Kids coming fast and furious!

Babies are coming fast and furious! Much earlier than first anticipated!
We are up to 39 babies on the ground right now. Boy, do we have some real head turners!

I've been working non stop in the barn the last few days and I'm just now taking a breather to give this update.

Over all, kidding has gone very smoothly. Most of the babies have already been born by the time I make my rounds checking on the Does.

I will be making my next update soon!

Our 1st 2010 Pygora babies have arrived!

Our doe, Fudge, and sire, White Mahogany, came through for us this 2010 Kidding season! Fudge delivered adorable twin doelings late in the evening on March 19th. It was a 150 day gestation.

The rest of the herd is expected to start kidding any time after March 26th. We have been very busy preparing for many babies!

Kidding season is just a few days away!

HAPPY ST. PATTIES DAY!

In 2 days, our Doe, Fudge, will be at 150 days gestation. That means she could start kidding any day now! We can hardly wait to see what our permanent grand champion Doe produces this year!

The rest of the herd is expected to start kidding a week later so we are busy preparing for many babies to start arriving any time after March 25th!

Once the babies begin arriving, my plan is to give frequent updates as often as possible. At times it may be just a brief update depending on how busy the day/night went. Pygora goats are usually very easy kidders but I like to be there to make sure momma and babies are doing fine.

The date for the Golden Fleece 4H Club visit has been moved up from April 17th to April 3rd. This should give them an opportunity to experience what it is like to be here in the heat of kidding season.

The 4H'ers will have the opportunity to take care of newborn kids and their moms. For the brave, they might even catch a doe giving birth.

I'm really looking forward having the Golden Fleece 4H Club visit the ranch! ~Lisa

Torrey Pine turns Sweet 16!

HAPPY SWEET 16 BIRTHDAY, TORREY PINE!

Torrey Pine is now officially the oldest goat on our farm. A birthday party is planned today to celebrate this milestone.

Torrey Pine now surpasses her mom, Pandora, as the oldest goat on the farm. Pandora was 1 week shy of her 16th birthday when she passed away.

We look forward to seeing Torrey Pine through to her 17th.

Happy birthday, Old Girl!

Kidding season is just around the corner!

Kidding season is just 6 weeks away! 

In the following weeks, we will be vaccinating all of our pregnant Does with CDT and de-worming them.  

Some Does will also be "crutched" in preparation for kidding.  This is a process where we shear the back ends and udder areas to provide easy access for the baby to find the mothers udders and also for a cleaner birthing area.  We don't "crutch" all of the Does as some don't have as much fleece in that area to be a problem.

February 17th will be our annual voluntary scrapie-free flock inspection done by Federal Veterinarian, Dr. Silberman.  We have been a VSFCP Certified flock since 2006. 

Last year we joined the export monitoring program and we are now able to ship to Canada.   Contact us if you would like more info about shipping to Canada. 

April 17th the Golden Fleece 4H Club will be coming up for a "hands-on" kidding day where they will be involved in the day to day activities that go on during kidding season.  They will be taking care of new born kids and their moms and hopefully be able to see babies being born too!  It's a fun learning experience! 

Preparing for kidding season!

UPDATE FROM THE FARM

Kidding season is just 8 weeks away! We can hardly wait!

Over the last several weeks we have been cleaning out pen and paddock areas, fixing panels and feeders and making sure we have all of our kidding supplies for this 2010 kidding season.

George hauled over 400 bales of hay this week so our barns are full, that is such a good feeling!

Last week we hoof trimmed and de-wormed all of our bucks. They also received their annual CDT vaccination. They are now done so we can now focus our attention on the girls.

This week we have started hoof trimming our Does. We will wrap up the hoof trimming over the next week.

February 17th will be our annual voluntary scrapie-free flock inspection done by Federal Veterinarian, Dr. Silberman. We have been a VSFCP Certified flock since 2006.

Last year we joined the export monitoring program and we are now able to ship to Canada. Contact us if you would like more info about shipping to Canada.

Since we will have all of our animals rounded up Feb. 17th, we will use this time to CDT vaccinate and de-worm our Does. This will be the perfect time as they will be at the 4-6 week time frame before kidding starts.

April 17th the Golden Fleece 4H Club will be coming up for a "hands-on" kidding day where they will be involved in the day to day activities that go on during kidding season.  They will be taking care of new born kids and their moms and hopefully be able to see babies being born too!  It's a fun learning experience! 

Update from the farm January 6th, 2010

Happy New Year!  This time of year is our slow time as we wait patiently for kidding season to arrive.   This year we decided to take a few days off and head to New York to visit with family.  We had a wonderful time playing with our 11 month old grand daughter! 

While in New York, George and I  spent New Years Eve in Time Square.  What an exciting once in a life time event!

We are now home and busy preparing for kidding season.  It's hard to believe that it is only 10 weeks away.  George has been busy moving over 24 truck loads of compost and we can now see ground! 

April 17th the Golden Fleece 4H Club will be coming up for a "hands-on" kidding day where they will be involved in the day to day activities that go on during kidding season.  They will be taking care of new born kids and their moms and hopefully be able to see babies being born too!  It's a fun learning experience!