Healthy Trails

A fellow gardening friend has puppies, so send me an e-mail if you are interested! They are in the Graham, WA area. Cute, cute, cute!!!

Summer did a number on my rabbit bucks, so we have had a significant delay in litters. Trying again now with one of the Am Chins due Oct. 12th and two of the Rex does due late Oct.
Such great rabbits though! If you have a small area to work with (city living), rabbits are ideal. They are quiet, easy to clean up after and reproduce quickly. You can have year round fresh meat and work with pelts if you so desire. Have your kids show in 4-H or in the open shows. Or even show yourself. Showing rabbits has to be the easiest showing out there! You just let the rabbit do the work!

Goats are off to a good start with 5 of the 9 does being bred already! I am very happy with that. Now the last 4 need to cooperate. I hope to have all my kidding done in February and March. There will be a limited number of doe kids available this season as I will be keeping several, so get your requests in early!

Goats: We now have 11 does bred! The first doe is due Feb 3rd. I had hoped to space out the breedings, but I ended up with several being bred this month. Maybe next year they will be better spaced out! I still have 5 more to breed. My buckling was not ready this year, so I have been using other’s bucks. I may get a chance to breed him to one or two of the last 5, but I am not counting on it.     
Rabbits: I have a litter of American Chinchillas! They are now 11 days old and doing great. They are in high demand right now and I already have some reserved. The doe took Best Opposite at the Evergreen Rabbit Breeders Association’s show in November. 16 Am Chins had been entered. She is an excellent mother as well. I am excited to be able to offer such nice rabbits for sale.
Zebu: She has been AI’d twice now and has not taken. I guess it’s time to look into purchasing a bull!
Dog sitting: Anna is doing so great with her business. She has been caring for repeat customers and adding a couple of new ones too. She is enjoying it and learning great life lessons! I couldn’t ask for more!
Milk: I hate having to tell people I don’t have any milk! I am often asked why I don’t charge more for the milk and it is because I want to be able to supply milk to all the local families I can. There are several families on our waiting list now and I am very much looking forward to providing them with nutritional and good tasting milk.
Healthy trails, Traci

Farming is a great way of life, but it does have it’s emotionally draining times. We lost two goats this year. The first was a doeling who somehow managed to break a leg and the second was another doeling already getting settled in her new home. We aren’t sure why she didn’t make it. It’s times likes these that we need to question how and what we are doing in providing for our animals. The question I ask is why? Why was the doeling who broke her leg not stronger? Why was the second doeling not thriving?
So, I am back to nutrition and trying to make sure the goats are getting 100% of the nutritional requirements they need each day. My thought is that if they are healthy, they won’t get sick and they won’t get injured in ways that are unnatural. A goat breaking a leg is a rarity, they are after all, natural climbers. There will always be circumstances that I can’t control, such as genetics. What I have control over is their diet.
I am testing a new mineral mix. It is made specifically for goats and does not have fillers. I am excited to see how well the goats do on it.
I also am giving a minimal amount of grain this year. The milking does get 1 cup at each milking. The mainstream amount is 4 cups. Yes, there is less milk produced, but is the doe now able to produce a natural amount of milk that will keep her bearing kids and milking for several years? And her overall health will be better as her body does not have to constantly work against itself.
Alfalfa, timothy, orchard grass, local grass???? I currently am at a 75/25% ratio with alfalfa and timothy. I am going to modify that to 70/30 for the next couple of months and see how that goes. I also will be using orchard grass in place of timothy as the supplier is now out.
It will be interesting to see how things change- if at all!!

Kidding season is always an exciting and busy time. I love it, but I am glad when it’s over! Indy ended the season with 2 males on Saturday. They are colorful! We will see how big they get and they may end up pulling the cart! Our final numbers are 7 males and 9 females! A great year! I had deposits for 8 doelings and was able to keep 1 myself. 5 of the males were spoken for and the final 2 are experiments, so I am happy to keep them and see how they turn out. I am already planning for the 2009 season. I will have 12 does kidding and will be using my new buckling on 10 of them. But back to now! Kids are still nursing, so I am not milking full time yet. I am looking forward to the kids all going to their new homes so I can have all the milk!!

It’s spring around the farm and I am loving it! The plants are growing and flowers are blooming. Hyacinths are my favorite and they are in full bloom. Our tulips are just about ready to open. Lots of green everywhere! And babies! We have 4 litters of rabbits. At 2-3 weeks, the baby bunnies are absolutely adorable! My American Chinchilla is turning out to be a super mother. This is her second litter and she is doing well with 8 large fluff balls! First time litter for our Rex doe Chera. She had 7 on Tuesday and I am excited to see how they do.
We have 5 goat kids, 3 bucks and 2 does. Hoping for lots more doelings to be born. We have 8 doelings reserved so far and still have people asking! Next doe is due Monday.
I am going back outside now, you should too!

Lullaby delivered a doe and a buck and they are beautiful! Nice, long ears and refined head! She is a great mother and both kids are doing great.
Windy is the first to kid from the new group of 8 goats. She also had a doe and a buck. Her kids are colorful!! Big splashes of white on brown and the doeling has a pink nose! She is doing ok as a mother, feeding well, but could be keeping the babies a little cleaner! I wouldn’t like that job either though!!
Spade looks like she will be next, then Diamond and possibly Heather. The 4 youngest ones don’t look pregnant, so not sure yet.
Next month will be Trutti and Winona.
So far, a 50/50 ratio which is super! Lots of farms having high numbers of buck kids. I am thrilled with my two little girls! I will be keeping Lullaby’s and Windy’s is pending.

We went to Boise to pick up some new goats over the weekend. We didn’t choose a very good weekend to go with the snow storms, but we made it there and back ok!
Windy and Heather are 2005 girls. They were put in with a buck in October so should be due in March. Spade and Diamond are 2006 girls and also should be due in March. The other 4 are 2007 girls and were put in with a buck in December, so should be due in May. Two of them are named, Sunflower and Orchid and we need to name the last two. I am really excited to see these young girls grow up and fill out. They should all be beautiful, elegant Nubians.
Our herd is now up to 19!

Lullaby is due March 1st. This will be her second time kidding. She is quiet and keeps to herself, but very sweet.
Trutti is due April 14th. This will be her first time to kid. She is outgoing and the first one to see what’s going on.
Winona is due April 24th. This will be her second time kidding. She is friendly and curious.
Plaid is due May 6th. She will be 6 years old in April, so has probably kidded 3 or 4 times already. She is standoffish and the lead goat.
Indy is due May 30th. This is her first time to kid. She came here skittish, but quickly warmed up to be one of the first to greet me when I come out to the barn.
More goats coming…