We really like having goats. They bring us much enjoyment and entertainment.
Halle is still shacked up with Jasper so Brown Sugar is alone with the three doelings.
We give them treats every now and then.
This is some winter squash. They all love it.
Since the doelings came from the same herd they are pretty tight friends.
So cute sleeping together.
About once a month we trim their hooves.
Give them a little alfalfa to eat and they handle it quite well.
That is Calvin on the stancion. It is the “bench” that will be used daily when we start milking. It is also handy for hoof trimming, giving shots and just checking out the goats to make sure they are healty.
We will be visiting DiJi Farm tomorrow. It is Halle’s birth place. Hopefully we will have a little time to pick Carol’s brain about goats. It is always great to talk to other goat people.
Enjoy the day,
Karen
How fun! My son has been begging for goats for a long time. Just because he would have an absolute zoo if we would let him.
Right now, I will vicariously enjoy reading about yours! 🙂
Yes, my oldest loves animals too. Even from a young age I figured he would work at a zoo or something.
We are hoping they learn a lot by having to help take care of animals.
I’m just grateful we have Nigerian Dwarfs.
The bucks got out a couple times on Saturday when we were cleaning their stalls and even as dwarves, they were hard to force back into their stalls.
I’m not sure I could handle full size goats 🙂
Thanx,
Karen
Wow! Is that the stand-offish little Brown Sugar we picked up last summer???!
Must be the magic and power of goat snacks… :o)
Keep up the good work!!!
XOXO,B
Well, what’s really changed is that she likes food. Remember when, unless it was hay, she didn’t want it?
Now she eats squash, bananas, chips and even gobbles up her probiotic and herbal dewormer! She isn’t
the foodie that Halle is but she is a lot better than she was last June.
Hugs,
Karen
How do you take care of their health and immunizations? Do you have a vet coming to your place? I am thinking very seriously about getting at least two. We will be expanding our barn pretty soon. This is so exiting.
Thank you for sharing your goat stories.
Kimberly
We do give them their immunizations. They are pretty easy. They are subcutaneous (given just under the skin vs. in a muscle). We do not do blood draws. We have a friend to help with that.
We have a great goat vet about a half of an hour away. Vet visits are EXPENSIVE.
Another great resource is other goat people in the area. We are friends with a lovely couple that are only ten minutes away. We are always looking to meet other goat people in the area. They are pretty willing to help and give advice.
Yes, at least two as they are a herd animal and really can’t be on their own.
We also use free choice minerals, baking soda & kelp. They seem to know what they need and eat it when they need it.
So:
* there are a few immunizations each year (some people choose not to do them)
* blood draw to make sure they are free of some serious illnesses once a year
* fecal samples to check worm load
You can take the blood sample and drop it off at your vet (we are close to a University that has a great Vet Medicine school and we can mail stuff to them)
The fecal sample you would drop it off at your vet as well . (we can mail that to the vet school too)
We will always do posts on stuff about the goats and really want to share what we are learning.
Probably a post on breeding will be forthcoming.
Some good resources:
Deborah Niemann “Rasing Goats Naturally” also her blog: http://www.homegrownandhandmadethebook.com/ and her discussion forum : http://nigeriandwarfgoats.ning.com/forum
Storey’s Guide to Raising Dairy Goats”
Ask any questions you want 🙂
Karen
Thank you for the information and the references, Karen. I have been reading and studying a lot today. I will definitely have more questions as I go.
I read today that goats are in heat for about three days during their 17 to 21 day cycle. Can you tell exactly when the doe is in heat? Does her behavior change? Or do you just shack ’em up for a long time hoping that she’ll conceive? Can you tell when she becomes pregnant?
Sorry for the “dirty” questions. I want to learn about milk production and how to do it right.
I can’t wait to see the result of Halle and Jasper’s breeding. Good luck with them.
Kimberly
Yes, typically they are obvious.
Back in the city I learned to milk with my neighbors goats.
She had bucks on the other side of the yard. I would take one doe out of the barn and head to the milking shed. If they were in heat they would try to run over to the boys.
They also are pretty vocal and “flag” their tails letting you know they are in heat.
Brown Sugar was VERY loud. Obnoxious. But I’ll take that over Halle Berry any day. It is very hard to know when Halle is in heat. She doesn’t make any noise and doesn’t flag much.
Yes, 17-21 days is normal and yes it last for 2 – 3 days. But, some can be sooner and can only be in heat for hours. We think Halle is the later.
A buck will know when a doe is in heat. He will smell her and if she is in heat he will mount her. The doe will also urinate for the buck and he smells/tastes it and can know that she is in heat.
If she isn’t in heat then he isn’t interested in her.
I am grateful to have bucks and will always use them to test if the goat is in heat. We take them over to the doe (with a fence between) and if the doe is in heat she will come over, turn around (maybe urinate) and show him her bottom. Hard thing is if they have a heat that only lasts hours you might not have time for that….hence the Love Shack. Very grateful that Ken and Joe are letting us keep Jasper here with Halle.
Mostly people wait to see if the doe comes back into heat. If she does then she isn’t pregnant. Brown Sugar didn’t come back into heat. With Halle I really don’t know what to do. We could do blood work but that costs money. We could do an ultrasound but that costs a lot of money. Historically Halle doesn’t even show the traditional signs of getting close to kidding until the very end. Most goats are not like Halle. She could have a deficiency in something and maybe isn’t dropping any eggs. Who knows. I guess we will learn a lot because of Halle and be able to share that information on the blog.
Take care,
Karen
Karen, It is fun to see all you goaters gathering. Karen, you are in God’s hands, doing what He has gifted you to do. Teach. Facts. Humour. Love of learning and sharing what you have learned. I can imagine you writing a book using your imagination, learning, humour. Fact or fiction.
Love,
Karren, Mom and Grandma
It’s so much fun seeing all the photos of the critters, but the goats are my favs-those personalities! I just ran cross this photo and had to share. A goat tower. Who knew there was such a thing?! https://www.flickr.com/photos/lakeshelbyville/4746226417
That is so cool. It looks medieval. I’m pretty sure we won’t be building that for them.
Take care,
Karen
Wow, that is awesome, thanks for sharing that Heather. I doubt we will build that, as I hate heights, but it gives us a good idea for something new for them to climb on. If I built that I think I would quit at 6 feet!
Adorable. That is a perfect word to describe them.
Have a great weekend,
Karen