White Husky Says Goodnight

Ballsy Camelid

Diesel is getting ballsy with invading my personal space, so I'm having to "get large," and teach him some swear words.

Off Leash

I've been praying for ten years that I would have the strength, stamina, courage and wisdom to be able to train my animals off leash. Apparently when I was praying I should have specifically mentioned to God that it was the DOGS I wanted to behave off leash, not the 3-month old goat!

But, nonetheless, isn't he a spectacular little creature? So sweet and not very adventurous around the yard, but Buck sure likes to take a leaf from every plant to see what they taste like. After all, it is the first time in his little life to try all the foliage around him, since they live on a dry paddock during the day. Soon the pastures will be fenced in and the goats and Diesel-the wonder llama-will be able to run around in the fields.

Mite-y Barn Cats

I know...too many kitten pictures, but some people really get a kick out of 'em. I'm just getting a kick out of the fact they are still alive--ear mites and all. If their grandmother hadn't called from the road (on her way to Oklahoma City) to remind me to give them their ear medicine, I would have totally forgotten about it. I hate to break it to the grandkittens, but they won't get red carpet treatment from us like they did when their Meemaw was here...My mom was singing and talking and carrying on with those kittens so loudly one evening I could barely milk the goats--it was eerily distracting, you know? And, the kittens just look at you when you're talking, as if they're planning their next move. They're not like dogs: when you talk to dogs they at least pretend like they are hanging on your every word. I like dogs...

Here's a few more photos. Hopefully, we'll move back to goats and dogs soon: you know, really cute four-leggeds. (Don't tell the kittens-I still need them to pick up the pace with the mice. Every time I reach for a bale of hay, three mice pop out. Yuck!)

From left to right:
Pot Pie (aka Pothead), Pork Chop, Puddin'

Mice are Nice

"Mice are Nice." That's part of the little kitty diddy that Mr. H recited to the baby barn kittens this morning after we realized that Pork Chop actually caught his first little barn mouse. (Please note: we use the terms "his" and "her" loosely with the tiny trio, as we can't actually tell the gender of the kittens yet.)

(Warning: pictures are graphic. Do not scroll below if you aren't prepared to see Pork Chop and his conquest.)

I discovered this wondrous event as I sat down to milk my first goat. Peaches was in the milking stanchion munching grain, and from over the wall to the big brooding stall that we've turned into a kitten nursery, I kept hearing very low growls. These intermittent, low growls were nothing like anything I'd heard from these little feline pipsqueaks before, so it didn't register at first what might be going on in the kitty boudoir.

I leaned over the wall and saw Porky with a baby mouse in its mouth! Now this is what I'm "paying" these guys for. We know that one of them will at least kill a mouse. As I told my mother this morning when she came to witness the fantastic job her grandkitten did but wondered why they weren't eating the mouse already, "GD--I don't care if they eat it or not; as long as they kill it they're doing their jobs..."

Havin' a Ball, Y'all

At the county fair; a truly rural affair!

Rain Dance Rodentia

Thank you Rain Squirrel (and Seneca)!!

Shortly after I opened the following photo text from my bff, it started raining after months of drought... Let it rain! Wisconsin without the constant threat of rain in the summer is like London without gray skies!

Even the animals are excited about the rain. Buck jumped on me in the barn as if he wanted to play. After he did that five times I realized I have a lot of training to put him through before he can be out and about to meet his public. He has aspirations....

For now, the animals and the garden will enjoy the rain.

Mouse Logic

After a conversation I had with Mr. H a couple of days ago, it became clear very quickly that those little barn kittens needed to be here whether we want the extra burden or not. Besides, there is a huge cuteness factor going on with those little kitties right now. (Because Chihuahuas have this same cuteness factor in appearance, not acoustics, I want to reiterate: "cuteness factor" should not be a main reason in acquiring a pet! I have five "burdens of proof" if you need to witness that 3-D.)

One evening last week, Mr. H pulled into the garage with his pickup and I had been messing with something in a blue plastic kiddie pool in the garage. The pool, for some reason, was under a can containing fifty pounds of goat feed.

Me: "Mr. H, will you come and get this baby mouse out of here? He's stuck in the pool and can't climb out."

Mr. H: "Ok."

Me: "He can't seem to walk up the side of the pool. He can't figure it out."

Mr. H: "Ok."

I go about my chores for the better part of an hour and come back...

Me: "Well? Did you bash his head in?"

Mr. H: "No."

Me: "Did you give him a Viking funeral?"

(You'll recall from previous posts-largely due to Gunnar- that a Viking Funeral on our farm means the dearly departed gets thrown into the wood burner. Similar to a true Viking funeral-that I've seen in the movies-in which the deceased Viking is sent out to sea in his ship and then someone shoots a flaming arrow at him and lights him and his ship on fire.) Is that oversharing?

Mr. H: "No, but I gave him a very stern talking to and told the little mouse to just wait until the kittens grow up!"

Really? And he used to be big and tough in the Marine Corps? Did I completely ruin this man somehow? I might need to consult Cosmo....



I Deserve It

I was trying to take this picture to show off our fresh garden produce-more like record the fact that we are still growing living plants in this sandy soil. But then... I rubbed my eye...after molesting a Thai pepper plant. I can't see out of my stinging, right eye.

Serves me right.

Don't Play With Your Food!

After picking a huge zucchini and a lemon cucumber, I got distracted and forgot about the garden vegetables left on the window sill in the basement.

Gunnar did not forget, however. I thought they would be okay because the white Husky does not eat fruits and veggies like the Littles do. Apparently he won't eat them, but he will play with them...

1 Down, 3 to go

He survived his first of four shots, and I even managed to avoid sticking my nurse-Mr. H- in an artery, with the needle! Diesel is checking his little buddy out to make sure he's okay...



Realization

5:20pm

I just realized that I did not go to vet school! (Has anyone read step #11 yet? Guess what I'm giving Buck when I can get the courage to stop blogging and go the barn?!). Here I go!

Steps of Giving an Injection

1. Always use a clean needle and syringe
2. Wash your hands with antiseptic soap before handling the needle and syringe.
3. Check the label on the vaccination or medication bottle to verify it is in fact the one you want to give your goat. Double-check the expiration date, make sure there is nothing floating in the bottle and that the drug is not discolored.
4. Wipe top of medication bottle with alcohol prep
5. Use separate needle for drawing medication from bottle so as not to contaminate medication- to do this if you are using a syringe and needle combo, unscrew the needle on the syringe, and screw the syringe into the needle that is already in the rubber stopper of the medication (One that you have already placed there for this purpose) - once the syringe has the proper dosage of medication in it, unscrew the needle that is In the medication bottle and re-screw the needle you removed before filling the syringe back onto the syringe.
6. Make sure injection needle is properly attached to syringe (With a luer-lock syringe the needle will screw into the hub of the syringe , then while holding syringe upside down needle pointing upwards.. loosely in one hand.. flick with your fingers the top of the syringe to get air bubbles up to top, then expel them by pushing plunger some until you are to pure medication.
7. Secure goat either in a stancheon or using a collar or second person and secure to a fence , tree or have the person hold the goat securely if you cannot hold the goat and give the injection. It helps to have the butt end of the goat up against something solid so they cannot back away which is what they typically do.
8. Wipe injection site with alcohol prep, double check dose amount in syringe and double check the medicaiton to make sure you in fact have the correct med.
9. Remove the needle's plastic, protective cap. Be very careful not to touch the needle.
10. Insert injection needle into goat at what ever angle you intend on giving injection (Sub-Q or IM) - SQ goes in at an angle , IM goes straight in.
11. Draw back on plunger to make sure you are NOT in a blood vessel! (This is especially important for giving penicillin injections as Penicillin is deadly if injected into the bloodstream)If you are in the vessel ..withdraw needle and re stick the goat.
12. Slowly and firmly inject medication (if the goat moves and you think there is a possibility of breaking the needle- Let go of it and let it hang.. you do much less damage with the needle hanging there than trying to hold on and taking a chance of breaking it off in the goat!)
13. Withdraw needle and rub injection site briskly.
14. Let go of goat and apologize for giving it an owie. Give her a kiss and a cookie.
15. Watch her for at least 30 minutes.. this is why I bring mine inside if at all possible. Keep an eye on her the next few hours Just in case..

Thought the picture would be useful again....thank you Goat-Link.com for this awesome diagram...let's memorize it.

Little Visitors

Farmer Ron came by early this morning to pick up the extra goat milk I had for him and showed off his two new orphans. These two guys are from our Amish friend, Roman, whose goats apparently had an "oopsy" conception when the buck got loose in February. Don't worry, these two cuties are boys, so they did not stay on at the Black Squirrel Ranch, though my dad figured that's what would happen!

Buck is recovering slowly from the "coin purse thief," yesterday, but when I went out to hug him this morning I pulled a small, rusty tack out of one of his little knee caps so I have to learn how to administer penicillin shots to a goat today...anyone?

New Addition

And we have ear mites. Who, you ask? The barn kittens who are supposed to be seen and not heard (or expensive in any way) have now cost me $30 extra- on top of the money I paid for distemper vaccinations for them today. Does anyone have a cat cookbook?

Missing Money

"Has anyone seen my coin purse?"

(psst...I suspect the veterinarian stole the money out of Buck's coin purse when he was here earlier...)

Meet the Gladiators

These kittens are turning out to be quite the free entertainment, but they require way more care than you'd think something would that is supposed to live in a barn and eat mice! I realize they aren't old enough to eat mice, but they had better pick up the pace! Don't tell Farmer Ron, but they are getting a couple of shots tomorrow--if he knew I was inoculating barn cats he'd probably die on the spot. He seems to be doing marginally well considering an actual, licensed veterinarian is going to castrate little Buck in the morning instead of doing it himself (I wanted Buck to be somewhat unconcious for the procedure, considering how old he is and FR wouldn't have used any painkillers. He told me how he'd castrate the kid so that when I assist the vet tomorrow I can compare notes.................wait, what?

I've only named the kittens so that we can keep them straight, of course. It's not like I enjoy having them around. They are awfully cute at this stage though, so we'll just ride the wave.

Let's meet the defense:

This is Puddin'. She's 2 pounds 1 ounce, loves to climb high things and jump off high things. Puddin' enjoys milk with rice cereal in it and long walks in the Chihuahua pen--when the Chihuahuas are no where to be seen. This little kitten, which we think is a girl, takes no prisoners and is the most adventurous of the home team kittens.



This little girl (we think) is named Pork Chop. She's very pretty--and knows it. Pork Chop is always game for anything, loves the kitten crunchies we feed them, and her hobbies are playing with mouse toys and jumping around on cardboard boxes

This dashing little gent (we think) is Pot Pie. He is feisty but sweet--wonder where he got that from? Pot Pie enjoys chasing his sisters, climbing on the HUGE kitten climber pole/jungle gym his grandmother (GD) made for him, and eating leftovers.

And there you have it: Black Squirrel Ranch's defensive line up for Fall 2012. Let's have a good [mouse] season folks!

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All is Calm, All is Bright

I don't know about bright, but the horse stopped playing rodeo with the llama so let's go with bright....whew.

Good Conversation

Diesel and Mr. H philosophizing under the willow tree.

Missing a Gene....aka the Sad Farmer Face

...the farmer gene.

We are hauling Bea's two kids now. Frasier and Niles are going to Farmer Ron's and will eventually end up at a "petting zoo..." This is the not so fun part of being a herdsman.

I sincerely hope it gets easier, or I get tougher.

They Grow Up So Fast

Buck, 61 days old....

Crouching Lettuce, Sleeping Wulf

He's guarding the salad.

Charmed Life

Don't get any preconceived notions, folks- I just make it look like it's a glamorous job!