New Goat Kid and Trimming Cow Hooves

So much happened this week! I'll have to save some of it for next week's post!

The best thing that happened is a new baby goat was born. That's always fun! Sometimes it's a lot of work, too.

She was born around 11:00 pm on Wednesday May 13th. I was out in the barn making sure she was warm and happy until about 1 AM. That's a long day for me.

She's so cute!

We haven't named her yet. I have a wonderful neighbor that comes and helps me every morning with chores in the barn. She's away for a few days. When she gets back, she'll get to name the new kid. 

Have you ever wondered what a kid looks like right after they are born?

They are kind of yucky looking.

Here's the picture right after she was born. Yuck!

That's ok. I clean most of the goop off with a towel. Then Lilly cleaned her off the rest of the way. 

I love listening to the mama goat and baby goat talk to each other. I think its so cute!

Once she is dried off, I put a sweater on her and put her under a heat lamp.

She'll stay warm all night. Our weather is warming up so she won't wear the sweater very long. She'll be fine in a few days. 

She has a crooked front hoof. I'll watch it for a few days. If it doesn't straighten out, I'll put a splint on it so that it grows correctly and gets strong enough for her to walk on.

Thursday morning she was up and moving around!

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Echo and Sadie needed their hooves trimmed this week. 

Such a cute face! I love seeing her every morning!

First we have to move Echo into the chute on the side of the truck. It might look scary to you, but it's the safest way to trim her hooves. It's safe for the man trimming, and it's safe for Echo because she can't move.

She really isn't sure what is going to happen, 
even though we do this every year.

Her body is in the chute, and her head gets locked in
but it doesn't hurt. It's not that tight.

Do you see the boy in the picture? He's helping his dad trim Echo's hooves. He's in 2nd grade, too. He went right out into the pasture, grabbed Echo's halter, and led her to the truck. He's strong and he's not afraid of working with big animals. I'm always glad when he comes with his dad because he is a good boy and does what his father asks him. That keeps him safe, and it helps him to learn how to do this job.

First he cleans the dirt out of her hooves. Her legs are all tied down so she can't kick and hurt herself, or the person cleaning and trimming.

He uses a special sander to trim her hooves. You trim your nails when they get too long. I trim the goat hooves every six weeks. Cows need their hooves trimmed once or twice a year.

When their hooves are trimmed it's much easier for them to walk. If their hooves get too long it can cause trouble with their legs. Horses and cows are so big that if their feet aren't trimmed they can be in pain.

I think it's interesting to watch how fast he is. I'm really lucky that I have so many people that help me with my animals. All the people I've come to know are wonderful. They are helpful and they are also kind. They are all willing to teach me more about my animals, too.

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Burger is growing and doing well.

He's finally big enough for a halter! He wasn't sure what to think about a halter on his face for the first day, but now he's used to it and it doesn't bother him.

I like to keep a halter on the cows so I can move them easily from one spot to another. 

These two women are so nice!
They work with a group of special needs people
in our school district.

They came last fall with a bunch of their students. The students are all at home because of the virus so the teachers came and had a virtual field trip!

They taped their phone to the pole and linked up using zoom. You might be using google hangout or something similar for your classroom.

They walked around and showed their students all the animals on the farm! Teachers are so smart and have figured out some great ways to teach even when they can't be with their students.

You figured out ways to write me notes, too! Thank you so much for your notes! You can ask questions by putting them in the comments below, or you can send your teacher a message with your questions.

I hope you make it a wonderful week! I know you can do it!