Still Waters Farm

Horray for Hay

2012-01-22T16:51:00.000-08:00

We are so pleased with the hay we are getting here in Indiana. The goats are looking great. So gratifying after such lean times this summer in Texas.

This is the alfalfa mix that we get from a farm a few houses down the road. The goats love it - they really like the stemmy parts of it too.

This is an orchard grass mix we picked up that is leafier, but not as bright green. The goats seem to waste it, so the pony is eating it.

Pregnant ladies bellied up to the hay feed. Feeders are just a piece of hog panel zip tied across the corners of the stalls.

Haven't been seeing alot of Birdie's head lately...

Nosey and Marcie enjoying a bite.

Took this photo to show Marcie's interesting coat. She's roaned (white hairs sprinkled in) all over but has more white hair and some gray hair in the front.

Barn Set Up

2012-01-22T16:26:00.000-08:00

I had a request for more info about my barn set up, so thought I'd post some more detailed photos. This is the front (west side) of the barn. The smaller door by the tank goes to the lean to.

This is the south side of the barn - the lean to and the "dry" lots. Right now we have two lots. The third bay where the trailer is could be an additional dry lot if needed.

This is a dry lot for the bucks.

This is a dry lot for the does (and pony) it wraps around the back of the barn.

The side of our property - The plowed ground will be planted for pasture. Our property goes to just the other side of the bridge at the road. We have 8 acres.

The back of our property to the fence line. There are two ditches running through our property, so we are thinking plant pasture on the close side of the ditch and trees on the far side.

This is the door that leads to the lean to. There is a concrete slab there. The goats don't like walking on it, but they are getting used to it. I have my feed storage there right now, but not the long term plan. Hubby needs to take his tools to his shop. :)

This is the aisle in the the lean to. The fencing is all heavy duty wood for cows. We tacked hog panels down low so the goats can't get out. I open a gate for the bucks to go into their pen. The frost free water pump is also in the aisle.

Buck pen from the inside of the lean to. If we decide we need to house animals outside all winter, we could create walls where those horizontal boards are.

At the end of the aisle is a door to the back of the barn. I run the does down the aisle and into the dry lot.

The goat stalls are constructed on the south and east sides of the barn.

We made the stalls out of horse round pen panels we had and added hog panels with zipper ties.

Merrylegs saying "hi"!

Kids' bunnies - Romeo and Roxy.

There is a second concrete pad with shop cabinets. I would like to enclose this for a feed room. Hubby has another building for his shop. Right now we are renting space in the barn for extra income, so I'm only using about 1/2 - 2/3 of it.

The back of the barn also has a huge door. We store hay and straw on pallets in this corner.

I don't know what this was, but now it is a compost pile.

I pull my muck buckets here and dump them (high not wide).

We have some other out buildings too. This is going to be the future chicken house. Right now it's storing my range shelters from Texas (don't they look so tiny!)

I already posted a photo of my old fashioned milk house. The problem is that it isn't very close to the barn or the pens. This building also has a concrete floor, so it might become the dairy? At the head of this line of buildings is hubby's shop.

A New Year

2012-01-02T12:14:00.000-08:00

2012 literally blew in yesterday. Our bedroom is on the north wall of thehouse, and I as I woke I heard strong winds buffeting house. The winds blew all day and seemed to besearching for ways in the house. Wedecided to decrease the number of bucks in our goat herd, and it seemedauspicious that we sold one on January 1^st, so our first entry inthe farm ledger is a deposit rather than a debit.

At feeding time the wind rattled the metal sides androof. I felt as if I were stepping intothe workings of some giant machine. Thegoats seem cozy enough bedded down in the straw. It makes me wonder what we have given upliving in our hermetically sealed, climate controlled houses. We seem to be a sensory seeking society,perpetually in pursuit of stimulation.

As I worked I detected a new sound on the roof. Rain? I slid open the door to the lean to and stepped into the aisle, only tostop short. A field mouse turned hisbeady black eyes on me with a startled expression. How can a mouse have an expression, you ask? I don’t know. It is a curious thing, but it was incontrovertibly obvious. I’m not one to be spooked by mice. I’m little concerned by their scurryingabout. However, once in Texas, I lifteda bag of feed and had a mouse scurry across my trunk. I assure you the reaction was strong and visceral!

The little creature popped into his hole under the wall ofthe barn, and I proceeded down the aisle of the lean-to. It was at this time I noticed the eeriecreaking of the old wooden gates that divide the lean-to. Hollywood sound engineers couldn’t have donebetter. I was a pleasantly terrifyingsound. These are the simple delights offarm life.

I called to our pony, and discovered the new sound of theroof was not rain, but white particles not quite ice, yet not quite snow. Today the winds do not blow quite sohard. The air is filled with powderywhite snow flurries which swirl every which way. Snow is a delightful thing when one is tuckedsafely inside with a sweater and an afghan. Soon enough though, I must venture forth!

The New Still Waters Farm

2011-12-08T22:26:00.001-08:00

Moving a farm to a new state is quite an undertaking. Here is one of my little helpers spreading shavings in the stalls we built in our new barn. It is so nice to work out of the elements!

Here are the doelings I'm raising for next year. I didn't want to breed too many until I learned what kind of market there are for Mini Nubians here in Indiana. Plus I want to start milk testing - milking five is probably four too many!

Our new farm has an old fashioned milk room. It has a concrete tub in the floor where they used to cool the milk and a hand pump. I love these connections to the past!

Family Tradition

2011-11-11T19:17:00.001-08:00

Well raising dairy goats pretty much skipped a generation (well my uncle gave it a go too), but it is in our blood. Here are some vintage photos we unearthed of my great grandparents, grandmother and great-aunt with their goats. I know breeders love to see old photos and compare the goats of yesteryear to those of today...

My Pal Robin

2011-10-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

The moment my first kid hit the ground, I was hooked on goats!
They aren't horses, but they are still very pretty!

Birdie had one nice growthy buckling, Robin.

I knew I couldn't sell this kid, so I bought a doeling to breed him to, Lily.

I used Robin for four years. Never did get a doeling out of him and Lily.
I got pretty daughters out of his other "wife", Chinaberry though.

Last year I bred him back to Birdie, and now I have this lovely wether named Jacob.
Birdie and Robin are grade Nubians. They have something in them that makes them smaller
than most purebred Nubians. I like their smaller size. Wish I knew what it was that makes them smaller.
Breeding Mini Nubians by crossing Nigerian Dwarf goats with Nubians,
doesn't get this kind of breed character.

I sold both Robin's "wives" and didn't need to use him this year.
So happy trails, ol' pal!

Goliath

2011-10-07T14:32:00.000-07:00

Traded Cupid for a new Nubian buck last night. This guy is a giant compared to anything I've ever had! He's is definately going to be bigger than our grade buck Robin. Robin is 5 this year. He's lightweight. Only thing that has grown on him is his neck! But that's ok, he's pretty :) Stinky, but pretty...

Goliath!

Getting to know each other... obsessively....

Yeah, we love you, but no kisses!

Priorities

2011-08-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

I was shocked today to read advice on the internet that one must put the welfare of animals above "everything else". I hope this was hyperbole, but I fear there are people out there that feel exactly that. In the Torah (the Bible), we have a law that we must feed our animals before we feed ourselves, but we would not go so far as to say the welfare of animals must be placed everything else. There are limits. There are legitimate distractions. Is the care of children, the disabled, the elderly not a legitimate distraction?

My goats sustained my disabled child when he could take no other nourishment. For that I am grateful, and I do my best by my goats. But no, their welfare does not come before the welfare of my family. I believe what that Torah law implies is that we understand that domesticated livestock are totally dependent on our care. We do not make them suffer and wait for their basic needs to be met while we attend to our own comfort. Beyond that I think we each have to determine the best way to serve our goats. For one that may mean a great deal of hands on care, for another that may mean selectively breeding hardy animals that can live happily with less hands on attention. To me there is an element of cruelty to breeding goats that cannot kid without assistance or mother their young. I question the wisdom of breeding animals that can't survive the demands of the climate or live off local feed stuff. These are the questions we must ask and answer for ourselves.

There are different animals for different purposes. I once took in a Thoroughbred to live with my Quater Horse. The poor thing was miserable as a backyard horse. He didn't know what do to with himself. While my Quarter Horse was completely content, to graze or munch a round bale and live in a run in shed, this Thoroughbred was used to a stall, more concentrated meals, and more work. In the end I had to pass him down to a family that could provide him with the lifestyle he preferred. It would be useless for me to give management tips to a Thoroughbred racing farm, while the management there would be completely inappropriate for a barefoot backyard pony. So when you look for advice on goat raising topics, I think you have to throw alot of salt around. What some feel is absolutely necessary may or may not be applicable to what you are trying to accomplish.

Rough Summer

2011-08-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

It has been a rough summer here at Still Waters Farm. Texas is having one of the worst droughts on record with record triple digit temperatures. We have no pasture left. All our livestock are on dry lots and are eating hay. Gracias a Dios! We have been able to get hay. I'm hopeful maybe we can have another rye grass pasture this winter, but we'll have to see. I has been harder to sell surplus kids this year, and I suspect the drought and economy have alot to do with it. The classifieds are bursting with animals folks are unloading. I did however manage to sell enough to bankroll the aquistion of 3 new Nigerian Dwarf bucks, and 3 new Nubian does. I forge ahead!

I've spent alot of time contemplating the direction of my Mini Nubian herd. I've been considering which goals are vanity goals and which are truly important. For example, is it really desirable to have goats with high production if they overproduce - that is produce more than a set of kids can use? Or is it better to have goats that produce less but are lower maintence? What are these goats to be used for? What is the market I wish to serve? What are the needs of the market? What are my needs?

I've been thinking about:
Numbers, Herd Reduction
Bloodlines
Hardiness
Feed conversion
Housing needs
Nutrition
Conformation
Milk testing
Temperment...

In future weeks, I plan to update the website with our goals or mission statement and updated photographs of the herd. Breeding season is here, and it is time to decide who to breed to whom. A breeding plan will also be put up. Farming is a hopeful occupation, even when things are rough, we continue to believe it will be better next year.

2nd Generation Buckling - $150

2011-05-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

ALL BUCKLINGS 50% OFF FOR THE MONTH OF JULY!
Sire: Eddy Place Nosey (5th Generation)
Dam: Ordered Steps Annie (1st Generation)
Born: April 27

email swgoats@yahoo.com for more information

New Herd Sires

2011-05-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

I'm bringing in some new bloodlines this year. Alot of us in Texas are working with animals from the same original crosses. I think we are going to need infusions of new crosses as there haven't been enough made yet (in my humble opinion). So I am hunting down really excellent stock for the first crosses, using goat math. Goat math is this - sell two cheap goats, buy one better goat. When you see someone who has really pricey goats and you wonder how in the world they can afford it, I believe Goat Math is how. Each year using goat math I try to bring in better bloodlines. HOWEVER, you also learn over time working with bloodlines what you like. Some of my original animals are still some of my favorites with characteristics that I do not always find elsewhere. Here are two yearling bucks that I brought home a couple weeks ago from Pine Shadows. They are just fabulous. I went for Wildheart, but when I got Swashbuckler home, I wasn't sure that I didn't like him the best. They are half brothers, and both very nice. Pedigrees here for now:
Wild Heart
Swashbuckler


PINE SHADOWS JJ WILDHEART

Pine Shadows JJ Swashbuckler (formerly Red Ryder)

Broody Hen

2011-05-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

One of my newer Barred Rock hens decided to go broody. She was very diligent. Every night I would go to get the eggs, and she would be sitting on them. She was very irritated whenever I would take them. So after a couple weeks, I decided to let her try to sit some. I turned our dog house into a brooder. (The dog is sleeping in the kid's playhouse anyway.) After six days, I went out there, and she had just up and left. It had been several hours, so I was worried the embryos would have died. But I went and fetched her - she was back in the old coop sitting on the day's eggs. I told her to get back on the eggs. She settled in and sat for two more weeks. Went out to peak at her Sat morning and wonder of wonders, there were 10 baby chicks under her. Only two eggs did not make it. I understand this to be an excellent hatch rate.

Farm Girl!

2011-04-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

Our oldest child is six now, and wow, that's so much more than five! She's been taking some responsibility with the goats. She is Marcie's "mom" and bottle feeds her twice a day. Yesterday she helped me catch Black Beauty - quite a big goat for a little girl. She was so proud and so was I! I don't usually put pictures of my kids (the human ones) on the internet, but can't resist with this one...

Bittersweet Good Byes

2011-03-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

One of the hardest parts of goat raising is knowing you can't keep them all. This week I decided to pass our Alpine-Nubian cross doe Lily on to another family. Lily was my third goat . She has been a good milker that provided my human babies with many glasses of wholesome milk. We brought her up from South Texas. We did not always have an easy relationship. As a kid she was decidedly wild and very fast. Even in a tiny pen, she was hard to catch. The first year her teats were so tiny and hard to milk, I felt like crying at milking time. She jumped around like crazy and tipped the bucket many times! But eventually she settled into her job. Her teats elongated and became easier to milk, and she learned to stand. If you bring food, she'll come to you without issue. Without food, well, that's just a matter of her whims! She was a good learning experience, and that is why I felt she would be a good fit for this other family who is just starting out with goats. I highly recommend that anyone looking into getting started with goats try hard to find a fully grown goat at has been milked before. It's not easy to find, and I wish I had one to sell every person that calls! But if you can find a goat like this to learn on, you'll never regret it!

Marcie

2011-02-18T14:23:00.000-08:00

This is Marcie, Betty's Baby's baby. She weighs 2 lbs 11 oz! That's one tiny little lady! She's in the house being bottle raised, so that she doesn't have to compete with her brothers for milk. She's a scrapper with a good appetite.

We have had 5 kids born this February out of does we bought bred from Eddy's Goat Place. So their names will be "Eddy Place Marcie" etc. They are all 4th generation. You can see more kid photos here.

Enjoy!
Angelia Mercer

A Cautionary Tale - Giving Injections

2011-02-11T22:19:00.000-08:00

Scary moment this evening - I've been at the vet several times in the past few weeks due to trouble with parasites. In a climate like Texas worms and coccidiosis can be an issue even in the winter. Stress due to unusually harsh weather can reduce a goat's resistance to parasites. Having to stay huddled together is stressful - not as healthy as getting out and exercising. We see this in our human populations as well. When large numbers of people congregate in buildings in the winter, they share all kinds of germs.

On with the cautionary tale, so tonight I was out administering a coccidiosis treatment to the herd, and I noticed one of my nursing does appeared pretty anemic (pale pink eyelids). I decided to give her a SubQ (under the skin) injection of iron & B-complex. I gave her the injection and moved on to the next pen, and drenched two more goats. As I was straightening up, I heard the injected doe scream - yes, goats can scream; it is a very distinctive sound. I started running and saw the doe drop to the ground. I ran to the house where we keep an epi-pen. When I reached the doe, her eyelids were *white*, and her breathing was labored. But her head was up. I was reluctant to use the epi-pen as it is really on hand for the humans in the house. I decided to try some nutri-drench. When I got back from the house with the drench, she was up eating some hay. When I gave her the drench, she went nuts over it and was sucking at the pump wanting more. I gave her ten to fifteen pumps. Then I brought out minerals mixed with herbal dewormer, and all the goats including the shocky goat went crazy for it. I remembered that the warming herbs, especially the cayenne pepper were good for shock. Hubby brought home a bottle of children's Benadryl, and she got a dose of that too. She appears to be recovered, but I was quite shaken.

There are drawbacks to any administration method of medicines and supplements. Placing the med in the water or food is the safest, but it is hard to make sure the animal gets the right dose. Pills can cause choking (it's best to use a balling gun). Drenches can be aspirated into the lungs, and very weak animals may be reluctant or unable to swallow them. And injections can cause anaphylactic shock. ANY injection - even a vitamin shot! For this reason it is important to have epinephrine on hand (on you, not in the house or barn) any time you give an injection. Some goat producers have expressed that their vets did not want to give them this essential medication. Other products may be of use - Benadryl, cayenne pepper, Nutri-drench or propylene glycol (delivers an easily assimilated source of energy), and epinephrine OTC inhalers. All these products require that the animal be breathing and/or able to swallow. The goal is to return the blood pressure to normal - in shock, it is low. And of course keep the airway open!

I have learned that the B-complex and iron can be used orally. Our vet said that the thiamine can cause trouble, and he had a pig drop dead on him one time after a vitamin injection, so he is wary of using them.

I have been doing a lot of research lately into various herbs that have the potential to support the health of our goats (& ourselves). I did not find herbs to be an adequate replacement for chemical deworming products. I do, however, feel that a different approach is in order - one that views herbs as an nutritional adjunct that can improve parasite resistance & reduce the need for harsh chemical medications. Futhermore they can potentially help the goats heal from the insult caused by the worms; something that chemical dewormers do not do. In coming posts, I hope to share my findings. Take care!Angelia Mercer

Snow Day at Still Waters Farm!

2011-02-04T09:24:00.000-08:00

Here in East Texas we have had 2 snowfalls so far, which is rather unusual. This week we had several days below freezing in a row which almost never happens. We tend to measure freezes in hours not days! It raises some special challenges for livestock raising. The animals must be bedded down well out of the wind, water has to keep flowing through the hoses, and the troughs have to be cleared of ice so everyone can get a drink. The reward for all this extra work is the beautiful view!! Enjoy!
Angelia Mercer

Still Waters Farm Updates

2011-01-26T15:17:00.000-08:00

Here on Still Waters Farm we are busy as always. I wanted to draw your attention to a few changes on the website. If you look at the top bar, you will see our Breeding Plan . This has been updated to reflect the current status of our herd. I purchased several new Mini Nubians this fall, and they are bred. You can also check out the Ordered Steps Ranch page. There you will find Mini Nubians that are for sale at farm that is not far from us. If you are looking to start a herd or add to the one you've got, I encourage you to take a look!

We have 4 kids on the farm that were born this January. Chinaberry has a lovely blue eyed set of 1st generation kids (75/25) - one boy and one girl. And Lily has had another set of full size dairy bucklings (I've given up on her ever having doelings - these are boys 5 and 6). Both of these does were bred to Robin. We have 2 does expected to kid in February, and more due in March and April. Baby photos are up!

We also had a snow here which is somewhat unusual, and I got some fabulous photos I would like to share, so keep checking back!

Angelia Mercer

What in the World is Homesteading

2011-01-06T15:35:00.000-08:00

I was a big fan of using the term "homesteading" until I realized many people have no idea what it means and can come up with some pretty mixed up, twisted definitions, so I fell off from using it much. I wanted to clarify the definition. No, if someone claims to be be a "homesteader", to have a "homestead", or to have a dream of "homesteading", that doesn't mean that they are necessarily some eco-extremist with dreams of living "off the grid" and talks of using reusable toilet paper. Yes, there are folks like that out there, but that is not what I am thinking of when I refer to homesteading. Countryside Magazine has the best definition for homesteading in my opinion:

"Our Philosophy: It's not a single idea, but many ideas and attitudes, including a reverence for nature and a preference for country life; a desire for maximum personal self-reliance and creative leisure; a concern for family nurture and community cohesion; a belief that the primary reward of work should be well-being rather than money; a certain nostalgia for the supposed simplicities of the past and an anxiety about the technological and bureaucratic complexities of the present and the future; and a taste for the plain and functional. Countryside reflects and supports the simple life, and calls its practitioners homesteaders."

Basically, homesteading is a pragmatic term - we like the country, we like country stuff, we like oldies but goodies and new technology when it helps and doesn't hurt. It is not a political movement nor is it a religious movement, though many country folk are religious - it's hard to live in the country and not see God. Homesteading is a lifestyle choice. Some homesteaders make a living off their homesteads, while others (like ourselves) are hobby farmers. Like all lifestyle choices, there are trade offs. There are days when I think I could be quite happy in a subdivision house in town. There would be alot less work to do, alot more free time. But generally I view the benefits of country life as outweighing the negatives both for myself and for my family.

If you are interested in learning more about homesteading, I encourage you to take a look at Countryside Magazine. Countryside is written for the readers, by the readers. As such it reads like a conversation, rather than a how to manual. Mother Earth News is another magazine that often comes up with the topic of homesteading. I can't in good conscious recommend it however. There is a pretty solid liberal social and environmental agenda associated with that magazine. If you go for that sort of thing, then you may like it. Hobby Farms and Mary Janes Farm are other popular magazines - I have not personally checked them out.

When I have the time, I enjoy sharing what I am learning about small scale livestock raising and other country hobbies. If you enjoy my writing, you can follow me on blogger, subscribe to my facebook page Still Waters Farm - Angelia Mercer, or get my tweets. I also hope to publish more articles through Countryside Magazine in the future. Thank you for letting me be a part of your country adventures! Angelia Mercer

Redwing Blackbirds

2011-01-02T20:40:00.000-08:00

The redwing blackbirds migrated through today. It was quite a sight. Millions and millions (that's what it seemed like; I have no actual idea how many) birds landed on our pasture and pond. I tried to get close enough to get some photos. Thankfully, no doo-doo on the head. Actually it kind of amazes me that that many birds move through, and the place isn't covered with droppings. They do move very quickly though. The descend in mass and rise and mass and fly a stones throw, and then descend again.
Redwing Blackbirds

Photo Day!

2010-11-30T10:57:00.000-08:00

Birdie, our herd queen, had twins last night. Gorgeous! It was a seemly successful mother-son breeding. Unfortunately they are bucks - bucks 7 and 8 for ol' Bird. They say the buck determines the sex, but I don't believe it. Birdie has been covered by 5 different bucks and produced bucklings every time. I guess it could be dumb luck, but I'm prone to think she's contributing in some way. I've tried the apple cider vinegar in the drinking water with her, and that hasn't helped. Any who... these guys are super cute and super sweeties. This is my absolute favorite color pattern, just like daddy Robin. Unfortunately if they grow up to be bucks, all that pretty white will be orange most of the time with urine, so I'm really leaning toward wethering (neutering) and training them to pull a cart. Wouldn't they make a handsome pair of cart goats? I've named them Jacob and Esau. Seems to fit - Esau is a bit bigger, and Jacob is more of a talker.

Now, the birth went well. I followed my own directives (see "Goatherds are Not Midwives") and sat on my hands. It was the first time I ever saw an abnormal presentation - one front leg was tucked under on the second kid. We waited and waited, and I wondered how long it would take for that second kid to come. As long as Birdie was up on her feet and not in distress, I wasn't going to mess with things. Kid crowned and went back in 2 or 3 times. Finally I saw a foot and head. I cleared the little guys airway, and he sucked on my finger. The going was slow, and I realized I wasn't seeing a second leg. It was a simple matter to loop my finger around that second foot and bring it to the front, and then the birth proceeded. The kids are doing well, but it's a chilly day, so I decided sweaters were in order.

Martha's kid Dolley is shaping up well. She reminds me alot of Martha.

We got another new Mini Nubian doe. This is Annie from the Ordered Steps herd in Jacksonville. She's a looker. She's in the breeding pen now with Nosey. Annie has great conformation; look how she posed for the photo!

This is our new pony Buster. He's the best pony on the planet. I have never known a horse or pony as well trained as this one.

Love my animals....

New Girls!

2010-11-15T21:38:00.000-08:00

Eddy Place Black Beauty (Merryleg's mama) gen3

Eddy Place Bettye's Baby gen3

Had to snatch these to gals up. To fine to pass up! Beauty is at the height maximum for minis, but our herd tends toward the minimum, so I don't think it will be a problem. Beautiful conformation, and I saw that udder this spring - looking forward to all that milk! They are both bred to Hershey - http://eddysgoatplace.com/AdultsforSale.aspx

Somebody needs to snap him up; he's gorgeous.

I *really* want to get a doe from the Ordered Steps herd too. I have to wait until one of the Nigerians sells. I also need to breed Nosey to one more doe. I have to breed him to 3 does, before he can get his Purebred certificate. Three were exposed to him, but I think only two are bred by him.

AGS registered Nigerian Dwarf goats for sale! Take a look at the breeding plan tab above for photographs.

Crotched Diaper Cover Pattern (Tickle Turdle)

2010-11-12T13:51:00.000-08:00

So I found out something kind of disturbing today. Even when you take down a website and quit paying for it. It can be archived and remain on the internet for posterity! So be careful little fingers what you type!

But this is rather harmless, so for fun I thought I'd share. Once upon a time before I had a real life - lol - I had this little endeavor crocheting and knitting baby things. (Not that people that crochet and knit baby things don't have a life. But admittedly, I didn't ;-P) This was my little website - isn't it cute?:

http://web.archive.org/web/20071107021905/http://www.tickleturdle.com/wrappattern.html

This gal didn't like how I wrote the pattern so wrote her own :-)

http://knottygirlparlor.blogspot.com/

Now I did figure something out that I never posted on the internet. If you take some of that elastic thread and crochet it in with the final row or two of the edging on the wrap, it makes the legs snugger. I liked to use these wraps with Kissaluvs:

http://www.amazon.com/Kissaluvs-Cotton-Fleece-Contour-Unbleached/dp/B002UD6D56/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&qid=1289598540&sr=8-28

PS Now I'm knitting leg warmers for my little dancers with the round knitting loom. Very cute!!

Goatherds are Not Midwives

2010-11-10T23:35:00.000-08:00

I am amazed by all the videos and writings all over the internet of women who routinely interfere in the births of their goats. OK, I'm just going to say this once - YOU ARE NOT A MIDWIFE! A goat does not need or want a midwife. In fact interfering is exactly what midwives are trained NOT to do, so even if you think you are playing midwife, you are doing a bad job of it. Put down the chux pads! Put down the rubber gloves! And HANDS OFF THE GOAT!

So if you find your goat in labor, here is what you do - if you have time, most births will proceed very quickly if you haven't been hovering and prolonging labor for your goat by driving her batty. Grab a feed sack - this is for you to sit on. Grab 2 old towels. Grab a pair of scissors (optional) and the iodine. Sit quietly and watch - PLEASE DO NOT "COACH" YOUR GOAT. Whisper if you must speak. Wait. If your hands start itching to check things out or help a little, sit on them. If you think you need to help, take a deep breath and wait. If a bag of water appears, leave it alone. If two feet appear, leave them alone. A little nose will appear, smile and leave it alone. (If the words "perineal support" even enter your mind, get up and walk away. You are not a midwife - all that stuff just makes it harder for the doe.) More than likely moments later the whole kid will appear. Now you can help. Make sure the sac is removed and the airway is clear. Wipe off most of the gunk with your first towel and then let mom at it. Another kid may arrive, same procedure. At some point you can trim the cord if you like and treat it with iodine.

Most important thing is to make sure the kid nurses. If you get a slow to start kid (it's been 30 min and it hasn't nursed and now it wants to sleep), you can milk out a little oz from mom and bottlefeed it to give the kid some energy and then get it on mom. I like to see the placenta delivered within 45 min - I've yet to see it not delivered in that amount of time. I'd give it a couple hours before I became alarmed. I've seen it said that even 4 hours is within the realm of normal. Retained placenta should be treated by the vet. Never pull on the sack. I did have one doe seem to take awhile to finish passing the placenta. She turned around and ate it while it hung from her backside. Totally scared the crap out of me, but then I realized it made sense. Eating placenta makes the uterus contract which would have made the rest of it detach.

OK, what does not normal look like. Well, if two feet and a nose are showing for several minutes with no apparent progress. You can approach the doe. If she turns her butt away from you, leave her alone. If she doesn't mind, you can grab hold the feet and give the slightest pull for traction as she pushes (and only when she pushes). This is the most help I have ever needed to offer, and even then I wondered if I should have just waited longer - though I don't think I've ever done any harm. Do not pull when the goat is not pushing. You could prolapse the goat. Do not pull hard, it is just a slight traction with her own pushing. Malpresentations do occur, but they are pretty rare (all the kids we've had here, we've never seen one knock on wood, ptu ptu). A goat that is straining for 45 min without progress probably needs the help of the vet.

Oh, and do not breed small does to large sires. The doe does determine the size of the kid to a certain extent, but if you say, breed a boer to a small swiss dairy goat, don't be surprised if the kidding seems difficult! Please remember you are not a midwife. In fact, it is cruel to mess with nature. At least when the human hospitals mess with birth they give mom drugs! Labor is much easier when left alone. It really is (most of the time). That's why we home birthing women can act all smug and say we didn't need drugs - and all the other moms in the room go "wow, I don't know how you did it". OK, off my soapbox. If you don't agree, go post it on you own blog ;-)

Nigerian Dwarf Herd For Sale

2010-10-31T15:14:00.000-07:00

After a long deliberation, we have decided to sell our entire herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats in order to focus exclusively on raising Mini Nubians. We will only be retaining our senior buck Sam Houston. We are asking $1,000 for the entire herd which includes one doe in milk with her doeling (weaning age), one bred doe, 2 does in the breeding pen, and our junior buck. Photographs of all can be found at the tab up top for "ND breeding plan" and pedigrees at the tab for "ND Pedigrees". We have alot of color and blue eyes in our herd, as well as milking potential in the pedigree. All are AGS registered. We prefer to sell the entire herd at this time, rather than break it up. Please email swgoats@yahoo.com for more information.

Welcome Countryside Readers!

2010-10-25T22:43:00.000-07:00

Thank you to those of you who read my article in Countryside Magazine and took the time to check out my blog. I hope I've been at least a little bit helpful in your journey into goat herding. Goats are one of my passions - at times perhaps even an obsession! I just learn so much from the process, and it trickles down into all parts of my life. Goats have taught me about patience, compassion, JOY, stewardship, and life, among other things.

For those blog readers who aren't aware, my article "Love Your Buck!" was printed in the Nov/Dec issue of Countryside Magazine. It has been delivered to subscribers and will be on store shelves soon if not already. There are several articles about goats in this issue.

Regulars may notice I have a new layout on the blog. There are now tabs across the top that will take you to my breeding plan and pedigrees for our goats. In time I hope to have more tabs with basic information about our goat breeding and sales operation. This new feature on blogger is fabulous, allowing this pertinent info to be easily accessible. Of course there will always be fun blog postings of baby animals and projects, useful tips, etc.

2011 Breeding Plan - Does Due in Jan/Feb

2010-09-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

The first set of does have been breed for 2011. These does will be having kids in January and February. For photos of the bucks please look here.

Duck's Mini Herd Ginger Rogers - AGS Nigerian Dwarf (sire-Dean's Funny Farm Little B, dam Owl's Roost Hope)

Notes: Nice lines. We bred Ginger for the first time this year. She had good udder quality - it was hard to gauge production as I didn't milk her right away, and she only had one kid. Bred to Sam Houston.

Duck's Mini Herd Chinaberry - IDGR Grade Experimental Miniature Nubian 1st generation (sire Dean's Funny Farm Zeus, dam Dewberry NOA Nubian) blue eyes

Notes: Bred to Robin. Kid's will be first generation. We have got two fine bucks and two fine does out of this breeding. We milked her daughter Cranberry this year, and she has a nice level lactation curve and excellent udder quality. Easily hand milked.

Still Waters Cranberry - IDGR Grade Experimental Miniature Nubian 1st generation (sire Still Waters Robin, dam Duck's Mini Herd Chinaberry) blue eyes

Notes: Cranberry's udder is easy on the hands, and she's kept the milk coming in since Feb. This year she was bred to Sam Houston. (Unfortunately she wouldn't stand for Nosey - she wanted an older, more fragrant mate - so we're probably going to get more first generation babies. Lesson learned that it is better to keep the older guys around until the younger guys are fully mature.)

Still Waters Mulberry - IDGR Grade Experimental Miniature Nubian 1st generation (sire Still Waters Robin, dam Duck's Mini Herd Chinaberry) blue eyes

Notes: First Freshener. Hoping she shapes up like Cranberry. She's looking good. Bred to Nosey. Kids will be second generation.

Rio Leche Farm Lily - IDGR Grade Experiemental Nubian/Alpine (sire Mr Coffee Bean, dam Freckles)

Notes: Bred to Robin. This pair keeps giving me bucks. 5 total so far. Giving it one last shot for a doe. Lily is a solid gallon milk goat with a decently level lactation curve.

2011 Breeding Plan - Our Bucks

2010-09-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

SENIOR BUCKS

Still Waters Robin - IDGR grade Nubian (sire "Danny" dam Still Waters Birdie)

Notes: Birdie was our first milk goat. She has been a reliable milker with a nice dairy profile. We used Robin lightly his first 3 seasons. I milked his daughter Cranberry this year. He contributed a beautiful Nubian conformation and milking capability. Cranberry has a soft, easily milked udder and a level lactation curve.

Still Waters Sam Houston - AGS purebred Nigerian Dwarf blue eyes (sire Duck's Mini Herd Davy Crockett dam Dean's Funny Farm Princess Di) about 22"

Notes: Great grandfather was MCH Piddlin Acres Blue Thunder ++*S VG - scroll down here to take a look at him, you can see where that black and white pattern is coming from! Sam seems to be carrying it strong as all Sam's kids have been some version of black and white or nearly black and white. Sam takes after mama being a stockier type ND - good rumen capacity, but I'd like to see more refined muscling. (Though when you get down to his level and look good, he's an improvement over mama in the muscling department.) Sam threw 4 doeling last year and 1 buckling. We have two daughters that will be ready for breeding next summer.

JUNIOR BUCKS

Still Waters King David - IDGR Grade Experimental Miniature Nubian - 2nd Generation, blue eyes (sire Ordered Steps Mordechai dam Still Waters Cranberry) about 24"

Notes: What can I say? He's beautiful! (click on picture to get a better look) Can't wait to see his kids! Mom is Cranberry mentioned above.

EddyPlace Nosey - MDGR American Miniature Nubian - 5th Generation (sire Double-R-Farm CM Hershey dam EddyPlace Nelda II) about 23-24"

Notes: We purchased Nosey this spring from Eddy Ailstock who has a beautiful herd of Miniature Nubians. We hope Nosey will contribute improved breed character, strong legs and improved udders. Mom has a very nice looking bag. GREAT EARS!

Still Waters Daniel Boone - AGS Purebred Nigerian Dwarf (sire Still Waters Sam Houston dam Duck's Mini Herd Ginger Rogers)

Notes: Daniel has beautiful lines and more refined muscling coming from his mother. Ginger had good udder quality this first freshening, but I must admit I chose not to milk her this year.

RESERVATION POLICY - I don't take reservations on kids prior to their birth. Once kids hit the ground, I post if they are avaliable. At that time I will reserve them for $25 first come first serve - the fee is non-refundable, except in the event something happens to the kid. It is your responsiblity to arrange pick up time around the time of weaning. You are invited to make an appointment to come see the kid prior to reservation. I will not allow bottlefeeding except to someone with a really compelling argument - ie you are making a trek to get here. (This is to insure you get the most healthy kid possible from our farm.)

A poetry break

2010-09-08T21:56:00.000-07:00

Dust
by Sidney King Russell

Agatha Morley all her life
Grumbled at dust like a good wife.
Dust on a table, dust on a chair
Dust on a mantel she couldn't bear.
She forgave faults in man and child
But a dusty shelf would set her wild
She bore with sin without protest
But dust thoughts preyed upon her rest.
Agatha Morley is sleeping sound
Six feet under the mouldy ground.
Six feet under the earth she lies
With dust at her feet and dust in her eyes.

What battles are you fighting?
If you died today, would you be glad you chose those battles to fight?
Are you fighting a loosing battle?
If you knew you would loose the battle in the end, is it still worth fighting?
What rewards do you seek?
Temporal rewards? Or eternal?

Ups and Downs

2010-08-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

Farming seems to be a constant roller coaster ride of ups and downs. Martha gave birth to twin doelings a couple weeks ago. Out of 3 births this year - Sam Houston threw 4 doelings and 1 buckling. Those are pretty good stats! He's also thrown all black (or almost black) and white kids. Not sure how I like those stats - I like black and white, but I like other colors too! These two got the recessive eye genes. Even though Martha and Sam both have blue eyes, these kids have brown. Still very cute. Martha has a nice bag that can be milked easily by hand. I want to start separating them during the day so I can milk her but right now they are still so small they can slip right through the fence.

Abigail Adams and Dolley Madison (Martha's line is named for first ladies)

The chicks are grown up now. Here are some pics. The first is an Ameracauna. The second shows a Buff Orpington and the Eygptian Fayoumi rooster (Prince Ali).

The downside of farm life - the day after the twins were born, I discovered a dead laying hen with two bites out of it. Then I discovered another was missing - and worst of all our kitten Anna was gone. I don't know if coyotes found us during the early morning hours when the chickens would come out or a stray dog or what. Now I lock the chickens in their houses at bedtime and don't let them out until I'm up and about. I haven't seen any predators. Kind of a minor annoyance to have to add that extra task. And I brought little Rosa in the house to be a house cat, much to Papa Bear's dismay. I am a big cat lover, and I just couldn't leave her out there to the wolves - or whatever is out there.

Our apple trees had a few apples this year. Mom was in town, and she made a awesome apple crisp out of them. Papa Bear is big into planning his blueberry patch. He had millet planted on the front of our property - a crop that is supposed to help amend the soil. We haven't had any rain though. Doing the rain dance now. He's also working on building a greenhouse so he can buy baby blueberry plants and raise them up larger before transplanting them into the ground. Papa Bear had more luck with gardening this year. He grew a bumper crop of squash, green beans and okra. Next year he needs to work on timing the harvet right as some of the veggies were over grown by the time they made it to the kitchen. He had a great crop of watermelons coming, and then the vines withered up before they were ready to be picked. Gardening in Texas seems to be a school of hard knocks. We planted pine trees when we first moved here, and there are some that have already grown taller than me. I guess we will never starve now - I was reading that pine bark is very nutrious and high in vitamin C...

Breeding season has started. Soon I should be getting up our breeding plan and kidding schedule.

Chick and Kit Pics

2010-06-15T11:55:00.001-07:00

Buff Orpington, Barred Rock, Eygptian Fayoumi

These are old pictures. We received our chicks from Ideal Poultry at the beginning of May. I've just been too busy to make any posts! We got 4 Buff Orpington, 4 Ameraucana, and 6 Barred Rock pullets, and 1 Eygptian Fayoumi rooster. We moved the old flock of Barred Rocks into a new coop in the horse shelter, and we're using our old coop as grower housing for the new flock.

I'm a little nervous about what is going to happen when I turn the new flock loose since I have 2 roosters and 2 flocks. But hopefully they'll work it out without too much bloodshed. I hope our new rooster - Ali - won't get his butt kicked and all his ladies stolen. I'd prefer if they'd just keep their distance from each other, but I don't know if that is what will happen or not. I guess I won't worry about it now - they are still too little to turn out (I prefer to let them get pretty big before I let them out in the big wide world).

I like buying the chicks straight from the hatchery. Both times I've brooded, I haven't lost a one. It was fun to buy some new varieties. I liked the Barred Rocks, but I can't tell one from the other. The Eygptian Fayoumi is supposed to be a good free ranger, so I'm hoping he'll influence the hens not to be too lazy.

Moving the old flock was a good decision. In their older age, they had got really lazy about flying up over the goat fence to free range. Instead they were sitting around tearing up the ground in the buck pens. The horse fence is just wire, so they can get out and roam easier.

I also aquired 2 barn cats (actually they live in the kids' playhouse). Some folks came and bought a goat and talked me into two kittens. Financially probably not a good move since now I have to get them fixed (there went my goat money). But it has been a wonderful move as far as my human kids are concerned. They are much more inclined to want to go out and play now that they have kittens living in their playhouse. We live way off the road so I'm not as worried about them as I would be. We have two house cats, but I've never had outdoor cats before. It's quite fun to see their antics. Sweet Pea named the younger one Briar Rose. And Elle named the calico Princess Annaliese (after I explained *she* couldn't be Prince Phillip). At my request the names have been shortened to Anna and Rosa.

If we don't have what you are looking for....

2010-05-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

I'd love to be able to sell every one who calls or emails the exact goat they want. Unfortunately, I don't always have what you are looking for. These are the farms/herd names you will see on our registration papers; you may want to check them out. It's interesting to look them up. It's surprising where some of the genetics come from! Whenever possible, I put a link to their websites. If I don't have the website, I can give you contact info if you email me at swgoats@yahoo.com (except for the list at the bottom - I don't personally know those folks).

Nigerian Dwarfs -
Duck Haven Farm, located in NE Texas
Sweetheart Miniatures, located in Texas
Dean's Funny Farm, located in NE Texas
Texas T9C, located in Texas
Piddlin Acres, located in Texas
TX Twin Creeks Farm, located in Texas
Flat Rock Farm, located in Texas

Mini-Nubians -
Eddys Goat Place of North East Texas
Ordered Steps, located in NE Texas
Hickory Leaf, located in Montana

Nubians and Nigerian Dwarfs-
Checkerboard Creek Farm (CBC Farms), located in Oklahoma

Nubians -
Rio Leche Farm, located in Deep South Texas

Here are more AGS herd names I haven't tracked down yet:
Creek Road - to the best of my knowledge this herd name is no longer in use
Dalkini Acres
Chisholm Trail
Owl's Roost
Green Gate
JVJ

More Praise for the Henry Milker

2010-05-17T18:22:00.000-07:00

I posted awhile back about the Henry Milker that I bought to train my miniature goats to stand for milking. http://redfencefarm.com/

At the time I really liked the design, but I did find it rather hard work to pump it up. Well, the short of it is I had a defective pump! When it finally broke on me, and I reported it to Mr. Henry, he was good enough to send me another, and this pump is a dream!! It really does work just as he says - a few pumps and the milk flows and you sit there and watch the jar fill! I find it empties the udder very efficiently. I do give it a few bumps at the end and strip it out by hand into the teat cup. I'm very impressed with this product and give it a big thumbs up. Customer service is impeccable too.

***
On a more personal note, I'm down to milking 2 goats once a day. I hate knowing I'm loosing some of their milk supply, but I just couldn't keep it up! I don't know where the spring has gone! I'm seriously contemplating how I am going to do breeding and kidding next year. I need to streamline things a little better.

Cranberry has a beautiful little udder for a first freshener. I actually gush each time I milk her, because even hand milking her is easy peasy. I hope her full sister born this year turns out to be just a good. It gives me a real sense of satisfaction to see that I have improved my goats through my planned breeding - that Cranberry is better than her mother. I hope some day I'll have all the doe kids that people want and not too many buck kids. (Still got bucks for sale - make me an offer people!!) :-)

We got several baby chicks brooding right now. I'll have to get pictures of them up soon.

Circle of Life

2010-05-08T15:56:00.001-07:00

Sad news, one of the little doelings I held in my hands as she took her first breath a month ago took her last breath in my hands yesterday morning. Little black and white Princess Jasmine died of heart failure - I suspect due to white muscle disease, a condition caused by selenium and/or vit E deficiency. Snow White, her sister, is our little floppy invalid is still improving. We gave her a round of Selenium and vitamin E injections (BoSe), and she's much stronger. She still has a ways to go though before she'll be able to get out of her box and be a goat. I believe both these goats suffered from Selenium and Copper deficiency. I increased the mineral consumption of the entire herd by topdressing with Manna Pro goat minerals, and leaving out large amounts of feed store goat minerals. The animals have been packing away the minerals. The doelings' mother Princess Di is looking much better - her normal color is returning. I am considering whether or not I will breed her this fall. I may hold off and breed her for a summer kidding. In fact, I may hold all the NDs off to kid in summer. This was not a great year for me and the NDs...

For Sale

2010-04-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

Still Waters Little John - Little John is SOLD!

At this time I have no other goats for sale. Birdie is due in June and Martha in august. Likely only bucklings will be for sale. Next year though, be looking for does to come up for sale. We have a wonderful foundation now!

We've Got Color, Yes We Do, We've Got Color, How 'Bout You?

2010-04-17T14:23:00.001-07:00

The kidding season has been a little rough for my Nigerian Dwarf herd. I changed feedstores this winter and failed to notice that the feed I switched too lacked copper and selenium. Copper and selenium are VERY important. Important for horses too - I had noticed the horses were going through the mineral blocks really quick for winter time.

I already reported that Mulan had a stillborn. Princess Di had 2 does, but the excitement quickly turned to sadness when we realized that one of them has bad eyes and couldn't stand. I have been nursing Snow White for 2 weeks, and she's made dramatic improvement, but she still is not mobile on her feet (though she can do a great crab crawl). I know we goat people have mixed emotions about these situations. Many - perhaps wisely - would have put her down at birth. But there are quite a few softees who would keep on trying. I'm going to give her a little more time to try and gain some mobility, though I'm told this kind of damage is largely irreversible. But look at this face - see why it is so hard?

The next picture is of Snow White's sister, Jasmine. A very flashy little girl with blue eyes!

Ginger had one baby boy, Daniel Boone. Daniel is a very interesting dark chocolate color with flashy white markings, and spots. His eyes are kind of a weird combo right now with blue in the middle, but I bet they just go on and turn brown.

Doesn't he just look like he's saying "what the?"

Martha apparently wasn't ready to be bred in November. We've had her in the breeding pen with Sam Houston for almost 6 weeks, so hopefully late summer, we'll see some more little ones. I don't know if our herd queen Birdie is bred or not. If so we'll have a 50/50 MiniNubian out of her in June. I suspect the copper thing may have been playing havoc with her as well. We are very lucky to have learned this lesson without more losses.

Adventures in Milking

2010-03-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

<--Chinaberry, 3rd freshening

OK, so one of the disavantages of building a herd for the ground up is that it takes several years to really figure out what you've got. You buy the best kids you can afford, but then you have to give them time to grow up before you truly know what you have. You can breed them at 7-12 months, but even so they are still growing. There are fine examples of first fresheners who start out with outstanding milk production. But there are also many fine dairy goats who take til their 3rd freshening before they really show what they can do. Take our first goat Birdie for example - I was told at her first freshening they were milking her out into a butter bowl! She had lost half her udder to a dog bite injury when I got her. Her 2nd freshening and my first time milking, I was happy with my little pint jars of milk. 3rd freshening she really took off and provided me with 1/2 a gallon a day on that one side! So my first lesson has been to be patient. Lily the second goat I bought is an Alpine/Nubian cross. First and second lactations I got around 1/2 a gallon a day from her at the peak of production. This is her 3rd freshening - she is still with her kids right now, but I tested her today after 6 hours separated from the kids and she gave me 2 lbs. Looks like she's turning out to be a gallon milker, which is my book is a respectable dairy goat.

I've been trying to figure out how my minis are doing. I have a 3rd freshener, 2nd freshener, and 1st freshener. I've never milked them before, so it's been and adventure trying to get an idea of what they are like. I separated the 3 for 6 hours today and then milked all 3. There was kicking, some spilled milk, baby goats diving for the udders while I tried to get the goats to my milk stand (*really* got to change the set up...) and other mishaps, but this is what I found.

Chinaberry (3rd freshening) pictured above gave 1 lb of milk. Nice udder, nice size teats, though I have found it easier to milk her with the Henry Milker (more on that later). She is nursing 2 kids - best estimate she is giving 3-4 lbs (1.5-2 quarts) a day.

Cherry (2nd freshening) is 75% Nigerian Dwarf. She gave 8 oz after 6 hours. She has a nice udder, but the teats are a little small and the stream is a little thin. I used the Henry Milker on her too. Somewhat surprisingly she behaves pretty well for milking - usually I find her to be too flighty for my taste. She is nursing 2 kids too - best estimate she is giving about 2 lbs (1 quart) a day.

Cranberry (1st freshening) gave 8 oz after 6 hours as well. She has a beautiful udder for a first freshener with nice sized teats that milk easily and a nice soft texture. This little goat is meant for milking - she hardly took any training at all. She is nursing just 1 kid - best estimate she is giving about 2 lbs (1 quart) a day. I am *confident* she will be an excellent producer in future years. She is still growing.

So not too bad, it's a start. I've read management has alot to do with milk production too, and I hardly replicate ideal management by pulling them from the kids whenever I need some milk. I don't feed alfalfa or large amounts of concentrates. I give lactating mini does 2 cups of 16% and 2 cups of beet pulp a day, grass hay and pasture when avaliable.

And on to the Henry Milker. Lovely Chinaberry with the sweet temperment, really isn't so lovely on the milk stand - she really doesn't care so much for having her udder handled. After a week of tag teaming her with my husband, I ordered a Henry Milker from this website (cheapest price) -
http://www.goatfinder.com/goat_milk_machine.htm

It is a very handy little device. Here are pictures -

For the price you get 2 lids with valves, 2 sets of tubing, 2 different size teat cups, and brushes for cleaning the milker. It fits any large mouth jar (it comes with a quart jar). I thought it was a pretty decent deal, cause by the time we would have driven around getting all the supplies, I probably would have spent a good penny making one.

The instructions suggest putting some liquid or even vaseline on the edge of the teat cup before putting it on the goat. I did not find that good advice. For one thing it made too tight a seal, and it was hard for me to pump, and secondly, vaseline worked down the teat came in contact with the milk, not a good thing. It don't find is as easy as pump it up and drink a cup of coffe while the milk flows - maybe my goats will settle into it so I could do that, but not so far. Instead I pump it up, then have to bump the udder to keep the milk letting down. It slowly looses pressure so I have to pump it back up every few seconds - which I think is a good thing cause it is more like a natural sucking motion. The pumping does make my hand tired. There is no way I could ever pump it up too high, it's too much work!! But it is worth it cause it really helps draw those smaller teats down. And it's easier to train the goats to it than hand milking.

My one real complaint would be the glass jar. I worry about it getting broken as my milk stand is several cinder blocks pushed together. I took me 3 days to train Chinaberry to it. You have to be patient and overcome the learning curve - the goat has to learn too. When the goat is dancing around the valves can get loosened and will need to be tightened up in order to get a vaccum. The Henry Milker does not eliminate work, but I think it is a useful tool.

I take it completely apart to wash it. I take the bolts and washers off, handwash the lid in warm soapy water, and carefully dry it before replacing the bolts and washers. I hand wash the ring and dry it. The jar can go through the dishwasher. I soak the tubing in hot, soapy water then rinse it and leave it propped so all the moisture can run out of it.

New Kids on the Block

2010-03-23T21:22:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting a couple kids up the generational ladder to cross with my herd so I could more easily improve the ears. (Gosh, why keep trying to reinvent the wheel, when others have already paved the way!) I also wanted to improve the milking capacity of my does. My herd tends more toward the minimum height requirement than the maximum, and as such I've been getting yields that are more like ND than Nubian (more about my self conducted milking trials in another post). I feel incredibly fortunately to have found these beautiful kiddos. I bought them from Eddy's Place in Jefferson, Texas. (http://eddysgoatplace.com/default.aspx) Eddy's animals looked to be somewhat taller than mine, so I think it will be a good cross. Shame on me, I brought the kids home as bottle babies. I did so mostly because my life is so busy, and I thought it better to get them while I was there, than to try to make it back in May. I also have a ton of goat milk in the freezer that needs to be used up! (Also some canned milk - If you've thought about trying to can milk, forget it; it's very nasty.)

Nosey is a 5th generation buckling - check out the ears!! His dad was Hershey so I tried coming up with a name off Hershey like Reese, but as I got to know him more I realized, Nosey fits. He took to the bottle real easily and comes flying out the gate every time I open it and dives at my feet.

This little doeling is 4th generation. More great ears - this is the kind I've been pining for - no control at all! She was named Blackberry, but I changed it as we have enough berries in our herd! Her mother is Black Beauty so I decided to call her Merrylegs and start a line of goats named after famous horses. Merrylegs has been slower to warm up to bottlefeeding. She wanted to fill up on grass instead of milk, and so has had to do the rounds of Probios. But she seems to have decided I'm not so bad and is coming to me now for her bottles.

Lord willing, I think 2011 will be a good year for the MiniNubian herd! If I could just get some does! (It's just not possible to always have bucks - is it?)

Lost One

2010-03-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

Sadly, little Mulan, my spotted Nigerian Dwarf lost her baby. She had a little brown haired, brown eyed buckling. When I went to check on her, I found the baby in the shelter. It was cleaned up, but life-less. Not sure what happened. If it was a difficult birth or what. He was larger, but didn't look too large. Poor thing. She seems pretty sad about it. She's sticking pretty close to her own mama, who is due to have kids in April. *sigh* Anyone who thinks animals don't have feelings is kidding theirselves.

$15 down the drain...

2010-03-09T21:45:00.000-08:00

OK, so I bought this tip for my Rinehart X40 dehorner -

Unfortunately, I didn't notice when I was buying it that it said it was for the X50 only :-(

Tonight I really needed to disbud the 2 full size bucklings. So I changed out the tip - noticed it was a little wobbly - huh, that's weird. There's a little metal rectangle that goes on the screw - I added another of these from another tip thinking the screw was just too short. I seemed to fit good then.

I heated up the iron, and grabbed the first one. First thing I noticed was that the shape was awesome. These little guys have some pretty significant horn buds already, and I've always had trouble with bucks getting scurs. I taken everybody's advice. I know I'm doing it right. I redo, and still they all end up with scurs. I thought this tip might be my answer.

But then the trouble started. I noticed that the X40 was glowing red, but the buck tip was not. Then I noticed I was not getting a good fast burn or a copper ring. The little guy was doing so good. I'd burn a little then wait for it to heat up again. But in the end, I had to give up. Of course, now the dehorner is burning hot, so I can't change out the tip anytime soon. Tomorrow, I have to try again with my normal tip, and the poor little guy is going to have to have another quick reburn, cause he never did have a good copper ring.

Hehe, maybe I need to buy and X50 to go with my $15 buck tip. Sadly, I don't think hubby would go for that!

Why I dam raise kids...

2010-03-09T09:08:00.001-08:00

Dam raising (nursing) versus bottle-feeding will probably always be a hot topic for those raising goats. People have many reasons for bottle-feeding - they want to do CAE prevention by feeding the kids pasturized milk, they want all the goat milk for themselves, they think the kids are friendlier when they are bottle raised. I've tried both ways, and I believe hands down dam raising is superior. Here's why -

1. The God factor - I believe the world was formed by an intelligent being, and He decided to feed babies this way. Who am I to mess with what has worked for millenia?

2. Pasturizing may kill some pathogens in milk, but it also kills everything beneficial as well. *I* prefer to drink raw milk for my own health. I believe raw milk is healthiest for goats as well.

3. The milk is cleanest when it comes straight from the source. There is no chance of spoiling in the teat.

4. Milk replacers (ie goat infant formula) are inferior to the real thing, and often cause scours. A baby can drink all the fresh goat milk he needs, but if you over-do milk replacer, he will scour.

5. I *like* sharing my milk with babies - for one, I think they establish better lactations than my hand milking alone. Secondly, when I go on vacation (or if I'm sick, or sick of milking), a baby can take care of the milking for me, so I don't have to impose on someone to do it for me. Of course, I'm not a commercial dairy - a family of 5 has very different needs and does not need to run the backyard herd like a commercial dairy.

6. I have noticed my kids that nursed to contentment grow fast and stay healthier. I even noticed last year that my Nigerian buck who was weaned at the customary 12 weeks did not grow as well or stay as healthy after weaning as his sister who stayed with mom. For this reason, I have begun weight taping kids and will dam raise them to 2.5X their birth weight before weaning.

7. I do not feel the temperments of bottlefed babies are better than dam raised. Spending time with the kids is what makes them tame - being present at their births (or shortly after) and holding them often will make them sweet. Bottlefed babies are constantly underfoot looking for milk, and are more a nuisance. (Look at how often a dam fed baby is under mom's feet - that's how *you* are going to be treated if you bottlefeed!)

Not saying there's never a reason to bottlefeed, but this is the reason I don't make it a practice. There are sound reasons for doing things the old fashioned way. Nothing can take the place of the basics for creating a healthy herd - good food, clean living conditions, and a watchful eye.

Cyber Hug of the Day

2010-03-05T06:53:00.001-08:00

Oh Lily, What have you done?

2010-03-05T06:42:00.000-08:00

I was hoping against hope that Lily would have a doe this year, but alas, here are bucklings 4 and 5. 3 years, 5 bucks! When I named her Lily, I had all these lovely flower names picked out for her little doelings, but no dice. While the berries flourish in the herd, the flowers do not. (Birdie was supposed to give me all these does to name after birds, but so far no luck with her either! Maybe this year?)

She always has such nice little bucks. These are brown roan color with white markings and black points. Nice toplines showing on day one. They are full size dairy bucks. Both are avaliable for reserve.

2010-03-03T16:22:00.000-08:00

These two girls hit the ground yesterday. They have droopy ears so far. A little short. Both blue eyed. They are out of Cherry (25/75) and Little John (75/25), so they are 50/50. We will retain one, and one is avaliable for reserve (probably the bottom one as our daughter is wanting the top one - to be named Strawberry to replace the Strawberry we sold last year). I've been calling the bottom one "Candy".

Figuring Out Ears

2010-03-03T14:51:00.000-08:00

I find the classification of Mini-Nubian ears to be a little confusing. My buck Mordechai has 2/3 or 3/4 drop ears. I bred him to a 75/25 with full drop ears, and I got this -

Contrast that with his "uncle" a 75/25 -

Refer to daddy at the same age and now-

What you you think? Will the buckling at the top have full drop ears? Or will they stiffen more? If I breed him to mamas with less than full drop ears will my chances of getting good ears be enhanced or diminished?

February Babies are Here!

2010-02-09T13:59:00.000-08:00

So, I tried this trick of putting apple cider vinegar in the drinking water to try to influence more girls. Didn't work this month at least. Chinaberry had a girl and a boy, and Cranberry had just one boy. I'm amazed that the two boys ended up with nearly the same color pattern. I love the white ears on black. Black babies are so pretty - their fur looks so much like fine velvet.

Mulberry was born first of Chinaberry and Robin. She looks so much like Chinaberry. All her kids have had that cute little face at birth. Good ears - could stiffen, but I don't think so - blue eyes. Mulberry will be retained for the herd.

"Batman" is Mulberry's twin, also with blue eyes and good ears. He was born ready to go. Within an hour of birth, he was already trying to take off to explore. Very cute kid. "Batman" is currently reserved.

King David was born of Cranberry and Mordechai. He is a second generation Mini-Nubian. He also has blue eyes, and LOOONG ears. His little face favors daddy. I walked out this morning to find Cranberry and Chinaberry standing over this little one. Chinaberry looked very much the part of the doting grandmother, and Cranberry looked like she didn't know what was going on! It took a little work to get mother-son pair warmed up into their roles, but they are doing fine now. And Cranberry really has a great looking udder!! Woo hoo! I'm strongly considering retaining this buckling.

Bred in January, Due in June

2010-01-31T14:35:00.000-08:00

Well, tricky Birdie did not get bred back in September. That's the second year she's fooled me! I'm a little excited though, cause now that Sam Houston is bigger, I was able to do the 50/50 breeding that I've been wanting to do. If this works this will be the first 50/50 - first generation - that I've personally been "responsible for." I imagine they will be pretty kids, and the milking potential is there. Might get the airplane ears, but hey, you get used to them and after awhile you start to like them. :)

Dam - Birdie (Senior)

Sire - Sam Houston (Junior)

Bred in November - Due in April

2009-12-22T18:43:00.000-08:00

This is the last batch of goats bred for 2010. I saved the Nigerian Dwarf goats for last, so that they would kid when the weather is warmer. ND kids are sooooo tiny. It just seemed like a good extra precaution. All the NDs are purebred; babies will be AGS registerable. I don't have many predictions to make about the NDs. Just excited to see what we get!

Sire:

Junior

SW Goats Sam Houston (blue eyed)

SS Duck's Mini Herd Davy Crockett

SD Dean's Funny Farm Princess Di

Dams:
Dean's Funny Farm Princess Di (blue eyed)
DS Dean's Funny Farm Moon Walker
DD Dean's Funny Farm Princess

Yes, this is an experimental line breeding. Crossing fingers and making a wish. Di is a nice ND, though I tend to think she's a little round.

Junior
Duck's Mini Herd Martha (blue eyed)
Still awaiting papers from the breeder on Martha. Martha is such a lady. I just think "refined" when I look at her. A graceful temperment too.

Junior
Duck's Mini Herd Ginger Rogers (brown eyed)
Still awaiting papers from the breeder on Ginger. Ginger is a nice sensible doe with a red roan coat.

Bred in October, Due in March

2009-11-19T15:47:00.000-08:00

Kids are here!
http://stillwatersfarm.blogspot.com/2010/03/these-two-girls-hit-ground-yesterday.html

http://stillwatersfarm.blogspot.com/2010/03/oh-lily-what-have-you-done.html

Here is the scoop on the October breeding program!

(All Nubian crosses will be eligible for registration through IDGA (and as far as I know minis should be able to register to MDGA and TMGR). All the Nigerian Dwarf blood in our herd is from AGS registered stock. )

Sires:

Senior
Still Waters Robin - grade Nubian
SS Danny, unregistered Nubian
SD Still Waters Birdie, grade Nubian

Junior

Still Waters Little John - Experimental Grade Mini-Nubian (75/25)

SS Still Waters Robin - Grade Nubian

SD Duck's Mini Herd Chinaberry - Experimental Grade Mini-Nubian (50/50)

Dams:

Senior

Rio Leche Farm Lily - Experimental Nubian/Alpine cross

DS Mr Coffee Bean - unregistered Alpine

DD Freckles - unregistered Nubian

Lily's pedigree doesn't say a whole lot, and her looks don't say much either. I'm not much used to the Alpine angularity, and always feel like I wish she would put some weight on! However, Lily has some endearing qualities. Lily has produced 3 very nice Nubian-type bucklings out of Robin that were nothing to be ashamed of. She has reliably given us 1/2 a gallon a milk a day on one milkin. She has a nice udder and is easy to milk. And she is one of the healthiest, hardiest goats in the herd. We have bred her to Robin again. We are interested in keeping one Nubian-type doe out of her. If she has bucks, they will undoubtably be for sale.

Senior

Duck's Mini Herd Cherry - Grade Experimental Mini-Nubian

DS Sweetheart Minis Mars - AGS Nigerian Dwarf

DD Duck's Mini Herd Chinaberry - Grade Experimental Mini-Nubian (50/50)

Cherry is the doe I love to hate. The girl is flighty - I have to catch her with the collie. It is on the agenda to milk her this spring and ty to settle her down. She has some good traits as well as some faults. If I get some good Mini-Nubian does this spring, I may pass her along as a family milker. I'd like to see how she does milkwise before marketing her. I bred her to her half brother Little John. I'm hoping the kids will have good Nubian traits as well as dairy potential.

Junior

SW Goats Mulan - AGS Nigerian Dwarf

DS Duck's Mini Herd Davy Crockett

DD Dean's Funny Farm Princess Di

I am really proud of this little doe. She has nice lines, color, the whole package. I hope her milk production holds up to her looks! I would have used Mulan in the Nigerian breeding program except she is full sister to my Nigerian buck, so I opted to breed her to Little John instead and hopefully bring some of her good qualities into the Mini-Nubian herd. (Please note, she is bred to a small Mini-Nubian buck, not a full size buck. It is not a good idea to breed Nigerian does to full size dairy bucks. I go up "half-sizes" when I breed does to larger bucks.) Next year I hope to aquire or retain another Nigerian buck, and use her in the Nigerian herd.

Bred in September, Due in February

2009-10-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

Kids are here!
http://stillwatersfarm.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html

I am breeding the does in 3 sets of 3 this year, each set a month apart. This will enable me to handle all the kids alot so they will be relatively tame. I prefer not to bottle feed. I feel the way Molly at Fias Co Farm does about CAE prevention. (http://fiascofarm.com/goats/cae.htm)

I have 4 bucks this year. Even so, you will note there is a fair amount of line breeding - this is due to the fact that I have retained some of my best bucks. I have several goats who I feel exemplify my own personal ideal of what a dairy goat should look like, and I'm looking to create a uniform line. I'm looking to breed uniformly good milkers too. My goal is an all round good "family milk goat." All Nubian crosses will be eligible for registration through IDGA (and as far as I know minis should be able to register to MDGA and TMGR). All the Nigerian Dwarf blood in our herd is from AGS registered stock. Ok, so here's what's coming in February...

Sires:

Senior

Still Waters Robin - grade Nubian

SS Danny, unregistered Nubian

SD Still Waters Birdie, grade Nubian

Junior

Ordered Steps Mordechai - 1st generation Mini-Nubian

SS Hickory Leaf Freedom's Gideon, TMGR Mini-Nubian

SD Ordered Steps Patches, ADGA Nubian

Dams:

Senior

Still Waters Birdie - grade Nubian

lineage unknown

*To me Birdie is what a Nubian doe should look like. She is just the quintessential family milk goat. She's been keeping us in milk for 3 years now, and she only improves with age. Birdie was exposed to both sires, so she will have line bred Nubian kids or 1st generation Mini-Nubians. (Birdie, queen of the herd, doesn't care much for the little guys.) If Birdie has does, we will likely keep one! (In 4 kiddings to 4 different sires, she has thrown all bucks).

UPDATE - Birdie was not bred.

Junior

Still Waters Cranberry - 1st generation Mini-Nubian

DS Still Waters Robin (Nubian)

DD Duck's Mini Herd Chinaberry (50/50 cross)

*Cranberry is a very nice looking 75/25 mini with blue eyes. I'm excited to see what she can do in the milk pail. Her kids out of Mordechai will be 2nd generation minis. We may retain a doe.

Senior

Duck's Mini Herd Chinaberry

DS Dean's Funny Farm Zeus (AGS Nigerian Dwarf)

DD Dewberry (unregistered NOA Nubian)

*Chinaberry is probably the sweetest goat in the herd. Wonderful mother - blue eyes. Mated to Robin - this is the duo that produced Cranberry and our buckling Little John - I *love* the look of these kids. Hoping for the same luck next year. We may retain a doe.

Life in Technicolor

2009-09-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

Life in the country just seems "more" some days. Sitting on my milk stool the other day, I looked to the side and saw a rooster crowing - bright red comb, black and white plumage, contrasted against a background of vibrant green grass and smokey blue sky. This is why I do it: The ever changing color pallete of hues so beautiful they bring tears to my eyes. The sounds - the rooster crow, the cackling of hens, the neighs and whickers, and the many different tones of goat voices, all sounding suspisciously like "Mama" - is that why we call goat babies "kids"? Grain tinkling against a feed pan. The hiss of milk of milk hitting the bottom of an empty milk bucket. Not so fond of leaning over a hot goat in the dead of summer, or breaking ice of water troughs in the coldest days of winter. But gentle warmth, cool breezes, crisp days, even rain, feed my soul.

Indoors we live with constant white noise from our gagets. Our human activities echo from the walls. We are barraged with ourselves. Out there, we know we are not the center of the world, and that is strangely comforting. Shut up and listen. Look up and see. God's world is so big, so powerful, so beautiful, so awesome. shalom

First Generation Mini-Nubians

2009-07-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

Simply speaking the Mini-Nubian is a cross between a Nigerian Dwarf and a Nubian - creating a smaller version of the Nubian. In actuality it is a little more complicated than that.

The standard first cross is a Nubian doe with a Nigerian buck - it's called a 50/50. Chinaberry is a 50/50. As is typical of a 50/50 cross, she has a straight nose and "airplane" ears.

Chinaberry was bred to a Nigerian when I bought her. Her daughter Cherry is 25% Nubian, 75% Nigerian. Much to my surprise Cherry has continued to grow this second year, she is nearly as tall as mom. Her daddy has contributed better dairy character - a straighter top line and smoother blending.

I bred Chinaberry to my full size Nubian buck last fall. That is called "breeding back" - more often it is done with 50/50 bucks and Nubian does, but folks are getting a little braver about using the full size bucks. In this case it worked out beautifully. (Don't get any ideas about breeding a Nigerian doe to a full size buck - there have been reports of this causing disasters at kidding time.) Cranberry is 75% Nubian,, 25% Nigerian. I don't know how tall she'll grow to be yet, but she was definitely much smaller than a full sized at kidding. She has nice lines, a straight nose and fully dropped ears.

Here is Cranberry with her full size Paternal-Grandmother, Birdie. I think this has to be a defining moment for the mini breeder. See a near duplicate of a favorite full size doe in miniature. Beginner's luck I guess to get to see it so soon!

These three goats are all considered "first generation". I will get a second generation when I breed Cranberry to a first generation buck. My intention is to breed both Chinaberry and Cherry back to the full size buck this fall, and hopefully get more wonderful first generation does like Cranberry!

Summertime...

2009-07-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

New goat pasture, courtesy of Papa Bear...

Martha with the gorgeous baby blues...

Another new girl, Ginger Rogers...

The Buck Pens

2009-07-02T13:24:00.000-07:00

We finally got the girls moved over to their new pens, so the bucks now have 3 pens all for themselves - and for their "dates" in the fall.

Robin is still top stud. Poor guy has been suffering from worms this week, but I think I've got him turned around. There is nothing sadder than a big beautiful buck feeling poorly.

Sam Houston, our Nigerian Dwarf buckling, is about 4 months now. He's a really buckish little guy.

We have two Mini-Nubian bucklings + or - 4 months old. Little John is out of Robin and Chinaberry. I think he was real beginner's luck, cause the more he grows the happier I am with him. We purchased Mordechai as a bottle baby. OK, when people say a bottle baby will be more tame - what they mean is they will stick to you like glue! LOL Mordechai got his name cause he was born near Purim. Mordechai is out of a small ADGA Nubian doe and a Mini-Nubian buck. He's a little taller than Little John, but not big boned at all.

I'm posting 2 pics of Mordechai cause I'm trying to decide how his ears should be characterized. I don't know if they are what is called "3/4 drop" or if they are full dropped and just a little on the short side. They have just always laid differently than Little John and Robin's. But then I've seen some full Nubians who's ears lay differently from Robin's... so maybe there's just some variation in how ears can be set on the head. You pull on Mordechai's ears, and they reach his nose, but as you can see from the last picture - they have the appearance of being shorter.

Scours and Worms

2009-06-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

I'd like to make a more poetic post about what's going on around the farm and so off more pictures of my herd, but it's going to have to wait a bit longer.

Last spring I learned alot about worms. This spring I learned alot about scours.

I purchased a little mini-Nubian bottle baby, and he had a mild case of the scours. I think it was due to the use of milk replacer and overfeeding. After the first week, he started wanting more and more milk, and I gave him too much and he scoured a little. It was easily remedied by reducing the amount of milk I was feeding him. And once Birdie's little baby was sold, I started feeding him goat milk.

I sold Strawberry Shortcake and her brother and was so sad to see them go. Sweet Pea and I went and bought two new little Nigerian does - Martha and Ginger Rogers. Martha was tiny and a little too young for weaning. She didn't want to bottlefeed. After a week she started scouring, and it was hard to get her to clear up. I used Keopectate and Neomyacin and Safeguard and probiotics. I didn't think it was worms cause her gums and eyelids were pink. But I now think she contracted them at our place after exposure to unfamiliar worms. She may also have had some coccidiosis, as the Neomyacin did seem to help. A week after clearing up, she scoured again - so I definately think it was worms (there was probably a rehatch). I did a 3 day round of dewormers - safeguard, ivermectin, safeguard, and she hasn't had a problem since.

I've not been able to get completely away from the chemical wormers. I think they are just rather difficult to control in this part of the country. It seems like the smaller the goat the more they are affected by the worms too. I have the worst trouble with the kids. I did a 3 day round with Lily cause she was doing poorly after kidding. She hasn't had chemical wormer for a few months now, and she's looking great. Birdie is doing fine as well. The full grown mini-nubians don't seem too bothered by the worms either. Princess Di did get to looking anemic, and I'm treating little Sam Houston right now for anemia. I discovered that Fer-in-sol, an iron supplement sold for human babies, is just great for Nigerian babies. Sam cheered up considerably after a few doses.

I still give the herbal wormer, but so far I haven't been able to completely get away from the chemicals. Daddy Bear has been working on new goat pens this spring, so hopefully the extra space will help reduce the worm load.

Herbal Deworming Program

2009-04-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

I love the using alternative medicine whenever possible, but haven't ventured into it too much with my livestock yet. One place I really have been wanting to turn to herbals is for deworming, as the pharmaceuticals are less than reliable. I've been using an herbal dewormer from Molly's Herbals for a few months, but the cost is a little prohibitive for me to keep my whole herd on it as it grows. I was able to buy herbs in bulk online from Moterey Bay Spice Company and came up with my own herbal deworming plan. I'm just starting this, but I think buying the herbs in 1lb quantities gives me enough to worm my 13 goats and 2 horses for about 8 months.

Here are my recipes - quantities specified by weight:

Weekly Supplement - 1 heaping TBS weekly, 2 for horses
4 oz garlic (powder)
4 oz mugwort (loose - if you find powder, use a level TBS to dose)
4 oz fennel seed (powder)
4 oz nettle leaf (powder)
4 oz thyme (powder)
2 oz cayenne pepper (powder)
3 CUPS sugar (sweeten it up with something to take some of the bite out)

Power Dewormer - 1 level TBS 3 days in a row every 6 weeks or whenever there are signs of worms (exclude black walnut hull for horses)
4 oz wormwood (powder)
4 oz black walnut hull (powder)
4 oz clove (powder)
4 oz hyssop (powder)
2 oz cayenne pepper (powder)
2 CUPS sugar

The Power Dewormer should not be used with pregnant animals - luckily they are usually pregnant in the winter when the worm load is much lower. The alternating of the herbs used hopefully will guard against parasites becoming resistant to the herbs. But herbs don't just kill parasites - they also make the body an undesirable place for parasites to live. Just starting out with this, so can't claim any great success or anything, but I feel pretty good that these recipes will do the job.

WEAR A MASK WHEN YOU MIX THESE UP OR YOU WILL BE COUGHING AND SNEEZING ALOT - THEY ARE VERY POWERFUL SPICES!

And More Babies!!

2009-03-04T09:41:00.000-08:00

We're done kidding until April when Birdie is due. I done sitting vigil out in the cold goat pens at night waiting to make sure kids, placenta, and nursing all went as planned.

Lily had these two beautiful bucks - shoot! Her kids have all been so nice, but all bucks! I sure hope Birdie will have a doe this year - she's had 4 bucks so far! There always seems to be a bit of drama when Lily kids. She "told" me she was going to kid at feeding time. I sat in the car and watched her by the headlights. She got over in the ditches and positioned herself so her front feet were higher than her back feet. She would push and pace and push and pace. The first baby had a big head, taking me back to when Robin was born. I gave her a little help. She left me to clean him up while she pushed out a second buckling that looks like little Tuck that we sold last year. It took awhile for the placenta. Her belly was hanging low, so I finally got up and massaged her, and she started passing the biggest placenta I have ever seen. I kid you not - it was about a yard long. Then she started eating it while it was still partially attached!! That worried me a bit, but I do know this about placentas - eating placenta will help the uterus contract. Sure enough, it detached and came on out.

Cherry had these two little squirts. Cherry was too young when she snuck into the pen with our Nigerian buck and got bred. These kids are tiny. I had just fed, and went back out to check on everyone, and there's Cherry licking Di's kid, while her babies are wandering around looking for a mother! The little buckling was bigger and stronger. The little doe was doing poorly in the morning, so we brought her in and bottle fed her for a day. Day 2 she was stronger and the weather was warmer, so I decided to see if mom would take her back. She's doing just fine. We named her Strawberry Shortcake.

Strawberry Shortcake

I'm going to sell all these bucklings.

BABIES!!

2009-02-24T14:14:00.000-08:00

Well, they're finally here - some of them anyway!

Our AGS registered Nigerian Dwarf, Princess Di, was the first to freshen. She had a doeling and a buckling out of Davy Crockett (our Nigerian Dwarf buckling, who regretfully passed away last fall while we were on vacation). I was really surprised by the color combinations. I'm realizing grandparents have nearly as much influence over color as parents do.

This little tricolored doeling is "Mulan" (Sweet Pea got to name her):

This little black and white buckling is "Sam Houston":

This morning our 50/50 Nigerian Dwarf/Nubian cross (1st generation Mini-Nubian), Chinaberry, gave birth to twins out of Robin our IDGR record grade Nubian buck. These two kids are still first generation Mini-Nubian since I bred back to full Nubian, but I did so to get the dropped ears and Nubian profile. I think it worked. They both have ears to the tip of their chins, so I don't *think* they will pull up to airplane. But I'm a little more confident about the doeling's ears than the buckling's.

This little doeling is "Cranberry". She is a tiny little version of her grandmother Birdie - except she's got blue eyes:

This little buckling is "Little John". He looks alot like Mom, but his white blanket looks alot like Dad's:

I think I'll keep all 4 of these kids. I'm pretty thrilled. I have 2 other does due to kid any moment, and 1 to kid in April. I may end up selling Cherry (75/50 Nigerian/Nubian) and her kid/s (out of Davy), cause they don't really fit with my breeding plan. I'll wait and see what she has though. I think I want to look for a mature AGS registered Nigerian buck, as I'll need a mate for Princess Di and Birdie this fall. I could potentially breed Sam Houston to Birdie to get a 50/50, but I'd probably have to wait for him to reach full maturity. Anywhoo... This is so much fun!!

Bad Blogger

2009-02-09T20:24:00.000-08:00

There are always lot's of things I want to post, but I just never get to it. We sold Jack B. Quick down the road awhile back. He was a wild little thing, and I felt he needed to find a home quick, so someone who knew what they were doing could settle him down. It was a little hard to hear him hollar as they drove off. Ace and Messie Bessie stood around all day looking down the road like they were waiting for him to come back. They seemed ok the next day though.

Messie Bessie has settled down, and she's putting weight back on (nursing took alot out of her). I road her briefly and can't wait to start riding again soon.

All 14 chickens made it to maturity. We are getting on average 8 nice big brown eggs a day. We got a farm collie name Sugars who accidentally wounded 2 of the hens on the neck. (Sugars has to stay in the front yard now unless she is supervised - my bad, for giving an adolescent too much freedom.) The first looked pretty terrible, so we decided to eat it. I held it down, and Daddy Bear cut it's head off - wow, we had no idea a chicken could run so far without a head! It wasn't much eating. The second we decided to try to save. Chickens heal amazingly! I cleaned the wound with iodine and applied neosporine - I wrapped it so the skin would join (it was about a 2 inch laceration to the skin). I think now maybe that was unneccesary, but it probably didn't hurt. 2 weeks later it's nearly completely healed with only a tiny scar.

The little chicken molestor is considerably bigger now - I should take more pictures!

Kidding time is coming soon - can't wait!!

Jack B. Quick

2008-09-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

We received an unexpected surprise a couple weeks ago. There was a chance that Messie Bessie, our Arabian mare, had been exposed to Uncle Frank's male donkey, Jack, while the horses were staying at his place. Messie Bessie was looking more and more pregnant every day, but we didn't know when she would be due. Imagine our surprise when we got a call from our neighbor the day we left town to visit relatives that there was a baby mule running around our pasture! Unfortunately they are both quite wild right now and won't let me anywhere near them!

Of course, I have to include a picture of my Quarter Horse, Ace. There's just something about a first horse - no body else really ever quite measures up to him. He's the easiest keeper I've ever known. He really seems to be enjoying Still Waters Farm. He didn't have alot of room to stretch out and gallop in Wisconsin or South Texas (I guess "collection" isn't one of his finer points), and he always seemed kind of keyed up. But since the move he's been surprisingly relaxed and low key.

Udder Reflections...

2008-06-02T13:36:00.001-07:00

(Click to enlarge images.)

'How's her udder?' is a common enough question among dairy folks, and rightly so - afterall isn't milk the point? So I was considering my milkers while I milked this morning. First a caveat, I know I'm not maximizing production in my goats. For one, as the mother of 3 babies under 4 years old, "morning milking" happens at 11, 12,.. or 1, 2... *blush* Not only that, but I learned to milk on a goat with one teat so my right hand exhausts way before my left!

Birdie's udder has developed over the course of 3 freshenings - proof that patience can pay off. Maybe there are some outstanding producers out there who produce gallons the first year, but I would venture a guess that that is the exception, not the rule. Maybe I'm wrong? If so let me know! This year she had her first set of twins, and at the peak of her production she was giving us 3 quarts a day. She had an udder injury before she came our way that left her with one teat, so we only get milk from 1/2 her udder. Last year, I couldn't milk her with my whole hand, but this year I can. She let's down her milk easily. The texture of her bag when she's empty is a little meaty, but I wouldn't say badly so. A little pendulous, but not terrible.

Now Lily didn't bag out much with her first baby. Her teats were teeny tiny, so I left the baby on her for nearly 3 months and did not milk her at all. After Tuck started drinking from both Lily and Birdie, we weaned him, and I started milking Lily. At first it was such work, her bag was so hard and her teats so little - and there were 2 of them, something I'm not used too! (Not only that but she's was as wild as a jackrabbit....) But within 5 days, it got easier. I milk her with 3 fingers, and she gives me about 1/2 a gallon a day. After she's milked, her bag is completely deflated and soft - very good texture.

Overall, I think their udders are very respectable for backyard milk goats.

Bye-bye Tuck! Hello Oreo and Davy!

2008-06-02T12:33:00.000-07:00

(Click photos to enlarge.)

Lily's baby's got a name and a new home (no cabrito for the Mercer's this year!). We dropped Tuck off at Duck Haven Farm (http://www.duckminifarm.com/) this weekend, and brought home two cute as a button Nigerians. Davy is a handsome little buck who has such a classic goat face - maybe I should call him Pan or Faun! Oreo is just a little puff of fir right now - about the size of a cookie!

This Post is for the Birds!

2008-05-31T14:56:00.000-07:00

We've got fresh milk; don't fresh eggs sound good? I ordered 14 Barred Rock chicks from Ideal Poultry - 12 females, 2 males. We put them under a lamp in the laundry room, and they are growing fast. The kids have really enjoyed them. They are getting their feathers and will be ready to move outdoors pretty soon (it's probably hotter outside than under my lamp now anyway!).

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

TIP! I learned a great remedy for pasting up (sticky fecal matter sticks to their bottoms and can cause them not to be able to eliminate. It can kill them if you don't take care of it) - mix cornmeal in with their feed 50/50. Works fast!

New Arrivals!

2008-05-31T13:48:00.000-07:00

(Click to enlarge)

We are expanding our herd this spring. About a month ago, we purchased Chinaberry a mini-Nubian (Nubian-Nigerian Dwarf cross) from Duck Haven Farm. She unexpectedly had a doeling on May 14th. Little Cherry is as cute as a button.

I had to bite the bullet and do my first disbudding (burning the horn buds off so horns don't grow). I got through it just fine with 3 tricks - 1.) I bought the Rhinehart X40 dehorner (Pygmy tip for mini breeds) which gets really hot and burns really fast, 2.) I sprayed lidocaine on the horn buds before burning them to numb the area a little (seemed to help), and 3.) I wore headphones so the screaming wouldn't be so loud! Wasn't long before Cherry was back nursing her mommy and acting like nothing had happened. I got my dehorner from Hoegger Supply Company (http://www.hoeggergoatsupply.com/).

2008-04-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

This is our second year to own dairy goats.
Here is our herd (click on photos to see enlargements):

Birdie is our first dairy goat and definately the Queen. She is giving us a 1/2 gallon of milk a day even though an udder injury took one of her teats. She is full Nubian.

We retained Robin, our first baby, for breeding purposes. I think he is a very handsome Nubian buck - look at that cool stripe in his beard.

A little Alpine blood gives Lily her airplane ears. She is mostly Nubian. She had her first baby this year by Robin - another buck! She's got a tiny little first freshener udder; I really haven't tried to milk her much. She's doing a good job mothering her kid.

Here's Lily and Robin's first baby. He'll probably be supper some night in a month or so, but I think he's a nice kid for a first try at picking a breeding pair if I do say so myself. Hoping for a doe next year!!