Itty Bitty Hooves

More New Babies!

Well kidding season is off to a really great start now. Our second doe to deliver gave us three—yeah triplets–beautiful girls. Savvy my LaMancha doe had her babies this morning at 6 am. They’re LaMancha/Boer cross. She was a real trooper, didn’t need my help at all (or want it LOL–she’s one of my friendliest does but definately had a ‘don’t touch me’ attitude) she never even laid down, not once. Just dropped each of them on their little heads as she squatted and dumped. Here are some pics taken right after their birth. I should probably wait to take pics until they’re all dry and all but I never can. LOL One thing’s for sure, Savvy has plenty of milk. She’s a great milker anyway, although I’m not doing that this year, but she was giving a gallon and a half last year. I took a cupful off of her this morning and syringed the kids because they were having a dickens of a time getting at those huge teats that were so low. Finally after giving them their little ‘boost’ they got in and figured out how to get low enough to grab onto those huge teats.

Here they are:

2 of the doelings, the other had walked over to mom and out of the shot just when I snapped

A close up to show the itty bitty elf ears. LOL

All three and mom.

Trying to get up close to show off their cute little heads.

New Pics of the New Babies

I’m just so thrilled with these two. They are doing great this morning, and first-time mom is being a great mom. Can’t ask for more than that. I still had a hard time getting a good pic of the little doeling, either she was eating, or moving around too much and making blurring pics. It’s just dark enough in there that I needed to use the night setting on my camera instead of the action one. If I could have gotten decent light on the pictures and used the action one I could have had some nicer doeling pics.

Buck–we’re calling him Bubba for now.

The best pic of the doeling I could get–eating of course (come to think of it, considering how mom was during labor, maybe she just is taking after momma and never gonna stop eating). We were going to call her ‘Leap of Faith’ since she was born on leap day, but I was joking around with my son and said boy, what a knock out, and he said yeah, it was a lucky punch. I thought that was perfect, since leap day is also supposed to be lucky, her name is gonna be ‘Lucky Punch’ (I think anyway, lol).

The two of them-Bubba was trying to get his sister to let him have at the bar, she was being a pig, and he hasn’t figured out there are two spigots yet, haha.

Finally Babies!

The first babies of the year are here. After several weeks of watching and waiting and not knowing exactly when any were due because we pasture bred, the first goat kids of the year finally arrived this afternoon. They made their entrance as eventful as possible too. The first one, a big buckling was stuck and first-time mom was having a heck of a time pushing him out so I helped pull, and boy pull hard! He finally came out and I thought well, he must have been a single because he’s so big, but no, out popped another foot. This time, a little girl, but only ONE foot. She was out of position and not coming out. I had to get down on my belly in the hay and go in after her. After a few minutes of being up to my elbow inside a goat trying to find the other front foot, I finally got a hold of it and was able to bring it up and into the right position. Then she got stuck! This was a biggun too!

Both are doing great and are happily eating. The pictures below were taking the moment they hit the ground, and on my camera phone so they’re not the best quality, but I was just so thrilled. Mom is a half Boer and Spanish cross, and dad is a fullblood Boer. The babies are perfectly Boer marked! I’m just thrilled. Being as big as they are I’m anxious to see how they grow. The little doe might just be a keeper. Hey, being born on leap day has to be lucky right?

Milk Happy

I am having such a great time with all this milk I’m getting from my dairy goats.

This morning I have already made Yogurt, and have enough milk from last night and this morning still to make pudding for later, and cheese.

I’m a little nervous about the cheese. This is will be my first attempt to make cheese in many years. Over the past week I’ve made pudding and yogurt several times, but I finally have enough milk to make cheese too and still have several quarts to drink.

My girls dropped a little in production this morning, but I’m hoping it’s just because 1) I shaved them down yesterday and it was a bit traumatic for them, lol. The best one was Savvy. She’s the one I would have thought would give me the most problem and she was just a princess about it. Alex was pretty good, but now is spooky about everything. It will probably take her a bit to settle again. Polly was horrible. That really surprised me. I thought she would be the easiest. They never fail to surprise. 2) It figures that the moment I decide to shave because it’s been so hot, the temp dropped and it stormed all night. That never sits well with them. So I got a quart less this morning than I usually do, but it’s still plenty. Hopefully they’ll pop back up to their normal three quarts per milking tonight.

Good Girls Do

I have to tell you I just love my new dairy goats. I’ve only had them a few weeks but they are giving us a gallon and a half of the best tasting, sweetest, creamiest milk every single day.

Usually when you buy a doe (female goat) that is already producing milk and move her to a new location, she will drop production. Sometimes only a little. Sometimes completely. Neither of the two I bought did anything of the sort. They are both producing exactly what the seller said they were at her farm.

Not only that but they are the sweetest girls. I have a third I brought home from the same seller, but she hasn’t kidded yet. That means she hasn’t had her babies yet, so he’s not producing milk. She’s due around the 28th of this month and I’m so excited to see the first goat babies born on this farm in many years, and anxious to begin milking her as well.

A goat has to have babies to produce milk, just like any other mammal. So every year they must be bred and have babies. That’s no problem because Mickey is waiting in the bullpen. LOL He has the two girls I just brought home last weekend with him now, and in July when I’m ready to breed him to the younger girls I got with him I’ll rotate him out into their pen, then in October I’ll take him out of there and put him in with my dairy girls. Then by January I’m hoping my youngest kids will be ready to meet Mickey. So I should have some nicely spaced babies next year, and Mickey should have female companionship for most of the year round–win, win.

Of all the goats, only two more, the youngest of the bunch here are dairy and will be taken over to the dairy side after being bred. All the rest are Boer, or Boer percentage and will stay on that side, just raising their kids, not being milked. A total of five goats to milk a day is plenty for me, and should provide plenty of milk both to drink, and to make cheeses and soaps.

I’m hoping to have soaps to sell at next years farm markets along with the kids.

Minor Glitches

I’m still experiencing a few minor glitches with the files here on this blog so if you occassionally come here and something seems off, or as in the last case, only half the page loads… please come back, it’s a temporary problem until I fix whatever it was causing the snafu.

Those aren’t the only little glitches I’ve been having though–today we went to a farm swap (large sale for farm animals, and crafts held at the Kankakee Fair Grounds on the first Sunday of every month from April through October) and sold two colts… now that doesn’t sound like a glitch until I tell you that while I was SUPPOSED to have my ‘eyes closed’ I still happened to come home with two more goats. LOL

I picked up two Boer/Spanish cross does. They didn’t really cost me anything–not really. Actually I only sold ONE horse for cash. The other I traded for the goats. The goats came with an added incentive though–they’re bred to a full-blood Boer buck and due to kid in four months. So hey, Bonus. Hubby says I don’t understand the concept of selling to make a profit. haha He’s probably right. But it’s fun.

He’s HERE.

Well we’re home. Actually we got home late on Wednesday around 8 pm. It was a 5 hour drive each way to pick up Mick and the girls but it was pleasant, sunny, and a nice outting for hubby and me. We had a GREAT time at Sherry and Brant’s house. They are fantastic people and have a wonderful sense of humor. Plus Sherry made a wonderful lunch spread where we actually got our first taste of ‘Dexter burger’. Hambugers made from their own Dexter cattle meat. It was tasty, as well as a delicious apple cheese and celery salad that Sherry made. What a feast!

Too soon we had to leave to make our trip back where at first we were really worried about getting the four weanling girls off the trailer and to the paddock in the dark especially because they aren’t lead broke, or people friendly yet. They’re by no means mean, just scared. Mickey however is a real ham and very loving. He too though had never been lead ever anywhere at all, no where. LOL Soooooo we had to somehow finagle it so a 350 pound Boer buck would calmly walk across a 1/2 acre field to the paddocks, in a strange place, at night. Yeah… sure.

Halfway home I called my best friend Ellen and begged her to come help. She said I didn’t have to beg, but I did anyway, lol. We just needed someone to watch the refugees in the trailer while we unloaded and moved each one. Turned out to be a fairly simple manuveur. We used our really big great dane sized dog crate on our small flatbed cart and caught two of the girls and put them in it and pulled them over to the paddock, then came back and did the same with the other two.

Then it was time to unload the Mickster. Mighty Mick. All 350 pounds of muscle, and horns. Well let me tell you what…

A buck who’d never been led anywhere in his life walked as calm as could be on a lead to the paddock. He stopped a couple times to glance around and a gentle nudge got him moving again.

WHAT A MAN. I love that buck. He’s just the sweetest thing on four feet.

I meant to take new pictures today of the new gang, but unfortunately I can’t find my danged camera. We had it with us in Iowa, and I think I left it in the truck, which is now in Wisconsin with my husband. He had to go for the weekend to a seminar. He has to have so many hours a year of continuing education for his job’s license, and he won’t be back until late Sunday… sooo, maybe pictures on Monday if the weather holds up.

Promised Pictures of My New Doe

Okay, I finally got out there to sit with the girls and get some pictures of my new doe from Carisa and Andrea (thanks ladies, we love her already).

Here she is–purebred LaMancha Blue Glow Farm Savanna

Savvy and her partner in crime, Polly looking innocent as they come out of the barn

Polly helping me fill water buckets

Going back in to see what more havoc they can create

The inside of my barn and my ‘out of retirement’ milkstand

It sure is nice to be milking again. I bought the Udderlyez milker thing because my hands are what made me leave dairy goats years ago, and I still can’t quite afford one of the real milkers–it took a few times to really make it work for me, most of the first few milkings ended up being by hand, but this morning I actually got it all working well for me and I’m quite pleased with it for now. I still need to get a real milking machine…. if I could just stop buying goats I might be able to afford one. LOL

I SWORE up and down in the past that I’d NEVER have a LaMancha no matter how sweet, or how well they milked. I guess I should have learned my lesson that saying ‘never’ means almost certainly will. LOL I call her my ‘earless wonder’ and she thinks it is a term of endearment. LOL (it is–now). She’s absolutely sweet and while I do not plan on a herd of them, I already love her enough that she’ll never be replaced.

Got Milk?

I do now! Yesterday we went back to Indiana where we got Polly from and brought home a beautiful big Lamancha doe who kidded about a month ago and is in full milk. So last night I got to milk again for the first time in almost seven years! It’s just as wonderful as I remembered it being. I’m so glad to be back in goats again. I’ll post pictures as soon as I get some. We got a big cold snap here today and the temps plumetted into the 20’s after being in the 70s for several weeks. It’s not too cold to take pictures, it’s too cold for me to be out there taking pictures. LOL

Like I Promised

I just got in from taking the pics of my new girl ‘Polly’. So like I promised yesterday, here she is in all her Alpine splendor.

I think Miss Polly gives me just the right finish to my new goat herd. Her, my two 50% boer/nubian kids, my 2 PB Nubian kids, and the 4 three-quarter boer/Nubian kids I’m getting from Sherry, plus the powerhouse Mickey will give me a fantastic kid crop come next spring.

I can’t wait. Now just to make it until May when Polly here is due to kid from her breeding to a pretty carmel colored Alpine buck. Kids of my very own this year already! How cool.