Devonviolet Acres

[Ridgetop]

So cute! Great weight gain - nice and healthy. Cute elf ears.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

Very cute little gal! Will she be a keeper?

 

[Devonviolet]

Very cute little gal! Will she be a keeper?

No, I already have five does,

made a promise to DH, I wouldn't keep any of these kids. So, I will have to sell the doelings. I really don't want more milk than three does can produce, for cheese. So, as it stands, I will have to decide which ones I will be selling, depending on production & taste/butterfat.

Calendula appears to be polled, as is Danny Boy (her daddy). Since we are selling all kids, I have decided we won't be disbudding (non-polled kids) or wethering any bucklings.

ETA: Well, actually, we will likely take at least a couple of the biggest kids to a USDA butcher, and try selling the meat at farmer's market.

 

[Devonviolet]

I got this cute shot of Calendula, tonight, when I was milking Angelica.

 

[Baymule]

You have come a long way from your first kid. I congratulate you on facing, accepting and living the realities of animal husbandry. Your goats are loved and VERY well cared for. They have a wonderful life, the best that you can give them. You know that they are destined for sale or slaughter and you can prepare a meal for you and your DH from meat that y'all raised. You know how it was raised, fed and treated. That level of satisfaction cannot be equaled with store bought meat. Congratulations to you both. We love y'all and your boyfriend says Hi!

 

[Devonviolet]

You have come a long way from your first kid.

Yes, we have! I remember how I struggled with taking that first wether to the butcher! I think the hardest, to butcher and eat was our first chickens. It was really hard to eat the first few bites. The first bites, of our first wether, were almost as hard to eat.

Now, you are so right! We are all about eating food, that we have raised ourselves. We know that they were healthy and treated well, right up until the end. We try to keep in mind, that the reason they were born was so their mothers could give us milk, and so we can have meat to eat.

We love y’all too! And please tell my boyfriend “Hi” for me.

 

[Ridgetop]

Absolutely agree! It is hard not to get attached to something you have bred and raised.

My daughter started with the dairy goats and loved them intensely however she also loved goat meat. One day when introducing a visiting family to her new kids she grabbed one baby buck up and hugged it saying "You are so adorable and I just love you! I can't wait until we can eat you!"

 

[Devonviolet]

You are so adorable and I just love you! I can't wait until we can eat you!"

 

[Devonviolet]

As I cuddled Calendula after I finished milking Angelica this morning, I was telling her how sweet she is and how much I adore her. That got me thinking. As a rule of thumb, when one raises dairy goats, the wethers get butchered and the does go on to raise babies and produce milk.

I was thinking, since Calendula is 50% LaMancha and 50% Myotonic, she would still be able to produce a nice amount of high butterfat milk. I think, when I list her on Craig’s List, I will list her as a 50/50 LaMancha/Myotonic doe, and say that if she was bred to a LaMancha buck, she will produce excellent meaty wethers or 75%/25% LaMancha/Myotonic kids. The doelings will be excellent dairy goats and the wethers excellent meat goats. If she is bred to a meat goat breed, her kids will be 25% LaMancha/75% meat goat. WIN/WIN!!!

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[Devonviolet]

Since Angelica is a first freshener, we started with a small udder and small amounts of milk. My first several milkings produced 1-1/2 cups of milk. In the last week and a half, we have gradually incrreased, to the point that today, I got 4-1/2 cups!

I took a photo, in the barn, while there was still foam on top, and continued milking into a different jar.

When I came in the house, the foam was down and I was able to add the remaining milk. The level came to within 1/4” of the top edge. So, we are getting closer to my goal. Her mother, Falina would regularly give me 9-10 cups twice a day.