Even hay feeders need latches

The hay feeder has hinged access panels on each end, but Indie has figured out how to open the hatch.

New additions!

I've learned I can't go look at goats. If I look, I'll bring some home. Last week, my online goat friend Diane of Feral Nature Farm near Lexington let me know that she was needing to reduce her herd. She has LaManchas and MiniManchas. As we are heading toward Minis, this was an opportunity to get some high quality goats. NO NO, I mean it was a chance to look at high quality goats and bring one home. We were also looking for a LaMancha for a friend in Louise.

So, Lonnie, Dan, and I drove up there one morning with the goat transporter in the back of the truck. Lonnie got to see some territory of Texas that he hadn't been through before. We drove up through Cordele, Halletsville, and Giddings. Of course, we stopped in Halletsville for kolaches.

We walked among her herd, talked, petted the does, got loved on by her wether, checked udders, and talked goats some more. After some extensive discussion, we picked out three possible acquisitions. The were a set of twin fawn colored LaMancha does and a tri-color MiniMancha doe. Luckily, I had come with enough cash due to a premonition that I was coming home with three goats. Don't you just love premonitions?

I'm please to introduce Latte' (formerly known as Star.)
Right side -

From Goats

Left side -

From Goats

This is Cocoa (formerly known as Rain)

From Goats

From Goats

And this is Calico Cassie (also known as Splash and Chelsea)

From Goats

From Goats

The morning routine

Call out, "GOATS GOATS GOATS!" as I enter the goat yard.
The cat runs out to greet us.

Turn on the lights, the heater if necessary, open the top of the dutch door, and sometimes turn on the sound track for The Sound of Music.

We put feed on the milk house milk stand and after Orange has peed and pooed, she gets to come in and start eating while we get the feed ready for everyone else.
Lonnie puts out hay and feed. The old girls are in the east pen under the barn. The new girls are in the west pen under the barn. Bartok is in a small pen.

I milk Orange and give her the snacks. Of course, Miss Kitty gets the first squirts of milk, and I also put out her dry feed. PLUS, I have a squirt bottle of water to keep the neighbor's cats out of the milk house. They can go in after I milk, but I don't want them in there during the milking process.

Orange goes out, and Hershey is standing at the door, waiting to come in. She waits for me to put her box on the milk stand so she is tall enough to reach the head lock and for me to milk her. I milk Hershey with the mechanical squirter milker, then finish her by hand. She then waits on the milk stand until she gets her defective pecans for a snack. Hershey goes out.

I get a one quart large mouth jar with a lid and go to the west pen. Latte', Cocoa, and Cassie are let out. I put dairy chow in the feeder on the milk stand we built for Sophie. She had claustrophobia in the milk house, so she has her own special place. She is just now starting to be willing to get on the stand without being led there. She is still a bit antsy, but it's getting better.
I milk her into the jar, put the lid on, give her pecans, let her out.

Dump that milk into the bucket with Hershey's and Orange's milk.
Clean the milk squirter, sweep the floor, turn out the light, turn off the music.

Pick up hay for the buck pen.
Let out Bartok.
Feed Charlie and Indie.
Go to the house and filter the milk.

See why my mother in law used to say, "If a woman doesn't have enough to do, get her a goat!"

Goat grow!

The half Boer / half Nubian doelings have grown out nicely. We built a shelter for the four doelings, and we learned a couple of things.

Before:


After:


Goat hoop houses must have frames inside.

Guest Goats

Here at Quirky Goat Farm (South), we have been hosting four visiting goats. A friend needed a quick place to place their livestock because they had to move out of a rental property. Having a goat proof pasture made our place ideal for temporary guests. These four goats moved in while I was in Missouri. Due to the threat of Hurricane Ike, I hadn't had the chance to greet them until today.

First, a wether, half Pygmy/half fainting goat cross breed.


Next, a pair of fainting goats. Also called Myotonic, these goats become rigid and may fall down when startled.


Finally, a Pygmy buckling. His name is Pistol, but Lonnie and I called him Charlie when we cared for him as a bottle baby last winter. He remembered me today and wanted to cuddle! It was hard to get a picture because he wanted to be close to me all the time.

Lots of changes

The bucklings are growing and leaping and hopping and hollering, "MAAAAAAAAA! MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" everytime they hear us go out of the house. They are getting between 12 and 16 ounces of milk four times a day, and they are beginning to munch on leaves, etc.

We're getting them accustomed to being with the other goats for a while several times a day, and hopefully they will make the transition out there during the days this coming week.

Elton has a really odd behavior. When he jumps into Lonnie's lap, he lies down.

When he jumps into MY lap, he stands, climbs, and sits on my shoulder.


We also have another addition to the Quirky Goat Farm. Chica is an aging dwarf/mini horse. She's about 16 years old, and her main purpose is to eat the grass in the goat yard. Goats don't eat grass, and we were having to mow it. Chica has eliminated that problem.

New bucklings

Today we picked up two bucklings from Susie and her daughter, Jessica, at Ages Ago Acres on the other side of Alton, Missouri. We had the challenge of picking two out of about half a dozen ten day old absolutely beautiful bucklings.

Elton is the darker one, and he's colored like a Doberman Pincher. Jon is the lighter buckling, and he's like a line back dun pony, except he has tri-color legs and those amazing cream colored eyebrows.

Thank you Susie!