GraysLland Acres

New Kids

2011-02-27T14:13:00.003-06:00

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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Breaking News

2011-02-03T07:45:00.000-06:00

Well, I guess it is no longer "breaking news" about the Blizzard in Oklahoma. We got up Tuesday morning to snow coming down fast and furious. Before it was over we had 20 inches of snow on the ground. I know for people further north, that is not a big deal, but for us in Oklahoma, it is. The snow was on top of 1/2 - 1 inch of ice. We had drifts 3 - 4 feet high around the house.

Because we are responsible for the animals that live on our farm we can't close. I found the following on FB and posted it to my page. It pretty well sums it up.

"BREAKING NEWS: There will be no farms closed due to the blizzard. Each and every farmer will be out in the blistery, cold, blowing wind and heavy snow fall tending to their livestock. They will be praying for machinery to work and non-frozen water pipes. If you know or love a farmer, say a prayer for him or her and post so that the prayer line may grow that our farmers be safe."

The animals are doing fine. Even though it was -7 this morning with a wind chill of -21. We have 2 nannies in the barn and our two kids from last spring. The nannies are due next week, but I didn't want to take a chance of them being early. We have the heated dog waters in for them. They have to be checked and filled 2-3 times a day, because they don't hold a lot of water, but at least they can get a drink when they need to.

The llamas are loving it. I swear you can see them smiling. We brushed the snow and ice off their hay pile so they could eat and they were happy about that. I opened up to the other pen so they could have more shelter, but they just go over there to eat and come back to the other pen.

The goats don't like the cold and snow like the llamas, alpaca and Great Pyrenees dogs, but seem to be doing fine. We have been lucky and not lost electricity so the water heaters are working for everyone.

I think the road graders were out yesterday and graded our road, but that doesn't help get us out of our drive way. We tried to 4-wheelers and got them both stuck. Thank goodness we don't HAVE to get out.

I'll keep you posted on the nannies and will be posting pictures when we have new kids.

Here are some more pictures of what we have been working in the last couple of day.

If you look real close between the gate and building you can see Duke's nose and eyes.

Dutchess is smiling in the pictures. Duke is just enjoying the attention and yes that is me, Myra, all bundled up, with three shirts, three pairs of pants, 3 pairs of socks and gloves, plus the overalls! Still got cold. It takes longer to "suit-up" and undress than you can stand to stay outside.

What's new?

2011-01-27T18:50:00.002-06:00

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

Chance to win...

2011-01-25T18:44:00.002-06:00

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 our soap?

2010-12-04T11:26:00.006-06:00

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?

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.

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.
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.

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.

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.

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.

Milking goats and New Kids

2010-06-09T10:12:00.005-05:00

I know it has been a while since I blogged, so just a short one here so you can see my milking set up. This is Lollipop on the milk stand.

We are getting about a gallon and a half a day from our goats. Not great, but enough for what we need right now. We are miking 5 now, but Jill is only milked once a day because we are letting her raise her babies, May and Max.

Here are some of the first pictures of May and Max. May looks just like her mama and Max looks like his daddy.

So this is May getting her first drink of milk. I can't believe the difference in the development of the kids when they are taken care of by their mama's. May and Max were up on their feet and eating in about an hour. This is so different from Sugar and Beethoven who could not stand until they were a couple of days old.

Max looks like Val, his daddy who we no longer had, but he was a full blood Nubian.

Jill is 1/2 Nubian, 1/2 Boar. We are really happy with her milk production and this is with only milking her once a day. We shut the babies up at night and milk her before we let them eat. Now I don't want anyone to think we are being cruel and not feeding the babies, because Jill will not let us have all of her milk, she saves back what she needs for her babies.

Echo, who would not have anything to do with her kids, Sugar and Beethoven, has now decided they are okay. Of course we are still bottle feeding them since she has no milk, but she does eat with them and watches out for them a little bit. They are eating grass and grain a lot better since she is in the pen to show them.

I even caught Echo baby sitting for Jill's two kids, May and Max. They were playing on the slide and Echo was close by watching over them while Jill was wandering around eating. May and Max are also eating grass and grain.

We are still waiting for Rosie to have her kids. She is getting so big. I had to leave on Sunday and I just knew she would have her kids the first part of the week, but it is Thursday and when I talked to Steve she still has not had them. I don't know if she is just waiting for me or what.

Since I have been gone this week Steve has taken over the farm duties and is doing a great job with it. I think he is getting more milk than I have been so I might just let him keep helping me. He really loves it when I "let" him help! He sold a couple of gallons of milk this week, has skimmed cream so I can make butter when I get home and has even frozen some of the milk so we will have it for soap making.

If you know of anyone in the Pryor area who wants fresh, raw goat milk, just let us know. We sell it by the gallon, 1/2 gallon or quart. We also sell cheese and yogurt. We are still not able to sell it at the Farmers Market, but you can come by the farm and pick it up there. You do need to call first to see what we have.

If anyone wants to buy a cute little bucklins' I have two for sale. Beethoven and Max would make great pets or bucks for your head in a year or so. They are bottle babies, so use to human contact.

Until next time.

New Kids at Grayslland Acres

2010-05-06T17:22:00.002-05:00

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.

Steve and I just sat outside and watched them play last night and it was very entertaining.

Please feel free to come out and visit us. Just call first, to make sure we are home, but we usually are here. Can't get too far away with nannies to milk and kids to feed.

I plan on making soap and cheese tomorrow and have fresh, raw, goat milk for sell by the quart, 1/2 gallon or gallon.

Now we have gray llamas!

2010-04-20T14:54:00.003-05:00

I would like to introduce you to our two new grey llamas! I am so excited that I will now have grey fiber to work with and make yarn out of. This is give me so many different, natural colors for the projects I hope to work on this fall and winter.

In the Money is a Suri Male and as you can see, he is a handsome guy. He will be three the 7th of June and is staying at Linda's for a while. He is very friendly and hums all the time. He lets us go up and pet him, so we are going to have a lot of fun with him.

I'm waiting until Missy has her baby, then we can figure out who is going to go where. Missy is due the 25th, which is Sunday. I'm watching her real close, because there is no calendar in the nursery, so she might not know what day it is.

Here are a couple more picture of Money. I guess that is what we are going to call him. In the Money is just too long and I just can't figure out a good nickname for him. I think he knows his name, so I don't want to confuse him.

This sweet little girl is Kiss. She will be a year old on May 27th and is a bronze/silver. Her undercoat is silver and outer coat is bronze. I'm really curious to see what her fiber will look like spun into yard. She is a 1/2 sister to Money. They have the same mother, Roulette. Kiss has the right name because she likes to get up in your face and give you kisses. She comes right up to me in the pen and that is great. I can't wait to start working with all of my llamas,

She spend a couple of weeks at Linda's and I now have her in the "nursery". She is making friends with everyone but mostly hangs out with Kris and Myriah.

I was looking around on the Internet for grey llamas and found Hard Rock Llamas in Ada Ohio. They had some really nice looking llamas for sale and I started E-mailing Mandy to see what they had available. Right away I decided on Kiss, because I love they way she looks and I love the name. She does live up to her name and likes to give kisses. Anyway once I decided I wanted a llama or two from them I mapped out a route to get to their farm and talked to Linda bout going with me to pick them up and she was all for the LONG trip to Ohio. I then E-mail Mandy to find out when would be a good time and she informed me they had planned a trip to Oklahoma City and if we could meet them someplace they would deliver them for us. So, sight unseen, I made a deal to purchase both Money and Kiss and to meet them at the Big Cabin Truck Stop, since they were travelling on I44.

Mandy called me from Joplin and I called Linda and told her I was on my way to pick her up to ride along with me. Steve had put the horse trailer on for me the night before and had me drive it to get gas, since I don't have much experience pulling a trailer. We made it there just find and only waited about 10 minutes.

Now here we are in the middle of the truck parking trying to get my two llamas out of the trailer. They had separated Money from the girl llamas and had him in the front of the trailer. I guess he was tired, because he kept laying down while they were trying to get him out. Kiss was not a problem so they went ahead and got her out and I had Linda hold her while I held the door to the trailer. We didn't want llamas loose in the parking lot! We finally got Money out and when we tried to load him into our trailer, he laid down again. We did get him up and got Kiss loaded and headed to Linda's which was going to be their temporary home for a while. I think Linda and Kiss really bonded. Kiss hummed to her. If you have never heard a llama hum you need to experience it. It is such a sweet sounds.

We got them unloaded at Linda's and got their water and food all set up. The pen has a lot of clover and it did not take them long to find it. Linda made sure they had water and would go out and talk to them and they would hum to her.

What a wonderful life we have at Grayslland Acres! I'm so glad my sister, Linda, is able to share with the fun part of the llamas. I think we might ever be able to talk her into a guard llama to put with her cows.

Missy, the llama, Jill & Echo, the goats are due next week, so I should have a lot to write about them.

We have ordered a llamas chute so we will begin shearing our herd in two or three weeks. Also the Soap House is shaping up, so as soon as PSO comes out to hook up the electricity and then we get the electrician and plumber back out we will be able to move out to the Soap House.

Until next time...

The Daily Time - Pryor Creek, OK, Sunday March 28 2010

2010-03-29T14:52:00.013-05:00

The following articles was in the Pryor Daily Times, Pryor, OK, Sunday March 28, 2010 in the Progress Edition...

Llamas and goats at GraysLland Acres
Local farm produces wool, milk, soap and more
Julie Yates Staff Writer

Myra Grayson is back on the farm, but it's a little different than the farm where she was raised.

Grayson and her husband Steve are the owners and operators of GrayLland Acres, using a play on the words with the double "L" in the farm name. The Graysons are raising llamas and Nubian goats.

After being raised in Mayes County, Grayson moved away and lived in a metropolitan area. A few years ago, she decided she wanted to get back on the farm after being a city girl for so many years.

Two years ago, she and her husband Steve started a llama farm at their home on North 438 Road, northeast of Pryor.

Grayson said llamas often get a bap rap. She has heard the question a number of times: "Why llamas?"

"I usually say, "Why not?" Grayson said.

She said people's main reason for disliking llamas is "they spit at you."

Grayson said llamas spit at each other as a form of communication. They have food fights on a daily basis to determine who is boss. Grayson said she has never had one of her 10 llamas spit on her, though she has been between two llamas when they've spit at each other.

Grayson said llamas make very good guard animal. Llamas are naturally very protective. She said some people will keep a single llamas with their animals just for protection.

Llamas lay their ears back when they're upset. They communicate by humming to each other. When they are protecting or when two males are fighting, they make a high-pitched whinny.

The Graysons had a new addition to their llama herd on Christmas Day. Christmas morning, Grayson and Steve walked out in the snow to check on their animals. Grayson went to the west llama pen and Steve went to the east pen.

At the gate, Grayson noticed a dark form on the ground inside the llama shed. When she waded through the snow to investigate, Grayson discovered a newborn llama on the ground born only minutes ago.

Running across the pasture, she yelled at Steve, "We've got a baby!"

Having been raised on a farm, Grayson learned the signs when animals were close to dropping their young. However, she said you can't tell when llamas are gong to give birth. The gestation period for a llama is 51 weeks. The females llamas usually gives birth be3tween 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

This baby llama, or cira, was born shortly after 10 a.m.

The Graysons named their new llama Kris Kingle. Grayson said Kirs is the first llama born on their farm.

Grayson said they bottle fed Kris for two days until the mother's milk came down. By the third day, he was beginning to eat hay.

Kris weighted almost 20 pounds the day he was born. A week later, he weighted over 30 pounds. Grayson said grown llamas can weigh up to 1,000 pounds.

Grayson feeds her llamas daily, except in the summer when grass is plentiful.

Grayson said llamas can be kept in an enclosure with a single stand of wire. If they want out of a pen, they will jump it, Grayson said, so building a high fence is useless.

Tabi, granddaughter of Steve and Myra Grayson, gives Scout a kiss. Scout is the father of Kris and Myriah, the two baby llamas born on GraysLland Acres

Kris Kringle was born December 25, 2009. They Graysons bought little Kris a cria coat, unknowingly selecting one to match his mother's halter. Her name is Jolie.

Llama droppings, known as llama beans, are not a hot fertilizer, Grayson said. The manure has almost no smell, making it an ideal fertilizer for indoor plants. Soaking a cup of llama beans in water will create 10 gallons of fertilized water for house plants.

Llamas primarily eat grass. Their hooves are soft-padded, so they do not damage any terrain. Grayson said her cats and dogs get along with her llamas, but only because they were properly introduced.

Llamas do find in the cold, Grayson said, but they don't like the heat. On summer days they like to lie in water to cool off. Llamas cool from their feet and bellies. Grayson keeps a mister in the shed to help the llamas stay cool in the summer.

Llamas have two coats - the under coat and the outer coat. Grayson said she shears her llamas once a year, and it takes about a year for them to grow their coat back. Her electric clippers were ruined int he spring flood in May 2009, so she used scissors to hand trim the llamas.

After cutting the llama hair, which is called fiber, Grayson washes it in a mesh laundry bag to get it ready for use. She said it takes four times of soaking to get all the dirt out of the fiber.

After washing, the next step is to comb the fiber, which is called carding. Grayson uses hand carders now but plans to buy an electric carder. Combing the fiber prepares it for the spinning process.

Grayson demonstrating hand carding, the process of combing the llama fiber to prepare it for spinning to make yarn

Grayson bought a spinning wheel and has been learning to spin the fiber. She plans to make llama yarn and use it for hats, scarves and sweaters.

"I'm trying to get back to the basics", Grayson said.

Her goat is to keep natural colors, so she keeps different colored llamas on her farm.

In addition to the llamas, the Graysons also raise Nubian milk goats.

There are eight female Nubians at GraysLland Acres. Grayson said one nanny babysits the herd of kids for one day.

Grayson called Nubians the Jerseys of milk goats. She said Nubians are one of the few goats that produce cream with their milk.

Grayson milks her goats once a day. She said the nannies do not let down all their milk during milking; they save some for their babies. Grayson plans to invest in a electric milker in order to have time to milk all the nannies.

Grayson makes soap out of her goat milk, which is naturally moisturizing. She and Steve are in

the process of bulding a soap houses.

Grayson said she will be making goat cheese this summer, which she plans to sell out of her home along with raw goat milk.

She is working with Mayes County Farmers Market, which opens in may. Grayson will sell Soaps, lotions and llama beans at the market.

Little Girl, is a young Nubian, one of the nine goats at GraysLland Acres

Myra Grayson, feeding a Nubian kid.

Myriah is the latest addition to the llamas herd. Ebony gave birth to Myriah the morning of March 9. Myra Grayson is holding Myriah right after she was born. Myriah weighed 23 pounds.

Note from Myra: Most of the information is accurate. I already have the electric milking machine, so as soon as the goats decide to give birth, I'll be able to try it out a couple of weeks later. I'm ready, but they still don't seem to be. Hopefully my next post will be of little goats!

Waiting for babies

2010-03-26T19:47:00.002-05:00

I had hoped that with this post I would be telling you about new babies on our place, but the animals are not cooperating with us. Missy, the llama was due Thursday the 25th of March, but I guess she didn't know what day it was because we don't have a baby llama from her yet.

As you can see Kris and Myriah are getting along great. Kris was eating hay and Myriah came over and was eating what he was holding in his mouth. He wasn't too sure what to think, but let her continue doing that for a while.

Kris and Myriah are growing fast. Myriah is going to be a big girl. She is almost as tall as Kris, but is still all legs. They are learning to play, which is fun to watch. They enjoy running and hopping around.

Steve worked really hard last week and got my soap house almost ready for the electricians and plumbers. It really looks good. I can hardly wait to start using it. I guess I should have taken some pictures to post here, but I will save that for another time. It won't be long until I am able to make my soaps, lotions, etc out there and get the mess out of the house. It will be nice to gain some room in my kitchen again.

Steve also got a new loafing shed put in and a new pen built for the mama llamas and their babies. Jolie, Kris, Ebony and Myriah seem to be enjoying it. We moved Missy over Friday evening to get used the the new surrounds and hopefully have her baby soon.

The cats enjoy checking out the new shed and Kris was checking out Mittens. I call this my "Thumper and Bambi" pictures. I missed getting them when they were nose to nose, but I'll keep trying. I'm sure I will have an opportunity to get more pictures, especially when we get more babies.

Echo, one of our Nubian Goats looks like she should be giving birth at any time. I really wish my llamas and goats would read the same books I do so we can be more in tune with each other. I am waiting, but not to patiently. The way the other female goats look the next couple of week should give us more kids than we can keep up with. Then I can break out the new milking machine and start milking. I enjoy milking and getting to spend time with my nannies and kids.

Keep checking back for updates of new arrivals at Grayslland Acres.

It's a GIRL!

2010-03-08T15:16:00.003-06:00

What a wonderful surprise we had this morning at 9:45. I would like to introduce you to Ebony and Scouts cria, MS MYSTIC MYRIAH!

Here she is at just minutes old. She weighed in at 28 pounds and is doing great. I had a feeling Ebony was going to have her baby this morning since it was raining and cool this morning.

I was on my way to get my hair cut and looked out and saw this little baby in the field. She was just been born, so I carried her inside the barn with Ebony following closely behind. Steve had just left for Tulsa so I called him to come back home "we have a baby!". Then I called Laura to tell her I wasn't going to make my appointment, then Linda to let her know.

I am helping Myriah stand up with mama llama, Ebony, humming to her baby. She is a very proud mama and is so calm with her new baby.

We have given mama and baby their shots. When Steve gets home we will give Myriah her enema. I know what a "fun" experience that is, after doing that for Kris back in December! What I do for my animals. But then again, I love every minutes of it.

Steve checking to see if we have a boy or a girl! We are so happy to have a girl, although we love our boys too. It is just that girl llamas will be able to give us baby llamas.

Most people consider llamas and goats livestock, we consider them our pets. If someone wants to know how many pets we have I have to count up, 11 llamas, 9 goats, 2 outside dogs, 2 cats, 2 inside dogs and a canary. Looks like that adds up to 27 pets!

This afternoon I will go open up the barn so Kris can come in and introduce him to his 1/2 sister, Myriah. They have the same daddy, Scout. I'm sure he will be glad to have someone to play with.

This picture was taken this afternoon. Myriah is running around, so I'm sure she is getting plenty of milk from mama llama, Ebony. I will weigh her again tomorrow afternoon to see if she is gaining and I will start giving her baby vitamins in the morning.

I made goat milk soap, goat milk lotion and some lip balm this past weekend, so I will have all of those items available at the Mayes County Farmers Market that begins May 15th. If you are in the area you will have to come check it out. Not only will you be able to buy my products, but also get fresh produce and plants. There are a lot of vendors that have already signed up so I feel it will be a big success and it is something we have needed in Pryor.

Stay tuned for more pictures of Myriah and Kris!

Another quiet week...

2010-02-27T16:08:00.007-06:00

I am a walking billboard advertising GraysLland Acres. We had sweat shirts and tee shirts printed up and gave them to family for Christmas. Now we are advertising in of course Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Utah and Colorado. When we get the question "Why llamas?" we simply answer "Why not llamas?"

It has been another quiet week at GraysLland Acres. I know I did not post anything last week, but I kept hoping Ebony would have her Cria (baby) and I could report on that. I guess she doesn't realize how anxious I am for the new arrival. She just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Hopefully next post will be about a new llama.

I spoke at the Sertoma Club meeting this week and had a lot of really good questions and I was able to answer them all. I enjoy getting to talk to people about our llamas and goats and to be able to discuss some of the misconceptions that people have about them. Especially about the llamas and their spitting. I will admit I have been spat on, but it was because I was in the middle of two llamas either having a food fight or a disagreement about something. As I tell people when they visit our farm. "If a llama has their ears back and their head up, please don't stand in front of them." They will spit and if you are in the "line of fire" you will end up with llama spit on you.

I was also able to talk a little about the upcoming Mayes County Farmers Market (MCFM) that will start mid May and go through October. I'm not only looking forward to it so I can sell my goat milk soap, lotions, and my lip balm, but also so I can take advantage of all of the fresh produce that will be available there. This is something we have needed in Mayes County and I'm really grateful to the one who have organized it. We are still waiting to find out the location, but we will know that very soon and I will be passing that information on.

I took some llama beans (dropping) with me in a ziploc bag. Even though I told everyone they had little odor once they have been dried (which these had). I didn't have very many take me up on the offer to open the bag and sniff. I am still working on the Llama Tea plant water. I think maybe the beans need to be dried a little more, because they are not as low odor as I would like to water my house plants with.

In April I will be speaking at the Rotary Club in Pryor and hopefully at the library, in the near future. I am thinking about trading in my car and getting a SUV so i can pull the trailer and be able to take a llama along so people can get up close to one.

We though we would have 8 goats having kids in March and April, but it looks like now we will only have 7. We are not sure what happened, or why, by our big black Nanny, Collinsville, lost her babies. She is fine, so it might work out that we will have fall babies, because Lucky is still in with the girls.

Big news! I order an electric milker and it will be here in a week or so. I decided if I was going to be milking more than 2 goats, I was going to need help. This should save time on the milking process and hopefully my soap house will be finished and I will be able to process the milk there and not have to carry it to the house. Since the soap house will have hot water, a refrigerator and deep freezer I will be set!

I am still workingg on my rhythm with my spinning wheel. There are so many things you have to remember and do at the same time. You feet are peddling to keep the wheel going in one directions, because if it starts spinning in the other direction your yarn starts to unravel. You also have to hold the fiber with one hand while pulling with the other, then moving your hands back when it gets close to the spool. Someone told me there was a 16 hour learning curve, but I think my curve is going to be a little more than that. I am enjoying it and I think once I get the hang of it, it will be relaxing.

Until next week...

Grayslland Acres update

2010-02-11T22:07:00.003-06:00

Well, it has been a quiet week at Grayslland Acres. I moved Ebony over with Jolie and Kris, with help from my sister, Linda, on Monday afternoon. She should be having her cria in two or three weeks, so I wanted them to get use to being together. Kris was confused having two mama llamas. Ebony had to set him straight that he did not belong to her. She had her ears back and got nose to nose with him and was humming to him. He must have understood because he ran over to him mama Jolie. I was afraid Dollie would be upset being separated from her mama, but after the first hour she was fine. She has really grown too.
We didn't get any more snow, but it sure is muddy. I'm getting a little tired of walking in ankle deep mud to feed. I hope it will dry up before we have any more babies. The goat barn has now become the llama born. Missy is due the end of March, so I'll be moving her over after Ebony has her baby. I opened up the barn, so they have more room to get in out of the cold. I now have they hay in Steve's new machine shed.
The goats will be having their kids starting the end of March also. I can't believe we already need another barn. Maybe it will be a mild spring and we won't need to have everyone in the barn.
March and April will be a busy month with baby llamas, baby goats and starting milking. I'm looking into getting a milking machine this year. With possibility of 8 nannies, there is no one I want to milk them by hand. I found one I like, so I guess I'd better get it ordered so it will be ready when they are.
Steve hasn't had any time to work on my soap house. He has been working 6 days a week. He has most of the wall covering on, and we have the floor covering and one cabinet and counter top ready to go in. Just need time to do it all. I'll be really glad when I can get the soap making supplies out of the kitchen.
My first batch of goat milk lotion turned out okay, but it has to be kept in the refrigerator, so I'm going to see if I can find another recipe. I'm also going to be making beeswax lip balm. I'm trying to get everything ready for May 15th when we are having our first Mayes County Farmers Market in Pryor. I am so excited about it not only for a market for my soap, lotions and lip balm but be able to get fresh produce. It will be a win win for everyone.
No pictures this week, but I'll get some next week. You won't believe how Kris has grown.
Until next week...

Jefferson 3rd Grade

2010-02-04T21:11:00.010-06:00

I would like to say thank you to Mrs. Ballard and Mrs. Freeman for allowing me to spent time with their 3rd grade students at Jefferson Elementary School this afternoon. I really enjoyed getting to speak with the children about our llamas and goats. They were very interested in learning about them, and of course they loved seeing pictures of our baby llama Kris.

I took some of the llama fiber and talked about how the llamas are sheared in the spring and how I wash the fiber, dry it, comb it and spin it into yarn. When I was talking about spinning I mentioned it is like trying to rub your stomach, pat you head and move your feet in a different direction, while keeping a wheel moving in the right direction. Of course being third graders they all started rubbing their stomachs, patting their heads and stomping their feet. I guess I need to remember that children take what you say to heart and have to try it. I thought it was great that they were getting that involved.

I brought samples of some of my oatmeal facial soap so they could each take a little bit of it home to show their parents and try it out. I then talked about how I packaged the soap and will be selling it this spring and summer the new Mayes County Farmers Market. They were excited and I'm sure I will be seeing some of them there.

I not only wanted to tell the students about our animals, but I also wanted to show and talk to them about how something that starts out as a hobby, can turn into a business. This is what we are doing with the soaps, lotions and eventually yarn made from the hair or fiber from our llamas.

I brought some fliers to give a few more facts about llamas, goats, goat milk, goat milk soap, etc. Goat milk is good for you, inside and out.

We also talked about my website and I told them I would be writing about my school visit, so I hope some of the students and their parents are reading this and that they will leave me a comment about my visit today.

I think what they enjoyed the most was seeing the pictures of the baby llama and hearing about the new babies we are expecting this spring.

An update on the upcoming expected arrivals are: Our llamas that are due this spring are Ebony, who is due late February, early March and Missy who is due late March, early April. Now the questions is where are we going to put everyone because also due in late March and early April are 8 goats, Nora (who had triplets last year, and as big as she is getting it could happen again), Collinsville, Echo, Bea, Little Girl, Jill, Barb, and Beauty. We will have lots of kids running around this summer. Right now we have Jolie and Baby Kris in the milk barn and I'll be moving Ebony over in the next couple of weeks. I guess we might have to use Steve's new machine shed for a barn for a while. I already put some hay in it this week because it was too wet to get to the barn with the truck. I've been moving hay over 1 bale at a time, but using the 4-wheeler.

I hope some of the students who I talked to today will ask their parents if they can come out and visit. Who knows, they might even be able to help me milk a goat, or brush a llama.

There were a few giggles when I talked about using the llama beans for fertilizer. But the fact is, it is a natural and as close to organic as manure can get, it has almost no smell, so it is ideal for indoor plants. It is extremely rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and most importantly it will not burn your plants. I will be selling it in 1 cup bags at the farmers market this summer along with a recipe for "Grayslland Acres Simply Llama Bean Tea". It is a tea, not for the human body, but for your plants. 1 cup of llama beans will make 10 gallons of "Tea".

This past weekend, since we were snowed in, Steve and I made a couple of batches of soap, some goat milk lotion and some lip balm (that doesn't contain goat milk). We hope to have a line of these products for sale at the Mayes County Farmers Market. Right now we are trying to get just the right recipe.

Well, that is about all I have to write about this evening. I hope you enjoy my updates, because I enjoy writing about what is going on at Grayslland Acres.

Sad day...

2010-01-28T15:14:00.003-06:00

Here is a picture of me holding Val when we got him last year on Valentines day (hence the name Val). He was only about 12 hours old and of course we had to bottle feed him. It was cold out, so we kept him in the house for a couple of weeks. When he started getting out of the area I wanted him to stay in I moved him to the backyard. That worked really well for about 2 weeks. He had his goat (dog) house to sleep in and hay to munch on and of course I was still feeding him a bottle 3 or 4 times a day. The girls, Peaches the poodle and Missy, the Papillon, enjoyed going out and playing with him.

Like I said, this went on just fine until one day the girls were just having a fit barking. They normally don't bark in the house because of the "no barking in the house" rule. I went to see what had them so upset and there was Val, in the hallway. I guess he had watched the dogs go in and out the doggie door enough, he decided to try it. We then sectioned off the yard where he could not get into the part where the doggie door was. He wasn't too happy about it, but it worked.

Once we started having more kids (baby goats) we moved him out to the goat barn. I had another bottle baby, so it was easier to have them together. I have written about Lucky, the little goat who no one though would live. Val and Lucky became good buddies.

We used Val and Lucky this year as our bucks. They each had 4 nannies and we will know in April and May if they got their jobs done.

The reason I'm writing about Val, is that I noticed he was not acting right last Friday. He had diarrhea and when I got a closer look at him I noticed his gums and around his eyes were pale. That is a sign of worms. I have my goats on a schedule to worm them every 3 months. It hadn't been quite 3 months but I knew it would not hurt to go ahead and worm him. I first gave him some peto-bismol and that took care of the diarrhea, I then wormed him.

On Monday morning he just didn't seem to be getting any stronger so I called the vet and told them what I had given him and they said I had done the right thing Now we would just have to wait and see. Val was eating grain and hay, but still not getting his strength back. I went out 3 or 4 times a day and get him to stand up and eat. Some times he would stay up for a couple of hours and others only a few minutes.

When I went out Wednesday at about 7 I got him up and he was still standing 30 minutes later, so I felt good about that. I went back out about 11 to check on him and I could not get him to stand up at all. He was so weak and was wet from his own urine. I called the vet and they said I should bring him on over. I called my sister and she came in the pickup and I just held Val in my lap. He was so weak a couple of times on the way over I thought he had stopped breathing.

The vet took one look at him and told me that there really wasn't much he could do. He said he could give him a Vitamin B shot and that might help for a little bit. He then told us that the worms in goats and sheep are building up an immunity to the worm medicines. Now they recommend that we not worm them unless their gums and around their eyes are pale. Then worm them. Something about the worm medicines killing off the "good" worms too. I guess we will try that and see what happens. I had him go ahead and get Val a Vitamin B shot, in hopes it would help him enough. He did stir around a little on the way home and when I put him in his pen he was holding his head up. I went out and checked on him a couple hours later and tried to get him to stand, but he would not even try. Steve checked on him when he got home from work and said that Val "talked" to him and laid his head on his knee.

This morning when I went out to check on him, he had died during the night. I know some of you reading this are probably thinking I'm nuts to be so sad over losing a goat, but they are more than animals, they are part of our farm and family.

I would like to hear from you if you have a solution to the worm problem. We lost another goat this summer to the same thing. It is ironic that the two goats we lost we purchased and they were both full blood Nubian's. All of my others are crosses and seem to be very healthy. I'm wondering if it might not be a good idea to use a Boer Billy for next year. Do any of you "goat people" have any thoughts on this subject? If so I want to hear form you.

Sorry if this is a depressing topic for any of you, but that is life on the farm. We have to take the good days with the bad and thank the Lord that we have more good days.

We are getting sleet today and they are predicting snow for later tonight and tomorrow. I've gotten everyone fed and ready for whatever the weather does.

An update on Kris. He is doing great. He has really grown and loves to jump and run and just show off.

Until next week...

Another week at Graylland Acres

2010-01-19T22:40:00.005-06:00

Well, as you can see, Kris is growing. He seems to really like eating hay. He is getting faster, stronger and growing like a weed. So he is a little harder to catch to give him his daily baby vitamins. Once I do catch him he jumps around a little, then settles right now when he sees the vitamins. Then when he is finished, off he goes to see how fast he can run and how high he can jump.

The warm weather is nice and the snow is now gone, so now we have mud. Kris likes to run and jump and show off. His mama llama, Jolee, tolerates all this very well. She is getting use to me being out there twice a day and is a lot gentler than she was before. Maybe is wasn't such a bad thing having Kris born when it was so cold.

Now that the weather has warmed up we have been able to turn off the heat lamp and are leaving the door to the barn open so they can come and go at night also.

I am going to have to get some pictures of Kris and the cats. They are really curious about each other. Mama llama, Jolee, just lets them walk all around her.

If our calculations are correct we will have another baby llama in 4 - 6 weeks. Ebony should be having her baby then. We are not exactly sure of the date, because we did not own her when she was bred, but due to the fact her baby, Dollie Llama will be a year old soon and Scout was in the same pen with them, I'm sure the natural thing happened and she is bred.

Llamas gestation is 51 weeks, so you bred them the month you want the baby to be born. We want to plan it where we have spring babies instead of fall and winter. That is what we do with the goats and now that we have a separate pen for Scout where he can't get through the fence, it will make that easier to do.

I'm making progress with the spinning wheel, so maybe next week I'll tell you a little about the learning process of spinning. It's fun, but there is quite a learning curve.

I attended a meeting for the new Mayes County Farmers Market that will begin mid May. It will be a great outlet for my goat milk soaps and lotions that I'm working on and a great place to get fresh produce. I'm so excited that we have such a diverse group of people who are getting in on the ground level.

Stay turned for more about the spinning wheel, baby Kris llama and other happening at Grayslland Acres.

Update of activities at Grayslland

2010-01-11T14:43:00.007-06:00

I was reminded that it is time to update the blog. I'm going to try really hard to update it every week or so to let you know what is going on at Grayslland Acres.

Of course you all know about Kris. He could not have picked a colder time to be born A couple of days it stayed in the teens, so I left him and his mama llama, Jolee, in the barn day and night. I have a heat light in there and they seemed to get along just fine.

I got him a blue Cria coat and he really seems to like it. The orange sweat shirt just wasn't doing the job. He kept getting his feet tangled up in it. I figured it would be better to get him something that was designed for a llama not a little person.

When I did get to let them out he sure had fun running and playing in the snow. He would jump up and kick his feet in the air, then run over to his mama llama. He even tried some of the hay, before getting tired and laying down on it. He is so much fun to watch. I wish I had had my camera with me when he got nose to nose with our cat Feisty. Reminded me of Thumper and Bambi. A Kodak moment, gone. Now I carry my camera with me when I go feed.

When Kris was born, on Christmas Day, he weighed about 20 pounds. Steve and I weighed him Saturday and he is already at 33 pounds. I am so thankful that his mama llama is able to feed him now and that I only had to do that for a day and a half. I have been giving him baby vitamins every morning and I think he really enjoys them. He tries to play hard to get, but really doesn't try too hard to stay away from me.

I took his coat off of him today, since it got up in the 40's but I think I will put it back on him this evening. I don't want him to catch cold.

All of the animals have done well in the cold weather. Duke and Duchess thought it was too cold for the goats to be out a couple of morning and I enjoyed watching them try to keep them in the shed. The goats had other ideas and, one by one, they escaped to come over to the fence and talk to me until I fed them some hay. As I have mentioned before Nubian's are very vocal goats.

We think our black llama Ebony will have her cria in late February. It is also a possibility that Duchess, our Great Pyrenees is expecting and she would also be due in February. Then in April, if all goes as planned, we will have baby goats and at least one more baby llama. Since we have 8 nanny goats, we could have a barn full of kids by the middle of May.

We do try to do things "by the book", but the biggest problem with doing that is the animals don't seem to be reading the same book we are, or if they are, they are on a different page.

The spinning wheel is great, I just haven't had a lot of time to practice on it. It took me a while to get the tension set on it and I am doing pretty good with it now. I haven't tried any llama fiber yet, I'm still using some sheep fiber that was given to me when I took the spinning class. I think I'm getting the hang of it and it is looking a little more like yarn now. You just have to remember to do so many things at the same time, it gets confusing. Your feet are peddling and one hand is holding while the other is pulling and you are trying to keep the wheel spinning in the right direction.

We are making progress on the soap making part of the business. We have a new building that will house all of the supplies and I'll be able to get everything out of my kitchen. It has just been too cold to work on it. By summer we should have everything running smooth. If you are in the Pryor area I have taken some of my soap into Adair Street Market. I took a few bars of the Simply Goat Milk Soap and also the Oatmeal Facial Soap. I really do like the way my face feeling after using the oatmeal bar. Let me know what you think about it.

If you have any questions, don't be afraid to post a comment or e-mail me.

Updates!

2010-01-05T08:07:00.003-06:00

Here are the goats and Duchess, our great Pyrenees, walking up from the shed to see if someone will feed them. The trees were so beautiful from the latest snowfall. This was taken Sunday, January 3rd. While outside we did feel like we were "walking in a winter wonderland". All of the goats seem to be doing fine. We put them all together so we could give Mama Llama, Jolie, and baby Kris one of the goat pens. We now go out in the morning and open the walk through door on the barn and Jolie and Kris can go in and out during the day. We are still shutting them in at night with the heat light going.

This is how beautiful the trees were on Sunday morning looking towards the creek. We were lucky it was snow and not ice, so we didn't have any damage with limbs down as we have in past years.

Jolie and Kris were not so sure of the snow when we first let them out, then Kris started jumping and having a great time showing how high he could jump and how fast he could run. He would hit a patch of ice, under the snow, and his feet would go four differant directions, then he would just lay there and look up, like "what just happened?" He would get up and do it again. He is quite the little clown.

Here is a close up of Kris. Isn't he a pretty boy? He has really grown. He gained 5 pounds in about 4 days and his mother finally started producing milked the second day. I only bottle fed him for 1-1/2 days and he sure did eat good. I'm so thankful that I saved goat collustrum last spring. It is really good for baby llamas also. He would take 8-10 ounces at a time, which is quite a bit. I guess my experience raising two goats on the bottle last year paid off.

We have a large hay bail out for the other llamas and as you can see our Dollie Llama likes to lay in it. I told Steve she looks like a walking hay bale. At least they are keeping warm and we don't have to carry hay to them every day.

Other exciting news that I have is I received my spinning wheel. This is when I got it out of the box, so we did take the shrink wrap off and got it all put together. I did real well on it the first time I got on it, but last night I just could not get the rhythm. Remember, as a kid, how you would try to pat your head and rub your stomach? Well that is how spinning goes, except you have to spin the wheel with double treadles and hold the fiber with one hand while pulling with the other, then sliding the hand you were hold down and pull again, and keep the wheel spinning at a steady rate. Someone told me there was about a 16 hour learning curve on using a spinning wheel, but at the rate I'm going it is going to take me a little longer. I'm thinking maybe I need to take my wheel with me and take a class again. I'll put some pictures on of the wheel put together and me using it, once I feel a little more comfortable with it.

Goat milk soap is almost ready for sale. I'll let you know when I have it ready and how you can get some. I have made just plain soap and an oatmeal facial bar. If you are interested you can E-mail me and I can go ahead and get you some. I just haven't had time to get it put on the website. I have ordered a couple of soap making books and am thinking about making lotion bars and lip balm, without goats milk. Also would like to try goat milk liquid soap and goat milk lotions. Since Steve is still on unemployment, he has been helping with and making some of the soaps. Might as well keep him busy. lol

If you have any questions or would like me to post something in particular on the blog, just let me know.

It's a boy!

2009-12-25T13:52:00.009-06:00

We woke up to over 8 inches of snow on the ground this Christmas morning. Steve and I decided to bundle up and check on the animals at about 9:30. The heaters had gone off in the water tanks, so we broke the ice from the ones in the goat pens then headed to the llama pens. Steve went to the east pen and I went to the west. We had just rearrange the llamas on Wednesday so everyone would have some shelter. As I got to the gate I saw what looked like a baby llama and sure enough that is what we had. Jolie had decided "why not have my baby on the coldest morning of the year!" The baby was not more than 15 minutes old. It was so cold, I had Steve go to the house and bring me some towels so I could get the little things dried off.

Since it was so cold in the shed and the other llamas were so curious about the new comer, we decided to move mama llama and baby to the goat barn, which thankfully had no goats in at the moment.

We got the baby warmed up and he (yes we have a boy) was trying to stand up. I might have rushed it a little, but it didn't look like Jolie had much milk so I decided to feed him some goat colostrum I had frozen. He really seemed to enjoy it. I think she will be able to take care of him now. I just didn't want him to get too weak, especially with it being so cold.

We have named him Kris Kringle, since he was born on Christmas. Right now he is all legs! I know I'm not suppose to handle him much, but that is hard because he is so cute and cuddly!

We talked to our mentors Roger and Penny and they told us we were doing things right. They suggested giving him an enema, and yes we did just that and everything seems to "come out" okay. I can add that to my resume.

They also said that we needed to feed him every 2 hours until his mama llama comes into her milk. Thank goodness I froze goat colostrum last spring. Kris seems to like it and has eaten two bottles.

The other thing they suggested was putting a sweater or sweat shirt on him to keep him warm. Of course the ONLY shirt I could find was an orange Oklahoma State shirt.When Steve saw my choice he said "If OSU can at least keep him warm, go for it". So I did and I think Orange is his color. Steve said being Christmas OU red would have been more appropriate, but he didn't want me to use his NEW sweat shirt so Tabi lost hers. (It was too small for her anyway and Linda just gave it to her to get a rise out of Steve.) Sorry Tabi but I knew you would have let Kris have it if you had been here.

Steve and I have a difference of opinion on this photo. I think Jolie likes her boy in orange and of course Steve thinks just the opposite. Well, after looking closer at the pictures, she is unhappy about something, but I still don't think it is the shirt!

I will keep you posted, with photos as Kris grows. He is the first llama to be born on our farm!

Merry Christmas to all!

December 2009

2009-12-15T12:42:00.004-06:00

I have not written anything in a while, and my nephew said he was going to quit looking at our site if I didn't start updating so here goes.

I have some sad news to report from a few weeks ago. We lost a baby llama. We knew Gypsy was having problems but did not realize how serious it was until it was too late to save the baby. We loaded her up and took her to a vet in Claremore, who did a wonderful job in doing all she could, but it was too late. Thanks to her Gypsy is doing fine now. If we had waited much longer we might have lost her too. We will not be able to breed her until next year, but that is okay. The baby was a girl and we had already decided to name her Gypsy's Rose Lee and call her Rosie if we had a girl. We were all very sad and Tabi learned that there is sometimes heartaches on the farm too.

I don't think I've talked about a new llama we purchased and named Dudley. Tabi really is our "llama whisper". We got Dudley from a guy who had horses and he put them together without thinking about the fact that his horses had never seen a llama. The horses got all excited and went through the fence so he needed to find a new home for the llama. This is why I recommend if you are thinking about getting a llama to first read the book "Stop Spitting on Your Brother" by Diane White-Crane. Even though it is written for children it has a lot of factual information about the behavior of llamas. Okay back to my story...

We looked at Dudley and decided we would like to have him, because he has a beautiful coat and I'm thinking of the yarn I will be able to make once I get my spinning wheel. The owner delivered him and from the looks of things he had lassoed Dudley to catch him and load him. Steve got in the trailer and just lead him out. Tabi was holding him while we visited and wanted to know if she could take him to his new home. Steve first said "no, you can't handle him", to which I said "let her try", also thinking she would need some help. Well before we could get turned around she had him through the first gate and almost to the second. He was following her like he had always been lead. She has him eating out of her hand and can catch him almost every time. It is remarkable what you can do with an animal if you understand a little about them. The guy we brought him from was amazed seeing this 12 year old leading a llama that he had to drag!

Dudley is the name that Tabi gave to him because of the book I mentioned about.

We found out that it is not a good idea to introduce a new male into a herd. Scout did not want anything to do with a new "boy" around. Dudley is only a couple of years old. We decided since he is not registered we would take care of that and had the vet come out and preform a little surgery on him, so we hope Scout will no longer feel threaded.

Graylland Acres Simply Goat Milk Soap will soon be offered for sale on the website. We have 4 batches curing, so keep checking back and I'll let you know when it will be ready.

by Tabitha Grayson

2009-11-28T00:32:00.003-06:00

Hi, I am Tabitha but all my friends call me Tabi. I am 12 years old and Myra and Steve are my Grandma and Grandpa.

I moved here from Florida and I love it here. It has all kinds of animals, like llamas, goats, dogs and cats. Let me tell you about them.

We have 9 llamas, Scout, Ebony, Dolly, Gypsy, Queenie, Jackpot, Missy, Jolie, and last but not least, Dudley. 10 goats, Collinsville, Jill, Nora, Beauty, Barb, Echo, Lucky, Val, Bea and last but not least, Little Girl. 4 dogs, two outside and two inside. We have Duke, Duchess, Missy and Peaches. Duke and Duchess take care of the goats. And finally we have 2 cats, Feisty and Mittens. They can catch mice and they are in the barn. (To keep the cats home or not to run away we buttered their feet)

I personally would like to talk about a couple of animals. First, in the llama category we have Scout, one of the most hungriest and jealous llamas in the WORLD! He will eat out of all of the bowls and there are 5 of them. He will also follow you everywhere you go! And when there is a new llama he will get so jealous! He makes me mad but after we moved Dudley our little Scout got all sweet and nice again.

Cats, they are spaid so they won't have babies. They are barn cats and are very fun to play with.

My Grandma and I read the best book about llamas called "Stop Spitting At Your Brother" written by Diane White-Crane. It was fun to read and helped me learn about llamas.

I love life on the farm. Come and visit! You can also E-mail me at tabi@graysllandacres.com and be sure to tell you parents we will have goat milk soap available the first of January 2010.

Our Nubian Goats

2009-10-30T14:33:00.012-05:00

I want to give you a little more information about our goats and the Nubian goat breed in particular. Nubian goats are often referred to as the "Jersey" of the dairy goat breed because they produce such a creamy milk with a high butterfat and protein content. This milk is ideal for creating cheese, yogurt, ice cream, soap and even butter. This is the reason I decided on the Nubian breed when we decided to get dairy goats. Just a FYI, we will have goat milk soap for sale on the website in a few weeks, so watch for that!

As we have learned from having Nubians, they are very vocal, especially during breeding season and at weating time. They talk to me when I head out the back door and get very vocal if I don't come over to feed them first. It is a lot of fun just to watch and listen to them.

Thanks to their Middle Eastern, African and Indiana roots, the breed tolerates hot weather well, as long as they have plenty of fresh water. We found out they do not like it when Duke, our Great Pyrenees, decided to cool off in their water trough. I had to get him his own swimming pool so he would stay out of the goats water. Nubian's also tolerate cold weather, but of course we have houses they can get in out of the elements. We were lucky to get some calf houses from a neighbor who had sold his dairy herd. They are the perfect size for a family of goats. I only wish I had gotten more of the houses. In the winter you do have to watch their long ears, because they can be prone to frostbite if they hand into the water trough.

Nubian's usually have a long productive life and are said to be quite prolific. We had a nanny that had triplets last spring, but one did not make it. I feel like that was mainly due to the fact she decided to give birth in the middle of a cold, wet night. That was the only kid we lost last spring, even though the vet told me one of my little boys "probably wouldn't make it". I guess he didn't expect me to spend the night out in the barn with him so I could feed him every 15 minutes. I'm happy to say he is now a very healthy billy, which is surprising because of the fact he did not stand up, on his own, until he was 2 days old.

Our granddaughter, Tabi, had proven to us that Nubian's are smart and easy to train. She had been able to teach all the kids to lead, within a short period of time.

We do not dehorn or disbud our goats and I know there are two sides to this argument. We have found that their horns make good "handles" and have not had a problem with them hurting us, or each other with them. The problem with letting them keep their horns is the fact they do get them caught in the fence. I think we have the problem solved for the future, but it was a busy summer, keeping the kids out of the fences.

The best story is when Barb decided the grass was greener in the llama pen. She got her head stuck and was very vocal about the fact. I guess her momma got tired of listening to her and left her, but Jackpot, our gelded llama went over and put his head next to her and started humming. When I got out there, he went back to grazing, but I soon realized I was going to have to cut the fence to get her out. As soon as I headed to the shop, Jackpot went right over and put his head next to her and hummed and she got real quiet. I had never seen anything like that. I knew the llamas were curious about the kids, but had never seen them interact like that before.

Have you ever seen a goat in a bra? Well now you have. We got Collinsville a couple of years ago and the people we got her from had used her to raise a calf and he about ruined her udder with his head butting and pulling. When she had her twins, Jack & Jill, it soon became apparent that the kids were having problems nursing because she was "so low to the ground". My sister and I decided that maybe we could put a bra on her to "hold her up". Well what sounded like a good idea didn't work very well, because it cut off the milk supply, so for the first week I would go out 3 -4 times a day and "hold her up" so her kids could nurse. They finally figured out they could lay down and get plenty to eat. Collinsville might not be the best looking goat, but she is sure a good milk produced.

If you have any questions about our farm, goats, or llamas, please ask. I'm not an expert, but have learned a lot and love to share what knowledge I have.

Why llamas?

2009-10-20T07:33:00.001-05:00

The photo here is of 4 of my girls, Missy, Ebony, Gypsy, Jolie ,and my baby Dollie Llama. I know it's corny, but I couldn't resist calling her that!

Usually the first question I get from people is "Why Llamas?", then "Don't they spit?" To the first questions I usually answer "Why not?" If you have never been around them you don't realize what wonderful loving creatures they are. The the questions "Don't they spit?" Well, yes they do, at each other. They love having food fights, even though they each have their own bowl for food. The inside of the loafing shed shows signs of the "food fights" that they have had. They will also spit to figure out who is the dominate one. And before you ask, yes I have been spit on. I learned very quickly not to stand in between two llamas when they have their ears back. They were not spitting at me, I just happened to be in the way.

If you have not been around llamas before then you probably do no know much about their language. They communicate with each other by humming. I have found that if I go out and just talk to them, they will talk to me by humming. I must admit I'm not too good at speaking llama, but have been able to tell the difference in a happy hum and an upset hum.

A good way to tell the llamas moods is by looking at their ears. If they are laying back, they are upset and might just want to spit at something. I have discovered that if they are doing this, I just go up to them and start talking to them in a very soft voice. They want to know what I'm saying so they will lift their ears up to hear me. When their ears are up and forward they are alert to what is going on around them.

Those of you with llamas know what I mean when I say I have become the "white bucket". When I come out my back door they will watch to see if I'm going to the barn and if come out with the white feed bucket, they start lining up at the fence to see if they can get a handout before I put their food in the food bowls. They each have their own bowl to eat out of, but as I said earlier this does not prevent the food fights from happening. For the most part they will eat out of their own bowl, except for my male, Scout, and he thinks all of the bowls are his to eat out of and the girls are pretty good about letting him do that.

I will be posting more information about my llamas so I can introduce each one of them to you. Also our granddaughter, Tabi, will be telling you about her experiences with the llamas and goats. I will also be introducing our goats and will let you know when I have goat milk soap to sell.