Snuggled in, bottle baby, class tomorrow, travel Thursday and Friday

The temperature yesterday never got above freezing. It got close. It was that forecast that had worried me enough to build the shelter in the goat barn. With the windy, cold conditions yesterday I told Mama she did not need to be in any hurry to get out to feed. The animals would stay bedded down until the sun was well up. Even when conditions are cold, the sun will still warm the ground enough that animals can bed against a dry spot and let the sun warm them. Since all of our animals have protection from the wind and rain, hay to bed in and each other for warmth, there would be no hurry on their part to roust about and disturb any warmth they had found thought the frigid night. That turned out to be true. When Mama did go out, nothing was stirring and even her putting out feed did not encourage our goats to get out of their beds. She told me it was well into the morning before the goats started moving about. As always, the chickens were ready to fly the coop as soon as there is a hint of light. They welcome me or Mama as soon as we get out to open the coop doors.

The sheep were a little more eager to get to the feed. Mama told me that the ewes, which usually give her a wide berth, were crowding her at the feeders. That is unusual. She was a little surprised by the attention, so she did not immediately notice that the triplet lambs were not out with their mama. When she looked, all three were snuggled against the heater I put in the shelter within the goat barn. They were not leaving. When I got home yesterday evening, Mama said they had stayed tucked against the heater almost the entire day. They had only begun to stir late in the afternoon. That is what it was there for. The heater in the enclosure will be turned off Wednesday evening. The nighttime temperatures are predicted to stay in the forties. The days are going to warm into the seventies. North Texas is like that. Start the week at 20° and end the week at 80°.

Mama has been watching the triplets closely. One of the three seemed to be falling behind the other two. That is not uncommon with triplets. So, yesterday evening we made a bottle for that lamb. Mama worried over catching the lamb because by this time all the sheep were back to their skittishness about us. When we fed yesterday evening, they all exited the barn in a hurry. When we went back out with the bottle, they did the same. It is pretty funny. They exit the barn and go all the way around it to come back in at the same door. So, Mama and I had a seat on a box we keep in the barn and waited. It took about five minutes for the ewes to feel confident enough to reenter the barn to get to the feed we had just put out. When they did, the lambs followed. When our target got close enough that I could catch it, I picked him up – all other sheep exited the barn to make the exterior circuit of the barn. By the time they got back we were feeding the lamb his bottle.

Getting a lamb or kid or calf to take a bottle is initially a challenge. It is strange to them. Uncomfortable. But once they discover the contents it is rarely a problem to keep them going emptying the bottle. That proved true again yesterday. It took a couple tried for the lamb to get the nipple into his mouth the right way, but once he figured it out, he went to town. He was not able to drink all that Mama had made, but he got his little belly full. Mama felt better about him once he had eaten to his fill. It will be interesting to see if he seeks Mama out this morning. That usually does not happen until they have been fed from a bottle several times. He will eventually get to the point that he cries for his bottle at his scheduled feeding times – if we need to continue the separate feedings.

I will be in class tomorrow and Thursday. We are doing a pilot class for an instructor led training being put together so see how the industry responds to the material. It is a “soft skills” class. A “how to play well with others” training. The training is aimed at supervisors right now but will be adapted for the general employee as we develop it. Things like what to say and what not to say in an email; how to effectively interact with a subordinate; how to listen; when to speak and not speak, etc. I have not seen the material yet, but I am slated to teach the class once it is formally offered. I have a feeling the class will be well received by the industry since we have abandoned teaching those skills in our schools – especially our universities and colleges. The common adage in the industry is that people are hired for their technical skills and fired for their soft skills.

Mama, Victoria and I will be traveling Thursday afternoon and Friday. We are headed to Amarillo for Owen’s first birthday. Brittany and the twins will be traveling there as well. It should be fun. While I am there, I will get our taxes for last year organized with the accountant we have there. It is our first time to use this tax service.  

That will not be as much fun.