Mountain Sunday * South o

A beautiful day!

South of the barn.
28 February 2016

East over the barn.
28 February 2016

North of the barn.
28 February 2016

Animal Teeth!

Welcome back!

Your teacher told me that February is Dental Health month in First Grade.

You learned a lot about teeth this month. Strong teeth are very, very important for people and animals. Keeping them clean is an important part of keeping them healthy. Eating properly is also an important part of keeping teeth healthy and strong.

Matt used to work at Timpanogos Animal Hospital in Pleasant Grove. He used to help the techs. One of the things he got to help with was cleaning dog's teeth.

Did you know that it's important to clean your dog's teeth? Most people don't like to brush their dog's teeth because dogs hate it! We use a special treat that cleans the dog's teeth called Dentastix.

Dentists like to clean people's teeth twice a year. Dogs should get their teeth cleaned once a year.

This dog has dirty teeth. Some of his teeth are infected and broken. Dogs don't take good care of their teeth. Do you see all the yellow stuff near the dog's gums? He also has a broken tooth on his top jaw near the red plastic tie.

Are you wondering what the tube is? It goes down his throat towards his lungs and carries a special gas that keeps the dog asleep. Dogs don't like getting their teeth cleaned. People can sit in a chair and have a hygienist clean their teeth, but a dog won't do that.

Here is the other side of his mouth. Can you see the teeth that are flat towards the back of his mouth? They shouldn't be flat. Sometimes dogs chew on rocks. If one tooth breaks other teeth wear down. All the brown and yellow need to be polished off his teeth.

All clean! Can you see the spot on the right side of the photo that is missing teeth? How many teeth are missing? Check the photo right before this one.
If you look closely you can see stitches where the teeth used to be.
Those teeth were infected and needed to come out.

All clean on this side, too!

The next thing that happens is that the tube comes out of his mouth and then the put the dog someplace comfortable while he wakes up.

Here are Mile's teeth.
He's such a good dog to let us hold his mouth open so you can see his teeth!

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Misty has all her adult teeth.
Misty's teeth look different from Miles teeth.
What is different?

Miles's teeth are pointy because dogs eat meat and dog kibbles. He needs sharp teeth to chew.
Miles has teeth on the top and bottom of his mouth so he can chew his food properly.

Misty has flat teeth because she eats grain, grass, and hay. Sharp teeth wouldn't chew hay very well.
Goats, sheep, llamas, and cows only have teeth on the bottom of their mouth in the front. They have top and bottom teeth in the back of their mouth. Bottom teeth help them graze and eat hay easily. They don't chew it right away, they just bite it and swallow it. They chew it later. I'll post about how they 'chew their cud' another time.

This is Penny. We gave her to some friends so you won't see many pictures of her.
She is 1 year old in this photo. She has her "1 year old teeth" in the center.
Every year she will loose two teeth. The first two new teeth are the center teeth.
Next she will loose the two teeth on either side.
She will loose two teeth each year until she has all adult teeth in the front of her mouth.
We can tell how old a goat is until they are 4 years old by how many adult teeth they have.

Children have 'baby teeth' that fall out. Adult teeth take the place of baby teeth. You've probably already lost at least one tooth!

Baby goats have 'milk teeth' that fall out. Adult teeth take the place of baby teeth. 

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Guess what? Last week I noticed that the tan turkey was getting bigger, and bigger!
One day when I went out to the barn, this is what I saw!
The tan turkey is a Tom turkey! He's a boy!
What is different between the brown turkey and the two black and white turkeys?

Do you see the new pavers under the gate?
That's because Miles has been naughty!
He dug a big hole under the gate so he could take himself on a walk.
We live near a highway and it's dangerous for dogs to wander around by themselves.
Matt put pavers under the gate so he can't dig under the gate anymore!

What do your parents do to keep you safe?

Have a great week!

Mountain Sunday * 21 February 2016

South of the barn.
21 February 2016

East over the barn.
21 February 2016

North of the barn.
21 February 2016

Spring is Coming!

Welcome back!

I can tell that spring is on the way. The weather is getting warmer, the snow is melting, and the goats and sheep are playing!

The turkey hens are always excited to see me come out to the barn.
They follow me from the back yard to the barn door.
They want their breakfast!

Yum! They love breakfast!
Animals like treats, but they grow bigger and are healthier if they have food that's good for them.

*     *     *     *     *     *

I can also tell that spring is coming because the chickens and the duck are starting to lay eggs again.

There are four eggs in this nesting box!
I collect between 8-10 eggs every day.
It's a good thing we love eggs because we have so many!

*     *     *     *     *     *

Stew and Zeek are playing now that the weather is warmer.
Do you play like this?

I hope not! You would probably have a big headache.
Goats and sheep have very, very hard heads so when they bang their heads together it doesn't hurt.

It's not quite time for caterpillars, cocoons, and butterflies outside yet, but Quin and his mom decided it would be a fun project at home.
This butterfly just hatched on Thursday, 18 February 2016.
How old is it?

We haven't had new baby goats, our calf isn't born yet, either. The calf should be born on March 25th. How many days away is that?

The goats will have their kids around April 5th. How many days between the day the calf will be born and the day the goat kids should be born?

*     *     *     *     *     *

Goats at other farms have already started having their kids. Our friend borrowed our trailer so she could pick up her new mama goat and doeling. A doeling is a baby girl goat.

We have an old trailer that our friend borrowed.

It's a very old trailer and the floor needed to be fixed before she used it for her goats.
Look above the tape measure and you'll see that there is a badly rotted board.

Tim and Matt replaced the rotted board.

Then they put a new floor on top of the old floor because that will make the
floor much stronger!
I forgot to take a picture of the rubber mats that go on top of the wood.
The rubber mats protect the wood from animal droppings.
Hmmmm.... what do you think 'animal droppings' are?

*     *     *     *     *     *

Can you feel the seasons change when you are outside?

Does it smell different to you? Does it feel different outside?

Keep an eye on the Mountain Sunday photos because the trees will start budding soon, then you will know for sure that Spring is right around the corner.

Have a great week!

Mountain Sunday * 14 February 2016

Something is missing in the photos today!

South of the barn.
14 February 2016

East over the barn.
14 February 2016

North of the barn.
14 February 2016

Did you figure out what was missing?

The mountains! It's so foggy today that we couldn't see the mountains.

Our Veterinarian

We're heading into kidding season. Many people have already started kidding season. 

I wanted to let you know about our veterinarian. We love her! She comes to the farm, she explains what she finds, and lets us know what options we have. She's great to work with and is very good at teaching you the best way to care for your animals.

We've used her for our goats for a few years now. Dr. Wright saved one from a terrible case of mastitis that otherwise would have taken her life.

If you are looking for a vet in Utah in the Salt Lake Valley or Utah County area, consider calling Dr. Wright.

Adjectives!

Welcome back!

You're teacher said you were really busy today because you have a Valentine's Day party! That sounds like a lot of fun!

She said you were learning about adjectives. Adjectives tell about a person, place, or thing.

What can you tell me about the picture below?

This is the house I live in with my family.
You have seen the barn many times, but you haven't seen the house where the people live.

One thing I love is being able to share our farm with you!
I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Mountain Sunday * 7 February 2016

South of the barn.
8 February 2016

East over the barn.
8 February 2016

North of the barn.
8 February 2016