All Blog Posts (189)

Hi Folks!

I'm announcing my new (still being edited and added to, but published) farm website complete with blog! I wanted to put the blog link here, since it's about my recent (and first) kidding experience. I've gotten a TON of support here over the past few weeks, and I thought I'd share this story with you as a sort of thank you! I hope you enjoy it! Here's the link...…

Hey! I have a question for anyone who'd be kind enough to answer! :) I'm new to goat, we just got 3 NG last week. One 7 year old milking doe, a 15 week old and a 8 week old doeling. When can the babies start going out to pasture? (we have a very safe and "kid" proof pasture) They haven't been in the pasture yet so I'm thinking I have to work them up to it like horses? How would I exactly do that? Also, the doe hasn't been in the pasture for a week but that's fine to put her in it all day…

Let me explain Nellie Olsen my saanan gave birth on May 9 to a boy and girl snowball as my husband calls them. I got everyone all situated together in birthing chalet and go to eat some dinner. Aparently you are not allowed to eat with goats because when I came back in 30 minutes the Mama had squanched the baby girl kid underneath her! (my heartbreaking )I guess i will seperate when im not around here on out. has anyone else had this happen? Like why, did i do something wrong?desperatly…

Willow and I decided on the name Hackberry Woods.

Hackberry is the predominant species of tree in the goat area. We love the funny bark, the precious little berries, and the haphazard look of the foliage.

For nature nerds: Hackberry is native to Indiana and a lot of the Midwestern US; the small berries (or drupes) are edible in autumn; also goes by the names Sugarberry and Nettletree. The name Hackberry is from the Scottish "hagberry," meaning "marsh berry."

These…

In the spring of 2014, my daughter Willow asked me for the hundred and twenty-third time if we could get dairy goats. Like always, I said something to the effect of "that would be fun. Maybe someday." This time, though, instead of moving on, she followed up with the line we all know and love: "I'll buy them with my own money. I'll do all the work." And just like that, now we have goats.

Now, the actual full story is longer and boringer.

We spent three months just reading books…

I still think they are cute and enjoy their antics just as much as when bottle feeding them, but my wife just made the comment that they are grown up and not as cute as when little. …

Mother Mavis gave birth to twins, 45 min. in labour for the first large one, and then a small brother, who popped out after a few minutes.   The small one has been getting weaker and weaker as the larger keeps pushing him out of the way.

Now I'm milking the mom to feed the babe. How many hours do 2 day old kids sleep?  I keep bringing the kid back to the mom, but he just nestles her and can't seem to latch on to the teat.  I'm hoping, he'll get stronger as the days go by.

My 4h goat has something on her bottom that looks like fungus. At first, we used vetricine product that made it shrink a bit but now it is back. Has anyone else experienced this or knows what it…

they are 7 weeks old today

Am interested in developing a Permaculture version of raising Nigerian Dwarfs for my own use not a business............ I am on Face Book as Permaculture for Georgia........ I like to call my Effort The Goat Maze Home of the Amazing Goats.My effort is 10 does one billy and babies only once a year........ My Goat Maze is on one acre , the pens are set up with 10 plastic tote houses in the center with browsing sections that look like a orange cut…

what is right age for a buck to start breeding. i have a lamancha x nubian doe…

After taking the children to school I went to the farm. It is a very peacefull way to start off the work day. As you can see it is on the river bank and floods so for a month or so a year I have to move everyone to another place. That is why I chose to make my chicken coop on a trailer. Lock them up at night and move in the mornings when needed. Now I have some ducklings that I have added. This morning there was a pilliated woodpecker and what I call sapsuckers pecking away while I was…

It is SOO fun to watch Juniper and Pokey enjoying spring's bounty. After a long winter with no browse other than the occasional pine needles, they are loving all the juicy new green leaves and grass. And they're bigger this year so they've figured out how to get up on the taller shrubs/saplings and make them more accessible. Clever little caprines!

I wish I could decide for sure whether or not Juni is pregnant. Sometimes I think so and sometimes I don't. Her teats are really…

After 4 years of reading and learning I started my herd with 2 bucklings one to be a wether and a doeling. I opted to not go registered but did purchase from milking herds.

Here is my doeling that is from a heard in NE Arkansas, this is Yolanda and her parents

The boys,…

I finally found some really good hay today. I've been having a heck of a time finding decent hay at a fair price. But I found a family that raises Nubians and grows their own custom hay. Not only that, but they were really nice people who were ok with me buying a smaller amount. They also said that they'd be happy to be my hay supplier going forward. What a relief!

Juniper and Pokey came to blows today over their treat of peanuts. I get so worried when he head-butts her on her…

Lately I've been wondering if the adage about being able to tell if your pregnant doe is going to have boys because she acts "bucky" while she's pregnant is true. Juniper is being such a bossy girl lately! Her previously shy temperament is going away, and she is bossing Pokey around all the time now. She mounts him, chases him and antagonizes him by nipping at his legs and sides. She also goes around stamping her hoof a lot, not something she used to do. It's so funny. I guess if she does…

Today was rainy so I didn't get to spend much time with the goats, which is a shame because that's usually my favorite time of day. But the time I did get with them was, um, challenging. That is to say that Pokey thought he could jump up on me and try to climb on me when I was sitting down. And that he'd attempt that coming from a full run! Wow did that hurt. I kept pushing him off and giving a firm "NO" but it still took 3 tries to get him to stop. He reminds me of an adolescent boy…