Now Inturrupting California to Bring You Pima County Fair!

We love Pima County Fair. We have gone almost every year we have lived in Arizona. It seemed like we were not going to able to go this year. Between birthday parties, farm maintenance and church our weekends were full. On an impulse, we blew off church the last Sunday and went to the fair! It was the day of the small stock auction.

We are quite well versed in auctions...well TV auctions. We have never actually been to an auction. Leigh REALLY wanted to bid. We knew we could not afford the first auction.

For those of you who have never been to a 4-H auction this is how it goes: the first auction prices are high. That money goes to the kid to support them in their 4-H efforts. Then the buyer can either keep the animal/animals, give the animal back to the kid, or donate the animal back for resale. At the resale auction, the original buyer designates a charity, and the money the animal(s) bring in the resale auction goes to that charity. We were in the market for the resale auction only.

Even though we were only buying in the resale auction, sitting next to Aunt Chrissy and Mike has its perks! Adobe, Neil and Chrissy, Mike and Kathy, and Dr. Page purchased at the first auction. They decided to keep their animals, and somehow they all ended up in our car on the ride home. So in our minivan we had Leigh and I, the 5 kids, 9 chickens and 4 rabbits.

The 9 chickens were meat birds, so they were roughly 8 pounds each! We have already dispatched, vacuumed sealed, and frozen 3 of them, but tomorrow we take the knives to the farmer's market to get sharpened. (And as a side note, if anyone is looking for a gift for me in the near future a shun meat cleaver would come in SUPER handy!) The other 6 will meet their maker on Saturday.

The 4 rabbits that we got are Californians. They are meat rabbits, but 3 of them were the Grand Champion Meat Pen (I think!). Julia has expressed a huge interest in raising rabbits for 4-H. Leigh has decided that even though she cannot show until she is 8, having her learn on these rabbits is a great idea.

We added Elliot's rabbit, Penny Bunny, to the group. She is so happy to have bunny friends. Julia got a notebook and a magazine about rabbits from the feed store. She is so proud of them. She shows everyone!

Now, back to the auction. Since we are not high rollers, we waited for the second auction. I had left the barn and went to to the Old Pueblo Hall because the kids were going stir crazy. Leigh came walking up with a timid look on his face. "How much was it?" I didn't need to ask what he bought, I already had an idea, but it looked as though he spent too much. He really didn't spend too much, but we had a new addition to our homestead: Bailey!

She is a pygmy goat. She is 6 and not all that personable, but we think we can win her over. More than anything she is incredibly stubborn, so, come to think of it, she will fit in nicely here! So yes, that would have been 2 adults, 5 kids, 9 chickens, 4 rabbits and a pygmy goat in our van on the way home...we felt REAL classy...

Bailey's first night went well, then I spent all day Monday cleaning the north east corner of our yard to make her pen. I dismantled some old doors we had and attached them to the fence we share with our neighbors. They have 2 very aggressive boxers that got into our yard and killed 3 of our chickens once so I didn't want her to be able to see them. Chrissy also told me that the number one goat emergency is dog attack.  I cleaned out a shed we had and transformed it into a shelter. We got water, fencing, hay and straw all set up for her. Then we went to family home evening at the Laney's house. The first thing I did when we got home was go out back to check on her. I reached down to scratch her neck and my hand came back sticky with blood.

After further inspection of both Bailey and the fencing, I found a few large and many small gashes on her neck and a hole under the fence large enough for one of the boxers to get it's head through. There was no note, my neighbor never said anything. Not an apology or anything. (Different neighbor than the one who killed Zoe, by the way) Luckily her injuries were not life threatening. I cleaned her up, but then at 8pm I had to go and rework the whole enclosure. With Heather's help we were able to move the boards about 5 feet from the fence and make them higher. 

The next morning the neighbor put railroad ties and re-bar all along the base of the fence. Yes, he fixed the issue, but not so much as a "Hey, I hope your goat is doing okay." 

She is warming up to us, but I know she is lonely. Goats do better with goat friends. So while we were at the fair, the last thing I did was buy a Nubian doeling. She is not quite weaned so we will be able to pick her up the end of next week. Her name is Calamity Jane. We will probably shorten it to Jane, but I am so excited for her. I know Bailey will be much happier with a friend.

The kids adore the goat. Elliot and Liam go visit her every morning. They play in the pen. Goat and boys chase each other and fling hay around. Our little homestead is coming together nicely.