Winding Down the Canning Season.....

I really never stop canning.  I make soups and stews and can dried beans all year round, but the busy canning season is in the summer and it is winding down.

I canned the last of the butternut squash two weekends ago and that rounded out a very bountiful harvest! 

 God has blessed us with such a wonderful garden this year and I have no words to express my thanks.  Pretty much every weekend for the last 6 weeks or so has been devoted to canning all of that largesse!

This is the breakdown of this years bounty.....

• 53 pints salsa  (Most of these tomatoes were bought from our Amish neighbors - 24 lbs for $8)
• 5 pints pizza sauce
• 31 pints sweet corn
• 19 quarts lime pickles
• 19 quarts dill spears
• 2 pints dill spears
• 29 quarts butternut squash
• 2 quarts mixed corn and squash
• 15 quarts tomatoes
• 7 pints sweet relish
• 7 pints bread and butter pickles
• 12 pints zesty bread and butter pickles
• 6 pints mulberry jam
• 9 pints summer squash
• 4 pints pickled beets
• 22 pints green beans
• 57 lbs of red potatoes

Next year we plan to plant a lot more summer squash and only one hill of cucumbers and one hill of butternut squash.  We should have plenty of pickles and butternut squash left over.  If not then we'll revise the plan.  

The garden has been tilled in preparation for the fall crops of kale, turnips, beets (for greens), green onions, and mustard greens.  I've found that beet greens are just about my favorite type of green, so I can't wait for those to come up!

These fellers were oh so happy to get the canning leavings and I'm oh so glad to share with them, as it makes for such delicious pork!  They are getting all the leftovers from canning as well as lots of surplus eggs and milk and as you can see it they are doing well!

In front here is the big gilt, or Peggy Sue as we call her.  She is a BEAUTIFUL hog and I would keep her for breeding, but she'll serve us much better in the freezer.

The little red spotted gilt is Rita Rose.  I actually bought her to use as a breeding sow, but she isn't maturing near as nice as I'd like to see her, so she will go into the freezer as well.  The barrow is in the middle.  He's not as nice as Peggy Sue either, but will make delicious meat nonetheless!

So that's whats going on around here.  Things are good, summer is quickly fading into fall and we are so happy and blessed!

Till next time,

God Bless,

Re-evaluating Goat Kids - What a Difference a Couple Months Makes......

So as we may remember, when little Merida was born, I was totally smitten.  She was such a darling little spotted thing and such a sweet little lover.  And then Erika came and she was so beautiful!  As they began to grow, I decided I couldn't bear to let Erika go and worked things out with Jen to just pay her for Erika and that way with giving her Fancy and the money we'd be squared away.

Now as any good animal raiser will tell you, you mustn't make your final judgements too early.  

As Erika and Merida have grown, some things have become very obvious....

My little Merida, while still with her lovely moon spots....

Is a puke.....

Yes, that's what I said......a PUKE!  Her conformation is HORRID.  

But Erika on the other hand......

Erika is just gorgeous.  She is so beautiful and graceful.

I'm so very happy with how she is developing.

Here is a picture of Erika and Merida standing together...

It's not the best, but Erika is taller, wider, more level on the topline and has a prettier head.  The vet botched Merida's disbudding, so she's got scurs, but even without that, Erika is so much nicer of a doe in all ways.  Most importantly, Erika is a much more loving doe.  Merida really doesn't care to be messed with.  She isn't afraid at all, but she isn't into affection.  Erika on the other hand is a great deal like Tulip, but not near as bossy.  She will stand in ecstasy to have her butt scratched, and loves to be loved on.

Here is a picture of everybody but Tulip.  Star at the far left, Erika next, then Bear, and finally Merida on the back right.   The Man was headed down to the garden, and Tulip always has to go stand down at the edge, begging for a green bean, or a cuke, or a tomato!  

You can see how wide in the chest Erika and Bear are compared to Merida.  Bear is destined for the freezer and I will continue to reevaluate Merida as time goes on, however I'm almost certain I won't be keeping her.  She'll most likely be freezer bound as well, as I'm always much more comfortable with knowing an animal is nourishing us as opposed to wondering if they are healthy and being cared for!

Depending how things go  I will breed Erika next fall and then keep a doeling out of her.

When raising animals it's very important to keep your perspective.  When you are breeding for the good of your homestead, you must keep the best animals you can, and oftentimes that changes as time goes on.  

Till next time!

God Bless,

Effects of Copper Deficiency on Goats......

One of the very first things I noticed about Tulip when I got to Jennifer's to pick her up was she now had a huge, lacy, white patch on her left shoulder/side.  I commented on it and said "That's new!"

I didn't think too much more of it and brought her home.

I've always been very aware that goats need a great deal of copper, and have always kept out the best loose mineral that I could buy in my area, being Manna Pro Goat Mineral which contains 1350 ppm (minimum) at all times.   The goats love it and eat it right up.  Both Tulip and Star during their pregnancies ate this at a rate of about 8 lbs per month to 6 weeks!

When Star got sick with Barber Pole, I began to do a great deal of research on it and what I was finding was that goats with copper deficiency tend to have trouble with Barber Pole, as well as other symptoms, including coat color issues.

This got me thinking about Tulip's "white shoulder".  I went out and checked her over, and while she had no other symptoms, I did notice that the large, lacy white patch on her left shoulder wasn't nearly as pronounced as it had been, presumably due to the constant access to loose mineral and the rate at which she consumed it during her pregnancy.

I also noticed that Star has white places around her "armpits" and her throat area.

You can also see her black skin along her sides and on her legs.  I thought it was because she was so huge from carrying the triplets that she'd rubbed the hair off her sides, but in my research I've found that hair loss is another symptom of copper deficiency (or can be a zinc deficiency).

I know all about black goats (and horses as well) having a reddish cast when they are copper deficient, but had no idea about white patches appearing or the goat even turning white entirely!

I have copper bolused both girls and am going to bolus the kids as soon as they are old enough.  I am excited to see if Tulip's lacy white shoulder disappears completely, and if Star's armpits and throat area turn back to her regular color.

Updating......

So I bolused Star the end of April, and then again the end of May.  The first time I dosed her I gave her the dosage for her weight.  Then 30 days later I bolused her again with 1 1/2 times the dose for her weight.  So in 30 days she got almost 3 doses of copper.

Here are is a picture from over the weekend.

Star looks fantastic now.  She's had no more trouble with worms, and her coat is as sleek as it's ever been.  As you can see she's still lighter colored in the armpit area and in her chest.  I'll be curious to see if that ever totally goes away.

I also now think that Bear's interesting coloring is due to copper deficiency.  I truly believe he should be black all over, instead of with the roan type coloring he has on his back half.

I'll be bolusing the whole herd the first of September, and then again in January.  Then I plan to dose them twice a year from here on out.

Keeping goats is always such a learning experience, and I have to say I am very thankful to have access to the internet which is a wealth of information, although you do have to be careful to weed out the crazies, do your homework, and use your head!

Til next time............

God Bless,

Memories of Lime Pickles.....

God has blessed us this year with a most bountiful garden!  

We've been canning corn, squash, green beans and making salsa.  We've dug the onions and have them hanging on the back porch, and have been digging taters here and there.  We won't dig all of them until the cukes and squash are done as the vines have spread so, they are covering the spuds up!

This post is about pickles though and we've made dill spears, zesty bread and butter chunks, and bread and butter chips, but best of all we've made Lime Pickles.

These are the pickle of my childhood.  They are my favorite pickle.  Potato salad isn't potato salad without chunks of lime pickle in it, and a hamburger just doesn't taste the same without them, but the best of the best is lime pickles diced up in your bowl of chili, or wait is it lime pickles on a peanut butter sandwich?  I don't know but I know lime pickles are fantastic!

I have heard these called "outhouse pickles" or even the ever so classy "sh!thouse pickles", but we always just call them lime pickles.

So you start with some of these.....about 7 lbs (although I did a double batch)

Seeing as how I work 40 hours a week, Mon-Fri, I only really pick cukes on Saturday morning, which means I've got cukes the size of zucchini!!  With all the rain we've been getting though, they aren't bitter, so we still use 'em...

Then you need pickling lime......

Slice your cucumbers up, slightly on the thick side....

And then put them in a big ole lidded container.  If you have a pickle crock, use that.  I do not, so I use a food grade plastic bucket.  We soak them in 2 cups of lime per 2 gallon of water.....

......With the lid on, for 24 hours.  

I always put the bucket in the bathtub, so when I shake it around every few hours it doesn't make a mess......

The next morning, you drain the lime water off, and rinse your cukes really well.  3 times, until your water is clear.....

Then you put them back in your clean bucket and cover them with ice water and let them set for 3 hours.....

Then you drain the ice water off, and mix up your brine as follows...

2 qts vinegar, 6 1/2 cups sugar, 1 TBSP cloves, 1 TBSP salt, 1 TBSP celery seed, 1 TBSP pickling spice.

Bring that to a boil and then pour over the cukes in your bucket.  I then weigh the cukes down with a plate before putting the lid on the bucket and leaving them again for 24 hours.

By this time it's now day 3, and time to process your pickles!  However, in my world it is now Monday afternoon and I'm at work, soooo what's a Goodwife to do?

I just waited until Tuesday morning before work to process mine.  That made them soak in the brine closer to 36 hours but that's ok.  No harm done.  I just got up at 3:30 am and did them before work.....

Now you bring the whole mess to a boil and simmer for 35 minutes.  

Then you put your hot pickles in hot jars, and fill with hot brine.  Wipe your rims and put rings and flats on as usual, and process quarts in boiling water bath canner for 15 min and you wind up with this...

I hope you are all well and good and enjoying God's rich bounty!  As the world gets crazier and scarier and more unsettled we are comforted knowing that we are God's children, and rejoicing in His wondrous gifts, blessings, and love!  I pray you are doing the same!

Till next time,

God Bless......

Garden, Goat, and Rabbit Update.............and Maybe a Confession or Two.......

So I've been a bit MIA recently. My current favorite song is Biscuits by Kacey Musgraves.  My favorite line in the song is "Own your own crazy" which I totally try to do.  So in that spirit here is where I've been.....

Just taking a blog/internet break.  I can get a bit obsessive about reading and commenting, and checking to see if anybody has commented and when it starts to get a little out of hand for me, I have to make myself take a break!  

I'm a weirdo about certain things and I totally "own" my crazy on it.  I feel if I follow that I have to comment because I don't want people's feelings to get hurt, and I feel as if people are reading me and they don't comment that they don't like me, or don't like what I said, or think I'm a total idiot or whatever, and usually I can keep that all in perspective, but not always, so when it starts to spiral out of control, I have to take a break and get my crazy train back in the depot............SO...................that's what I've been doing.  I may be back, and I may not, but anywho, here's what's going on around this joint.....

The garden is growing like gangbusters!

Summer squash, corn, and cherry tomatoes...

We ate this summer squash last night, sauteed in butter with onions and mushrooms...

Sweet onions, green beans, and tomatoes...

Winter squash.....

This is Ollie's old pen, and it's patiently waiting on the piglets, that we should be picking up in a couple weeks.  In the meantime, the grass is growing and they will be lost in there for awhile...

The goats are growing and doing well.  Erika is so gorgeous and I couldn't be happier with her.  She's twice the goat that Merida is if I'm honest......and Fancy has gone to live at Jennifer's house.

Star continues to improve and hopefully I'll do a more detailed post about that journey soon.....

We've got two pens of grow outs, and they are doing quite well.

They are Eden's litter with Presley, and Elvie's litter with Spartan.  This is our first full Silver Fox litter and the growth rate of them is quite pleasing!  One of the does weighed 3.8# at 7 1/2 weeks!  They are a little over 8 weeks old now, and will be getting butchered soon.  We don't have any breedings planned for the next month or so, due to the heat.

The quail are doing well, the chickens are laying great, and all is well around here!  Staying busy, staying safe, and trying to stay sane!  

Until next time!

God Bless,

Confessions of a Goodwife........The Triple Teat Tale......

So if you've read my blog for long, you know I'm a compulsive confessor.  I just feel as if I don't give ALL the information that I'm somehow being less than honest and I can't stand that feeling.  So in light of that.....it's time for another episode of.....

Confessions of a Goodwife...duhn duhn dunnnnnn!!

Remember when I wanted a fool proof way to tell if Tulip was pregnant?

And so I bought this handsome little fella?

Well what I didn't tell you was.....Ollie has an extra teat!

Whew!  It feels good to get that off my chest, for real!

The first thing I did when I went to look at him, was stand him up and check his teats.  This isn't an uncommon problem in goats, but is quite undesirable in dairy goats. Several years ago, I went to buy a registered Kinder doeling from a really prominent Kinder breeder in IL.  The doeling that I fell in love with, when we checked her over, had an extra teat, so I didn't buy her.   I hesitated for just a bit about buying him, but I really wanted to know if Tulip was bred, and he was so cute that I went ahead.

I needed a buck to "test" Tulip and wasn't planning to keep the kids anyway, so wasn't too worried about it at the time.  Ollie was a healthy buck and sweet and friendly which was my main concern so home with us he came!

Then once I was 95% sure Tulip was bred, the doubts began to creep in.  I began to worry myself silly over that extra teat.  Worry about passing it on, even though i wasn't planing to keep any kids out of him.  Worry over telling people about the extra teat, and worry about Jennifer getting a doeling from Star, out of a buck with extra teats!  So...much....worry!

I mentioned selling him to The Man and The Youngun on several occasions, but they were always thinking, but he's so sweet, and we know he's healthy and he's so CUTE!  All the while in the back of my head, I knew selling him was the right thing for me to do, with full disclosure of course.  If I wasn't afraid he was too old to wether, I'd do that as well and then sell him!

Then, God took the decision out of my hands as He so often does when I dither....

Star got sick, and I felt she wasn't going to be in any shape to be bred this fall.  Tulip is retired, and I don't breed young does until they are around 18 months old.  That means I will be feeding Ollie for 2 years and not using him for ANYTHING.  That just doesn't make good homestead sense.

So Ollie went to his new home Thursday night.  A lovely couple who has around 30 does and 2 bucks was looking for another blue eyed buck to add to their herd.  They don't milk and don't even have purebred goats, they just love goats and breed them for pets and brush eating.  I'm very happy he went to a good home and also very thankful for the time he was here.

I've got until late fall/early winter of 2016 before I have to start thinking about finding a buck for Merida, Erika, and Star.  It's a relief to not have to worry about Ollie getting out and breeding Tulip, and I'm thankful Star will have this time to recover from her illness.  I want her in the best shape possible before she is bred again!

Until next time............

God Bless,

Into the Woods and Out Again - A Sick Goat Tale....

Usually when the kids get to around 3-4 weeks old, I lock them up together at night and then milk the girls in the morning.  Then everybody gets turned back together until evening and the process is repeated.  

I had already begun milking Tulip morning and evening, simply because Erika couldn't use all of her milk, and I wanted to keep her production up.  Weekend before last I started locking the kids up and began milking the girls......well that was my intention anyway.

Star had other plans.

I had been worried about Star for a while now.  She just seemed off.  I checked her eyelids, and spent countless hours watching her.  She was eating, pooping, loved going down to browse, but she just seemed off to me.  She had no interest in grain whatsoever, and I hadn't seen her chewing her cud much.  She was still eating mineral, still eating baking soda, loved it when I brought  her a banana or an apple core, but she just didn't seem like herself to me.

Friday night (5/17) I locked them up and went down that Saturday morning to milk.  I always milk Tulip first because she's boss goat.  She hops right up on the stand and I can milk her out in less than 3 minutes.

 Then it was Star's turn....and she refused to get on the stand.  Flat refused, nope, not going to do it and you can't make me.....

Ha! Well I did make her, but it wasn't easy for either of us.  Once I got her on the stand, she stood quietly like she always has, and I began to milk her, but she wouldn't let down.

You may not know this, but a goat has to "let down" their milk or you just aren't going to get any!  Tulip usually takes about 60-80 squirts before she lets down really well, and you can feel it immediately when she does, her teats just fill up full and then you can milk her out whippety quick!

Star wouldn't let down.  She had been locked apart from her kids all night, and was full as could be and I got less than 1/2 cup of milk from her.  I tried again Sunday morning, and the same thing, I had to wrassle her up on the stand and she wouldn't let down, and she wouldn't eat her grain.

She's never not been interested in grain, and she's never, ever given me trouble about getting on the milk stand.  This was all new behavior for her which is why I was so concerned.

I started her on probiotics and kept watching her, checking her eyelids and general condition.

Wednesday I took Erika and Bear back to the vet as they had a bit of horn growth and I wanted to get them redone.  As I went down to the pasture to collect the kids, Star was kind enough to poop so I scooped it up in a dixie cup, put it in a sandwich baggie and took it with me to have the vet do a fecal.

BARBER POLE, BARBER POLE, BARBER POLE!

Actually he said it by the real name of  Haemonchus contortus and I didn't even know what it was until I got home and looked it up.  I did know what Barber Pole was though!

Yuck, and scary so I was faced with a now what?  I've never dealt with it before but I got on the internet machine and started doing tons of research, which can make you feel better or just scare you even more.  The vet recommended I deworm everybody, but I chose to check eyelids and evaluate condition before doing that.  I don't want to treat an issue that isn't there.  Tulip is as healthy as an ox as are the kids.

I didn't think Star was at deaths door or anything, but from what I read, they can go downhill quickly with this.  The vet gave me Panacur for her, and I gave her that and also gave her Morantel Tartrate.  Yes I combo wormed her.  I didn't want to mess around with this.  I didn't want to lose my Star!  I also started her on vitamin B shots as well as continuing the probiotics.

By Thursday evening, she had perked up a little bit, and when The Youngun went out to bend trees over for the kidlets, Star was more than ready to eat some leaves.....which I was excited about, until a couple hours later when she bloated!!

Yup, I went to check on her and she was laying in the barn, moaning like she was in labor again, and her tummy was as tight as a tick.  Now bloat is something that can kill a goat quickly as well, so I was afraid I was going to lose her from that.  I grabbed her around her front end and sat her up on her hindquarters to get her to "burp" and then massaged her rumen.  I went and did that several times throughout the evening, and her stomach began to loosen up.  I know there are several remedies for bloat, including drenching with a weak dish-soap solution, but I was so afraid to cause her any more distress that I finally went to bed hoping and praying for the best.

I really thought she might be gone when I went out Friday morning to do chores, but she was laying in there cuddled up with Bear, (who was feeling a little under the weather due to being a wether, he he, see what I did there), and she got up with a little bit of prodding from me.

By Saturday morning when I went out to milk Tulip, Star was waiting at the gate to her barn, looking at me with bright and shining eyes, ready to be let out!  She was wagging her tail as she browsed, and her poop is finally totally normal and in a nice quantity.  She is painfully thin to my eyes, and I'm thankful she was in such good flesh to begin with, or I can't imagine how thin she'd be.

I continued giving her probiotics daily, and she got the vitamin B shot every for about 5 days, when she felt good enough that I couldn't shoot her by myself, which I thought was an excellent sign.  She is also talking more again and just generally looks like her old self, except for the weight loss, however she still isn't interested in grain.  The only grain she will eat is sunflower seeds or dry beet pulp.  She wants nothing to do with anything else, including alfalfa pellets, although that seems to be changing as the days go on.

Eating sunflower seeds out of my shirt...

I've ordered some copper bolus and will give her that, as my research has shown me that copper oxide wire particles are helpful and effective in controlling barber pole worm.

This is the first time I've had to deal with a sick goat, other than the registered Kinder buck Luke  getting coccidiosis and being wormy at the same time, and I don't like it much!  It's pretty scary, and not fun, but such is all part of owning livestock.  They do get sick and sometimes they die and it's all just part of the circle of life.  I'm thankful that I have the opportunities to spend a lot of time with my girls and that way I can tell when something isn't right with them.  Star never got bottle jaw, never got overly pale membranes (a little pale, but not drastic) never really had any symptoms other than being "off" and having a bit of a rough hair coat which could have been from the time of year.  I just knew she didn't feel good and I'm glad shes feeling better!

I'll continue to monitor her condition and hope that after Bear and Fancy are weaned she will begin to put weight back on.

I'm very thankful she seems to be on the road to recovery at this time!

Till next time...

God Bless,