Our 2012 Kidding season is about to begin!

Hi Everyone!

Our 2012 Kidding season is almost here! The momma goats are getting bigger by the day. Our very first kids could arrive as soon as March 23th (145 days gestation) if they got bred the first day they were put in with their assigned buck. Typically they arrive at 147-152 days gestation. Our major kidding will continue on through the month of April. As you can imagine, it will be a busy time on the farm very soon.

We have been busy preparing for our first arrivals. All of our Does received their annual CDT booster so the babies will be protected at birth. The kids will then receive their first CDT vaccine at 4-6 weeks of age, a booster 2 weeks later and then their last booster 4 weeks after that. By that time it should be just about weaning time!

Other things we have been doing around the farm to get ready are:

-We condition scored our Does and they are looking fat and happy. We did sorted out 4 of our older girls that we felt needed a little more tlc and put them on a richer protein diet.

-We recently replaced some of our old barn lights in our kidding area. I’m so excited to have reliable lighting this year!

-All pen card forms are printed out for each Dam and are ready to be filled out with the newborn kid information as they arrive. If you would like to see a copy of what our pen card looks like, here is the link to it: www.hmrpygoras.com/kidpencard5-19-01.PDF

-Our kidding supply bags are all put together and ready to go.

-Kidding supplies ordered and received.


Some things still left to do:

-We will be hauling hay tomorrow and filling up our barn so it’s well stocked throughout kidding season.

-This coming week we plan to clean get our kidding areas and layer them with fresh straw. (BIG JOB!)

-We will be wrapping up the last of the bucks that need shearing

-We will start crutching the bred Does that need it. (shearing their bottoms and udder areas only)

-Our “clip, dip and strip” supply tote put together.

Thanks for checking out our Blog! You can see more information at our website at: www.hawksmtnranch.com

Take care,

Lisa

Pygora baby in the tall grass

Hi Everyone,

Every Wednesday is dedicated as our "Herd health day". This is where we round up the goats and have a list of various items that need to be taken care of.
This Wednesday, we will be rounding up all the kids. We plan on taking updated photos and descriptions of about 30 kids. We will be checking heads for scurs and redisbudding if needed. It's best to catch scurs now as they are still small and easy to remove. Once this is done, we will be rounding our few sheep friends as it's time for them to be sheared. After that, the time will be spent doing a list of chores around the farm. Everything from washing buckets, to moving plywood to the hay barn. It will be a very busy day.

If you are on facebook or thinking about joining, don’t forget to check out our goat photos at: www.facebook.com/HawksMountainRanch

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

 Take care,

 Lisa

Our Pygora kids at Play!

Photo taken 5/1/11

Hi Everyone,

I’m happy to announce that our 2011 Hawks Mtn Ranch Pygora kid list is now complete and I have e-mailed it to the first 3 people on our deposit list this evening. Once the first person has picked their kids, then I will send the list to the 4th person to view and so on. Once everyone on our pre-deposit list has picked their kids, then our list will go public. It's not too late to still get on our deposit list.

We are excited about our crop of kids this year! A hint of little fuzzy fleeces are just starting to show up on many of the kids already. We have everything from white to all shades of caramel, light grey to dark greys, browns to blacks. We even have a few very striking black and white kids. If you are on facebook or thinking about joining, don’t forget to check out our goat photos at: www.facebook.com/HawksMountainRanch

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Take care,

Lisa

Momma goat with kid on board!

Today as I was turning the momma and baby goats out to the lower pasture for the first time, I decided to take my camera with me. I couldn't believe what I saw. This mom was actually walking around with her baby "on board". What a good momma!

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Hello everyone! 

It’s been a super busy time at the ranch! It’s amazing how quickly time is flying by! Kidding started exactly 1 month ago on 3/14. Since then, 134 Pygora kids have been born here! We only have 3 more Does left to kid. We have a very colorful herd of bouncing baby goats and all fleece types too! 

This week, I spent writing descriptions for all of the kids for our kids list.   As each kid was handled and critiqued,  I was really impressed with the quality of kids we have this year! 

I have photos of all the kids now and I've been busy cropping them down to a size for easy and quick viewing on the internet. I will be spending a lot of time at the computer over the next several days.
 
My plan is to spend most of my time putting all the pieces together for our kid list.  I can't give an exact date when my list will be available as I have a lot to do out in the barn still but I will give an update when I have it ready for our pre-depositors. 

Thanks everyone for your patience and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I can be reached via e-mail, facebook, text or phone at: 503-539-0295. Please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
  
Take care, Lisa

Sarah's favorite Pygora doelings

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

Our 1st 2011 Pygora kids have arrived!

During my night time barn check last night, I was surprised by tiny little squeeky noises coming from the back of the barn. It was our Pygora goat, Fudgesicle,with 2 very curly twin boys! Fudgesicle is the first Doe to kid on our farm this year. She has been the first on to kid 3 times in the last 5 years.That’s all for now. Check out our website or facebook page as I will be giving updates along the way.
 
Take care, Lisa

Pygora Does get their annual CDT vaccination

Hi Everyone!
Kidding time is almost here! The momma goats are getting bigger by the day. Soon baby goats will be bouncing around the farm!
Our first kids should arrive around March 19th and continue through the middle of April. I have a very good feeling that this will be our be our best year ever.  I’m feeling very prepared for the first arrivals. All pen cards are printed out and ready to be filled out as the kids arrive. Kidding bags are all put together stuffed with supplies.  Some local school kids have volunteered to come up and spend some nights with us during Spring break. This will be a heavy kidding time for us. It is always really exciting for the kids and I to share this experience.
Wednesday 2/23, we gave our Does their annual CDT booster so the babies will be protected at birth.   At 4-6 weeks of age the babies will receive their 1st CDT vaccine with a booster 2 weeks later, and the last booster 4 weeks after that.  
We are now on facebook. If you would like to see photos of the baby kids as they are born, we will be posting photos on facebook. You can find our facebook page at: www.facebook.com/HawksMountainRanch  
That’s all for now. I will be giving updates along the way.  
Take care, Lisa

Plump bellies on our Pygora mom-to-be's!

One recent misty morning I noticed some plump bellies starting to show on our girls.  A good sign that babies are soon on their way!

The ultimate goat playhouse!

Thank you, Eileen Gates of Falls Brook Farm, Blandford, MA for the use of your wonderful photo!

The slow winter days are now here. Breeding season is over and we are now waiting patiently for kidding season to arrive. Right now we are getting ready for delivery of 18+ tons of hay in the next week.

Recently George has gotten into the holiday spirit and decided to put Christmas lights around the house. A lesson was learned to not plug in 10 strings of lights together. Without going into detail, it is now day 2 and the lights still aren't working. George came home this evening with a bag of new lights, bulbs and fuses and assures me he will have have them working tomorrow. If all goes as George expects tomorrow, our mountain top should be glowing brightly for miles away. Oh what a wonderful time of the year!

Now is a great time to get on our pre-deposit list for the best selection of Pygora babies. We are expecting between 125-150 kids to be born on the farm this 2011 spring kidding season. Last year we sold out of doelings before our list when public in June. Get on our pre-deposit list now to pick your kids starting in April!

Lisa

Black Bo is our top fiber producing Pygora herd sire

Our 2010 breeding season is finally over. All the breeding bucks have been returned back to the "boys pasture" while the girls have been returned to the "girls pasture". Life on the farm is quiet once again.

Next week we will be busy preparing for kidding season. Yes, it's that time already as it's only 4 months away! I'm currently in the process of putting together our Pygora kids list with info on each dam and sire leaving room for their babies photo and description to be inserted once the kids arrive. My goal is to get our kids list out to our pre-depositors as soon as possible once the majority of the kids are born.

Now is a great time to get on our pre-deposit list for the best selection of Pygora babies. We are expecting between 125-150 kids to be born on the farm this 2011 spring kidding season. Last year we sold out of doelings before our list when public in June. Get on our pre-deposit list now to pick your kids starting in April!

Lisa

Our herd sire, "Boo Boo" is looking good!

Our breeding groups have now been together for just over 3 weeks. We will be keeping them together for another 10 days.

We are using 11 herd sires this year. 2 of the breeding bucks are bucklings that were born last spring. One is named, "Copper Spats" and is a beautiful brown buckling with frosted ears and nose. He is out of our late herd sire, "Spats" . He definitely knew what to do when he was first put with his group of girls.

Our other buckling, "Hot Dog", was a little slow to figure things out so he missed the first cycle of his group of girls. Fortunately he is now showing interest in his girls as they are starting to come into their 2 cycle. It looks like his girls will be the last to kid. This is not uncommon for bucklings to be slow as I found that they mature at different rates. Sometimes bucklings won't come into maturity until late winter.

It looks like the rest of our 9 herd sires have settled most of their girls. I am ready for breeding season to be over so I can take down the breeding pens and send the boys back out to their pasture away from the girls. I'm looking forward to peace and quiet until the babies start arriving in March!

Lisa

Week 2 of breeding season

Our breeding groups have now been together for over 2 weeks. Things are starting to quiet down. I think most of the Does have been bred as I'm not seeing any signs of them showing any interest in their bucks. Of course the Bucks still check to see if there is any interest but with no luck. Hopefully this means that most of our Pygora babies will be arriving within a 2 week time frame. That would mean during Spring Break! Yeah! It should be a very busy time on the ranch!

This week we had a few sunshiny days between rain storms so we took the opportunity to take some updated photos of our bucks. Check back as we post new photos of our handsome boys!

Lisa

Cross country delivery update as of 10/11/10 evening

A barrel cut on one of our old goats will keep her warm this winter and also give us her prime fleece.

George made his last delivery to Maryland yesterday and is now on his way back home to Oregon.  George wanted me to let everyone know how much he enjoyed meeting each of you and he knows that all the animals are going to great homes.  I look forward to getting updates from all of you on how the kids are doing. 

George is staying in Iowa this evening.  He is hoping to make it back home to Oregon on Thursday.  I'm looking forward to having him home as it's been pretty quiet around here without him.  

Thanks to everyone for your passion for Pygora's!

Lisa

Southern delivery update as of 10/9/10 eve

George has made his 3rd Arkansas delivery and all 3 North Carolina deliveries today! He has been spending an average of 14-18 hours on the road each day. George is a person on a mission to get all animals to their new homes safe and sound and quickly too!

I asked George what were the highlights he saw along the way. He said the fields of cotton in Western Missouri was something he had never seen before. He said it looked like a field of snow. He saw the cotton being harvested into huge bundles. He saw a sign for a cotton festival. If he had more time he would have loved to stop and see the festival.

George is bedded down for the night in Clyde, North Carolina and will be heading to Maryland for his last delivery. Maryland is normally on our Northern delivery route but the new owners were unable to take delivery in September so special arrangements were made with George to delivery to them. George is such an accommodating guy!

I'm looking forward to having George back home on the farm. There is so much to do in preparation for breeding season. It's hard to imagine that in only 5 months, we will have newborn baby Pygora's bouncing around the farm.

Thanks to everyone for your passion for Pygora's!

Lisa

Southern delivery update as of 10/8/10 eve

George called this evening after making his last for the day. He is in Arkansas for the night. He has one more delivery in Arkansas tomorrow then he is off to deliver to North Carolina. He is on schedule. I thought I’d post his phone # for easy reference: 503-703-8875.

I asked George how the day went. He said he went through some very beautiful country that he has never seen before as he has always done the Northern delivery route for the past few years. He also said he had a near accident as there were pallets that were in the middle of the road and the person ahead of him ran over them and blew out her tires. Fortunately George was in the other lane and missed them but he said it got his heart going. You just near know what you are going to run into while on the road.

Next update is tomorrow.

Lisa

Cross country delivery update as of 10/7/10 evening

Hi everyone!

George left New Mexico this morning and is now in Waco, Texas for the night.   I asked him about his highlights for the day. He said he saw a lot of oil wells that are not common in Oregon. He also saw a lot of Cacti.   He didn't have much to report or he was too tired to talk when I called him this evening as he has been putting in long driving days since he left Oregon on Monday.

George reported that all the animals are doing great. They and George are all bedded down for the night. The temperature this evening is around 60 degrees in Waco.

George will be making his 2nd delivery tomorrow morning (Friday) then he is heading off to Oklahoma for his 3rd delivery at noon. He is still on schedule. After that he heads to Arkansas for a delivery on Friday evening and Saturday morning.

Next update is tomorrow.

Lisa

Cleaning the barn can be a real challenge with so many helpers

Our Northern delivery trip is complete and we are now busy preparing for our Southern delivery. Our truck and trailer are now full. We will be leaving from Oregon on October 4th to make the cross country trip to the east coast.  My driver on this trip will be my husband, George. 

Yesterday we took the kids in for their health exams and received their certificates of veterinary inspection. All is a go!

Hoof trimming, worming, updated photos and descriptions are just a few of things we have on our list to do today.

Lisa

Northern delivery now complete!

Classic type A buckling ID#:HMR A064
He's still available! Check out those curls!


FREE DELIVERY to the
Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival
Canby, OR Sept. 24-26 2010

Today we made our last delivery on our Northern trip to New Jersey.  I talked to our driver, Doug, this morning and he said the trip went very well.  The weather was cool most of the trip and he enjoyed seeing parts of the country he had never seen before.  All the kids arrived to their new homes bright eyed and healthy.   A big THANKS to Doug for taking great care of our babies as they made the long journey to their new homes! 

Our Southern delivery trip will be leaving from Oregon on October 4th to make the cross country trip to the east coast.  My driver on this trip will be my husband, George. 

As of today, our truck and trailer is now filled up for our Southern delivery.  We have rounded up all the kids and will be taking them in for their health exam on Thursday so they can receive their certificate of veterinary inspections.  This is a requirement for each state. You can see more details of what is required for your state at the usda/aphis website by clicking HERE

Thanks for visiting our Pygora website!

Lisa

Our northern cross country trip from the west coast to the east coast leaving soon

Last Sunday we returned from our extended vacation to the Michigan Fiber Festival. It was so much fun meeting new Pygora friends along with rekindling friendships with our long time Pygora friends!

A day after my return back home, I spent spent at the vets getting certificates of veterinary inspection done for our Pygora goats going on our Northern cross country delivery. All passed their health exams and are now ready to leave for their new homes starting this Saturday, 9/4.

Wednesday was spent rounding up all the kids in preparation for our Southern cross country delivery in October. We also took updated photos of wethers still available on our Pygora kids list, shearing one of our guard Llamas, cleaning out pens, and washing buckets. Wednesday evening was spent putting together new owner booklets for the kids leaving on our Northern cross country trip leaving this Saturday. Always something going on at the ranch!

Our Southern delivery trip is planned for October.   We are filling up fast with just a few spaces still available.   Contact us if you might be interested in our affordable delivery.

Thanks for visiting our Pygora website!

Lisa

Pygora kids recieve their 3rd and final CDT booster vaccination and weaning begins!

Watch for our Lavender Pygora goats milk soap available soon!

All the kids received their 3rd and final CDT booster vaccinations today. It was a busy day in 95 degree weather but we got it all done!

I have been busy taking updated photos and getting updated descriptions of the kids. It seems like I just get everyone done and its time to start all over again. The kids are growing and their fleeces are starting to pop out! The transition is happening right before my eyes.

Kids are just starting to be weaned. We separated out the bucklings over the last week. Although they are not quite 4 months old, some are starting to show their "buckiness". The farm has been very noisy during the weaning process.

We are still working our way through our pre-deposit list. We have pre-deposits still coming in so this has delayed out list going to the public. We have one more person to get through then it goes public.

Thanks for visiting our Pygora website!

Lisa