UPS, No Stoney Knolls Farm Delivery Truck!

It's always exciting when a delivery truck arrives. I'm like a kid running outside when the UPS or Fed Ex trucks pull into the driveway. I must take time to apologize to the delivery men. Sometimes I have on Muck Boots sometimes just slippers. I just love boxes. They hold all kinds of fun things. New clothes, shoes, presents, goats. Did I say goats? Yes the delivery truck came from Stony Knolls Farm with a special package. Isabella and Carina. We fell in love with the two girls while at Goat School last week. Janice and Ken Spaulding were kind enough to deliver both girls after they were bred. Isabella is a registered Nubian and Carina is a registered Alpine.

This is not the greatest picture of Carina's bum but you can see Isabella peeking out. I apologize for the lack of pictures when the girls arrived. I just plain forgot. We were so busy trying to make sure that they were happy and comfortable I forgot to take more pictures. I love taking pictures and end up taking about 300 a month. Sometimes, my brain shuts off when I see goats.

Later in the evening everyone settled down to sleep and I did take out the camera. I don't think that either goat was that impressed. The littles- Bella, Edward and Sophie are used to me coming out at all times of the night to check on them. Even with camera in hand they make soothing mmmmm goatie noises.

We had to work the two previous nights so we got a late start on making the milking stand. We needed it in the morning for milking Carina. Isabella has dried up and completely stopped milking. Alex was able to find plans for a milking stand on the internet. Let me rephrase that. The plans were evidently designed for the small body of a pygmy goat. Not the full bodied physique of a dairy goat. With a few adjustments she was able to re size it for the girls. Talented woman!

The base was 36" long. Heck, our goats are that long. Thank goodness for extra wood laying around from previous jobs. Some adjustments had to be made for height too. It was about 10:30 when we finally went in from the barn.

We got up early for our first day of milking. Oh, yes I have only milked a goat while at Goat School. Poor Carina. We placed an order with Hoegger Supply Co. but our milking supplies would not arrive till Wednesday afternoon. After a frantic email to Janice she brought a can of Fight Bac with her. Fight Bac is a wonderful invention. It helps prevent mastitis in cows and goats. It is cold and when sprayed onto the teat causes a constriction of the milk duct preventing bacteria from taking a free ride up into the udder.

I did have my handy dandy unscented baby wipes to clean the teats prior to milking.

Carina hopped up onto the milk stand like a pro. I took matters into my own hands and pretended like I knew what I was doing. Lo and behold milk came out like it was suppose to. I even remembered to strip the first stream into a cup to check for anything out of the ordinary. Nope, it looked like milk to me. Izzy, the cat, thought it tasted great to her too. She cleaned up any left overs for me. I milked into a kitchen pot. It worked and Carina didn't know the difference. There is nothing so sweet as a warm goat to snuggle with while you milk. They actually smell nice.

We even started putting the little girls on the milking stand. It worked out better than I ever expected. They are a bit spoiled. Yep, they have teeny tiny teats. One day!

This is the bounty we received. It amounted to only 2 1/4 cups and I'm sure that part of that is my lack of experience. We will see what tomorrow brings. Corina was nervous with a different home and sounds. The guineas were making a ruckus in the coop and the chickens were getting loud. Soon she will feel at home and sure of herself.

Later in the day I heard that sound that I love. I was laying down trying to catch a nap before I had to go to work. I couldn't stay in bed. I heard that call from the big brown box on the back porch. It was from Hoegger Supply with my milking equipment. Yes, I even took a picture of it. Nice shiny new stainless steel. Easy to clean. Ain't it purdy?

We ordered new collars like Isabella and Carina for the kids. We want them to act like big girls and boys now.

I had a little fun with my camera here. I could just imagine how our farm looked many, many years ago. I love old black and white photos. They really bring out the different shading that is often lost in color pics. This old farm didn't have electricity, they had to bring water in from a well. See the old outhouse, no indoor plumbing. I guess the give away here is the big tarp sheep shed in the pasture. They didn't have Tractor Supply back then. I can do without a bathroom, but give me my Tractor Supply fix.

Happy milking. Much love and prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm. I think we have to look into a name change. Mainely Ewes and a Few Old Goats Farm. Maybe not.

Kelly