homemade baby wipes / udder wipes recipe

I think I might finally have found my goat wipes! And of course the winner is the recipe from Fias Co Farm of course: I'll have to stop by Greenstar for essential oils and Wegmans for the off the shelf items - and keep my eyes open for a good food storage container (can always feed the contents to the chickens, if we or the kid won't eat it LOL).

From the Fias Co Farm website:
I like to keep homemade "goat wipes" on hand in the barn for cleaning up goat baby butts, or does during that "leaking time" after they've given birth, or just to wipe my hands. You can also use these as udder wipes since the essential oils give it an antibacterial quality.

To make your own goat wipes, find a food storage container (a coffee can will rust) that will hold a roll of paper towels that have been cut in half. Use only Bounty paper towels, anything else will just become a mushy mess. Cut a roll in half with a bread knife. Remove the cardboard tube. In the container mix:

* 1 Tbs. baby oil (or Calendula oil)
* 2 tsp. Dawn dish washing detergent
* 2 C water
* 5 drops Tea Tree essential oil
* 5 drops Lavender essential oil

(I used to add commercial teat dip in the hope that it would give it an antibacterial quality, but when mixed, the dip's strength dissipates quickly so it's really just a waste of money.)

Place the half paper towel roll into the container, remove it, turn it over, and place it back in. To use your wipes, remove them from the center of the roll.


Another baby wipes recipe, though not recommended for goat wipes as it is not antibacterial. From Backyard Chickens Forum

Strong paper towels work the best.
Cut one roll of paper towels in half.
Take out the core so wipes pull out of the center.

Make solution of 2 cups water, 1/2 cup of baby oil, 1/2 cup baby magic baby bath

Place 1/2 roll of paper towels in container. Pour solution over towels. Store in container. Makes 2 1/2 rolls.

From Countryside Magazine, volume 94 page 76.
Use a roll of absorbent paper towels and cut in half (so not use a serrated knife). Remove the inner cardboard core. Find a container with a lid for the roll to fit snuggly into. Cut an X or very small opening in the center of the lid. This is to pull the paper towels from the center of the roll through.

2 tablespoons Kosher V-6 Oil or (organic) olive oil
1 tablespoon unscented bath gel base
2-6 drops lavender essential oil
2 cups warm water

Note: she finds the V-6 oil much lighter on the skin than olive oil.

natural Laundry Detergent available

one gallon jars of EGG DROP SOAP
or natural liquid unscented laundry detergent
$10 each

home made from traditional soap making recipe
bottled in recycled vinegar jugs

ingredients: water, fels naptha, borax, washing soda
directions: add 1/2 to 2/3 cup per load
add 1/2 cup of white vinegar to soften clothes if needed
shake well before use - separation happens (hence the egg drop appearance)

I used it to launder my baby son's diapers since he has (had) skin problems from all the additives & scents - and now I use of for all our laundry :-)

the Icelandics of Rien Poortvliet

If you are interested in the Icelandic Horse I uploaded several pages from Dutch painter Rien Poortvliet's book "Van de Hak op de Tak" to my Picasa page featuring Icelandics. He ended up owning / enjoying two Icelandic Horses, Gustur and Ko, and his paintings and drawings of the two are inspiring. Enjoy!

Maybe someday I'll take the time to translate the little stories he wrote with them...

suustainable Garden Benches

A new project; and available to the general public from Suustainable: repurposed wood Garden Benches. These beautiful low carbon footprint garden benches are available either as kit or assembled and are listed for sale on Craigslist.com in the Farm/Garden section.

A little background:
I was looking for a nice wood garden bench to enjoy our swamp view with our toddler son. All the outdoor benches available are either poor quality and expensive, or good quality but very expensive - and all made from woods from very far away (pine imported from Germany?! hardwoods from California?!) even though New York has abundant wood resources.

So, I searched the internet for an ergonomic outdoor bench design and found one I really like, that sits wonderful and looks great. I made one, hauled it out to the woods and the swamp overview and have never had so many positive remarks about one of my projects...

Since I enjoy wood working and really enjoy "jutten", a Dutch word for going to the beach after foul weather and finding 'free' goodies (my granddad actually was a real one, found many interesting things on the beaches of Vlieland) I hereby offer my building and collecting skills to you for a nominal fee :-)

About my benches...
- Each one is different, depending on the resources available.
- The woods used are:
• locally harvested and milled ruff cut or finished hemlock
• rescued shipping wood (mostly pine)
• locally harvested and milled natural edge hardwood planks
- The legs, backrests and armrests are either hemlock or hardwood for durability and safety.
- The armrests are sanded down with rounded edges for comfort.
- Weather resistant hardware (star bit self drilling screws).

The benches come in three basic designs:
- Made from repurposed materials only: $75 kit or $100 assembled
- Frame made from repurposed materials, back and seat natural edge hardwood: $90 kit or $125 assembled
- Both frame and seat made from finished hemlock: $110 kit or $150 assembled

The kits come with detailed instructions, clearly labeled pieces and a baggie of hardware. It takes me about 5 hours to cut and assemble one bench. It should take you about 1,5 to 2 hours to assemble one, less if you have woodworking experience.

You can set it in the garden as is for at least a decade (and a half) of use, or treat it with your preservative of choice (wax, oil, stain or polyurethane).

Contact us for more information or to order!
Pick up in Ithaca on west hill near the hospital or delivery within reasonable distance.

Why do I like horses? I think I must be mad.
My mother wasn't horsey - And neither was my dad.

But the madness hit me early - and it hit me like a curse.
And I've never gotten better. In fact I've gotten worse.

I hardly read a paper - but I know who's sold their horse.
And I wouldn't watch the news - Unless Mr. Ed was on - of course.

One eye's always on the heavens - but my washing waves in vain
As I rush to get the horses in - in case it's gonna rain.

I spend up every cent I've got - on horsey stuff for sure
I buy harness, carts and fancy boots - and then I buy some more.

I can't sew on a button - I don't even try
But I can back a truck and trailer - in the twinkling of an eye.

It's jeans and boots that I live in night and day
And that smell of sweaty horses that just wont wash away.

I ache from long forgotten falls. My knees have got no skin.
My toes have gone a funny shape - from being stomped on again and again.

But late at night, when all is still - and I've gone to give them hay,
I touch their velvet softness and my worries float away.

They give a gentle nicker and they nuzzle through my hair
And I know it's where my heart is - more here than anywhere.

- Author Unknown

reposted from the St. Skutla Icelandic Horses Yahoo Group.

have spare energy?

go chop down a bunch of trees and built a few bonfires - it works like a charm :-)

After learning about the bone tumor thingy I got just a little nervous... Instead of googling tumors or thinking about any biopsy results I thought of something laborious to do that Simon the 2 year old would enjoy as well and voila: now we have a walk through the woods. Nice thing is that Simon fairly regularly asks to go hike back there (bos! bos!), not so nice thing is that it suddenly turned winter and halfway through he or we get chilled and then it's a long way back to the house... but hey, we're Dutch, back yards that large is not something we should complain about :-)

I know, it does not look like much, but believe me: there were so many small shrubs and fallen wood even Simon could not get through without getting caught, tripping or tripping while getting caught! So I built a small wood collector on the trailer of the lawn tractor (basically six upright 2x4's , one in each corner and one in the middle of the long sides to gather all the downed wood and chopped down shrubs to the bonfire pit. I think I did that for about two weeks, several times in the weekend once or twice during week days depending on weather - I must have hauled at least 25 loads of scraps out of those woods to make it (goat) kid safe! I really had some energy to spare, I guess :-)

This view is looking back, the mature trees are on the house side and the New York State Protected Marshland (we call it the swamp) is on the left. Which does mean about half the trail is pretty muddy so when it has rained the lawn tractor has a tendency to get really stuck! I did get two car trailer loads of wood chips from the city to raise things up a bit which does help (no snow cover means wet, muddy ground in pics), but for now when it's really wet it's just not drivable.

And why all this effort?
Couple of reasons: my handicapped sister comes to visit us in February and I plan to have her ride the lawn tractor (snow chains?) all around the place to see for herself what all the fuss is about. She sees the postings and the pictures but last time she was here we tried to push her around in the wheel chair and that just did not work.

Simon needs his physical time, especially in winter. The boardwalk is not all that long yet - large water willow came down and needs to be chainsawed first - and this loop thru the woods makes our hike around the goat pasture just different enough it's fun. Plus, I made a raised platform with a bench (so I can take a rest) for an open view over the swamp and that just turned out gorgeous... the view's not ours but I don't think those neighbors would mind sharing it!

And one more thing: goats like woods. Hopefully this spring I can fence off part of the woods to create a temporary pasture for the girls where they can munch young tree growth in spring (keeps the forest floor more open) and leaves in fall. They won't be allowed in there when they're into tree bark (mostly late fall & winter) to protect our beautiful large sugar maple trees.

I situated the trail with an eventual goat fence in mind as I would like to use live trees as occasional fence posts with steel t-posts in between. From Michael's swamp experiences, most of his pasture is wet at least part of the year, I learned to use tall ones - and so we learn from each others' experiences!

what I learned about worming goats

This whole goat keeping has quite a learning curve, especially since any book you read and anyone you'll ask has a different opinion and way of doing things! Plus, most internet sites are not local to your area so what works for them does not necessarily apply or work for you...

in short: what I learned asking anyone I could find:
don't try and figure it out yourself, instead focus on finding a goat specializing veterinarian and have her inspect your flock and living conditions and ask for advice - she knows the area and any problems other goat keepers might have.

do not worm everyone and do not worm on a schedule - consult with a vet, or collect fecal samples yourself, for fecal worm egg counts and only treat the ones who need it. It's just like antibiotic use: the worms become resistant from regular exposure.

do no listen to sales people; they're great for general info but are not trained vets...

if you find a wormer off the shelf do not trust the dosage on the label if it is not specifically labeled for goats; of course they are different and need a much larger dosage a vet will need to tell you...

In our area Cornell Ambulatory Clinic and especially Dr Mary Smith are very good goat resources. They sure know about goats, come right to the farm and are affordable. They will let you (and show / teach you) give subQ injections like booster shots and they can process your fecal samples to determine your worming schedule. Dr Mary Smith prescribed labeled for goat Safeguard, available locally at Tractor Supply for about $20, to worm my herd of three (but only two, the kid was ok).

I found two other wormers which I'm interested in:
Molly's Herbal Wormer which is a weekly feed additive consisting of once every 8 weeks a dose of formula 1 herbal wormwood combination and the other weeks a dose of formula 2 herbal weekly worm formula & tonic. It's not that expensive, it's organic and it helps boost general health and the immune system. But; formula one can not be used in pregnant goats, and of course I just bred both Thirteen and Monica...

Another one that looks interesting, and is also available for poultry, is Verm-X USA which are certified organic herbal intestinal parasite control pellets. It seems to come out to about the same cost per month, or maybe a little more than Molly's, but they're imported from England and it does not always seem to be available.

Both Molly's Herbals and Verm-X have horse specific organic wormers available as well.