It has been busy couple of week at GraysLland Acres. Cookie, our Lamancha, had twins on the day it was -28 degrees. The male didn't make it because of the cold and the female made it until the second day. I stayed up with her the first night and she was nursing and I thought doing better. I kept them in my soap house where it was warmer, but the next morning she was so weak. I brought her in the house and we tube fed her and put her in a box with a heater blowing on it, but it wasn't enough. I had named her Candi, she was almost all white and a pretty little girl. It is always so hard to lose an animal because to us they are more than livestock.



A week later Brownie, our Alpine/Nubian cross, had triplets. The first one, a female, was badly deformed and didn't make it, but the other two, a female and a male are doing great. We named them Bettie and Barney. I wanted to post pictured, but I can't seem to download, so you will have to go to my facebook page to see the photos there.



Wednesday I found a Lamancha baby on Craig's list and made a deal to go get him on Thursday. My sister and i are always up for an adventure so Thursday afternoon we headed to Okemah in Dad's old truck. We found where he was and I fell in love with the little guy. He was older and bigger than I expected, but I wanted him so I could see if Cookie would raise him. I figured either was I would get a Lamancha buck out of the deal, not matter who raises him, Cookie or me. I had brought along a box, and we put the box in the front seat between us and headed for home. It was dark and we knew the dash lights were not working, so we used a flashlight to see how fast we were going. We got about 3 miles from home when we found out our tail lights didn't work. This was thanks to a highway patrol man pulling us over and giving us a warning about it. We showed him the goat and he let us drive on home with our flashers on.

When we got the baby goat home, we named him Oreo because he is black in the front, black behind and white in the middle, we put Cookie on the milk stand and he got up there and started nursing. She was not to sure about it all, so Steve had to hold her back legs. It didn't take him long to milk her out. Friday morning, she stood a little better and she has done better every time we put her on the stand. We have been keeping them in the barn at night together, but she is not letting him nurse unless she is on the stand. We have been putting them outside with the goats and dogs during the day. Oreo is eatting hay and grain and seems to be settled in at his new home.

Tonight I put Brownie on the stand and let Oreo nurse her, so I didn't have to milk. He is going to be a little butterball, if I keep this up.

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We have a couple of new goats at Graylland Acres. We tried all fall to find a couple more Nubian nanny goats and didn't have any luck, so when I saw some milk goats advertised in the paper, I decided why not.

We now have an Alpine/Nubian cross and a full blood LaMancha. They are both dairy goats, but both very different from our Nubians.

The Alpine dairy goat is a medium to large size animal. They are alert and graceful and the only breed with upright ears that offers all colors and combinations of colors giving them distinction and individuality. They are hardy, adaptable animals that thrive in any climate while staying healthy. They have a straight face and a Roman nose.

The LaMancha dairy goat is noted for its apparent lack of, or much reduced, external ears. The are medium in size and are noted for a generally calm, quiet and gentle temperament.

Both girls are due to kid around Valentines Day. Brownie, the Alpine/Nubian cross is bred to an Alpine buck. Cookie, the LaMancha, is bred to a LaMancha buck. We are very excited to see what our new kids will look like.

Our farm is now diversified. We have goats with long, droopy ears (the Nubians), we have a goat with almost no ears (the LaMancha) and we have a goat that has ears that stick out. They are longer than an Alpine's but do not droop like the Nubian.

We have vocal goats (the Nubians) and we have quiet goats (both the Alpine and LaMancha).

The Alpine, Brownie, was milked last year, so she know about the milking process. She isn't the easiest to catch, but since she understand what is going on we are in hopes she will be easy to get in the barn.

The LaMancha, Cookie, will be a first time momma. I had her on the milking stand and was able to trim her feet and shave her to get her ready for the birthing process. She did a real good job, once we got her on the stand.

So now you know - what's new at Grayslland Acres

How would you like to win some of the products you see on our website? Well, now is your chance. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment from the website. It is very easy to do, just go back to the website and click on contact, there you will be able to fill out a form and maybe you will be the lucky winner of some of the great Grayslland Acres products you see. When you fill out the form, please tell me how you found out about the contest. If it is from reading this, just say blog. You have until the 15th on February to enter and I will be posting the winner here and on facebook.

If you are on facebook become a friend of Grayslland Acres.

Is there lye in your soap? This seems to be a common questions about our soaps, so let me explain a little about soap making. The fact is that lye is indeed used to make soap. Soap, by definition, is the result of a chemical reaction between some kind of oil and lye. The reaction is called saponification. Very simply. Colors and fragrance can be added but it doesn't get you any cleaner. We don't add it so everyone can use our soap and not worry about allergies to fragrances and dyes.



Lye can be added by the soap maker, like we do when making our cold process soap, or it could have been added in a manufacturing facility. Some soap makers use a soap base that can be melted and then colored and scented. In that case, the soap maker doesn't have to handle the lye, but it was still part of the process in becoming soap at the factory before the soap maker got it. No lye? No soap. Period.

The soap you buy at the store had lye, but they might list things like "sodium Palmate" which is the chemical name for the result of mixing Palm oils and sodium hydroxide - oil and lye again! Or maybe the label list "saponified olive oil". Now that you know what saponification means, you can understand that saponified oils are oils that have been reacted with lye at some pint, even if the label doesn't actually say "sodium hydroxide".

Now I am sure some of your are thinking, "how can lye soap feel so good on my skin?" You might wonder if lye is used to make soap, why is handmade soap so gentle. The trick is that the lye gets used up during saponification. That's right, the chemical reaction transforms the oil and lye into soap and glycerin. The soap cleans your skins, but not so much that all the oils are stripped off, and the glycerin is a humectant., Which means that it attracts moisture from the air and onto your skin. This helps your skin stay moisturized and supple.We even add extra glycerin during our soap making process.

Do don't worry about using handmade soap, just enjoy all the benefits that is brings. Because the magic of chemistry has turned those oils and lye into something complete different and lovely; some of the best soap you can use on your skin.

Our soaps is even a better moisturising soap to use because we use goats milk. Generally speaking goat milk soap is highly sought after for its legendary skins healing and moisturising properties.

Graylland Acres Simply Goat Milk Soap has a pH level similar to our skins, which helps protect the skin for invading bacteria and chemicals we come in contact with every day. When you use one of our bars of soap, you are nourishing your skin, which is the largest organ of your body. You are doing your skin a favor by using our soap on a daily basis.

As mentioned before we don't use perfumes or dyes in our soaps or lotions, keeping it natural, that is why we call it Simply!

People who suffer from skin allergies, winter itches, eczema, psoriasis and dry skin are frequent uses of goat's milk soap.

Our soaps are made in small batches and aged to make them milder and longer lasting. If you take proper care of your bars of Grayslland Acres goat Milk Soap by keeping them in a soap dish that drains water away, they will last longer.

Commercial soaps have the natural occurring glycerin stripped out of them to resell to you in the form of beauty bars and lotions at a higher price. Our soaps have all of their natural occurring glycerin as well as added glycerin for that extra moisturizing benefit.

So as you can see goat milk is not only healthy for the inside of our bodies but also the outside. Goat milk's small molecular structure means that its beneficial properties are easily absorbed through the skin. By making face soap out of goat milk you will have access of its natural emollients, which can sooth and moisturizer the delicate skins of your face. We add oatmeal to some of our soap so it works as a great exfoliate.

Why should you use Grayslland Acres Simple Goat Milk Soap?

1. Becuse you can use it as a moisturizer. It is not hard like store bought sopaks, but soft and smooth to the touch. It leaves skin feeling silky smooth and doesn't cause dryness.


2. You can also use it on your face as well as your whole body. It is not harsh to the skin. In fact, it can even replace your mositurizer! I recommend the oatmeal for the face, but it can be used for the entire body and the regular bars can be used on the face.
   
3. You should use goats milk soap because it is packeed with vitamins and minerals. How many soaps can offer your skin that? Goat milk soap is enriched with vitamin B6, B12, D and more. You will be doing your skin a favor by using this soap on a daily basis.


4. Did you know you can use this soap to soothe bug bites? Just apply a lather of the soap to the bite and let it sit for a bit before rinsing.


5. Some say it even works as a bug repellent. Just take a dry bar of soap and rub it around your ankles, wrists, etc and it will keep the ticks and chickers away.


6. If you have problems with acne try our soap. Reserach shows that this soap has a pH level similar to your skin along with other vitamins and minerals started above. This soap also diminishes bacteria from the skin while keeping your skin moisturized at the same time.
   

I hope this has been helpful and that you will want to try our wonderfuly Graylland Acres Simply Goat Milk Soap. It will be on the website soon.

Meet Sugar and Beethoven! They were born April 22nd, to Echo and Lucky. Steve and I had been to Linda's to feed the llamas that we have at her place. It was about 7when we got home and went out to feed and we saw the two babies laying in the hay. They were not moving and I thought they were both dead. When I got over to them I realized they were breathing, but were very weak.







I sent Steve to the house to get some old towels and we wrapped them in the towel and started rubbing them. The little girl, Sugar, came around fairly quick. She started bawling and trying to stand up. Beethoven, the little boy, just laid there and didn't even try to lift up his head.



Echo is a first time Mother and acted like she didn't even know what they were. I did stand Sugar up and got her to nurse just a little bit. Echo just tried to walk off.



I milked out about 1/2 cup of milk for her and put it in a bottle and got over half of it down Sugar and a couple of swallows down Beethoven.




We put up a heat light and put the kids under it. They were both still shivering, especially Beethoven. I knew it was going to be a long night because I needed to feed them every couple of hours since they were not eating much at a time.

When I went out about 11 I decided this wasn't going to work, with me trying to get back and forth to the barn, so I got a box, put some hay in the bottom of it and moved the babies into the bathroom for the night. I got up every couple of hours and feed them. Sugar was eating good and standing up. Beethoven would get a few swallows down and that was all. All I could do was get him to lift up his head, but it didn't even try to stand.






Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep that night. I slept on the couch and set the alarm for every two hours, but didn't really need to because Sugar may be little, but she has a LOUD cry! She would let me know when she was hungry and I got Beethoven to eat a little bit each time I fed.


Friday morning and I went to my sisters and got a play pen from her, lined it in plastic, put some bed pads down, put hay on top of the pads, then put more bed pads on top of the hay. I moved the kids into the play pen and laid them on some towels. I put wire around the bottom so they wouldn't get their heads caught and to keep Missy and Peaches from trying to get in with them. Even though Peaches is a poodle, she still tried to Mother them and would come get me if they cried and I didn't get there fast enough for her.






Beethoven was two days old when he decided it was time to stand up. He is a very active little boy now and they are both doing great.

Having house goats isn't the ideal thing, so after I week I decided it was time to move them to the barn since I was only having to feed them every 6 - 8 hours and they were sleeping all night. I put a dog house in for them to get in and they both get in and snuggle in after I feed them.






They were not real sure what to think of the grass. They had been in the play pen for a week and then in the barn. They sure had fun exploring when I did let them out. They tried to nibble on everything including the 4 wheeler and dirt. Just like a couple of "kids"!

They are growing fast and a lot of fun. We now have them in a pen outside. We covered the back part of it with a tarp over the top, back and part way up the sides to give them shade. I moved their dog house in it so they have a place to sleep. I also put a couple of feed containers that I turned upside down so they can get up on them and jump off.