Rewind Part 2...{Howdy's Disbudding}

Saturday, April 9, 2016:

Since I am doing the disbudding job myself this year, I am choosing to disbud based on the appearance of the horn nub and not the age of the kid or availability of the vet.  In general, the horns of bucklings develop faster than the horns of doelings.  I personally think the development of the horn can also depend on the kids' sire's genetics.  Edna and Elly May's bucklings were both born with well-developed horn nubs, while Charlotte's kids (whose sire is different from the other kids) have horn buds that are barely able to be felt.  

At about 36 hours old, Howdy's horn nubs felt ready.  I decided I should probably disbud him then.  I shaved around the horn nubs, but I couldn't see the little "ridges" that grow toward the nose.  Then I started to second-guess if he was too little.  I looked up some information in my goat reference books and decided it couldn't hurt to wait a day if I felt it was too early.  So I put him back in the goat pen...

Saturday morning I knew I couldn't wait another day.  He was now about 2 1/2 days old and a lot stronger than the day before.  I held him between my legs and he dejectedly put his chin on the ground.  Poor goat!

I felt much more confident this time.  And much more patient.  I placed the iron on his little head for short amounts of time, rotating the pressure around the nub.  Once it was amber-colored around the horn, I burned off the "cap" of the horn.  During the whole process I took my time and remembered to breathe.  Time will tell if he develops scurs, but I felt glad it was over!

Nice rings around the horns...

All done!

Howdy didn't seem bothered after the disbudding but happily played in the goat pen as if nothing had happened!

Rewind Part 1 {The Account of Edna Kidding}

This has been a fast paced week!  So much has happened with all 3 of the goats kidding!  I am rewinding a few days to post some pictures of Edna's kidding

Wednesday, April 6, 2016:
Usually I have various commitments that require me to leave the farm during the week, but my commitments were canceled so I was able to be home.  I had a hunch that Edna would kid and so I checked on her every half hour or so.  She got a bit frustrated with me and wouldn't let me get close!  I started to wonder if I was just wishfully thinking!  I "thought" Edna's tailbone ligaments felt soft.  Her udder "seemed" fuller than the night before as well.  It seemed like she was acting a bit off.  And she had a lot of discharge.  She was pawing at the ground.  And she was making little low grunts and seemed to be talking to her babies.  But after checking on her so many times during Wednesday morning and watching for any signs of labor, I thought maybe my mind was tricking me.  I finally decided to go run an errand and not wait around all day.

As I was preparing to go, she laid down and started pushing.  Within 5 minutes I saw hooves and a nose!  It all happened so fast compared to Elly May!  She delivered the kid standing up and I gently caught it and laid it on the ground so she could clean it off.  It was the tiniest kid I had ever seen.  I was pretty sure it was a girl!

Edna licked the first kid for about 7-10 minutes before I saw another bubble appear!  Then a pink nose!  Edna was still standing, so I gently helped the second kid out.  It was huge!  This one looked like a boy! I wiped the nose to make sure it could breathe and Edna continued to clean off both of them!

The first tiny doeling was soon named Hurray and the second buckling was named Howdy!  They both nursed, then settled in for a long nap!

They are such sweet baby goats with gentle temperaments.  They love snuggling and playing together!   Goat kids are so much fun!

Welcome Hilarious and Holster!

I am sad that kidding season 2016 is now over (no more setting my alarm for 2am to check on the goats)...

But happily, Charlotte kidded today!

Welcome Hilarious and Holster!

Hilarious is an all black DOELING!  Holster is another cute buckling!  

This was the first kidding that I missed being present.  I had a commitment in town at 2 this afternoon that I was not able to rearrange.  Charlotte looked like she was in early labor, so I left the rest of my family with instructions just in case.  Around 3 they texted the below picture...

After the first kid was born, they thought she might have a twin.  Here is the second "bubble" after Hilarious was born.  They reported that it was about 30 minutes after Hilarious was born that Holster came out!

But, before Holster was born Charlotte did a great job of getting Hilarious all licked clean!

She has floppy ears!  Alpines are supposed to have upright ears, but I am assuming that her ears were squished down in the womb and they have not straightened up yet.  She looks like a Nubian goat!

I don't have very many pictures of Holster (more coming!), but he has two white spots on each side that remind me of holsters!  He is a little sleepier than his rowdy sister.

My scale ran out of batteries, so I wasn't able to weigh them, yet but I would guess they are each around 6 or 7 pounds each.  

Charlotte has very active twins. Just hours after being born, Hilarious was out of the goat hut and mimicking Charlotte by nibbling at hay!  They are also very vocal, especially Hilarious.  Each time I pick her up she screams (none of the other goat kids even peep when I pick them up!).  When I tied her umbilical cord, cut it, and dipped it in iodine, she yelled during the whole process as if I were hurting her.  Poor goat!  I have a feeling that she is going to be feisty!  

There are a total of 5 goat kids!  The goat pen is a delightful place right now.  It fills my heart with joy and thanks to the Lord for blessing my herd with beautiful baby goats!

Introducing Hurray and Howdy!

Edna had TWINS!  Introducing Hurray and Howdy!

Hurray, 5 pound doeling born first!

Howdy, 7 pound buckling born second!

Born April 6th around 2 in the afternoon!

More pictures coming soon...

Disbudding Drama

I would like to think of myself as confident, courageous, and prepared when it comes to disbudding, but that ideal self-image didn't quite match my pounding heart, churning stomach, and shaking arms this morning!

All along I have been resolved about disbudding the kids.  Although you can read strong arguments on both sides of the disbud/don't disbud debate, it is the commonly accepted practice in the dairy goat world.  Since I am seeking to raise dairy goats, my goat kids must be disbudded.

The vet has disbudded the goat kids for me the past few years.  But I was never completely satisfied with the way he did it (not to mention that he charged a pretty penny!).  So, it was time to learn to do it myself.

I purchased a disbudding iron from a friend who no longer needed it.  Then, I watched lots of YouTube videos on how to disbud.  I must say the first video I clicked on I had to mute the sound and turn away from the screen.  I almost lost hope that I could do this myself!  But after watching a half-dozen or so I began to get the idea of how it works.  I also conferred with my go-to goat keeping books!  Last night I went to bed resolving that I would disbud little Hillbilly in the morning!

This morning was crisp and cool.  I was determined to do what I knew must be done, even though the thought of disbudding made (and still makes) me cringe.

Here is Hillbilly enjoying the beautiful morning (and getting a kiss from his mama!)

I heated up the disbudding iron.  It gets close to 1000 degrees!  Yikes!

I knew it was hot enough when I touched it to a piece of wood and it made a dark burned circle.

While I was waiting for the iron to heat up, I shaved around Hillbilly's horns so I could see them better.

The purpose of disbudding is not to burn the horn bud off, but to sever the nerves so the horn doesn't grow.  Bucks horns are very challenging to disbud and they often get scurs (partial bits of horn that grow back).  After doing some research about Alpine bucks in particular, their horns have a small ridge that grows down toward their  nose.  If the nerves to this ridge are not severed as well, they will grow horns!

I quickly did what I had to do.

Then, it was all over.  The ring around the horn must be amber-colored to know that it "took."  I did a "figure 8" type burn to try to get those persistent, horn-growing ridges!  This isn't necessary when disbudding does.

Hillbilly was soon returned to Elly May.  He is now sleeping and nursing and acting like a normal 3-day-old buckling!

I sure didn't enjoy that experience...I felt shaken up for a while.  But, the 15 seconds of awful disbudding is worth it in the long run to not have horned goats!  And now that I have done it once, hopefully it will be easier next time!

P.S. I am still waiting on Edna to kid.  She is 3 days over due now and looking HUGE!  Hopefully soon!  Stay tuned!

Introducing Hillbilly!

Introducing Hillbilly!

Born Saturday, April 2 around 1:30pm!

8 pound buckling!

It was Edna's due date yesterday, but Elly May surprised us all by giving birth to a beautiful buckling that looks just like her!  (Elly May wasn't due until Wednesday, so I was surprised when she was 5 days early!)  Hillbilly is such a nice, strong little fellow and Elly May is being a good mama so far!  

I will share more photos soon!

Hello from the Goat Pen!

This blog has experienced another quiet season!  Since it is a goat blog, it seems to follow the yearly cycle of goat farming.  There is lots of busyness in the Spring with baby goats and lots of milk!  Then things settle into some sort of "normal" (may I use that word?) routine during the late Summer and into Fall.  There is a burst of excitement in the Fall when the goats get bred, then they are dried off for a while and the pattern repeats.  Here is a little update of what has been going on in the goat pen:

All of the does are finally bred!  Depending on the weather, goats typically have a "heat" every 3 weeks beginning sometime in August and lasting until December.  I waited and waited and waited for the goats to go into heat this year!  About mid-October I began to get a little concerned that they weren't going to get bred!  I think the goats were reluctant to go into heat since I don't keep a buck.  They often need the scent of a buck to start up their heats!  So, we went on a "field trip" to the visit a buck.  I rubbed a rag on the buck and hung it in the goat pen when we got home.

Charlotte and the buck!

Finally, at the beginning of November, Edna went into heat.  Then Elly May.  Then Charlotte!  I am so glad that they were all bred within 8 days of each other!  Come the first of April, we should have a full week of kidding time!

Except for the occasional goat fight, things have been peaceful in the goat pen.  Edna is dry now and Charlotte is still milking about 1/2 quart every other day.

Since the does are all pregnant, I have been boosting their vitamins.  They get apple cider vinegar dumped in their grain several times a week.  Thankfully they don't mind the tart taste!  Elly May is slightly copper deficient.  I noticed this as she has several copper colored blotches on her jet-black coat.  At the recommendation of a friend, I began dosing all of the goats with Replamin Gel Plus to make sure they are getting enough of the right minerals and vitamins.   They have also been getting kelp, a nutrient-dense dried seaweed, which they absolutely love!

I am enjoying these "Winter" days of goat farming.  The routine is efficient, the goats are peaceful, and we have the expectation of baby goats arriving when our Texas winter turns into Spring!

See you later...

For Sale

Yes, Frankincense is "officially" for sale!

Frankincense will need to be leaving my herd soon!  I have known since he was born that I wouldn't be able to keep him since he is closely related to both Charlotte and Elly May, so I wouldn't be able to breed him back.  He has a great personality, a beautiful rare color, and desirable genetics.  It will be sad for me to see him leave, but I am hopeful he will get a nice new home where he can be a "herd sire" and possibly a show goat!

At 4 weeks, he weighed 30 pounds!  That means he is drinking a lot of milk and growing very mature!  So, ideally he will be weaned and purchased soon.  If you are interested in purchasing this "great goat" (or you would like more information), please leave a comment with your phone number and email address and I will contact you soon!

Thanks for following me on my great goat adventure!