Recently in Dairy Goats Category

Last year when we got Cocoa we had no intentions of breeding her until this coming fall. She is a tiny nigerian dwarf and even then we weren't sure we wanted to breed her due to the issues of being so small and kidding.

When we thought she was already bred we did what most people do and turned her out to run with the other goats as the damage had been done. What we thought was a pregnancy was instead a very healthy rumen developing from being well fed compared to where she came from.

My fears at having an 5 month old doe bred and kid grew over time. I worried, watched and fretted over her. Each day we waited and knew the worst was going to happen but still hoped for the best as the last days passed when she could have been bred at her old home and we had no babies.

We continued to pray that she would have 2 small babies and not one big baby. One big baby would mean she would either die in birthing or the baby would and at worst case they both would.

Days passed by and no babies. We have waited and watched. Penned her up when we thought it would happen and after 2 weeks and no babies turned her back into the field.

Yesterday all was normal. When the vet came she also agreed it would be anytime now as Cocoa was so full and her udder developed. Twice I amlost asked her about a C-Section and didn't.

This morning Cocoa was in labor. There was no sign of the baby trying to birth. We brought her to the house and called the vet. About 15 min later we saw a hoof but no progression.

The vet came and prepped for an emergency c-sec on the tailgate of her truck.

Waiting for the vet. As her labor progressed and we saw a hoof emerge she would bleet out with every contraction. I felt so sorry for her know how badly childbirth without anesthesia is. I could totally sympathize.

Prepping for surgery. She was given a general anesthesia. After it took effect she was restrained, positioned and shaved. The vet spent a long time scrubbing and preparing an sterile environment. The site was washed several times.

The drape was applied. The vet then opened her instruments of clamps and sterile scapels.

She was very careful to first cut through only the outer skin.

Next she made similar insicions through the muscle layers, the membranes and finally down to the uterus.

At that point she had to feel around inside for the babies head and to check its position. Also trying to look for more than one baby.

The sack she is cutting into is the placenta and that is the babies head.

As we hoped would not happen the baby was stillborn. We couldn't save it.

The baby was a pretty white and black spotted doeling. She weighed easily 10 - 11 lbs. She was just too big for her momma to be able to handle.

Next in the surgery she lifted out the uterus and began to stitch it closed.

Each layer was stitched back together.

She weilds a mean knot techinque for her stitches

The sutures are called 'cat gut' but actually they are made from sheep intestines originally called 'kits'. Over time the "kit gut" became "cat gut" for sutures.

The internal stitches will dissolve. The external stitches will be removed in 2 weeks. We will do the removal of those ourself.

Cocoa spent another hour and a half sleeping. She woke fairly alert yet docile and not trying to move around too much.

We will be watching to make sure she eats. She will recieve a pain injection today and maybe tomorrow. She will be on a 5 day course of antibiotics. She is under house arrest in her stall for at least 5 days.

She is well. I, on the other hand, am suddenly exhauted. It is a strange mental exhaustion. It's over. No more guessing and we can move on from here.

In the past I have stressed repeatedly to those who first get into goats to please let the girls mature before breeding them. This means allowing them a full year - spring to spring- to feed and grow and mature into adult does. Then the following fall consider breeding them. I have had women tell me they don't have the time or the 'luxury' to raise a goat for a year before breeding and they have to breed as early as 5 months. Too each their own but an experienced handler and a large animal vet will tell you that is a VERY bad idea. (I find it selfish and irresponsible and think those women who have said that to me don't deserve the priviledge of raising a herd.)

Learn from our mistake and this accidental breeding.

Don't do it. Don't let it happen.

Give them a full year then consider breeding.

If any of the women who spoke to me reads this I really hope something happens to change your mind and you stop riding the backs of a doe to make money for your pockets. It is not a 'luxury' to give them a year to mature.

If you ask me what's going on around here all I can say is kidding! Our goats are having their babies! I love white goats and I love white goats that turn out to be girls. So far we are 0 & 4. Yayyy!

Late Thursday afternoon when Steve went out to feed up and close the barn a baby was in the barn without it's momma. They were sure Wattles had kidded again but I knew better. I went out and inspected, found the afterbirth and identified Violet as the new mother. She readily called to her baby and kept it under her belly and at her side and let it nurses. She called softly to it and nuzzled it's rear end and rubbed her nose from head to tail whispering  to her baby.

Saturday when we finished up all was quiet in the pasture. The goats were laying around the haystack chewing their cud and enjoying a warmish night air. Steve came in from feeding the pigs around 8:30 and said there was a baby in the field with Cindy. I grabbed my camera and shoved my feet into my boots and headed out at a quick pace with my flashlight to see for myself! 

We are missing the window of these births! I mean we are checking the feilds and they are managing to have their babies during the peak time I am getting supper or the dark of night has just fallen.

We have three does left - Cocoa, Penny and Lilah. I think Penny will have 2 kids and I wouldn't be surprised if Lilah had 3 or 4.

I'll be watching and on pins and needles all day looking for new babies!

That's not all - on friday my lavender orpington project eggs finished up a hatch. We are just birthing everywhere around here for spring!

 

Wattles is the first to kid. Look at these babies born yesterday. Both are girls!

 

 

This is my venture into milk and meat. We'll see. (Yikes!)

 

The doe is a nubian x saaanan. The buck is a nubian x boer.

 

These girls are the first of the experiment to see if we can have both meat and milk at a reasonable time and expense.

 

 

How cute is that face?!

We eased out into the pastured then called to the goats who for some reason where in the barn on a beautiful warm day.

It took a few times calling their names but we finally got their attn.

It was feeding time for the new bucklings we brought home Monday. Lilah, my lead doe, leaned down as if to say to the baby it was okay to go.

Immediately they both came running.

I have a good crew to help feed these growing babies.

   

Hey, Mary, send your brother over here to look at my baby I got from him with Lilah. She is all grown up and gorgeous! Lilah is on the left and her baby we renamed Violet is on the right.

Last fall I did not breed the goats we got last summer from Miz S's baby brother. I spent alot of time looking for the perfect mates for the girls and did not like anything I saw.

Until today.

Here are Beau and Luke - my two new bucklings. I hope they sire me some really beautiful kids!

   

Steven keeps calling them a 'buppy!' Everything is a puppy to him except for the chickdies and the "ooses!" (my goslings).

 

   

They are both 1 week old and bottle fed. I find them to be absolutely adorable!

 

*Kidding - get it?

I was out at the barn yesterday morning and I had my phone in my pocket. I was milking my goat. Only I couldn't show you how I really milk because I couldn't use both hands. I had to hold the phone and milk with one hand. It is a bit grainy but it is video from a cell phone.

And when I finished I had 4 quarts of fresh milk.

It takes about 15 minutes to milk her out. Quick and easy.

For those who have been asking about my silly goats - They are awesome!

Lilah is sweet and gentle and loving. She is a funny girl and often looks like she needs to fresh her lipstick. We will be breeding Lilah this fall. Most likely to a nubian buck.

Violet, Lilah's baby. Skittish best describes her.

Cindy is a stubborn girl. Actually she is a bad tempered b!tch of a goat.

Penny, Cindy's baby. Sweet girl. Friendly.

Bonnie, Cindy's other baby. Not the smartest cookie in the bunch. Often gets left behind and stands alone crying if separated.

Wattles. Cute and curious. Likes to climb and be scratched.

The babies taking their photo op.

Not for me. Although I could use one. My feet are no good in the summer. Where I go around the house and yards mostly barefoot my heels crack and look aweful. I have to sand them down with a pumice stone almost daily. I really should treat myself but someone was in greater need than I today. Lilah's feet where in bad shape. When she came here one of her hooves had a broken place on the outer wall that I believe she sustained in route on her 5 hour van ride to our house. She has one hoof that has a case of hoof rot. Not good. It is/was smelly. Taking care of the hooves of my goats is a responsibility that I do not take lightly. I have read extensively and looked at photos on the internet almost daily. I need/want to learn how to do this properly. To properly stand on the legs without stress the hooves much be trimmed and sanded to a specific shape. Practice makes perfect in this case. A lovely young woman from our church came by tuesday afternoon to show me how to trim. Not only did she trim and treat Lilah's hooves for hoof rot but she trimmed all six of the goats. 24 hooves. That is a lot of hooves. It is also a heck of a lot work in the blazing sun. Every girl got a pedicure and a good painting of hoof conditioner and hoof rot treatment. They don't even know how very pampered they are. Lilah ate so much watermelon her lips were pink.

The guineas are really starting to grow and get some size to them now. They are slow eaters at times. They love ticks and other insects. They are very good at policing the area for parasites and other bugs. They are finally big enough that we feel comfortable letting them free range. They don't look like it int he photos but they are all bigger than a shoes box. A full grown size 10 shoe box. The barn door to their stall is opened every morning. They are free to come and go as they please. They know where home is and come back to it each evening. They are an excellent alarm system. The least little thing startles them (talk about being chicken) and they begin to scream and caw and shrill to beat the band. You always have a fair idea of where they are. They like high places and can be found more often than not on the roof of the poultry barn. Just before dark they begin making their trek back to the barn door and to their roost. We go out later and shut the doors. Not to keep them in but to keep night scavaging beasts out. Possum, raccoon, weasles and the like will feast on them. The turkey roost is right next door and I plan to have turkey at Thanksgiving. I do not plan to let some other varmit feast before hand. Which isnot really a feast because those animals would only eat the head off of them and leave the carcass for us to find the next morning. Last night we went out just at night fall to shut the doors. Our soft speech and foot steps did not go unnoticed. Over in the first section of the barn both windows are filled to the brim with nosey neighbors. I looked up and had to take a picture of these two silly goats. This is Cindy. She does not liked to be milked. We talk about the situation but she isn't sure about it. So we have to do things the hard way. I feed and protect her so I am the boss. This she must learn. I never milk her dry. Usually she gives me a quart and a half and I leave the rest for the two babies she really needs to wean. This is Lilah. She is my favorite. She just stands there util you are finished with her at milking time. She gives a whopping half gallon of milk every single morning. I don't milk her out completely because she has a baby who doesn't want to be weaned yet. So a little milk for the baby is spared. Silly goats faces. They make me happy.

It took the goats about 2.1 days to eat everything they could reach on all the trees where they are pastured. It is rather funny to watch them attack a branch of leaves. They wrap their tongues around a bunch of leaves and strip the limb clean in a matter of second. It is almost like watching something being sucked into a vaccuum cleaner. Sluuurp. And it is gone. So the kids go out in the evenings and hold down the higher limbs and let the goats munch and crunch for as long as their arms will hold out. You should hear the giggles. Steven isn't the least bit afraid. He seems to think the goats are purely for his own entertainment. This is one of my favorite photos of Gracie. School starts back on the 22nd. When I look at her I already miss her. I feel a little pang in my chest. 4th grade already. She is funny and smart and quick witted with a come back. She also has a very caring heart. She volunteers her time at the food bank once or twice a week helping to stock shelves and carry out bags for the elderly. She and J. have decided that it makes them feel really good to know they are helping someone who hasn't got the advantages they have. Back to the goats. I milk twice a day. Morning and Evening. 12 hour intervals. I get just a little over a gallon of milk per day. What do we do with it? We drink it. Cook with it. Make yogurt. Make ice cream. Make cheese. I plan to show you how to, too. But right now, I have to go milk. They are calling me. Yes, they are. They call me "Maaahhh".