120 kids on the ground so far with 19 more Does still left to kid.
Busy, busy, busy taking photos for our Pygora kids list.
Kids arriving is just the beginning. The real busy work continues as we care for the kids and mommas. I thought I'd give an insight of what we are doing on the farm right now:
Once kids are born, they are brought into the barn with their mom and put in their own private kidding pens. They are in these pens for 2-3 days so they can bond together and to make sure babies are doing well and mom has enough milk for them. Also during this time, the kids navels will be dipped in iodine to help prevent infection, moms teats will be stripped to make sure the waxy plug is removed and milk is coming out. We also give each kid a selenium and vitamin E shot. We take a photo of each kid at this time and they are given a temporary farm eartag for identification. All moms are given a wormer and are hoof trimmed. Once everything is checked off, then the moms and kids are turned out into our nursery area with other moms and kids.
While in the nursery area, all kids will be tattooed with their own unique identification number, disbudded and band (neuter) boys. We will also do our "3T's" check. The "3T's" are; "Teeth", Teats, and Testicles". We do the "3T's" check to ensure our kids qualify for our breeding stock standards. We want to make sure the mouth is aligned properly, they have 2 teats, and that the boys have 2 testicles. The "3T's" is an ongoing process as the kids get older too.
Once everything is checked off, the kids and moms then leave the nursery area and are turned out to pasture and it's play, play, play time for the babies as they investigate their new surroundings. It's my favorite time of year watching the kids take off leaping, hopping and skipping down our hilly green pastures.
Inbetween everything that is going on, I will be working on putting together my Pygora kids list. I have been taking photos of each kid before they are turned out to the nursery area. I still need to take photos and get descriptions for them. I'm hoping to catch some sleep in there somewhere!
Feel free to contact me. I can be reached via e-mail, text (503-539-0295 or facebook or phone. Please leave a message if you can and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Take care, Lisa
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