Wwoofing It: Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Howdy,

Today was another long day because I had to spend the night on the ranch last night, so I have been up since 5pm yesterday checking on goats, sheep and dogs. I had to wake up all night long because the goats kept crying and the puppies were really loud. I managed to outsmart that damn rooster though! I trapped him inside the inner shack in the chicken coop and closed the door so he couldn't get out. That way he wouldn't know it was early morning and start crowing! I stayed by myself last night but I wasn't scared because I had all the dogs around the property and I also had Sage, a herding dog, with me in the trailer so she slept right next to me and made me feel a lot safer. Today was a really great learning day for me because I got to vaccinate and medicate a lot of goats. I had 5 new mother goats that I had to inject with their booster shot, orally drench them with worming medication, put flea medication on their backs and clip their hooves. It was a lot easier for me to inject them because I was more comfortable and quicker with the syringe, so most of the goats didn't even move. I also was a lot faster drenching them (opening their mouth and squirting worm medication down the back of their throats) and turning them on their backs to trim their hooves (which is actually really tricky to do; they don't like being turned on their backs). I also had to vaccinate all of the kids and tag their ears. I was really fast at vaccinating them with their shots and they didn't even feel it, but the tagging is still difficult for me because the device used to puncture their ear has a really big handle, and my hand is too small to be able to grip it with one had. So I have to use both hands to close the handle, but I also have to use one hand to hold the kid and one hand to hold their ear in place to make sure I tag it in the right spot. Marv did most of the tagging because my hands are too small, but I got a lot of experience and learned a lot more today. We also had 2 sheep die and Marv and I had to go out and autopsy them to see if they died of worms or other causes. We had to cut them open and dig around in their chest cavity and stomach to see if we could find a cause of death, so that was very fascinating to see the inside of a sheep. The inside was mostly filled with undigested hay, but there were no worms so we had to assume something else is killing them. It isn't old age because both sheep were only about 1 year old, so now we have to watch them very closely to see if they aren't getting enough nutrients or something else. I know it isn't the dogs or predators, because after the sheep died, the dogs guarded them because they thought they were hurt, but didn't know they were dead. We also had a ram (male sheep) die today too. He was in the general population pen where we keep most of the sheep and all the adult dogs together. Yesterday he was attacked by the guard dogs, but it was because he was breeding with a ewe (female sheep) and the guard dogs thought he was hurting or attacking them, so they chewed him up a little bit. He wasn't bleeding and had no skin missing at all, but he was just laying there so we had to move him into a separate pen with a heat lamp to see if he recovered or not. When I saw him I knew there was no way he was going to make it, but Marv was hopeful. It was really really sad because he is a Barbados sheep, and they are beautiful brown and black sheep with great structure. He was a really healthy ram with beautiful horns, and he was just laying there so helpless and lifeless. I stayed with him for a long time petting him and talking to him, but I knew he wasn't going to make it. I kept checking on him throughout the night, but he finally died early this morning. It was very sad because it didn't have to happen. I understand the dogs are doing their job and protecting their stock, but he shouldn't have had to go through that. Other than that, it was a really easy day on the ranch. I got most of the chores done by myself, and when Carrie, Mike and Marv came to meet me, I got to work the goats with Marv because everything else was done. Working goats or sheep means putting Boss flea medication on their back, trimming their hooves, booster shots and drenching with worm medication. I start vaccinating puppies this week as well, and I feel comfortable with that because they have much thinner skin than kids and they dogs handle needles very well; whereas goats are very sensitive to needles.

Terri, the dog that disappeared from the backyard the night she was supposed to have her puppies, came home yesterday. She made her way back to the house and had her puppies on the side of the yard. We found her that morning and put her inside in a crate so she could be warm with her puppies. She has never been in a house before, but we figured she would be fine in a metal crate. When Marv and I got home from the ranch this evening, we walked into the house and it looked like it had been ransacked. The entire house was turned upside down and everything was torn apart. The curtains were torn down, every bucket or dish or container in the kitchen was broken and turned upside down, and about 4 jars of pickled beets were smashed and thrown all over the house. Then we found Terri under the computer desk in the living room growling freaking out. She was acting like Cujo and really freaked me out! Her metal crate was turned upside down and all her puppies were still in the crate, being squished under a plastic sheet. I went to get the puppies out of the crate to make sure they were okay and she ran into the kitchen and started barking hysterically at me and took the puppies from me in her mouth and hid them under the computer table. So we had to start cleaning up the house and there was beet juice from floor to ceiling, covering every possible thing, all over the house. There were also bright pink paw prints all over the carpet and floor. The house was a disaster zone. We figured out that Terri broke out of her metal crate some how, then from all the commotion jars started breaking and maybe it scared her, but she tore down the curtains, overturned the tables, dog food, dog water, trash can and other things. Then she bit open a can of soda and drank it, took the plunger out of the bathroom and left it in the kitchen, chewed open 3 raw potatoes, and broke a blender. I have no idea why she did all that, but she was a mess. It took us all about an hour or more to put the house back in order and I can guarantee there is still beet juice on parts I missed, and probably still on the ceiling! I guess that is what I get for expecting to come home after being up for 24 hours and wanting a relaxing evening of going to bed early. So Terri is back in her crate now and I really hope she stays there until we can take her back to the ranch tomorrow asap! She kinda freaks me out now; I don't know if it is just because she had her first litter and didn't know what to do, or if she was scared of being in a house. Either way, she needs to calm down. Tomorrow night I will be staying out at the ranch and hopefully no one has any babies because I am still trying to catch up on sleep and it is too cold for babies right now. Plus the sheep aren't due to lamb until April 20th. I am really having fun and learning a lot here, but I am also getting a little anxious to move on to my next location. I just can't wait to see what other places look like and what else I will be learning. But I am glad I wont arrive in Tennessee until the summer when it is nice and hot and I can enjoy the long days and go swimming in the creeks and eat delicious fruit! Marv and Carrie want to take me to a place called Golden Corral and I have been dying to go! I always see commercials at home, but we don't have one around and they are very popular in the Midwest, so I am so excited. I love buffets, especially the desserts!!! Other than that, we have kind of settled into a nice little routine and I am getting used to it and very comfortable here. I am eating very well; Carrie is an amazing chef. I have pictures today so enjoy them! Please celebrate St. Patrick's Dy for me since I will be busy with goats and can't enjoy it like I wanted to. It is one of my favorite 'holidays'!!!

Love you all,
Sam