We picked up our starter herd from Sweet Spring Farm in Argyle, New York yesterday and I couldn't be more tickled. It rained hard for the entire trip but for the time we spent on the farm the rain took a break until the moment we left! I'm taking it as a good omen.
Jeff runs a model goat dairy with a large loafing area in one barn where all the girls hang out. Udders were mostly empty so I took some head shots, but all the does are long, deep and look lovely. All the does were standing in the doorway because of the rain so we got to meet everyone.
The bucks live in modern luxury in a beautiful stable a little way down the drive where the kids stay as well. I was in for a surprise when I saw my babies
I underestimated the size of the babies I was coming to get (by a lot!). The rule of thumb I found said that average birth weights for goats is 8-10 pounds and that by eight weeks they should be triple that weight. Since my babies are six weeks old I subtracted a few pounds and decided they would be between 20 - 25 pounds each. I brought a crate that could carry a great dane thinking it would be all the space in the world.
Jeff estimated that they were more like 30 pounds each and brought a weigh tape so we could see. We measured the smallest doe -- 33 pounds! I was flabber-gasted. The two bucks and the older doe are at least two or three pounds more. A grand total of 40 pounds more goats than I expected! They did fit in the crate and they still go into the crate freely now that they are home and slept in it last night but WOW!
Jeff has a unique set up for feeding that I've never seen before. It's free choice milk from a little machine that sits outside the stall. I think the kids are so big because they can have as much as they like -- which happened to my single babies if left to nurse. They would always be much larger than the others who had to compete with siblings.
Below is Samba (one year old) from Kastdemure in California. I can't wait to see what he's going to ad to the Cossayuna herd genetics.
It was a long drive home and they were pretty stressed out and at first, just stood in the corner in a scared little knot. I thought feeding them would help them relax but the first feeding didn't go too well. I mixed up the milk replacer in the lamb bar and brought it out. The boldest little buck who we call Julius came over and practically jumped in my lap but they had forgotten how to get milk out of the lamb bar and just nibbled my hair and coat. The rest of the goats wanted nothing to do with me.
I went to plan "b" and put the milk into bottles with lamb nipples. No deal. Even a squirt of milk into the mouth had no effect...it was like giving medicine to a baby. We brought hay in and when we left they nibbled the hay. I went back inside and moved the milk replacer back into the lamb bar and went and sat with the goats for about half an hour. The boldest buck and the boldest doe (Julius and Sally) started poking around me to see if I had anything better than hay. Julius found a nipple and started sucking and Sally heard the noise and shoved him off and got onto the nipple. There are six nipples but for fifteen minutes Sally and Julius took turns knocking each other off of the lamb bar for that one coveted nipple. Finally our future herd sire (Rocky) who seemed to be protecting the shyest of the babies (Pims) came over and took a swig or two himself. I could not get Pims to try it at all so I just held her for a while. They drank half the milk, crawled into the crate and went to sleep. It was 10pm and they were done and Pims hadn't had a bit of it.
In the morning when I tried again I had four hungry goats that knew exactly what to do to get their breakfast. Pims didn't eat much but she had enough that I'm not too worried. She is still the shyest but she ate as much as she would and when they wouldn't eat anymore there was still about a pint left in the bottom.
I've got hay, lamb and kid starter pellets, dandelion greens and milk replacer on the menu today and I'm pleased with how things are going.
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