A Spring Fling!

This weekend we finally got a taste of spring and I must say it felt pretty darned good! Everyone was out enjoying the sunshine Sunday and getting some work done too. OH Boy, is there a lot of work to be done after winter.

We have recently discovered that two of our goats are possibly pregnant. This is great news, as we never saw the act happen, and assumed that it did not! lol Well, looks like they just wanted some privacy and soon there should be kids on the farm again!!

Here you can see that Oreo's udders are filling up too.

Big ole Mammas!

Poor Daisy, she looks pretty uncomfortable, but still enjoying the sunshine!

She is getting wide

So we spent much of Sunday trying to prepare the barn for delivery. We have divided up some space for kidding stalls and got things set up for small outside pens for the babies to play in too. Now just need to get my milking station set up and I will be ready for the birthing to begin! Well as ready as I can be, considering this will be our first and I am scared to death of complications. I pray everything goes smoothly for both moms and all babies!(yes, ALL babies, as they could possibly have 2 or 3 kids EACH!!)

Daisy's udders are filling up!

Next step will be learning to milk and learning to make cheese! I am very excited about this part too. (Well not so much the milking schedule that has to be followed to a T) I can't wait to learn to make yummy cheeses though. This will be a fun new adventure, that hopefully pays off and will soon be feeding our family even more.We love CHEESE!!!

I guess Belly was to much of a bully to get bred

Belly did not manage to get bred, at least there are no signs yet, but she may be the first to be eaten. I know, it sounds horrible, but she is a MEAT goat, that is what we raised her for. She would not be a good milker, so that just makes her an expensive eater. 

The boys happily eating in the sun

We have also started the chore of putting fencing up to move the boys and Belly out to the front field, so that Daisy and Oreo will have more space and privacy with their babies. We don't want anyone getting hurt out here when the babies come. Hopefully next weekend brings more sunshine, so we can get this finished and move them out there. I think they will be quite happy when they see all the fresh trees and grass they have to eat out there. And they will be butted up to the back of my garden, so they can hang out and visit with me when I am working out there too. (well if the weather ever lets me plant a garden this year)

Next project will be setting up the new pig pen and shelter.........then it will be time for piglets!!!! Reminds me, if anyone is truly interested in us raising a hog for butcher this fall, please let me know soon, before we go get them, so we can work out the details. 

So while the girls are hanging out and being pregnant, it seems that the spring air has gone to everyone else's heads. They all seem to be getting twitterpated!! Everyone seems to think it is time to get busy breeding. We even had Cardigan so excited yesterday, that he was doing his flirting dance with Keith and Christian! ha ha ha Here are a couple of short videos of what it is like to be loved by a goat!

This one is Cardigan and Christian pushing each other around. 

In this video, Cardigan just can't leave Christian alone, until he discovers Keith.

Cardigan REALLY decided he liked Keith and he was not taking no, or walking away for an answer...

Here he could not make up his mind on what to do. He really wanted to flirt with Keith, but he also did not want that dog getting any closer to his man! ha ha

When Cardigan gets frisky, he does this flicking of his tongue thing that is just hilarious! Well this time he was pointing his tongue in Keith's direction.

 Cardigan only likes to rub all over me, lucky me! I guess. =)

Well, he also likes to chew on my coat strings....at least it's not my hair anymore.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the farm......the ducks were having a little fun too. I found them enjoying the sunshine and what was left of their puddles. As soon as I got the camera out to take a video, they decided that was a great time to get frisky too.

So, sorry if it looks bad, but the ducks are all about the "gang bang".(not to offend anyone, with my lack of a better term)

You can see in this next one, that I am wrong about everyone being in the mood. The boys certainly are, but some of these girls would rather be left alone.

It was rather funny watching them splatter both of our trucks with mud, all they way up to both windshields. Somehow, they think this is taking a bath. You can tell by what should be a white duck, it isn't quite working.

While I was still watching them play, suddenly one of the males quacked and everyone ran under the truck to hide. He peeked his head out and looked up in the sky, and sure enough, there was a hawk soaring in from above. I was quite proud of the keen senses of this duck, as usually it is my roosters that are the fist to alert of a predator. It took until after my videos, before I saw the chickens even notice and run for cover. Good thing we were out there to keep the hawks at bay, or one of my chickens could have been the hawk's dinner. :(

                                          

It turned out it was not one, but two hawks!

Thankfully everyone survived the beautiful day, our first one that really felt like spring. I am sure the rest of you feel the same way we do on the farm. WE ARE READY FOR A LOT MORE DAYS LIKE THIS!!! 

So for now, we say good bye to the sunshine and hello again to the rain and snow. Until next time my friend.......I can't wait to see you again. 

I hope to be back next week with an update and pictures of moving the goats to the new area. Maybe we will even have babies by then!!! Although I hope not, I am really not ready yet!!! :\