2006-03-05 18:44:09
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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
Andrew@Three Elms » Andrew@Edmonton — Drainage/New server on 2006-03-02 23:00:50
[...] Misty’s doing an amazing amount of work at home. Here’s a log she’s keeping of it. [...]
toddtyrtle on 2006-03-07 20:51:43
Man, I feel like such a slug now.
I can't imagine the responsibility of having to keep up with all of the animals. There were times when Paul was growing up and we lived in the yurt when we'd all come down with some bug or another and none of us would have been able to keep up with all of that. There were a couple of times where it was great that Sage's mom was there to get wood for us and help out or we'd have been in trouble. Or rather - very uncomfortable - sick and cutting wood...
Healthnut Wannabe » ZzzZzzzz…. on 2006-03-08 21:46:13
[...] I was so zonked this afternoon! From about 2PM on I was fighting the snoozies. The wrecker came to tow my car at 3, and until he came I was just propping my eyelids open. After he left I took a 30 minute nap, and my butt was dragging for the rest of the afternoon. The chores seemed to just go in slow motion. I got back inside and Andrew called and I snapped at him. Then my mom called and I just barely held in my crankiness. Afterwards, go figure, I ate dinner and all was right with the world! [...]
misty on 2006-03-11 19:35:55
Todd, I forgot to reply to this! It only takes about 25 minutes twice a day to do the chores -- it's probably not quite as much work as it sounds. It's a little of a pain with the well broken but nothing back-breaking. If we ever stop enjoying it, we will stop doing it. :)
Healthnut Wannabe » Motivation Situation on 2006-03-01 16:19:15
[...] I’m going to walk tonight and listen to some podcasts. That is, if Cream hasn’t had her kids yet. If she has, all bets are off. « Good Workout [...]