Mona, aka, ‘Shutterbug’  the clown from  aps took this picture of Rhainnon last week during a farm visit.  You have to wonder what the ewe thought of you, Mona:)

Posted: March 9th, 2010 under Chile Acres.
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Meet Jim from APS.  He and his buddies which you will meet shortly in this blog came over for a farm visit.  Now if you look closely you will see how we recycle our wine bottles!

Posted: March 9th, 2010 under Chile Acres.
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Our friends Karen and Bob of A to Z Tomatoes and yes those wonderful aprons sewn with great artistry and craftsmanship, are running a Goat Retirement Center.

Bob mentioned that he had a pasture that was recently cowless and becoming a bit untidy.  Nothing like “organic lawnmowers”  i.e. goats to the rescue!  We sent over Assaba, Mocha Latte, and Azizzi to take over the task.  These girls are in their teens to mid teens which is rather long in the tooth in the goat world. 

“The Girls” as Bob and Karen call them are getting rather pampered in the retirement center.  They line up for daily grain treats and even have their own dog for entertainment (at least to their point of view–not sure what the dog thinks).  Daily massages–head scratches–are also in order.

Turns out that one of the girls was accidently with child or kid as we say on the farm.  Definitely an accident and unplanned due to her age.  Griffin was born early and very small in the middle of the night last month.  Bob and Karen saved him from certain death by milking mom (after a brief Googling of how to milk a goat) and keeping him warm with hot water bottles in Karen’s sewing room (which is her inner sanctum of creativity).  When we arrived for back up we weren’t sure he would make it since he was so small and early. He is a real survivor though.  After over a week of eyedropper feedings and then graduation to a doll bottle tiny Griffin was adopted by a doe that lost one of her triplets.  He is catching up now.

If you are at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market stop by and see Bob and Karen.  They are rare and wonderful friends with big hearts for the very young and the very old of  the goat world:)

Posted: March 2nd, 2010 under Chile Acres.
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Eleanor Dziuk is the owner of “Absolutely Delightful” Honey.  On Saturdays you can find her at the Phoenix Public Market on the 700 block of Central.  Last Saturday her honey was a godsend!

One of our little goats that had come to the market was feeling stressed so I asked Eleanor for a honey stick.  Honey in a stick or straw that you can devour immediately is one of the favorite products of “kids” at her booth.  Even goat “kids”.  Our little doe sucked down the first straw and started hollering for another. Eleanor and her customers got a giggle or two over that.  Can’t beat a honey that is endorsed by a goat!

Did you know that many animal owners have reaped the benefit of administering honey to baby animals that get carsick or stressed?  It can elevate dropping blood sugar levels which lead to stress related hypoglycemia and car sick symptoms.  Check out Eleanor and give her honey a try.  If it gets rave reviews from a tiny doe well then…

Posted: March 2nd, 2010 under Chile Acres.
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Our first pure bred Nubian Nanny was named E-bay when we purchased her and so when she had a doe kid that was all brown and had a white area with one large brown spot we named her Dot Com.  Dot Com in turn had a doe kid that had a field of white with a square in it so we named that one Chex. We have a “Foreclosure Goat” (recently homeless) that was all red with a white mustache so we named her “Got Milk”.  “Godiva Chocolate” had a doe kid with a chocolate body and a dollop of white on her head so she  is “Bon Bon.” Born on Christmas 6 years ago was “Holly” and so her daughter is “Ivy” which may please those of you that like green in December.  Of course “Bubbles” is due to her unusual pattern which is a throw back to the Nubians of Africa.  There are three tiny bubble babies this year.

We had so many wonderful names suggested for the babies over the last two weeks we would like to list some of them here.  With 33 kids so far to date (Jimmie is on pasture watch today scouring the landscape for new moms and kidlets) we can use most of these names.  Some are duplicates so that just goes to show that great minds think alike!

Basheba, Ja Ja, Annabelle, Lexi, Laverne and Shirley,Gracie, Bubba, Brickle and Turtle, Mona and Lisa, Star and Ginger, Cinnamon, Tuxedo, Knit and Purl,Billy, Latte, Domino, Jim and Beam, Max, Guiness, Lucy and Ethel, Sunshine and Moonlight, Butterscotch, Tallullah, Carmel, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, Matilda and Lucy, Lilly and Snowflae, Flower and Algernon, Princess, Caramel, Peanut, Olive, Oreo, Sofia, Ruby, Pancake, Carson, Bennett, Sharon and Ozzy, Licorice, Cupcake, Aurora, Casey, Ellis, Capuccino, Salt and Pepper, Ricky and Fred.

Thanks to:

Cathy, Kari, John, Belinda, Cellia, Diane,Kristi, Victoria Jan, Kate, Billy, Boby, Charlie, Cheryl, Sophie, Ruby, Ellis, Carson, Bennett,Casey, Ricky and Fred, and all of the other wonderful folks that came up with such great ideas.

Posted: March 2nd, 2010 under Bubbles the Goat and Friends, Chile Acres.
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