Halfway There!

Today I realized that my doe Yoko is just over the halfway mark with her pregnancy! I have her 100 day marked down, to do final prep such as vaccinating her and giving her selenium. But the fact that we're getting so much closer is exciting!

Yoko's official due date is the 8th of March, if she has a 145 day gestation. I'll either be sleeping out near her, or will see if I can get a baby monitor with a long enough range to hear her. Of course, option two only works if she doesn't labor in silence!

She's also already beginning to look wider! Yoko came from a birthing of two, but other than that, I don't know if there is a history of multiples in her family. George, the father, was one of four when he was born, but Yoko is the one who decides kid number, depending on how many eggs she released when she ovulated.

Pictures were taken closer to dusk than I intended, so they're a little dim.

Yoko blends in quite well with the snow, actually!

Not fat, just fluffy ;) and pregnant 

 Yawn!

Yoko and Suzie had to do some begging for treats, of course!

Suzie Q is such an adorable little fluff ball! She had a good romp through the snow around me, running away than coming back, as if I'd have a treat when she returned. I actually had none with me!

Suzie Q will be a year old in about a month! She's grown up so much since I got her! She is still on the small side, but I think she's a slow and steady grower, as she is a very healthy girl. She weighs 32lbs exactly as of yesterday, so she is too small to become a mother anytime soon. I give her a bit of calf manna as a daily snack, as a protein boost!

First Snow of the Winter

The first snow of this winter came rather late. While I don't prefer snow until November, the cold stuff didn't fly until nearly December! For almost all of my goat 'kids', snow is nothing new. Suzie Q was born in early February in the far north of Minnesota, so she's seen it before. But Bailey is a summer baby, so this was her first!

The snow was nothing more than a dusting, but it was enough to stick. I took Suzie and Yoko out on a walk in it1 Bailey is still a bit too skittish, but we're making progress!

She kept high stepping when she first walked out into the snow!

View of the back

Suzie Q on the adventure

Yoko taste tested the snow

 The dead grass is still taller than she is!

I love this picture of Yoko! 

Suzie Q briefly hopped onto the snow dusted boulder. 

And then took a flying leap! I wish I'd captured this shot at an angle that was not her rear end!

 She could hide pretty well in here, if she wanted to

Back at home, Bailey timidly accepting treats from my hand! Food always helps move things along!

Bailey the Angora

This past week a new addition joined the Yooper goats. And she isn't exactly a mini gal. Nope, she'll one day be a full sized goat!

Bailey is a registered Angora goat! Angoras produce mohair, a soft and lustrous fiber. The pictures hardly convey how plushy she is, makes me want to smush my face into her fleece! She is a young gal, born May 31st, 2012.

For now, she is still a bit on the skittish side. Because Bailey was born so late in the year, she stayed with her mother and the adult goats, rather than being separated with the other kids and socialized. But she is slowly starting to trust me, as I bring her yummy things to snack on. She is still in quarantine from the others, but she can see and hear them.

For Angoras, they are not dehorned like dairy breeds are, for a good reason. Horns work almost like an air conditioner for goats, they are vascular, and help them cool off when it is hot. Because Angoras are covered in curly, warm fiber, they can overheat without them. But I got a nifty set of rubber bicycle grips to slip over her horns before I introduce her to the others. They even glow in the dark!

Nice side profile of Bailey.

Nibbling on some hay

 Jumping up on her dog crate. She is stalled up at night, but she likes hanging out on or in the crate during the day.

 Considering her treat options

 Not sure about eating from my hand, yet.

But she decided it was OK. Food wins! 

Fossil Hunting with Goats

I've known where a few fossils are on the property. For the fun of it, I decided to take the goats on a walk while I had my camera and photograph them. They're all in the same kind of limestone-like rock, and all spiral shells. The limestone makes up most of the rocks around us, with a scattering of a pink flecked granite.

I find rocks and fossil hunting fun. With these fossils, I have made no attempt to remove them from the rocks they rest in. Given how easily the limestone fractures apart, I am concerned any effort to remove them would damage them if the rock cleaves through the fossil. So in the rock they stay.

This is one of the more weathered fossils, exposed to the elements for a while. Small, but very clear. Because Suzie always wants to ear the camera, she was in my face as I was attempting to get a close picture!  

 This one is in a rock that has been more recently exposed. It is about an inch across. 

Almost too tiny to notice! A cute little shell which is barely more than a shadow in the stone.  

 

Because it was in the way, my Dad scooped up a big slab of stone in his tractor bucket. Little did he know that this beauty was hiding underneath. I found it a while after the stone was put in a new, out of the way place. And this is a BIG fossil, almost four inches across! Again, Suzie's hooves appear as she tried to chew on the camera!

Fall Walk

With winter fast approaching, my goats and I took advantage of a lovely fall day. We took a great walk! The cold nights have already zapped life from a great deal of the greenery, but the girls found plenty to nibble on nonetheless.

On the trail

Suzie is a little short compared to the grass, hah! 

Yoko fairs a bit better when it comes to grass height 

Of course, we had to make our way to the boulder that makes for some fun goat pictures. Goats can't resist jumping up on something bigger than themselves! My neighbor told me they found that rock back when he was a young boy. Apparently the tractor they had wasn't strong enough to pull it from its resting place, so they hitched a team of horses to the tractor for extra oomph! And so the boulder was removed from its original, inconvenient location, and now rests out of the way of farm equipment.

Yoko first. She was so pleased with herself, being up nice and high! 

 Suzie was much more modest about her climbing. Also, Yoko likes shoving her off the boulder.

She has grown so much!

 The instant after this silly picture was taken, she sprang off the rock like a little mountain goat!

Beautiful and majestic!

I think Yoko was displeased since Suzie had been using her back as a chin rest. 

Nomming nommy grass

Soon enough, snow will be on the ground! I am looking forward to the winter, I just hope that it isn't too harsh a winter. Last year we had it easy though, not much snow and temperatures were not too bitter. I am sure Mother Nature will make up for it eventually!

Yep, He's in Rut

Love is a frustrating thing. Though I think what my buck experiences is more lust driven by his raging goatie hormones. It makes for some hilarious moments, though I do feel badly for the poor lad, that he is so lovesick and yet cannot find satisfation!

No, he has to wait a little while longer. With help of the AGS Goat Gestation Calculator (set to mini sized goats), I am not letting George and Yoko have a date until a bit later. A lot of breeders do have kids born in the winter, because parasites and coccidia are not a problem. But there is the chance of inclement and bitter cold weather. Though I have built some nice goat sized stalls in the outbuilding/hay storage area/tractor house, for kidding time.

Anyway, here are some silly pictures of George!

Rather than egg on his face, he has fur on his face

Yoko in heat teasing poor Georgie. She is quite the trollop when it is her time!

Plus, you can hear the noises he makes, all the snorting and meeping! 

Big flehmen response!

And a bit of tongue waggling

Trying to...hoof her?

More good smells

His eyes are just so funny when he does this

Hurr durr, I'ma goat

And lastly, frustration. Taken out on the boy haus in progress.

Little Visitors

I know of a lot of people out there are frightened by snakes. I, however, love snakes. I find them very awesome and fascinating critters. And they have a very valuable purpose in the ecosystem, so even though they may be 'gross' or 'scary' to some people, they shouldn't be harmed. If you don't like snakes, and stumble upon one on a hike, please just let it be, go around or turn back. I have personally sidestepped a lazy rattlesnake sunning itself when I was hiking in South Dakota I wish I'd taken a picture! Sadly, too many people out there would have gladly bashed in the rattlesnake's head, out of panic and fear, even without the snake showing any aggression.

Anyway, I took some pictures of snakes I've stumbled across on the property. Like I said, I really like them. I handle them long enough to take a few pictures, then let them go where I found them.

Pretty and flashy!

This is a juvenile Northern Red Bellied Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata). This little guy was tiny. Thinner than a #2 pencil. Probably a very new hatchling. If you see the snake from the top, it is quite unremarkable. But flip them over, and you can see why they are so named! The red orange on their bellies is almost neon!

The snakes eat snails, slugs, and other soft invertebrates, so they are very beneficial to gardener by helping take care of a pesky slug infestation. Full grown specimens top out a 16 inches, with most staying much smaller. They're hardly a threat to people, with very small jaws and tiny teeth. They may try and defend themselves with a foul smelling musk from their cloaca.

 Smile!

Rawr! I tiny and scary! 

Next up is a little snake most everyone knows about, the garter snake. In this case, this is an Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis). A very fetching snake, with their almost checkboard patterning.

Garter snakes are also zero threat to humans. And boy, when they're caught they do excrete copius amounts of musk! Even if they try and chew on you, they don't leave much of a mark at all. They relish eating small amphibians, invertebrates, and the occasional mouse (for the larger specimens who can catch them). These guys are survivors though. They can be found just about everywhere, so at least they aren't in danger of being wiped out.

Look!

The last snake to be featured is the Western Fox Snake (Elaphe vulpina), also known as a Pine Snake locally. This snake is gorgeous. The pattern on the belly is so pretty. 

This snake has a hard time because it looks like snakes who might be venemous. The adult's head darkens to a rich, copper color. And people immediately think "copperhead!" and bash in this harmless snake. The blochy color pattern also, for some reason, screams "dangerous!". Yes, other venomous snakes do have this patterning, but they either A: do not occur in Michigan, or B: rare and considered a species of concern (this is the massasauga rattlesnake, who is incredibly shy and would rather flee than bite, so bites do not happen very often). 

So you can see how this species of snake has it rough. And in fact, they are great to have around your farm or home. Why? They LOVE eating rodents. Rodents are their favorite food item. I'd much rather have a few of these snakes floating around than mice trying to get into the house or animal feed (though I do keep it up in metal cans). 

So snakes. They're unique, and a benefit to you and your land. I understand if you don't like them, but even if you don't, they would rather not bother you, a big scary predator.