No More Mr. Fat Guy!

Did 2 hours and 15 minutes of walking today. Plus, I chased one of the kid goats who got out of the pasture and into the yard for about twenty minutes, which was not fun. But one day he’ll be my supper, so it all evens out. Speaking of supper, I didn’t do too well on that front. Stopped at Hardees. They’re having a Buy One Thickburger Get One Free campaign, so I got two of their third pound mushroom burgers. And fries. And a Pepsi. I know, I know…

That’s what the scale at the Patrick Wellness Center in Fayetteville says. That’s the gym where I walk. I just got back from another 2.5 hour walk. That’s a total of seven hours walking since Sunday. I did an hour and a half, then took a break. Unfortunately, the water at the gym was shut off for repairs, so instead of rehydrating with H2O, I had little choice but to buy a can of pop. But that’s OK; that’s only two pops so far this week, and I haven’t had an A&W root beer in quite a while. So I had the pop, stepped outside and smoked a cigarette (yep, I’m still cool!), and got back to it. Did another hour, and then headed home.

And boy, am I starving. I had a cantaloupe this morning, and 24 ounces of goat milk. I’m trying to eat more fruits and veggies, and Dollar General had some cantaloupes that are a little past their prime for fifty cents each. I picked out two that were still nice and firm, and I’ll have the other one tomorrow. I mix in this health drink called Rice and Shine with the goat milk, along with some peanut butter to make it more filling. It’s actually pretty good. But after a 150 minute power walk, I’m famished. So I’m having some goat meat chili, courtesy of two male goats I took to the butcher a couple months ago.

Back at it tomorrow. Same Fat Time, Same Fat Channel!

I was supposed to go out to eat Sunday with Heath, but he called me on Saturday night to say he’d forgotten about a prior engagement. And it’s a good thing he canceled, because as it turned out, I couldn’t go anywhere on Sunday.

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I was bottle feeding L’il Orphan Annie on the porch (we keep her in a cage at night) just now, when I kept hearing one of the other kids bawling and crying.  I went out to see what the problem is, and I’ll be darned if we don’t have another newborn kid.  Kinda late, but it looks pretty healthy.  Didn’t even know this goat was pregnant.

Mildred didn’t make it, and I’m taking it worse than I thought I would. I don’t think I’m cut out for farm life.

She was one of the two goats we milk. You sort of get attached to a goat when you milk it every day. When John bought her two years ago, I went and picked her and Nan up in my little pickup truck. They bawled all the way to the farm. Then when I let them out into the pasture, they took off running like scalded cats, and it was a day or two before they’d come up to the barn.

Then, when we tried to get them to the milk barn, that was an even bigger ordeal. We tried to coax them with the leash, but they wouldn’t budge. Then we tried dragging them. But they weren’t going anywhere, and that was that. Finally we had to pick these two full size goats up and carry them. I guess that’s when I really bonded with ‘em. But after a few weeks of carrying them, they finally realized that there was lots of feed in the milk house, and they started coming out willingly.

In her two years, Mildred gave us four babies that lived. We’ve still got Li’l Orphan Annie in the house where we’re bottle feeding her. She also gave us hundreds of quarts of fresh goat milk. Now, it’s all up to Nan.

I feel bad that we didn’t get any pictures of Mildred the other day. After she gave birth she was listless, and I was worried about her. Then yesterday she was even worse. We brought her in the milk house to keep her warm, but she wouldn’t eat at all. We did get some water down her with a syringe. I was pretty sure last night she wouldn’t make it, because she didn’t bawl when we shut the door and left her. Goats hate to be alone, and normally she’d have been wailing like mad. But she didn’t. Whenever I’d go check on her, she’d just be standing, with her face buried in the corner. We knew she loved apples, and around 11 last night we got her to eat a couple. I’m glad her last meal was her favorite.

John got up around 7 and checked on her, and she wanted out, so he let her out into the yard. Around 10, he asked me to take her to the vet. She was sitting by the barn, and when I went to load her in the truck, she couldn’t walk, or even stand up. I knew it was all over then. I was angry at myself for not getting her to the vet yesterday.

When I got to the vet, he told me what I already knew, that there was really nothing he could do. He said it was just a matter of her being old and worn out, and bringing her in the day before wouldn’t have helped. We thought she was around 3 or 4, but the vet said she had to be around 8 years old. He gave her a shot, and she was gone instantly.

He couldn’t dispose of her, because the rendering plant won’t take sheep or goats anymore due to mad cow disease concerns. Whatever. So when I got home, I had to bury poor old Mildred. John helped me load her into the wheelbarrow, and we took her collar off, and then we made the long trip down past the pond and into the woods.

I’m glad she’s not suffering anymore. And now I feel bad for all the times I cussed her and called her Mildew. And man I wish we’d taken her picture.

I’ll be back to writing about losing 100 pounds soon. But I wanted to say goodbye to Mildred.

Rest in peace, old girl. I hope the apples were sweet.

What a past couple of days. Nuthin’ but goats, goats, goats. Sorry for being gone so long, but it’s been one barnyard crisis after another. I’ll have to write about it in more detail later. But the short story is that Nan had two, Mildred had three, Tipper had one, all in the past two days. One of Nan’s died, two of Mildred’s died, and then we discovered three dead kids out in the middle of the pasture that Lucille had delivered and we had no idea, because they usually give birth in the barn. And now Mildred, one of the two goats we milk, is very, very sick. And the one kid of hers that lived was on death’s door, but we’re nursing it back to health. The good news is that all the pregnant females have kidded. The bad news is that a bunch of them didn’t make it, and we’re not sure Mildred’s going to make it. The score right now on the kids is The Grim Reaper 8, Me 7. I hope that’s the way the score stays.

In the past couple days I’ve buried six kids, we’ve got Mildred staying in the milk barn to keep her warm and we’re praying she turns around, and we’ve got the miracle survivor kid in the house in a box, and we’re bottle feeding it. We may have to take Mildred to the vet in the morning.

I did weigh in. I’m at 285. I’m not sure what Deb did, but there are now some pics of baby goats, and my weigh in, in the post below. I’ll try to edit things tomorrow, and get all the pics up in this post.

So to celebrate, I’m going to the gym tomorrow in my birthday suit. Nah, not really. I don’t need the mental trauma lawsuits. But they’re doing it in the Netherlands-a gym over there has introduced “Naked Sundays”. What the heck is wrong with people?

Today was weigh in today. My scale is over at my friend Deb’s house, since she has the digital camera. Late this afternoon I was heading over there to weigh in and get pictures taken. Just as I was getting into my truck I heard a strange noise from the barn. It sounded like a goat in severe pain. So I went out there to check on it, and there was Nan, heaving and bawling, with a kid about to drop. I went and got John (it’s his farm-I stay here to take care of the animals because he’s gone on business about two weeks a month). By the time we got out there, there were two little ones on the ground, covered in blood and straw and that film that baby goats come wrapped in. We held them up and let Nan and Jasper (the goat shepherding dog) lick them clean. Well, cleaner than they were, anyway.

Then we took Nan into the milk house and gave her some feed while we tried to get the kids to nurse. When Nan and Mildred have kids, they have trouble nursing because their udders are so full the teats are almost dragging the ground.

    (We call them Pamela Anderson and Dolly Parton). The kids’ instinct is to reach up to nurse, and when the teat is about an inch off the ground, they can’t find it. So while Nan ate, we coaxed the two little ones into nursing. It took a while, as they were twenty minutes old and scared and bewildered, but we finally got some milk down them, and then gave them nutrients.

By this time, of course, I was filthy, and I had to go back in and change clothes and clean up. By the time I got done it was too dark to take pictures, unfortunately. So John and I headed into town to celebrate my birthday. We went to Trotter’s in Fedvulle (the local pronunciation of Fayetteville), and, since it’s my birthday, I had what I wanted, and as much as I wanted. And it didn’t cost me nuthin’!

Anyway, hopefully, we’ll get the weigh in and pics done tomorrow. And I’m going to try to get Deb over here to get some pics of the baby goats, as lots of people want to see them. All four from the other day are doing fine; in fact, they’re so lively that I had trouble catching them to give them their nutrients. When I last checked the barn tonight, Nan’s newborns looked fine, too.

Six baby goats and my birthday. Not a bad week, no matter what the scale says tomorrow!

At my place we got an inch or two of snow between midnight and 4am. I was still up, and just before going to bed at 4:30, I went outside and it had turned to rain. So when I got up at noon, almost all the snow was gone.

As I walked out the door to feed the animals, I wondered if we’d gotten any new baby goats overnight. Sure enough, before I left the porch I heard a newborn crying. Turns out we have four new kids-Mary had two, and Cali had two. (Goats almost always have twins.) Mary’s are all white, just like her, and just like every kid she’s ever had. She’s got some real dominant genes! She’s also the dominant goat, so go figure. Cali’s looked like most of the rest of the goats-white bodies, brown heads. One’s a lighter brown, and one’s darker.

Mary’s had just been born-she was still eating the afterbirth when I walked out. Seeing that’s quite an appetite suppressant, believe you me. Cali’s two look strong and healthy, and are standing up with no problem, and I think they’re nursing pretty well to look that good. Mary’s two are pretty scrawny, and are having trouble standing up. I’m worried about all the new kids, but especially Mary’s two. They’ve both been nursing, but they’re quite weak. Hopefully they’ll be alright. I gave them all nutrients twice, and I check on them every hour or so. Usually, if the kids can make it past the first couple of days, they’re in the clear. I’ve got my fingers crossed. And there’s still four more goats due any day now, and I think Mildred may be about to pop at any time, since she doesn’t want to leave the barn.

Maybe I’ll put some pics up of some baby goats? Let me know if you’re interested in seeing them. I think they’re cute as all get out, but this is technically a blog about me losing 100 pounds, and I’m not sure where the baby goats fit into that. Of course, this does mean that soon I’ll be milking Nan and Mildred, the two milk goats, and I’ll be drinking some raw goat milk. It’s actually much better for you than cow’s milk, from what I understand, and it tastes just like it. Especially when you add Hershey’s Chocolate syrup!

Well, I’m working and keeping an eye on the goats, and with the weather I didn’t walk. But I’m still eating better than I had been recently, and weigh in day’s coming up fast.