Hey Tea Tribe!!
H: First of all before I even go on with the typical business as usual dialogue, that cold was reallllll! I swear my African ass almost went back. Anyways, it’s Halima today. You guys have me all to yourselves because I have so much news about that infamous five day freeze. Dria will pop in to say hi at the end and probably edit the crap out of what I’ve written, and then post it. If you know me at all, you know technology is not my forte.
Anyways, we had two baby goats on the farm on the second of February, and if you guys are following us (which I’m sure you are) I posted a video of them the day after they were born. The cold front hit on Monday and was supposed to last 5 days. So, Monday to Friday I knew I might not make it to the gym or to take the kids to music class in Memphis.
On Tuesday, Mr.Brown called and said he went into the goat pen and one of the female goats had had a baby perhaps that night and the two new babies were on the snow. We live in Mississippi, so all of this was unexpected and the barns don’t have heaters. They are actually more like glorified carports with a third covering on the side, mainly to keep the animals away from the rain. So we went into one of the old houses that have been on the property for decades and pulled out a very old heater. One of those heaters they had probably from the 40’s looked like a giant can with an opening on the bottom front for coal and a round tip for the smoke to go out.
When we brought the heater in (it took 3 people), we noticed that the two babies that had been born about a week and a half earlier went and wrapped their bodies around the heaters. The new babies were very weak at that point and we had to open their mouths to squeeze colostrum from their moms. I noticed though that in the midst of all that, the mom of the other two goats was not letting them feed. I thought she was probably too cold to care, and just wanted some heat. We hung out in the freezing barn for a bit and tried to keep the babies (all four of them) a bit away from directly laying on the edge of the heater because they had started getting burn marks from the heat. We put a cover in a section and left thinking they would be warm and well fed.
Well the next day, Brown called and said both babies from the day before had passed. I almost suggested that I take them home with me the day before, but I have never raised goats before and didn’t know anything about them. I did tell Brown what I had thought of and he remembered because the next day he called and said one of the babies from the first set of babies was dead and would I consider taking the last one in. He said he was pretty sure it wouldn’t make it, but at least it could get a chance. I said I would do it and Mike and I went with a tub to pick up the baby and we also picked up a bottle with a giant nipple and some hay for her to lay in. She was shivering and very, very skinny. I wrapped her up in a blanket and sat in front of the propane heater we have in the living room.
D: Hey you guys! I’m cutting Halima off at this wonderful cliff hanger. Be sure you guys follow us on social media to stay up to date on the goat as well as all around progress. She’s alive and well, playing with Halima’s kids and chewing on my shoe laces.
Don’t forget that you can purchase teas for delivery in early summer! We’re still accepting orders for the YAC CSA program and can’t wait for you all to enjoy our products. Here's the cute baby goat begging you to buy some tea; who could say no that that face?
