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Good morning everyone,

I have some questions, as usual.

Cinnamon had triplets on Dec. 9th. I sold 2 of them on Jan. 13 and they are being bottle fed and doing great. I started milking Cinnamon on the 14th...once a day, by the 16th she was hollering in the afternoon as her bag was really full, so I started milking her twice a day...her one kid is with her all of the time.

The last two mornings, I am getting NO milk and in the afternoon I'm lucky if I get 1/4 cup. Now all of the time, Novar (her kid) feels like his stomach is going to pop. I would really only like to milk her once a day until Novar is weened....he is a little piglet! Not sure what to do....I really don't want her milk quantity to drop off (which is what is happening, I think).

So please give me some of your wonderful advice. You all have helped me so much already, I hate to keep coming back with more questions.

Thank you,

Adele

I told my husband that I put the doe and buck in the bridal suite and he asked when is he going to be a "goatpa" (you know grandpa)  I thought that was so funny, just had to share it!!

Do any of you have favorite hoof trimmers for Nigerians and womens size

In order to reduce my herd size due to illness that is sapping my energy I was able to make a trade. She got a doe back (that she had sold to me and dearly wanted back), a buckling and another doe. Both does were pregnant. I got two 8 week old does (full sisters to one of the does).  They still need names.

Today my husband and I had to put our beautiful Moose to sleep. The vet had no idea why he got sick and to find out is apparently expensive. So while I was holding him the vet put him down. Very emotional for the both of us. 

i have 2 nigerian dwarf goats that i am not able to care for due to health problems. i am a senior citizen whos only passion in life are my animals. i have been this way since i was a child. my goats are my pets and i only trust them to go to someone who has had goats before and who truly loves them .too many want them for free so they can sell them.so i read this forum and hoped that here i could find them a loving home.they are 6months old.they are brother and sister the doe is black and white named sara,the wether is named ozzy.they are so sweet and friendly.they do not have horns.i have spoiled them and they love attention.i have lots of hay and straw and pick nic table and feed and clippers etc to go with them.i am wanting $200 for both of them.i have learned the hard way not to give pets away because people might turn around and sell them.please let them stay together as they lve each other.i am 15 miles soth of louisville ky please i you can make the part of your goat family.thank you. mary  mhope5056@aol.com

Our does were with a buck from Oct 1-27.  Unfortuntly, while feeding one of them this am I noticed some blood under her tail. I am so sad. At this point is there anything I should do for her? 

Hello all! My name is Tristian and my husband and I recently purchased our first herd of goats. I say herd because we have five does and two bucks. All five of the does are pregnant and due from mid February thru early March. Let's just say I am very nervous! Four of the does are first fresheners. My senior doe is 5 and has thrown triplets twice. I am new to all of this, and am wondering how to go about milking; when it is safe to start, how much (often) I should milk, etc. I am so looking forward to our first goat's milk. I have so many recipes that I want to try! Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Finnigan has grown by leaps and bounds. He has discover the cross piece on the perimeter fence. I watched him go up but decide not to jump out. I was pleased to see him turn around and come back down.

Westie didn't produce well her first freshening(Sept) and then backed up to the fence to be bred in Jan. She kidded in late May with quads. The three boys were sold as bottle babies and her daughter was left to nurse whenever she wanted.  In the last week we have gone from .12 # of milk to 2# every morning (I only milk my does in the morning).  Her baby is still with her but I suspect Westie is weaning her.  

Today at milking time I noticed a bit of blood on the paper towel that I used to wash Sumac's udder with. I took a look and saw that she had a bad cut on it. This happens from time to time as some of our fencing is barbed wire and the goats like to find places to squeeze through it. When it happens we carefully hand-milk the doe rather than using the machine, and we keep the cut dry and clean until it heals. Sumac's cut was pretty deep and I could see something that I thought might be the tube that the milk flows through so I decided to be extra-careful. I started to squeeze her teat and the exposed tube burst. Milk poured out of it into the strip cup as I stared in sick horror. I carefully cleaned it after it was done and milked out her other side.

I don't think there's a whole lot that can be done about it so we're just going to stop milking that side and keep the cut clean and dry. I have no idea if it will heal properly or if she's finished as a milker. There's really nothing to do but wait and see, and keep an eye out for mastitis or infection of the wound itself. 

It didn't seem to bother Sumac at all, she didn't flinch in the least. I really hope she's okay, she's such a sweet goat and a good milker. 

Don't use barbed wire fences.

My two new girls are finally here. :)  They did spectacular on the drive.  We took all the bench seats out of our minivan and laid it thick with bedding so they rode pretty comfy.  Our trip did take longer than planned, however.  With only 2 hours left of our 10 hour trip the transmission went caput.  They ended up finishing the trip in the back of our Land Rover (which is still pretty roomy), and the drive ended up being 14 hours instead!  They were real troopers, though, and did so well!  They are very sweet and loving and we are so happy  with them. :)  I haven't taken any posed photos yet, but here are a couple of candid ones. 

Pooka is the chocolate one and she is 5 years old.  She is currently pregnant with triplets!  The dam of the buck she is bred to  is a milk production record holder and Pooka herself produces a lot of milk so I hoping for some good things! :)  She is very tiny, a little over 19 inches, but does really well with babies.  She has always had triplets and was once accidentally bred to a Boer and had three 5 pounders with no trouble!  She is not the loud, wild color that her full sister is, but she's got it where it counts! :)

Chianti is a two year old dry doe.  She won junior champion at the state fair last year and did very well with her first kidding this last spring.  She is the more curious and forward than Pooka so the kids are having a ball with her. :) 

My friend was worried because she didn't think they had had the handling they should (she has over a hundred goats) and then they had never been together in a pen before, but she needn't of.  They follow me all over and come when they are called.  The night we got in and they were in our fenced courtyard, they were even following me into my kitchen. :)  Total sweethearts, and they love each other, too. :)  A great start!

This is our families "Saturday".  My husband is home from work for the next two days, and we are all happy.  Especially our goats, which he has been known to take his first cup of coffee with.  At 6:15am it was 55 beautiful, crisp degrees outside, and the air felt good deep in my lungs.  We stacked the last of our firewood for the winter after morning chores.  My oldest son Alex, who is 12, is such a huge help around our little farm.  I think I'll never teach him to drive so he can't grow up and leave. :)

Then it was time for a hardy lunch.  What better than thick cut bacon, buttermilk biscuits with gravy, and boiled eggs?  Apparently nothing!  All I have left are a couple biscuits, and a smidge of gravy.  Not bad so far, for a Tuesday.

My goats are in love with all the goodies hubby brings to them. Last week it was green bean leavings. This week it is corn stalks. They seem to like the variety. Comfrey is another favorite.

I have a really nice pet doe for sale. Unfortunately, despite her dam's gorgeous udder, Anna has freshened with an udder that qualifies her for beloved pet status, without papers.

Algedi Farm H Thunderstruck's granddaughter - Camanna TN Orianna "Anna". Cost is $100.

For more pics and more information please visit our website at http://toaheedliinii.jimdo.com/ or email at toaheedliinii@hotmail.com

Our whole herd tests negative through WADDL for CAE/CL and Johnes.

Regretfully Anna is being offered for sale too keep our numbers small and manageable.

It is such a joy to have our goats home!  I can't believe how they grow on you in such a short time.  It have been raining for two days here in MA, and they have been hold up in their barn.  So we all go out just to spend time with them and let them get to know us.  I still feel like I did as a new mom, wondering through all the same questions.  Am I feeding them right?  Is the poop normal?  Are they comfortable, and content? What stuff do I need, and what is just a waste of money?  Lots of questions!  Then you see your husband sitting down with a lap full of eight week old sleeping doeling, and it's all good.

I brought a new girl home a few days ago and is still low girl in the group of 3. She is in milk and I'm worried because I dont think she is eating enough. She wont eat her grain while I milk her and the other two are not very nice when they eat hay together. So, I put two areas for hay so she can get away, but she wont leave the other two. Im hoping to get her to produce more milk too. Any suggestions?

In 3 weeks I will be bringing home my Nigerian Dwarf does (I'm picking them up after my daughters wedding). I'm concerned about the drive so was hoping for some input. I'm getting them from my friend Anna in Siletz, Oregon (near Newport) and I live near Moscow, Idaho. It's about 500 miles and we will be on I-5 until Portland, then east on I-84 along the Columbia, and finally will turn north going through the Tri-Cities and working our way northeast to home. We will be in 2 different rigs and will have our 4 children with us. The does will most likely be riding in the back of our LR, which is fairly spacious, but our other vehicle is our van which will work, too. One doe is 5 year old and pregnant with triplets (according to the ultrasound) due August 28th and the other is a 2 year old dry doe. Both are used to being handled. Because our youngest is only 9 months (the other 3 are quite a bit older) we tend to stop every 2 hours and the drive ends up being about 11 hours. We will make sure we have leashes for the goats and some things are obvious and just take some common sense. That being said, we've never traveled that far with goats so would love to hear from you. And if there is anyone in that area who knows the route and has advice that would be wonderful! We have made the trip at least once or twice a year, if not more, for a number of years, but this time will be a bit more of an adventure! (I copied and pasted this from a post I made on Totally Natural Goats so if your a member this make look familiar. :) )

I just brought home my very first two nigerian girls!!!! Ive been waiting for this for 17 years. One of my girls is in milk. The breeder was trying to make the transition for them as safe and stress free for all. Little did either of us know that Ivermectin sl stays in there system and needs 40 days withdrawal before I can drink her milk. I was heartbroken! But she asked her source and I did a bit of investigating to find out that a lot of people only wait 4 days. These are dairy goat farmers that have been drinking it for years and have had no side effects. On the other hand my Vet said dont drink it. I'm wondering if anyone out there can give me "scientific" reason why I should or shouldn't drink her milk. The thought of waiting 36 more days kills me. But I dont want it to literally kill me if I drink it sooner. Input please if anyone knows!!!!!!

I just brought home my very first two nigerian girls!!!! Ive been waiting for this for 17 years. One of my girls is in milk. The breeder was trying to make the transition for them as safe and stress free for all. Little did either of us know that Ivermectin sl stays in there system and needs 40 days withdrawal before I can drink her milk. I was heartbroken! But she asked her source and I did a bit of investigating to find out that a lot of people only wait 4 days. These are dairy goat farmers that have been drinking it for years and have had no side effects. On the other hand my Vet said dont drink it. I'm wondering if anyone out there can give me "scientific" reason why I should or shouldn't drink her milk. The thought of waiting 36 more days kills me. But I dont want it to literally kill me if I drink it sooner. Input please if anyone knows!!!!!!