As promised

Here are a couple pictures of the newborn babies.

This is Stout

Another of Stout

This is Rueben

This is Ole White with Stout and his Sister

I will post more later.

Butch

I have one more thing to share with you. The other night it was very cold and windy out. Snow was flying and the wind was blowing very hard. All the goats went to the barn to get out of the weather with the exception of two. Dixie and her daughter Scarlett decided to stay out in one of the many sheds we have out there. I knew they would be fine in the shed so I thought I would try something just for fun, not really thinking it would work. I called Butch and Brownie down to the shed they were in and showed them the goats were in there. I talked to the dogs as if they would understand, telling them to watch after and take care of the goats, and to keep them safe. After petting them and talking to them for a little bit, I left and went inside, but kept a watch out to see what they would do. As expected, Brownie headed for the barn. Shortly thereafter, so did Butch. I kept watching out the window wondering, even hoping a little and sure enough, about 10 minutes later, Butch came back out. He went inside the shed with the goats. I watched for quite some time, and to my amazement, he never came back out. Butch spent the night in the shed with those two goats. I was really proud of him. I can't say enough good things about the dogs and this instance is one of those reasons. Needless to say, I believe in my dogs. Sometimes I really think they understand more than they let on.

Busy Busy

It's been very busy here lately. Haven't had time to do much of anything. The kids starting coming last Sunday and it hasn't let up yet. Sunday evening Ruby started things off and it has been pretty much a two a day thing every since with the exception of today. It's almost noon, and there have been three does drop already today. I think the action has come to a stop for the day though. That would be nice. I have been getting up every day shortly after 4 am to go out and check on things, feed the new mothers, make sure they have water. Then come back to the house for some coffee and a shower. Then it is off to work. I usually get home around 6:30pm, go out and feed, water and check on everything again. Then in for dinner. Check them over and hay the new mothers again around 10:30. Get a little rest, check on them around midnight and then again at 2 or so. It does get tiring after a while, but that's the price you pay if you want to do this sort of thing. I will be posting pictures of some of the newborns shortly.

Now a little about the dogs. These things are incredible. The instincts they have are so strong and they are so fun to watch. When a doe goes into labor, two of the dogs(usually Corey and Brownie) will go up and lay down real close to the mother. They actually keep the other goats away from the one in labor. It is truly amazing to watch. When the baby is born, the dogs stay real close and will even help clean the newborn if the mother will let them. The other two dogs will tour the rest of the herd and keep lookout for intruders. I know that is what they are bred to do, but it truly amazes me to watch them do it, knowing they learned it all on their own. They will get right up there and lay next to the new baby after it has been cleaned, I suppose to help keep it warm. They are so gentle with the newborns, I can't even explain it. Just to watch them lay there and lick it so softly then jump up growling at anything that comes near it. As soon as whatever they were growling at leaves, they go right back to the baby. They are a joy to watch. I have never seen anything like it.

Don't forget to tune into the next episode of: Two and a half Kings of Knots Acres.

Till then, have a great day.

Almost there

So it looks like it's about that time again. We are expecting kids (baby goats) any day now. Seems like it is kind of a race to see who will drop the first set. There are several that look like they will at any time. There are even a couple that look like they are to the point if they don't drop quickly, they will just pop like an overinflated balloon. I am thinking that Peta or Ole Whitey will be first, we will soon find out. I really thought Peta was going to go last night. I went out to check her a couple times before I went to bed, but she was just laying around sleeping. She wasn't near as concerned about it as I was. I will post pictures of them as they come. May not post pictures of all of them as there should be around 60 or 70 babies born in the next couple weeks. Not to mention a litter of pups in a couple weeks and then another litter around the first of March. Needless to say, it may be a little crazy around here for a while with 60 or 70 baby goats and 15 or 20 puppies. I have a funny feeling there are many sleepless nights in my near future. You can bet, if there are babies being born, I will be in the barn just in case someone needs help.

Gotta run for now. Ciao

Almost there

So it looks like it's about that time again. We are expecting kids (baby goats) any day now. Seems like it is kind of a race to see who will drop the first set. There are several that look like they will at any time. There are even a couple that look like they are to the point if they don't drop quickly, they will just pop like an overinflated balloon. I am thinking that Peta or Ole Whitey will be first, we will soon find out. I really thought Peta was going to go last night. I went out to check her a couple times before I went to bed, but she was just laying around sleeping. She wasn't near as concerned about it as I was. I will post pictures of them as they come. May not post pictures of all of them as there should be around 60 or 70 babies born in the next couple weeks. Not to mention a litter of pups in a couple weeks and then another litter around the first of March. Needless to say, it may be a little crazy around here for a while with 60 or 70 baby goats and 15 or 20 puppies. I have a funny feeling there are many sleepless nights in my near future. You can bet, if there are babies being born, I will be in the barn just in case someone needs help.

Gotta run for now. Ciao

Can you believe this weather?

They always say if you don't like the weather in Missouri, hang around a few minutes and it will change. That saying could not be more true lately. Today the high temp got up to near 40 degrees. Tomorrow the high is supposed to be around 18. It was beautiful today, with the sun shining. On the way home, it was snowing and the wind was blowing. Too bad it can't just make up it's mind. Although I do have to say that I would like to get the coldest of the weather over before the goats start to kid. Makes things a lot more difficult when they kid when it's so cold out. Not to mention that puppies should be getting born in a couple weeks.

This is a picture of Brownie. She is one of the expectant mothers and should be the first to have puppies. She is 5/8 Anatolian Shepherd and 3/8 Great Pyrenees. The daddy is Butch, so the puppies will be 1/2 and 1/2. I am anxiously awaiting their arrival and I am very curious to see what they will look like and who they will take after. Either way, they will be extremely good guard dogs or loyal pets. They are protective by nature to whatever or whoever they bond with. I will post pictures of the other expectant mothers in later posts. If you know of anyone who is interested, let me know. Anyone interested in one of these dogs as a pet should understand they are a large breed dog.

Anyway, that's about it for now. Trying to stay warm seems to be the order of the day, or at least it will be tomorrow.

Talk to you later.

God Bless

Good Ole Butch

Today was a little warmer. A regular heat wave. Must have been up around 15 degrees or so. I was going to put hay in the barn yesterday for the goats to eat but changed my mind due to the fact that when I went out to do it, they were already outside eating. It seems the cold didn't bother them as much as it did me. I did go out this afternoon and put out another big bale for them. It has been so cold lately that the fuel in my tractor was starting to gel a little. Not a good thing. I remembered that I bought that fuel almost two months ago when it was still warm out so there wasn't any additive in it to keep it from doing so. I did manage to get it going long enough to put out hay though. No way I would let the animals go without food. I always make sure they eat before I do. Figure its only fair as they are totally dependent on me.

The dogs are doing great, and the cold doesn't bother them what so ever. I am going to try and put a picture of Butch on here so you can see how big he has become. He is quite the behemoth, and he seems to get bigger with each passing day.
I will post pics of the girls on future posts. Butch is a beautiful dog with a very good disposition. He is a wonderful working dog. There is not so much as a bird that can stay in the field. He doesn't like intruders of any kind. Between him and the girls, I really have piece of mind when I go to sleep at night knowing they are on duty.

As far as the guitar goes. I am on to lesson 5 & 6 learning mostly chords and strumming patterns now. It is actually very interesting to me. Only problem I seem to be having at this point is getting all my fingers to work together. I am sure I will overcome this with time and I am not about to give up now. I have come a long way, with even more to go. But that is half the fun.

Gotta go for the evening. Talk with ya'll later. Have a great evening.