The Life of Peep

I haven't seen the movie The Life of Pi yet - but I read the book a while ago. I really liked it - I thought it was a adventure story about a boy and a tiger in a boat. Apparently it wasn't just about a tiger. Or a boy. Or a boat. I can never tell when the story is about the story or if it means something else. Vivid imagery and symbolism are entirely lost on me. I'm just not that deep.

Our Peep was at one time slightly wild eyed and unstable.

A while ago I promised that I'd tell you the story of our sweet Peep. It's kind of like the Life of Pi. But this is a story about a kitten. And a girl. And a plane. It's The Life of Peep.

When I first got to The Good Land we lived at the Old Farm. I was still trying to sort out the entanglements of my old life so there were a lot of things happening. One of those things was a visitor who arrived with The World's Worst Poodles. I hated them. They were out of control and barked at everything. This was long before we had our Dog Horde but even then I knew dogs should not behave like those stupid poodles. One day I saw one of those fluffy headed nincompoops chasing something across the garden and I didn't give it another thought.

She loved being held by TBM. And still does.

The next day I had to give it a lot of thought. That stupid poodle was chasing our Mrs. FluffyPants, the feral cat we'd been feeding in hopes she would become our barncat.  Turns out she had just birthed her kittens in the chicken house. That dog chased her off her nest. We waited for her to come back for the kittens. She didn't. Almost two days later, at 11:30 in the PM we stood in the kitchen trying to decide what to do.

To be sure we believe in The Way of Things and we know that life is harsh...but we also believe in giving everyone a fighting chance.  We stood looking at each other, our toes hanging over the edge of a precipice.

Between the two of us we already had four cats. The Big Man with his two boys and me with my old lady cats. We figured that was more than enough. But the last time we checked the kittens weren't doing well. The Big Man went outside with instructions to either bury the kittens if they had died....Or to bring them inside.

A few minutes later TBM came back inside holding one tiny little body - she was the only kitten left. The others were gone. She was crying pitifully and my husband told me the kitten was trying to keep warm by wrapping herself up in a plastic bag.  She was cold to the touch and barely moving.  We sprang to action and gently warmed her up and got some food in her belly. I stayed awake the whole night with her trying to keep her warm. One of my old lady cats was snuggling with her on my lap. The kitten lived thru the night.

We couldn't believe how little she was... her kitten blue eyes slayed me.

The next day I happened to be going to vet anyway so I took her along hoping that they knew a nursing mamma cat? No. Or that they could care for her? Nope. Barn cats are a dime a dozen out here. The timing couldn't be worse. The next day I was getting on a plane to finish up the last details of my old life. Could I take her on the plane? I asked the vet.  "Well. It's better than her dying in the shed." And then he walked away. I looked down at the tiny little bit of fluff in my hands. I didn't have any idea what I was doing.

So between packing and making other arrangements I gave myself a crash course in how to bottle raise kittens. And I bought her a ticket to come with me - it was $80 each way, which was expensive. I didn't know if she would make it so I only bought her a one way ticket.  She was so tiny and frail...and I was feeding her every 2 or 3 hours just hoping to keep her alive.

I still didn't have any idea what I was doing as I stood in line at security. I had packed the baby kitten - all of 5 days old - in a carrier with some things to keep her warm and some kitten formula.

"Take the animal out of the carrier and place it on the belt." Demanded the security guy. You know the type - cheap watch, a bad haircut, a worse attitude, and a smirk because he was finally in charge of something. He was staring me down when I reached in and pulled the kitten out of the carrier - she wasn't even as big as my palm and her eyes weren't even open. A gasp went up from the crowd behind me and then the security guy, that big tough man.....utterly melted. He turned to jelly before my eyes... "Oh!" He said, "Let me see her!"

I was swarmed. There was oohing and aaaahing and everyone wanted to see that baby kitten. What happened? How old was she? Wasn't she too young to be away from her mother?

I was whisked thru the rest of the security check and then walked off like a rock star surrounded by onlookers and well wishers and everyone who wanted to hear the story. When I boarded the plane the flight attendants swooned, my seat mates fawned over her...and I just tried to keep the kitten warm. That little bit of fluff never meowed..she just peeped a little. So I called her Peep.

It is a fact she still has TBM wrapped around her little pink toe.

With the help of a neighborhood vet not only did Peep make it - she thrived. The kitten had some belly problems but nothing an experienced vet tech couldn't fix they told me. So I dropped her off at the vet's office for the day while I had a yard sale to get rid of everything in my city house that I couldn't fit in the moving truck.  After my neighbors scavenged everything that wasn't sold out of the "Free" pile I went back to pick up Peep.

The receptionist called back for the vet tech to bring Peep out. And that is when my life changed.

"Is this your kitten, honey?" She was an enormous older woman with a huge bosom. "Don't you worry now, this little one is going to be just fine."

And then she plucked Peep out of her bra. That's right. This is who taught me that your bosom is the best place for warming up little creatures.

"You keep her close to your heart, now. She'll feel your heartbeat and calm right down." She told me. I was mesmerized. Peep squawked and wanted to be back in that huge bosom.  I walked out to my rental car, got in, and put Peep in my comparatively inadequate bosom. She instantly quieted down...and then promptly peed all down my front. That was the last clean shirt I ever owned.

The walking thing took a while but she eventually got it.

Eventually I closed down my old life and all that was left to do was buy Peep her return ticket and get back to The Good Land. I gathered up all the loose change from my yard sale and dumped it into one of those change counting machines. I stood there listening to the sound of everything from my old life that had been turned into dimes and nickles at the sale. I waited for the final tally of my old life.  It was $80 and change. Just enough for Peep's return ticket.  Praise God for little miracles.

So Peep and I returned to The Good Land. She came back strong and healthy - and with her eyes open. She learned to toddle around, to eat real food, and eventually her little body was able to keep itself warm. She ended up with a typical Calico spitfire personality... and a unique perspective on life that only comes from being a bottle raised baby.

Then she got big and got all silly.

We never did see Mrs. FluffyPants again - but the other kittens came back and lived in the chicken house. I sometimes wonder what our barncats, Shine and Bobbi, would think of their "lost" sister, Peep who went on to live in the house.

I wonder how much different things would be if we hadn't brought her in on that cold night. She's our Peep, we say, and she peeps her peep.

The bigger she got the sillier she got. We call her Pistol Peep, our Fuzzy Buzz Saw.

Peep went on to have other adventures. She got a new sister because the vet thought Peep would "be weird" if she didn't have another kitten to play with. So we got Pepper and you know how that turned out. There was the story of how Peep got lost and how TBM found her from 150 miles away. And then there was the story of Peep and the Wall of Vomit - but that's another story for another time.

Happy Thursday everyone! Any body else have an adventure story involving a kitten or a tiger?

Farmer Liz Interviews OFG - Get started growing your own!

Check it out!

Thanks to Farmer Liz for interviewing Ohiofarmgirl's Adventures in the Good Land.  She is doing a terrific series interviewing folks about how to get started growing your own. This is great because some folks just don't know how or where to start. You can see how other people got started and learn some valuable skills. Best of all you can get your confidence up by seeing how other people got started.

I really love Farmer Liz - she has cows. And its fun to see what she's working on a world away in Australia. When its winter I especially love to see her blog and be reminded that summer isn't too far away.

I was so honored when she invited me to participate in this series. My best advice is start where you are, use what you've got, and do what you can. Anyone can participate in a community garden, grow a few tomatoes in a container garden, start some raised beds, rip out your lawn and put in a real garden, or go all out and get a tractor and plant a field of grains for their barnyard animals.

How about you? Where would you start? Any thoughts on this?

Happy Tuesday everyone! Be sure to wish Farmer Liz a G'Day down there in Oz!

How to Treat Goat Polio

Lately I've gotten a lot of folks searching on how to treat goat polio so I feel like I should re-run this post. 

About this time of year, for whatever reason - I think because of the lack of free ranging, one of our goats is stricken with goat polio. We figured out pretty quick how to fix her up. Luckily we've always taken quick action and she seems to be OK. I have asked a lot of experienced goat people and they have said sometimes this just happens no matter what steps you take to prevent it. But still, it's pretty scary.

This can be a very serious issue and when I see people looking for information I always feel horrible because there is no way for me to contact them and ask them if their goat is alright. So if you are searching for how to treat goat polio and you need help, don't hesitate to leave a comment or send me an email.

As always there is a disclaimer...  I am not a vet. I don't play a vet on TV. I never wanted to be a vet. I am not diagnosing your goat now or ever. If you goat is sick, call your vet. Got it?

Everything I know about treating goat polio is here in this post. It includes simple remedies and a lot of links to online articles with tons of information. 

The most important thing is:  do not wait to take action. Giving your goat vitamin B1 is easy and cheap. The worst thing that will happen if you give her B1 is that your goat might be mad at you...and she probably will be... but the best thing that could happen is that you'll save her life.

Goat polio kills quickly so if you suspect it, or if she is showing some signs, take immediate action.  We give Debbie B1 if she is off her feed or acting funny. We don't "wait and see" or see if other symptoms develop.  You really can't overdose and what her body doesn't need will be excreted. So there is very little danger to your goat. The biggest danger is not doing anything.

You don't need fancy shots or a prescription. Just grab some regular Vitamin B1 tablets from your grocery store, crush them up, mix with a little water, and give it to your goat. You should see immediate improvement.

Obviously it would be best if you had a nearby vet to help you out...but we don't have that option. Goats never need emergency help on a Tuesday afternoon - it's always at the most inconvenient time. So be prepared and ready if this happens to your goat.

So far Debbie had been doing OK... but she'd rip off her own scur to get ahold of some fresh, green hay right about now. We can't wait for the weather to break and so everyone can get back outside. Here's to hoping winter comes to and end soon!

Happy Monday everyone! Are you prepared to treat your goat for polio?

Bottle Feeding Baby Goats

I don't have any trouble bottle feeding baby goats. To me the whole thing is a breeze. About this time of year, just as goat kidding season is starting to ramp up, there is a lot of interest in how to bottle feed baby goats. This is how we get 'er done in The Good Land.  (click on link for more details)

Bottle feeding baby goats. Easy as pie.

Basically it goes like this:

Step One.  Acquire baby goats.
Step Two: March out there boldly with your battle .. I mean.. bottle feeding implements.
Step Three: Insert bottle into baby goat mouth ....and let them do all the work.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong but this works for us.

The other day I read yet another account of a 'heart broken' baby goat owner who was obviously  scammed by a seller - their new baby goat was not bottle trained. They were complaining that they couldn't get the baby to drink from the bottle. They actually wanted their money back and called the seller a liar. Beggin' your pardon, friend, but maybe the problem isn't that baby goat, maybe it's you.

This post provides a detailed explanation of the how's and why's of bottle feeding baby goats and it includes a fun video.

The main keys for success seem to be:

Be the udder. Get low. Hunker Down.

1. Be the udder. Your baby goat is instinctively looking for legs and an udder.  Not some big, weird, two legged person waving some kind of scary plastic thing in her face. Do not pick her up. Instead, get low. Hunker down. Act like an udder.

2. If you don't have goat milk you can use regular old, full fat, cow milk from the store.

3. We prefer to feed "little and often" - little creatures do best when they have a lot of small meals instead of two big meals. This keeps their blood sugar stable, keeps their body temperatures warm (if its cold weather), and frankly - we believe - is kind of soothing.

4. There are all kinds of charts and graphs about how much you should feed. Mostly we feed them until they are full and a little milk drunk. But you don't want to over feed or they could get sick.

5. I think folks get hung up on technique. Or maybe they just give up to easily. Make sure the milk comes out of the bottle easily - especially at first. You want them to suck the milk down, but the milk should come easily or the babies will give up. Don't be afraid to make the hole in the nipple bigger so the milk flows easily.

There is a lot of goofin' around but they are just happy.

There have been actual fist fights over what kind of nipples goat people use for their bottles. Of course we cant abide by that kind of nonsense so we just used puppy bottles. You heard me - puppy bottles just like these PetAg Complete Nursing Kit 4oz:

Mostly we have bottle fed mini baby goats. Nibbles happens to be the world's worst mother and gets tired of her babies and we end up feeding them. These puppy bottles are the perfect size for starters. Eventually we need bigger ones so we bought lamb bottles like these Advance 984 Completed Lamb Bottle Set with Nipple, 2-Quart.

Your other option, if you have an uncooperative momma goat, is to find someone else to feed your babies. Both Debbie and Dahli, our full sized La Mancha goats, are kind of good sports and will allow other babies to nurse off them.

That's Dahli - not their momma. She will do anything for snacks.

When I say "good sports" I mean that I'm bigger than they are and they just have to stand there while I hold them. And let's face it - both of those gals will do anything for snacks. So I just call them up to the milk stand, pour on the goat food, and while they are stuffing their faces I just sneak the little ones under them and let the babies nurse.

Some people would argue that there are a lot of reasons to only bottle feed baby goats. We don't believe these reasons ("the babies won't be snugly enough!") and our goats do not have the communicable diseases that are passed from momma to babies. So we are very happy to have our goats do all the work.

Happy, well fed baby goats should be skip poppin' like this!

But even I have to admit.... the baby goats are pretty darn cute when they are getting their sips. Of all the farm chores feeding baby goats is one of the best jobs.

Happy Saturday everyone! Are you bottle feeding baby goats yet?

ps.  If you are new to goats and need a reference, I really love Storey's Guide to Goats. It's a great all around book with good common sense information. You can find more farm tools and references from my Amazon store here. Don't see what you need? Just use the Amazon search box on the right to purchase what you were going to buy anyway. Anything you purchase from these links will help support this blog and won't cost you a penny more. Thanks!

Gearing Up for the FTE

Does everyone have their storm preps done? At this writing (Thursday night) the Big Storm of Doom is stretching all the way back to the Dakotas and all the way down to Louisiana. They are already cancelling school - lots of schools.  There is only one thing to do - declare an FTE.

Sooooo much butter and syrup.....

That's right - a French Toast Emergency.  That's when everyone panics and runs out to buy bread, milk, and eggs...everything you need to make french toast.

This was a fabulous breakfast.

It's still my favorite joke. Seriously. My most hilarious friend told me the FTE joke and I can't get enough of it. Or french toast for that matter... and us with all that maple syrup.

The syrup was from our first batch made over the campfire. I added a drop of cream while cooking.

Unfortunately the freezing rain is no joke and we expect up to a quarter inch of ice to coat everything. Hopefully by the time you read this we still have power. The storm should push off by noon on Friday so here's to hoping.

I kinda like an FTE every once in a while. But only for the french toast.

The last time we lost power due to ice we were down for 4 days. We are ready tho. We have our winter storm preps done and we are ready to Defeat the Four Horsemen of Ice Storm of Doom 2013. To make extra sure we went and got another load of firewood earlier in the week. We may end up not using most of it until next year because I'm just sure spring is going to be coming soon... but that's OK. If we end up without power for a while we'll need all that wood to stoke the cook fire so we can have plenty of french toast.

Good Luck everyone! Did anyone else actually make french toast?

How to Cook Maple Syrup

I should say this is ONE way to cook maple sap into maple syrup. We are probably doing it wrong but it totally worked! So we were really excited. Maybe some of your northeasterners who know what you are doing can give us other ideas?

 This set up worked really well for us.

Here is what we learned when we were out there cooking the "M" the other day.....

First, our rocket stove didn't take off. Maybe we were missing something but it didn't seem worth it to construct the whole chimney thingy to have a small fire that only kind of did the job.

So we moved on to a campfire type set up. We were warned by a couple people that if we cooked the sap over a regular fire it would taste smoky. Ours didn't get smoky at all and it was terrific. But I'm not a superduper taster so if it had smoky notes I didn't notice. We actually thought our syrup was pretty vanilla-y.

The campfire arrangement was the business. It worked like a charm. Granted I can make a smokin' hot smoke-less fire... so maybe it was more luck than anything.

The day we cooked the sap outside it was pretty darn cold - and it even snowed a little later in the day. We used the biggest pot we could find and then a smaller one also. We'd get a head start with the smaller pot and let it boil pretty fast until it boiled down to a certain level. Then we poured it into the bigger simmering pot. This way we could boil as much of the water out as possible.

Yes the handle on this pot it broken - that's why I'm using it on the campfire.

At the end of the day we brought in both pots and let them set on the woodstove all nite. Then after church we "finished" it on the stove top. Apparently you are supposed boil the heck out of it until it reaches 7* over boiling. Then its officially syrup.

The only wonky thing we found was that we hit boiling at 208*!!!! I'm a little freaked out by that but we rolled with it and took our syrup off the heat at 215*.

It was spectacular.

We had pancakes. 

Very soon there will be french toast. Oh yes.... there will be french toast.

So was it worth it? Heck yeah! The day I sat outside and tended the fire was one of my best days on the farm this entire winter. I sat with my feet propped up getting warm, randomly reached down to pet the dog from time to time, and watched snowflakes melt in my hot chocolate. It was fabulous.

But was it worth it just get a few pints? I guess that depends on how you value your time. Sure I could have driven down and grabbed a $9 bottle off the grocery story shelf then gone home and watched Desperate Housewives of Peoria for the rest of the afternoon... but my time is more valuable than that. I'm learned fun things and had a terrific time doing it. So yeah, it was worth it.

Happy Thursday everyone! Any body else boiling their syrup this week? Sap is going to be running Saturday and Sunday for sure. I don't know about you but I'm totally hooked on this syrup thing.

Goat Due Dates, a new Goats Page, and Questions?

Yesterday I finally sat down and figured out exactly when all of these goats are due. You'll remember our breeding plan didn't really pan out. We had the highly ineffective, but delicious, Peanut....we drove about a million miles trying to get our tall girls bred to a short buck, then we had to spend all one of our Saturdays and most of our money for the ugliest buck in the state.

I think it all ended well tho - I keep looking a Debbie and Dahli and they are both looking a little tubby around the middle. Nibbles is as big as a house. Previously I thought she had maybe 3 babies but she still has 45 days to go... So I'm guessing four. I hope it's not five.

I used two different goat gestation calculators - and my own notes to figure out some dates. I found them here for full sized goats and here for mini goats. My goats are La Manchas (and Nibs is a mini mancha) so they have slightly longer gestations.

As far as I can tell the ladies earliest due dates are:

Nibbles: 04/06/13   
Dahli      05/19/13  and could be as late as  5/28
Debbie:  04/26/13   and could be as late as 5/5

Nibbles could be a little earlier. This could be a ridiculous spring.

I also did some work to clean up my Goats Page along the top of this blog. I tried to reorganize it so it makes more sense. And I added some additional links.

A couple days ago someone contacted me and asked for more...and more in-depth goat posts. We can sure do that - does anyone have any specific questions. We can try and do a "200 Level" goat discussion if that will help. What do you think - do you have any specific questions?

Happy Wednesday everyone - are you ask cold as we are today? Our windchill hasn't even moved into the double digits yet....