Friday, October 16, 2009

Health Certificate

We got the new Health Certificate for the goats yesterday, October 15th. I had the names, tattoo numbers, breed, and birthdates of all the goats on a print out for the vet, so that helped things move along.

We had to tattoo five kids, and that took longer than the paperwork. The eared goats (Alpine) get tattoos in each ear. The right ear get the herd letters, and the left ear gets a code for the year (2009 = Z) and then their birth order in the herd. So, a goat will have AAGK in the right ear and perhaps Z2 in the left year. Short eared goats (LaMancha) get tattooed in the tail web. The tail tattooing turned out easier than the ears because Dr. Mueller just picked their back feet up off the ground so they wouldn't have traction, and I did the tattooing.

The tattoo device is like a pair of pliers with inserts for the letters and numbers. You crimp the device on the ear or tail, release, then use a toothbrush to rub in a thick ink paste. That's it! Then, the goat proceeds to get ink all over the place. Do not wear clothes you plan to wear in public again.

Sir Guy (left pic) has managed to get the green ink from his ears all over his face. Snowbelle (right pic) shows off her tail web tattoo ink, all nasty green under her tail. The excess ink wears off slowly, and what was rubbed into the tattoo holes stays.



Just a note about milk production:
I'm feeding two bottle kids a total of 120 ounces per day. That's almost a gallon going to kids, plus we are getting at least a quart for house use. We have wonderful goats!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Fall Update


The newest addition to the Quirky Goat Farm herd is Angel, a dual registered American Alpine. She's a bit thin right now, but she'll fill out on Lonnie's special feed mix and some extra sunflower seeds.

I missed getting a picture this morning after I turned out the last doe from the milk house. Sophie, our Alpine who has to wear a goat bra, was standing by one of the pine trees, and the little kitten was sitting on her back. They were both perfectly calm and gave the impression that this was not new behavior.

We are coming off of several days of rain, and the goats haven't been able to go out for browse until today. I milked the goats separately this morning and checked yields.
Orange = 7 1/2 cups (12 hours)
Sophie = 5 1/2 cups (12 hours)
Angel = 6 cups (24 hours)

Orange is simply an incredible animal.