Settling in

The goats are very happy to be home in Missouri. They have more natural browse in their large goat yard here, abundant shade, things to climb on, etc.

I thought that Orange's milk production would decline due to the stress of traveling, etc., but it hasn't. Still a strong 1/2 gallon per day. Amazing.

Moving the farm!

Yesterday was a travel day. Lonnie and I drove from Ganado, Texas, to south
central Missouri. We had our five goats, three dogs, and a rabbit with us.
We jokingly call it the traveling circus.

As you know, it has been 80+ degrees in Texas. This morning here in the Ozarks, it was just above 30 degrees. The goats are shivering, I had on two coats when I was out feeding the critters, and it's just darn cold!

The goats were shivering, the bunny made a nest in the hay in his box, and the dogs definately think they belong on the couch.

Milking Through

Our main milker, Orange The Alpine, is milking through. This means that she is continuing to produce substantial quantities of milk although she hasn't freshened (given birth) in more than a year. She had her last kids in February of 2007, so it has been fourteen months since this milk cycle started. Alpines are *not* known for their milking-through ability. The norm is about ten months with a decline at the end, then a two month break to allow the doe to finish out her next pregnancy before kidding again.

Due to a variety of circumstances, Orange was not successfully bred in the fall of 2007 to kid in the spring of 2008. Her milk production had declined, but after Princess had her kids, Orange's milk production came up. Sympathy hormones??

Orange's production is well over half a gallon per day again, and that's good enough for us.