Coloring Time!

Please note, for this post I am referencing several pamphlets that I obtained
from the American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA):

The ADGA sets "breed" standards for dairy goats.  They recognize 8 different breeds of goats:

• Alpine
• LaMancha
• Nigerian Dwarf
• Nubian
• Oberhasli
• Saanen
• Sable
• Toggenburg

Each of these breeds have very unique positive qualities (and sometimes drawbacks)!  I sometimes get asked why I chose Alpines.  Although Nubians are probably the most popular breed of goat, I chose Alpines because I had convenient access to purchasing some Alpines in my area.  I do like there excellent milk production and hardy breed.  While some breeds (LaMancha in particular) are described as "laid back," Alpines are basically the opposite.  But that is what I like about them!  Who wouldn't want a goat with so much spunk they try to escape when their owner opens the gate to see them? Ha!

Anyway, Alpines are of French descent.  There are some "French Alpine" registered goats, but most Alpines are "American Alpines" because their specific ancestry cannot be traced back to France.  (Interesting note, if you breed a French Alpine and an American Alpine, you get an American Alpine.)

They also are the only breed with specific coloring names.  According to the ADGA Breed Standards, there are 8 different colorings for Alpines, called by their French names.  The French names are always hard for me to pronounce.  Personally, I like to call them by their English colors (i.e. "that tan goat...")!  But in order to clarify for myself, and for any others who might be a bit confused about Alpine colorings, I am posting the technical French coloring list below:

• Cou Blanc (White on the front, black on the back--like Elly May)
• Cou Clair (Light shading to dark)
• Cou Noir (Black on the front, white on the back--opposite of Elly May)
• Sundgau (Black with a few white markings--just like Frankincense)
• Pied (Spotted-imagine what throwing a pie at a goat would look like!)
• Chamoisee (Black face, dorsal stripe, and legs--like Charlotte)
• Two-tone Chamoisee (Light front--like Edna)
• Broken Chamoisee (Similar to Chamoisee, but with some "irregular" markings)

To give a visual:

Elly May--Cou Blanc

Frankincense--Sundgau

Charlotte-Chamoisee

Edna--Two-tone Chamoisee

And, Edna's kids are due in less than two weeks.  She carries the potential for all of these colors.  It will be a fun surprise to see what color goats she has!

Udder-ly Amazing

Since Charlotte kidded, she been producing lots of milk.  Many people wait to drink the milk until two weeks after kidding, but I couldn't wait!  It tastes so good!  I have been milking just in the mornings.  Just a few days after she freshened (gave birth), she milked a full 1/2 gallon (4 pounds!).  However, I think some little ornery buckling is drinking more than his share.  Frankincense will soon be separated from her at night so he stops taking all of the milk.

Enjoy this "Udder Update!'

Before kidding.  Yes, Charlotte was REALLY dry!

A few days after kidding.  Yes, Charlotte is really FULL!  She didn't choose to fill her udder until 24 hours before giving birth.  I was getting a little concerned, but she filled up in time to give little Frankincense lots of milk!

Edna a few weeks ago (tiny teats)!

Edna just a few days ago (you can see how her udder is forming and growing)!  Edna is a first freshener (this is her first year to have kids), so she is growing an udder for the first time.

I found this picture of Edna from back in December (right after she was bred).

She is now so pregnant!  She likes to just lay around and let her big belly rest!  She is due in just about a week and a half.  It will be great to have more baby goats around!  I am getting excited again!

Parenting a Buckling is Hard Work!

As cute as he is, Frankincense is getting a little ornery! Check out these pictures which capture a glimpse of the difficult job Charlotte has parenting her little buckling...

"Mind if I use you as a jungle gym, Mom?"

"I'll just sit here a while!"

"Can I have a taste of your dinner?  Those humans just expect me to drink milk all day!"

"Wait a minute, this is yummy Mom!"

"This REALLY is good."

"Son, let me eat!!!"

I must say we had the most amazing storm last night!  There were 50 mph gusting winds, pounding rain, constant lightning, booming thunder, and a power outage!  It was powerful!  But the refreshed atmosphere made for a beautiful sunset!  Wow!  The heavens declare the GLORY of God! (See Psalm 19)

If a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...

If a picture is worth a thousand words...

Then a video must be worth a MILLION!

Dashing Through The...Goat Pen!

Hello Blog!

Frankincense is now a week old!   He now weighs 16 pounds!  And he has learned to dash around the goat pen.  That made it a very FAST week...in more than one way!  See the sequence below...

 Just standing...

 But not for long...

Here I go...

Hurry, the race is on...

I've got to get back to my mama...

Almost there...

All tuckered out...

It is fun to see how Frankincense is growing and thriving!  I praise the Lord when I am in the goat pen for allowing me to experience "up close" the marvelous ways that He designed little goats to grow and develop.  

It is amazing to watch Frankincense try new things on his own (like using his racing abilities or climbing something new).  Sometimes he fails and falls over, but he gets back up and tries.  His struggles are all a part of him gaining strength.  What a good reminder!  There are so many life lessons from the goat pen!

Hello, My Name is Frankincense

Frankincense is getting really big and exploring his little world.  He has been introducing himself to the other goats and meeting the other farm animals.  He learned to jump up on a tire and he put his front legs up on the milking stand. (2+ feet high? Quite the accomplishment for a 6 day old goat!)  It is fun to watch him grow!  He has already gained over 3 pounds since birth! Here are a few photos I snapped of his "introductions:"

"Hello Edna, I'm Frankincense!"

This was hilarious!  Obviously, little Frankincense didn't realize that these steers were 100 times his weight!  He walked up to the fence and touched noses with them!  They would probably be good friends!

Frankincense's name has lots of meaning.  It was mainly inspired by one of my favorite movies, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.  The seven brothers' names are all Bible names in alphabetical order.  Since there aren't many "F" names in the Bible, the sixth brother is named "Frankincense."  "Because he smells so sweet," goes one of the lines.

And that brings us to another aspect of Frankincense's name.  Frankincense is also a gum or resin that smells very strong and sweet.  This is quite ironic for a buck since he will smell AWFUL when he goes into rut!  I don't even want to think about it. Ha!

Lastly, Frankincense is one of the gifts that the "wise men" brought to Jesus.  This is significant to me since I seek to honor the Lord with my possessions (even my goats).  I want to give Jesus the glory for this goat adventure.  I seek to care for these animals to the best of my knowledge, but ultimately they are in His care.  So, I am bringing a different kind of "Frankincense" to Jesus!

It has been so much fun the past few days to have a little goat around!  He brings lots of joy to the goat pen!

Disbudding Time!

Frankincense exploring an old tractor tire this morning...he is getting quite strong at 4 days old!

As I posted about last year, I really can't stand having to disbud baby goats.  I don't like seeing them in pain (even for 15 seconds!) and they look so sad after their hair is shaved and little horns burned.

But despite my complete dislike for disbudding, I do feel it is necessary.  Many people in this area like to purchase goats that are disbudded.  It is also a good idea to have them disbudded if they will eventually be show goats.  Also, I think that it is safer to not have dangerous sharp horns on goats, especially bucks who can exhibit "strong" behaviors.

I called around this morning to get a vet to disbud Frankincense.  The first vet I called insisted that I not disbud my goat until he was TWO weeks old!  What?  Goats should be disbudded based on the growth of the horn nub, not age.  The nub should be about 1/4" (like a hard round growth).  Disbudding it burns the nerves around it so it can't continue to grow.  Catching it too late can increase the risk of "scurs" (malformed horns that grow despite an attempted disbudding).

I called a couple of other vets and finally found one who was willing to do it for Frankincense.  When I arrived at the vet, they first shaved the top of Frankincense's head.  Then they heated up a hot iron and just barely touched it to the skin all around the horn.  It only takes about 30 seconds total and the goats barely know it happened after that.

They sprayed a metallic "bandage" on the disbudding sight!

After taking a nap from the stress of the event, Frankincense was up hopping around!  He even nibbled on some grain and beet pulp out of Charlotte's evening meal.  He is very adventuresome when it comes to tasting things.  I have seen him eating hay and grass already!

"Hey Mom, can I have some?"

I really like raising goats.  Disbudding is one of my least favorite aspects, but with every endeavor worth pursuing there are unpleasant facets.  After the fact, I am very glad that I had Frankincense disbudded today!

Thunderclouds...

Everything was "perfect" about little Frankincense being born--a beautiful healthy kid, wonderful timing, lovely weather, no complications, etc.  I am so grateful!

(Ooops!  During Frankincense's entry, Elly May grabbed these paper towels I accidentally left near the fence!)

It felt so satisfying for the suspense to be over!  Then... thunderclouds rolled in.  The sky got almost as black as night.  There was wind and torrential rain!  Our dog that is never allowed in the house was so terrified of the storm that she was allowed to sit in the entryway!

A sopping wet "Blue Bell" enjoying her illegal napping spot.

It rained so hard that Edna's and Elly May's goat hut blew over!  Oh-no!!!  Edna and Elly May were dripping wet!  They were moved to the cattle trailer (which is also used as a hay barn) for some protection from the storm. Elly May thought this arrangement was great because she found a bale of alfalfa to eat!

The "tipped over" goat hut!

When the storm subsided, we tried getting the hut back on its right side, but it fell apart (many of the boards were weak and the whole thing needed a "tune up" after a year of three goats living in it!)  Amazingly, we were able to salvage the materials and build a new shelter on Friday.

This shelter has posts that are set into the ground.  It is a bit "cozy" for the goats and the roof line keeps the rain out much better than the other design.

I didn't think about the fact that Elly May would be able to climb up the roof.  Hmmm...This design might need some adjustments in the future.  But goats are designed to climb, so maybe it satisfies a missing aspect of their habitat. 

Since then, things have been peaceful.  Today more thunderstorms rolled in.  Except this time they SAVED the day!  I went to the goat pen and found Frankincense panting very hard.  His mouth was open and he had no energy.  Although he was in the shade, he couldn't not seem to stay cool.  I took his temperature and it was 105 degrees (normal is 102-103).  I was almost sure he had heat stress.  Then, the thunderclouds rolled in...No rain, but the temperature dropped over 10 degrees and cooled down the overheated baby goat!  He got up and scampered around!  Praise the Lord for His perfect timing in cooling the earth!

Panting!

Hot goat!

Until next time...

The Miracle of Birth

       

The Miracle of Birth!

On Wednesday evening, I knew Charlotte was getting close to kidding.  As I mentioned before, she had "lost" all of her ligaments near her tail.  From what I had read, this is a pretty sure sign of kidding within 24 hours (now I know from experience that is a very good sign that kidding is near!).  So, I woke up every two hours during the night to check on her.  But no signs of labor despite my lack of sleep!  When I woke up in the morning, Charlotte's udder had dramatically increased in size and was filled with milk!

The timing of Charlotte's kidding was an answer to prayer!  I worked all day Wednesday and again Thursday afternoon.  Guess when Charlotte decided to push her baby out?  Thursday morning when I was home!  Wonderful!  The timing was also good in another way.  It can get dangerous for goats to go more than about 5 days past their due date as the kids can get too big.  It was great that Charlotte naturally gave birth three days past her due date before I had to make a decision about inducing her.

Charlotte didn't lose her appetite and she didn't have any discharge either (both of these can be signs of kidding, but I guess not for my goat).  However, we continued to check on her throughout Thursday morning.  Around 10:45am one of my siblings came in the house and "nonchalantly" told me that Charlotte was pushing really hard!  Really?!?!  I went outside and saw her pushing about every minute.  I went inside for about 10 minutes, and it was a good thing I came back out when I did!

Charlotte Pushing...

I arrived back in the goat pen at 10:55am.  It was then that I saw the "bubble" emerging from Charlotte's back side.  I also saw some tiny white hooves.  Hurray--the kid was positioned correctly!  Baby goats "dive" out of the womb with their front legs and head coming out first followed by the rest of their body.

 If you look closely, you can see that Charlotte is "yelling."  She was quite vocal during the process.

It only took a few minutes before the head was out.  Baby goats are born with their tongues out.  I was shocked to see that the kid was black (one of the rarer colors for goats)!  I had wanted a black kid!

At 11:00am the kid was here!  The total process took 15 minutes!  I was in awe of the miracle! The amazing Creator took 5 months to form a perfect little kid inside my goat and now it was here!  

Charlotte immediately began licking the kid all over.

Charlotte stood up about 30 minutes after the birth.  I was expecting Charlotte to have more than one kid, but no more came and I began to suspect that she was finished.  The little buck was quite mature, so it seemed likely that he was a single (Charlotte had twins last year, so we were almost certain she would have twins or triplets this year.  Goats like to surprise their owners!).

Within about an hour, the little goat stood up.  About 30 minutes after that, he hungrily nursed for the first time.

I feel so blessed to have watched Charlotte give birth!  It was an amazing experience!