AKC family pups groomed for all lifestyles, ready for any adventure-all to the glory of God!
Spring has finally arrived here in NE Washington, and the last tree of the season has just been tucked into the earth. There’s something magical about walking through the orchard this time of year, looking for those first signs of life, taking in the shape and health of the tree, imagining all the fruit it will yield in its lifetime.
Yes, this winter has given us an excellent lesson in nutritional science. It has been extra long, cold and wet, and we bought cheap grass hay- it has put our ewes to the test.
It was 3 years ago today that I first put my wool on Amazon, and it took me a good year before that to really got to know my product!
One cold morning in January, 2018, Kate went down to the barn to find her pregnant
milk goat lying in a corner of her stall- unable to get up. Not being able to get up is a near sentence of death to all ruminants, but we nursed her faithfully for a week. We called our goat guru, and she was diagnosed with milk fever. So 3 times a day we went down to the barn scared to be the first to look in for fear of finding her dead, but hopefully looking for signs of recovery. Every day we prayed for her recovery, but the Lord thought it best to answer our prayers with the goat’s death a week later. Now we had no hope of milk for another 6 months.
Nothing compares to the aroma of bread fresh out of the oven! Bread smells so good, that even if you are not hungry, you want a slice of hot bread right away!!
Here on the Homestead we make almost all of our bread. That is mainly my job. It took a lot of flat and misshapen loaves before I got to where I am now, so do not expect to be an expert right away.
I have this goat that gave birth to triplets last year, and she had 3 adorable triplets again this year. Triplets would be very nice if it were any other goat besides PENNY!! First of all, Penny is half Boer, which is a meat breed. That means she does not have much milk! She is not the friendliest goat either. Needless to say, I have had some ”Triplet Troubles”
Last year Penny had triplets: a buck and two does. The buck was a very strong and handsome boy, but, the two doelings were the tiniest little kids I ever saw!!! For three days they could not even stand! Normally, kids are up and nursing within hours of birth. We think this delay was due to their tiny size, and also their super song spindly legs!! Those were a gift from their Nubian dad.
Every prudent poultry farmer has to take the necessary precautions against predators. Perhaps the most lethal of all is the weasel. The rodent is capable of climbing vertical walls and squeezing through the smallest holes. The weasel kills often for pleasure and preys on the largest hen as well as the smallest chick.
No, here at the Homestead it is not always picture perfect summer, with green grass, and clear blue skies, or the wonderful harvest time of fall- you also have to deal with the snow and ice of winter, and the MUD of young Spring.
Building nice houses for our pregnant dogs that will keep them warm and comfortable was not easy. First we started be looking for a good design online, but we just could not find one that was warm enough! That is why I thought I might share our plans.
Continue reading “Building Doghouses- For Washington Winters”
Rosehaven Homestead 