Double Durango Autumn and Double Durango M&M (Emmy) are officially here and registered! They are such joys and have been overall healthy and happy; had one bout of Coccidia with Autumn. They LOVE their bottles and assure me that they need to have one at LEAST a dozen times a day! :D Unfortunately for them, their 2 times a day bottle is going to become 1 time a day here in the next week, I'm going to start decreasing their evening bottle on Friday.
It's starting to get cold, and we've had a few overnight freezes so far, I'm biding my time until DH gets home to get all the extension cords and water buckets plugged in. I'm hoping against hope that DH will also get water and electric lines run out to the barnyard.
I'll leave you with a couple cute videos of the new babies:
Nov 16, 2011
Oct 21, 2011
Spring has Sprung
Originally meant to be posted 3/21/11
The goats are on cloud 9 and so am I! We LOVE this beautiful weather! The goats bounce around all morning and all night and eat and nap all day. I thoroughly enjoy watching them be so happy, it makes me smile.
Frost Farms Blessing and Frost Farms Chip (unreg. wether) have been sold and will be going to their new homes in a few weeks. :( We will be welcoming Lil' Hill Farm MB Blu Magic on April 3rd! We will call her Magi (Ma-dg-ee) like Magi Lune from the animated movie "Ferngully".
UPDATE: Magic gets called Madge or Magic and she is a little stinker!
Trinity hatched 6 ducklings on March 6th, one unfortunately passed due to a respiratory infection. One is staying here and the other 4 are tentatively sold.
UPDATE: 4 were sold, the one I kept ended up being a really mean drake so I took him to our property.
Sadie attempts to sit on eggs but she's not very consistent so I don't have high hopes that she'll hatch them yet again this year.
UPDATE: Like I figured, none hatched. This coming year I have plans to stick Sadie's eggs under Trinity.
We've had a Buff hen sitting on eggs too, but again, I'm not very optimistic.
UPDATE: We had our neighbor hatch some off for us, 8 hatched, 6 have made it to adult hood.
The goats are on cloud 9 and so am I! We LOVE this beautiful weather! The goats bounce around all morning and all night and eat and nap all day. I thoroughly enjoy watching them be so happy, it makes me smile.
Frost Farms Blessing and Frost Farms Chip (unreg. wether) have been sold and will be going to their new homes in a few weeks. :( We will be welcoming Lil' Hill Farm MB Blu Magic on April 3rd! We will call her Magi (Ma-dg-ee) like Magi Lune from the animated movie "Ferngully".
UPDATE: Magic gets called Madge or Magic and she is a little stinker!
Trinity hatched 6 ducklings on March 6th, one unfortunately passed due to a respiratory infection. One is staying here and the other 4 are tentatively sold.
UPDATE: 4 were sold, the one I kept ended up being a really mean drake so I took him to our property.
Sadie attempts to sit on eggs but she's not very consistent so I don't have high hopes that she'll hatch them yet again this year.
UPDATE: Like I figured, none hatched. This coming year I have plans to stick Sadie's eggs under Trinity.
We've had a Buff hen sitting on eggs too, but again, I'm not very optimistic.
UPDATE: We had our neighbor hatch some off for us, 8 hatched, 6 have made it to adult hood.
It's been a while.....
Maybe that's an understatement, a BIG understatement. It's been six months and 20 days, yikes, sorry. My excuses: lack of time, enthusiasm, and inspiration.
So, what has happened in six months and twenty days? Not too much, but there were some important events.
One, Lazy Q Farm Mystique (Tiki) kidded with two gorgeous doelings, sired by Lil' Hill Farm V Moral Victory (Nike), on June 7th @ 7:15 AM. She lost her ligaments the night before and I put her up in the "kidding kennel" for the night, checking on her 2 times during the night and first thing in the morning. At 7:00AM she having a fit and wanting to be out with the other goats. I saw no signs of immediately pending birth so I let her out to have breakfast with the herd. I went back inside to eat my breakfast and 15 minutes later I look out the window and see our livestock guardian dog (LGD) laying in the middle of the herd with a small black lump next to him. I thought that was strange so I put my shoes on and went out to get a better look and realized it was a KID! Tiki had given birth to two doelings out in the barn yard and the LGD was trying to keep one of them warm (they were a good 10 feet from each other). Tiki had a hard time recognizing that these were her babies and required a good bit of help for a while. Both girls got up in a decent amount of time and nursed. By day two, the doeling I named Sydney was not doing well at all and I took her to the vet, they treated for dehydration, a few days later she crashed again and I treated her for dehydration. She made improvements her second week of life and was eating and drinking but then got some kind of skin infection, went back to the vet for a Covenia anti-biotic shot and topical anti-biotics. She passed away June 19th @ 12 days old. :( Her sister, Tianna was always FULL of energy and life and is still a little booger (per her new owner).
Let's see, what else..... Our last two wethers, Porthos and Dart were just sold to a wonderful home that is showing them and using them as a part of a petting "zoo" at birthday parties. So we are down to only productive stock, 2 bucks and 6 does. I'm purchasing sister doelings from Double Durango Farm and will be bringing them home Oct. 29th. I am absolutely thrilled about having them. Their pedigree is phenomenal and they will be a fabulous addition to my herd.
Double Durango Bronwyn
Breeding season started today! Nike and Zena had a "date" today and if she settles, the first babies of the 2012 season will be due March 14, 2012. Keep your fingers and toes crossed for girls! I'm working on the kidding schedule and reservations so if you want to make one, let me know! At this point, our reservations are fairly open and I'm not planning on retaining many if any.
So, what has happened in six months and twenty days? Not too much, but there were some important events.
One, Lazy Q Farm Mystique (Tiki) kidded with two gorgeous doelings, sired by Lil' Hill Farm V Moral Victory (Nike), on June 7th @ 7:15 AM. She lost her ligaments the night before and I put her up in the "kidding kennel" for the night, checking on her 2 times during the night and first thing in the morning. At 7:00AM she having a fit and wanting to be out with the other goats. I saw no signs of immediately pending birth so I let her out to have breakfast with the herd. I went back inside to eat my breakfast and 15 minutes later I look out the window and see our livestock guardian dog (LGD) laying in the middle of the herd with a small black lump next to him. I thought that was strange so I put my shoes on and went out to get a better look and realized it was a KID! Tiki had given birth to two doelings out in the barn yard and the LGD was trying to keep one of them warm (they were a good 10 feet from each other). Tiki had a hard time recognizing that these were her babies and required a good bit of help for a while. Both girls got up in a decent amount of time and nursed. By day two, the doeling I named Sydney was not doing well at all and I took her to the vet, they treated for dehydration, a few days later she crashed again and I treated her for dehydration. She made improvements her second week of life and was eating and drinking but then got some kind of skin infection, went back to the vet for a Covenia anti-biotic shot and topical anti-biotics. She passed away June 19th @ 12 days old. :( Her sister, Tianna was always FULL of energy and life and is still a little booger (per her new owner).
Sydney & Tianna
Our Great Pyrenees LGD is getting up there in years and is really starting to slow down so we figured it was time to find his replacement so that he can train her before he retires. He'll be looking for a nice, plush, loving, inside home before Summer 2012 so if you're interested in adopting him, let me know. We got a 7 month old, female Anatolian Shepherd in July. She's by far the biggest puppy I've ever had and she's grown like a weed in the last 3 months! She holds very true to the Anatolian Shepherd standards and I couldn't be more pleased. She has a long way to go to be the wonderful LGD our old boy is, but I'm confident she'll get there. She currently has to wear a shock collar to prevent her from chasing/catching/mauling chickens (she's mauled two already, one to death) and a long-line to keep her from playing keep away from me. She is VERY suspicious of strangers and considered attacking my husband a few times. He should have listened to me when I told him he needed to socialize with her when we first got her. :D Our main threats out here are coyotes and humans and I am extremely confident that she will take down either if needed. She is already super bonded to the does and even thinks the bucks, who are in a separate pen, are threats. I'm working on leash training her so that I can better socialize her with the bucks. Overall I am pleased with her and very pleased with our choice to get an Anatolian.
Let's see, what else..... Our last two wethers, Porthos and Dart were just sold to a wonderful home that is showing them and using them as a part of a petting "zoo" at birthday parties. So we are down to only productive stock, 2 bucks and 6 does. I'm purchasing sister doelings from Double Durango Farm and will be bringing them home Oct. 29th. I am absolutely thrilled about having them. Their pedigree is phenomenal and they will be a fabulous addition to my herd.
Double Durango Autumn
Photos courtesy of Dianne Cassara of Double Durango Farm in Logansville, GA
Breeding season started today! Nike and Zena had a "date" today and if she settles, the first babies of the 2012 season will be due March 14, 2012. Keep your fingers and toes crossed for girls! I'm working on the kidding schedule and reservations so if you want to make one, let me know! At this point, our reservations are fairly open and I'm not planning on retaining many if any.
I promise to write again when I get my new girls home next weekend.
A cute video to leave you with:
Tianna being her rambunctious self! :D
Mar 1, 2011
Zena's Kids
First, I must apologize for not getting around to posting for almost 3 weeks! Can't believe it's been that long but it's been kind of hectic around here. Zena had 2 kids, one buck, one doe, at 6:30 AM, Wednesday, February 9, 2011. The birth went well but the kids didn't present as I had expected but it went fine nonetheless. Zena did a very good job cleaning the babies off and seemed to bond well with them. It took them a couple of hours to stand up and start moving around; about 4 hours for the doe to nurse and about 6 for the buck. The girl responded very well to me assisting her in nursing and got the hang of it after a few times with me helping. The boy, on the other hand, balked at me helping and because of that took a few hours longer to nurse. He also took about 24 hours worth of assisted nursing to get the hang of it. Boys! :)
Buckling
Doeling
At about a week old Zena began to develop mastitis, was running a fever, hot clumpy udder, and didn't want to nurse the kids. She was on a round of oxytetracycline and penicillin and I became much more comfortable with giving injections.
At two weeks old the kids got pneumonia and have been very sick, especially the buck. :( They each got a shot of penicillin and 24 hours later were not getting any better, to the vet we went. There they each got a Convenia shot which is a very broad spectrum antibiotic that stays in the system for 2 weeks. They have s...l...o...w...l...y.... gotten better and the last temps I got were 102.6 (doe) and 105.0 (buck), normal is 102.5-104.0. They've been out with the herd for an increasing amount of time since Saturday and are in much better spirits. They aren't sleeping as much and are spending a lot of their time jumping around and grazing like normal goats.
It seems like a lot more has been going on too but my brain is so fried from the stress of it all and sleepless nights that I can't remember what else has happened.
Check out the Frost Family Farm Facebook page to see incredibly cute videos of the kids!
At about a week old Zena began to develop mastitis, was running a fever, hot clumpy udder, and didn't want to nurse the kids. She was on a round of oxytetracycline and penicillin and I became much more comfortable with giving injections.
At two weeks old the kids got pneumonia and have been very sick, especially the buck. :( They each got a shot of penicillin and 24 hours later were not getting any better, to the vet we went. There they each got a Convenia shot which is a very broad spectrum antibiotic that stays in the system for 2 weeks. They have s...l...o...w...l...y.... gotten better and the last temps I got were 102.6 (doe) and 105.0 (buck), normal is 102.5-104.0. They've been out with the herd for an increasing amount of time since Saturday and are in much better spirits. They aren't sleeping as much and are spending a lot of their time jumping around and grazing like normal goats.
It seems like a lot more has been going on too but my brain is so fried from the stress of it all and sleepless nights that I can't remember what else has happened.
Check out the Frost Family Farm Facebook page to see incredibly cute videos of the kids!
Feb 8, 2011
Awaiting Kids
As I type this post this morning, I am watching Zena on the camera. She's in her "kidding stall" aka an x-pen in the garage, with Tiki. I put her in there last night because her ligaments were very soft and her tail head was raised. She has not yet lost her appetite and she slept all night. She's been having contractions this morning and periods of standing and staring. Her ligaments are "gone" and her tail head couldn't be any higher. We "should" have babies by tonight and if not tonight, by morning for sure.
We picked up little miss Quinn on Saturday and I'm in love (again). She is the CUTEST, SWEETEST goat! I'm sure I've said that about all of them but I really mean it this time. :D She is having some difficulty adjusting, she bonded to me really quick and the herd hasn't accepted her yet. They won't let her snuggle at night and it's cold so I set her up a "bed", hay with blankets on top of it. It's odd (and good) that Quinn will lay on it but none of the other goats have any interest in it. She got all sorts of stuff on Sunday; all her vaccines, selenium/vit e, probios, herbal wormer, Immune ST, and cocci prevention. She's finally eating feed which is a huge relief. She was eating hay but not much so I'm glad that she's finally eating her feed.
On Sunday we bought a round bale rack, not a clue what it's actually called. After Misty's sad death due to a collapsing hay bale, our feed guy showed us this hay rack. Hopefully it will keep the bale from collapsing onto another goat.
Here's a cute pic of our LGD curled up in a cubby in the shed. After I took this he made a huge "bird nest" out of the hay that was in the shed and layed smack down in the middle, kicking myself for not getting a picture of that.
We picked up little miss Quinn on Saturday and I'm in love (again). She is the CUTEST, SWEETEST goat! I'm sure I've said that about all of them but I really mean it this time. :D She is having some difficulty adjusting, she bonded to me really quick and the herd hasn't accepted her yet. They won't let her snuggle at night and it's cold so I set her up a "bed", hay with blankets on top of it. It's odd (and good) that Quinn will lay on it but none of the other goats have any interest in it. She got all sorts of stuff on Sunday; all her vaccines, selenium/vit e, probios, herbal wormer, Immune ST, and cocci prevention. She's finally eating feed which is a huge relief. She was eating hay but not much so I'm glad that she's finally eating her feed.
On Sunday we bought a round bale rack, not a clue what it's actually called. After Misty's sad death due to a collapsing hay bale, our feed guy showed us this hay rack. Hopefully it will keep the bale from collapsing onto another goat.
Here's a cute pic of our LGD curled up in a cubby in the shed. After I took this he made a huge "bird nest" out of the hay that was in the shed and layed smack down in the middle, kicking myself for not getting a picture of that.
Feb 2, 2011
Is Winter Over Yet?
That title seems familiar. Oh wait, yes, definitely familiar, Is Summer Over Yet?
I am so SICK of Winter. Not necessarily the cold, though usually that IS what I'm whining about, but this year it's the mud! Gah I HATE mud. Not only is it a pain in the behind to deal with but it really makes the goats unhappy and unhealthy. They just seemed depressed and on the few days of sunny, semi-warm weather they were definitely happier. As soon as warm, dry weather is upon us we will bring in a ton of gravel for the shelter and feeding area so that we don't have this mud problem next Winter.
Since my last post we've gotten at least one more snow event. On January 10th we got about 8-10 inches of snow and couldn't get out of our driveway for 2 days.
Compared to this picture from Christmas.
Our next new addition, LnL Mini Farm Quinn, will be arriving this weekend (most likely). We went to LnL when she was 2 weeks old to observe disbudding and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting but it's still pretty sad and I'm not looking forward to doing it. Well, assisting Clint in it that is. Quinn is double registered and absolutely GORGEOUS, I can't wait to see the kids she produces.
I'm rather disappointed that we have been unsuccessful at getting Mocha, Mystique and Gen bred. So it looks like it may be next Spring before we have more kids. Zena is fast approaching her due date and I am a nervous wreck. Keep fingers and toes crossed that she has an easy delivery and healthy kids.
I'm happy to report that Smoky and Blaze have found new homes. Smoky went to a nice family in Huntsville and Blaze went to H & G Horse Quarters in Auburn, AL. Their plan for him is to be a "party horse" for little kids to take rides on.
That's it for now, I think, and my next update will probably be in a few weeks after Zena freshens (has her babies).
I am so SICK of Winter. Not necessarily the cold, though usually that IS what I'm whining about, but this year it's the mud! Gah I HATE mud. Not only is it a pain in the behind to deal with but it really makes the goats unhappy and unhealthy. They just seemed depressed and on the few days of sunny, semi-warm weather they were definitely happier. As soon as warm, dry weather is upon us we will bring in a ton of gravel for the shelter and feeding area so that we don't have this mud problem next Winter.
Since my last post we've gotten at least one more snow event. On January 10th we got about 8-10 inches of snow and couldn't get out of our driveway for 2 days.
Our next new addition, LnL Mini Farm Quinn, will be arriving this weekend (most likely). We went to LnL when she was 2 weeks old to observe disbudding and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting but it's still pretty sad and I'm not looking forward to doing it. Well, assisting Clint in it that is. Quinn is double registered and absolutely GORGEOUS, I can't wait to see the kids she produces.
I'm rather disappointed that we have been unsuccessful at getting Mocha, Mystique and Gen bred. So it looks like it may be next Spring before we have more kids. Zena is fast approaching her due date and I am a nervous wreck. Keep fingers and toes crossed that she has an easy delivery and healthy kids.
I'm happy to report that Smoky and Blaze have found new homes. Smoky went to a nice family in Huntsville and Blaze went to H & G Horse Quarters in Auburn, AL. Their plan for him is to be a "party horse" for little kids to take rides on.
That's it for now, I think, and my next update will probably be in a few weeks after Zena freshens (has her babies).
Jan 2, 2011
Christmas, snow, Gen and the New Year.
I had planned on getting a cute Christmas picture of the goats but, obviously, that didn't happen. I WILL get one for Christmas 2011 though. Christmas was amazing and over too soon, as usual. We woke up Christmas morning to this:
That was Saturday morning, by Sunday night we had about 5 inches. I LOVE snow! Winter would fly by for me if there was this much snow on the ground every day. But when snow melts, you know what that means, MUD! And we all know how I feel about mud. At any rate, it was great while it lasted.
Our newest addition is Keepsake Kids Generations (Gen). She was born June 9, 2010 and came from Susan at Critterhaven. We will be adding another precious doe, Quinn, on January 23rd. See our website for more information on these girls. I will attempt to get some better pictures of Gen today. I am going to LnL Mini Farm next Saturday to assist in disbudding (dehorning) Quinn and will take pictures of her then.
New Year's eve was boring and uneventful, no gunshots, no fireworks. Then it started raining, and by raining I mean pouring, at about 1:00 AM. Lots of thunder and lightning and the weather radio warning us of flash flooding. Needless to say, between the four I was awake throughout the night. Since New Year's eve was so miserable weather wise, people decided to celebrate last night instead, so we did see some fireworks, nothing crazy.
Zena is indeed pregnant and has started bagging up (filling her udder). She's getting a good jump start seeing that she's not even due until February 13th. I'm trying to mentally and physically prepare myself. Keep fingers and toes crossed for us that everything goes smoothly and that the weather is decent and above freezing.
That about sums it up for now. Will post pictures as soon as I get some decent ones. Keep your eye on our Facebook page, it's updated way more often than the blog. I'll keep you posted!
That was Saturday morning, by Sunday night we had about 5 inches. I LOVE snow! Winter would fly by for me if there was this much snow on the ground every day. But when snow melts, you know what that means, MUD! And we all know how I feel about mud. At any rate, it was great while it lasted.
Our newest addition is Keepsake Kids Generations (Gen). She was born June 9, 2010 and came from Susan at Critterhaven. We will be adding another precious doe, Quinn, on January 23rd. See our website for more information on these girls. I will attempt to get some better pictures of Gen today. I am going to LnL Mini Farm next Saturday to assist in disbudding (dehorning) Quinn and will take pictures of her then.
New Year's eve was boring and uneventful, no gunshots, no fireworks. Then it started raining, and by raining I mean pouring, at about 1:00 AM. Lots of thunder and lightning and the weather radio warning us of flash flooding. Needless to say, between the four I was awake throughout the night. Since New Year's eve was so miserable weather wise, people decided to celebrate last night instead, so we did see some fireworks, nothing crazy.
Zena is indeed pregnant and has started bagging up (filling her udder). She's getting a good jump start seeing that she's not even due until February 13th. I'm trying to mentally and physically prepare myself. Keep fingers and toes crossed for us that everything goes smoothly and that the weather is decent and above freezing.
That about sums it up for now. Will post pictures as soon as I get some decent ones. Keep your eye on our Facebook page, it's updated way more often than the blog. I'll keep you posted!
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