Out Around the Barn

I surely love this time of year.  Everything is green, there is a freshness in the air, there is new birth in every direction that you look; in the trees, on the ground, in the pastures and in the barns.  I tend to get real excited waiting for the birthing season to begin.  I just cannot wait to hold the new chicks and kids (baby goats) and see all the new calves running in the pastures.

In my last post I mentioned how many little ones we had so far, well, we are now finished birthing and our total count is 23 baby calves, 13 kids (only lost 1 this year), and we ended up with 57 baby chicks.  My total count on chickens now is 105.  Thursday, my mom and I dressed 5 Broilers and in a few weeks we’ll have 18 more to do.  It is sure an all day job but worth it to have meat in the freezer for winter.

I am beginning to enjoy my chickens more and have a few that really enjoy being played with.  I only had three types of chickens, White Leghorns, Buff Orpingtons, and Bathams; oh, and a couple of California Dots.  Now I still have all of these plus Americanas, Rhode Island Reds, and Sexlinks.  When I first had to get them all on a schedule, it became a round the clock job because I first had to have them in the garage until they could handle the cool weather.  Thank goodness they all have a home in the coup now. 

I was so upset with them the other day; I let them out of the coup during the day if the weather is decent, and they found their way to my strawberry patch and ate all the tops of them.  I did not even think about them doing that, I just wanted them in my compost to stir it up for me.  I had just got my first picking off my strawberries and then I find this.

I am now in the process of raising my garden in my greenhouse since it is so wet here.  I am hoping it will dry up soon so I can get my plants in the ground.  I am afraid we are in for another hectic summer.

Spring has sprung, Easter has passed, and we are on our way to working outdoors in the yard, gardening, and on the farm.  We are close to the close of our birthing season  for the year; we have 4 more cows and a couple of 2 yr. old heifers to have calves and we have 2 more goats (Boar) to have little ones;  I have 10 already. And if that weren’t enough, we have 33 baby chicks.  Combining all of them together, I have 52 new baby animals.  It sure keeps me busy.

With the re-birth of Spring and all the new babies, it keeps a person busy making sure all of them are eating well and the mamas are keeping them well fed.  From experience, I have learned that is pays to keep a close eye on them for the first couple of weeks to make sure they are staying healthy.

Things to look for is coughing, discharge, fever, being inactive, and loss of appetite. Once they are feeling better, their health should improve.  It is not to say that you may need to talk to a veterinary and get some medications in case they do become ill.  Even though, we sometimes feel like we know how to treat them and what to give, we are not necessarily always right in our diagnosis.  If in question about anything, always check with the professionals.

I am talking from experience, since last year I lost 9 baby goats before I found out the real problem and began treating it.  I knew nothing about Coccidiosis and learned the hard way, what it was and what to do about it.

One issue, I am having this year is the nannies are having their babies and a week to two later, they are expelling discharge and bleeding.  It has been an issue with everyone of them.  So, I went to the vet and he suggested a long lasting penicillin.  Then you watch them for 3 days and if it doesn’t seem to have an effect, give another dose and then talk to the vet if not better within two weeks.

Always keep their bedding dry and keep them out of the rain to avoid foot rot.  Once you get it on you farm, it is hard to get rid of.  Take care of your babies and Good Luck. 

Pictured here is Beauty and her triplets born on March 26, 2011, Jack, Junior and Jada.  Just minutes after their birth.