What did you do today?

[Taffy]

Colorado is famous for its May snowstorms!   I remember those heavy wet snows from when I lived there.  

[DownUnder Gal]

Thanks for the explanation about the wheel lines Taffy. I'm familiar with centre pivots but not the wheel lines.

Make sure you guys sort out the weather - you've got 4 weeks to get it perfect!!!

[Taffy]

Nanno it's your fault my herd is in turmoil!

You suggested a retractable wire slicker brush.  I bought one.  My goats are now literally fighting to get it used on them!  Bourbon is clinging to me, pushing on my hand and telling me, "More! More!"  I think this is even better than treats!  They'd do just about anything to get brushed with this thing!

Here's the one I bought.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D3G...UTF8&psc=1

When I push the button to retract the brush it clicks.  I think they'd be easy to clicker train because they sure react to the sound!

[Charlie Horse]

A couple of my horses are very fond of being groomed, but they're already mostly shiny so its over for them. The horse that was left to me by my friend Dan is now 29 years old and too creaky to roll around on his back so the unshed hair has remained intact. The other day I got the shedding blade and had a lot of fun dragging mounds of winter hair off of him. He shed it like a camel sheds in big clods. But the most fun I've ever had was pulling the winter undercoat off of my yak Tibetty. If you worked under it with your fingers you could tear two-foot long sheets of two inch thick wool off of her sides and back. Lllammuz on the other hand are the worst. You have to go after them with electric sheers and their fine hair gets between the blade and guide and you end up having to service the cutter every few minutes. Meanwhile the lllawmuh is working on choking up the grossest glob of spit it can for you.

[Taffy]

Nanno it's your fault my herd is in turmoil!

You suggested a retractable wire slicker brush.  I bought one.  My goats are now literally fighting to get it used on them!  Bourbon is clinging to me, pushing on my hand and telling me, "More! More!"  I think this is even better than treats!  They'd do just about anything to get brushed with this thing!

Here's the one I bought.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D3G...UTF8&psc=1

When I push the button to retract the brush it clicks.  I think they'd be easy to clicker train because they sure react to the sound!

It's 5 days later and my goats are truly addicted to this brush!

[Nanno]

I'm glad your goats are enjoying their new grooming tool. I do love those slicker brushes! I'm not sure my goats are crazy about theirs, but it works very well to remove that fine undercoat. I used to just about tear my hair out trying to remove that "dryer lint" as I call it from whatever brush it was stuck in.

[Taffy]

We're putting up 2nd cutting hay right now.  My goats definitely know where the premium grass hay is!

   

By end of day tomorrow we'll have 6 rows like these!  Anyone want to come buy some premium grass hay?!

   

All of my goats HATE the squirt bottle.  I was filling water troughs and my crazy mini Alpine doe, Joules, decided to drink from the pinhole in the hose.  Her face and head ended up soaked by the time she was finished!  If she even sees a squirt bottle she cringes.  What gives?!

   

[DownUnder Gal]

Wow, that hay looks impressive!

[Nanno]

Designers of packgoat obstacle courses seem to get a great deal of sadistic pleasure from watching people try to drag their angry, terrified, aquaphobic goats through a kiddie pool. Usually the competitor either has to skip the obstacle, or there's a comical scene in which the goat leaps over the pool, or leaps into it with the result that the handler ends up wetter than anybody. The paddle pool was Finn and Sputnik's downfall at the State Fair obstacle challenge last year. 

But this year we're going to be prepared!
   

Sputnik says, "Look guys--no leash! I'm awesome. Just acknowledge it."  
   

[Nanno]

Today the septic backed up into the basement toilet and I had to mop the floor. Yuck.

In more thrilling news, we brought home two new Alpine does yesterday! They're yearlings from Mamm-Key Alpines, which is one of the nicest breeders in Colorado. They're in milk and producing like mad so they're very skinny at the moment. I'm hoping I can cut them back so they can put on weight and so I can do less milking.

I've also got people interested in all of my packgoat prospects this year! I've got money down on two of them and someone else called today who is interested in the other three. Hopefully everyone ends up in good homes. Now I need to find places for some of my girls.