More babies on the farm!

[Marveltone]

Two of our goats have kidded, with one more to go. The first one is a second-time mother so she handled her three kids like a pro. She had her kids on Thursday afternoon. I was loading stuff into my truck and heard some commotion in the barn. By the time I got there she was done.

The second one is a first-timer so she only had one on Friday. She seemed a bit confused and bewildered at first and wouldn't let the kid come near her at first. We gently backed her into a corner and held her there long enough for the kid to start nursing. After about 30-45 min., she finally started nuzzling and licking her kid and allowing free access. This was last night. We checked on them this morning and all is well.

Now we wait for the last one.

 

[LJH]

Aww, baby goats are impossibly cute. And triplets, that's pretty cool. Glad your new momma got it figured out too.

Tell me about your barn ... those logs look like they've been there a year or two. History? Any other pics?

 

[Thomas]

Cute looking bunch,looks like interesting summer head for you.

 

[Marveltone]

Aww, baby goats are impossibly cute. And triplets, that's pretty cool. Glad your new momma got it figured out too.

Tell me about your barn ... those logs look like they've been there a year or two. History? Any other pics?

Good, accurate information is long gone, but I'll do the best I can.

The barn was built by my wife's grandfather, who homesteaded this farm a little over 100 years ago. This was not the actual barn, but a pig shed, which has been converted over the years to chicken coop, play house, teenage hang-out, storage, and now, our "critter cabin". The actual barn is older, and will be the subject of restoration later this year. Judging by pictures found in old albums, we're guessing the age of this building to be anywhere from 60 to 80 years old. It, like the house and barn, is made out of tamarack logs, which has excellent resistance to rot, but after several decades get very hard.

This is the oldest picture we have of the cabin. It was taken in the early 70's. The children are my wife and her cousin.


The original chicken run has been long torn down and the trees had taken its place. I had to deforest the back of the cabin to build the current run, as well as the goat run to the pasture.


This is the cabin now.


Once the barn is restored, we'll move the goats over there and relegate the cabin to full-time chicken duty.

Joe

 

[LJH]

Beautiful place, Joe. Thanks for the reply & extra info. Gotta love the Victorian-era screen door gate on the chicken run!

 

[Marveltone]

Beautiful place, Joe. Thanks for the reply & extra info. Gotta love the Victorian-era screen door gate on the chicken run!

Thanks, we love it up here! That Victorian-era screen door in the first photo is now on our screen porch. The red screen door came from our other house in town.

Joe

 

[Marveltone]

Last batch just arrived. Three more for a total of seven kids. We can relax a little bit and get back to a schedule.



Joe

 

[dave1949]

Joe, glad you got through the kidding. They all look healthy.

The cabin, how is the foundation built? It looks like mortar parged over rock or concrete block maybe? Or, is it concrete?

 

[Marveltone]

The foundation is poured concrete with about a 6" rim to rest the logs on. The cabin was originally built on the dirt, but was jacked up in the late 60's or early 70's and given the cement floor.

Joe

 

[dave1949]

The foundation is poured concrete with about a 6" rim to rest the logs on. The cabin was originally built on the dirt, but was jacked up in the late 60's or early 70's and given the cement floor.

Joe

Thanks, Joe. I didn't think the foundation matched the age of the cabin somehow and it made me curious.