I just had to weigh Abbey again today and see what the scales read. Today they read 798..which would mean that Abbey gained 20 pounds from the original weight on the 27th of April. Here is what it looks like:
April 27--778
May 3--738
May 5--798
I'm thinking I either read it wrong on the 3rd or the scales were not right. I'm pretty positive she did not gain 60 pounds in 2 days. I feel pretty sure that she is gaining weight, that would make the most sense. I will keep checking her.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
A lot going on
Well, there is good news and bad news. Bad news first...Abbey just doesn't seem to be doing well. I am concerned. I have worked her down to a once a day milking and hopefully that will allow her to gain some weight. I was shocked and dismayed to find that she had lost 40 pounds in a week! I just don't know what else I can do. She is getting plenty of fresh grass, a bale of 2nd cutting hay at her disposal and the 20% protein feed with the cracked corn. I don't know what else to do. I pray that Yahweh can give me the answer.
On a lighter note we had two adorable little kid goats..they are so cute! We are also going to a goat show on the 8th of May and will be getting two more little goats that we are going to bottle feed, unless I can get Praline to take them on ;) I don't know if goats are like Jersey's and nurse orphans or not. We also may be picking up a little jersey heifer :)
On the May 2nd, we went and picked up our new little jersey bull, Leo. He seemed very skittish and afraid of us, poor guy had a big day! We let him out of the trailor and put him with Abbey and Tag(an angus steer I bottle fed)and they all seemed to be getting along great! Well..they were getting along too great..when I went out to milk the next morning, Leo had drained Abbey dry! So it was off to the bachelor pad with him! He is in with Adam and Tag and another little Angus bull. They are all getting along great.
This evening is the beginning of my classes at ASAP. 5:30-7:30. I am very grateful that my husband is so nice and giving. Every thursday, he will have to find something to do for 2 hours in town until I get out of class. I will be glad to get these 12 classes behind me.
I think that is about all the news I have for now. Ya'll have a good day.
On a lighter note we had two adorable little kid goats..they are so cute! We are also going to a goat show on the 8th of May and will be getting two more little goats that we are going to bottle feed, unless I can get Praline to take them on ;) I don't know if goats are like Jersey's and nurse orphans or not. We also may be picking up a little jersey heifer :)
On the May 2nd, we went and picked up our new little jersey bull, Leo. He seemed very skittish and afraid of us, poor guy had a big day! We let him out of the trailor and put him with Abbey and Tag(an angus steer I bottle fed)and they all seemed to be getting along great! Well..they were getting along too great..when I went out to milk the next morning, Leo had drained Abbey dry! So it was off to the bachelor pad with him! He is in with Adam and Tag and another little Angus bull. They are all getting along great.
This evening is the beginning of my classes at ASAP. 5:30-7:30. I am very grateful that my husband is so nice and giving. Every thursday, he will have to find something to do for 2 hours in town until I get out of class. I will be glad to get these 12 classes behind me.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Abbey is doing better :)
Ok..after crying and feeling bad about how skinny Abbey is...Al and I jumped into action with great advice from our "farmer friends"! I now have Abbey on a 20% protein dairy feed and adding some cracked corn to that for energy. Had the vet out to check on her and he said overall she seems ok albeit she is a little too thin(like we didn't already know that, lol)he gave her a good shot of vitamin B12 and I am happy to say that her appetite is back with a vengeance! I weighed her today so we can keep track of weight gain. She weighed 778 pounds so I will keep you posted on her progress. Will probably weigh her again in the next week or two just to see where she is at. I would post my most recent pics of her but..well..it's a little too embarrassing!
Praline(my little nigerian dwarf goat)has still not had those darn babies! I keep saying any day now but of course I did the same thing with Abbey. I guess they will get here when it's time.
I will start my last group of 12 classes on May 5th and I am having to go to a very odd milking schedule. Right now I am at 3:30 and 3:30 but I will have to get it to 2 and 2. That's 2 AM!! I have been getting up pretty good at a little after 3 so hopefully the adjustment won't be too awful once I get to the 2 am.
I'm also about to hit the 140 pound mark on the scales so..it may be time to do something about my diet..ugh. My goal is where I was last summer at 114 but I will just take it one day at a time and try to cut out some of these "treats" I have been eating. Usually when it gets warmer I don't like to eat as much so that should help too. Yummy fresh garden food will be coming before long. We haven't planted anything yet but we will soon. We are still having some frosts at night so we don't want to get too overzealous. :) Surely in the first part of May we should be safe?? We are pretty high up elevation wise though.
Ok..time to make some leftovers for dinner. Ya'll have a great evening! :)
Praline(my little nigerian dwarf goat)has still not had those darn babies! I keep saying any day now but of course I did the same thing with Abbey. I guess they will get here when it's time.
I will start my last group of 12 classes on May 5th and I am having to go to a very odd milking schedule. Right now I am at 3:30 and 3:30 but I will have to get it to 2 and 2. That's 2 AM!! I have been getting up pretty good at a little after 3 so hopefully the adjustment won't be too awful once I get to the 2 am.
I'm also about to hit the 140 pound mark on the scales so..it may be time to do something about my diet..ugh. My goal is where I was last summer at 114 but I will just take it one day at a time and try to cut out some of these "treats" I have been eating. Usually when it gets warmer I don't like to eat as much so that should help too. Yummy fresh garden food will be coming before long. We haven't planted anything yet but we will soon. We are still having some frosts at night so we don't want to get too overzealous. :) Surely in the first part of May we should be safe?? We are pretty high up elevation wise though.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Being thankful to my Heavenly Father even when things aren't going so well...
I will choose to Bless Yahweh's name in good times and not so good. Not much good to report to today except one thing and it's the MOST important thing of all, I can do nothing good of myself(my flesh), only through Yahshua's shed blood am I made righteous and good. Thank you, thank you thank you Abba Father! :)
First thing this morning when I got up...Al was very sick, about 4 am.. he vomited for about 2 1/2 hours solid almost! He ended up having his dad take him to the emergency room, which I am ashamed to say, I did not support too much..only for the reason that Al and I come from addiction in our past..enough said on that. He is resting now and by some miracle of Yahweh there was a prescription for an addictive narcotic painkiller that did not get filled. His "diagnosis" from those "caring" emergency room docs was "acute gastritis". Please don't think that I think badly of all doctors and hospitals, I don't...they save lives in a LOT of instances but..there is also like with most other things in life, a bad side to them. I just don't see where you need a strong painkiller like Lortabs for "acute gastritis"(they really don't know what it is but that is a nice general malady for his symptoms). Lortabs are serious stuff..if you are curious, just Google Lortabs and addiction.
Sooooo, I feel very grateful that his dad somehow overlooked that one!
I also found out today that my Abbey is very thin...and I didn't even know it! I thought jersey's were just kind of bony like that. I just feel awful! I am realizing that loving and keeping animals is a learning process as you go but..unfortunately my precious Abbey has to pay for my ignorance. I have a few wonderful people that are advising me and are going to try to help me get her back on track. Now that I know and I look at her, I am seeing it but, it just didn't dawn on me at all before it was brought to my attention. I can't imagine how ignorant that sounds but, it's true. I guess when a jersey is in lactation(making milk)it takes a LOT out of her..everything she eats goes to making milk so if you aren't real careful about their diet..things can go downhill fast! On top of that, Adam got back in with her the other day and it's like we are starting all over again with the weaning, they are bawling for each other, she is holding milk back(she gave me 7 quarts this morning and 3 tonight!), trying to kick the suction cups off like she did when he first got taken away.
On a more positive note, I am thankful for everything that happens in my life, good and bad. The bad stuff only helps me know just exactly how much I need my Heavenly Father.. everyday for EVERYTHING!
Sorry for all the bad news but I know things will get better..Al is already much better!
Nighty night.. :) I love you so much, AL!!!
First thing this morning when I got up...Al was very sick, about 4 am.. he vomited for about 2 1/2 hours solid almost! He ended up having his dad take him to the emergency room, which I am ashamed to say, I did not support too much..only for the reason that Al and I come from addiction in our past..enough said on that. He is resting now and by some miracle of Yahweh there was a prescription for an addictive narcotic painkiller that did not get filled. His "diagnosis" from those "caring" emergency room docs was "acute gastritis". Please don't think that I think badly of all doctors and hospitals, I don't...they save lives in a LOT of instances but..there is also like with most other things in life, a bad side to them. I just don't see where you need a strong painkiller like Lortabs for "acute gastritis"(they really don't know what it is but that is a nice general malady for his symptoms). Lortabs are serious stuff..if you are curious, just Google Lortabs and addiction.
Sooooo, I feel very grateful that his dad somehow overlooked that one!
I also found out today that my Abbey is very thin...and I didn't even know it! I thought jersey's were just kind of bony like that. I just feel awful! I am realizing that loving and keeping animals is a learning process as you go but..unfortunately my precious Abbey has to pay for my ignorance. I have a few wonderful people that are advising me and are going to try to help me get her back on track. Now that I know and I look at her, I am seeing it but, it just didn't dawn on me at all before it was brought to my attention. I can't imagine how ignorant that sounds but, it's true. I guess when a jersey is in lactation(making milk)it takes a LOT out of her..everything she eats goes to making milk so if you aren't real careful about their diet..things can go downhill fast! On top of that, Adam got back in with her the other day and it's like we are starting all over again with the weaning, they are bawling for each other, she is holding milk back(she gave me 7 quarts this morning and 3 tonight!), trying to kick the suction cups off like she did when he first got taken away.
On a more positive note, I am thankful for everything that happens in my life, good and bad. The bad stuff only helps me know just exactly how much I need my Heavenly Father.. everyday for EVERYTHING!
Sorry for all the bad news but I know things will get better..Al is already much better!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Yikes! No Milk this morning!!
Well...I got my milking equipment ready early this morning and looked out the bedroom window to see Abbey with....ADAM trailing close behind! Huh??! My dear husband did not double check ALL gates before retiring last evening...oh well. They got one over on us that time but if I have anything to do with it..it won't happen again! It also answers my question of "is Adam ready to be around Abbey again without nursing?"
Got to see mom again Monday(my regular visit to the ASAP lady)at the Wal Mart parking lot again, gave her four more gallons of milk. We get some pretty funny stares when we do our bottle exchange..lol! Here I am squatted down on the back of the flatbed pulling big containers of this "mysterious white liquid" out of the cooler and pouring them into mom's empty waiting bottles..too funny! Maybe you had to be there ;)
Great news about my camera! It was not my camera at all! It was my husband, bless his heart(lol, Tammy) messing with the Corel picture package inadvertently. All is well but I have a new battery for my camera on the way anyway.
Here are some pics of my wonderful chickens and rooster!
Got to see mom again Monday(my regular visit to the ASAP lady)at the Wal Mart parking lot again, gave her four more gallons of milk. We get some pretty funny stares when we do our bottle exchange..lol! Here I am squatted down on the back of the flatbed pulling big containers of this "mysterious white liquid" out of the cooler and pouring them into mom's empty waiting bottles..too funny! Maybe you had to be there ;)
Great news about my camera! It was not my camera at all! It was my husband, bless his heart(lol, Tammy) messing with the Corel picture package inadvertently. All is well but I have a new battery for my camera on the way anyway.
Friday, April 16, 2010
So much milk!
Wow...I think I have about 15 gallons of milk in the fridge now! Abbey is consistently giving me 1 1/2 gallons per milking, about 3 gallons a day and it seems like every day she is giving me a little more! I guess it's the grass..I am going to make more mozzarella cheese today. Maybe I'll do 4 gallons today. I am out of containers for my milk so I have to make something!
I miss my camera :( the actual camera itself is working but I am not able to download pics all of a sudden. I am ordering a new battery hopefully that is it. We will see when it arrives.
Got to see my mom on Monday :) Had a great reunion at the Wal Mart parking lot..lol. I gave her 4 gallons of milk and she bought me a quart of goat's milk because I wanted to try it...YUCK!! It had this awful aftertaste. We visited for a while in the parking lot and then went our seperate ways.
Oh..I almost forgot! I am getting a mini jersey bull named Leo..Al and I will be going to pick him up this sunday or next sunday..not exactly sure yet. I'm not sure what to do with Adam(my percentage mini bull from Abbey)but I think I will try to sell him before I steer him. I was originally going to breed Adam to Abbey(son to mother!)because the lady at AMJA(american miniature jersey association)said that I could do that but..the more I thought about it, I just wasn't comfortable with doing that...not to mention he is not 100% mini, only 3/4 so I would be going backwards instead of forward as far as trying to get a full 100% mini. So I am excited about getting him.
The chickens I got last thursday are settling in nicely and we really enjoy them! I just love watching them and hearing the little noises they make and it's been fun to go out to the coop everyday and see if I have any eggs! :) I am up to a dozen now in a week so..I think four chickens for Al and I will do nicely. No more store bought eggs. Mom also gave me 4 duck eggs. I thought they would be bigger than chicken eggs but they aren't. I guess if you cook with them they make cakes and things more "fluffy".
I just love spring..it's also neat to discover that on Yahweh's calender the end of March is the beginning of the year, which makes a lot more sense to me :) It's a time of new beginnings...trees budding, grass growing, flowers starting to bloom..awesome!
Praline(my nigerian dwarf goat)is going to be having a baby or babies any day now..I am so excited! Of course I have been saying "any day now" for almost a month..lol! Hopefully I can get my camera to download again with my new battery and put pics up of my chickens and the new goat kids.
Have an awesome day all!
I miss my camera :( the actual camera itself is working but I am not able to download pics all of a sudden. I am ordering a new battery hopefully that is it. We will see when it arrives.
Got to see my mom on Monday :) Had a great reunion at the Wal Mart parking lot..lol. I gave her 4 gallons of milk and she bought me a quart of goat's milk because I wanted to try it...YUCK!! It had this awful aftertaste. We visited for a while in the parking lot and then went our seperate ways.
Oh..I almost forgot! I am getting a mini jersey bull named Leo..Al and I will be going to pick him up this sunday or next sunday..not exactly sure yet. I'm not sure what to do with Adam(my percentage mini bull from Abbey)but I think I will try to sell him before I steer him. I was originally going to breed Adam to Abbey(son to mother!)because the lady at AMJA(american miniature jersey association)said that I could do that but..the more I thought about it, I just wasn't comfortable with doing that...not to mention he is not 100% mini, only 3/4 so I would be going backwards instead of forward as far as trying to get a full 100% mini. So I am excited about getting him.
The chickens I got last thursday are settling in nicely and we really enjoy them! I just love watching them and hearing the little noises they make and it's been fun to go out to the coop everyday and see if I have any eggs! :) I am up to a dozen now in a week so..I think four chickens for Al and I will do nicely. No more store bought eggs. Mom also gave me 4 duck eggs. I thought they would be bigger than chicken eggs but they aren't. I guess if you cook with them they make cakes and things more "fluffy".
I just love spring..it's also neat to discover that on Yahweh's calender the end of March is the beginning of the year, which makes a lot more sense to me :) It's a time of new beginnings...trees budding, grass growing, flowers starting to bloom..awesome!
Praline(my nigerian dwarf goat)is going to be having a baby or babies any day now..I am so excited! Of course I have been saying "any day now" for almost a month..lol! Hopefully I can get my camera to download again with my new battery and put pics up of my chickens and the new goat kids.
Have an awesome day all!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
I gotta get back in the groove!
Gosh, it's been about 3 weeks since I've blogged...I keep forgetting! I will try to do better.
I had a great passover and week of unleavened bread! I still have a lot to learn and I'm sure I made some mistakes but Yahweh(God's name in Hebrew)will help me learn. It is so cool to discover that these Holy Days all signify the plan of salvation and are a shadow of things to come. I love His ways! I just want to learn and please Him.
So, let's see...April 1st was Al and I's 3rd anniversary..wow! It has been so awesome to have him in my life. I call him my "gift from Yahweh(God)". That day was also the last day of a set of 12 classes that I had to take for getting my license back, so..I only have the 10 or 12(can't remember which)classes to go with ASAP(alcohol safety awareness program). Hopefully I will have my license before the summer is up! :)
Also on April 2nd, I quit smoking! Al had already not smoked for 30 days, we decided to do it that way so we wouldn't rip each others heads off..lol! I did have a slight "relapse" on the 7th but I already have another 2 days under my belt as of today. I have smoked since I was 12! It has been harder to give that up than the drugs and alcohol, it seems. Along with the quitting smoking I have cut down from 12 cups of coffee to 4 a day. Yippee!
So on thursday, the 8th my husband and I drove to Staunton to a good friend of mine's house and picked up 4 Rhode Island Red chickens and 1 Rhode Island Red rooster! Don't ever buy a cheaply made "chicken coop" from Tractor supply! It was a disaster! It was very windy on the 9th and the darn thing blew over backward and broke! Thankfully the chickens were not in it. The box said it was for up to 6 chickens but I think they must have meant 6 peeps! They were so cramped in there and that was even minus the chicken that got away! I've named her Roami. We finally got her back in with all the other chickens and rooster last night in their new "home". Al caught her, I couldn't believe it...I had been trying for 2 days! I am leaving them in the new coop for today so they get adjusted and hopefully will know that is their new home. Those poor chickens have had a rough life the last couple of days! I would post pics but something seems to be wrong with my camera(you're not the only one having camera problems, Tammy..lol!)and I can't download pics :(
I will try to rectify that situation as soon as I can find out what the problem is with my camera.
Also, starting April 2nd, I weaned my jersey bull calf from my milk cow and have been milking twice a day...I have so much milk, my fridge is full and this morning I used the last two containers! I have GOT to get me a cheese thermometer so I can start making cheese! I guess I will have to make some cottage cheese in the meantime. Abbey has been so good with milking, I love her so much!
Well, I think I will go see if I have gotten any more eggs yet! I hope everyone has a great day!
I had a great passover and week of unleavened bread! I still have a lot to learn and I'm sure I made some mistakes but Yahweh(God's name in Hebrew)will help me learn. It is so cool to discover that these Holy Days all signify the plan of salvation and are a shadow of things to come. I love His ways! I just want to learn and please Him.
So, let's see...April 1st was Al and I's 3rd anniversary..wow! It has been so awesome to have him in my life. I call him my "gift from Yahweh(God)". That day was also the last day of a set of 12 classes that I had to take for getting my license back, so..I only have the 10 or 12(can't remember which)classes to go with ASAP(alcohol safety awareness program). Hopefully I will have my license before the summer is up! :)
Also on April 2nd, I quit smoking! Al had already not smoked for 30 days, we decided to do it that way so we wouldn't rip each others heads off..lol! I did have a slight "relapse" on the 7th but I already have another 2 days under my belt as of today. I have smoked since I was 12! It has been harder to give that up than the drugs and alcohol, it seems. Along with the quitting smoking I have cut down from 12 cups of coffee to 4 a day. Yippee!
So on thursday, the 8th my husband and I drove to Staunton to a good friend of mine's house and picked up 4 Rhode Island Red chickens and 1 Rhode Island Red rooster! Don't ever buy a cheaply made "chicken coop" from Tractor supply! It was a disaster! It was very windy on the 9th and the darn thing blew over backward and broke! Thankfully the chickens were not in it. The box said it was for up to 6 chickens but I think they must have meant 6 peeps! They were so cramped in there and that was even minus the chicken that got away! I've named her Roami. We finally got her back in with all the other chickens and rooster last night in their new "home". Al caught her, I couldn't believe it...I had been trying for 2 days! I am leaving them in the new coop for today so they get adjusted and hopefully will know that is their new home. Those poor chickens have had a rough life the last couple of days! I would post pics but something seems to be wrong with my camera(you're not the only one having camera problems, Tammy..lol!)and I can't download pics :(
I will try to rectify that situation as soon as I can find out what the problem is with my camera.
Also, starting April 2nd, I weaned my jersey bull calf from my milk cow and have been milking twice a day...I have so much milk, my fridge is full and this morning I used the last two containers! I have GOT to get me a cheese thermometer so I can start making cheese! I guess I will have to make some cottage cheese in the meantime. Abbey has been so good with milking, I love her so much!
Well, I think I will go see if I have gotten any more eggs yet! I hope everyone has a great day!
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