Iodine Deficiency in goats

"Iodine is as essential in goats' diets as it is in humans. Goiters are the most visible sign of iodine deficiency. Newborns whose dams are iodine deficient can be born with goiters. Commercial feeds and minerals contain non-iodized salt, so it may be necessary to offer iodized salt on a free-choice basis. A quicker method of getting iodine into the goat is to paint 7% iodine on the hairless tailweb and to offer kelp (seaweed) free choice."  -  Courtesy of Tennessee Meat Goats

I used the kelp & 7% Iodine method, which has worked VERY well!  Below are some pics of how to do an Iodine Deficiency test and treatment...

Just make sure the goat's tail web is clean.  Then apply a pretty good spot of 7% Iodine to the middle of the tail web

Check the the tail web 24 hours after you applied the Iodine

You'll know they're deficient if in 12-24 hours, the spot is completely gone and you see no trace of the Iodine.  But, if you can still see a mark, then the goat is most likely not deficient.

It's a good idea to test your goats for iodine deficiency often.  Another good practice is to paint the tail of the deficient goat every day, with the iodine.  The painting of the tailweb allows the goat's body to soak up the iodine.  If you don't want to test them, you can just give them kelp anyway...it won't hurt them!

Hope this was helpful to everyone :-)

Have a good weekend!
-Hannah

 

What is Homeschooling All About?

Since day one, I have been homeschooled by my two loving parents.  From my first day of school, I have enjoyed learning in the comfort of my own home, away from the many distractions that can often be present in a traditional public school.  Real-life experiences are in every aspect of my daily life, and here are some examples of what my siblings & I are involved in:

               - Buying & selling animals

               - Having both business & personal conversations & daily interactions with adults 

               - Learning to cook, organize and be a homemaker & homesteader

               - Gaining knowledge about lost & dying trades & activities

               - Slaughtering and butchering livestock

               - Learning to live off the land by growing & harvesting our own food

               - Field trips with other homeschoolers

               - Line dancing and choreographing dances with friends 

               - Learning how to start and operate your own business (most of us have some sort 

               - Lessons on managing money, time and finances

               - Songwriting and singing

               - Learning to play musical instruments

There are many more things that we learn on a daily basis that I could list off, but there are too many to list here.  Many of the activities in this list are the real-life things that a public school child might not have time to learn, considering the limitations he/she has due to the typical school system schedule.

I would also like to take this opportunity to dispel some of the most common misconceptions about homeschooling, & to answer some of the most common questions we hear from curious folks:

Question:
"What do you do about socialization?"

Answer :
We have the benefit of learning to socialize with many different age groups, not just our peers.  Field trips and other learning activities with other homeschoolers take place on a weekly basis, and are a very important part of our education experience.  Being able to carry on a good conversation with an adult is a very important skill to learn and starts at a very early age.  This skill enables home-educated children to be able to communicate with the real world when they grow up.  Most of my siblings & I already have our own home businesses that we run, in which we communicate with clients on a regular basis.

Question:
"How will they ever be able to get a college education?"

Answer :
It is often thought that we (homeschoolers) won't be smart enough to go to college.  Well, that is not at all true, in fact, home schooled kids often excel when compared with the average public school student.  Check out this article from the Home School Legal Defense Association:  http://hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000017.asp  -  Many homeschooled students go on to receive a college degree, & many universities actually desire home-schooled students because of their self-motivated style of learning & excellent track record of excelling in the college setting.

Question:
"How can a parent teach without a teaching degree?"

Answer :
Although some states in the US require a teaching credential for a parent to home educate their child, most states do not.  A parent makes a perfect teacher, because they know their child better than anyone else could.  There is a one-on-one connection with the parent & the child, & the parent can focus on strengthening any learning weaknesses the child may have.

Question:
"Aren't you bored with being schooled at home?"

Answer :
The fact is, no, I'm not bored with home schooling at all.  I'm so busy with being taught new things every day, meeting new people all the time, studying, running my own business and socializing with friends, that there really isn't any time or reason to be bored.  I feel very protected and safe right here, being taught by my parents at home.  Because of my great home-education experience, I will be fully armed in the future with the information & skills I will need to be successful.

Question:
"Are you out of school today?"

Answer :
This question is asked by people when we go shopping or run errands on a "school day".  Usually when we go to town, we are either just taking a break from bookwork to run into town and grab a few needed supplies, or we pack the backpacks full of our books and do school on the road...but school is never over for us!  The grocery store is even a learning experience.  Problem solving & math equations in the aisles are very common for us, LOL!  For example, Mom will teach us how to calculate the unit price on food items in order to get the best value on the product.  So, the answer is really no, we're not out of school today!  We're on a real-life learning "field trip"  :)


There are quite a bit more curious questions we get asked, but it's just too many to list!  I think there are many well-meaning people who are simply curious about what home-schooling is all about & they want to learn more about it.  I am more than happy to help them understand this wonderful method of education.

This was my essay project today, which my mother (teacher) assigned to me.  I hope, by reading this, you've gotten a better appreciation for homeschoolers and their unique place in our society.  The conclusion to this article is that homeschooling, if done correctly, can and will (Lord willing) produce a generation of smart, ethical and resourceful citizens of the United States.

Have a blessed evening and please feel free to leave your comments or questions!

~Hannah

GIVEAWAY: The Ultimate Kombucha Making Kit

Hi everyone,
Kristen M at Food Renegade is giving away a Kombucha Making Kit!  Come snag this deal at her blog:  http://www.foodrenegade.com/giveaway-ultimate-kombucha-making-kit/

 

Please follow her instructions carefully.

Thank you!

~Hannah

Back to posting...

Hi everyone,
I'm finally back to posting things on the blog.  Me and my family have been back for about 2 months now from Tennessee and it's been quit a rough time.

Mom has been diagnosed with chronic Lyme Disease.  It is a very serious and life threatening disease that causes all sorts of problems, from fatigue to seizures.  Animals such as ticks, dear, flees and raccoons can be carriers of this disease, but the most common by far is the tick.  This is not something to mess around with EVER!  I will Lord willing write more about this later, but for now here is a link to a site that tells you all about the disease:  lymedisease.org

I decided to go on a diet called The G.A.P.S. diet.  The reason for this change is from me experiencing heartburn and indigestion every day.  I've been on the diet for almost 10 weeks now and my heartburn is completely gone.  Here is the GAPS diet site, you can read more here:
www.gapsdiet.com


Over the past few weeks, I've been breeding all my does to our LaMancha buck.  Needless to say, it's not going very well and a lot of them have come back into heat, even after being bred.  So gave them all some Vitamin A, D and E powder (I got it from my local farmer's coop) to boost their immune systems and raise their chances of getting pregnant.

We leased our buck out to a lady who has some of the same breeding lines as our does, in trade for a registered guinea hog.  Now I am in sort of a dilema because I don't have a buck and will have to probably transport them to someone who has bucks. 
Anyway, thought I'd start posting again...sorry for my delay!

~Hannah

Gone to Tennessee!

Well, me and part of my family are leaving the farm for Tennessee tomorrow morning  :(  I'll tell you (Lord Willing) later about exactly why, but it's for a medical related issue.

So, my good friend's Suriyah and Kim (GoodGoats) are taking care of the milking goats...THANK YOU GUYS!!  My dad is going to take care of the rest of the farm.

So I'll probably not be posting anything for about a week...I mean, like I post that often anyway, LOL!

Goodnight and have a great week y'all!
~Hannah

Quick Oat Flour Pancakes - Gluten Free!

I've got another recipe for all of you  :)  These pancakes turned out SO fluffy and personally, I like them WAY better than the ready mixed batter you buy at the store...especially since they're gluten-free!  For the oat flour, I make my own out of regular oatmeal.

Pics of how to make your own oat flour below:

Grind oats in a blender

This is what you should wind up with...fluffy oat flour

This recipe makes about 15 pancakes.

Ingredients:

-4 egg yolks
-4 egg whites
-1 1/2 cups oatmeal
-1 1/2 cups oat flour
-2 cups milk (I use raw goat milk from my farm)
-4 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp salt
-8 tbsp sugar
-4 tbsp oil

Directions:

1.  Mix the oat flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl.

2. Pour milk into a pan and cook until slightly hot.  Turn off the heat and pour in the oats (not the flour).  Let that sit in the pan for 5 minutes.

3.  Separate the egg yolk from the white and put them in two separate bowls.  Then beat the egg yolk and oil together.

4.  Then, mix the egg yolk mixture into the dry ingredients.

5.  Beat the egg white until it's a bit frothy or has some air whipped into it and pour it into the main flour mix.  Don't just stir it in, but fold it until the batter looks fairly smooth.  Now you're ready to make pancakes!

6.  Take a spoon and just pour small amounts of batter into the pan (make sure you grease your pan).

Hope these turn out for you and are as delicious as they were for me :)

Goodnight!

~Hannah

Shared on:  Welcome Wednesday

Choco Apple & Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal

This is one of the easiest recipes to make and only takes about 50 minutes until it's ready to gobble up!  Being one of my family's favorite breakfast recipes, I make it all the time!

Ingredients:

-2 eggs
-6 cups oatmeal,
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-2 cups milk (I use raw goat milk from my farm)
-2 cups sugar
-2 tbs ground cinnamon
-3 apples slices super thin
-1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all of the above ingredients except the apples (save a few chocolate chips for the top).

Oil a 10x10 pan and then lay the thinly sliced apples on the bottom until covered.  Sprinkle just a little bit of cinnamon and sugar on top of the apples.

Pour the mix into the pan and even it out with a spoon.  Then (this is optional) lay a few apple slices and chocolate chips on top to make it look pretty :)

Pop it in the preheated oven and set your timer for 40 minutes.  You're DONE! 

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading.  You can also just make the simple baked oatmeal with this same recipe...just take off the apples and chocolate chips.


~Hannah

Shared on:  Surf Sunday  -  Super Mega 8