Before I say anything about this week, I just want to share a photo of our rooster. Simply because he is gorgeous.
And look at how big he is compared to the other birds.
This week we attached the artificial insemination equipment to the milking stand in order to try to trim Madam’s hooves.
(Terribly graphic aside: Jan actually had this equipment to try to assist the Pygmy goats in breeding the Nubians. Her goats are Kinder goats. A Kinder goat is a cross between a Pygmy and a Nubian, but the Pygmies are tiny, and the Nubians are enormous. So the Nubians have to be the mothers. So, sometimes the Pygmies need a little help. I'm thinking some sort of platform for them was involved.)
Madam is closing in on thirteen years old. She’s kidded nine different years. That means that Jan has milked her for nine different summers and autumns, and there is an unmistakable bond there.
But, Madam’s hooves are in bad shape. They got that way because she can’t hold her weight on just three legs, so we haven’t been able to trim them. Then Jan got the idea that we could help her bear her weight if we used the AI equipment.
So, last Saturday we brought Madam to the milking parlor (Jan’s back porch) from the back pen. She’s so short we had to hang the canvas belt that would support her weight from plastic collar chain. (We use this plastic chain because it breaks easily. So, if a goat gets their collar caught on something, it is never fatal. The collar just breaks.)
Once we got her all set up, Madam just looked resigned:
We trimmed, and trimmed. The sling worked great.
Of course, once we started trimming, Madam sure gave us the stink eye.
But, when she was done, she was already walking better. We’re going to use this system now every month. Madam is going to have healthy hooves!
Meanwhile, I want to tell you about opening the chicken coops. The chickens need to be let out of the coops at dawn every morning. They don’t care what time it is - they live by the sun.
Our old flock lives in the coop that Kat and I painted last winter. When we open their door, they are all lined up on their perches, like jets on a runway.
The one closest to the door flies out the door, then they all move up. It’s really hilarious.
The new coop - the one with all the young chickens is entirely different. Instead of one big door, they have two thinner doors. We open the first door, and all the chickens who have roosted near the ground come charging out in a big mass.
Then, we open the second door. I love this part. We open that second door, and I kneel down to place the brick that keeps the door open. While I’m doing that, all of the chickens who have roosted on the higher perches fly out in an enormous whoosh! They fly just inches from my head! It’s noisy! Every time that happens I think of the old Christmas Carol:
Whence comes this rush of wings afar
Following straight the noel star
Angels and shepherds, birds o’ the sky
Come where the son of God doth lie
When I was little, I didn’t know what an entire flock of birds flying right by my ears sounded like. The song (a French carol from the 1300s) was about all the different birds that came to see Jesus when he was born. But, as a child, I only read lyrics to songs as I could manage to quickly scan them - while I was also reading the music and playing the piano. So, with four or five verses crammed in between the staffs, I got some funny ideas about the meanings of songs.
I thought this carol was about the rush of wings of birds, angels, and shepherds all mixed together. All of their wings mingling to create an amazing sound. I thought that the shepherds had wings the same way the winged Hussars did.
Oh, you remember the winged Hussars. They were the Polish army (dating back to the 1500s) who wore a wooden arc attached to the back of their armor. Ostrich, swan, and goose feathers were affixed to these arcs, so that when they rode into battle, the sound of the wind going through those feathers terrified the enemy. Or, at least made them think there were more troops than there truly were. These feathery wings also made it difficult for anyone to chop them with a sword from behind.
The rush of wings, though, going right by your head. There’s no sound on earth like it. It’s a beautiful way to start the day.
And, the last thing for this week: I finally opened my soap website and got my first order! Here it is, in its ecologically friendly packaging, ready to go into a box for shipping!
In case you’re interested in soap made from the milk donated by Mothra, Rain, Delta, Lulou, and Phoebe, please go to my site: SerenaSoaps.com