Glad to hear things are going well with the milk supply. That has to be a relief for you.
Wehner Homestead Kidding Thread 2018
- Thread starter Wehner Homestead
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #292
Wehner Homestead
Herd Master
Completely! I’m planning to get a supply stored in the freezer. Excess after that might go to making other things but that may also have to wait until next year when the herd is larger.
Hens and Roos
Herd Master
so do you plan to stagger kiddings to have fresh milk all year long?
goats&moregoats
True BYH Addict
Glad things are smoothing out for you. A good milk supply means goats get to stay...Yay! I so enjoy reading your journal.
- Thread starter
- #295
Wehner Homestead
Herd Master
Yes. We plan to do March/April kiddings and another set in October.
It will take us a bit to get on that schedule. The Lamanchas won’t be one until Feb so I’d like to catch their heats in Jan and breed them if big enough. That puts us kidding them in June which isn’t preferred but I hate to wait another year to start our Mini program.
So far the only doe that we plan to breed for April/May unless production drops on one of our does in milk now is Jasmine (will be a year in Jan.) I’m afraid to push these April-born doelings too hard and most will get freshened next fall unless some amaze me with their size. Time will tell on that one but Beauty is much larger than the other three so I’m thinking she may be big enough to have June kids with the LM girls.
I’m also getting 2 more ND does that I go Fri to pick out but won’t be ready for a few weeks. They range in age from 4/1 to 4/22. I have five to pick from and only one dam is a FF, from three sets of twins and one set of quads that had a doa buckling. Hoping that means they will grow really well! Decisions, decisions!!!! (There are 2 buckskins and 3 Black with varying amounts of white.)
We have the start of ND lines with extended lactations so that the Does don’t have to be freshened every year. Some will go 18 mos and others 2 yrs before freshening again. I love the babies but I need milk more than I need babies!
I’m hoping the Minis will do extended lactation also. Jackson and Jasmine are sired by a buck that his dam will hit two years in milk as a FF. Both these goats will be instrumental in my breeding program. Jackson will sire one set of foundation Minis but I haven’t decided if I want to use him on CeCe or Sparkle first. That may be decided by one of my other bucks matching up with a particular LM doe. Letting everyone grow for now. (Knight is homozygous polled- he’s thrown about 70% polled at his prior home. That’s not everything and won’t be the decision maker but I think a line of polled Minis would be really neat!)
I realize that CeCe and Sparkle will have to freshen every year and the jury is still out on Diamond, Snowflake, and Caramel. Nellie was hard to dry off despite being bred so I’m thinking she will go at least 18 mos.
Caramel was only dried off because she could have been bred and I didn’t want to take a chance on causing problems. She will be bred on her next cycle to Knight. That’ll give me Sept/Oct kids depending on when she gets covered.
Random thought: I feel like my herd is very much black and white, with variations of each, roaming included! The exceptions are Knight (dark buckskin,) Sparkle (chami-LM), and then the two kids from Snowflake that I’m keeping, Theo and Ariel (red gold.) I don’t see it staying that way over time because I’m thinking those two bucks will bring lots of variety. I do want a chami ND, a chocolate of either ND or LM or Mini, and a buckskin ND. I’ll prob pick a buckskin on Fri or get one from my own breedings. I’ll have to purchase a chami ND and a chocolate at some point. (I know color doesn’t milk but if I’m milking them, I may as well like their color!) I also like the kids being able to tell everyone apart.
Ella, Beauty, and Perdy are black or black/white with roaming. One will end up crossed with Jackson and that will produce even more black and white! Lol Also if I cross Jackson to CeCe, that’s even more black and white. I have to say that I want one that’s marked splashy kind of like a Holstein. I think it’s fun to see what you get.
Now that I’ve rambled on and on, I’ll stop other than saying that I won’t be that person that breeds for color or blue eyes or polled. To me that’s just something that can be an added bonus, milk and conformation are more important.
It will take us a bit to get on that schedule. The Lamanchas won’t be one until Feb so I’d like to catch their heats in Jan and breed them if big enough. That puts us kidding them in June which isn’t preferred but I hate to wait another year to start our Mini program.
So far the only doe that we plan to breed for April/May unless production drops on one of our does in milk now is Jasmine (will be a year in Jan.) I’m afraid to push these April-born doelings too hard and most will get freshened next fall unless some amaze me with their size. Time will tell on that one but Beauty is much larger than the other three so I’m thinking she may be big enough to have June kids with the LM girls.
I’m also getting 2 more ND does that I go Fri to pick out but won’t be ready for a few weeks. They range in age from 4/1 to 4/22. I have five to pick from and only one dam is a FF, from three sets of twins and one set of quads that had a doa buckling. Hoping that means they will grow really well! Decisions, decisions!!!! (There are 2 buckskins and 3 Black with varying amounts of white.)
We have the start of ND lines with extended lactations so that the Does don’t have to be freshened every year. Some will go 18 mos and others 2 yrs before freshening again. I love the babies but I need milk more than I need babies!
I’m hoping the Minis will do extended lactation also. Jackson and Jasmine are sired by a buck that his dam will hit two years in milk as a FF. Both these goats will be instrumental in my breeding program. Jackson will sire one set of foundation Minis but I haven’t decided if I want to use him on CeCe or Sparkle first. That may be decided by one of my other bucks matching up with a particular LM doe. Letting everyone grow for now. (Knight is homozygous polled- he’s thrown about 70% polled at his prior home. That’s not everything and won’t be the decision maker but I think a line of polled Minis would be really neat!)
I realize that CeCe and Sparkle will have to freshen every year and the jury is still out on Diamond, Snowflake, and Caramel. Nellie was hard to dry off despite being bred so I’m thinking she will go at least 18 mos.
Caramel was only dried off because she could have been bred and I didn’t want to take a chance on causing problems. She will be bred on her next cycle to Knight. That’ll give me Sept/Oct kids depending on when she gets covered.
Random thought: I feel like my herd is very much black and white, with variations of each, roaming included! The exceptions are Knight (dark buckskin,) Sparkle (chami-LM), and then the two kids from Snowflake that I’m keeping, Theo and Ariel (red gold.) I don’t see it staying that way over time because I’m thinking those two bucks will bring lots of variety. I do want a chami ND, a chocolate of either ND or LM or Mini, and a buckskin ND. I’ll prob pick a buckskin on Fri or get one from my own breedings. I’ll have to purchase a chami ND and a chocolate at some point. (I know color doesn’t milk but if I’m milking them, I may as well like their color!) I also like the kids being able to tell everyone apart.
Ella, Beauty, and Perdy are black or black/white with roaming. One will end up crossed with Jackson and that will produce even more black and white! Lol Also if I cross Jackson to CeCe, that’s even more black and white. I have to say that I want one that’s marked splashy kind of like a Holstein. I think it’s fun to see what you get.
Now that I’ve rambled on and on, I’ll stop other than saying that I won’t be that person that breeds for color or blue eyes or polled. To me that’s just something that can be an added bonus, milk and conformation are more important.
RollingAcres
Herd Master
Your baby goats are so cute!!!
(To self: I'm not getting goats, I'm not getting goats, I'm not getting goats....) lol- Thread starter
- #297
Wehner Homestead
Herd Master
Thank you! I’m really enjoying my dairy herd and sharing them with the BYH fam!
- Thread starter
- #298
Wehner Homestead
Herd Master
Your baby goats are so cute!!!
You sound like my current obsession with all of these cute rabbit kits that are being posted. I keep talking myself out of raising rabbits! Lol
RollingAcres
Herd Master
Well I need to have reasons to raise them and being pets isn't a good enough reason for me! lol
Southern by choice
Herd Master
After Cici and Sparkle freshen the first time and you re breed them for a 2F you should be able to keep them in milk. Definitely wait for the second udder though.
Different line but Trouble will stay in milk pretty much indefinitely. We only bred her this year and dried her off because I may be selling Henry, and I want Henry kids with her.
Different line but Trouble will stay in milk pretty much indefinitely. We only bred her this year and dried her off because I may be selling Henry, and I want Henry kids with her.
