2013 Kids on HIll Kidding Aunt B is in the kidding pen, April 7th.

[marlowmanor]

Can I get away with saying it is a "trick of the trade."

Sure. I'll have to look it up. Doubt it's something I'll use but I'm curious now, never heard of it.

I was just testing you to see if you would let me get away with that. LOL. I am in one of those moods. You were suppose to say "NO," but you are so polite. LOL

We use it for several reasons.
initially we started using it one year when we had several abortions, that was a fun year. Know we use it every year, because not only does it help with any possible kidding diseases, but it also helps with evenly sized kids and big healthy kids as well as helping our does with snotty noses and problems with pnuemonia this time of year. It is affordable, and so know we do it every year, for the last 5 weeks or so of gestation. The hard part is, not all my does are due the same time, so I often give it for 1 or 2 weeks on and a week or two off, it is given at a prevention level and not treatment level. It is similar to giving a low does of LA 200 daily, but we all know how our goats would love that.
It is also a growth inhibitor, some people feed it to growing calves, lambs, ect...... again at a low dosage. We stop feeding it, when most our does have kidded. So some of the does are getting it even after they have kidded.

Can't be given too early in the pregnancy, although one year my herd had rain rot and developed horrible head colds, then pnuemonia and pink eye. And many were only 3 to 4 weeks bred. We used it then, rather than giving 20 plus goats LA 200 shots for 5 days straight, They were given it at the treatment level for 5 days. The sickest couple does also received a couple LA 200 shots to asure they were getting enough medication. Everyone got better, and there wasn't anything abnormal about the kids when they were born.

When I googled it I saw where it helped prevent pneumonia.
Thanks for breaking it down for me.

 

[goatsintheopen]

Your goats look SO good!! (as always ) and wooow..Look at the barn! NICE

OH! I did a drive by of your website and I saw the pic you took of your Traditional Buckling.. he is SO HANDSOME!!

and.. I'm telling ya, you ought to put together your own goat book..

 

[20kidsonhill]

Your goats look SO good!! (as always ) and wooow..Look at the barn! NICE

OH! I did a drive by of your website and I saw the pic you took of your Traditional Buckling.. he is SO HANDSOME!!

and.. I'm telling ya, you ought to put together your own goat book..

Thank you. You are too kind.

I need to get better pictures of him, those pictures don't do him justice.

 

[jodief100]

Once again, I am jealous of your barn!

You have such pretty goats.

I think Torie Ann is my new favorite. I was going to say P79 until you said she threw singles.

 

[20kidsonhill]

Once again, I am jealous of your barn!

You have such pretty goats.

I think Tori Ann is my new favorite. I was going to say P79 until you said she threw singles.

Yup, the single thing is not very profitable. Single bucks on top of it. But I do love her. Her mom had single bucks the first two years as well. And never had triplets, We had her until she was 9. THat was Pippi's full sister, her name was Tina. I bred her to Goldman and hoping for doelings from her this year. Twins would be wonderful, she is looking pretty big for not being due until the end of January, so I am feeling good about twins. She only looked like she was carrying a single the last couple times she kidded.

Thank you Jodie for the compliment, the barn was my husband's doings and all the wooden feeders, pens, fencing are built by him. He is pretty handy. I do all the daily chores, he helps on weekends with repairs, building things, hoof trimming, ect......... Things that are easier with two people.

I am really frustrated with HOt Mamma, one of our new full blood does. I know I kidded her early, but she just wont put on extra weight, and her hair coat always looks rough. After she kids(due Aug 10th), I am going to put her through a series of wormers and see if that helps her. Maybe do a fecal on her. Just really annoying me, she was on a lot of feed this summer(grain) and she be as fat as a house with the amount of feed I was giving her. I am going ot have to really watch her when she has her kids and is nursing, to make sure she doesn't loose more weight. But I am happy with how most of them look.

Oh, here is a picture of our latest project. Not goat related, but husband did a great job on it. He is pretty tolerant of some of my projects. This is a actually my son's rabbitry, He used some of the money he made from 4H projects to build the hutch and buy a trio of silver Foxes. I am sure he is hoping to make money, but even if he breaks even, and puts a little meat on the table, I am sure he will be thrilled.

I researched designs and drew plans. Then I recruited dH to help build it. 4 hold hutch system, the walls are for the winter, will be taken down in the spring.

Here is one of the residents. this is a 5 month old silver Fox buck.

This is a 9 week old Silver fox doe, Actually, this one isn't ours, this is Neeners, We brought home a pair for her and a trio for us, it was a 3 1/2 hour drive each way.

Our old hutch that we purchased from Craigslist a couple years ago, with some pet rabbits and a new 6 month old doe that is New Zealand/Standard Rex cross. We bred her to the Silver Fox buck last week. Hoping for some kits. Our Silver Fox does are too young to breed.

 

[SDBoerGoats]

Here are some updated photos. We cleaned out our barn last weekend, and rearranged the girls. There are 18 in the barn, 16 I know are bred, one not sure when she is due, and another I am pretty sure is open. There are 5 young does and two meat wethers out in a side field. These young does should be due the end of March or beginning of April.

In no particular order:
Peaches bred by Twister and due beginning of January:I think she is going on 3 years old
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_20121.jpg
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_20122.jpg

Tori Ann bred by twister and due beginning of January(10 year old) and 10th kidding
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_20124.jpg
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_20123.jpg

Star bred by twister and due beginning of January5 years old, and we lost her kids last year)
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_20126.jpg
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_20127.jpg

Nova bred by twister and due beginning of January: I think she is also going on 3 years old
In this picture, Indie is also showing off her baby bump. indie always gets miserable looking. Nova is easily spooked and although she does okay kidding, I have to keep a close eye on her, she panics easily.
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_20129.jpg
Nova near the front of the picture and star in the back. Nova is hard to get pictures of, she doesn't trust me. Both my black headed does are jumpy and nervous. The boards are what we use to build our kidding pens and creep feed area, the barn just has feeders in it right now.
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_201218.jpg

Little B and Haley are the same age, both going to be 2 year old and both 2nd fresheners. Little B and Haley are bred to Twister and due beginning of January.
they are as follows from Right to left, Little B, Haley then Glory(open) then Snowball is due end of January and bred to Goldman.
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_201210.jpg


From left to right:
Pepper bred to Prooved it and Indie(pepper's dam) also bred to Prooved It and due beginning of January, Daisy on the end bred to Goldman and due end of January, Daisy gets huge. Indie is going on 6 or 7 years old and looks young for her age. Pepper I believe is going on 5 years old, she was from indies first set of kids.
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_20125.jpg


Daisy and DAncer, both full blood does, bred to Goldman and due end of January.
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_201212.jpg

Some of the girls hanging around outside.
Aunt B in the front of the photo, should be bred to Goldman, but not sure of due date, Paint doe laying down is another one of Indie's daughters, going on 3 years old and 3rd freshening she is also due beginning of Jan. Peaches is grooming herself and a doe that never got named that I know refer to her as P79, is also going to be 3 years old and 3rd kidding, I reallly really like this doe, but she has only ever given me a single buckling, 2 times now, she really needs to start having twins. she is bred to Goldman and I can't wait to see these kids. If she has a doe, I am planning on retaining one. If P79 has males they are going to be really nice wethers.
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_20128.jpg


P79
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_201217.jpg

Also P79, big doe walking towards camera, small doe is fuzzball, our special project, she is going on 2 years old, and stunted from not getting enough milk when she was little. I was hoping she would get bigger. She has a ton of ennoblements in her pedigree and I am hoping she throws that potential to her kids. She is bred to Prooved it and due to kid the beginning of January, she looks to be only carrying a single. The paint doe is Annie and also in the back ground behind fuzzball with her head in the feeder is another 2 year old Full blood doe, Glory, she is also due in the beginning of January and bred to Prooved It. She is for sure looking to be carrying at least twins, maybe even triplets.
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_201214.jpg

some barn pictures from across the barn
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_201213.jpg
the other direction
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_201215.jpg
a farm mascot
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_201211.jpg
another farm mascot: not as brave as the first on. she wont come in by the goats. She is a chicken. Actually Dancer hates dogs and so the dogs wont go in by Dancer.
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_201216.jpg

on the side of the barn
Thelma, is Aunt B's doeling from her kidding in May. She is a cutie, but not as big as she should be. Also two buckling from Daisy from a kidding in June. They are growing nicely, one is sold and being held for someone and the other we are hoping to consign in a May sale.
The two bucks, Goldman and Prooved It in the field, Twister has been sold and moved to his new farm.
and another farm mascot, Rocky. Nope not the same little dog that was in the barn.
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3140_dec_15_201219.jpg

I'm interested in your feeders. Are they the design from Premier? They look sort of like them but I see you have them up against a wall. And the holes in the feeder panels look bigger. I ordered the feeder panels from Premier and made the fenceline feeders and I love the concept of being able to feed from the outside. BUT the holes are so small that all our does have raw marks on their noses from pressing against the wire to get hay. Some got pretty bad. I moved the feeders to the back with the doelings since they have smaller heads at this time and they are doing ok with them, but I don't like them at all for the full grown Boers.

 

[20kidsonhill]

Yes, some of the feeders are pushed up against the wall, the 2 feeders on the one end are. The feeders on the other end, are not pushed up against the wall, there is an isle behind them(3 feeders and a small entrance gate). I don't know if they are Premeir 1 feeder plans, My husband made them all at a friends farm, they raise sheep. So they had the plans. i would make the legs taller if we made more, they are little too low for our goats, especially if the barn has some build up in it. We do deep liter. If they are made on higher legs, there would have to be a piece of plywood in the front on the bottom to keep the kids from going underneath. Even the way they are, if everything is cleaned out a newborn kid can squeeze under. The wiring in them is 4x4 goat panel. They have no problem eating through the wire, but because the feeders are really too low, some of them eat over the top of the feeder. Drives me crazy. I would say htey are very very similar to Premier 1 plans. I have always wanted to try the double sided feeder that they have.

 

[20kidsonhill]

snowed in so a quick hello to everyone and an update. The girls are for sure looking bigger and closer to kidding.
Peaches bag has not gone boom but is growing, along with several of the other does. We for sure must be getting closer to kidding, we have 2 inches of snow, freezing rain on top of that and a low of 17 tonght. Heck, I am suprised they aren't kidding today in this lovely weather. Looks like we will steady be in the 30's during the day and 10's and 20's going into the first week of January, so let the kidding begin.

Hope everyone reading this had a really really good holiday and all is going well on your farm.

 

[20kidsonhill]

WEll, 12 days since I took the last photos of the does, and we are down to 6 days, maybe 7 before the first doe is due.
Here are some new photos.

Tori says hello and come on over for a visit. The barn has the kidding pens set up, Actually, post kidding pens. We rarely pen them up before they kid. Sometimes we don't even pen them up after they kid, since we are heading into January we normally will put htem with mom for at least 24 to 48 hours with a warming barrel. Expecting highs in the 30's and lows in the teens and low 20's for next week. As you can see we did get some of that snow. With more snow due on Saturday.
Tori nearest the camera, then P79 and the paint doe is Indie.

Tori on the right looking at the camera, Nova(my favorite doe) on the left with the black head, Pepper is in the feeder on the left. Star is on the right behind Tori with the black head.

Dancer looking at the camera, Yes, she is a fairly dumpy looking doe, she is full blood and just does nothing for me. This year I bred her to Goldman hoping for flashier looking kids out of her. She isn't due until end of January and gets huge with even twins. Behind her in the feeder I beleive is HOt Mamma a young doe who will be 2 in February, and the other side of the board, also in the feeder is Haley. I have no due date on Haley but I imagine she is due the first week of January. She will also be 2 years in February. I really like this doe a lot. Haley could be due as early as January 2nd.

Here is quite a set of does standing together, Tori( the huge one) Nova on the left and Star on the right. All bred to Twister, all due first week of January.

From left to right, Annie standing side ways, Peaches(should be the first one due), Nova(in the doorway), Indie(center in the doorway) and Star on the far right. I am a little concerned why peaches looks to have lost weight, Will have to pay close attention to her after she kids.

Pepper on the left in the feeder, due 2nd week of January, Peaches in the center and Nova on the right.

Nova on the left, Indie in the center, Peaches on the right, cat in the middle and in the back is Daisy to the right and Glory to the left by the hay feeder. Glory is either due in April or open. Daisy is due end of January and bred to Goldman. Daisy is already getting huge, as she normally does.

Time to head out in the snow, Peaches is in the water pan, Nova to the left, Pepper in the middle, Indie to the right heading to the hay feeder.

Tori is wondering how she lets her self kind in this kind of shape every year. She is a sturdy gal, but sure is getting big. She will be 10 this February.

This is fuzzball, and yes she is as small as she looks, She is my special child. LOL. We purchased her at 6 months old with protein deficiency. Yup, she was starving to death from lack of mother's milk and no creep feed area set up. I was really hoping she woudl recover and grow out of some of her stunted look. I knew she was never going to be as big as she could be. But gosh she really didn't grow at all. She is maybe 90 lbs soaking wet. She will be 2 in February. Yes, that is correct. We skipped breeding her as a 1 year old, So Does like Haley, Little B, HOt mamma have all kidded one time and she is still much smaller than they are. She is bred and due to kid the 2nd week of January according to my dates that I have written down. I think she is only carrying a single, which may not be a bad thing for her first time.that is snowball in the photo behind her, not the most atractive doe, but can she put the kids on the ground and wean a big set of twins or triplets. Snowball is due end of January and bred to Goldman this time, She has had triplets her last two kiddings. triplets out of Goldman woudl be cool.

Proof Fuzzball is bred,She has a nice little udder going for how small she looks. also, Haley is infront of her to the left and Little B is to the right of her, THey are the same age as Fuzzball.

 

[TigerLily Trail Ranch]

Your does need to pop already!!! I cant wait to see what Indie has! How many do you think Tori is carrying?