Calendula's Journal -- Nubian Pictures

[Calendula]

I wish we had visited goat farms and planned more before we got them! Originally I wanted Nubians, but my mother had a coworker who knew a woman that raised Nigerian Dwarfs. We went out to visit, but apparently we were on top of her waiting list. We didn't get to choose our doe and ended up stuck with Daphne (I love her, but goodness is she a headache ) since only three does had been born and they were keeping the other two. We were going to purchase another doe from a different woman, but they were far too expensive for what we had planned (which I now realize is the normal price for does), so we got to choose a boy. I had known since we first arrived that I wanted to take Stanley home. He came up to me and liked me from day one, too!
The one good part is having to only deal with one doe giving birth the first year. I think with two does and trying to learn on two would have been more difficult than just the singular one.
Because we knew next to nothing, we ended up almost losing Daphne. Since we were not prepared to take home baby goats that day, they had to stay over night in the house. We tried to move them out the next day which went badly. Make sure the temperatures match because that gave Daphne scours. Luckily, we had a good vet who helped us out. But if I ever bottle feed with formula again, I will never not put a scoopful of yogurt in, too. That saved her and the next year when we got three bottle babies, we had no problems.
Do plenty of research! Goats are such complex creatures but after you know, I feel like you know. If that makes any sense.

Before kidding last year, I did LOTS of reading everywhere. Fiasco Farms is very helpful for everything goat! But there's also a lot of conflicting things and not everyone does it the same, so I guess just find out what works best for you. Like the breeder we got our kids from feeds her does a lot of grain all year, but I chose to completely take my does off of it. About a month out from that, they get a little grain and then grain through lactation, etc.
I am both excited and nervous about this upcoming year. I'm hoping for three or four kids from Daphne. Right now she looks about as big as Stanley (which is saying something!), so hoping for the best! And Pixie's kids I am the most excited for. Her and Stanley had these adorable little forehead puffs that I haven't seen on any other goat kids, so I'm super excited for the cuteness and sweetness!
I am worried about Fairy since her mother apparently has a history of "difficult" kiddings. I've listened to what the breeder has said, and I disagree that it isn't so much genetics as it is poor prenatal care. And human error. Either way, I will be keeping a close eye on her this first year.

This post turned out longer than I expected. I go on tangents to everyone about my goats. The best advice I can come up with is to know your goats' parents -- how many they typically have, birthing problems, etc. On both sides. And keep records! I have a list of things Daphne did just a few hours before she gave birth so next year I will be more prepared.

What breed are you thinking of getting?

 

[Calendula]

Just a quick little update while I wait for my evening class to start.

First off, college is officially back in session. Luckily, I only have one more semester after this and I will officially have my Associate's in Accounting! I'm planning on then transferring to get my Bachelor's in Accounting with a minor in Business Management.

Life has been busy. Daphne is quite simply, huge. She's about two and a half months at this point and I know that since this is her second freshening she will show a bit more, but still. She's about the size she was last year just days before she had her triplets, so I'm worried to think about what's in there.
There's so much on my to-do list, I swear. It just keeps growing with every passing down. Luckily, tomorrow is Friday and Fridays are "chore day" so we will be doing a lot of cleaning of pens.
I've also contacted a lady about an hour away about purchasing Nubian does. They're registered and due in the beginning of March. I'm super excited.
We're also trying to get a trio of rabbits for meat. We wanted to do the Standard Rex (my lovely boyfriend is in love with them) but we cannot find any breeders that are closer than three hours away. We've emailed three people that are an hour away. One emailed back, but he switched to Mini Rexes. It seems EVERYONE around here does MINI Rexes.
Looks like we'll be going with my personal favorite, the Silver Fox for meat.

There has also been no snow. Just so much rain that everything around here is thick mud. I'm in Michigan. It kills me to hear about everyone else with their snow while we're sitting here with nothing. It feels like an endless spring. At least the chickens, goats, and ducks are loving the warm weather.

 

[Bruce]

You sure do sound busy, with current stuff and planned stuff!

We don't have much snow here either. Got MAYBE 2" yesterday but it was above freezing most of the day and should hit mid-high 30s tomorrow so not much white out there.

 

[Calendula]

This year is crazy. We've been having weather in the mid-50s that will drop to freezing over night but still with no snow. One day it rained and then froze everything over night. The grass was pure ice. This year has been crazy. I think it has only snowed twice? We should be drowning in snow!
I'm worried that this year will be the same as last year where we had no snow all winter until March... and then into April when I had baby goats on the ground.

 

[Bruce]

And ground frozen so deep it didn't thaw until June!

 

[Calendula]

You've got me beat there. I can't even imagine what that would be like. Was anything even able to grow?

 

[NH homesteader]

And when the ground did thaw we had an epic drought. (sorry I'm chiming in here, since I am from Bruce's neighboring state lol). So no, nothing really grew very well. My state lost a huge number of dairy farms last year because of the drought.

Hoping for a better year... For all of us!

 

[Calendula]

Wow. I hope that you guys have a better year.
The worst we've had to deal with the last couple years are the fruit trees starting to bloom from warm weather, and then all of the buds getting killed by a frost. We lost all of the cherries last year.

 

[NH homesteader]

Happened with the apple trees here last year too . not good!

 

[Hens and Roos]

Our snow is almost gone, rained last night again and maybe some more today.....ground is frozen so water is now standing...it has been a weird year so far!