GOAT NEWS

Now the goats have figured out ANOTHER way to get into our North Field. Apparently the fence that we humans are supposed to go through to that field needs to be fixed a little too. Just the other day I was watching them slide right through at the bottom, and a lot of them were even climbing the fence making it lean in, and then they'd jump right over! And of course most of our really small goats were getting right through the holes of the other fences. As you can tell, these fences were not made to keep goats in! We're going to fix that problem soon however.
Charlotte is still getting soft on her ligaments and has an udder that's growing slowly but surely. Something tells me she's going to wait until the very beginning of April to kid...that's just my gut feeling. But sometimes I'm wrong. So I'm just going to sit back and watch the show not knowing what to expect!
Spencer is also doing wonderful! Our little boy (more like very BIG boy now) is growing and becoming a handsome buck. Apparently he's figured out how to eat grain to our great delight! He's also eating a lot of grass as we're only giving him a bottle and a half of his milk in the morning. The thing that has put us in a little bit of a "fix" is that Spencer has not learned to drink water from the trough. So yes, we bring him that too. You'd think by now he would have learned after watching the other goats drink it, but he has not - which is kind of worrying me. Because in my opinion...I don't want to have to bring water in a bottle to that cute boy for the rest of his life! It's time for him to grow up and do things on his own. And he has done very well - the water is the only problem we have at this moment. I think we're planning on castrating him pretty soon, but we are still debating it. I'll post when something's official.
So that's all the goat news...all 18 goats (including little Starlene!) are doing fabulous!

Fixing Holes And Waiting On Charlotte

Boy! Over the course of  three days my sister and I have been fixing holes and fences that the goats keep getting through to the North Field. So far we've done a pretty fabulous job - I think. Take note that I only "think" we did, because well...you just never know what those goats are going to do next. We could have missed something, I PRAY that we didn't - but there is always a possibility. So that's what we've been up to lately...fixing holes so that our goats won't get into the wrong fields. Lovely. But the fresh air has been nice, so it hasn't been that bad. :)
Charlotte's udder has gotten even bigger...we may have a late March baby(s) instead of an April baby(s) like I thought. If she's anything like her mother...we just won't know until it happens. So I'm sitting here waiting with a little bit of hesitance and little bit of excitement. I really want this one to be healthy.

Saying GOOD-BYE to the snow :)

Today was just a little too chilly for our growing Spencer to take a trip outside to see the goats this morning. So I just went down to open them all up. It was so wonderful to see them all go out and start grazing again...it feels like forever ago when they were doing that. Almost all of the snow is melted and I am very thankful for the 40 degree weather we've been having pretty frequently lately. And I KNOW that our goats are too. They have been so "cooped up" for a long time since before Christmas...so I know that they are celebrating out there! Here are a few pictures of our goats in the snow to which they are now saying good-bye to. :)

Winter Goats

The weather outside this weekend has been EXTREMELY COLD. We were all worried that some of the goats might not make it as it was going to be in the negatives at night. However, we are VERY thankful to say that all of them are still alive and doing well! :) Me and my sister have been giving them a new hay bale each night to help them produce enough energy to fight the frigid temperatures. So far I think it's worked. I think the worst is over as it will be in the 30-50 degree range for the rest of the week after today - which is good news. So our growing Spencer will start taking visits outside to the other goats starting tomorrow or Tuesday. I'm hoping that the goats will accept him and that maybe his mommy, Valorie, will accept him too - and it would be even better if she actually remembered him as her son...but that's a very slight chance. I'm also hoping that when he does leave the house permanently, there will be at least one goat that takes him in...because he'll need it. Spencer's probably going to feel so lost at first. But hopefully that will change in time. Right now, we've just got to focus on getting him his milk, exercise, and love he needs. :)
Here are some recent winter pics of my sweet "goat babies".

Relaxing With The Goats

Yesterday I got to spend more time with our goats then I normally do. I've just been so busy that don't usually get to relax and pet them for a while. But as I said, yesterday I got to pet them more and even hold Cocoa and Hosea! :) They are all growing up, that's one thing I really noticed. Cookie, was finally put back on his chain where he belongs. If he's not on that thing - he causes trouble. We're hoping to sell him sometime soon. The goats were all waiting at the door once again this morning. I love them!! Here's my continuation of "Sticking Together" pics. :)

Sticking Together

Earlier today I saw all of our goats running together to the orchard. Goats, as I'm sure you know, are herd animals. They can't live alone, they HAVE to have a companion. It's just a part of their nature. So with our goats, they're not always ALL together, but most of the time they're not alone. Some are dispersed over there, and some are over here. Now, one of our goats can be an exception however. Hosea, has always been really independent. Yes, he REALLY likes to be with the herd. But when he was little and even now sometimes, he likes to stay with me until I leave - even when the herd has already left to go graze. He likes to explore and go off by himself every once in a while too. He's a cutie pie. :) Here are some pics of a few of our goats and their companions. (They're always with somebody!) :) The first is of Cassidy (left) and Pete (right)...they are love birds! :) The second is of Katrina and her son Hosea...she's a first timer and she loves her baby very much. :) The third is of our three summer babies (Cocoa, Brownie, and Hosea)as they play... "Who can push down Cocoa first!" :) The fourth is of Valorie, Charlotte, and Arthur as they lay out in the sun together. Valorie has someimes literally taken Arthur in even though he's not her baby. :) The fifth is of Cassidy and her son, Arthur...she is an amazing mother and just adores her baby! I don't think I've ever seen a mommy doe like her before! :) Hope you enjoy looking at the sweet pictures! :) :)...

~Morning Chores~

I hurt my leg last week, so I haven't seen our goats for a few days since I couldn't walk on it too well. But thank goodness, this morning I could finally see our goats again as I went down to take care of them this morning. It's really rainy and wet out there. They are all so cute! One of our bucks was after Charlotte so we locked those two up in a separate pen last night so the others could get some sleep (the bucks tend to go nuts and be a little mean to the other goats). Anyway, that's all the goats news...I'll post again when I have some more! :)

~Adorable Photos And Winter Weather~

It's been nasty weather outside these past few days. Our poor buck, Cookie, who is chained up since he's a little aggressive was very cold this morning. It's amazing how cold it is for this time of year...it feels like Christmas already! The goats are also beginning to show their winter fur...we sort of skipped fall. They're cute though in the winter. Looking at those plump, furry bodies, with those sweet eyes is just too much! Anyway, nothing much that is new with our goat farm, so here's some more pics for you to enjoy!

Pictures info: The first pic is of our twin pygmy/nigerian dwarf does...aren't they lovely? The second is of our sweet Valorie who just so happens to be smooching in the camera (it is a real goat). The third is of her daughter, Charlotte,....seriously...once again THIS IS A REAL GOAT...to be honest I really don't know how I was able to snap such a priceless photo as this! The fourth is of our energetic Cocoa who happened to be running when I was taking this snapshot...don't you love her ears? And the last is of her twin brother, Brownie. He is very photogenic...don't you think?

Goat News

So far no new babies yet. We've been expecting some here for a while from Cassidy, Essie, and Valorie once again. Don't know when they're going to kid. For some reason those mothers never weaned their babies they had back in February and March (6-7 month ago!), so we had to separate them from their babies. It's going to stay that way until they kid (who knows how long that will be!). I think it's because the mothers were "first-timers" and they didn't know exactly how or when to wean the kid...so we're gonna do it for them. :) Anyway, June and July babies are growing! We wethered Brownie and Hosea a couple weeks ago. Cocoa is becoming a little "lady" as she is almost 3 months old. "Hosi" (as I like to call him") and Brownie have good size horns coming in as well...they are very manly boys I must say. We have 5-6 goats we'll be selling for sure when that time comes. Probably more once these new babies are born. I'll have a post of new signs of labor and kiddings when things start happening...can't wait! (also...should be having goat pics soon!)

OUR GOATS NEWS

This past month has been kind of quiet with goat news. Nothing much has happened other than worming them a couple weeks ago. I also haven't been able to be out there with them very much at all since my allergies started kicking up. All I know is that the 2009 babies are growing and getting nice horns in. Gracie has done amazing since her eye trouble! She is so energetic and jumpy...she follows her momma really well too (which is good to know since we thought she was becoming blind). Charlotte is blooming with grace and poise as she is slowly becoming a "lady". She'll be 4months on June 10th. Arthur is huge! He's very masculine (like his father) and his horns are getting bigger every week. We also castrated him not too long ago so we won't have any problems with early pregnancies (hopefully...unless we were too late!) He will be 3 months next week. Annaliese and Genevieve are also blooming with grace and beauty. They are soon to be 5 months old on June 3rd. :) We for sure need to clip all of there hooves here pretty soon. Pete (our boer buck) has been jumping into our yard lately and we still can't figure out how he's doing it. We've had to pen him up a few times. That's all the goat news though. Thankfully no deaths or illness. Praise the Lord! :)

Arthur And Essie

We are debating whether or not to keep Arthur. He was born just last month so it probably won't be until April or May if we decide to sell him. I would really like to see him as one of our bucks...but that would more than likely mean we would have to sell Pete (our boer buck at the time) in order to keep little Arthur. The Lord will work it all out. No signs from Essie yet except that her udder is still growing and her back end is softening. Can't wait! Come on Essie!!! :)