Daisy's Bad Haircut

Here is a photo of Daisy right after we hacked her fleece off. I wish I had gotten a before photo so you could see how much she had rolled in the pasture! She was full of foxtails, dirt, grass, hay, and sticks. It didn't get really bad until we had so much rain in June. I'm glad she'll grow another fleece! I hope to spin it one day since it is so soft and beautiful.


Poor thing, she is probably very embarrassed by her haircut! But I am sure she appreciates having less of a coat for the rest of the summer. Hopefully we will be able to even her out soon.

Here is a photo of our llama chute. Nothing spectacular. My friend, who gave Vet2Be the llama, also gave us their chute. They had gotten it for free from someone else and never used it. It was a bit big for Daisy, but we liked the idea that she could stand up in it and that we didn't have to stretch her out on the floor.

Udder Rash

Ginger, Vet2Be's favorite goat, has had a rash on her udder for more than two months. It hasn't gotten worse, and it hasn't gotten better. None of the other goats have it.

We tried Fura-zone Ointment for a week... no change.

We tried Blu-Kote spray for a week... no change (except she had a blue udder for a week!)

We tried Colloidal Siver for a week... still no change.

We tried Neosporin for a week... yup, no change.

We even tried 7% Iodine for a week.... nothing.

Our next course of action will be mastitis vaccinations. She doesn't have any symptoms of mastitis, but the J-Vac is a vaccination information says it is effective against E. coli mastitis, and the Lysigin is said to be effective against Staph aureus. So, maybe Ginger has something on the inside that is manifesting itself on the outside of her udder.

The rash on Ginger's udder. It doesn't affect her milk production. She is still milking between 6 and 7 pounds per milking, but it bothers Vet2Be and me that we can't get rid of it and don't know what it is.

Healthy Poultry

I found this link in an ad in the current Hobby Farms magazine. I thought some of you might find it useful, too. (Hobby Farms is one of my favorite magazines.)

Biosecurity for Birds
"Biosecurity For Birds is an initiative to help you keep your birds healthy. On this website, you will find useful information about infectious bird diseases such as avian influenza (AI) and exotic Newcastle disease (END), as well as important information on backyard biosecurity practices you can use in your everyday routine of caring for your birds."

You can pick and choose between quite a few different materials to learn how to recognize signs of infectious poultry diseases and ways to keep your birds healthy. It is all free--just pick the materials that you would like, and they send it to you. Well, not totally free, I'm sure that it is paid for with tax dollars.

I'll post when I receive my materials and let you know what I think of everything.

Hive Check!

Vet2Be and Hubby went to check the hive today. They added a Ross Round super 2 weeks ago. The bees have been so busy that the comb is 70% drawn out on that super already! The Ross Round frames are really fun! They are round so when the bees are done filling them with honey, Hubby and Vet2Be will take out the round honey-comb and it will be ready to sell. A Ross Round is a about 5-3/4" deep.

They added another medium super today. A medium super is one of the white boxes that sit on the beehive, just shorter than the deep boxes. They are 6-5/8' deep. They hold the same number of frames (8 or 10 depending on the size of your hive) as the deep supers (or deep hive body which is 9-5/8" deep), but they don't weigh as much when they are full of honey. When full of honey a medium super can weigh about 40 pounds.

Interested in building your own hive? Look at Bee Source.com. There are plans there for different styles of hives, extractors, solar wax melters, plus lots of information on raising bees. Interested in learning more about bees? Check here: http://www.beeclass.com/dts/classes.htm.

Next thing on the list to buy will be a honey extractor. We'll need that within a month or so when it is time to harvest the honey.

Even though we put the bees in the 'wrong place' this year, they are doing extremely well. The hive population is bigger than expected, they are producing more honey and wax than expected, and they don't seem to have any trouble keeping cool in the hot desert summer.

Comfort Shawl

I finished the first of three Comfort Shawls in memory of my mother. This one is white because she used to wear a white, gauzy, flowing outfit and dance through the room. She was kinda kooky, but lovable.

A Comfort Shawl is very simple to make. I used the pattern that says to knit 3, purl 3 for this shawl. But I have also made shawls that are knit every row, making the shawl in garter stitch.

They are also called: Prayer Shawls, Peace Shawls, or Mantles. Here is a link to Prayer Shawl Ministry. This white Comfort Shawl will be donated to the First Congregational Church in Watertown, CT. Many churches have a Prayer Shawl Ministry. Check to see if yours does, it is a wonderful way to donate time to someone in need. If you google 'prayer shawl pattern' you will find a number of sites that have free patterns and ideas for these lovely gifts of comfort.

I decided to make three in memory of my mother for a number of reasons. My sister's church gave her and my nephew each a shawl when my nephew was diagnosed with Crohn's disease earlier this year, the first shawl will go there. My other sister said that her church handed shawls out to those in need, too, the second will go there (it is a lovely lavender color--my mom loved lavender.) The third shawl will go to my Aunt who was the one who taught me about Prayer Shawls a number of years ago. She will pass it on to someone in need. That one will probably be green, because I love green.

Although the church I belong to does not have a Shawl Ministry, it does many other good things in our community and throughout the world. Since I know that shawls comfort and help those in need, and I know that God loves everyone no matter what church they belong to, I am happy to knit shawls for others and hopefully bring joy to someone who is in need.

Here is another photo of the shawl laid across the bottom of my bed. Stinky (the cat) decided she liked it, too. Guess I'll have to wash it before I send it off just in case the recipient is allergic to cats! You can see that the shawl is just a large rectangle
--easy, peasy!

GoD And DoG by WJ Francisco

Just what I needed to see today!

GoD And DoG by WJ Francisco

I haven't watched all her videos, but I needed something uplifting today.

Udder Rash

Ginger, Vet2Be's favorite goat, has had a rash on her udder for more than two months. It hasn't gotten worse, and it hasn't gotten better. None of the other goats have it.

We tried Fura-zone Ointment for a week... no change.

We tried Blu-Kote spray for a week... no change (except she had a blue udder for a week!)

We tried Colloidal Siver for a week... still no change.

We tried Neosporin for a week... yup, no change.

We even tried 7% Iodine for a week.... nothing.

Our next course of action will be mastitis vaccinations. She doesn't have any symptoms of mastitis, but the J-Vac is a vaccination supposed to be effective against E. coli mastitis, and the Lysigin is supposed to be effective against Staph aureus. So, maybe she has something on the inside that is manifesting itself on the outside of her udder.

The rash on Ginger's udder. It doesn't affect her milk production. She is still milking between 6 and 7 pounds per milking, but it bothers Vet2Be and me that we can't get rid of it and don't know what it is.