Animal Update

Not much happening around here. Nothing new. It has caused a bit of writer's block. My mom called tonight and asked, like she always does, "What's new?" We always laugh then because we can't think of a darn thing. It's winter and cold. I have lots of things I could do but don't. I am sitting by the woodstove, with Chihuahua in my lap, knitting and watching a lot of T.V.
I am knitting a bag for the girlfriend. It is the same wool that I used for her hat. It has llama in it and is so wonderful to knit with, soft and smooth like butter, and then when felted the llama fiber sticks out a bit. It's a belated birthday gift because it is taking me so long to knit it.

The diet seems to be working with the goat herd. Lexi is much thinner and down to a perfect weight. Semi Sweet is still a bit portly but headed in the right direction. She has been so busy looking for a husband the last few months that she is driving us, and the other goats, crazy. Ruckus is still such a baby. He is starting to get the idea but is going to need a step ladder to do anything about it. I would really like it to happen so I can get babies, at this point, by late summer.
I have been working on getting his papers in order and it looks like those are on the way. I was getting in a bit of a panic because I'm a paperwork kind of girl. I like to keep track of the paperwork and rarely lose anything. But it is sometimes a lesson in patience trying to wade through all the rules and regulations of registrations when more than one person is involved. So Ruckus is now registered, officially, but "It's in the mail."

The pig sisters are recovering from a bout of....gasp....sarcoptic mange. Sounds terrible and I feel great shame when I say it but it's true. My pigs had mange. I have no idea how they came to get it but get it they did. I started to notice that their little feet were red and bumpy like an allergic reaction. I thought they were allergic to something. I tried everything. Then they started to lose their hair. That's not good when it's down in the 20's & 30's at night. So I did what every modern farmer does and emailed a pig lady in Bakersfield.
She said "Mange"
I said "Yuck!"
But it is easy enough to cure. Just worm with Ivermectin. I even had some on hand. I put it in a hollowed out banana and threw a piece to each girl. Daphne inhaled hers. Fiona inhaled hers also but promptly spit it out and nosed it around. She was just getting ready to leave it when Daphne came around the corner, ready to steal it, and Fiona snatched it up and choked it down. I needed to follow it up with another dose a few weeks later. I had to hide it in an apple this time because you can't fool a pig twice.
I am starting to see the slightest bit of stiff fuzz coming back on the girls' brow so I am hoping we are over our embarassing problem.

The ladies have started laying again and are laying under the llama manger. Easy to find. I almost have the wood cleared out of the shed that I will put my new hens in. It was made for pheasants when hubby raised his own birds and is secure. Even the floor has wire so nothing can dig up through. We have had that problem before with my son's homing pigeons. He had racing homers he loved so much he wouldn't take them out and let them race because he was afraid he wouldn't get them back. One morning he went out to feed them and something had dug under and killed every one of his beloved birds. Even the babies in the nests were headless. That was one sad boy.

Then there is Koo. He is so regal and has many admirers. Koo likes to stand out by the road and people stop and look at him. I have started to see small bits of apple left on the fence for him. I am sure they are left by an old couple that walks every day. I would like to get another llama but haven't found the right one. I always seem to come across a road block. I found a female that's perfect but she is a ways away and involves a ferry ride. It was getting too complicated so I passed. I hope to find one a little closer.
He doesn't seem to mind his life in the meantime.

Me too, I don't mind my life at all.