Changing goals and speed

[AClark]

So we have recently decided to change our goals at the farm. We've narrowed it down to two breeds of goat, Boers and Nubians - I still have one oddball Alpine doe though, but I'll be keeping her until she goes from old age, she's a nice doe with a huge udder and still hasn't kidded so I have no idea when she will, but eventually I suppose. Our Lamancha girl recovered from the bloat and problems, just to go downhill 3 weeks later and was gone within a couple of hours. I still don't know what did it, but I have suspicion it was Listeriosis that finally got her. We really tried though and she went as comfortably as she could have. We also lost one of our orphan lambs to abosamal bloat; we tried there too but that's a swift killer.

We've added a new commercial Boer doe, Eclipse. She's cute, and has waddles. We also added another Nubian doe, Raven. Raven is a nice girl but skittish, since she was an only goat and was used for goat tying and roping practice. She's seriously attached to horses and is getting used to the other goats, but still prefers to hang around with my horses all day. She's actually gentle once you catch her though and leads well.

I have been so busy this spring I haven't had a lot of time to get on here, between finishing up school and all the crazy things that happen on a farm in the spring, I'm just finding there aren't enough hours in the day. Mother Nature can also calm down a little, it was 92 yesterday, and like 60 something today. We had a hard freeze on April 7th, with snow. We haven't gotten rain so it's super dry and the grass is non-existent so far, though they are calling for rain on Saturday and I hope it's a nice soaking all day storm. This time last year I had knee deep grass, this year, I'm still feeding round bales.

June kiddings will be:
JD (reg. Nubian buck) x Bonnie (Nubian)
JD x Betty (Bonnies twin)
JD x Clara (Nubian) - will retain any doe kids, Clara is up in years
JD x Sarah (commercial Boer) - keeping doe kid(s) maybe and selling Sarah for sure
JD x Maggie (comm. Boer) - retaining doe kid(s) and possibly selling Maggie
Boer x Missy (Alpine - not sure when she's due, probably before June) - not sure if I want to keep anything here.

August/September
Crusader (reg FB Boer buck) x Spoiled (comm. Boer)
Crusader x Eclipse (comm Boer)
JD x Raven (Nubian)

Eclipse:

Raven:

 

[Latestarter]

Love the new signature. Glad to hear you have clarity on the future direction.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Sorry ya are sooo busy....but, sure Glad that it is making the turn for the better....the new additions look well and so does the possibilities of colors and markings in all of the offspring ya got coming....

 

[Baymule]

If you are going to be feeding animals, you might as well feed registered stock or commercial with value, so you can sell them. You were pretty scattered on your breeds, maybe you just had to sample different breeds to figure out what you really wanted.

I really like Eclipse's color!

 

[AClark]

That's pretty much it, I started out with the pygmy/Nigerians but they don't produce enough in meat or milk to be worth the trouble for my family, they did sell well though, lots of folks like little cute goats instead of the big ones. Actually, started out more for the milk part, but DH, after spending a lot of time in the Middle East, insists that goat is very tasty, lol. I have never had goat that I know of, but I'm a big fan of lamb and mutton, so I'll give it a shot.
I know I like making cheese out of goat milk, so higher milk production was important to me. Aside from that, having a freezer full of meat helps a lot on the grocery bill.
We had "Pulled Petunia" for dinner last night, it was really good. I used a shoulder roast, bone in, cooked it down in the crockpot all day and shredded it.
The biggest money sink is feeding horses, they cost about as much as all the goats and chickens cost to feed.

Fred, I should get some neat colors out of the Nubians. Our bucks parents are both spotted, but he isn't, and two of my does are spotted, one is a paint, and the other two are just solid. Out of the Boers, our buck is spotted, but all the does are traditionally marked except Ruby and she's a solid red. Not sure what I'll get there, probably more traditionals, and maybe some spots.

The chickens are good and productive and I like that. I also went to a poultry auction and picked up cheap roosters ($0.50-2 each) for the freezer. It works out well, I butcher my excess ones, and people try to sell theirs but they don't sell for more than a couple dollars each anyway so they are worth more in meat than that.

 

[Baymule]

Horses are a hole in my pocket that I dump money in. And I torture myself looking at kill pen sites, thanks to you! I can't justify another horse, guess I'll have to wait on my two old seniors to go to that great pasture in the sky.

You should get some good colors with those genetics on your goats. I love moon spots!

We are raising 50-something Cornish Cross at the moment. I ordered 30, a week before they arrived, we walked into TSC. The manager said she had more chicks coming in and had to get rid of the Cornish Cross chicks that she had-a week old. Take all you want! We got 25. I need my head examined. We'll see how it goes.

Do you can any of the chicken meat or can broth? I simmer the bony back pieces, can the broth, then can the back pieces with a cup of cooked rice per quart, for dog food. They love it. I also can leg and thigh meat, it makes almost instant chicken soup, chicken salad, chicken mole' ............

 

[AClark]

I haven't canned chicken yet. I'm not sure I want to, lol. It kind of reminds me of those whole chicken in a can things, lol. I have some leftover parts from the processor that is going to go in with rice for dog food though.

Missy the Alpine kidded yesterday afternoon. Twin doelings, both are Alpine marked (they have a Boer father).

 

[Hens and Roos]

Congrats!

 

[Wehner Homestead]

Congrats on a healthy delivery with cute doelings!

 

[Bruce]

I need my head examined. We'll see how it goes.

25 for your freezer, 25 for @Devonviolet's and 25 for @Latestarter's