Released new family into common area in barn

New baby is spunky, jumpy, and ready to run everywhere. This little lady is a power house. She and mama did well with the other goats and babies yesterday. Other babies checked out the new lady, with mom an inch away. Fun was had by all.

That is until ...

New baby got separated from mama. Then the squealing never stopped. Neither one of them could yell loud enough. That lasted all of about 5 minutes. but sounded like a lifetime. It's fun watching their relationships.

With this confusion between mom and baby, I put them back into their pen for the night. Do NOT want them to get separated at night. Not good.

Three days is just a bit too young to be released in the common area. More bonding is needed, along with stronger legs, voice, and self-confidence. Yes, goats need self-confidence, especially the babies.

Looking for gift ware sales firm in the southern region

We've decided to expand our market and are looking for a sales firm to pick up my line of handmade goat milk bath and beauty products. If you know of anyone in the Charlotte, North Carolina region, please let me know.

Sales firm must know gift ware industry in the southern Region with possible expansion to the west.

Independent representatives are encouraged to contact us.

Make that 16 babies

Finally Wynonna had her baby. Her first and all went well. Her instincts kicked in a bit faster then some of the other goats. Apparently she had an easy time during delivery. She had her daughter while I was at the grocery story. Thank goodness she had no complications. Even though I checked her before I left and was gone only about 2 hours, she could have gone into stress while I was gone. Enough of the 'what if's'.

We'll announce her name as soon as we come up with one. Gotta go finish feeding the barn critters.

Just got in from the Barn Sauna

What may take a spa sauna about 20 minutes to heat up took my barn about 10 minutes this morning. I was wringing wet while feeding our critters. The humidity was so overwhelming I had to stop feeding and come inside the house and cool down.

The critters seem to have adjusted quite well, though. They show no signs of stress. But then again, they have two huge fans, cool water, and shade to loaf in. After stressing out so quickly with the heat/humidity, we make an extra effort to make sure our goats and horse are comfortable.

Seeing Bentley, our horse, with his nose in the fan, his mane gently blowing in the breeze is comforting. Our vet would call him spoiled but we love this guy and want him to be as happy here as possible. After all, I'm still sucking up to him 'cause he's only lived with us for abut 6 weeks. We're still getting acquainted. But I will tell you that he is so gentle around the baby goats, it's remarkable. His foot could squash a baby but so far he's made no aggressive gestures. Actually, he's very gentle with all the goat and they can move pretty fast.

The goats, on the other hand, would suck his grain out of his mouth if they could. They are so funny. As far as staying cool, they curl up on either side of Bentley catching the wind from the fans.

Keeping the poop picked up has reduced the flies and cleaning twice a day makes the chore go fast. Now if only we could air condition the barn, I'd be as comfortable as our critters. Sigh ... .

Dairy goats for sale

Many new babies are ready to be weaned and move to their new homes. See what our goats look like at our website.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Patty, Maxene, and LaVerne have joined our merry band

I've always said that if we have triplet girls, we'd name them after the World War II trio. We've been so graced. Triplet goats are not as common as twins but we've had our share. They've been any combination of boys and girls so we feel like we've hit the jackpot with these three ladies.

Ah ... my cell phone was fried last Thursday so the photos are a bit delayed. But as soon as I get a new phone, I'll take pictures then upload them for you.

We also had a little boy born about the same time so we put all four of them together. Over the past two weeks, they've become fast buddies and are inseparable. We can't decide on a name for him. Should we call him Andrews to complete the trio's name. Or should we name him after one of their songs. I'm think Boogie Woogie or Bugle Boy.

What do you think?

Make that 15 baby goats

Two mamas delivered twins today. Even the one I didn't think was pregnant. Silly me.
Only one more doe in waiting. I'll keep you posted.

We're up to eleven baby goats

... with two more does in-waiting. Yup, I promise. This is the absolute last year that I breed this many goats. While I get great joy in working with the mamas and the babies, caring for them (a labor of love) is wearing on me. On day one (the first 12 to 16 hours) I make sure the babies get their colostrum by either milking mama then force feeding baby, or by holding baby on mama's teat for about five minutes.

I've seen too many babies become weak before getting their colostrum. To keep them healthy and on the right development track, helping them with this task is an easy fix. Colostrum is truly a magic elixir.

Having said all that, feeding them every three hours is becoming a bit too much for me, especially the night-time hours. I've asked the ladies to deliver in the mornings around 6:30 so I'll have daytime hours to help them. Naturally, there was no response but I'll keep asking.

The second night is every four hours so I divide sleep time in half. That's easier on me.

Do I have to do this? Well, yes, most of the time. In a real world, babies are standing and nursing within minutes or they die. In my barn, I do what I can to help them. As long as I personally observe the babies nursing, I'll leave them alone. But putting a little mouth on a life saving teat is a small task to ask.



I do love my goats.