Molly Goes on a Diet

Maternity Photo Shoot
Photo Credit: Caitlin Phair

While Molly was pregnant, her food needs increased to help care for those growing pups. After her emergency spay and the heart breaking removal of her deceased pups, her dietary needs changed. We adopted two 6 week old Border Collie puppies for her to foster, feed, and care for. This is not something we planned for, but the back story seems important for context, so I will retell it here. (I wasn't writing at the time it happened, and only shared it on our FB page.) 

We were very pleased to allow Molly the chance to be a mom. Our dogs and cats are routinely spayed to help control the pet population. But, we decided to allow Molly to breed one litter for several reasons including her temperament, intelligence, age, and her disinclination to accept outside dogs to our lives. {Our 10 year old Husky, Fenn, was laid to rest the year before due to a marked deterioration in his health. Our 17 year old Pomeranian mix, Buster, passed in 2020, when Molly's adopted puppies were about 5 months old.} With Molly reaching middle age, we didn't want to wait until she was gone before welcoming another dog to love. We found a lovely sire in a young, healthy German Shepherd we knew. He had just the characteristics we hoped to meld with Molly's- intelligence, loyalty, desire to work, and the ability to deter wild predators from preying upon our herds. Black Lab/German Shepherd pups were exactly what we wanted and we had a waiting list of families to adopt the rest of the litter. With this being her first and only litter, and with minimal exposure, we hoped for a smaller litter size.

Molly in labor with her toy "babies".
May 3, 2020.

We got that right- Molly became pregnant with a litter of two. Honestly, that was perfect since both pups were claimed and would be loved. We would keep one and my eldest daughter claimed the second puppy. In actuality, it was not so perfect. The day of delivery things were proceeding normally. We were in touch with our veterinarian just in case there were any complications, but it looked to be going well. Within a short period of time, the first kid was born. It was stillborn. That was sad, but we didn't lose heart. We didn't know at the time that there were only two pups growing, so we expected the next pup would be born alive. Time passed. We called our Veterinarian again. Pups should be born fairly regularly in a normal delivery. Something was wrong.

An ultra sound revealed one other pup inside. It was giant. Much too large to be born naturally... and it wasn't moving. The veterinarian was almost certain the pup was already gone. Our hopes were further shattered when they advised an emergency c-section AND spay. It was too dangerous to Molly's health to allow her to try again. 

We were scared and devastated. Molly was our first priority. We pooled every penny we had to fund her surgery. What should have been a relatively easy (so much so that controlling the unwanted pet population is an ongoing challenge) and joyous event turned into a nightmare. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, we couldn't even be inside the building with her while she waited for surgery. The technician suggested we go home and they would call us in the morning. Nope. That wasn't happening. Sean and I waited in the van in the parking lot through the night. In the morning, we took our girl home.

Molly snuggling her new puppy, Luna.

Immediately, Molly was changed. I wouldn't have thought she knew what was wrong, other than the obvious after care of having surgery. The pain medication she was given kept her physical pain in check. Her behavior was something else entirely. She was in mourning. In the days after her surgery, she created nests around the house and filled them with squeaky toys. She frantically attempted to nurse them and frustrated howled and bayed when they didn't move or respond. I have never seen anything like this kind of deep, mourning in any animal in our care. I've seen cats lose a kitten, cry for it, then accept its loss and continue living. Sometimes a goat doe will call for her lost kid, they sniff the dead body, and accept its loss while they care for their living young. Nothing prepared me for the kind of mourning Molly was experiencing. After a return visit to our vet, a visit by a close friend (and former vet tech) who knew Molly personally, and much prayer and discussion, Sean and I looked for a pair of young puppies to adopt for Molly to care for.

Luna

I am convinced we found an answer to our prayer in finding a pair of 6 week old Border Collie pups. I found the listing in my search for fostering puppies who might need milk. I wasn't sure Molly would accept them or want them- they weren't tiny pups. At 6 weeks, they were drinking their Mother's milk occasionally, but were eating solid food already. We made sure that the farm would accept them back if that was the case. The point was to help Molly, not cause her additional stress. We carried the puppies home, wrapped in Molly's blanket to help transfer some of her scent. Molly's behavior changed almost instantly. She sniffed the pups, cleaned them, and offered them milk. She stopped whining non-stop and turned her attention to caring for the new pups. I was so relieved. Within 24 hours, it was clear the pups would be accepted and stay.

Echo & Luna
Belfast Dog Park 2020

The larger puppy became part of my daughter, Caitlin's home. She rents our basement apartment, so the transition when it came, was both smooth and easy. She named her puppy Echo. The smaller puppy joined our family. We named her Luna. Molly and Luna are best friends. Echo comes upstairs for doggy daycare while Caitlin is away at work and returns home with her mother in the evenings. The dogs have an outside yard that connects to both our back doors so they can come and go and play as they want to. It is an arrangement that works well. 

Molly is so patient with Luna

The puppies have very different personalities. Echo is quiet and loves to cuddle. She has learned to shake hands, turn in circles and sit when asked. She also loves chasing a frisbee and retrieving sticks. Luna is pure energy. Hugs are not appreciated, but she wants to be next to me wherever I am and constantly looks to me for direction whatever we are doing. Luna knows sit, lay down, catch, back up, off, to me, come and we are working on stay. She is getting better at catching her frisbee. She has been introduced to the goats with the mind that in time, she will help work them with us. 

Echo (left) & Luna (right)

Breakfast~ February 2021
Molly eats much faster than Luna!

All this brings me back to the point of today's post: diet.

While Molly was pregnant and nursing her adoptive puppies, she was fed a puppy food formula before switching to Rachel Ray's Nutrish Dish. We are not animal nutritionists, but we believe that feeding the best food we can afford has a positive impact on our animal's health. We like the ingredients: Chicken, chicken meal, dried peas, whole dried potatoes, pea starch, pea protein, poultry fat, cranberries, flaxseed, and vitamins and minerals. We also feed farm fresh raw eggs & farm made plain yogurt a couple of times each week. The puppies are doing great on this formula. In time, however, Molly began to gain too much weight. The combination of being spayed and eating this diet, caused Molly to be about 20 pounds over weight. We tried feeding less at each meal and increasing Molly's exercise, but that didn't work and the pounds stayed on. 

Rachel Ray Nutrish Dish
with added chicken

Concerned about Molly's health, we switched her to another dry food. She is currently eating Purina Beneful Healthy Weight with Farm Raised Chicken dry formula. The ingredients are similar, but it has only 8% fat compared to Rachel Ray Nutrish Dish. And, it seems to be working. She is starting to lose a little extra weight. At her next visit, we will re-examine her nutritional needs with our veterinarian and listen to their recommendations. We want this girl to be in good health and happy with us for as long as possible.

Purina Beneful Healthy Weight
with added chicken

Have you had good success with a particular brand of dog food? Or, one that you didn't like? Share your experience with us in the comments, please! 

Thanks for visiting with us today, Friends. We are happy you are here. 

Sean & Sonja

Search Training: Take One

Now that it has ended well, I will confess that it was my idea. After three snow storms in a row averaging 10"-16", we have some serious snow piling up. Why not use it for a practice session with Molly?

Molly is a working dog. She is a young working dog and can't yet be trusted with the animals alone, but in time and with much reinforcement, I am hopeful that she will be all that we have hoped for. If not, it won't be from lack of time, attention, or trying on any of our parts. Since Molly was 6 weeks old, we have been training her with various commands. We begin with one command and make training a game for her. Short sessions work best and we always end on a positive note, so that training is more than work, it is fun for Molly too. One of the best qualities Molly possesses is her desire to please. Teamed with natural instincts to bring items back to us and her intelligence, training is coming along nicely.

Every activity we attempt is broken down into multiple steps. For Molly's search training several games were introduced and practiced repeatedly over a span of months. First, Molly was trained to understand the command of "Come." Sean and I stood on opposite sides of the room and took turns calling Molly to us. When she went to the right person, she got either a food treat or praise. That game was expanded to one of us moving out of her sight while she was with the other person, so that she had to look around a bit to locate where we were. We practiced this each night for 10-15 minutes for several weeks.

The second game used to hone her search skills is a simple retrieval game using a tennis ball. The game started with us simply throwing a ball and letting Molly chase after it. Once she got the hang of that, we added her bringing it back to us using the command, "Come." If she came with the ball in her mouth, she got a reward. If not, we simply threw the ball again for her to chase after. We never punish her for not doing what we want during training. We simply continue the game. But, we reward her with praise or treats when she does it correctly. It hasn't taken long for Molly to catch on. After Molly mastered this game of chasing, catching, and bringing her ball back to us, we challenge her with new steps for her to master. "Stay" was added before she was released to chase after her ball. Then, we threw the ball further, purposely out of her sight, to learn the command "Find it." We use the command "To Me" when we want her to bring us whatever she has found. After Molly was in the habit of returning her prize to us, we implemented "Drop it.", the command we use to tell her to release her ball into our hand. "Off" means for her to stop whatever activity she is engaged in like searching or chewing on something. "Hold" is used for her to keep whatever she has in her mouth and not to drop it.

We are still in progress with this training. One goal is for Molly to be able to differentiate different objects and retrieve the specific one we are requesting. Ultimately, these learned skills will be of use in moving goats from the wooded pastures back to the barn. Or, in finding hens or other animals who have not returned home to roost. Of course, in both these situations, we will not want her to pick up the animals in her mouth and retrieve them to us. So, other skills will have to be learned and mastered such as signaling to us when she finds an object. But each new skill builds upon the last. Time is needed to really master one skill before the next one is introduced. We take our cues from Molly as to when she is ready to move on or if we need to continue practicing.

Back to the point of this post, I was relating how Sean and I took advantage of the nearly 4 feet of snow that has fallen

Sean's hiding place.

upon us in the past 10 days. I suggested that we dug out an area inside one of the huge snowbanks living in our yard to Sean. My intent was that he would hide inside it, completely obscured from sight. The plan was for Molly to try to find Sean when he called for her. Sean thought it would be a fun activity and was game to try. He modified the plan by hiding inside the truck cap obscured by the snow instead. With cell phone in hand in case of any unforeseen trouble, Sean crawled into the space the truck cap provided. I shoveled the entrance closed behind him and called for Molly to come to me.

Waiting for the game to begin.

After her initial exuberance of being outside in the magic snow, Molly settled to listen to what I wanted from her. We began with the command of "Sit/Stay". Look at how intensely she is waiting. Though it is hard to see in the picture, in real time I could see her muscles all tensed for action, just waiting to be released.

After half a minute, I gave the command, "Find Daddy." and Sean began to call, "Molly, Come." Initially, Molly was confused, but very excited. She jumped up on me, wagged her tail vigorously looking for the ball or other toy. I told her "Off." and repeated the command, "Find Daddy." with encouragement in my voice. The howling wind shifted and Sean's voice carried to us. Molly took off like a shot... in the wrong direction... towards the house. She was looking for Sean, just not in the right place. 

So excited for play time! "What are we going to do?" she seems to ask. 

Confused, Molly stuck her head and shoulders deep into the snow, nosing it intently. Then, she would pop out of the snow and run for another area of the yard to repeat this process. From the porch to the woodshed, over to the barn, to the gate to the back yard. She stopped to listen several times. Molly could hear Sean calling, but it took about 4 minutes of frantic searching in the wrong places before she returned to where I was standing. She tried to jump up on me again in an effort to see if perhaps, I was hiding Sean on my person, maybe in my pocket? I repeated the command, "Find Daddy." I am not sure why she made the correct choice this last time, but she followed the partially shoveled path to the buried truck cab. This time, it took just a few seconds for Molly to nose around before she began digging herself a hole to where Sean was hiding. The video tells the rest of the story:

Molly was over the moon at finding Sean, pouncing with forceful puppy enthusiasm. It would have been really cool, if she had just naturally, dug a hole wide enough for Sean to slide out of easily, but that is unrealistic. She will also have to be trained to reign herself in and not attempt to wrestle with her "finds". But, that can be worked upon. All in all, not bad for a first attempt.

Thanks for stopping by to visit today, friends.
~Sean, Sonja & Molly

After the Blizzard

 It was a real "rip snorter". The forecast got it right for our region: 40 hours of snow with gusting winds of up to 55 MPH causing dangerous white outs and the accumulation of upwards of 2 feet of snow. Check. Check. Checkity-Check. Safe inside home and barn, we weathered the storm with nary a hitch. We were prepared for losing power, but surprisingly, that didn't happen. Not even a blip. The worst part for us (read that Sean) was braving the cold to bring food and water to the critters in the barn and coop. For our family, the Blizzard of '15 was a day spent laughing, relaxing, and eating homemade french onion soap.

The turkeys we worried over awoke confused about their new surroundings, but then in laid-back turkey-style accepted it and set about checking out their new digs. They will be housed in the barn for the remainder of the winter. It makes caring for them easier and for that reason alone, it makes sense. What they will lose in fresh air and yard to roam, they will make up for in dry, secure, warm shelter. Sean captured this image for us. It is a great shot showing the lovely iridescent feathers of Aquila, our Red Breasted Bronze tom next to the more muted tones of Priscilla, his hen. Lazarus is the big tom on the left. His hen, Martha, is facing away from the camera, looking around their new home.

"What did You do?" the bucklings seem to ask. 

It is easy to see that the bucklings were not pleased with the howling winds; tails tucked and eyes wide. Poor lads!

In extreme weather, such as that which we were having, we keep the barn doors closed tight and latched. We go in as little as possible because every time we open the door, heat escapes and a freezing blast of air and snow blow in. Despite the wind pummeling the building and against the metal roof, the goats, Jasmine, Ebony, barn guineas and chicks all rode it out well. I imagine they are going to be a little stir crazy by the time we get the doors to the pasture shoveled out and clear to open, but we'll bring them extra yummy treats to placate them in the meantime.

Sean took this image of Molly. I love her nose and head covered in snow. :) Silly puppy! 

Molly, in contrast, was just loving the new development of snow. That silly puppy whined at the door to go outside repeatedly. She was the image of pure joy, swimming through snow drifts and making a complete mess of herself. We let her play as long as we thought it prudent and then, called for her to come back inside, but she couldn't hear us over the wind- or more likely, ignored our calls in favor of running through another mound of snow. Wet, cold, and shivering Molly raced inside to plop down in front of the fire or onto the unsuspecting lap of whoever was sitting most conveniently accessible to her. With a mighty shake, snow was dislodged and strewn across the room followed by shrieks of "Molly!" An hour's rest and Molly was back at the door to be let outside again.

So how much snow was there really?

3 pm Sean shoveled off the steps to make checking barn less hazardous. 

3 pm Snow drifts up to my waist in spots. Sean shoveled a path to the barn.

4:30 am. Still snowing, but it was time for Sean and I to shovel out the van so
our working people could get to their jobs. An hour and a half later, we finished. 

Some perspective. 

We have a path to the outside water supply, but the front steps will have to
wait a bit longer. I am thinking, Spring thaw. ;)

When the wind died down, the morning snow was sort of pretty floating from the sky. 

The chicken yard was one huge snow drift, but the path shoveled to remained
semi-clear for the most part. 

By noon, the snow had stopped. We certainly have our work cut out in
shoveling off the front steps. 

Sean came home of lunch and we decided to open the door for the geese and ducks. Our coop and it's attached ell has plenty of room for the chickens to roost, but so many birds in close quarters makes for unhappy, grumpy birds. The chickens chose to stay near the door. The geese and ducks eagerly swam through the snow in a flurry of quacks and honks and played until the sun began to set.

With another smaller storm expected to hit on Friday into Saturday, it seems that winter is finally here. We really can't complain, we are at the end of January already. Realistically, it has been a fairly mild winter. Still, I am hoping for an early spring. :)

Thanks for checking in with us today, friends. I am glad you came.

~Sean and Sonja ♥

Izzy Joins the Farm

Much of farming is about looking ahead to the next season and planning for its needs. Whether it is which crops we'll plant, which animals we'll breed, or what building needs construction next, planning, planning, planning. Seriously, we have plans for many projects well into 2016. And, though these may need amending to fit our lives and current needs, the bones need to be sketched and ready. I have been suggesting to Sean for a couple of weeks that we are going to need to look into getting a kitten sooner rather than later. This is a strange need for a homestead. Many farms have their barn cats in place and never need worry about their loss. But, since we spay and neuter ours, they do not reproduce on their own.

The thing is we have six cats. We also NEED six cats. They hunt spring, summer, and fall, living in the barn and eating mainly what they catch in the way of mice, moles, rats, and the occasional weasel supplemented with a limited diet of dry cat food. Come winter, our cat door gets unlocked and they move inside to the luxury of the warmth of the wood stove and full meals. They grow fat and lazy in their winter retirement.

Boogie's latest kill of a foot-long barn rat brought this need to mind for me. (If there is one rat, you know, there are more.) A quick calculation brought me this conclusion: Zoe and Spot are our oldest cats, being between 12-14 years old. Boogie, Machias and Vego turned 6 this year. Tasmanian is our youngest at 5. Looking beyond age, Zoe is definitely showing her years. It saddens me, but in truth, I am dubious that she'll see many more winters. And, since Machias's car accident last summer, he has never fully regained his former health. A broken palate will do that to you. Surgery was not an option- there was just nothing to suture together. Antibiotics were prescribed and pain medicine while his body healed as it would. And, it did- mostly. He is not in pain and remains relatively active for now, but I am afraid that time is not on his side, poor sweet boy. I hope these special cats have many, many more years with us. We also need to prepare for the future. As with everything else around the homestead, balance is wanted. We need some young blood to be ready to take on hunting.

We found Izzy needing a home tonight from a neighbor's farm. She is lovely and will make a fine addition to our farm. Mom is famed to be a great mouser and a hardy barn cat. Izzy will live inside from now until Spring comes, learning to use a litter box and becoming more tamed. By the time our outside crew is ready to repopulate the inside, she'll have been spayed, bonded nicely to us and will find her place within the pride. Then, in the spring, Izzy will join the other cats outdoors protecting our homestead from vermin and predators.

Until the real work begins, there is plenty of time to be coddled. Kristen is more than happy to take on this job and has claimed Izzy as her own. All the humans are pretty smitten with Izzy Kitty. Molly is disappointed that new kitty is not a new chew toy for her pleasure. Introductions were made, but Miss Izzy made it clear with hissing and the deployment of several well aimed smacks to Molly's nose that she was NOT to be chewed on, in any way. Molly is not completely convinced so we watch them closely while they are together.

With summer almost at an end, we are working steadily to prepare for winter around the homestead and for upcoming shows and craft fairs. We've been talking about hosting another fall Open Farm Day. What do you think? Anyone interested in coming for a visit?

Thanks for stopping by today, friends. We're so glad you are here.
~Sonja ♥

Summer Days

Barn Envy! :)

Adventure Day!

Jemima (in front) and
Ethan (in back)

Sean and I were so pleased with the does, Delilah and Cassie that we purchased from our friend, Carla Hamilton of Udderly Blessed Goat Dairy and Homestead in Littleton, Maine. We knew that we wanted to add a registered Lamancha buck to our herd this year from them. We were thrilled when we contacted them and learned that they had the perfect one born this spring for us. A five hour drive (round trip) to pick up a couple goats may seem excessive to some, but Sean and I enjoyed the time together and these goat kids were well worth the added time and effort.

True to their naturally curious nature, Ethan and Jem's help building the additional garden beds (planned to accommodate and add to this year's CSA shares), was under-appreciated by Sean. I admit, I took a little delight in watching the building process in the midst of goat noses knocking over Sean's screws, tools, and materials. Eventually, I took pity on Sean and helped corral our new babies and the rest of the herd into the back yard where they could graze to their hearts' content and get better acquainted with everyone.

Our lad, Amos, is growing slower than the rest of the kids from this spring, but he is making progress and eats his weight in feed each day. Born to Haddie (a year earlier than we would have liked to breed her thanks to Asher), he was our smallest kid.

We've had to treat him for worms several times this summer, which has been a slow and steady process to try to get them under control. It looks like we're gaining ground, but worms have hit us HARD this year and our "go-to" wormer, Ivemectin, is not having its usual results. We've heard from neighbors that they, too, been hit extra hard with worms this year. It scares me that perhaps the worms have adapted and we'll need to switch to another worming choice. As part of our protocol, we're diligent in cleaning stalls regularly and opened new woodlands for them to graze. Moving them entirely to another piece of land for a couple years would be best, but that is not an option for us at this point.

New woodlands mean new trees to browse. Everyone knows the
BEST leaves are the ones highest up!

Opening up new fields and woods has led to lots of interest and speculation for the goats. Everyone is eager to see what is in store for them. I love this image. Please note that the goats are IN a new pasture area with tall grasses and ripe leafy trees. Satisfied? Nope. All the nosy does care about is what their humans are doing to expand their fencing in their old field. The grass may be fresher and taller in their new field, but it seems their old one looks greener to them. Silly goaties!

I enjoyed playing with my camera to take some close ups of the creatures I saw in the field while taking a break from watching Sean and his Dad setting posts for the new fencing.

It is such a treat to have Daddy Dale here for the summer and, as always, he is a tremendous help around the farm. This year, the focus has been on clearing out the alders and cutting down any hardwood trees that we worry won't make it through the winter. If we are to lose the tree, better to cut it and use the firewood to heat our home and the leaves to supplement feed for the goats than to have it rot and waste the wood. This has been a bit of a balancing act. We cut enough for the goats to strip in a day and remove the smaller twig like branches for the bonfire before cutting and stacking the trunks and larger branches to dry. Nothing goes to waste on the farm. Not even leaves. Alders are fantastic trees for us and we are blessed with an abundance of them. Cutting them down exposes the land to more light which encourages thicker grasses to take root while the Alders recover and grow back. And, they do grow back with a vengeance. If done in balance, this cutting, using and regrowth cycle augments our wood supply and our goat's diet nicely.

We leave the hardwoods and pines alone so long as they are healthy. They provide shade and add visual interest to the fields. Clearing the land in this manner gives us an added incentive: predator control. With fox, coyotes, fishers and other predators in the woods our free ranging animals and even the goats can become prey. It is not uncommon for predators to stalk within tall grasses and dense forests where they can hide easily and creep close, unnoticed by their target. Exposure, along with scent marking from other predatory animals (Sean, the dogs, and cats) is an added deterrent to their unwanted visits to our property. 

Not all visitors are unwelcome. We enjoyed a lovely few weeks visiting with Sean's brother, Ryan and his family. One day, this little guy came to spend a few minutes with us.

This Eastern Newt was in its terrestrial, juvenile stage. It was almost completely orange and red. At this stage, it is called a Red Eft. Miss Abigail got her turn to hold this one for a couple minutes before we returned it to it's home in the woods- out the sight of wandering chickens and other fowl.

Abby's Mom, Kimmy got to spend her own day at the homestead. The goats liked her attention fine, especially Jem. Sweet Girl folds up for easy carrying and loved the boost to reach the sweet tender leaves, taller than she could reach on her own. Jem is heavier than she looks and after a few minutes of extra special attention, she was back on her own hooves to browse at will.

Asher. Born to us April 1, 2012 of Ellie. 

I am convinced that goats can teleport. Much of this summer was spent attempting to keep Asher inside the buck stall and fields. Despite our best efforts to contain him, Asher wanders at will. He spends most days trying to accost our vegetable garden or even better, gain access into the does' stall. One day this summer, Asher got out and entered the does' pasture just before Sean had to leave for work. Without the time to discover his latest escape route, Sean tethered him inside an empty, locked, 10x10 stall. Not ideal, but with enough room to stand, move a short distance, or lay down and with fresh water and food available to reach, it would do for a couple hours until Sean's return at lunch. At lunch, Sean walked directly to the stall to see what needed doing. A moment later, our front door opened with a whoosh to Sean's excited exclamation of "Sonja, you have to see this!" I followed Sean to the barn to marvel that Asher had succeeded in- not only unlatching himself from the clip attached to his collar and escaping into the doe field, but tethered in his place was little Jem looking bewildered as to how and why she was attached to the stall. Teleportation, I say. Since this incident, staunching Asher's escape attempts has become a fairly regular game. The image above was captured Monday from my front porch. Instead of being contained, Asher spent the morning eating from the duckweed in the front yard. It is going to be interesting when the does start to go "into season".

Remember this??? Miss Molly has lost all her sweet puppy looks and is growing into a smart and lovely addition to our homestead. At nine months, she has years of training ahead of her, but already knows these commands: sit, stay, lay down, come, off, up, down, touch, crawl, roll over, get it, tug, find it and leave it. With a treat in hand, she is nearly 100% accurate. Without one??? Well... that's a bit harder to judge. If she is in the mood, she'll obey immediately. If she is distracted by new people, insects, random thoughts, her mood or whim, she will look at you and consider what's in it for her. As I said, a work in progress, but give her some more time and attention and we'll have just the dog we want and will have earned. ♥

There have been other additions to the homestead and a couple hard losses, too. We enjoyed the best garden we've ever cared for. So much more to relate to you. I need to leave those for another day. For now, I am so glad that you are all still there with us. I enjoy writing about our adventures here and sharing snippets on our facebook page. Thanks so much for the company, friends. We're very glad you are here.

~Sean & Sonja ♥

Around the Farm

The SMASH~CRASH~THUMP of the dogs playing, chasing each other and barking from our front entry down the hall is not the soothing sound of silence I hoped to enjoy while detailing our last week for you. Since the alternative is an over-active bouncing bundle of puppy energy well past my bedtime, I will suffer through without too much complaint. Molly dog is nearly four months old now. Inquisitive and bright, she is trouble with a capitol T. Her training is coming along nicely, though I must admit, while she is the picture of obedience, she still has some work to do towards being the well-trained, submissive dog we hope to raise. What's the difference? Well, obedience is doing what you are told when you want to comply. Submission is doing it when you don't. Training takes discipline, attention, and reward. We're all working on Molly's training- including the goat Mommas, our yellow cat, Tas and Fenn dog.

Talon has taken to sleeping inside an empty dog
crate during the day. I suppose it offers him some
protection from Molly. It also has no alternate
escape route. Jury is still out as to its utility.

Molly was convinced that the cats made delightful squeaky toys until she was debased of that notion. She gets tons of enjoyment from chasing the cats up onto the backs of the chairs, the counters, or onto shelves. All of our cats have experience with dogs. Mostly, they simply puff themselves up, hiss a warning, and run for the safety of higher ground. Except Talon, my nephew's tom we've been cat-sitting for the winter. Talon is completely unaffected by anything. Molly using him as a chew toy? Not a concern for Talon. He just lays there and lets it happen. Of course, we put a stop to it. Molly is little and only playing, but allowing her to drag Talon's limp and compliant body around to chew on is not a healthy precedent for anyone. And, Talon will not even attempt to defend himself from chew-toy status. I have never seen anything like it. Tas, on the other hand, is confident of his ability to take on Molly and teach her some manners. He doesn't run. He doesn't puff up. He doesn't hiss. He does slap Molly with a volley of rat-tat-tat claw-less thwacks to her head when Molly decides to try it on with him. Their first encounter ended with a shocked and bewildered Molly running for protection and the safety of our laps. Did she learn her lesson? Not quite. Molly has learned the art of stalking with some success. Now when she spies Tas sunning himself, she drops to a crouch and sneaks close to him until she is within pouncing. Tas smacks her Rat-tat-tat and resumes his nap. Molly wanders off to find something to chew up or Fenn to annoy until she settles for one of her naps.

Nap time is a lovely thing! ♥

Fenn is taking his turn in schooling Molly's behaviors. He plays with her until he is done and then, lets her know playtime is over. He also eats first and will take her toys when he decides to. Just as I have learned to deal with squabbling children, I ignore them when they can sort it on their own, and defend the wronged party if things escalate. I don't blame Fenn for putting an end to Miss Tyrant's Teeth when he's had his fill of her chewing on his face, tail, or general fluffy-goodness with a quick and decisive snap of his teeth. It is all part of teaching Molly her place in our pack. We love her very much, but she is learning that the world does not revolve around her.

The goat does are doing their share to teach Molly manners, too. To the goat kids, Molly is just another play-pal to romp with. They walk up and sniff this funny looking kid and then, with a happy foot jump, bound away to play. To the goat Mommas, Molly smells like a predator, pure and simple. When she enters the pasture, they immediately turn to face the intruder in unison, like a well-trained militia line. I keep myself between Molly and the does to avoid any kind of mishap, be that in the form of her teeth or their horns during this initial introduction phase. It is my hope that in time, Molly will be a safe protector for the goats and their kids. In time and with lots of work and training sessions under us. 

 I am so happy to report that the weather is finally returning to normal and our snow is just about gone. Sean and I spent a few minutes before dinner "walking the land" last night. As we noted things that needed repair or replacement for the coming year, we were happy to see that last year's raised beds are workable and ready to be top-dressed with compost to prepare for the seedlings Cameron is growing for us.

Chives

The assortment of organic non-GMO tomatoes and sweet and hot peppers are already beginning to sprout. We left lavender, chives, and mint planted in the raised beds in front of the house to winter over. The chives have begun to come up. No sign of lavender or mint yet, but we're hoping they survived. It is exciting to see the land come to life again. 

The chickens are especially appreciative of the end of snow. They are beginning to wander the yard in search of bugs and creepy crawlies to munch on. I see them wander through the field, scratching and pecking as they meander. This was such a hard winter for everyone. It makes me
smile to see them in the sun. 

Charles leads his ladies into the buck pasture to search for goodies. 

Jesse and one of our young Leghorn hens. Jesse gets so excited when he sees the chickens in his field. 

Jesse is the largest of our bucklings in size. He still enjoys snack time from his Mom, Jane.

Delilah (white) and Cassie hunkered down next to the manger to enjoy the sunny day.

Rachel, Keziah, and Elisha

Ellie, Delilah, and Samson

Ellie has continued to add weight and gain her strength back over the winter months. Her coat is shiny and her eyes are bright. She is very often the first one to the manger. Ellie is sweet tempered and accepts the new doelings the best of all the does in our herd. She is often found snuggled up with Cassie and Delilah at night and does not seem to mind the kids presence at all.

Our siblings, Rachel and Leah are another story. They share kid-sitting responsibilities and will allow each other's kids free access to nurse, but they are quick to push away any of the other kids wanting a snack. And, they are neither shy nor nice about their spot at the manger during feed time.

Haddie and Amos

Haddie is making slow, but steady progress in fighting her worm load and subsequent anemia. We have her on the same diet as we used for Ellie during her bout with them 2 years ago and Haddie is responding well to it. In addition to her grain each day, all the hay she wants, and fresh water available, Haddie gets 3 cups of fresh greens to help bolster her system and provide additional vitamin and mineral support. It is a balancing act. The goal is to get the worm load back down to the level that her body can manage without killing off so many worms at a single time to cause massive and potentially lethal internal bleeding. Our ultimate goal is to have healthy, happy goats. We believe that food is the medicine you take before you become ill. Grain is important and is processed to help to supply many vitamins and minerals necessary to our goat's diets, especially in the winter time when foraging is unavailable. But, while grain has it's place in our feeding, we do not believe that it is the best source of vitamins and minerals. We believe that comes from raw, unprocessed fruits and veggies- from our garden when we have them in season; from the store when we don't.

Our research over the last couple years led us to find some super foods that in our experience do wonders for our goats. These are: kale, spinach, broccoli, peas, bananas, raisins, and peanut butter. (It is important to note that all feeding should be done in moderation. Overfeeding any food to your goat, it can upset their rumens and could lead to their death. New foods should be introduced slowly and in small amounts.)

Kale is rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Potassium, and Calcium. It is also a good source of Magnesium and Protein. Broccoli has an abundance of Vitamin B, Vitamin C, Potassium, Selenium, and Protein and it has a notable amount of Calcium. Peas are high in Magnesium, Potassium, and Protein. Spinach is full of Vitamin B, Iron, Magnesium, and Potassium.

Why are these vitamins and minerals so important to our goat's diet? You can easily find what effect these have on a body through research on the Internet and in books. This is what we found. Combined and balanced, they lead to healthier goats. Inadequate amounts of Vitamin A can lead to blindness or difficulty seeing, dull or scruffy hair coat, lower fertility and diarrhea. B Vitamins are broken up into several categories and are water soluble and may need to be replenished with this in mind. Vitamins B1 (Thiamine) is essential to carbohydrate metabolism and neural health. Vitamin B 12 is essential in the treatment of anemia. Vitamin C is used to help bolster a body's own immune system to assist in fighting off diseases. It helps with the absorption of Iron into the body. Vitamin K helps blood to clot and prevents excessive bleeding. Calcium is essential to bone and muscle health. Iron is helpful in transporting oxygen to all parts of the body through the blood. Anemia from a lack of Iron can cause fatigue and weakness. Magnesium helps to support milk production and maintain a healthy weight. Potassium is important for strong, healthy muscle development. Selenium is important to a goat's health as its deficiency can cause White Muscle Disease and lead to weak legs which cannot support a goat's body weight. Protein helps build strong muscles. Many diseases can be prevented and/or cured with the right balance of vitamins and minerals.

We were deeply concerned about the pale color to Haddie's eyelids and gums, despite her Spring worming and follow ups. Our course of action was to administer Ivomectin via an injection at the rate of 1cc/100 pounds initially and add fresh veggies rich in vitamins and minerals to help fight off her anemia. We followed up with an oral dose of Ivomectin at the same rate one week later and continued with adding leafy greens to her diet in the evenings. When we checked her eyelids and gums last night, the color was improved to a soft pink. She is not out of the woods, yet, but with continued support, we anticipate her return to good health in the weeks and months to come.

Thanks for visiting with us today, friends. We are sure glad for the company.
Sean and Sonja ♥