Fly Relief for the Four Footed Friends

As spring marches along, the warmer weather is accompanied by an increase in the number of flies, biting insects, and other little nasties that bother the sheep, goats, donkeys and llamas.  I feel bad for them when I see them swatting with their ears, stamping their feet, and swishing tails (although the sheep haven't really got tails to swish).  This morning, I saw this type of activity was widespread, and when I walked down to check for lambs (no, there weren't any), I was also being pestered by flying insects.  Time to get out the magic mixture.  Aurora and Olwyn, our March BFL lambs, agree.

I thought I'd share the recipe for the magic mixture on the blog, because I think others might like to try it.  I prefer using this recipe to using other commercial fly products because I think it's better for the animals and it doesn't have any unpleasant ingredients in it that I wouldn't be comfortable using on myself.  That said, it works surprisingly well, and has no negative side effects on the sheep's fleece either.  It's also a lot cheaper than most of the commercial fly products.

Homemade Animal Fly Repellent Spray
12 oz water
12 oz vinegar (I use regular white pickling vinegar)
4 oz "Skin So Soft" bath oil from Avon
1 oz Citronella oil
Mix all and shake well in a spray bottle - that's all!

The "Skin So Soft" bath oil from Avon comes in a 24 oz bottle for $16.99 but it's often on sale for $9.99.  That means it makes 6 batches of the spray at $1.67 per batch.  The citronella oil should NOT be the kind for refills of citronella lamps, etc.  It should be the food grade essential oil.  I buy it on Amazon for $4.49 for a one ounce bottle, and to be honest, I often use just half the bottle per batch, and it seems to work just as well.  (If that link ceases to work, it's "Now Foods" brand, but there are lots of other brands of food grade citronella oil too.)  I wouldn't use cider vinegar or other "sweet" smelling vinegars in case they ended up actually attracting flies.  Horton says "I don't want any flies on me!"

It is easiest to use if you get the animals distracted by some yummy grain or other treat, and then just walk along behind them with a misting spray bottle, and they don't really notice.  I do try to mist around the back of their necks and the mist seems to settle around their faces without distressing them.  After misting everybody this morning, I noticed an immediate, significant reduction in flies.  It does need to be re-applied after heavy rain or when you notice flies getting bad again, but I'm happy with the way it works on my flock, and I like the fact that the ingredients are so simple and I can pronounce all of them!

The Ram Marking Harness Conundrum

This year, I used a marking harness on Cragganmore when I put him out with the ewes.  For those who don't know, a marking harness is worn by the ram (or a goat buck) and has a coloured marking block of waxy, crayon-like material positioned on the chest.  When the ram mounts a ewe, he leaves a coloured spot on her back, showing that she has (likely) been bred.  I thought it would be an excellent way of tracking who had been bred and therefore predicting due dates.  I dutifully noted each day which ewes were more colourful than they day before, and kept track of all this information on an Excel spreadsheet that I titled "Farm Fornication Data," much to the amusement of a few house guests who saw the sheet posted on the wall of the kitchen.

The sheet also gave me the correct dates to provide CDT shots, suggested day to move to the lambing jug, suggested day for a vitamin E shot if I felt it was necessary, and other such useful dates.  I was quite pleased at being so organized this year for the goat kidding and lambing events.  I thought I had it all figured out.

The goats actually performed on schedule, and all 3 goat moms gave birth within 2 days of their scheduled date. These goats all were due to give birth before the sheep, so they lulled me into a sense of security...a sense that I had taken control and was fully informed...a confidence that I knew when my lambs were going to be arriving.  HA!

My detailed spreadsheet, so carefully followed, told me the following:
1.  Oreo the Icelandic was due to give birth on Monday, April 26.
2.  Paisley the BFL was due to give birth on Wednesday, April 28.
3.  Flurry the Icelandic was due to give birth on Friday, April 30.
4.  Poppy, the Rambouillet-Suffolk-Dorset cross bred was due to give birth on Sunday, May 2.
Every morning last week, when I went down to the pasture, I carefully wandered around inspecting sheep rear ends and looking for the signs of labour.  Every morning, I was disappointed, and began to lose faith in my spreadsheet.

Yesterday, on Friday April 30, Poppy was the first of the four to give birth!  Meanwhile, Oreo and Flurry continue to stare at me when I try to look at their rear ends, flaunting their huge udders and wide-load appearances.

Bianca is also giving me "the look." 

I know they are secretly laughing at me (or not so secretly).  I hear it when I turn my back and walk away.  See?!

My spreadsheet lied.  And now I am completely clueless about lambing dates.   Paisley I'm not so sure about - her udder is still fairly small, so her original mark may have been a failed attempt.

At least I can feel better looking at Poppy's beautiful ram lamb, born yesterday morning, completely off schedule, but with relative ease.

He is a whopping 12 pounds!  Thank goodness she just had a single!  He's a gorgeous black lamb with a little silvering showing on his back.

What a handsome boy.  I am really curious to see how his fleece turns out, given his 50% blue faced Leicester genetics.  I'm not sure what percentage Poppy is in terms of her Rambouillet/Suffolk/Dorset mix, so it's hard to say what percentage the remaining genetics are in her lamb.  I personally think the BFL is showing!

Regardless, he is beautiful, even if he is already laughing at my spreadsheet.

A storm this way comes

a storm this way comes
sky breathing out its anger
shudders its way forward
covering the heartland in
deep layers of darkness and
roaring dissatisfaction

the air singing with the frogs
symphony of shrill calls and
the heavy humidity that lies
like saturated blankets on the
bed of night and shadows
in a soporific stillness

a brutal hailstorm threatens
leaving the shreds of an
awakening garden in its path
and the broken husks of
flowers like confetti
littering the ground

the rain will follow behind
and in the light of dawn
the pooled water in the yard
will be rimmed with pollen
leaving a yellow haze as
it evaporates into the sullen sky.

A little tour around the garden

The weather here has been reasonably good lately, and with a sudden influx of rain over the past two days, the garden has really begun to show signs of life! I thought today I'd do a little blog about the things I've noticed in the garden over the past couple of days.  

My quince shrub is blooming!  I hope I might get an actual quince fruit on it this year, but we'll have to wait and see.

Some of the irises are coming into bloom. I am particularly fond of irises, and at the moment, I have several different colours of the smaller sized ones that are in bloom. Here's one of my favourites!

The fruit trees have also begun to bloom. I lost a few fruit trees over this past winter, but many have survived and are leafing out well. Here are some cherry tree blossoms...

...and also some apple blossoms that haven't opened yet.

I am a big fan of clematis, and I have several in my garden.  I am slowly acquiring more, so that I can cover one of the side walls of the house with a large trellis and have clematis all along the wall.  So far, several of them are looking rather good.  This one is on a trellis that is about 6 feet tall, so you can see it's really growing with great vigour this year.  At the bottom and to the right of the clematis is an echinacea plant.

Here's another clematis that is growing strongly.  This one is called "Avant-garde" and it has lovely magenta-pink flowers that are smaller than some other clematis.  I need to straighten that stake!

Some smaller clematis are beginning to twine their way up this little wrought iron fence piece.  The clump on the right is a peony, and you can also see an iris in bloom and an Asiatic lily emerging.

There are other perennials that have over-wintered well, including heuchera, Japanese anemone, iris, astilbe and allium bulbs in the picture below.  Everything's coming up green!  You can also see in some of these pictures how the grass is invading my beds.  I'm hoping to get brick edging inset around these flower beds in the next few weeks to stop the grass and also to make it easier to mow.

In the vegetable garden, the garlic is growing strongly.  It was planted last fall - if I remember correctly, a total of 8 different varieties.  As you can see, the weeds are dreadful.  Raised beds are also in the plans to try to keep the weeding more manageable.

This raised bed is very easy to weed and is home to my shallots.  Two varieties of shallots were planted last fall and both are doing very well.  The heavy clay soil is very difficult to weed because the hoe can barely cut into it.  Raised beds will be much easier because the soil can be amended and is easier to work.

This weekend's rain softened the soil and therefore made it much easier for Kelly and I to move about 25 arrow wood viburnum shrubs.  These shrubs were purchased from the state nursery by the previous owner of the house, and he had over 100 of them, along with some high bush cranberry, American hazelnut, and a few others.  We decided to use the arrow wood shrubs to create a sort of "screen" from the road, which will be quite effective as they grow.  Right now they range from about 2 to 4 feet in height, so they will need time to fill out.  Here they are in their row along the crest of the slope abutting the road.  Kelly did the planting...

...and I did the digging up!  Here are the holes from whence they were moved!  But as you can also see, there are more to go.  Hopefully we can move some over the early evenings this week before the soil dries out and becomes concrete again.  

Finally, my mouth waters when I look at this huge rhubarb plant coming along.  I can't wait for the rhubarb and ginger jam that will emerge from the kitchen later this year!

Happy gardening all!

Something to put a smile back on my face

Lucky Nickel shows off her dance moves.  Amazing at 2 days old!  I am so grateful and heartened to see her in such good spirits.  I can't help but smile when I watch her.  I thought she'd make others smile too!

Dear Puffin...

Dear Puffin,

I was so very sad today to discover you had left me.  Your soul has departed, but your spirit will live on here on the farm.  I will remember the way that you ran and played with the other goats.  I will remember how you loved to have your neck and back rubbed, especially when you were losing your winter furry coat.  I will remember your perfectly symmetrical horns, and your beautiful dark brown eyes.  I will remember the way that the little white tufts of fur surrounded the base of your ears, and how soft they were when I touched them.  I will remember that I bought you for just $35 at an animal fair in Missouri.  I wanted to give you a good, safe home.  I will remember bringing you home with your friend, Stuffin, and wondering if you were sisters.

I  will remember that you were always one of the first to come to the gate when you thought I might have treats.  I will remember your bleating in the mornings, and your tail wagging when you had peppermint alfalfa treats, or pieces of banana.  I will remember how you didn't seem to care when it snowed, and you just kept looking for treats and hanging around with Coffee.

I will remember how excited I was when Valentino's marking harness showed that you had been bred, and I will remember thinking that you would be a good mother.   I will remember seeing you grow larger by the day, and seeing your udder so full of nutrition for your little ones.

I will remember worrying that you might be carrying triplets or quadruplets, and wondering what on earth I would do to help you care for them, but you just kept on eating, as if to say it was no problem.

I will remember feeling your ligaments on Sunday night, and knowing you were close to giving birth.

I will remember the screams you made on Monday morning, and the feeling I had in the pit of my belly when I knew that things were not progressing as they should.  I will remember holding your head in my lap, and stroking your head, and trying to make you feel comfortable during your contractions.  I will remember trying to reposition your baby, feeling without seeing, trying to make things right.  I will remember calling the vet to come and help you, because I could no longer do so.  I will remember that he tried his best, and I know that you were in pain.  I will remember how much it hurt me that we were hurting you.  I will remember the baby you nurtured, that never had a chance to breathe the spring air.  I will remember the tragedy of your first baby, and the miraculous survival of your second baby.  I will remember your trembling body and your distant gaze when you had given up the lives within you.

I will remember the feelings I had when I saw that you would not eat or drink, even when I brought you freshly picked dandelion greens.  I will remember the faint moan you made this morning when I went into your pen, and what I knew in my heart when I saw you.  I will remember realizing that your last act was in giving life, and I will cherish your little girl and do whatever I can to give her a strong future.

I will remember that you were loved, and that you were so much more valuable to me than your $35 price tag could ever begin to explain.  I will remember the lessons you taught me, and I will cherish each memory I have of you in my heart.

Goodbye, sweet Puffin.  Your body is cold, but your memory shall always be warm in my heart.

Lucky Nickel

This is a bit of a disturbing post, but it tells the truth about life on the farm some days.  It's not always pretty.

This morning, my pygmy goat, Puffin, went into labor.  I hoped, as always, that things would go smoothly, as they did with Lotus and Coffee a couple of weeks ago.  Sadly, that was not to be.  I could tell fairly early on that Puffin was having trouble.  She was yelling and screaming a lot, which my other goats haven't done, and she was not making any progress.

I did an internal exam, and found feet, but the head was facing backwards, looking over the shoulder.  I grabbed my book on how to deal with incorrect birth presentations, and it said this was the hardest one to correct.  I tried, for about 15 minutes, with absolutely no success.  I called the vet and he arrived in about 30 minutes.  Puffin was standing there with the legs out, but nothing else.  Dr. Nicholson spent a long time trying to reposition the kid with Puffin in numerous different positions.  Unfortunately, the heartbeat on the kid went silent.  I knew from her size that there was likely to be another kid, so Dr. Nicholson did what had to be done in this situation.  He put a wire around the neck of the dead kid, and decapitated it.  It was the only way to get the kid out, and the only way to potentially save any other kids waiting to be delivered.  I watched this with a kind of detached horror.  I don't get squeamish, but I was none the less stunned by the reality of what had to be done.  Once the head was removed, the body and head could easily be taken out of Puffin.  They lay on the straw in her pen, and it was as if I was watching a movie, rather than participating by holding Puffin while all this took place.

I can tell you that this is one of the harshest realities I've faced on the farm so far.  Cutting the head off a baby so that the second baby and mother could be saved was a very difficult but necessary decision.  Seeing it done was simply numbing.  But there was not time to grieve then....because there was another baby.

Unfortunately, the second baby presented exactly the same way, head backwards.  Because there was additional room in the uterus though, the vet was able to reposition her head and use a pulling device to get her out.  The vet and I were really surprised to find that this second kid was alive.  She had been in distress for so long that we thought the second kid would also be dead.  I learned that Puffin has a very small pelvic opening, which makes it very difficult for her to give birth to kids in proper orientation, and also makes it difficult to reposition them.

I cannot even describe to you the sounds that poor Puffin was making during this ordeal.  I wasn't sure she would survive.  Dr. Nicholson administered some pain killers and antibiotic, and was on his way.  The little doeling tried to nurse, but Puffin was exhausted and could not stand up - she just lay trembling and panting in a corner of the pen.  I brought out the Udderly EZ hand milker and managed to get about 4 ounces of colostrum out of Puffin, which I quickly fed to the little doeling.  She took it well and was ready to explore, but Puffin would not even look at her.  She just turned her head and ignored her baby.

By this time, I'd already missed a meeting at work and my first class of the day.  I took the baby inside and spent some time feeding her a little more and trying to get her comfortable.  I kept going out to the barn to check on Puffin.  Every time, I saw her straining, pushing, as if she wasn't finished.  I finally decided I had to do another internal exam.

I determined that she had something inside her, but it didn't feel like another goat kid.  It felt kind of rope-like and lumpy.  I knew this wasn't normal, so I called the vet back again.  We discussed by phone what I was feeling, and he said it sounded like he should come back.  He did, and meanwhile, I missed my second and third classes of the day.  The vet determined that Puffin had a tear in her birth canal such that her intestines were entering into it, and she was feeling that and trying to push them out.  Dr. Nicholson had to sew her vagina closed so that she can urinate, but nothing else can come out, otherwise, she might have pushed her intestine outside of her body.

So, here I am this evening with a baby goat under my desk.  I've named her "Lucky Nickel" in honor of Dr. Nicholson, without whom she would not be alive right now.

I hope that both she, and her mother Puffin, will recover and thrive.  That said, nature reigns supreme here, and I never know what she's going to throw my way.  I'm thankful that 2 of 3 lives are still here tonight, but I grieve for a third life that was never lived.  Puffin will never be bred again - I cannot subject her to the risks, and I cannot subject any potential offspring to the potential fate of this morning's little life lost.