Just Kidding

Well, here I thought I had done everything possible to prevent goat kids this spring. As our 8th kid was born today, I must admit that I failed in having a kid-free spring.

We have three bottle babies – born on Feb. 27th and 28th – two very cold days. They are adorable, and I need to take some photos or even videos of them. They have their own pen outside for daytime, and at night, they have a large pen in our sunroom, where I can be sure they are warm and dry. They are down to 4 bottles a day, and they are nibbling on hay and goat chow.

Today’s new kid is a pretty, blue buckling. Son of Aran – a beautiful blue, Navajo-type doe with wavy mohair Aran is a bit of a pushy doe, though, and I struggle with her twice a year when it is time for shearing – and it is about time for shearing again! She is as strong as an ox and as stubborn as a mule. She is one of perhaps 10 does that I need help with when I’m shearing – the rest are mostly pretty good about being on the grooming stand.

I do need to sell these babies – I honestly have enough goats at this point, and I can hardly keep up with getting them all sheared as often as they should – and then, I’m not getting close to prepping all that mohair for sale.

This is a business, and I need to remember that every day.

I’m working on making some hay feeders that will keep the goats from just throwing all their hay on the ground and stomping on it and then wasting it. If it ever stops raining, I’ll try to finish some and post some photos of those. They won’t be very pretty, but I hope they will help the goats from just wasting their food as they do now.

I’m also adding another paddock or maybe two.