Pima County Fair 2013- The Pygmy Goats

This photo was from several years ago, when the first baby pygmy goats were born here at Patriot's Dream. The photo made a comeback this year as the personalized note to go in Bailey's thank you gift at auction.  That huge smile that went all the way to her eyes was gone for a little while, but some truly special people encouraged Bailey to keep in 4-H, and the love of the animals and acceptance of friends, as well as them steering me through homeschooling for the first time and much more led to the photo below, from last Sunday.  The smile is, slowly but surely, coming back.

Bailey made some tough but sound decisions for her pygmy goat herd this last week.  She was fortunate enough to get excellent feedback from the pygmy goat judge in making them, and I will get to more on those later.  But the photo above is of Bailey and Rose right before the charity auction.  She chose to let Rose go into the auction this year, and the person who purchased her donated her back to the charity auction, meaning she would be auctioned again with the proceeds to go to charity.  She was then purchased to be a pet for the niece of our large animal vet, who had immediately recognized Rosie at Bailey's side.  Rosie will be well loved!

Bailey got pretty nervous in showmanship, like many youth, and stumbled over questions she typically knows.  Funny how it is the easy questions we stumble over, or in her case, in not asking whether she should show on the goat or give description in answering!  Haven't we all done that a time or two?  Anyhow, a very talented showgirl won, who went on to do very well in round robin!  I personally think Bailey did an excellent job of showing Rosie in the auction, and should take a lesson to think of that when showing in the future!

These are some truly wonderful youth.  There are amazing kids aplenty i the pygmy goat project, who help out tirelessly and can be counted upon to teach little ones or reach out with unquestionable ethics and sportsmanship.  This year, the project director decided to do Spirit Awards.  She selected three youth who consistently pitched in and made things work, with a good attitude, and she asked all of the youth to vote on three more youth who embodied the spirit of pygmy goat.  In other words, they were right there to teach you, help you and pitch in.  Wyatt Clay, on the left, isn't even in pygmy goat, but found his niche running the raffle table and helping break down shows.Sally has great goats, and is always willing to share knowledge, Joey has some showstopping goats too, and helped his Mom run the agility course all year long; Abbey has a smile for everyone and her love of the goats shines through in all that she does; Brian is a sweet senior who never left before Kate and I had finished breaking down a show and was so open with knowledge with all of the youth and so very encouraging (he will be so VERY MISSED); and Bailey loves her goats and will work until its done and help the new ones learn and practice.  Kids like these give me hope for the future when I begin to wonder.

Now on to tough decisions.  Glory still won her class as usual, but all of Bailey's does are getting older, and she was wanting to get back to more breeding.  With all of the college courses and more on the horizon, Charlie mandated that the herd needed to stay size same, which meant that if she wanted to bring more goats home, she would have to let some go.  Treasure and Huey are guaranteed to live out their years here, that is only fair for the geriatric goofballs back in their favorite spots in the pens.  Glory is a great mama and of sound conformation, so she was to stay.  Olympia was this years showmanship goat, who had come a long way, and loved visiting senior care homes, but was at the best possible age for a new beginning and was related to the only bucks here.  Just as Bailey was going to put in the paperwork to take Olympia through the auction, a sweet couple who is working on a therapy animal project came by looking for a goat to be a buddy for the one little wether they had.  Olympia and Jayda had experience visiting schools and nursing homes, and Bailey wanted Olympia to have a friend she new.  They chose to buy both goats.(More on this later...)  So i the end, Rose would go to the auction.  Bailey had already selected a new buck and doe she wanted to purchase from Brian, the graduating senior on the photo above.  She had spoken of both and their respective and shared offspring with the judge and liked how she thought the breeding matches would be with the remaining herd at home.

It is never easy to let an animal move on, but in these cases, they were the right choices.  We are proud of her for making such good choices for the herd, and for the animals who moved on.  Rose, as I mentioned is going to be a pet for the niece of the vet who has looked out for her through her one kidding; and where she will be loved.  she gladly went to the people, which isn't always the case with Rosie!

Jayda and Olympia went off to the folks who are building the nonprofit where they will be therapy animals.  Olympia is settling in well, making friends with the little wether her age.  I have spoken with the couple a few times now, and Jayda hasn't been settling in as well.  They are worried she isn't eating well and in not adjusting or socializing with them or with the wether, so tomorrow I will meet them and bring Jayda back to Patriot's Dream.  She is a sweetheart, so I suppose she will be the backup showmanship doe again and the visiting therapy animal when we can.  She always loved that duty but hadn't had much time for it since the chickens and Olympia had taken to it lately.  But part of being a breeder and herd manager means finding the right situation for everyone.  So we will welcome her home, and hopefully she will quickly settle back in here.

The new buck should come home shortly, but it will be another month or so on the new doe.  In the next month, the goal will be letting Glory breed, so we can look forward to fall babies!

Adding to the Herd- Introductions and Adjustments

The reasons we choose to add to an existing herd of goats are many, from bringing in new bloodlines for a breeding program, to show wethers for folks wanting to do showmanship, or just because we love them and want more!  But for as much as we all adore our animals, the introductions of those new friends to the herd can sometimes be tricky or even tumultuous.

Just as poultry flocks have a pecking order, goat herds have political dynamics including the dominant does and crazy moms, and much more.  So new animals, whether dominant or passive in nature, have to figure out how they fit in and who they want for their best herd mate.  This takes time, patience, and enough of a watchful eye to make sure no one is hurt or isolated, but without interfering too much.  That can be a fine line to walk.

When Bailey, Wyatt and I brought home the first of our goats several years ago, we let them ride in the back seat of the Camry with the kids, and there were just the two does.  They hadn't been particularly good friends at the breeder's place, and Glory was a truly fussy dominant doe who had been returned from a home previously, and had never been worked with.  The breeder called her a nitwit, and said she wasn't much good for show but could make a good companion for the little show goat Bailey had selected.  It turns out, Glory usually placed at the front of her class, and the little show goat, spoiled little Vital was more friendly and less show goat.  She didn't place that well and as known for pirouettes during showmanship, but was really a sweet little goat who managed to win my husband over sitting on his lap.

Being new to goats, and to 4-H, in a club that didn't really want to work with the pygmy goat kid, Bailey and I believed folks at fair when they said she couldn't show the following year unless the one was bred.  So we carefully selected a couple of bucks, and chose to bring home two more does to add to the herd.  One doe had produced some wonderful babies in the past, and kidded easily, which made us more comfortable with this since pygmies can have lots of difficulty in the kidding department, and the other came from a well known breeding line, but had a few concerns and we sort of took in as a friend for the one we were bringing into the herd, hoping to manage the balance with an even number of goats.

Just yesterday, someone mentioned to me that we all rather expect the animals to get together and cuddle up and make friends.  I think we had sort of expected that, too, as our first time adding to the little herd.  But this isn't always how it works.

The four of them came home in crates in the back of the big farm truck, from the same breeder as the first time, and when they were introduced, the bucks wandered their pen and began to settle in, but the does squared off.  Glory and Treasure instantly began sizing one another up, determined to be the head of the herd.  There was competition for top spot on the play structures, head butting, ramming, talking, screaming, and even a little bullying over food.  I called the breeder, who said this was normal.  She gave me a couple hints, and Bailey and I worked on it all too, even employing the kind of tricks we had used in bringing home new dogs to help us out.

These are a few of the things we found to help:

• Multiple food and water sources- We free feed hay pellets all the time.  I know some folks prefer to feed on a schedule so that it builds their appetite and keeps them eating, but Glory didn't maintain her weight well this way, and we have better luck with the free feeding.  Having more than one spot for food means you have to monitor a little more closely, so that food doesn't sit in one feeder and become stale while they eat out of the other, but it helps.  Sometimes mama does and their best doe pals won't let others eat when there are babies in the herd, too, so this is a good thing to have everyone used to.  Make sure the weather won't make the feed deteriorate quicker, keep a bit of shelter for it.  
• Use their treats to bring them together.  When you go out to sit in the pen and spend time with your goats, let this be the time they get their treats, like their delicious tasting supplements or grain.  You will have to watch how much they get, but this helps everyone see they are all loved and wanted, and helps them realize you will make sure they all get treats and back scratches and affection.  Countless hours and research have been done while sitting int he pen with books.  Sometimes those goats who wanted to convince you of your uselessness will find you reading, and starting edging up to, then nuzzling you for attention.
• If you do goat walks outside their pen, select pairs to walk together in a strategic manner.  Take two out that might both want to be in charge, letting them have that time together away from the remainder of the herd.  As a 4-Her, the walks were more Bailey's training thing, but since the first two hadn't been worked with, I walked Glory as Bailey walked Vital (Glory would through herself on the ground, so she had to learn that it took better behavior to get Bailey); then as we added to our little herd, Bailey would select two that needed to learn to know one another to have together in the pen, and she and I would walk the others far across the property.  Over time, those still in the pen would play while we all walked, or plan a prank like moving the house in front of the gate in protest of not getting the first walk.
• Lots of Stimulation!  Balance beams, spools to jump on, playhouses, whatever you find your goats like, if there are enough of them in the goat enclosure, the goats will be physically occupied and will have far more stimulation that merely fussing at one another.  Happy, tired goats put less energy into the political wrangling of the herd.  Lots of prime bedding and sleeping spots help, too, and help each goat know that there is a place for her (or him).
• Patience and a calm demeanor.  Our animals sense our apprehension, even the new ones who aren't sure what our apprehension means just yet.  This apprehension, coupled with the stress of being somewhere new, can lead to more acting out than they might otherwise be predisposed to do. Funny, but my husband has a habit of taking one of our dogs along running errands like taking things to his folks' house.  The men tend to not worry much whether their dogs will get along with ours, so once the initial my owner pets me first thing is out of the way, there are few troubles.  When his mom and grandma are around, they are worried over the dogs, and the dogs sense it and instinctively want to protect their owners.  Same dogs, different energy, different outcome.  It is the same with any animal.  Now, you don't have to have the same conversations with the herd that we do, like Bailey calling them silly goofballs who should know by now that her heart has enough love for all of them right before scooping one up on her lap for a cuddle, or the mama type conversations I have with them, but once they know they are all valued AND expected to get along, it tends to work out a little better and quicker.
• Introduce more than one new member of the herd at a time.  This is NOT always possible, and is not a reason to go on a goat buying spree beyond the herd you can manage, and there are caveats to it.  Still, if you have two well bonded goats, and bring home one more, they may pick on the single one. If you are thinking of bringing home two new goats, even if not from the same herd, bringing them in at the same time, or quarantining them together can give them an ally in acclimating to a herd where every one else knows one another.  Kind of like having at least one friend on the first day at a new school. 
• Use a barrier for the initial introduction.  if you can, divide a safe section off of the pen for the new animal(s).  They will acclimate to you, and see the remainder of the herd and meet them through the fence.  If you are dealing with quarantining new goats, see if there is any way to place the quarantining pen where they can see one another, then after the quarantine time has passed, bring them side by side with only the one fence for a short time before the actual herd introduction.  The new goat will likely have made a friend in your herd through the fence to hang out with once the introduction happens.

The Case for Chess

I have spent a lot of time in the last year or two thinking about what makes a living and what makes a life.  I have considered choices and goals and the pursuit of excellence.  I know I will never have all of the answers, but it would be nice to have a few.  I know that not everything is in my control, and that sometimes that sometimes I don't always get His plan for me right away, sometimes I need to be hit over the head.  I have also known that what I thought were the answers would likely change over time.

Six years ago, we put the children in schools in town.  I sat in classrooms in the local schools and several town schools until I found a small school for the little one, knowing he needed more than was available in our area, including small classes, and knowing speech was an issue after stretches of time where he didn't speak.  I knew the older one had become complacent, able to skate by in classes without a challenge, and needing more to learn and to be challenged to adapt to a more rigorous environment.  Since that time, we changed schools once, which led to the much needed speech for Wyatt and the robotics for Bailey.

But the drive was killing us, and trying to meet the demands being placed on us by others led to letting other folks bully Bailey, and their demands stretched us so thin.  Trying to please others so they would stop saying viscous things led to them having power over how we led our lives, trying to make everything work and in the end they only grew more vicious.

I fought to try to make it all work, even though I knew it wasn't working.  And then I finally pulled my daughter out to home school   Even in doing that, I tried to work within their system, ad it took three weeks to withdraw her, so then the school docked her grades even further.  I had to send letters to superintendents' offices just to get the meetings.  And then they acted as though they were doing me a favor.

So I am learning to stand my ground better.  And earlier.  And then, as we began to work with the school to prepare my son for fair, they began to put in obstacles.  They didn't want him out, but regardless of the number of days he took off, there would be ramifications for his ability to make up the work.  They weren't following through on any of their promises for the written plan, which they had modified in my absence last year, but they were going to put in additional barriers.  Ugh.

So this time, I calmly said that I needed to truly understand where he stands.  They don't think they will really know that, so taking him in to make him go through additional stress and exhaustion during the fair just doesn't make sense to me.  Putting additional, unnecessary barriers to a child with issues just seems counterproductive to me.

But there are things he can do to work ahead and make the return easier.  They yet again changed the rules of his reading, so we stopped to by some books at the used bookstore on the way home from school today. They didn't have the ones he was really hoping for, but he found some others that would meet these new rules and I told him to take one last look while I dashed off to the restroom.  When I returned, he was sitting at a glass chessboard by two big chairs, with a hopeful look on his face.

We really didn't have the time.  Bailey was at Grandma's house waiting for us after having gone to home school game day, and was doing her school work waiting to go home and get things together for fair work day.  And a multitude of animals were waiting for us at home, wanting their evening treats and water change, walks and attention.

But I have spent far too much time rushing to meet the demands of the world.  Running around making others happy so they wouldn't make the life of my family any harder.  And in the process, there had been no time for my children to sit around and enjoy farm life, do arts and crafts projects or extra little science projects to just follow their curiosity and learn how things work.  No time to be a kid.

I know better than to be resentful.  Wyatt and I spend a lot of time talking about good qualities and destructive ones, as they give of their time and try to forgive others who have been unkind and taken and allowed their children to have fun in return.  As Wyatt was worried about coming across boastful in his auction letters, and being like the kind of people he doesn't want to be known to be like.  And Bailey gently reminded me that no matter how many lies were said about us, or how many good people believed them, that I had told them we could still be the people we could be proud of.

So I sat down and played chess.  For over forty minutes, we played.  A little boy came by, desperate to help Wyatt with strategy, so I let him, and closed my eyes and covered my ears while they talked about ways to win.  And I laughed with him, and even tough I stayed ahead of him, I made sure to take the time so he could learn some strategy and reinforce the rules and how to get past situations.

I won in the end, but really, we both did.  And we had a great talk on the way home together.  And the animals still had leftover food, and Bailey was doing fine taking a nap on top of her Chem assignment, and the puppy had enjoyed her brother the old man Vegas.  And when Charlie wanted my undivided dinner anyway when I was making dinner, I messed the whole thing up because I suddenly somehow thought I had it all together!

I wonder if they have a box for that glass chess set.  We could have a lot of fun at fair with that thing.  And after, too.  We sure need some more laughter and strategy for ourselves in this life, where I take things a little less seriously.  And live a little more.  Yes, I think there my just be a case for this making a life thing.  And a case for taking a little time for chess.

You all have a great day.  I will keep learning.  If you have a cool story about everyday reminders about the real priorities, please share!

Why did Shadow climb the tree?

A lot of attention is placed upon why the chicken would have crossed the road.  Tonight, after dinner, I went outside with the puppies to do my watering.  Vegas meandered around the back porch watching me squeeze in pots that cane from the completely defunct greenhouse on the edge of the porch.  Shadow went out to see the horses and men practicing roping across Sandario form our land.  

By the time I was done watering and assessing things, the lights had gone off at the roping arena, and I could still hear Shadow barking near the southeast corner of the yard.  I took my flashlight over in search of the puppy, and found her barking up a tree.  Funny, huh?  In fact, she looked at me and then went to climb the tree.

Why did the puppy try to climb the tree?  To get to the orange tabby cat she had trapped up there.  It is pretty hard to see the cat in there, I am not very good at night photography!  

In the end, Bailey helped bring Shadow in, because she was so obsessed with the cat that she would not leave it alone.  Goofy puppy was almost on the cat, too.  Never dull, really!  So, why did the dog climb the tree?  To protect the chicken from the cat, so it could cross the backward in peace...

I am Shadow, Today I am a Black Australorp...

Last night we were all working on chores, me on the pina colada jam and some zucchini bread for teacher appreciation, Bailey and Charlie on goat feet, and Wyatt on the chickens.  Wyatt came back up to the house, and I asked, "Where is Shadow."

Shadow means well, but she is all puppy.  Left to her own devices, she might harass show birds, get the neighbor dogs in trouble, unearth the tomatoes, or any number of things.  Last week she even ate her training leash.  Like I said, all puppy.

But when Wyatt went looking for her, he found her in the Big Pen, with the laying chickens there.  Most of the laying hens were bedded down or roosting for the night, but there was Shadow Paws, wandering the fence line, and pretending she belonged in there.  

When she jogged back tot he back door with Wyatt  I asked, what were you doing in there?  She sat and wagged her tail.  "Do you think you are a chicken?"  More wagging.  Apparently Shadow Paws now believes she can pass for a black Australorp.  Maybe that is her plan for spending more time at county fair with Wyatt Clay!

The Tomato Digger

You have got to love a puppy.  Undeniably cute, full of life and energy, and ready to take on every new day with love and an adventurous spirit.  But still, they require a lot of patience, perseverance and training.  With all of the ups and downs that all of that comes with.

Shadow is trying hard to learn, but her attention span is that of a puppy, and she is always up to something!  Her favorite things are Wyatt Clay, car rides, running, digging, walks, training class, Charlie, fetch, toys, bones, and more.  Though not necessarily in that order.  The digging in dirt and water.  That is what got her in trouble here.  AFter finally getting the chickens to leave the plants alone, now Shadow has developed a propensity for tearing them out.

And this would be the culprit.  For all of the forward strides Miss Shadow Paws has been making, her work at training class, her total adoration of old man Vegas, this little dig-master has a black and white head, and black and white shoulders and front legs.  While there is some brown color on her body, she is very definitely showing the evidence of her guilt!

They say training is largely about training the humans.  With Shadow, it is about training us to supervise her well near dirt and livestock.  As long as you are with her, you can catch her thinking about it and use the "leave it" command.  As I type this, though, Bailey is outside replanting the one Shadow dug up when she was not watching and letting Shadow run around with Vegas.

Thank goodness I have so many tomato plants right now- I think I will need them all if I expect to get any tomatoes this year!!!

The Up-cycled Coop Is Ready!!!

Thursday night, Charlie helped us with the extra hands for putting on the new hinges for the up-cycled coop project.  They seem much better, though  admit I think we will want additional hooks or angles for the latches.

Wyatt felt it best to wait and move the two pairs over on Friday afternoon, just so there would be more time before dark to assure they were settled properly.  So Friday night, I did a little more sanding on one door and he moved his porcelain d'Uccles and mille fleur d'Uccles at nightfall.  At the time, we got started on the feeder project for the grow out pen, but couldn't find the adjustment for the drill press I wanted.  So the d'Uclcles have spent a little over a day in their new digs, and seem to be doing well. 

Tonight, I was out working on the tomato plants, trying to save them from Shadow Paws.  I also wanted to get a few photos of the new coop, so Bailey passed me my camera.  Sunset is the most magical time here in the desert.  The glow, the sounds of the desert coming to life as it cools off for the night, the beautiful colors streaking the sky through the clouds and expanse of western sky.  I can't possible count the number of sunset photos I have around here!

This is the porcelain pair, nestled in for the night.  Wyatt still has some designs to improve the nesting box.  So I suppose some of these projects just are never quite complete!

That is the bantam coop behind.  We put them together, where they would still have their friends through the fence, even though the rooster in the bantam pen was upsetting the d'Uccle hens and not getting along with the d'Uccle roosters.

Here are the mille fleur pair, settled in and relaxing together.. 

Wyatt Clay and Shadow Paws set the rocks around the base of the new coop while I was up working on the tomato plants.  It keeps the chickens form sneaking out, or predators from sneaking in.  As funny as the little coop of leftover and spare parts came out, it worked just great!  And the best part- no waste!

In this shot, you can see the bantam coop behind.

And the whole bantam housing complex!  Pretty fun!  They are so spoiled! 

Have you done any cool projects from all leftover materials?  Please share them!