Rasberry Leaves

Baby season is just around the corner here at the farm. Our sheep and our lovely Black Walnut are due around the end of February. Udders are filling up, sides are expanding, and the expectant moms are happy to get grain and some really nice hay.



To my great surprise, as I opened up a new bale of hay, I was immediately pleased since this bale is full of rasberry canes and leaves. All of my pregnant girls are relishing this treasure. This fine, dry hay is a mixture of fescue, orchard grass, with a smattering of herbs and wild forbs AND it is not chemically treated. I personally thank Forrest Green Farm for hauling it out here in the midst of a burgeoning snow storm back in December.



For humans, as well as goats, raspberry leaves are indicated as the best tonic for easy births. Everyone, even those who don't have goats, knows that goats love brambles. Any goat on a diet of raspberry leaves is usually in great condition. Oftentimes, a goat keeper will move goats to new land and the goats will thrive on the brambles, clearing out the land in no time. Goats will also eat bramble leaves when ill and with no appetite for anything else.



It appears that red raspberry is high in vitamin C, especially the fruits of course. If you are a follower of Pat Coleby, you know that Vit. C, Copper, and Ca and Mg are the best remedies for a sick goat. Well, red raspberry leaves have them all. In fact, I like to pick my BIL, the chiropracter/vitamin guru, about health, and even about my goats (I've even made him check for structural injuries on an injured goat). I told him about the high copper needs of the goat, the relationship to Vit. C and the eating habits of goats. He said that there is a relationship between Vit. C and copper is fruits: copper is what binds the vit. C molecules together in fruit and plants. Interesting.



I, myself, have gone to great lengths to get my goats into brambles, risking prickers in my hands and hair. I do this with portable electric fencing and when the goats are dry (no milk) to protect their udders. You've never seen a more glossy, sleek animal as one who has been on a diet of brambles.

I hope this is a portent of an easy kidding season!

Blizzard of 2010

Yet another storm. 20 inches more or less of snow. Freezing temperatures and power outages.
At least, it's lovely to the eye.

Cold, Flu & Congestion Remedy

Tess, the goat, actualy appears to be on the road to recovery. She never went down but was a little more lively yesterday. Of course, I had to fuss with her for many hours and it is very apparent that animals, just like humans, really respond to a caring hand. She would give sad little cries when I left the barn and was very relieved when I returned home from a trip to get feed.

One of the *potions* that I gave her, in a very small dose since I was worried about lung aspiration, was an Immune Tonic. This stuff is quite ghastly but just smelling it will clear out your nostrils. Here's the recipe:

Grated fresh ginger

1 whole onion, chopped

One bulb garlic chopped

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Above ingredients covered in Apple Cider Vinegar

Steep for 2 weeks

You use about a tablespoon in a cup of water, added raw honey wouldn't hurt. If that doesn't kill any infection, I'm not sure what will!

I really believe that rest is probably the major factor for recovery in illness. Tess is getting a break from the herd although she is still with them in the barn. That is reassuring for her. However, since she is bred, I am concerned. She needs to keep up her feed intake and most importantly her water consumption. She has not lost condition, so far but if she doesn't start eating a little better, she could be in trouble. In the last month of pregnancy, the kids really start growing and they'll take from the mother's body if they have to. If the mom does get the nutrients she needs, her reserves will be depleted quickly and a very serious condition will set in: pregnancy toxemia. Since she is still about 2 months away from kidding, I'm not too worried, yet. However, she is a nigerian and probably carrying multiple babies so there is a risk.

Yet, for now, she is fairly perky and has started to nibble hay, some pelleted electrolytes and actually ate some kelp. I will probably have to drench her again today. Drenching is not fun and the risk of fluids in the lungs is there, not a good idea when you have pneumonia. Basically it means sticking a sort of large syringe deep into her mouth and forcing fluids down her. Goats really don't like it and sort of have a mini anxiety attack about it.

Pneumonia in Goats

Goats are known to be hardy creatures yet things will and do go wrong every once in a while. The greatest tool of the farmer is her eye. Animals give us warning if only we take a moment every day to observe. Tess, my nigerian girl, has been off color for a few days, staying away from the herd commotion at feeding time, not calling out to me like usual.



This morning, when I went out to feed, she had a touch of grain. I let her out of the fence into the yard because she is like a 3rd dog around here. Any visitor to our farm will surely recognize the goat who wanders around the place with the dogs. Our Fedex man just jumps for joy when she climbs into his truck. Well, this usually pesky but loveable girl just stood in the driveway for about 1 hour, completely still. I quickly put 2 and 2 together. She isn't feeling well. Symptoms are labored breathing, slight runny nasal discharge, off feed, fever, few ruminations. She is up on all fours and that is a good sign with ruminants. A standing animal is the best you can ask for when they're sick.



I am very much against conventional medecine but will definitely use it if warranted. Thus, my treatment plan will be:

1.) Penning in a huge bed of fresh, dry, straw.

2.) Bucket of strong sage & garlic warm tea with raw honey &

apple cider vinegar

3.) Oil of oregano internally

4.) Vitamin C

5.) Vitamin B Complex

6.) Hot mustard poultice with sweater to heat things up

7.) No grain (she is dry and bred to kid in 2 months)

8.) Probiotics

9.) Homeopathy if I can find it...



If I don't see some rapid improvement in the next 24 hours, I probably use Nuflor, although without a vetcheck it may be impossible to know what type of respiratory problem I'm dealing with. Viral or bacterial?



Stay tuned to see if she responds.

The Woodworker's Wife

If you've seen my greenhouse, you may be surprised to know that I installed it myself, even the 240 volt electricity. Yes, and the rosette of handmade wood flooring is also mine. Did I fool anyone there? That would be Nicolas', not mine. I am so fortunate to be an apprentice to the master, my man. He he. With lots of encouragement, I really have learned a lot of carpentry skills proving that it's not impossible for the geeky sort like me to do so. Usually, over a fien cup of coffee, Nico makes me some plans, we discuss, then I go build, chicken coops, hayracks, milk stands. He's there to fix the big blunders... Merci mon cheri le "master" charpentier...

Since the day escapes me everyday, I usually find myself finishing up the greenhouse in the evening with a headlamp on for light. So useful, so dorky. Anyway, this evening I finally installed the squirrel blower that is supposed to help with heating and cooling of the greenhouse. It inflates the two layers of plastic covering, creating an air space; sort of like a double entrance to a building. I just hope that I'll get some better germination soon. It's cold here VA and guess what?

It's snowing again...