Get Your Goat!
So we are now goat-less. Why? Well, they kept getting out, for one. They weren't getting much attention, for two. The cows and the goats, as well as some of the pigs went to new homes. That long, ugly story here:
https://beggsnachin.webstarts.com/blog/post/farm-is-ending
Drama, much? Ugh. Anyways, I left the goats' pics and story up for your reading enjoyment, in case yer super bored. I loved them. They live with a nice lady down the road, keeping a mini pony company, being spoiled rotten. My grandson wasn't so much into goats, anyways.
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** As of March 2021, the goats are retired. I'm down to two, and they are just pets, now, and brush eaters. We kept "Mama" (Dorito), the grandma of them all, and one of her daughters to keep her company.
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This page is all about the goats. The goats help trim the tall brush down. The cows eat the shorter grass, and the goats eat the tops off the taller grass and trim back blackberries and brush/trees that have gone crazy. They also provide milk for the occassional bottle calf or goat, kitten... whatever. I make cheese sometimes. Goat poop is excellent, instant fertilizer that doesn't attract flies much, because it is a "cooler" poop that is dropped in little pellets all over, creating a slow-release nitrogen source for wherever I put them. They are an important part of our multi-species grazing rotation efforts.
Currently, I just milk for me and my family, as I'm not licensed for anything else and have no plans to do so. I don't sell milk, even for "animal consumption". I also store up milk to feed bottle calves when I get them. In order for milk to happen, babies happen. I had my Billy, who was a mutt, Nigerian Dwarf and Angora, no longer with us. I only have a few mamas, not a large herd, so I don't have a lot of babies available at this time. As of 2020, the ladies are taking a rest from milking and babies to improve their body condition and give me a break too. I do know some folks that do have a lot of bottle babies every year because they run a goat dairy, if you are looking for that.
I also practice conservative breeding practices, in that I don't breed endlessly nonstop. I keep a close watch on my ladies' body condition and only breed when they look good, and I seperate babies when they start looking poorly. This is about when I have babies available. All the mamas are fed a Barnyard Buffet Excel brand grain daily, and Dairy 16 when lactating for extra protien, if they don't get it from our local forage. They have excellent legume forage on our property, as well as we get local hay from the neighbor which is horse quality hay. The babies will get a CDT shot and hoof trims. I leave their horns on for their health and safety. I typically leave them with their mamas until they are about 4 or 5 months old, and if the mamas haven't weaned them, then I do. Babies raised on their mamas milk just do better!
If I have bottle babies, I tend to sell them sooner, but at weaning. I try to make the mothers do it first, though and keep them to 4 months. See below for available goats.
CL/CAE? They haven't been tested. I've had these goats for 7 or 8 years now with few new introductions. I've been personally drinking their milk raw for that long, and I'm not dead, so... I don't buy from auctions, and I buy from people I know. The last goat I bought from a tested herd, and I have seen no lumps or signs of disease in 7 or 8 years. I have only wormed maybe once every other year, preferring to rotate them to new ground and use chickens for cleanup duty for parasites. I worm if I see that they need it, not as a preventative. I also use natural methods yearly, such as pumpkins for worming. They got hoof rot a little when we moved to this new place this year due to abundant mud, a common problem in this area. That was treated successfully with simple baking soda and good cleaning and hoof management. I'm no goat expert, but here is my full disclosure. You can do what you need to with that info.
Available now:
NONE AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME AND NONE EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. WE ARE NOT BREEDING AND ARE SCALING BACK ON THE GOATS, SEE UPDATE ABOVE.
________ And that's it for 2020 - Gratuitious cuteness below-----
