Nothing encompasses the term "springtime" better than baby animals. Closer to home, it means time for BABY GOATS! This kidding season, we've had babies being born not just at my barn, but also at my Mom's barn across the road. Since the end of February, we've been spending most of our time going back and forth to the barns checking for new babies.
So far, we've had 8 kids at my Mom's house (all BOYS!) and at my house we've had 7 (4 girls and 3 boys) with 2 more does left to kid. Making sure that the dairy goats are taken care of can be a full time job, but one that definitely comes with it's rewards.
Some of the rewards are pictured below:
Click the sample to view the contents of the Dairy Goat Packet!
So far, we've had 8 kids at my Mom's house (all BOYS!) and at my house we've had 7 (4 girls and 3 boys) with 2 more does left to kid. Making sure that the dairy goats are taken care of can be a full time job, but one that definitely comes with it's rewards.
Some of the rewards are pictured below:
Pippy (r) is going to be leaving after she is weaned, and going to Kentucky. The little boy (l) is for sale. He is a livewire. These kids are Alpine x Oberhasli. They spend their day drinking milk, playing games. They are quite the dynamic duo. Their super power is to be able to leap over objects and make really cool jumps while banking off of the wall.
This little cutie is headed to southern Arkansas to be a part of a show herd owned by a young high school student. By day this little doe sleeps, and by night she is bouncing around her pen with her brother. She has a secret identity as Wonder Goat. She has a golden collar and an invisible jet pack that takes her all over the barn saving goats from harm.
This little guy is having sweet dreams of flying through space. When he grows up, he wants to be an astrogoat. His favorite tv show is The Big Bang Theory, and his favorite food is warm milk with just a hint of alfalfa.
After being overdue 9 days, this trio (boy (l) girl (middle, and behind) has made us ready for anything. They don't care about deadlines. They have written the book on being fashionably late. The boy, like most males, was holding up the show because his hair wouldn't part down the center the way it should. He was determined to be first, so he held his sisters captive until finally "grandmaaaaa" changed his mind. His sisters joined the party later. The bigger female kid is going to live with Pippy and become a show goat. They are going to work it on the runway and show off their great capacity to milk. :) The "little sister" is small in size, but not in determination. She was walking, talking, and ready to eat before the rest.
I created a dairy goat packet last year, which will be one in a series of farm related products that I will be posting this spring. This particular packet features a drawing that resembles one of my goats here on the farm. The packet also explains that, and shares a photo of her for the classroom!
Next up will be a Blog post on SEEDS. I love this time of year. You can always tell that it's springtime in the Ozarks because of all of the bright yellow daffodils along the highway. When we moved here in 2000, I wasn't real sure why there were all the flowers. I thought at first maybe it was something the Highway Department had done to beautiful the "Natural State." It wasn't until a few years ago one of the local towns people told me the real scoop. Everywhere you see the daffodils is where an original homestead was. He said that when you view it from the air, you can see where all the plots were. Back when the area was homestead and farmed, the walkways to the homes were lined with daffodils. I thought that was pretty neat!
See you next time!
