Welcome to Painted Hand Farm

Painted Hand Farm is a 20 acre Civil War era farm located in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. We raise meat goats, veal calves, turkeys and organic vegetables using humane and sustainable agricultural practices.

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Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Parting Shots for 2007

L-EEE (pronounced "Elly") made sure she didn't have to go to the Pennsylvania Farm Show and get all dolled up for the Junior Breeding Stock and Open Boer Goat shows this year. She was one of our daughter's strongest show does this past summer. We knew she was pregnant, but unsure of if she would kid in this round or the next, due to start in mid-February. She gave us a buck and a doe. Since the doe is the dark one, she'll be registered as "L-Vira" as in Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.
We bred to have everyone kidded out prior to the start of the Farm Show (beginning on Friday). Clara is the lone hold-out on us. She looks like she's ready to pop any moment. We're hoping she goes before the low of 11 degrees on Thursday night. If not, I'm seriously considering building a kidding pen in our basement.

The current batch of babies are all snug in their kid-warmers that Ralph builds out of 55-gallon plastic barrels, a light fixture and a 100-watt bulb.
UDDER UPDATE
Can you believe this is Emma's udder? She's healed quite well considering the extensive wound and loss of the front quarter. As you can see, the teat and quarter is entirely gone. The rear quarter and teat, while intact, isn't functioning. We won't know if it's a complete loss until her next freshening, which will be in September to Sunset Canyon Matinee if our AI guy hit the spot last week when she came into heat. The other half of her udder is perfectly normal and pumping out as much as three and a half gallons of rich milk each day.

1 comment:

  1. Good year to you and all the kids. They look quite happy in that makeshift warmer.

    ReplyDelete