It’s always hard saying goodbye to animals. Whether they’re being butchered, rehomed, or predator attack. The amount of time we spend with each of their animals as soon as they arrive on our homestead leads to attachment of some sort.
There’s this huge misconception people have when they think of raising your own animals. That you must be completely indifferent to them to avoid attachment. I’m sure that is one way of raising animals, but that’s not how we choose to care for our animals.
I’ve heard it said that the best cure for the garden is the presence of the gardener. The same could be said about the caretaker practicing animal husbandry. Learning the personalities, health dispositions, and building relationships is all part of the adventure.
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It’s not always easy on the heart strings.
We made the decision to sell Cowboy a few weeks ago. When a buyer approached us about Cowboy, we brought the offer up to Stirling, who had decided instantly Cowboy was his best friend and we had agreed to keep as a whether (castrated male). The discussion with Stirling flat out blew us away. The amount of consideration and compassion he put into the decision made me realize just how much he has grown this past year.
He asked good questions. He voiced his concerns. He wanted to know the possibilities of either decision. And finally, he decided allowing Cowboy to leave would be the best decision.
The buyer wanted a buck for their herd, which he will hopefully be the perfect fit! His mother (Edda) is a great milker, has a calm disposition, and has a history of birthing twins. Cowboy is downright handsome, sweet disposition, and had begun to show interest in the other females. I’m sure he will take his duties seriously!
Our plan was to keep the babies with their mothers for 8 weeks to allow them to build good gut health and immunity with nursing.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as planned.
Over the weekend the other doe, began getting aggressive, specifically with Cowboy. Most likely due to his growing interest in doing what bucks do. So in order to keep Cowboy safe, and limit the stress Oona was feeling, we called the buyers who were more than happy to pick him up a few weeks early!
(Photo of Cowboy happy with his new friends!)
Milking
Since Cowboy has left, Edda has needed to be milked twice everyday. Fiadh, her doeling, is still with her all day but it has been clear the majority of the milk had been going to Cowboy. We’ve been getting just over 3 pints from Edda milking twice a day since he left! This allows our boys to drink goat milk everyday, and provides enough left over that we can finally make yogurt with our own milk!
Check out our favorite homemade yogurt recipe using the Instapot!
Everything Else
We’ve been harvesting spinach, lettuce, and Swiss chard from the garden regularly. Strawberries have started ripening, and some of our black currants are just starting to turn. The boys are looking forward to all of the berries coming their way in the next few weeks!
We had several days (maybe a few weeks) of intense heat with little to no rain, and I’ve been struggling to keep things watered. Back to Eden Gardening helps with retaining soil moisture, but until the plants have become well established, they still struggle with the intense heat.
We did have an incredible windstorm a few days ago that I was not prepared for. I struggled to get many of the animals secured before it hit us. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to our meat birds. We lost 6 birds from the intensity of the wind and storm. Several struggled for a few days, but have regained their vigor for all things food.
Honestly, I don’t know what I could have done for them but I still feel guilty.
The battle against pests in the garden is in full swing. I’ve started a weekly routine using Neem Oil on Sunday evenings, sprayed with a pressure sprayer. Per the directions, a drop of soap is also needed for application.
Neem Oil is processed from the Neem plant, and evergreen native to India and other subtropical areas. It has many different uses and dilutions vary based on what your need is.
*Only apply Neem oil in the evening, as the oil will increase the chances of your plants getting sunburned in the sun.*
On Wednesdays (if it’s not windy) the brassicas and other plants that haven’t flowered yet get lightly dusted with Diatomaceous Earth. I have a hand pump that is used to apply small amounts of DE to plants without over spraying!