Sick Critters

So living on a farm isn't always wide open spaces and frolicking in the fields!

I came home on Friday to a sick goat. Nephi looked like he was about to give birth to triplets and he was frothing that the mouth. Actually his cud was coming out his mouth. I called the vet. Richard said that it sounded like choke and bloat, to try massaging his neck to relieve the blockage. I tried and failed so Richard came out.

He sedated my 125 pound yearling buck and proceeded to tube him, while R and I held him in place and nephew Byron and Grandma watched. Nephi got some electrolytes and mineral oil to rehydrate and knock down some of the foam from his bloat. We put him away and he immediately lay down and moaned for an hour.

In the mean time, we vaccinated all of the horses. I was concerned about Max since last year he reacted to the west nile vaccine. I was assured that this was a different vaccine and he should be fine. All of the horses need to see the dentist in fall... So that means a full trailer loaded to the vet and a half day with sedated horses...

I went out to check Nephi later in the evening and he was up, but still not real happy about life. He was still moaning and water/oil was dripping out his mouth. He had one of those 'too much Thanksgiving Feast' looks. But he was on his feet, which was an improvement. Lacey was less than thrilled since she shares with Nephi and he wasn't allowed to eat, which also means that she gets to fast. I had to put P in with the babies since I was weaning them and they couldn't figure out how to eat grain. They are starting to figure it out.

Hopefully soon we will be able to finish the buck pen and move Nephi and Helaman in together. Then Lacey, P, Dawn and Pearl can start learning to get along. It will be a hard transition for Nephi and Lacey. Nephi because he loves Lacey and Lacey because she doesn't like little goats... At least Dawn and Pearl are fast runners and can probably out run Lacey for the most part!

We checked on Nephi before leaving for the conference and he was back to normal; trying to bite fingers and crying because he thinks he is starving. I updated the vet at 6:30, and got the OK to feed them when we got home that night.

When we got home from the conference and pulled up to the barn I immediately knew something was wrong with Max. It is hard to explain but his nose was funny. He had a wrinkle in his nose that I have only seen once before... Yes, last year when he had the reaction to the vaccine. Now, if you recall, west nile is a neurological disease, so the reaction is neurological. Not fun to have a 2,000 pound horse with a nerve issue. I haltered him and handed him off to R to hold while I ran back to the house for the hot pad. The cure for this reaction is heat applied to the injection site. I came back out to the barn and plugged in our barn hot pad. R got me a sweater out of the truck and we stood for 45 minutes with a hot pad on Max's neck. The neurological symptoms are easy to spot: twitching, muscle tremors, inability to hold the head up, can't swallow, dehydrated, tripping and trouble standing and walking. With Max we have a super easy way to tell medical issues: he gets friendly. Max is very independent, he loves me and tolerates R. If R pets him and Max snuggles, stands still or doesn't react instead of pinning his ears and walking away, there is a problem! If I pet him and he snuggles back instead of tolerating me, there is a problem! Anyhow, after standing in the barn for 45 minutes during a cold windy rain I can happily report he is back to normal!

Pumpkins

I was talking to a co-worker this morning about Halloween, weekend plans, weird costumes and weirder people. During our conversation I mentioned that at a training I presented last week, one of the guys came in with homemade Cajun spiced pumpkins seeds.I was surprised that people still do that kind of thing. I remember my Mother making pumpkin seeds once or twice - actually I remember eating them and not the making at all. So, in talking to my friend, I decided that I was going to make pumpkin seeds tonight. Being the adventurous cook that I know her to be, she agreed that it was a good idea and helped me find recipes.

The recipes (posted at the very bottom of this post) call for 1 cup of seeds. Do you have any idea how many cups you get from one pumpkin? Me either, not a clue! So I got 4, just to be safe. I am happy to report that 4 pumpkins is plenty.

So here we go...

I arrived home to find Max munching on leaves.He had a snotty nose and was coughing. It was a 'boogie' nose and was worth calling the vet. We decided that he did not need to make the trip in, but should probably be put on antibiotics. I grained everyone (horses get grain at night in winter), gave Max his antibiotics and went back to the house.

Feeling industrious and wanting to assert my independence now that my neck is doing moderately better, I decided to change the recessed halogen light bulbs in the kitchen. I have no idea how they do it, but flies and moths crawl in there and die. Very small space and not a lot of room - you would think they would be smarter than that. Anyhow, I got that done and cleaned up all of the little bodies and decided that it was time to tackle my next project. Either fix the milking stand or harvest pumpkin seeds. The milk stand weighs about 100 pounds and I can only lift 17, so that was out. Harvesting pumpkin seeds only requires a knife and happen to have several of those!

I set them up on the tailgate and started. I carved two. Not bad at the carving but the harvesting seed part is awful! Have you looked at the inside of a pumpkin recently? It is stringy, sticky, slimy, orange and smells a bit off.  Bleck!

I took the carved face pieces out to the goats to see if they would eat it. Lilly, as usual, picked at it and nibbled a little. Portugal ate a few pieces and decided that she likes grain better. Nephi ate as much as he could but Lacey, the pig kept pushing him out of the way because she loves pumpkin! She loves everything but especially pumpkins! At least I have something to do with the jack-o-lanterns when we are done. R met me at the house and we finished carving and harvesting seeds from the final two pumpkins. I think they turned out very well! What do you think?

I took the seeds inside to start the 'making' process. If there is a simple way to get the seeds cleaned and detached from the gross stringy stuff, I would like to know. That was the hardest part of the whole endeavor and the point at which I almost gave up. If you have an idea, please leave me a comment or email me!

The dogs of course wanted to play and be obnoxious. I am trying to learn to use the video feature on my phone, so here goes:

I set the seeds to soaking while we went to ride. Of course I couldn't ride Max because I am concerned he is getting sick. I am thinking maybe he is allergic to some of the leaves and wood chips that we had delivered last wee and not sick, but we will have to wait until tomorrow. 

R rode Bella and worked on loping around the field. I started Molly and tried to show Mom how to sit the trot with out bouncing around too much. She did a fantastic job and had a great time. She and Molly are a great pair and work very well together. I am constantly amazed at how far they have both come in the last 3 years. I'll try to get some photos next time.

  

When it got dark, we lit the jack-o-lanterns; what do you think?! Success?

 

 

After an few hours I went back in to finish my seeds. I did one Sweet and Spicy and one Garlic and Onion. R really likes the Garlic and Onion! I am planning to take a sampling to the Ward Halloween party tomorrow. The recipe for the Sweet & Spicy is below, for the others I used a bit of oil and the Garlic & Onion seasoning for burgers.

Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients
1 cup raw cleaned whole pumpkin seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
Place the pumpkin seeds on a cookie sheet, and spread them out into a single layer. Roast until brown and crisp, about 45 minutes. Set the seeds aside in a large bowl.
Place the cinnamon, chili powder, and 1 teaspoon of sugar in a bowl, and set aside.
Place olive oil and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, and heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar turns a light golden brown color. Watch it carefully to avoid burning.
Pour the caramelized sugar mixture over the roasted pumpkin seeds, and stir to coat. Pour the cinnamon-chili powder mixture over the seeds, and toss to coat the seeds with the spices.