Why Goats?

It's funny, but from the very beginning of my journey into dairy goat keeping that is the one question that comes up again and again.

It all started that fateful day when I pulled into my neighbor's yard in Iowa. I was from Houston, a city girl all my life, well known animal-lover from childhood. There in the yard, were the cutest creatures I had ever laid eyes on. I didn't even know what they were. With their floppy ears I thought "sheep"? but they totally lacked anything like wool. These were day old Nubian goats.

I asked my neighbor what they were and she smiled and said "goats". I was instantly in love with their clumsy antics and their little faces with those long ears which they tossed around like sassy pig-tailed girls. So I started to make a case with my husband for why we must have goats at our own house. We had five kids so we went through a lot of milk, I was sure we would save money there. I could make cheese. I could make soap...more savings. It was an idea I didn't really believe at the time but it was my story and I stuck with it.

We tried the milk and found it to be excellent. So, I bought my first doe, a pregnant first freshener named Twinkle. When I milked her for the first time I was brutally disappointed. She produced barely more than what her kid needed to survive. I was assured that this was normal for yearling first fresheners so I persevered. We didn't get much milk the first season so I bought Twinkles mother, Doree. Doree produced a gallon of milk per day, twinkle also produced a gallon per day her second season and soon we were not having to buy milk and even had enough to make yogurt and cheese.

I kept meticulous records to prove or disprove that the goats were economical for us to keep. What I found was pretty surprising. I couldn't sell any milk from the goats in Iowa (strictly against the law) so I calculated what I didn't have to buy according to what I was used to paying. I didn't have to buy any milk at $3.00 per gallon. That was the price for cow's milk at the grocery store. That was not the price for organic cow's milk even though I know my standards for handling and the freshness of my milk was much higher than the milk we had been buying. Even calculating at the lowest price, the milk my two little does produced paid for their feed and paid me back for their purchase prices (both $150) in one year. In fact the $1,095.00 savings in milk paid for every cost the goats incurred with a surplus of $200. Hay, minerals, shots, collars...the goats paid for all that with just their milk. Then, the next year I was selling babies for $100 for does and $50 for bucks. Five babies gave me an extra $300. So I bought a doe with papers.

Then my husband got a new job and we moved and all the goats had to be sold or given away suddenly. It was hard and sad to let them all go and I was determined to find a place in the country and get more goats as soon as we could. And the bottom line is the bottom line in this story. What other animals give you so much joy and fun and affection while also more than paying their way. Here in Vermont I can sell a certain amount of milk and goat cheese without a grade A certificate. I expect it will be even more profitable than it was in Iowa. Still my husband goes on about the price we paid for a ADGA registered Nubians and I just can't understand this attitude towards an animal that is so profitable and so productive and so unassuming and easy to keep.

Why goats? Let me count the why's :

*Fun
*Sweet
*Cute
*Profitable--meat, milk, cheese and kids
*Milk of a quality we could never afford to buy
*ditto the cheese
*don't forget yogurt
*soap that washes odors away
*Pride to have such beautiful animals
*It's good for kids to see how food is produced
*Meat from the bucks
*Lessons from the barn
*Being up at 3 am waiting for kids and seeing Hale-Bop in the sky
*The many priceless moments we've experienced goat-keeping

Udders Appear

I was away in Germany when the does were bred--but I only had my kids word for it.  We never saw any more breeding activity after that.  So, I've been hopeful that we have kids due in late April or early May.  I check the girls every day for signs and today I got my confirmation...udders have appeared!  You can kind of get a feel for how the full udder is going to look by what is showing right now.  Looks like Pims will have a very pronounced medial ligament and well defined teats and Sally will have a smoother udder and will carry everything higher.  Sally is a long, deep-bodied goat so she doesn't "show" at all so this little udder development is my confirmation.  Now, I'm getting excited!  Kidding is my favorite time of year.  It's just like Christmas in spring.

If you don't know how to tell when your goats are about to kid, here are the signs:

Bagging up -- You've got days and maybe weeks...start watching closely
A Goat that was huge suddenly isn't quite so big...the kids have turned and are getting ready to be born
Ligaments across the pin bones on the goat's hips goes mushy...better start checking every two hours
Sudden loss of appetite...check for other signs like pink swollen vulva and mucous-ey discharge
She will be restless, maybe pawing or pacing or just the opposite--standing still with her feet close together...go get a clean dry towel and get ready to wait and watch for contractions.

I like to give molasses water, separate the goat from the herd and make sure she has choice hay and oatmeal, uncooked, to nibble on.  The molasses has sugars and minerals to help give her energy for the big job ahead and to help prevent ketosis.  I like to have the water hot during cold weather because it entices them to drink more.  If you see any problems you want to have electrolytes ready to go too to support the doe after she kids.

I take the kids away directly and milk right away.  Milking will stimulate contractions to expel the after-birth.  You want to examine the after-birth (many goats will eat it and that doesn't seem to bother them).  Look to see that it is smooth and that there are no chunks missing.  Retaining part of the after birth can make a doe very sick.  If you are suspicious watch the doe closely and check for fever (over 103 degrees).

 Bloody discharge is good, removing anything that has been retained during the birth.  Handling the kids right after they are born makes for very friendly goats later in life, so even if you plan to let mama nurse, handle those babies right off.  Warm them in your coat and let them get used to you from the first moments as someone who will care for them.  I put a warmer light and a crate in the babies pen and I check them often.  I feed two 20 oz bottles per day.  They may only eat 5 oz right off so I go back in an hour later and give them more and again if needed.  I feed them at least three times a day until they are able to clean off that first bottle.

They have hay available right from the start too.  After they can drain a bottle I go to two feedings a day, hay and feed available all the time.  The feed needs to be replaced even if they don't eat it.  Think of leaving a bowl of cereal out for your kids and thinking "I won't give them more until they eat that".  They'll only eat it if it's fresh.  This schedule encourages kids to eat hay and develop their rumen which will help them grow when they get older and no longer get milk.  I have a horse that clearly shows the damage of not developing the stomach for hay.  She nursed for three years and the people who owned her just let her nurse.  She can't keep weight on and her development is stunted and all the research indicates that she didn't get the right nutrients because her calories came from milk.

This regimen has worked well for me so far.  Anyway, happy kidding everyone.  Stay tuned for April/May kids!

Winter on the Farm

Winter is a slow time for me this year.  We've had some antics from the goats getting out and getting into the chicken shed to eat the chicken feed but mostly they just want to stay where it's warm near the hay feeder.

Breeding was done in late November which gives me kidding in late April--probably the last week of April.  There really is no way to tell what we will get this season or whether or not we will need a new buck to breed any retained does with.   I am thrilled to know Pike Family Farm which has great and entirely different bloodlines from me.  Michelle Pike was our goat judge for the fair this year and has her farm in Cabot--also great for me since she's so close.  Her goats come out of the Jesta herd long known for very high quality Nubian goats. Michelle brought her buck out, Jesta Farm Blue Back in Style, who has a very impressive presence, lovely conformation and a great pedigree.

The down time is great for planning and thinking with no milking or kids to care for.  Now, if I can just keep the goats out of the chicken house...

Introducing Spring Mtn Farm

Nothing like procrastination to get me going. I hadn't worked on the logo for our herd name and here was the Caledonia County Fair, our debut. I had already delivered the goats to the fair, took a couple of pictures of them just before loading so I could put little signs above their pens. I realized that I would want to put up a sign that told about who we were too and 30 minutes later I had my logo. I figure it will need tweaking and will go through several renditions but it's a start. I work well under pressure and cornered like a rat!

Rocky

Mustang Sally and Rocky Top Romeo both got shown and placed well. There were a lot of goats in each class so Michelle Pike had her work cut out for her. My daughter, Elissa showed them both and they were very good for her. Sally took first place for the JR Doe class and Rocky took second in the JR Buck class. I can't wait to see what they look like next year!

Sally

I am so pleased with the blood lines I have from Sweet Spring Farms. Mustang Sally is nice and deep for a five month old doe and Rocky is growing up to be quite a handsome fellow.

Goat Fencing

A problem I've had in the past is how to keep my goats where they are supposed to be. They are great at finding holes in the fencing and fencing is expensive. With my woven wire, they would stick their heads through until the wires broke over time or stand on the fence and pull it down until it broke. You need five strands of electric to keep goats in. With cattle panels I would get broken legs because they would do a combination jump/climb and get a leg caught and then their body would flip over the panel. That happened twice to me.

I've been luck enough to get some net fencing recently and it is everything I hoped it would be. It's been recommended by several friends who have goats but it's cost and wondering whether or not it would work kept me from buying it. It is electrified with a tiny pet fencer that I bought at Ace Hardware for $27 and the combination is a great one.

When I first got the fence, I hooked it up to my regular charger and put the goats out so they could learn not to touch the fence. They kept forgetting and would touch the fence, get shocked so badly they would jump forward and end up tangled in the net. It happened over and over again. After a bit, I took the fencer off and hoped they would just stay away from the fence but the minute the fencer was removed they were right through the fence. I needed a new fencer fast so I would be able to have the goats where I wanted them without running long wires from the existing fence. I bought this fencer because it was cheap but I love it because it works without making the goats jump into the netting. It's enough of a charge that they don't like touching it but not enough to frighten them.

Nutri Vet for Goats

My baby goats at weaning were looking a little frail. My feed is a "Lamb and Kid" starter pellet, browse every day and hay in their keyhole feeder. I put a mineral block in the pen to provide added copper but after two weeks there was no sign they had actually taken even a lick of it (how un-goat like). So I found this supplement at Agway and thought I'd give it a try. It cost around $20 but the dosage is one tiny scoop per 1000 lbs of goats!!! Which means my four 45 - 55 lb goats get 1/10th of a scoop morning and night....so it goes a long way.

After days on the supplement I saw increased appetite, energy and just a lot more life in these goats. After two weeks I'm seeing glossy coats and goats looking a lot more like I'd like them to look...perky and ready for fun. So I highly recommend this product and hope you have the same great results!

Keyhole Feeder

It's always frustrating to try to feed hay to goats. If they can (and they are so agile) they will step on, drag out, lay in and otherwise ruin perfectly good hay. I know I was feeding a bale every other day to these small goats when they were still on milk but most of it I would have to drag out of the stall ruined at the next feeding time because they kept dragging it out and getting into the feeder and soiling the hay.

We found a wonderful cheap solution on You-tube (hay feeder here). A key-hole feeder made from an industrial food barrel. There are a lot of barrels here from the maple industry so it was no problem to find a source. The keyhole is supposed to be 7 inches round with a four inch slot but since my goats are young we used a six inch keyhole with a three inch slot knowing we could make it bigger later. I used a desert plate as a guide when drawing the hole. Then we used a jigsaw to cut the holes. You have to drill a hole big enough to allow the jigsaw blade to get started. But it's a very simple design to make.

We thought we could just set it into the stall but they promptly knocked it over and we also thought we wouldn't need a lid but Julius jumped inside it so it needs to be fastened to the wall (we used screws through a piece of wood so the barrel plastic wouldn't tear). The lid is just the barrel piece we cut off turned upside down. It fits perfectly.

The results? No more hay waste! I add about a slice a day to the top and mix it all around every day and they go through only what they can eat. There is virtually no hay on the ground! When they go to pull out they have to think about it a little and raise and turn their heads to not hit their ears so they don't just drag it out and let half of it fall to the ground. Truly an ingenious idea.