A New Year, A New Farm!

We finally found our dream rental in November, after having searched for an entire year. We began to move in the 1st of December. It is a roomy little house on five wooded acres. There are clear spaces where little meadows flourish and it is very private. We have spent the month moving things and getting acclimated to our place. For January, our goal is to fence areas for our horses and our goats! We are extremely excited about being able to move our small herd up to this slice of heaven. It is far superior to their current location. Because there is no fencing in place at our new rental, I had to take all of our animals to my dad's place. He has a small piece of acerage with a large run in shelter. There is a small seperate pen with a lean-to that I am keeping my bucks in. All of the does can go inside to be warm and dry, and I put up some panels that they can go under to get away from the horses. However, my dad's property does not drain at all, and the field is a muddy disaster. I also am unable to seperate anyone efficiently for any reason and feeding everyone so that no one gets bullied out of food or steals grain from one another is quite difficult at this point.

I have also collected an enormous pile of pallets and tin roofing material from which I plan to construct several small goat houses. I plan to have three or four roomy pens with a goat house in each one, then put up two or three does in each pen at night and during feedings, then open the gates during the day to allow them to roam their field. Our new house also has a deck on the front and back of the house, and I am making a portable kidding pen to sit on the back porch. All night kid-watch will be much easier if I can simply open the back door and check on a laboring doe once every 30-60 minutes. I'll have plenty of lighting available and any supplies I need available directly through the kitchen door.

All of my does are now bred, except for Banshee. She is simply still too small. She has honestly doubled in size at this point, which is amazing. She looks stunning, and reminds me of an ugly duckling morphing into an elegant swan. I plan to show her as a dry yearling. If she gains enough size, I would love to shoot for a Jr. Championship and earn a leg with her. I definitely think she has the potential. She has already gained a great amount of length. I am floored by her progress. She has a ton of capacity, a very wide stance and large little teats for her age.

She did come down with some sort of respiratory infection this last week. She had runny eyes, and although she ran up to the fence when I came to the barn and gobbled up her grain, she retreated to a corner by herself afterwards and only nibbled at her hay. I decided to take her temperature because she was acting a bit abnormal and had those goopy eyes. She had a fever of 105-106 (my thermometer was being a little strange.) I gave her some LA200 for a few days and a baby aspirin to bring down her fever, and she is back to her loving, perky self. I am going to see if I can find any of the pasturella vaccine at the Grange. I checked for it at Big R but they didn't have any. I have heard a lot of controversy about the vaccine, that it is a waste of money, that it is a miracle, etc. The thing that turned me was the positive things some breeders I respect had to say about their year on the vaccine opposed to their years without it, and they report that they are now pneumonia free. I reason that it isn't too spendy, and the worst that happens is that it doesn't really work. However, I find that preventative actions are a lot less spendy and heart breaking than attempting to deal with diseases when they crop up. Especially something that can be as sneaky as pneumonia and take your animals down without notice.

I don't have any more photos at this point, but I plan to take some over the next week so I have fluffy winter pictures. I also decided to sell Val. I may wait until she kids, but I also may simply sell her bred if I have anyone who is interested. It is time that I switch over to all registered stock if I am going to be as serious as I want to be about my program. I have a doeling reserved out of one of Camanna's does that is due in August. My first choice is Camanna CS Sweet Harmony (TX Twin Creeks AB Cresendo x Mountain Quest Cinammon Swirl). She can be seen here: [Harmony]

She is out of Black Pearl's grand-dam, and I am trying to diversify my herd a little more...However, I have always really adored this doe. She is very long bodied, has that elegant look I am really looking for in my animals, and is so very dairy and angular. And boy is she flashy. I would love to get a clone of her in terms of color. She is bred to an absolutely amazing buck, an instant favorite as soon as I saw a photo of him. He has gorgeously correct legs, a problem area I see in a lot of Nigerian bucks. He is very long and uphill and you can see how correct and conformationally gorgeous he is even under all the thick fur in his pictures (which is usually very hard to do on a lot of animals.) I am also floored by his pedigree, I just love it and could really use those lines in my herd. He is Dill's D Lucky's Image, and can be seen here: [Lucky] He is the second buck down.

My second choice is Camanna TC Arabesque. I am not looking to add too much to my herd during kidding or show season, so I was looking for anything she had due in the summer. That and she already has a lot of reservations for the does I really liked due in the spring. I already (hopefully) have a doe kid coming from Bellafire Farm during the spring. I will know what my options are when the two does I am interested in from their farm are ultrasounded in January. That way we at least know how many kids are cooking and can see if there is a chance to get on a waiting list. The owner wants to retain a doe kid from my first choice, who is a first freshener. So if she is carrying a single I am out of luck and go with my second choice, hoping that she doesn't decide to retain anything from her if she only has one female. In any case, Arabesque is by Pecan Hollow SF Texas Crusader and out of Camanna CS Acapella. She is very long bodied, correct, with great legs and a nice topline. I love her coloring as well and her breeder commented that her sire's mammary systems have been very impressive so far. I would love to see her bred to Lucky as well, but will be happy with whatever the breeder chooses. She definitely has more experience than I do and an eye for what crosses well. She also noted she would like to see more leg angulation on both Arabesque and Lucky, so I am guessing she won't breed two animals she feels has the same issues. If I were able to choose which buck she were to be bred to, and it is not to be Lucky...I would love Flamin Fiasco, who is by Red & Blue Paisano. I know that wouldn't add diversity to my herd because I have two breeding animals by him, but I was very impressed by his get. I am also fond of Moondoggie from Poppy Patch. I could use more moon spots!

I am almost, most definitely purchasing a kid from Bellafire Farm, but she asked that I hold off on my deposit until she has them ultrasounded. My first choice is Pholia Farm HB Macy Marie. She is by GCH Piddlin Acres Hit the Bullseye +B and out of Pholia Farm RA Mirage 5*M. I always love Piddlin Acres and Pholia Farms animals, and she has a lot of Jobi in there, which is a line I'd love to have as well. She can be seen here: [Macy] She is the third doe down. She is a beautifully light buckskin with blue eyes. If she only has a single doe, my second choice is Poppy Patch PB Peggy Sue, who I really like. She is by NC Promiseland PAL Playboy *B and out of Poppy Patch FM Daisy Mae. Definitely wouldn't mind some more PromisedLand in my herd. Tomhawk's grand-sire is PL I believe. Peggy Sue can be seen here: [Peggy] She is the third down.

Progress!

We are seeing progress with the new girls. Banshee already seems to have grown a bit, which really excites me. When she arrived, she seemed hunched up. Her front end appeared shrunken, and was both smaller and shorter than her rear end. She almost looked like a big tick! Her front end seems to have grown in the short time she has been here. I started her on Purina Goat Chow, and she gets a good portion every night. I have seen both her and Poit scarfing down minerals like crazy, so I am hoping that some of their deficiencies may be reversing. I have been giving them a vitamin gel once a week, with A/E/D & B12.

I still need to get some Copasure so that I can bolus them. I have been looking at their tails, and I think they show signs of being a bit deficient. They don't have obvious chunks missing from their tails, but I think I can see a little of a "fish tail" look to them. My other goats have much more full looking tails. I also need to get some selenium gel to give to Poit. If I give her the recommended dosage once a month, I highly doubt I will be over-doing it. I think I have seem some improvement in her way of moving, but her legs don't seem any less crooked, and I may be imagining an improvement. She has been getting grain as well.

I will have to post photos soon, but I haven't had time to do anything with the goats beyond their daily maintenance and some teasing. It took me awhile to finish the cocci treatment for Poit and Banshee, and I will be worming them with Valbazen tomorrow to be double sure about any worms. Dakota turned out to not be bred to Tomahawk, so I took her to visit the last two days of October. If she is pregnant this time around, I may just think of some Halloween themed names for her kids. I haven't seen Pearl go into heat again at all since she was bred in the first week of October, so I am feeling good about her being settled. I am going to be breeding Jolie this month, and possibly Val if Gizmo is up to it. Jolie may not be as old as I would breed most kids, but she is enormous. She is nearly as tall as her dam. I am crossing my fingers that she doesn't go over height, because I would love to show her, but I am feeling more and more as if that is a hollow wish. At this point I can only hope that she was simply fast to mature, and her growth will slow dramatically. I delivered her full brother, Dutch, to his new home this weekend. He wasn't nearly as enormous as his sister, so I am sure his new owners will have no issues with his height. I am excited about his new home!

The herd keeps growing!

I am very excited to say that we purchased two new does this month. Apothecary Farms Poit and Apothecary Farms Banshee Wail. Poit is by Pholia Farm KM Goliath *B, who is a stunning buck. I absolutely adore him. Both of her grand-dams have their milking stars, and both of her grand-sires are +B. Her dam's sire is AGS Rosasharn SS Aquarius, who is another drool worthy buck that I greatly admire. Besides Pholia Farms and Rosasharn stock, she also has Kaapio Acres in her immediate pedigree.

Unfortunately, something went wrong with her as a kid. She seems to have some sort of deficiency (my thoughts are selenium or Vit. E). She is severely cow-hocked and lost her first kid with Apothecary Farm to white muscle disease. I have heard of deficiencies happen in an otherwise healthy and well managed herd. Sometimes things that happen with goats are a complete mystery. The breeder's vet advised them not to allow her to produce kids again. However, he also told them to worm with Safeguard, which I personally believe (as do many other breeders) has serious resistance issues and is non-effective. Many experienced breeders have suggested several therapies to bring her up to breeding shape and to reverse some of the structural issues in her legs. Looking at her parents, grand-parents and overall pedigree, they all agree that her legs are either a fluke or a result of management issues (I am not saying Apothecary Farms is at fault. Not at all! They take great care of their animals. Things simply happen sometimes.) I doubt I can straighten them out enough to show her, she is two years old and they have been that crooked since she was only a kid. However, if I am correct, she shouldn't pass the fault on to her kids. I just have to make sure her babies don't succumb to a selenium deficiency.

*Click to see a larger image.*

She has great rear angulaton despite her issues. She is a little pot-bellied. I am going to start exercising her this week to cut back on that extra fat and help strengthen her legs. I don't want to cut out the grain I have started her on, as I feel she is nutritionally unbalanced and it can go a long way to help her with that. She has amazing length of body (she would appear longer if she wasn't so chubby.) I also wormed her with Ivermectin because I don't believe in the effectiveness of Safeguard nor herbal de-wormers (which they also used.) I am worming her with Valbazen tomorrow to make sure I catch any tapeworms, and am going to repeat the treatment for two more cycles to get any unhatched eggs. She has amazing width and capacity, an upright stance with sharp shoulders and a beautiful neck. If she wasn't curling her tail you could see how level she is out her rump. She was starting at the dogs on the other side of the fence. She isn't a fan.

Banshee Wail:

*Click for larger image*

Banshee has the most adorable face. We ended up with both of these girls because I contacted Jillian (from Apothecary Inn), and asked if she had any doelings for sale that were related to Narf. We really wanted a replacement with similar genetics. We ended up with two new girls, and Banshee is a near clone of her half-sister. She is out of a different dam, and by the same sire. It seems to me like he stamps all his kids with the same small stature and identical little faces. She also has an identical personality. It made me tear up a little, remembering poor little Narf, but I am also extremely happy for it. She seems a little stunted for a nearly 9 month old doeling. Her front end is especially short and shrunken compared to her rear end. Granted that her sire's line is very slow maturing, but I think she also may have some deficiencies. It makes me wonder about the soil and hay in the area where she came from. There are so many variables out of a breeder's control.

I am hoping she will bloom for me. I put her on Purina Goat Chow and am giving her monthly doses of Vit A/E/D/B12 gel (along with Poit), to ensure she is getting the proper nutrition for her growth. She also seemed like she was turning in a little behind as well, but her feet were quite over-grown. After a good trim she was standing very straight. If her front end catches up with her hind end, and she gains some length, she should make a nice little doe. I am particularly excited about her milking abilities. Her lines are great milking lines, and I definitely need to focus a little more on udders. I have been focusing more on general appearance and conformation. I think crossing her on my extremely correct and long Gizmo in the future should give me some excellent kids. I also have Purina Goat Minerals available free choice for all of them. I have seen everyone but Banshee using them, so I sprinkle some on her grain to ensure she is getting enough. I don't worry about her eating too much, because if she gets enough on her grain she won't consume the free choice. I also have a cattle salt mineral lick available with added selenium that the goats use a little bit.

In other news, I sold Gomer as a wether to a woman who was building up a mini farm and was very excited. She had an older milking doe to keep him company. Dutch was just spoken for by Liz of North Fork Nigerians, the farm I purchased Tomahawk from. I am very excited about his new home. I am glad to know he will get to be used on some very nice animals. I am hoping some of his kids will end up in the show pen! I know North Fork sells quite a few kids to showing homes. I haul him up to Sutherlin next Friday.

Dakota and Pearl are both bred for March kids. Dakota was bred on October 3 (as mentioned in my previous entry), and I had Tomahawk cover Pearl a couple of days later. I will be using him on Jolie next month for April kids. I know that she will only be six months old. Most people wait until seven or eight months at the least. However, Jolie is enormous. I believe that the most important is physical maturity, not age. She is plenty large enough to be bred and carry kids. She will be nearly a year old when her kids are born, and I expect her to be the size of her dam by then. I am nervous that she is going to go over-height and I won't be able to show her. Which would be a shame, because I think she could do fantastic in the show pen.

I won't be breeding Poit until late December, that way she has two full months to bring up her nutrition. I will be giving her some selenium gel a couple of weeks before breeding as well. I probably won't breed Banshee until February or March considering her size. I also don't think Gizmo will be ready to cover any does until then, and I really would like to use him on her and my one grade doe, Val (who I would be breeding at the same time.) So as the plan stands, I will be having two does due in March, one in April, one in May and two in July or August. At least that spaces things out for me a bit. It means I can't show Banshee's kids and it will be awhile before I can breed them should I retain any. However, I plan to show Banshee as a dry yearling in the early stages of her pregnancy.

Horny Goats...

I still wonder at how disgustingly horny goats are at times. When a woman remarks on how disgusting men can be, I point towards the goat species. I have yet to see a creature that has more disgusting habits. They pee on their faces, drink their pee (and the pee of other males), hump just about anything regardless of species or sex, paw and basically molest the females, and "waggle" their tongues at them like weird sex perverts.

This is all leading up to the fact that Tomahawk escaped tonight. I went down to give him and Dutch some fresh water in the buck paddock. I turned my back on for once second to pet Dutch, forgot to latch the gate, and he shoved it open. He didn't just saunter out, he took off like a bullet all the way to the top of the field. I shut the gate and ran after him. The does were in the corral at the top. The goats can go right under the panels. I have to stop at the gate to open it. When I got to the gate he was sniffing Dakota, who decided to be in strong heat today. He hopped on and started going to town. He was literally up there for maybe two seconds before I swung the gate right into him and he dismounted. However, he might have still managed to breed her. She hunched up after the dismount, there was fluid, and he may have thrust his head back (a good sign of a successful cover.) Sooooo, Dakota may be bred for March. I wanted to wait until December or January to breed her, since she just had kids in July. However, it may not be in the cards. At least I know Tomahawk isn't disintersted in covering females.

All the babies are growing so big. I have someone interested in Gomer as a buckling. I was planning on wethering him this week, but promised to hold off until she gets a chance to see him. I am still torn about wethering Dutch. I have had no interest in him as a buckling. However, he is so nice... The problem is that I only have four does right now. I have two for each of my bucks, at least that is my plan. I don't have any does for him to cover. If I keep him a buck, I would show him next spring and have him produce a few babies to show he is a proven buck with some show experience. However, I would have to convince some doe owners to breed to him to allow that to happen. If I wether him, it needs to be now, before he is too big. I am still conflicted....

Here are some new photos of Gomer and Gizmo. I think I said it before, but I am keeping Gizmo as my second herd sire. I am breeding his mom, Dakota, to Tomahawk for next spring. I want to get a doeling from her. Then I want to trade her for a doe with bloodlines that are different from all of my stock. I have too many related goats right now.

Click these to see the full photos....

Updates WAY Past Due!

I haven't updated in all eternity! I was a bit depressed about my farm for several weeks, and didn't feel like doing much more than taking care of my animals. Sadly, we lost Narf in June. She squeezed through the fencing into our neighbor's yard and ate something poisonous. She was literally nearly two times the size of the holes in the fencing, but managed to wriggle through like an octopus. She had diarrhea when I brought her back over, but I'd been having problems with that and figured it was the rich grass she was on. She was happy and active, so I gave her some Pepto and put her up in a dry pen. She was fine the next two days, and then went downhill almost instantly. I found her collapsed one evening, and we lost her within twenty minutes, too quickly to get help for her. I loved that little girl dearly and she will be missed. I then went and bought a truckload of chicken wire and put it up on the fence, so none of the kids can shimmy through the panels. R.I.P Narf. :( I am hoping to acquire a gold/white doeling next year out of some Piddlin Acres lines if I can find one. Apothecary Inn doesn't plan to breed next year, but if they do I am first in line for a kid from Narf's dam, whom I adore. If I am able to name the kid, I want to call her Lady in the Water in memory of Narf. If I can not get a doeling I want, I might keep a doe from my buckling, Tomahawk and give her that name.

In happier news, my last doe gave birth July 26th at about 1 A.M. She gave me two healthy buck kids. I got a nice buckling out of Pearl, but really wanted one out of Dakota. She gave me an insanely splashy little chamoise buck. He is gorgeous and absolutely perfect. I'm not sure on a registered name, but I'm calling him Gizmo. The second buckling is a carbon copy of mom. I planned to wether him, but he was very slow to "unfold." Now that he has, he is an extremely correct and elegant little guy who would make a stunning herd sire. We call him Gomer. While Gizmo was active and energetic right out of the womb, Gomer was very slow. He didn't have a suckle reflex at all, and after an hour of trying to help him nurse I tube fed him as much colostrum as I could. He was standing fine but seemed to have troubles walking, but by morning he was nursing like a normal baby. He had a bit of a crooked front leg, and he hobbled unsteadily for several days, all hunched up with his head down. I made sure he wasn't constipated, and at about five days old he suddenly transformed.

-Gizmo, One Day Old-

He looks amazing now that he is a couple of weeks old and a bit bigger and much stronger. I will post new photos in the next week.

-Gomer, One Day Old-

Again, he is much nicer looking now. AND, I lucked out again with blue eyes on both of these guys! Unfortunately, Gomer injured his leg at a week old. We are not sure how, but we moved them into a different paddock until I can figure out where he cut himself. A flap of skin over his rear left leg was completely ripped off, down to the bone. I almost wonder if our cat attacked him. He was very tiny, and our cat is very big. It really looks like something grabbed him, but in the ten plus years I've lived in that house we have never had any predators, no matter how small, in our field. And he was up at the top in and around the barn. I was very worried, particularly that the tendon may have been damaged. But only a week later he is finally running and jumping on it like a normal kid. It is firmly wrapped up so that the tissue remains still and clean. I have a ton of medical supplies and a giant pile of gauze and vet wrap. I am very grateful that I keep my veterinary kit well stocked. It seems that if something can go wrong around here, it will.

In any case, I'm going with a Gremlin theme for these two, and am thinking "Mogwai at Mignight" for Gomer. In the movie, the cute little Gizmo is called a Mogwai. In Chinese culture, however, a Mogwai is a human type spirit. It casts no shadow, and wears unhemmed clothing. It can not see humans properly. We appear to it as a red light. Apparently they can breed, and reproduce in the rain. From what I can tell, they are mischievous spirits, but not actually malicious. The people pay them now and then to leave them alone. I thought the actual history of the term was interesting. Gomer is black, which helps with the midnight part of his name. That, and it just seems to me that midnight would be an appropriate time to run into a spirit, and that it would also be the freakiest time. I also thought about "Russian Rhapsody." Its the title of a Bugs Bunny cartoon featuring Gremlins that try to sabotage Hitler's bomber. For Gizmo, I have a ton of different ideas, but none seem to fit. I thought of something as simple as Gremlin's Gizmo, but that seems a little corny. I also thought of "Gremlin in the Gears" or "Gremlin For Hire", since Gremlins are traditionally little imp-like creatures that climb into machinery and break it. I have awhile to decide.

I will leave you with new photos of Pearl's kids, now over two months old. Dutch, the buckling (with less white), is for sale. I am retaining Jolie, the doeling.

-Tualatin Acres Flying Dutchman "Dutch"-

-Tualatin Acres Jolie Rouge "Jolie"-

Escape Artists

Well, anyone who owns goats eventually realizes that the entire species are the animal equivalent of a bunch of little Houdinis running amok. I found Narf in our neighbor's yard this morning. She had managed to climb through the larger holes in the fencing way up above her head. This is the second time she has done this. I guess I need to go and buy some more chicken wire, or she needs to grow faster! She is the only one who does it. And because she had possibly spent the entire night grazing on his lush lawn, she has diarrhea again. She went straight to the big pen I recently built and have been rotating my little pests through. Le sigh. Every time you think you have a great pen or fence built, that is escape proof, one of them proves you wrong.

Doll went to her new home today. I'm not sure how long it has been since the new owner gave me her initial deposit. Quite some time I believe. I didn't mind. She made a great companion for my buckling, who is struggling with being a buck. He isn't even remotely bucky at four months. My week old buck, Dutch, is already acting like a raging ball of hormones. I'm not super concerned, but was glad to have a chance to allow him to socialize with some girls. I have him in with my last pregnant doe, since he obviously can not accidentally get her pregnant at this point. Doll's new owner wanted her bred, so I turned her out with him, knowing there was little chance he would do a thing based on his behavior. He is simply still a baby. I generally don't like to "run" a buck with girls because if a breeding does occur you don't know a due date. However, they were only out together two weeks and I checked her every day for signs of heat.

She started coming in today, when her new mom came to get her. I just told her I'd give her a buzz when Tomahawk is ready. He needs more time to mature. Even if he was super bucky at this point, he is still awfully short to be breeding a full grown doe successfully. My last buck, Dante, didn't start attempting to breed does until 9-10 months old, according to the breeder.

Not much else to say. I've moved Pearl and her kids outside with Val and Narf in that big pen so they can stretch their legs and start socializing. Narf and Val are still small, and Pearl isn't overly protective and allows them to sniff and investigate her babies. Romeo, my Appendix Quarter Horse gelding had his first ride a few days ago. We just walked around and around in circles. No turns or stops. I don't want to throw too much at him at once. Step by little step, and easy and slow. Some people think its cruel to start a two year old these days. I think it is fine as long as the horse is mature enough, you aren't too heavy for it's size, and you don't do anything overly stressful with them. From what vet's have told me, its not the joints on a two year old you really have to worry about..but their backs getting sore and having that spiral into chronic back pain into their adult lives. Which can result in lameness when the horse steps wrong because its isn't moving properly, etc. Time to go and do homework.

Disbudding Experiences - Paste

Both of my new kids were disbudded yesterday. The buck already had pretty large buds pushing up. The doe's were definitely smaller, but you could easily see and feel them. I shaved their heads and decided I was going to give Dr. Naylors Disbudding Paste a chance. All the goat people I asked said, "No no, don't use it!" When I asked them why, they generally said that they had never used it themselves, but thought it sounded cruel. Some said they had heard it leaves scurs frequently. I heard from one or two people that they used it on a regular basis, and that if done properly it was extremely effective and it was less bothersome to the kids than burning with an iron. Still others felt it was too dangerous, due to the fact that if it got into their eyes it could blind them. Here are my experiences with it, since its hard to find any reviews of using paste from goat people. If you look for information concerning cattle you'll find a ton of cattle people use it, and very effectively.

I didn't don gloves because I forgot to buy some, and decided to be very careful. Perhaps that was stupid, because I did get a small smudge on my hand, but I wasn't burned. People act like the stuff is molten lava, but it takes a few minutes to start burning I think. I left it sit on my skin for about two minutes before simply splashing a little vinegar on my hand, then rinsing with water. I felt a slight tinge, like I had rubbed a jalapeno on my skin, but it didn't damage my hand or hurt. As soon as the vinegar hit, the sensation halted immediately.

Continuing the tale of my experience, I used a popcicle stick to to apply a thin layer to the button, and in a cirlce about the size of a penny around the button. I didn't make it so thin it was transparent. I wanted to make sure I had enough to do an effective job. I made sure it was thick enough that you could see the orange color throughout, but no thicker than I needed it. I then duct taped a "helmet" on their heads. I put tape over the buttons and under the chin, then I attached tape to that which went around behind the ears...kind of criss-crossed to be very secure. We then allowed them to frolick around the barn while we watched them carefully and started a countdown. I let the stuff sit for the full thirty minutes and checked their heads. It didn't seem like long enough, although it had burned all the hair off the spots. We left it on for a full hour on the buck, and about 45 minutes on the girl. They didn't seem to be in any pain, although they shook their heads a little at first. It seemed more from having the duct tape all over their heads, however. After a few minutes they went about exploring the heck out of the barn. It was not stressful for them and they were fine. The stuff isn't runny, so it isn't hard to keep it out of the eyes as long as you make the duct tape bandages for them.

We rinsed thoroughly with vinegar by holding them upside down, with their legs in the air. Then we followed with water and repeated twice. We had to use an icky throw away cloth to completely rub off all the goop. The result was very white skin, they way your skin looks if you stick your finger on a burner. About an hour later it was very pink. Today it was blood red, but there was no actual blood. It was very clean, and they went right back to playing and nursing when we put them back from mom. The vinegar wash neutralized the acid very well and mom has no marks on her udders from leftover chemicals. Now to see if scurs form. The thing is, I currently have two I bought from other breeders who have scurs. They were burned with irons. In fact, Pearl has a scur, although it is very tiny. Tomahawk seems to be growing pretty significant ones, but I'm hoping they stop where they are. It just proves that you can mess up with any method, and that even if you don't mess up scurs can still manage to show up. I'll update on if they have any horn growth in the future or not, but it is looking super promising. I think some people may put the paste on the buds only and neglect the ring of skin around the button, where the horn actually grows. Missing that will net you horn growth.

I have decided on names for both of my new kids. Both will need Tualatin Acres placed in front of their names, as they were the farm who bred the doe. I certainly don't mind. I really like the place, and they have gorgeous animals. The woman showed me some young kids the day I picked up my does, as well as a gorgeous and immensely spacious black doe who had just kidded and sold with her babies. If I had more room and money I would have been sorely tempted to buy both her and a few of the kids. Alas, I do not, but am very happy with Pearl and Dakota. More than happy, actually. I'm near ecstatic about Pearl's amazing udder and the gorgeous kids she gave me. Now I just need the service memo from the ranch so that I can have the babies registered. I've sent a couple of emails over the last week, but no response. If I don't hear back by next weekend I'll be trying to track down a phone number.

In any case, back to the naming of Pearl's kids. I decided that the buckling will be Tualatin Acres Flying Dutchman, and the doeling will be Tualatin Acres Jolie Rouge (Pronounced shjolie roushe..at least the best way I can explain the pronunciation.) Mom's name is Black Pearl, which makes me think she was named after the cursed ship in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. The Flying Dutchman is Davy Jones ships in the 2nd and 3rd films. Jolie Rouge means "Pretty Red" in French. Originally, pirate flags were red, to signify the bloodshed that would occur should ships refuse to surrender. The French called them "Pretty Red", being a little sarcastic I suppose. No one knows where Jolly Roger came from, which is what you call a pirate flag now, but I imagine it came from the British or other cultures slaughtering the French "Jolie Rouge." I just though it was perfect for her. Piratey, in relation to her mom's name...but beautiful and feminine. Pretty and dangerous at the same time, and with some great history. I am calling them "Dutch" and "Jolie" for short. No one else says Jolie right. They make a hard J sound, when it has a French flair at the beginning, a kind of shhh...

I also finished building a second pen today. I was really happy to get it done. My buck pen is out of commission until I go find an appropriate roll of chicken wire-type mesh to secure over the panels. Tomahawk is just too small, and can wiggle through the holes. So, I've been having to rotate him every couple of days with the two young girls I don't want bred. They take turns in the dog kennel, but I feel bad because it is small and I don't like to use it for more than a kidding pen or a quarantine for sick animals. So, I finished a bigger pen next to my barn with ample room to play and lean-to for shade. Not that he is being bucky in the least, but although he might not be mentally capable he is physically. You never know when it might click. I have him out with my last pregnant doe and a doe I sold that is waiting to be picked up. The new owner requested if I could leave her out with the buck in the off chance he might breed her. I doubt he will, but it teaches him social skills with the ladies.

I was petting him today, and I felt an odd lump. I thought tick at first, and parted his fur to investigate. I saw something bronze and shiney, so I picked it out of his side, where it was partially buried. It was a BB pellet! Someone had shot my goat! I was furious. I knew exactly who did it as well. We have had some new neighbors within the last few months. They bought the house next door, and promptly let some weird guy rent their garage. Or maybe its the wife's brother, I don't know. In any case, he is a backwoods redneck. He gives nice rednecks a bad name. I had a little trouble keeping my goats from getting in their field for a few weeks, and he took to shooting a shotgun up in the air when they crossed the line. I was scared he would kill them. I got an electric line up that kept them out, and they haven't been in their field for over six months. I was pissed anyways. Although they shouldn't be in his field, he could have came and talked to me about it rather than go for a gun. That, and half the time I didn't know they were getting over because they would come back before I saw them.

Well, I had my buck in the dog kennel and he was throwing a noisy fit. Apparently he got irritated and decided shooting it with a BB gun was appropriate. I went over and asked him if he knew who had done it, to which he played dumb. There is no other neighbor anywhere close, and our field is very closed in and far from any roads. It was him, no doubt. I informed him that I was almost finished with the new pen, that if the goat irritated him he needed to discuss it with me like a normal human being, and that I would be watching him. If I found another pellet in any of my animals or witnessed him shooting at my goats I would call the police immediately. He just tried to look retarded. Or maybe he is. I don't know. But there is no excuse for that kind of behavior. Tomahawk wasn't hurt in anyway, and it was no more than a scratch..I think the pellet was more stuck in his fur than anything.. But that is still unacceptable. Sorry for ranting, I am just still very angry. I won't be using the dog kennel again any time soon, but I want to I don't think I should feel like I shouldn't for fear my animals might be shot at! Maybe I should shoot his damn dog next time it scales the fence into our field and starts chasing my poor goaties. Not that I ever would hurt it, unless it actually was in the process of viciously attacking something. Le sigh. Why couldn't we get civilized neighbors?

New Babies!

Pearl kidded last night at 9:30 p.m. I have been checking my pregnant girl's ligaments in the morning and night when I go to the barn to feed. I had noticed that Pearl's were feeling pretty loose the night before, but they were still fairly easy to feel and I didn't want to separate her from the herd prematurely. I checked her first thing the next morning, and they were still faintly there. She was eating and acting normal. At 1 p.m. I went in to check her again, and her ligaments were complete gone. Her udder had also tightened considerably.

I put her in the kidding stall and checked her constantly throughout the day. She didn't seem to be terribly uncomfortable at all. She stood in her pen bleating very softly and looking at her tummy on occasion. I finally saw contractions at about 7:30, but she didn't seem to be in allot of pain or distress. She started pushing a little at 9:30, standing up, and after a few minutes she went down and got to work. It only took about 15 minutes for both kids to be born. They were lively and up within another 15 minutes and were nursing almost immediately. I was extremely happy to have zero complications with the birth, and strong kids! I've already spent plenty of time nursing failing kids through the night this year, and pulling very stuck babies! A smooth delivery was great, and earned Pearl a "keeper" star. I was super impressed by her body capacity, width of her rear stance, and elegant head and neck from day one. The stunning udder this girl filled along with her ease of kidding has cemented her a place on my mini farm. I'm glad I sold off my grade does, particularly Witch. She had several flaws, which resulted in the horrendous time I had with her triplets this spring. Without further ado, some photos of the new arrivals:

Pearl's buckling and first born of the two. (Above and Below)

It is nearly impossible to get a newborn into a stance that properly shows conformation, but I think this is a pretty decent photo. It does make his neck look a little shorter and coarse than it is because he kept wanting to look at me. However, I think he would make a nice buck prospect. I really wanted a quality buckling out of this doe, because I need a second one and she is so amazing all around. However, I also got this stunning doe out of her that I just can't see myself parting with:

How flashy! She is also a little more level out the rump than this, but she was just preparing to scrunch up due to my approaching dog. She is extremely uphill, very feminine and elegant....great rear leg angulation. Just stunning. I really don't need to keep a doe and a buckling from the same kidding, however. I really have to make my mind up on this one. I might just take them both to a show in July and see if that helps me make up my mind after getting input from three or four judges.

I also seem to have gotten the scouring in my two doelings under control. Scour Halt did the trick, and keeping them out of the alfalfa seems to be keeping it at bay. Of course my buckling started scouring after all of that, due to my husband throwing alfalfa to the goats (because he has selective hearing and didn't listen to me tell him not to.) Now that I know the cause, I started him on a two day treatment of the Scour Halt. I need to wash his little white bum however. White goats.....Why did I get a nearly pure white goat?

I am CUTE and I know it!

Scour Nightmare!

I just can't shake this episode of scours that my doe kids are having. Both Val and Narf had liquid diarrhea a couple of days ago, after some success with the Pepto Bismol. I obviously can not continue giving them Pepto constantly, especially if the problem is deeper than rich feed. I separated them from food for 24 hours to see if it helped. It seemed to somewhat, but still no real pellets. So now I'm treating them with Scour-Halt to see if that does me any good. It treats for E. Coli. Le sigh. Next option will be to send poo samples to a vet. Problem is, vets around here look at goats like someone might look at a Rubix cube. They don't know what to do with them.

I am, however, excited to say that Tomahawk's legs are improving. He has been out in the field on an off with the pregnant girls, learning to socialize with women without the risk of knocking anything up I don't want bred at the moment. In the short time I have had him, they seem to have straightened up considerably. The photo I have of him as a very young kid showed very straight legs from behind. I'm guessing they were somewhat weak due to being penned up constantly. I'm not sure how he was being raised, but its a good explanation. I got my ADGA handbook finally, and was reading a section in which it pointed out that some bucks can have weak legs simply because of the fact they were raised in small areas with a lack of exercise. This can cause them to tilt in or out or look crooked. He certainly has had plenty of room to roam, and I can definitely see a change. Its extremely encouraging, and his hocks have gone from moderate to slight. I think I'll start hand-walking him a few times a week up and down the road for some additional leg strengthening, to see if that helps him. He is still young enough that he is certainly developing, and I think any weaknesses caused by confinement and lack of strength can still be helped.

No photos today. I'll have new ones of Narf up soon, as I took a photo shoot of her last week. I also clipped Pearl today, and plan to take more photos soon. Still no new kids. I think that Pearl might really hold out until June after all, based on her development. :)

My First Show Experience!

I would have posted sooner, but I have been both busy and exhausted all weekend. I got up at 6 a.m. on Saturday. Check-in was supposed to be between 6-8, with the show starting at 9. Well, I happened to have a floral order for that day for a funeral, and I couldn't deliver it before 7. I had made it the day before, so I rushed about getting properly dressed for the show, digging out my dog chains, etc. I got the arrangement at the church at 15 minutes past 7 and rushed towards Grants Pass. I arrived about fifteen minutes past 8, worrying I was too late to check-in. The woman told me not to fret, that they were allowing check-in all the way up to 9. I wish I would have known that sooner, but was relieved at the same time. It was very laid back. I'm used to horse shows, which are a little more stressful. At a horse show, its gets very political, and people are all trying to look better or more professional than everyone else. You catch a lot of flack if you don't be pretty professional about how you do things, and that includes the judge's impressions of you.

I almost felt silly worrying about my clothes. You are supposed to wear all white, but I had to settle for clean blue jeans and a nice white shirt with a collar. I figured I had half of my attire correct. Only two competitors were wearing all white, and most of the people were showing in frumpy jackets and ragged jeans. About a third of the exhibitors hadn't clipped their animals. I immediately felt more relaxed. I quickly discovered my little buckling hadn't been clipped, or worked with as far as walking and posing goes. I think he would have done much better if he was clipped, so that the hairy ridge on his back, and the mass of fur between his rear legs didn't distort his build. Also, he was nearly the worst behaved at the show when we went into the class, hunching down into a ball most of the time despite my best efforts. Unfortunately, this makes it nearly impossible for a judge to see how his built. In the one class where he finally decided to relax a little and stood up well, he got a second place ribbon. He got fourth in the other two classes. I couldn't even get his legs out in those two. He insisted on shoving them as far up under himself as he could, and ducking his head down in his own personal imitation of a turtle.

-The ONLY class where he didn't try and curl up in a ball. I think he was trying to watch something the entire class. Ignore my big ole butt. -

In any case, I am going to take him to at least one more show this summer. More if I can find any reasonably close with buck classes. So far I've only found one, the rest are does only. I am also going to be taking Narf, Dakota, and Pearl to some shows. I don't know who will go to what. It all depends on when the give birth. I don't want to take a doe on the verge of kidding to a show, and I'm not sure on the exact due dates as the previous owner had them in with the buck for four months (apparently.)

Here are photos of Tomahawk, all clipped up and posed. His hocks do turn in somewhat when viewed from behind, and he could do with stronger rear pasterns, but I like his build overall, and his breeder claims that his sire's kids always gain more length of body as they mature.

His rump looks a little steeper in the second photo as his rear legs need to be set out further. However, I really love a super level rump, and feel like he could use a little work there. That being said, his dad's rump is the same and he got allot of compliments from the judges at the show regardless. They didn't seem to mind that his rump wasn't perfectly level. I have to rotate him between the dog kennel in the field (I have a huge kennel I use as a pen), and indoor pen in the barn until he gets older. He is still too small for the buck paddock. He just squeezes through the squares in the panels. Little turd. I am still hoping for a quality buckling from one of my new girls, so he'll have a constant companion. At least his two pens are right next to common hang out areas for the girls, so he is always surrounded by other goats, he just can't touch them.

Val has some icky diarrhea. I'm not sure what is going on. I treated her for Cocci, but that didn't seem to do anything. Its green, rather than blackish or bloody...so I'm thinking its not Cocci anyways. I wormed her again, just in case. I've also been giving her Probios to help her system. I'm going to try some Pepto-Bismol. I think it might seriously just be that her diet is too rich. She has access to lush spring grass AND alfalfa. The alfalfa is actually for my pregnant does, but the kids can get to it with some effort. I need to separate the pregnant goats while they eat so the others can't get any, and I shouldn't have that problem anymore. I'll simply finish the additional pen I am working on. Its in the planning stages, but once Mother's Day week is done I should have the time to build it.

Pre-Show Jitters

I use to have pre-show jitters when I showed horses. I know I shouldn't be super nervous about my first goat show, but I am a little wary. I showed lambs for two years, and I showed a Pygmy once at a county fair. I remember it being pretty laid back and simple, but I'm afraid of making a fool of myself by doing something completely stupid. I need to dress in white, although its going to have to be blue jeans and a white shirt, because thats what I have. I at least have some nice chain collars to use. I need to be there between 6-8 a.m. Oh joy. Ha ha. If all goes well, Tomahawk will get some nice marks, as long as I don't mess things up for the poor guy. If nothing else, I get some show experience, so does he, and I get to finally bring him home!

Poor little Narf and Val seem to have some sort of issue going on. They both have some pretty nasty diarrhea. I started treating them for Cocci immediately, and I put them up in one of the pens so they can't eat any rich alfalfa or spring-time grass right now. Narfs "output" seems to have tightened up already. She seemed a little uncomfortable and bloated looking, although she was still nibbling at grass. So I sat with her and rubbed and patted her belly for a good half hour. She burped a little and seemed to relax. She didn't look overly bloated, and I'm not sure if she WAS at all...but I felt better about taking the precaution. When I put her back in her pen, she sprang to life and started crying and leaping off of the walls. I'm sure she'll be just fine. I get over paranoid about the health of my goats. :) Better safe than sorry. Thats my motto anymore. Val didn't seem uncomfortable or bloated at all. She just had the diarrhea. If the Cocci treatment doesn't help, I'll worm them again and see what that does for them. It might simply be the rich diet they are on. I might need to start penning the pregnant girls at night so the young ladies don't get to share their food with them. I don't need fat little cows with runny poo. Its not healthy for them.

Only One Left to Come Home

I welcomed Pearl and Dakota home on Sunday. The little farm they came from is very nice. I loved the organization. They also had several very nice doelings for sale, as well as a few great looking does in milk. If you'd like their email address, contact me at firelight_27@yahoo.com. They are attempting to downsize, and the prices are great. They are also very well bred, mostly Camanna. I believe they still have a few who are bred and due this summer. If you haven't yet, and you are interested in registered Nigerian Dwarfs, you should check out Camanna's Petite Paradise. They are one of my favorite farms. They always have amazing animals, and they have gorgeous color on top of the quality.

[Camanna]

This is Pearl. Her full name is Tualatin Acres. D. Black Pearl. She is a little wary of me, but I have attempted to spend as much time as I can with these does over the past few days and she has become pretty easy to catch. They both like to jump in the horse feeder and chill, which I've never had any of my goats do. Poor Romeo (my gelding) gets to be fed in the hanging feeder from now on. Pearl is such a capacious, wide-bodied doe. She is also long, uphill and has a gorgeous neck. It is very hooky when she decides to look at something in the distance. She just has an overall regal appearance. I felt kids kicking in her belly today. She is also a little fleshy around her udder. Not filling, just fleshy. Supposedly, she was in with the buck the end of January...however, she seems closer to kidding than Dakota, who is supposedly due next month.

Dakota is super flashy. I love her spotting. She is very refined and level. She should be wider bodied, but I just love how showy and correct she is. Her pooch tells me she is preggo, but I can't feel kids no matter how hard I try, and I'd expect her udder to be doing something at this point considering she only has a month to go (supposedly.) Not that being able to feel kids, or udder development is a sure indication of anything. Here is to hoping she is bred, because I like her the most, and I love the buck. She is actually pretty friendly, and comes sniffing for treats and scratches.

Finally, I brought home Narf on Monday. She was amazingly quite the whole ride home. She just laid in my lap like a car ride was a completely normal event. She is very attached to people. I gave her and Val a shave a couple of days ago. They are staying together until Narf settles down and gets a little bigger and can mingle with the big girls.

I missed a little fuzz over her rump. My clip jobs aren't always the best. Now the only one left to come home is Tomahawk, who I'm picking up May 1st at the Megabucks show. After some confusion I got the show form mailed in and everything, so we are all set to compete. Here is to hoping we do good at my first Nigerian show! I signed him up for all three rings. :) Hopefully my lack of experience doesn't hurt him in the pen.

A Fresh Start

Hello everyone. I decided to create a blog for my Nigerian Dwarf operation, Firelight Ranch. Actually, one day Firelight Ranch will be the name for my entire farm, which will include training/raising horses. However, my current business is restricted to these adorable miniature diary goats.



In this blog, I simply plan to journal about my adventures with my herd. I have been raising grade Nigerians for awhile now, but have recently decided to get into registered animals. I would very much like to show, but the entire experience will be new to me. Well, not exactly new. I used to show lambs, and from what I can see from material I've found about showing goats...the process is almost identical. I've also never disbudded anything. I always believed in allowing my goats to grow horns. They use them to scratch their backs, and keep the dogs from nipping at them should one of them get into the field somehow. That, and I've never had any issues with their horns getting caught in anything, or harming each other or anyone else. However, they must be disbudded as ADGA registered show goats. Everything from my first experiences with these new activities, to a day of delivering kids will go in here.

Currently, I am preparing to go on a trip to the coast, where I will be picking up two bred does. My husband thought it would be fun to leave a day early so we could hit the beach and have a miniature vacation. Since the sun has actually decided it would like to shine the past couple of days, I am very much looking forward to the entire weekend. The girls I am most interested in are called Black Pearl and Oreo. Black Pearl is an OK name. I'm all for Pirates of the Carribean. Oreo's name would definitely be changing. Both are very capacious looking does. They are long and deep bodied. They are also very level, with long dairy necks and feminine heads. I'm super excited. Both are black & white, although Black Pearl has some grey. The father of the kids to be is red/white with blue eyes! I must admit I love blue eyed goats. I know that quality over color is important, but if I can get everything in one package all the better. I'd like to keep a buckling so that I have two total bucks, who are unrelated, so hopefully one of the girls gives me one. I'll also most likely keep a doeling from one of them.



In other news, I won the auction for the buck kid from the Megabucks Show. (Pictured above.) He is being delivered to me in Grants Pass, at the show, on May 1st. I plan to show him there. He looks a little steep out his rump in this photo, but from what I can tell he is not. I will have better photos of him after the show. He is white with chocolate legs. His daddy had blue eyes, so perhaps those genetics will pass on through him. As far as I know, he is nice and friendly, which is a huge improvement over my current, crazy buck. His mom was white with chocolate spotting, what I like to call the "dalmation" look. He apparently missed out on the spots, but I'm sure he will produce them. He has some really nice lines. He even has Gay-Mor up close.



I am also bringing this little girl home on Monday! She is Pholia Farms x Piddlin Acres bred. That just makes me giddy. I love both farms. Her mom is really well built too. Very uphill, level, dairy...super straight legs with great rear angulation. I loved her mom, so when I went to pick out a kid she is who I chose. I'm hoping for a great udder on her as well. According to the farm, her dam kids very easily, and has a nice udder. Also, her mom has moon spots galore. I'm hoping to get some from this girl as well. I'd love to have all kinds of moon spots and blue eyes, on high quality, show worthy goats of course (with amazing udders.) That is my ultimate goal. Her name is Narf. I think its funny. Apparently they name all of this particular goat's children after odd words that Pinky (From the Pinky and The Brain cartoon), would randomly blurt. I'd rather connect her name with the movie Lady in the Water by M. Night Shamylan. In the movie, Narfs were the grass wolves that were the enemies of the water people from the Blue World. Its a neat movie. If you haven't watched it, you should.

I've sold most of my grade goats. In fact, I only have Doll and Val left. Well, and my buck for now. I won't be selling Val. I'd like to have a couple of grade does of a high quality, so that I have a few kids every year for people with a smaller budget who still want good milkers. I wish she could be registered though, because she is gorgeous and correct. In any case, I do have someone interested in Doll, but they want to work a deal with me. I offered her with a free breeding to my grade buck. I am honestly very curious how the cross would turn out, and think it would make some awesome kids. If they could get her for half price (with the breeding), I would have first choice on any resulting kids. Of course I would be hoping for a buckskin doeling with blue eyes and allot of white...but she could have all bucks and then where would I be. The thought is that if the kids are as nice as I think they'll be, I would have a second grade doe that was of a very high quality. Therefore, more high quality kids for my customers looking to spend a little less. I'm still thinking about it.

Thats all for today. I really need to go and take a shower so I can get ready to leave on our trip. TTYL