Kidding Season Has Arrived

Look what arrived today! Just in time for Christmas!

This doe is a first-time mother. She also was the first one of our herd to deliver. This means that she does not have other, more experienced does showing her how to be a new mother. Instinct only goes so far. These kids are also a little on the small size and not as active as I prefer to see in newborns.

Parise the Lord! It's RAINING!!

This morning, I awoke to a glorious sound - rain! This is the first significant rainfall we have received in the last two months!

More good news: on Thursday, a new kid hit the ground. This one is black and the doe is gray. This leaves us wondering who the buck was. We do not have a black buck. The kid is healthy and doing fine. She was strong enough to head to the East Pasture yesterday with the rest of the herd.

More New Kids

Last week, two new kids hit the ground, for a total of four live kids, of far. Both have been doing find. Today, a fifth kid hit the ground. This kid is a little shaky, but nursing from the doe. We still have a number of pregnant does and are expecting more kids to hit the ground in the next few weeks.

Our children are doing only a reasonable job of making sure that the herd gets out into the East Pasture to feed. This pasture needs to have about a half mile of fence replaced. Thus, the herd must be supervised to insure that the remain in our pasture and not our neighbors' pasture or, worse, their gardens. The herd needs to browse in the East Pasture daily. The Main Pasture has been overgrazed and needs time to regenerate.

Bad news, the chainsaw died. It was ten years old and has seen lots of use for a multitude of purposes. It cut the firewood that keeps the ranch house warm in the winter, trims the trees that block the fence line, cuts new fence posts, and more. The most important use is to cut browse for the herd. I searched the web for recommendations on a replacement and came up with three names: Husqvarna (better known as Husky), Stihl and, suprisingly, John Deere. We will have to see what is available locally and who would service it.

More bad news - our Massey-Ferguson tractor will not crank. First, I drained the fuel tank and filled it with fresh Diesel oil. I pulled the starter and had AutoZone test it - it was good. I pulled all the non-essential wiring from the tractor and verified the starting circuits. It still will not crank. We had the local tractor repairer come out to look at it - he says the battery cable and the water pump need to be replaced, but he got it to start. Thank the Lord!! Now, we have to find and order a water pump for a 1964 Perkins diesel engine. While we are at it, we had better replace the water hoses, also. They are ten years old and, if replacing the water pump does not force us to replace them just to reassemble the cooling system, the increased pressure from the new water pump will quickly cause them to fail.

While I have the tractor apart, I might as well rebuild the entire wiring harness. The insulation is dried out and cracking. All of the gauges and the headlamp switch need to be replaced, too. First, I will have to see if I can get the voltage regulator tested. That may need to be raplaced, also

All nine puppies are still doing well. We have an advertisement in the local American Classifieds and have gotten a few nibbles. None have sold yet. The best part is that these puppies leave the new kids alone.

Two New Kids Arrive

This morning, when we checked the herd, we found some good news! Two new kids hit the ground overnight! Both are doing well. Their mothers are taking great care of them. They are doing so well that both of them headed out into the East Pasture with the herd.

This morning's major project was treating the puppies for fleas. At least the puppies are easy to catch. Start playing with one, and the rest appear to join in the fun. Because of their age, we use diatonomous earth and rub it into their fur. It is non-toxic, inexpensive and safe to use on very young puppies. It takes a few days, but the fleas disappear. We have already placed an ad in the local classifieds newspaper, both under the headings for dogs and for livestock. We hope they sell quickly, or else they will eat up our profits - Purina® Puppy Chow® gets expensive fast. And do these puppies eat! Although only six weeks old, they weigh over ten pounds apeace. Of course, when full grown, they will each weigh between 100 and 140 pounds without being fat.

The site for the garden is starting to take shape. We started cleaning up the downed tree which fills most of the plot. About two-thirds of the broken branches are now moved over to the firewood pile. It will help us cut the heating bill this winter. Once the rest of this little stuff is cleaned up, we can start cutting up the bigger branches with the chain saw.

Tonight, we are babysitting our tennant's niece and nephew. Our tennent, along with her sister and brother-in-law and some other friends, are going to see one of the local "heavy metal" bands in concert at a local club. It's been over a decade since we had children this small in the house.