Misty: Chore Log
I’m going to use this post to log info about the chores for the next two weeks.
Sat PM
2 turkey eggs
Didn’t milk anyone, but will probably milk Cream tomorrow AM.
Trimmed sheep’s hooves. NOT fun, and I waited way too long to do it. Need more practice doing it without Andrew. Neither ewe is happy with me at all, but they are now in the lambing ‘jugs’ (small pens) and will stay there until about 2 weeks after they lamb.
Sun PM
1 turkey egg
Cleo milked 1 lb 3 oz. I did not milk her out all the way.
Cream’s not ready yet.
Mon AM
1 turkey egg
I didn’t milk Cream yet, but her teats are feeling more ‘full’ than yesterday. There’s still quite a bit of slack in her udder though. Interesting to note that she let me touch her without trying to run away. She’s been really grumpy the last couple days. I have a feeling the kids will happen today. I wish I could stay home to see it.
Mon PM
2 turkey eggs
No goat kids, no lambs!
Tue PM
1 turkey egg
Milked 14 ounces from Cleo — her last milking for a few months.
I gave Cream a backrub. No labor yet. I’d say her udders are about 3/4 full. I’ll be checking on her before I go to bed.
Wed PM
3 turkey eggs
Thursday PM
No eggs at all!
Oh and I broke the well pump in the barn. :(
Friday PM
No eggs again. I couldn’t see to gather them, but checked again the next morning and there were none. They are probably off schedule because I was so late actually getting to chores.
I milked 8 ounces from Cleo. She was bellowing so much that it made me think maybe she was too full and had pain in her udders. But no, she just wanted grain. She didn’t get any grain, so was disappointed.
The well is still broken. Andrew gave me some things to try but none of them worked. He called a friend of ours who knows about that kind of thing, and he’s going to come out on Monday and look at it for me.
Sat AM
No eggs still. No goat kids. Pretty uneventful. I slept in a little and didn’t start the chores till 6:30.
Sat PM
So much for pretty uneventful!
4 goat kids
1 lb 13 oz milked from Cream
1 turkey egg
Sun AM
No turkey eggs
Cream gave 2 lb 5 oz
The kids are ALL eating now. Last night I brought the 10lb buck inside with me because he wasn’t eating and seemed really cold. I snuggled under the blankets with him for half an hour, and he ate about 8 oz at a sitting! I snuggled with him some more, until 3AM or so, when I finally took him back outside so I could get some sleep. This morning he was snuggled with the others (the way it should be) and they finished a 16-oz bottle between the four of them! What a relief!
Sun PM
1 turkey egg
Cream milked 3 lb 1 oz. her total for the day is 5 lb 6 oz. What a good milker!
The kids finished another complete bottle full (16 oz plus most of the ‘head room’). They are up and walking around the pen, and not huddled together all the time. They are also much stronger and surer on their feet. It’s absolutely amazing how quickly they grow compared to human babies.
Mon AM
2 turkey eggs
Cream milked 3 lb 9 oz. She is really ramping up quickly.
The kids ate as normal and were very happy to see me. :) I will try to weigh them this evening and note down their changes in weight.
I’m bumping this post up toward the top, for the new week.
Mon PM
0 turkey eggs
Cream milked 4 lb 2 oz.
Everything normal
Tue AM
1 turkey egg
Cream milked 3 lb 15 oz. See how quickly she ramps up?!
The milk is almost milk by now. I’m kicking myself for not leaving some colostrum back for any lambs I bottle feed.
Tue PM
2 turkey eggs
Cream milked 3 lb 11 oz.
Wed AM
1 turkey egg
Cream milked 4 lb 6 oz. I’ve begun chilling the milk since it is now normal-tasting milk for human consumption. We fill a bucket with ice, add just enough water to get good surface area, and stick two half-gallon Mason jars into the ice. We strain the milk into those, and take it inside right after milking and put it in the freezer for an hour. This keeps the milk tasting fresh.
Wed PM
1 turkey egg
3 lb 13 oz of milk. That’s over 4 lbs, but Andrew says she should really be at about 8 lbs a milking. Eep! I’m not sure my wrists can handle that!
Thu AM
1 turkey egg
4 lb 8 oz of milk. She’s working her way up.
Fri AM
0 turkey eggs
3 lb 7 oz milk
Fri PM
1 turkey egg
4 lb 11 oz milk
I’ve been letting Cream stay on the milking stand longer. She doesn’t eat her grain as quickly as she used to. I think she might just be a little depressed. She still isn’t finishing her grain, but she’ll eat more of it if I let her stay up there longer. I’m hoping she’ll start to get her appetite back just by eating more.
Sat AM
1 duck egg!
0 turkey eggs
4 lb 7 oz milk
Sat PM
3 turkey eggs
4 lb 11 oz milk
Sun AM
1 turkey egg
4 lb 7 oz milk
Sun PM
0 eggs
4 lb 8 oz milk
Mon AM
1 duck egg
1 turkey egg
4 lb 7 oz milk
Tue AM
2 duck eggs
1 turkey egg
4 lb 15 oz milk
Tue PM
1 turkey egg
5 lb milk
