# NorthRidge Farm. Getting into Goats!



## Jaime (Jun 29, 2020)

A little information about myself. I live on a small family farm on 37 acres of land located in western NY. We've raised poultry, swine, beef/jersey cows, and equine. Just last year we recently got into goats, more specifically Nigerian Dwarfs. We started out with two wethers just as pets, but after looking more into the breed and the benefits of raising goats for milk and such we decided to get into breeding. So we bought a little buckling, and two doelings, unregistered. Then I decided I wanted registered animals.. Sooo we came across a family who was getting out of breeding their nigerians, bought 4 does and their buck from them for cheap, ended up banding and selling our original buckling, and kept our two original does since I had grown too close to part with them.

Kidding season came and flew by! All of our does had kidded, had a little issue with toxemia but besides that i'd say we had a successful first kidding season  We managed to sell all of our kids,  and kept gradually adding to our herd..
We went from having two wethers  to 12 does and 4 bucks!  Goats can definitely be addicting 
My herd mainly consists of pet quality nigerians, so my goal is to start with what I have and breed for better milk production and body confirmation. I've invested in a couple of bucks from some good lines to help get things going, but i'm happy with what i have for now and can't wait to  seriously start breeding  I've just started working out my breeding schedule for 2021. It's been fun so far trying to figure out who's going with who.
This thread will mainly just be a journal about my progress with goats and the farm that i'll try and update weekly, feel free to read along~


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## Jaime (Jun 29, 2020)

Some pictures of my lovely little herd~


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## Jaime (Jun 29, 2020)




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## Senile_Texas_Aggie (Jun 30, 2020)

Miss @Jaime,

Welcome to Back Yard Herds! You will find a lot of knowledgeable folks here on the forum, as well as a lot of friendly ones.  (For what it's worth, I consider myself friendly but not knowledgeable!)  Some folks who know a good bit about raising goats include Miss @B&B Happy goats, Miss @rachels.haven, Miss @Duckfarmerpa1, Miss @chickens really, and others.  I am sure that I have forgotten some others that also raise goats -- an artifact of the senile part of my name.

If you don't mind, please tell everyone in what part of the country or world you are located.  That will help folks tailor their advice to you.  For example, some of us are located in the southern part of the US, and others are located in the northern part or the western part of the US, while some are located in Canada.  A few of the members are located in the UK and Australia!  Suggestions for one part of the world may not apply to another part of the world.

But again, welcome to Back Yard Herds!

Senile Texas Aggie


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## chickens really (Jun 30, 2020)

Hello ...👍😀
Beautiful pictures as usual. ❤🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐
I look forward to following along.  
You clipped the goats. That's awesome. Mine are not clipped because doing dogs is bad enough here. 🤠😂
You and only you and that one Doe are my reason for my goats! ....I blame you and also thank you for the push into my goat adventure..❤️🐐🐐🐐🐐


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## Duckfarmerpa1 (Jun 30, 2020)

chickens really said:


> Hello ...👍😀
> Beautiful pictures as usual. ❤🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐
> I look forward to following along.
> You clipped the goats. That's awesome. Mine are not clipped because doing dogs is bad enough here. 🤠😂
> You and only you and that one Doe are my reason for my goats! ....I blame you and also thank you for the push into my goat adventure..❤🐐🐐🐐🐐


I knew that was ‘your friend Jaime’....just knew it!!❤️🤣🐐


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## Duckfarmerpa1 (Jun 30, 2020)

Yes, your goats are gorgeous...I’ve got two mini oberhasli now...and, to be honest..when people come here and rave about how gorgeous they are...you see...I bought them....the6 are not ‘home grown’...so when my babies are not seen as the golden children....hmmmm... although..my agouti goat, Willy, he does always ge5 tons of praise...and the blue eyed ND...
I guess I just want everyone to rave about them all??🤣❤️🐐. But, honestly, the6 are here far too long as it is!  Ugh....I can’t wait to see and read more about your goaties!!


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## chickens really (Jun 30, 2020)

Duckfarmerpa1 said:


> Yes, your goats are gorgeous...I’ve got two mini oberhasli now...and, to be honest..when people come here and rave about how gorgeous they are...you see...I bought them....the6 are not ‘home grown’...so when my babies are not seen as the golden children....hmmmm... although..my agouti goat, Willy, he does always ge5 tons of praise...and the blue eyed ND...
> I guess I just want everyone to rave about them all??🤣❤🐐. But, honestly, the6 are here far too long as it is!  Ugh....I can’t wait to see and read more about your goaties!!


Pedigree and show quality isn’t needed! GOATS are fantastic just because they are Goats. I love my Mixed breed goats! Fantastic pets.


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## Jaime (Jun 30, 2020)

Senile_Texas_Aggie said:


> Miss @Jaime,
> 
> Welcome to Back Yard Herds! You will find a lot of knowledgeable folks here on the forum, as well as a lot of friendly ones.  (For what it's worth, I consider myself friendly but not knowledgeable!)  Some folks who know a good bit about raising goats include Miss @B&B Happy goats, Miss @rachels.haven, Miss @Duckfarmerpa1, Miss @chickens really, and others.  I am sure that I have forgotten some others that also raise goats -- an artifact of the senile part of my name.
> 
> ...


Thank you! I'm already finding this website a wonderful place with wonderful people~! I've added my location in my first post  😊



chickens really said:


> Hello ...👍😀
> Beautiful pictures as usual. ❤🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐
> I look forward to following along.
> You clipped the goats. That's awesome. Mine are not clipped because doing dogs is bad enough here. 🤠😂
> You and only you and that one Doe are my reason for my goats! ....I blame you and also thank you for the push into my goat adventure..❤🐐🐐🐐🐐


Yes! That took quite some time getting them all clipped 😅 Still have a few bucks to clip 
Whoops! Goats are just too addictive 😂 I'm glad you got into goats, with a little bit of help 😉 you definitely look more like a goat person than a chicken person~



Duckfarmerpa1 said:


> Yes, your goats are gorgeous...I’ve got two mini oberhasli now...and, to be honest..when people come here and rave about how gorgeous they are...you see...I bought them....the6 are not ‘home grown’...so when my babies are not seen as the golden children....hmmmm... although..my agouti goat, Willy, he does always ge5 tons of praise...and the blue eyed ND...
> I guess I just want everyone to rave about them all??🤣❤🐐. But, honestly, the6 are here far too long as it is!  Ugh....I can’t wait to see and read more about your goaties!!


I looked into oberhaslis, gorgeous goats! But nigerians definitely won me over 😁 And yes! My blue eyed babies definitely get more attention than my brown eyed lol. Im sure your goats are just as adorable 🥰


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## chickens really (Jun 30, 2020)

Oh Jaimie  
All I have to say is Maaaah! Mummmmmmm! 
I'm definitely a better Goat owner than messing with those birds! 😳


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## chickens really (Jun 30, 2020)

Jaime this is my favourite goat! My lord she is so pretty!


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## Jaime (Jun 30, 2020)

Thank you  😊 She's definitely a favorite around here. Went from being our most skittish doe to one of our most needy/friendliest does Lol! She's definitely a flashy one too, can't wait to see what she'll give us next kidding season~💕


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## chickens really (Jul 3, 2020)

How many goats do you have right now? Do you still breed the cows and pigs too?


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## Jaime (Jul 5, 2020)

Yes! I'm waiting for Annabelle my jersey to come in heat to have her artificially bred. and my gilt truffles (The little tri-colored girl i kept from last year's litter) Is due on September the 4th~ I'm up to 16 goats. 12 does and 4 bucks. I plan on retaining quite a few does from this coming kidding season so i expect to have around 20 or more does next year. I'm actually working on putting up a new barn strictly for goats and hay storage.  I'm thinking it'll be a 48' by 50' A framed barn. We're in the works of clearing the forest next to us where we're going to put the barn up. The plan is to have it up before winter so I can move all my goats before the kidding season starts.
Here's what we've gotten done so far..

.









 



They're gotten a whole lot more  of the forest cleared today, i'll have more pictures up later~


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## Mini Horses (Jul 5, 2020)

Welcome from Virginia!   I have the full sized, Saanen & Nubians.  Because of that, I have a lot of white!     But it's ok. Some have colors. Goats are addicting!! They are SMART. Some of mine can open gate latches, one has learned to turn the handle on the barn feed room. Good thing she's one of my favorites.  I do milk.  You have learned to post lots of pics -- our favorite thing!! 



Jaime said:


> We went from having two wethers to 12 does and 4 bucks!  Goats can definitely be addicting



It sure happens fast, right?  Well we understand and sympathize and encourage even more here.  Yep, enablers!   Even when your friends and family question you -- we understand.




chickens really said:


> Pedigree and show quality isn’t needed! GOATS are fantastic just because they are Goats. I love my Mixed breed goats! Fantastic pets.



Goats just have personality plus!   They actually want to be friendly, even if scared at first -- at any opportunity, they will become your best bud.   I have registered and not....love them all.

So -- if you want dairy I can assume you plan to milk?  A lot of milk with that many.   Trust me, you will need another frig, so plan now!    Also, check into your local laws for what you can do, sales wise, with the milk.   Here in VA they don't allow raw milk sales except for pet & craft use.   Herd shares are tolerated.   To pasteurize & sell, you need licenses, separate facilities, inspections and a lot more.  Of course, chickens and pigs will sure drink it!   I love my goat milk -- it's delish.   Oh -- be ready for people to go "eeeewwww" when you say goat milk.   But, Worldwide goat milk is the most used!!  Yep, USA is the cow milk country.


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## chickens really (Jul 6, 2020)

Jaime said:


> Yes! I'm waiting for Annabelle my jersey to come in heat to have her artificially bred. and my gilt truffles (The little tri-colored girl i kept from last year's litter) Is due on September the 4th~ I'm up to 16 goats. 12 does and 4 bucks. I plan on retaining quite a few does from this coming kidding season so i expect to have around 20 or more does next year. I'm actually working on putting up a new barn strictly for goats and hay storage.  I'm thinking it'll be a 48' by 50' A framed barn. We're in the works of clearing the forest next to us where we're going to put the barn up. The plan is to have it up before winter so I can move all my goats before the kidding season starts.
> Here's what we've gotten done so far..View attachment 75799.View attachment 75800View attachment 75801View attachment 75802View attachment 75803View attachment 75804
> View attachment 75805
> They're gotten a whole lot more  of the forest cleared today, i'll have more pictures up later~


You must be having so much fun with the goats! I can't imagine having 20 goats. 
I definitely can't wait to see Truffles piglets. . I hope you can get the barn and hay shed built before winter sets in.


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## chickens really (Jul 13, 2020)

Hello young Lady. 
I was looking through some old pictures I have. Look at how adorable Truffles was as a piglet. ❤️🐷🐽
I hope Everything is going well with you. 👍


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## chickens really (Jul 15, 2020)

Hello! We need an update about what your upto recently. I hope the barn is coming along.


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## Jaime (Jul 15, 2020)

chickens really said:


> Hello young Lady.
> I was looking through some old pictures I have. Look at how adorable Truffles was as a piglet. ❤🐷🐽
> I hope Everything is going well with you. 👍View attachment 76036View attachment 76037



She was such a sweet little piggie when she was little! she's all big now, i'll have to get some pictures of her~ 😁


It's been a busy busy week, So sorry for the lack of posts!  Here's a quick update on what i've gotten done so far~

All of the leveling and clearing is finally finished! We cleared  almost 2 acres of forest for a goat pasture and our barn. Currently working on what kind of pasture we want to plant for them to graze on, here are some before and after pictures~!















Also just managed to get our hay done just before the rain! 





We put a deposit down for the barn, hopefully we'll have it up as early as August. I've been having fun playing around with blueprints for the interior of the barn, here's what I have so far as for plans, I'm already excited to start working on the interior once the barn is put up~!






I'd also like to put in lofts above the goat pen/stalls and workshop for more hay storage, the lean-to i'll be putting up myself to save a little extra $$

And last but not least we added another goat to my herd~! Drove 6 hours and back for him  This little boy here is Straightway Farm SF Golden boy, a beautiful buckling that i couldn't resist buying  He's got some amazing milk lines behind him that I'm very excited to add in my herd. A fun little thing about him is that his sire's dam's sire is actually the same buck that sired the 2016 Colorama doe kid that sold for $16k, I never knew you could sell a goat for so much 

These pictures don't do him justice, He's got lovely confirmation and very dairy skin you can grab easily~ i'll try and get some pictures of him standing properly once he's adjusted in his new home~


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## Jaime (Jul 15, 2020)




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## Jaime (Jul 15, 2020)

chickens really said:


> You must be having so much fun with the goats! I can't imagine having 20 goats.
> I definitely can't wait to see Truffles piglets. . I hope you can get the barn and hay shed built before winter sets in.


I truly am~  It's funny to think just a few years ago I couldn't stand goats.. Absolutely hated them! Now I can't get enough of them 😄 I'm having so much fun with the goats, they've become my main focus on the farm, I've sold most of my breeding chickens and call ducks. Only keeping a few just to have in the pond and some layers so i can keep selling eggs in town. I'll also be raising a few meat chicken/turkeys for myself and friends but that's it. went from almost 200 birds to only 80. Definitely happier and less stressed with all those birds gone. I'm definitely excited to see where i'll go with the whole goat business~ I'd like to explore the idea of selling goat soap and such in the near future 😁


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## chickens really (Jul 16, 2020)

Wow! Your barn and pasture will be be amazing.   
Your new Buckling is cute. I bet you paid a bit for that little Man. 👍🤑
I meant to ask you about the birds. I know for myself that I am way happier without my Ducks. The smell and the mess was too much to deal with. I also never thought I would have goats and be so in love with the little monsters either. They are definitely a great addition to my life. I only have 4 now although I'm still thinking about breeding Fancy in December so I can have a May birthing.


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## Jaime (Jul 17, 2020)

Yes! Very excited to get things started 😁
If it were up to me I would have i'd have gotten rid of all the birds, but the family enjoy having the guineas, geese and call ducks running around the property 
I think you should go ahead and breed her! That's probably my favorite part about owning goats, kidding season is both nerve racking and thrilling! I've already gotten my breeding schedule decided. I'll have 3 groups i'll be breeding at different times so i'm not having 12 does kidding all at once   The first group will be in with the bucks the second week of August~! i'll have 5 does in that group. The second group which will just be three does and the third group which will have four does will be bred in September and November~


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## Jaime (Jul 17, 2020)

Decided to let the does out of their pen and let them graze a bit today while I was outside~ All were having a blast running around and exploring the new leveled area that will soon be their new home 😊 They were quite suspicious of their forest being gone and the giant hole in the backyard, but once they found some brush to munch on they completely forgot about it 😄


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## chickens really (Jul 18, 2020)

As usual those are awesome pictures. What a nice healthy looking herd of goats you have. I look forward to seeing pictures of the barn process and the finished product. It's going to be awesome!   
I definitely think I will breed Fancy. I am going to be going to my Pals one day soon to look at all his animals and see what his Bucks are like. I hope he has one worthy to breed to my Fancy pants.


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## Jaime (Jul 19, 2020)

Thank you!
Waiting on the blueprints so i can get it approved by the town and get things started 
I'd look for the healthiest looking buck to breed her with. How exciting it'll be to have Fancy babies jumping around the place!   And speaking of babies, I found an ad on fb of someone selling their herd of nigerian dwarf goats since they are moving. Turns out one of their does they were selling was one of mine I had sold a few months ago. I contacted them to confirm it was the same person who bought the doe from me. I offered to buy her back from them and they offered to sell her along with a bred doe, how could I refuse?? So now I’m up to 14 does. My newest addition, Hazelnut the buckskin doe, is due to kid on October the 13th~ Fingers crossed for some blue eyes and polled babies 🤞


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## chickens really (Jul 20, 2020)

That's great. I'm glad you got your Doe back and another one too!   
They both are very pretty colours.


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## chickens really (Jul 20, 2020)

I have a Buck question. How do I pick a good Buck? Should I be looking at his testicals and confirmation as far as being correctly perportioned? Should he be smaller or at least close to Fancys size? I looked at Fancys teats and they are a nice size. I hope to go out and see these Bucks soon before they start breeding the Does again.


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## Jaime (Jul 21, 2020)

I'd look for a buck that's closer to fancy's size but that's just me, You can definitely breed her to a smaller buck like a nigie, i just wouldn't go with a buck that looks stunted small.. I'm not too sure about looking at his testicles, I myself wouldn't know what to look for there. But yes, I'd make sure he's proportionate. I'd look for things like a strong topline, good length and body capacity, no leg problems. You want to breed her with a buck that looks nice and strong and wont fall apart as he ages.  If you do go out to take a look at the bucks try taking pictures of them and maybe I can help you out? I'll have to pop over on your thread and take a look at Fancy again.. I only remember her from when you first got her~ How old will she be when you plan to breed her?


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## chickens really (Jul 21, 2020)

Jaime said:


> I'd look for a buck that's closer to fancy's size but that's just me, You can definitely breed her to a smaller buck like a nigie, i just wouldn't go with a buck that looks stunted small.. I'm not too sure about looking at his testicles, I myself wouldn't know what to look for there. But yes, I'd make sure he's proportionate. I'd look for things like a strong topline, good length and body capacity, no leg problems. You want to breed her with a buck that looks nice and strong and wont fall apart as he ages.  If you do go out to take a look at the bucks try taking pictures of them and maybe I can help you out? I'll have to pop over on your thread and take a look at Fancy again.. I only remember her from when you first got her~ How old will she be when you plan to breed her?


Fancy will be one and a half years old when I breed her in December. Thanks for the information. I definitely will take pictures of the Bucks.


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## chickens really (Jul 29, 2020)

Any news that you want to share? 
I know you must have pictures I'd like to see. 👍
I'd love to see Truffles and the Cows please..🤠🐷🐮


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## Jaime (Aug 10, 2020)

Sorry for the lack of updates, Things have been a little crazy around here with getting the barn put up  Hopefully now everything is cleared up and we'll be getting our barn built in a couple of weeks 

But besides that, we did a little splurging and bought a few more animals  We've decided that we don't want to raise jerseys anymore. So sadly we'll be selling Annabelle and her heifer Bambi. They'll be going to their new home this Saturday. And because we're selling them both, we're buying a small herd of Irish Dexters~! A heifer, a cow who just calved(She sadly doesn't come with the calf) and a steer for the freezer  Picking them up the second week of September.
We plan on inseminating both the girls once the heifer is about 14-15 months, So in about 2 months from now  Here are some pictures of the lovely herd









And as for what's new in the goat world, We've just started breeding season  So far i believe Hazel, Nutter, Fudge, and our new goat we just added, Demi, Are already bred  My two horned girls, Tilly and Ginny haven't gone into heat for a while so i'm thinking a buck might have possibly gotten to them during their last heat 🤔
Just took them to the vet to get their blood drawn so i can get them tested and confirm whether or not they are actually bred.. Hopefully they're not! I'd like to know who the father is this time for those two 😓


And finally we added 5 more does to our herd! Now up to 19 does and 5 bucks 😳 3 of the new girls we bought are sired by our new buck Merlin, so it's nice to see what he throws without having to wait for 5 months~












We're very excited to  have these two lovely girls in our herd, I absolutely love their confirmations~!
Ophelia, the black one,could use a more level rump and rear leg angulation but i love love love the width, length and body capacity on this girl She's about four and a half months old so we'll be breeding her with the rest of the juniors in November. And no, she isn't that big, I had my younger sister help position them for pictures, Shortness runs in my family, I'm 5 foot and my sister is 4'10 😅




This Is Demi, this picture doesn't do her justice, she's a bit hunched up but she has a nice level rump, good body length and capacity. Could use more levelness in her topline and chine and more length to her neck. But her udder confirmation is to die for! She is bred to our Buck merlin who also has good udder confirmation in his lines, So we'll definitely be keeping any does and possibly a buck from this girl.


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## Jaime (Aug 10, 2020)

These are our lovely girls that are (possibly) bred


First up is Hazelnut, Due on December the 13th. She's one of our polled girls so we're really hoping for a polled doeling to keep from her 



She is bred to our Buck Cappuccino, pic below





Next up is Nutter, Another one of our polled girl. She is due on December the 19th and was also bred to Cappuccino




Demi is due on the 26th, And after her is Fudge, due on December the 31st



Fudge is bred to our buck, Merlin to hopefully correct her fore udder attachments.




And our two girls that we aren't sure about, Tilly and Ginny
 

I'm also very excited to use our newest buck Or, I should say buckling, Golden boy for breeding. He will be used for our youngest does, Had to show him off, he's too pretty not to 😉


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## chickens really (Aug 10, 2020)

That’s good to hear from you. All the pictures are awesome 👏..


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## chickens really (Oct 7, 2020)

Hello Jaimie 
How's the goats and the barn doing?


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## Jaime (Oct 16, 2020)

Good afternoon! the barn  is finally put up  It was exhausting but we're glad it's over now  Goats are doing great too.













Our goats are already excited and exploring their new home. Can't wait to move them out of their crowded pens and into the barn~! Most are pregnant and getting grumpy, so i'm sure they'll appreciate the extra space.

On another note, we got our cows! It's so nice having raw cow milk again  been busy making all sorts of things with it~
They've adjusted nicely in their new home, and Annabelle is much more happy now that she has friends..







I plan on getting them all bred next time they come into heat. It'll be done artificially since we couldn't find a purebred dexter bull.


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## Jaime (Oct 16, 2020)

Some other news going on here on the farm,
Our pig truffles had a litter of 11 piglets a few weeks ago, sadly 3 were still born but the rest are doing great






We also added a breeding pair of Miniature donkeys  So much for downsizing 😅
The Jenny is bred and due next summer, our plan is to hopefully integrate them with the goats in the new barn.


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## chickens really (Oct 16, 2020)

Holy smokes Jaimie!   You really have a fantastic barn. I love all the pictures. Truffles is looking happy being a Momma pig. 
I look forward to seeing the baby Donkey. 👏


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## Senile_Texas_Aggie (Oct 18, 2020)

Good to hear from you again, Miss @Jaime!  Fantastic job on the barn.  And your animals look great.


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