finally got a new pen with their very own shelter, she started trying to warm up, that was over a year ago. She has just now started to like me. I have been patient with her because I knew it was going to take more time for her. I would pet her and try to spend time with her like I do all of the animals, but she would normally snap at me and has actually got me with her teeth one time. She has finally gotten to the point that she will come up to me and if I don’t give her attention, she gets upset. She will let the other pigs know to get out of her way. I have finally become trustworthy to her. She finally knows I am not here to hurt her and she is only here to be loved. Finally. 

Oreo in the window

 Last night with the full moon, Oreo was standing in front of the window and he would jump up at the window and then run off. He continued to do this for awhile. Then he would stand up on his back legs like he was looking out of the window. He could not figure out what he was doing. I finally saw that he was looking at himself in the window thinking it was another cat!! He was trying to fight with himself. Now that’s a funny thing to watch. Bless him. He is fitting in fine around here. 

Another full moon

 The full moon really brings out crazy stuff around here. I let the dogs out and 3 of 4 run off. As this is happening, I look up and see the full moon. I also hear a ton of coyotes howling at the same time I see the moon. I look out and notice all of the pigs are in their houses asleep. I have to make Pepper get off the porch to go to the bathroom. I then look over and see Cracker Jack by the fence with his ears straight up listening to the coyotes. All of the goats are standing around Cracker Jack for protection. I then hear the coyotes going quite. Then I see Daisy and Bella running toward me. Maggie is lagging behind and she almost looks like a coyote walking toward me. I knew it was her and not a coyote but it was still creepy looking. Oh the joys of full moon nights. 

Birds and eggs

 I went to my cousin’s house several months ago (yes, I’m way behind on posting). They had set up a small road block in her driveway. She told me a bird had laid eggs right there on the driveway. Sure enough, the bird was sitting on eggs, in the driveway!! As we got closer, the bird ran off and was acting hurt to get us away from her eggs. This was amazing to me. She was trying so hard to get us away from her eggs. I have never seen anything like it. I really don’t know much about birds though. I really thought it was amazing at how hard she was trying. I went back a month or so later and the eggs had hatched and all was well. 

Clingy

 I know my animals are feeling the stress radiating off of me. Should I be as stressed as I am?? Maybe not. There is so much to do and figure out that I know I am stressed. The animals do, too. They are all clingy. Well, the cats really are. Persia has to be by my side all of the time. Bubba wants to be with me also. Bubba is starting to feel better but he has been clingy. Persia isn’t feeling good now. She has been throwing up. She has finally started eating again though. And Oreo, he is even clingy to me at this moment. He hasn’t been that way with me but he is clingy also. Poor little things. I hate that they are feeling stress. Hopefully we will get things situated soon.