4H- A Family Affair

I never had the opportunity as a child to be a part of 4H. I never really knew anything about it until my boys were born and I started taking them to visit local fairs. As soon as Johnny was 7, I signed him up with a club about 40 minutes from us (this was the closest rabbit club to us). After a few meetings, we decided, with two other families, to start our own club. So, in 1999 I became a 4H leader. Our first club was just rabbits and cavies. The following year we added a poultry group. Things grew each year, we later added sheep. I am now a leader in a different club, in a different county, with a good friend of mine. Our club has again grown quickly and we have a very devoted membership, and very involved parents. We have kids working on Sheep,
Goats, Llamas/Alpacas, Poultry and Rabbits. We have a large Community Service component for our club- which the children and the community are benefitting from.


What do I like most about 4H? Hmmm. Maybe its sharing a love for farm animals with a great group of children. Maybe its the time I get to spend with my own children enjoying their animals. I love the fact that both boys and girls, of all ages, can do an activity together (unlike scouting- which my kids also enjoy- where sexes and ages are separated). I think one of the best things about 4H is that the parents can enjoy it along with their children.


I so often hear from parents in our club (and unlike my first club where most kids were dropped off and picked up- these parents more often stay and take part in the meetings) how they "are having as much fun as their kids in 4H!" What could be more wonderful than an organized activity that is truly fun for the whole family...pets included!


Want to find out about 4H clubs in your area? visit http://4-h.org

Bottle Feeding Goats

This has been our first experience bottle feeding goat kids. I shouldn't say that, we tried once years ago, and the kid died, and it broke my heart. I didn't plan on ever trying again. Well, when Lilly's first kid came out stillborn (a little buckling) with irregular looking amniotic fluid (looked infected), I grabbed the feet of the next two doelings and pulled them quickly out and got them cleaned up. Mom was not looking so good, so we put her on antibiotics. I am pleased to say she is coming along nicely and hopefully will be fine. The two doelings are over two weeks old now, and just thriving! We are bottlefeeding three, as that same night Sarah, one of our angoras, gave birth to a little nubian/angora buckling. I figured I'm bottle feeding two, might as well three! I have to say, I've never had such friendly goatlings!!

When I bottlefed that first goat years ago, I used the goat formula you mix up. I was worried about having the same results as before, so I looked up online to see what other people use. One website that I have always trusted the information on suggested whole cows milk with corn syrup mixed in (of course, fresh goat milk would be ideal, but I knew I wouldn't have enough to feed three kids). I decided, hmm, makes sense. The site http://www.fiascofarm.com/ said "real cow's milk was better than fake goat milk" which made perfect sense to me. Als0- no mixing needed. Easy to get. If you run out in the middle of the night- it is sold everywhere.

What I ended up doing is using whole cow milk, adding whatever goat milk I got from the mommas, adding a little goat drench to some of the bottles, and a little corn syrup to the milk. About once every other day I add a tiny bit of sulmet for coccidia. The goats are doing so well. They are growing daily and have doubled their birthweight at 2 weeks. They are active and healthy. And, I am still sane! (In spite of the one night they decided they were STARVING at 2am!) I have learned, feed them a little extra right before bed, and turn off the light! Then they just might sleep.

Would I do it again? Absolutely! The goats are bonding to the humans, and hopefully will make awesome 4H projects for the children! It didn't take all that much extra work, and it was kind of fun! With two more does to kid this week, I am hoping that those kids will stay with their moms, though, and three kids are keeping me busy enough! But, if I have to bottlefeed, at least I'm not terrified of it anymore!!

Needle Felting Classes, New Animals, 4H

Beginning next month I will be able to offer classes in needle felting at Cupola Hollow Farm in West Suffield. Our first class offering will be a beginner level class and we will be creating holiday pins/ornaments. If all goes well, we will continue to offer various classes there, including other beginner needle felting classes, intermediate classes, "painting" with felt classes, wet felting classes and more. Our November Newsletter (you can sign up on the http://www.tranquilmorningfarm.com/ website) will include dates and information about available classes.

We've added some new fiber animals to our wonderful farm. We have two new llamas who will be arriving soon, Nicole and Peek a boo. Both females, who we plan on breeding to Dominoe of Henson's Menagerie. We now have 3 female alpacas (one of whom was born on our farm recently) and four male alpacas. We have settled on breeding shetland sheep, shetland/icelandic crosses and cormo/cotswold crosses. The crosses have been carefully thought out to achieve a particular type of fiber. We are presently breeding our colored angora goats, nigerian dwarf goats, and nubian dairy goats for early spring kids.

Our 4H club is off to a running start this year. We have already had a couple of community service projects and have a couple of big ones planned for this year, including bringing 4H activities and our animals to a housing complex in the city. Our club, at last count, has 19 members doing alpacas and llamas, dairy, meat and fiber goats, sheep, rabbits and poultry. Sounds like a fun year!!