SENSITIVE TOPIC...READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

It’ll be pretty obvious that I was born a city girl even if I was born in Iowa. I had many years to perfect ‘suburbia’ skills which make my ‘countrification' all the more interesting in the End of Rainbow Valley especially with regard to our farm animals. 

Today's post is about our GOATS. My children thought I needed more help and even subscribed me to a goat magazine to help me out when I first moved to the End of the Rainbow Valley. BTW those periodicals used to sit in the guest bathroom for reading material.:)

 SO - Let me introduce you to our goats: Jacqueline: who  apparently thinks the grass is greener on the other side when she has an entire pasture with these same weeds.

Jacqueline:who gave birth to Pantalones 3 weeks ago. Pantalones looks like she is wearing pants thus her given name. She is always jumping around like she is trying to pull up her pants. Jacqueline has already started giving butting lessons. Thank goodness we debud the babies before their horns start growing. I have to admit that I am an accomplice as I have to hold the baby down and still while Irv takes a hot iron to the horn buds. The smell of burning hair is soooo NASTY. The process can't be over fast enough for me and the kid!

Unojo:was purchased from the Amish to keep Jacqueline company since Louise, Jacqueline's mom passed away at 19 years last year. Unojo really just has one eye...I am not making the following up - Irv was so busy checking out her udder, he didn't notice that she was missing an eye. Is this a gender specific trait of checking out udders? Well anyway Unojo gave birth to 2 kids this past weekend. Aren't they the cutest? The female, mostly white is named Sally and the male will soon be named.

I always had male dogs growing up so I find it remarkable how these mother goats know what to do after they give birth. GEE, they clean up their newborns and within a very short period of time have those babies up and nursing. Gee I needed a whole nursing team to help me when I had my babies… The goat kids instinctively know to knock hard into their mom’s udder to signal her to let down but I noticed them switching sides frequently apparently due to a shortage of milk. Upon a quick feel it was obvious that their Mom’s udder is rock hard. Irv gave her udder a hard smack, to help her along.

OK women, now let’s be honest how would you like to be smacked in the bust when it’s super sore and hard? I don’t think so. MEN! SO- I’m finding myself holding a hot water bottle on a goat’s udder twice a day for 10 minutes. I sure hope this works. It’s an unusual job but this city gal knows that she’s got to do it…