Never thought retirement would be like this

Got lights strung in two large rectangles on the porch yesterday---one side and a third of the front. Simple. Nothing fancy. Waited 'til dark just to check it out before going ahead. It's going to look good, except I can't make the bulbs all face the same direction. Boo! Makes the lines look wobbly. Not perfect! ;) Just kidding.

Dentist in an hour, then out to check on Dixie this afternoon. Back on the porch tomorrow, or late this afternoon, unless she looks worse today. Should finish with just 2 or 3 more hours of work. So far it's been fun to do. :)
 

Nancy, you deserve a medal!:eek:nthego:
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Meanderer said:
How is Dixie, Nancy?
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Meanderer: Do you want the short story, or the long drawn out story, including every detail of my attempt to look at her teeth? It wasn't fun. If she didn't have a sore mouth before, she has one now, and my fingers are a little sore too. Ha!

Short story: If she were any of the other 3 goats, I'd say she is fine. But Dixie is the one that can be in a lot of pain and not show it at all. Even vets have noticed that about her. So I'll keep my eye on her and she how she does over the weekend.

I got back an hour or so before dark, rushed to finish putting up the lights, only to find 1/4 of one set not working after turning them on.:confused: Never had that happen before. Then it was too dark to check it. Been searching Youtube videos.

More details later maybe. I'm beat right now. Long day.:(

Thanks for asking, and Dixie would thank you too. :)
 
I knew better than to try to look at Dixie's teeth today, but gave it a try anyway. One front tooth was recently broken off at the gum, but didn't look decayed. You would need an X-ray to be sure. Stuck something in her mouth to keep her from biting down. Ran my finger along some of the back teeth and felt a lot of sharp points, but all that matters is if they are poking into gums. Impossible for one person to check that. Dental work almost has to be done under full sedation in a vet's office. That means fasting. Really want to be sure first. She is chewing cud only on one side.

Teeth problems should not be life threatening before some definitive sign shows up. So I'll just wait and see.

Btw, we had a tooth float done on another goat on a farm call about 4 years ago. They used a device to keep his mouth open (speculum) but it still took 3 people to hold him. These are students from the vet school, with the vet out front, and they had already given him a shot to calm him down. (The goat, not the vet ;) )

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This happened at Christmas too. Vet school is essentially closed now except for emergencies, but I wouldn't do it that way again. Turned out not to be the main problem with this goat anyway.
 
The last posting about Dixie is mostly just me arguing with myself. If there is something wrong with her, it can likely be fixed. I'm at a new stage with them now---health problems relating to age. Not as much information is available. I'll surely have to take her to the vet to be checked eventually. The question is when. It's a judgement call. I hate judgement calls.

The first time we had to haul a goat to the vet in my current truck, the only option was to just tie him in the back, head down low so he couldn't jump. You never know how they're going to react in a moving vehicle. That was illegal on the road. We needed an enclosure, but there was nothing available for goats that big that one person could lift in and out of the truck. This gives me a chance to show off another one of my goat related inventions. ;) :playful: :rolleyes::eek:

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This comes apart in 5 pieces. Each part is light weight. The sides hook together by slipping a long rod down into some rings at each corner. I can set it up or take it down in 15-20 minutes, and it doesn't take up much space to store.

I've not figured out a good way to make it rain proof. A tarp around it will hardly stay on and tends to trap the wind and make things worse. Good weather, it works great. Cold or rainy weather, not so much. We are anticipating a lot of cold rain in the next couple of weeks. :(
 
NancyNGA said:
The last posting about Dixie is mostly just me arguing with myself. If there is something wrong with her, it can likely be fixed. I'm at a new stage with them now---health problems relating to age. Not as much information is available. I'll surely have to take her to the vet to be checked eventually. The question is when. It's a judgement call. I hate judgement calls.

The first time we had to haul a goat to the vet in my current truck, the only option was to just tie him in the back, head down low so he couldn't jump. You never know how they're going to react in a moving vehicle. That was illegal on the road. We needed an enclosure, but there was nothing available for goats that big that one person could lift in and out of the truck. This gives me a chance to show off another one of my goat related inventions. ;) :playful: :rolleyes::eek:

truckcarrier2_zpscu8iqtih.gif


This comes apart in 5 pieces. Each part is light weight. The sides hook together by slipping a long rod down into some rings at each corner. I can set it up or take it down in 15-20 minutes, and it doesn't take up much space to store.

I've not figured out a good way to make it rain proof. A tarp around it will hardly stay on and tends to trap the wind and make things worse. Good weather, it works great. Cold or rainy weather, not so much. We are anticipating a lot of cold rain in the next couple of weeks. :(
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It might be easier to make the goat rain proof, would your goat agree to wearing a trash bag rain poncho?
 
Aunt Bea said:
It might be easier to make the goat rain proof, would your goat agree to wearing a trash bag rain poncho?
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Aunt Bea, it's funny you mention that. This picture was posted yesterday in the Humor section by Meanderer. It might actually work! :lol:

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Had to replace that one bad Christmas light set on the porch yesterday. So I just have 4 rectangles. Might add more today, but as long as I have the best display on the street, that is good enough! (Just kidding ;)). Next year I'll do better.

This is a picture just before I started to hang the lights. Note the two small arrows.

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The lower one was a new deposit on the fake bannister, and the upper one shows a series of little muddy smears, including a couple of pawprints, going all along to the house wall!!!

Close up:
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What were they doing up there!?! I really get a kick out of observing wild animal behavior sometimes (except squirrels).

Meanderer said:
.... Maybe the raccoons can help?:eek:nthego:
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I didn't take that comment seriously enough at the time. Maybe by next year I'll have them trained?

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I'm not just making this up. This is what I found in the goat feeder this afternoon!

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It is a goat tooth.

There is a 25% chance it came from Dixie.

What's the chance I would happen to find a tooth no matter who it belongs to? :confused: How long had it been there? Looks like it came out clean from the root. If it was hers, was it a bad tooth, or did I accidentally knock out a good one the other day? I guess if it came out that easily it was due to come out anyway. Only thing I noticed different today---she was chewing cud on *both* sides. I guess if her lips start covering her teeth again I'll know something.

Life is just full of coincidences, if you pay close attention. And puzzles.:rolleyes:
 
Meanderer said:
I Dropped Everything for My Dixie...
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Thanks, Meanderer. Read that woman's blog. Not impressed with her. That ear obviously needed stitches. Super glue is not for wounds like that!!! Any vet can do stitches on any ear, you don't need a *goat* vet.:rolleyes: Sounds like an excuse to me. Would like to have seen an update on how that turned out, wouldn't you? And I love the idea that the dog just *happened* to get its tooth caught in that hole.

Back to the tooth. I've been searching goat teeth to get an image of the roots of molars. That is a weird looking root on that tooth. Roots of young goat's teeth don't look a whole lot different than people teeth. Maybe they get that way when the goat gets old and the tooth is ready to fall out, IDK. More puzzles.

Dixie was doing well today. I'm not very worried.
 
NancyNGA said:
Thanks, Meanderer. Read that woman's blog. Not impressed with her. That ear obviously needed stitches. Super glue is not for wounds like that!!! Any vet can do stitches on any ear, you don't need a *goat* vet.:rolleyes: Sounds like an excuse to me. Would like to have seen an update on how that turned out, wouldn't you? And I love the idea that the dog just *happened* to get its tooth caught in that hole.

Back to the tooth. I've been searching goat teeth to get an image of the roots of molars. That is a weird looking root on that tooth. Roots of young goat's teeth don't look a whole lot different than people teeth. Maybe they get that way when the goat gets old and the tooth is ready to fall out, IDK. More puzzles.

Dixie was doing well today. I'm not very worried.
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Could that tooth have come mixed in with the feed?
 
Meanderer said:
Could that tooth have come mixed in with the feed?
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I suppose it's possible, but I think it would be unlikely. The alfalfa pellets come sealed in plastic bags, from Idaho, so it would have to happen at the PLANT that extrudes the pellets from hay and then bags them. It's a pretty automated process.

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By the way, while searching the Standlee Company I found on their website a recommendation to soak the pellets in water first, for older animals who had bad teeth. Useful information!!! :)
 
Meanderer said:
Sounds like Goatmeal!
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Ha! That reminds me, I used to tease my mother about taking care of the goats when they got old. I told her she would have to get up even EARLIER every morning and start a big pot of oatmeal cooking for them. Then tote it down to the barn and dish it out. I didn't let on I was halfway serious.

It might be easier to pulverize the pellets and make dry meal. You could spray it with vegetable oil to keep it from being dusty. It would keep longer. You got me started thinking about how to handle that situation when it comes.

Be prepared. Isn't that the Boy Scout motto?
 
I used to find dog teeth lying around here as they got older. How old is Dixie? Are you still contemplating taking her to the vet? Love the setup you made for your truck. Were you an engineer? You sure can come up with unique ideas for your various projects. Okay, I have not been on here for a while, so I gotta ask about the roof leak you found. They make great drywall patches at Home Depot or Lowes. Just cut out the opening the size of the patch and slap on the drywall mud, let it dry, sand it and then probably have to do it again before you get the smooth finish you are looking for. Then prime and paint. I have done this several times.
 
Maggiemae, all 4 of the goats will be 13 this spring. Average life expectancy is around 8-12 years. Depends on what website you read, and probably the breed too. I'm going to check her again tomorrow and decide, but she acted a lot better last time. The chewing on both sides really *IS* important. If they have a bad tooth they will favor the other side. Some do anyway, but she usually doesn't. No, I was not an engineer but my favorite toy was Lincoln Logs, and similar kits. :rolleyes:

What were your favorite toys? :)

We have not had enough hard rain yet to tell where the leak was coming from. As soon as we do, I'll first figure out what is necessary to fix that. The hole is about 5" across. Will one of those patches do something that big? Assumed I'd have to cut back to a support and put a whole chunk of drywall in first. A patch would sure be easier.

Thanks for asking and thanks for the information. I'll check at Lowes next time.

Added later:
Just found the PATCH thing on Lowes website, and it even has a video! Says 5" max. :D
 
My favorite toy as a child was "Tinker Toys". You could make all kinds of neat things with them. Wonder if they make them anymore? I wasn't big on dolls (that was my sister's thing), I had rather been outside riding bikes playing cops and robbers!
 
Pappy said:
Toys? Had to be the Christmas I got the super duper deluxe Gilbert Erector Set. Had all the bells and whistles ....
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I also had a Gilbert erector set. A small one. Still have it.:rolleyes: Never took a liking to erector sets much. Too tedious to put together maybe.:confused:
 

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