The Funeral

This weekend was difficult for us. 

There seemed to be constant reminders of our baby goats...

We decided as a family to have a small funeral for them 

and to start a pet graveyard on the farm. 

Until now we have always had "cremations"-  mainly because they are easy 

and the animals in question have all been small.

This time we just couldn't do it. 

We were too emotionally caught up in the situation and 

we all agreed that the girls deserved a proper burial. 

So we walked around the farm and picked out the perfect spot, 

at the edge of the property, near the woods & under a tree. 

We had our first funeral and burial at The Funny Farm today. 

Matt dug the hole, and Simon searched for some rocks to mark the site. 

Julianna and I decided to use one of their baby bottles as a vase 

and placed some pansies in it from the garden.

When the time came, none of us had dry eyes. 

But we all said goodbye. 

The kids asked if they could write a little message on one of the rocks, 

so we each took a sharpie and added our thoughts.

Even Poe joined the event and reverently watched from the sidelines. 

I don't know how long it will take us to move on.

People have asked us if we are going to get new goats... 

I am sure we will, I just don't know when.

I am amazed at how much we grew to love them in the very short time we had them.

They touched all of us and we will miss them so much.

We called them #1 and #2 during the time they were with us.

We could never decide on the perfect names!

We talked about it daily and we constantly came up with new possibilities...

but none of them ever seemed just right.

So we always called them #1 & #2. 

#1 was timid and always took her time eating;

we were proud of her if she would eat more than a few ounces at a time! 

She also had a habit of sucking on our clothes. 

I would feel a gentle tug on my pants or shirt, and I would look down 

to find her nuzzled up to me sucking on a hem.... 

when I would go back inside there would be a wet circle on my clothing 

and I would have to change if I was going anywhere. 

It was actually quite endearing!!

She was not a leader, but would bravely follow her sister on any adventure.

She loved to be held and cuddled and like any baby, 

she would cry if she was left alone. 

She would give me baby goat kisses by rubbing her nose on my face 

and her eyes were always full of love and trust for  us.

#2 was bold and adventurous!

From the time we first brought them home, 

she was the leader and would always protect her sister. 

She loved to eat and could suck down a bottle in seconds flat! 

(because of that the kids would always say "I get to feed #2!!)

She was always the first to explore any new situation.

She would climb the tree stumps, try out the new goat door, jump into our laps.

She knew her sister would tag along.

#2 loved attention and she would always know when we were 

coming out to the barn to feed her, 

and she would cry out anxiously to us before she could even see us coming! 

We loved to hear her excited and impatient baby goat cries 

and it would always bring a smile to my face. 

We loved the late night feedings, and even though every night around midnight 

I would have to talk myself into going out to the barn, 

I ALWAYS enjoyed it once I got there. 

The girls were so excited to eat and so lovable and cuddly, 

that we would want to stay all night with them. 

After they finished their bottles, 

they would cuddle up in our laps and contentedly fall asleep. 

When we would finally put them down, 

they would act surprised and cry to be picked back up.

#1 & #2 brought nothing but joy and delight to everyone they met.

They didn't live long, but I am sure they enjoyed the time they had.

They were amazing pets and we will always regret not getting more time with them.

It is still hard to believe they are really gone...

Today as I was looking through my pictures, 

I found this one that I snapped on a whim. 

It was taken the day before they died.

I had walked out to the barn to feed the chickens, and this is what I saw:

This is the last picture of them I took.

Goodbye baby girls.

PS: thanks for all the kind comments this past weekend, they have been encouraging to read!

A Sad Day

It is with a heavy heart that I write today's post. We lost our 2 sweet girls this morning in a vicious dog attack. We had our baby fainting goats for only 2 weeks, but in that short time every member of our family grew to love them dearly. This morning Simon and Anabelle went out to give them their morning bottle and sometime after that our dog Scurvy and his friend Scruffy caught them and killed them. When we found them we were in shock and horrified. The damage was extensive, which means we are not only losing the girls, but we are not going to be able to keep Scurvy either. We are losing 3 pets. I don't want to go into the details, but we can not keep an animal that destroys and dismembers our other animals.
This is a hard post for me to write. It seems so senseless, and all of us are blaming ourselves and playing the "if only we had..." game. We have always been careful about keeping the dogs put up when the other animals are out, but Simon and Anabelle are just children and probably weren't paying attention this morning after feeding them their breakfast. Simon being 11 years old, is really blaming himself. I, being the mom, blame myself for letting the kids feed the goats without supervising. I didn't want to get out of bed, and so I gladly let them go feed the girls. If only I had gotten up... If only I would have heard something.... If only I would have checked on them... I know it doesn't do any good now, but I can't help but feel that I could have prevented this in some way. I know death is part of farm life, but that is part of farm life that none of us are used to.
I will write a eulogy of sorts in the next post and will reflect on the positive, but for now writing this has helped me get my feelings out. This blog has always been my "farm diary", so naturally when I am full of sad feelings I turn here to express them.
Thanks for listening.

Insanity Has Set In

My self control lasted exactly 2 months and 2 days... then it ran out.

I brought home 3 new chicks today- I just couldn't resist!!!

My friend Liz and her family came over for my Birthday cookout a few weeks ago 

and she fell in love with my Silkie chicks. 

So she contacted the breeder we got ours from back in March and set up a time to go see them. Naturally, I wanted to go along!

I forgot how adorably sweet newborn chicks are... 

they suck you in with their cuteness!!! 

Then the girl said they had some blue and red chicks.... SOLD! 

I came home with 3 new Silkies for the brooder: 2 blue and 1 red. 

I can't wait to see what they look like as they grow!!!!

Aren't they ADORABLE?!?!

look at that face! a real "angry bird"?

Dark Blue has somewhere to go... I guess the photo shoot is over!

So 25 chicks + 9 chicks - 1 chick + 3 chicks = 36 chicks

36 chicks + 2 special needs chicks (Julianna's project) = 38 chicks in the coop

38 chicks = Chicken Math

(see explanation of chicken math HERE)

I REALLY am done now.... at least until next year. I think. 

Roost Wars

Tonight around dusk I went out to "The Barny" to close up everything and make sure all the chickens were ready for bed. The big chickens were all roosting normally, but in the nursery the chicks were all in a tizzy. I couldn't see any apparent problem, but they were all acting nervous and they were louder and more vocal than usual. We looked around the coop for anything out of place or any intruders. Besides the pair of barn swallows that were darting in and out, there were no unwelcome visitors. After 10 mins or so, they still hadn't calmed down and I still couldn't figure out the problem. 

I decided to set up camp and wait.

It didn't take long.

I had a front row seat to the new farm reality show "Roost Wars"

(sorry for the poor picture quality, it was dim lighting and I had to use my cell phone)

There are PLENTY of roosting spots available, 

but all the chicks decided they wanted to compete for the same area. 

At one point I counted 15 chicks trying to roost in one spot.

 It took a good 30 minutes or so for everyone to either 

admit defeat, find a different spot or be declared a victor. 

It was quite humorous to watch and also hard not to intervene. 

I admit there were a few times that the chicks couldn't quite make the flight up to the roost, and then I would pick them up and place them further down at an empty spot. 

One bold chick (Lucy Goosey) actually walked on the backs of 

3 different chicks until she got the spot she wanted. 

I am glad I stuck around. 

Setbacks

A couple weeks ago my left arm started aching. I didn't do anything specific to it that I can remember, but I have been doing lots around the farm now that the weather is nice. Over the next 2 weeks I tried not to use it as much as possible, but there are so many projects I want to do that I probably used it more than I should have. The pain has only gotten worse. This past weekend, the pain was so bad that just opening an empty ziplock bag shot intense pain up my arm. My family decided it was time for me to go to the doctor. They would not let me talk my way out of it any more... so I went yesterday and saw Dr. Zach. The verdict? Tendinitis in my left arm. I have to wear a brace for a few weeks and use my arm as little as possible. WHAT?! I am left handed... I do everything with my left arm! What about my garden?!?!?! 

I am so bummed out about this, but I know if I don't follow doctor's orders my arm will only get worse. I am hoping my great kids will have pity on their mama and help me out around the farm so that I don't get too far behind. A mom can hope, right?

Silkie Kisses

A goodnight kiss?

Goat Playground

The goats love to be free in the yard and to follow us around. 

They have never left, but I still don't feel comfortable having them free
when we aren't paying attention.
Anyone familiar with goats probably understands,
goats have a tendency to get into things (trouble) just like toddlers.
You would never leave a toddler unsupervised and just like toddlers,
unsupervised goats are trouble magnets!

So a couple weeks ago, I came up with the brilliant idea to build an outdoor goat pen that connects to their stall in the barn. That way they can go in and out as they please, but they are still safe. As with all my brilliant ideas, Matt looks at me skeptically and tries to understand what exactly my vision is,
and how much work is involved for him to execute it.
Lucky for him, there is a whole pile of scrap wood that was stored in an
old building on the farm. Anytime I have a project, we go to the "wood shed"
and get what we need without having to spend a bunch of money at the lumberyard.
We found what we needed and hauled it over.
Here is our progress:

*****
Day 1: The western fence goes up

Day 2: The east & south fences go up

Simon is going to join in and help dad

I would like to think that Matt is patiently teaching Simon something here...

Day 3: the north fence and the outside gate is finished

See Jack?

I am QUITE sure he is already trying to figure a way out of the pen

Hopefully this gate latch will do the trick and keep him in

Day 4: the goat door & play ground

Jack is checking out the progress

Now Sundance is checking out the doorway...

from both sides... looks good to him!

Simon also tries the door- a little tight, but he still fits

Matt does not fit.

After the door/ ramp is attached, the babies can get in and out too

Next Matt is building some toys for them- 

Goats love to climb, so this will provide them some entertainment.

In no time at all, the goats test it out and approve!

And now everyone is happy!

Another completed project!

Thanks (again!) Matt 

Go Directly To Jail...

We have a bully in the Nursery and his name is Big Chuck.

Big Chuck @ 12 weeks old

He chases all the other chicks around incessantly. 

Males, females, and he does not discriminate by breed or size. 

He catches them and pulls out their feathers and slings them around.

It is awful!! 

I went into the nursery coop today to clean it out and 

add fresh bedding and there were feathers EVERYWHERE.

I did not like the looks of that.

All day as we were outside working around the farm, 

I heard the sounds of tortured chases and squawking from his victims.

The last straw was when he caught Butterscotch and slung her around screaming. 

I ran to help and he had her pinned down while he was pulling out her feathers.

I was ticked off.

That is quite enough Big Chuck-

you are going to jail to cool off for a bit

What do I do with this bully chick?

Do I keep interfering or should I just wait and see what happens?

I just don't know what to do with him- any suggestions are welcomed!

Meet Tornado

Our new baby horse was born this past Monday,

and today we got to meet him for the first time!!

See the cute white markings on his face?

Yes, we thought it looked like a Tornado too...

and the name just kindof stuck!

 what a handsome colt!

Tornado and his mama, Sassy

I couldn't believe how small he was- 

I have never seen a newborn horse in person, 

so I didn't know what to expect. 

I was so happy that both Tornado and Sassy were comfortable with us visiting!

Doesn't he look like he is smiling?

We are excited to get to know Tornado better in the months to come!

For now he will stay at a nearby farm with his mama, 

but when he is weaned he will come out to The Funny Farm to live. 

I can't wait!!!

They Faint!!

We saw the girls faint for the first time this morning! 

It was so cute!!