Bedding and stalls cleaned out and refreshed ✅
Hay moved under the overhang so it stays dry ✅
Goat roof and tarp secured over their food ✅
Jackets on the horses ✅
Water heaters checked and secured ✅
Cameras safe from heavy snow and connected ✅
Tractor and truck gassed up fully ✅
Extra grain in air tight containers ✅
Extra square and round bales ready to go in if needed ✅
Gutters on barn cleaned out and checked for issues✅
Pony zoomies before the blizzard hits ✅
New England friends, please be safe and be prepared for the incoming snow! Make sure you have pet food and supplies in case you get snowed in or stores are closed. We could be getting anywhere from 5-10” and being prepared is always better than being caught unaware.
5-10” of snow tonight means everyone gets extra thick bedding in their enclosures!
We love Koop Klean for the chickens. It smells amazing, they can eat it and get nutritional benefits, and it keeps them extra warm!
You can see how excited they are when we put a new bag in, clucking hens are happy hens!
We are getting some CRAZY winds and rain here today. The gusts are wild and for safety we moved all the goats into the large barn. I removed their tarping system over the mini barn too so it won’t rip in these 40-50mph gusts. We’ve had a ridiculous amount of rain and snow in the last three weeks, it’s going to take an entire season for everything to dry out at this rate. Thankfully the animals are safe, we have plenty of food for everyone, and we reinforced fences a while ago so there’s no concern with them. Chickens are staying in their large coop and so far we haven’t had any crazy damage to anything, but the winds are starting to pick up. I’m going to do checks on everyone in just a few and make sure I haven’t missed something. To everyone in the path of this storm, stay safe and keep your animals inside if you can!
It’s a gorgeous day today and the goat babies are feeling great! We let them in the yard for a bit to get some extra energy out. They had all the zoomies!
We hope all of our followers and their families have fantastic Thanksgiving day shenanigans and travel safely!
What are you and your family doing for the holiday? Any exciting traditions you’re looking forward to?
Inola’s love for water is not only during the hot summer 😅
Every fall/winter I see posts and questions on forums for people who are new to farm animals on how to keep them warm in the winter and if they should use heat lamps. The answer is always NO. Heat lamps are extremely dangerous and massive fire hazards. Not only that, but they screw up animals ability to self regulate; meaning if the power goes out and the animals were used to having a heat lamp, they’re now freezing. Ruminants like goats/sheep and non-ruminant herbivores like horses keep warm by eating good quality hay and forage. It’s like feeding a furnace. They warm up as they’re digesting food. We make sure the goat feeder is packed at night to make sure it lasts the whole time they spend in their night shelter/sleeping. We also have thick bedding inside their mini barn and outside like you can see here. This slowly composts and makes it very warm under the tarp. There is a noticeable temp change from the outside pasture area they play in to the locked gate area in the video. Goats need to be kept dry, hence the tarped roof. They do well in the cold but not when they’re wet. Wet hay also molds quickly, which is bad for them to eat and wastes money. So in the end it boils down to three things to keep animals warm and happy in the cold. 1) Solid, draft free shelter with a roof and space to move around. 2) Good quality food and water at all times 3) extra interventions only as needed like blankets for older or extremely young animals. Never a heat lamp. This goes for chickens too.
When the skies are gray, the goats will play!
It’s cold and windy and the perfect weather for goats to get some zoomies and want to rough house more!
We’re making sure their bedding is kept clean and thick so they stay nice and warm all night long. The sun is setting earlier each day and soon they’ll be spending more time inside their mini barn, so we want them to be as comfortable as possible! It’s definitely good to have these days where they can run and play and get that energy out😍
Jimmothy vs the bedding bag. I’m still not sure who won this 😅. I was in the middle of raking out their sleep area and he decided to “help”
Horses are so like dogs in a ton of ways. For example, I JUST got done grooming Misty. Spent about 20 minutes brushing her and cleaning feet and getting her all shiny and the second she’s off her lead line she bolts and gets the pony zoomies. This lasted for about 5 minutes. She also rolled, and convinced everyone else they should roll too, effectively undoing all their prior cleanliness 😅😅😅
It’s like working in reverse. Built it in 6 days, taking it down in 2. 😭
Bed time for the goats and Jimmothy wanted extra cuddles
Jim is the most affectionate goat I’ve ever known. His vets and any visitors agree whole heartedly. Jimmothy is more a dog than a goat. He knows his name, comes running when called, has learned simple tricks like “up” when I want him to jump to an elevated surface so I can do health checks every day, and most importantly, he LOVES to be cuddled and hugged. Goats are extremely abused animals in the livestock and pet world. So many people buy them because they’re cute but have no idea what it takes to keep them healthy, happy, and mentally stimulated. I’m proud to be on multiple platforms educating people about goats from their environments to their nutritional needs to medical emergencies and general wellness. A massive part of what we aim to do is educate people so problems can be avoided instead of spiraling out of control which often leads to animal abandonment or a far worse fate.
There is always more to learn, and tons of people to learn from. We learn more every day ourselves and I try to pass that wisdom on to others too.
