Bismillah R-rahman R-raheem.
We've learned that we were not well enough prepared to take care of goats. Two days after DS#2 found his kid, he also found the larger twin buried in the straw. I assume the female was still in labor & couldn't care for the first twin while birthing the second. DH buried it in the back yard. Then 2 days ago DS#2 found the other kid had died. We are not sure about the other female. DS#2 insists she has not delivered yet. I hope DH will put her inside somewhere until she does. It looks like we'll have to convert a shed or build a barn for the goats.
I suppose next winter we will have to bring any midwinter kids into the house or at least into the garage. DH won't consider bringing the mommy into the garage to take care of her kid(s). I'm not looking forward to buying milk replacer & feeding bottle babies again. I'd prefer keep the male locked up for the months where any female will deliver in the cold.
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
We have a new kid!
Bismillah R-Rahman R-Raheem
My 11yr old is so excited. When he went out to feed his goats tonight one of them didn't come to greet him. Upon investigation we have our first kid. I was skeptical when he convinced Amu to let him buy a couple of young goats. Amu is raising goats & sheep for halal slaughter. DS#2 loves getting his hand dirty. He went to help Amu at the farm a few times before buying his billy & 2 nannies. I've asked his what his intentions are regarding these goats, but we're not quite clear what he is going to do other than raising them. Amu has suggested milking the nannies after they deliver. That should be interesting. I've tasted goat milk before. It must be an acquired taste, I haven't acquired.
We raised 3 bottle rams about 2yrs ago. Hubby says the kids asked for the rams but I remember it being his idea to get them. We went to a farm to slaughter for Eid Al-Adha. The farmer's wife took me & the kids to the lambing barn to see the new babies. They're really cute when they're tiny. As they got bigger they started butting on us. They were unpredictable & I started to hope hubby would slaughter them for the next Eid Al-Adha. When Eid came he couldn't do it, wouldn't even sell them. He had let them have free run of the back yard most of the time. When they were little it was funny to have them follow you around or climb the picnic table, or eat from the crab apple standing on their back legs. When they got a little bigger it was funny when they came to the fence we had to put around the patio to keep them from drooling on it, to have their noses scratched. One of them I remember would make a 'chuf-chuf-chuf' noise as I scratched his nose. They got into trouble too. We had one dog which we tied to keep him from running the sheep. The sheep would go to him & stick their noses in his food bowl, & drink his water. Eventually we penned the sheep to keep them away from the children. One night DS#1 went to feed the sheep. He found one down & the others injured, with the dog in the pen. We had to slaughter all of the sheep that night due to their injuries. It was a difficult night but alhamdullilah. We sent meat home with the brothers who helped process them & filled our freezer to.
My 11yr old is so excited. When he went out to feed his goats tonight one of them didn't come to greet him. Upon investigation we have our first kid. I was skeptical when he convinced Amu to let him buy a couple of young goats. Amu is raising goats & sheep for halal slaughter. DS#2 loves getting his hand dirty. He went to help Amu at the farm a few times before buying his billy & 2 nannies. I've asked his what his intentions are regarding these goats, but we're not quite clear what he is going to do other than raising them. Amu has suggested milking the nannies after they deliver. That should be interesting. I've tasted goat milk before. It must be an acquired taste, I haven't acquired.
Alhamdullilah those dogs are gone now. Insha Allah we won't have any worries about the new kid being attacked in its pen. It is still cold here & Nanny is keeping her kid inside the shelter most of the time.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Trying something new at home.
Bismillah arRHman arRHeem.
Alhamdullilah, Last night was the first shift for my new kitchen helpers. I've decided to finally employ my kids as help, insha Allah. I will be supervising them while they will work one week shifts, doing what ever I need done to get meals on the table & clean up afterwords.
I assigned DS#1 & DS#3 to work together since DS#3 is 6 & can use his oldest brother to help him reach & carry. Setting the table got done without much difficulty. DS#1 even won point with DH by remembering to have his water ready on the table. We ate garlic shrimp, rice pilaf with toasted almond & raisins, chicken mustgo, & salad. After the meal & with frequent reminders of what still needed to be done, the boys managed to clear the table, rinse the dishes, fill the dishwasher, wash the table, wipe off the stove, & sweep the floor. I hadn't realized how hard it would be for me to let them do the work. DS#3 had never really swept the floor before & ended up with lots of 'help' from me. I had intended for him to clean the table & his brother to sweep but DS#1 beat his little brother to the easy jobs. Later, I rewarded them with chocolate as a surprise. Insha Allah the incentive will inspire DS#2 & DD next week to work more than war in hopes of a similar reward.
Alhamdullilah, Last night was the first shift for my new kitchen helpers. I've decided to finally employ my kids as help, insha Allah. I will be supervising them while they will work one week shifts, doing what ever I need done to get meals on the table & clean up afterwords.
I assigned DS#1 & DS#3 to work together since DS#3 is 6 & can use his oldest brother to help him reach & carry. Setting the table got done without much difficulty. DS#1 even won point with DH by remembering to have his water ready on the table. We ate garlic shrimp, rice pilaf with toasted almond & raisins, chicken mustgo, & salad. After the meal & with frequent reminders of what still needed to be done, the boys managed to clear the table, rinse the dishes, fill the dishwasher, wash the table, wipe off the stove, & sweep the floor. I hadn't realized how hard it would be for me to let them do the work. DS#3 had never really swept the floor before & ended up with lots of 'help' from me. I had intended for him to clean the table & his brother to sweep but DS#1 beat his little brother to the easy jobs. Later, I rewarded them with chocolate as a surprise. Insha Allah the incentive will inspire DS#2 & DD next week to work more than war in hopes of a similar reward.
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