BABIES!

One of my most favorite parts of goat ownership and breeding is babies in the spring time.  Tonight I was able to take my two FF does in to our vet to get them ultrasounded.  Last Straw Chattahoochie and CBF AGI Wish Upon A Star were both found to be pregnant. Chatty has one for sure and maybe a second and Wish has two for sure and maybe 3.  Both does are due mid-march Along with Wishes Dam CBF CS Paint Th'Sky With Stars, who is already looking very pregnant so i'm thinking triplets.  Stars is bred back to Intrigue and we already have two does reserved out of her.  These babies are Wishes and her brother Captain.  Seems like kidding season is sooooo far away but it will give me something to look forward to during the winter.  Seeing those little goat bellies develop.  Next into the breeding pen is Tirzah with Asher and then Ammi with Intrigue. That will probably be the last set of kids of Intrigue's here at CBF if someone buys him but we are really looking forward to his kids kidding this spring and seeing his grandkids! 

Ironwoodranch A Good Intrigue*S/*B

Now that our new buck joined our herd much earlier than expected, we are going to part with our dear Intrigue. I agonized over getting this buck - did tons of research and was looking for the right mix of genetics to add to our herd.  At first i had reserved a kid from Agape Oaks because she has an incredible milking program and has the right mix of bloodlines I was looking to bring in but tragically they lost the herdsire I was wanting a buckling out of before he could breed either my first or second choice does. The search was on again.  I just happened to stumble across a not so well known farm in AZ that just happened to have a similar mix of genetics and they also milk test and Linear Appraise (two things I really wanted to do here - we are now currently on 305 DHI and hope to add Linear Appraisal next year) So I contacted them and told them what I was looking for and they suggested a buck kid out of their doe who seems to be the best all around doe - Ironwoodranch SJ Pecan 2*D/2*M.  That year she threw 2 boys and I had my pick of litter.  In March, Intrigue joined our little herd.  Since then, Pecan has earned her Superior Genetics title, as has Intrigue's grandsire (on both sides) Smarty Jones.  That year she also tied for #3 on the Top 10 list milking 1334#s of milk and then made the top 10 list in ADGA as well also tying her herdmate Minnie.  Intrigue has thrown some very nice kids not only for us but for a few other herds as well since we do allow a few outside breedings to folks whose does are tested.  I've been very pleased with all that we've seen so far out of this boy and we don't even have a milking daughter yet.  next year - we are hoping to have two:  CBF AGI Wish Upon a Star And Last Straw Chattahoochie. (Sorry my pictures are so bad)

both girls have been shown and have done very well - neither one has placed lower than 3rd place.  Very excited to see what Intrigue has done here. A daughter and son of his can also be seen at www.crazywisdomdairy.com (see Arctica and Buckwheat).
We are also looking to keep another doe kid out of Intrigue and CBF CS SG Ammi who came back to us after being sold as a 2 mo doe nearly 3 years ago. But we keep a very small herd and since I have 2 and will hopefully have another kid out of him and will be keeping possibly 2 grandkids, I am going to make Intrigue available in January.  I am asking $400 for him which is what I paid for him as an unproven buck.  If you want more information on his dam please visit www.ironwoodranch.weebly.com or his sire, please visit Snickerdoodle at www.pecangroveranch.com 

A New Herdsire for CBF

A few years ago I took a doe from a friend who was battling cancer.  She was a sweet woman with a big heart who loved her goaties.  Due to circumstances beyond her control the doe showed up here with soremouth. My herd was infected and we closed our herd until we were sure it was past.  I agonized over whether to tell her but finally felt like I had to around the time I asked her permission to rehome her to a pet/retirement home.
The folks who have her love her and spoil her rotten!  Despite my protests, she paid in full for a buck - literally the buck of my dreams.  I got to pick the pedigree etc.  Andrea passed away earlier this year never seeing her gift come to fruition.  The breeder tried her best to deliver the buck I wanted but the dam wasn't wanting to cooperate with the sire. 

Last night around 5 pm a friend of mine came here and dropped off one of the most beautiful bucks I've ever seen.  The sire and dam I chose are present in his pedigree as Grandsire on dam's side and Granddam on sire's side.  I feel doubly blessed as this beautiful buck was hand chosen by the breeder to represent her herd here in NM and paid for by a very generous lady who really didn't need to do what she did.  I never felt it was her fault and KNOW she did not send a sick doe here on purpose.  I have spent some time really getting a good look at this beautiful boy.

Welcome to our farm Double SunDog FN Brave Warrior (name to honor Andrea's brave battle with cancer - she may have lost the battle to cancer but I believe in the end she WON! ).  He is out of Double SunDog ST Finn *S (Double SunDog TH Saturday *S  X ARMCH Piddlin Acres PV Gretel *D) and Double SunDog CY Honey Pot (Ironwood Ranch JD Curly X Goodwood DFW City Slicker *D) All I can say is Thank you Kathryn Lewis of Double SunDog for breeding and choosing this handsome boy for our herd and Thank you Andrea Brewer for the gift of this amazing buck.  I think he will stay here MANY years as herdsire for CBF. I am blessed!

Here it is, middle of October and our herd is at the number I need it to be

in order to afford feed for the winter.  Now, we are breeding. 

Seems odd to cut our herd so drastically in order to INCREASE it! LOL. 

This week Chattahoochi went in with MCH Lost Valley ML Asher while

CBF CS Paint Th'Sky with Stars went in with 

the very handsome Ironwoodranch A Good Intrigue*S/*B

Stars breeding will be a repeat of what produced CBF AGI Wish Upon a Star (below) 

and we already have two doeling reservations for this pair. This pair will also boast 3 Superior Genetics animals in their pedigree : SG Nizhoni's Joie de Vivre*D/*M, SG Ironwoodranch SJ Pecan 2*D/2*M and 

SG Esperanza MB Smarty Jones +*B/+*S

Wishes also went to visit her intended out at Nizhoni's.  Nizhoni's bred Nizhoni DW Tirzah 

and SG Nizhoni's Joie De Vivre *M/*D (Stars - is Joie's granddaughter)

Wishes went to visit Esperanza BF Blue Sunfire.  

This is a Smarty Jones linebreeding and should be super milky!  

Right now - we are retaining all that result from this breeding. 

Recently CBF Nigerian said goodbye to some of our animals.  This year, the parting was more difficult than normal.  In reflection, I think it's because as we improve as a herd, I see more value in each animal and 

when I am letting go of one these days, I'm letting go of something that I see merit in, not a 

"cull" animal generally.  But my perspective has changed a bit.  We are letting go of some really good animals who are going forth and doing things we could not do here. 

Like letting SG Nizhoni's Joie de Vivre *D/*M go to Pecan Grove - 

she would not have earned her Superior Genetics title here because we have not 

been able to Linear Appraise.  

We just sent CBF CS Hope Diamond (above) 

And CBF CS Special Dark Chocolate, go to Pixie Hollow Nigerians in Florida. 

At first, it was really hard - these girls were supposed to help further MY herd but the more I thought about 

it, what a great way to get my name out there! What if these girls do really well for Pixie Hollow?  

So, Thank you Pixie Hollow for taking my precious girls!

We also let go of Cleo this year.  Another difficult one to let go.  She is a FF, with a stunning body and lovely udder.  She has always done well in her classes and am pretty sure she could earn her milking stars. 

But a small new herd wanted a really good doe, and I have her daughter and am getting the daughter of her half sister out of the same sire next year soooooo, I reluctantly let her go. 

We are down to 9 goats - 7 does and 2 bucks.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what next year brings for us.  We are just now starting to breed the does and we are going to do 305 milk test again next year. I'd really like to do the Linear Appraisal if we can get a stop next year as well but we'll see if the money is there to do it.  

A bittersweet day for me here at CBF - saying good bye to some great girls but looking to the future and what it holds........

FALL is here, Continued

Breeding season will be commencing soon

The first doe to go into the breeding pen will probably be my first doeling of the year CBF AGI Wish Upon A Star.  This is the first daughter of Intrigue's born here and I am super excited to see what she will do.  

The most exciting thing for me is that we are breeding her to an outside buck who I think will be a fantastic match. IF her udder is what it could be, we are looking at keeping a buck out of this match. 

Nizhoni's owns this boy, Desert Nanny BF Blue Sunfire.

I have had my eye on him for about a year now and while Im not fond of his color, I am fond of the udders he's throwing and his littermate sister Desert Nanny BF Blue Sunsprite is an amazing doe. 

http://desertnanny.net/desertnanny_bf_sunsprite.htm

Along with her, Tirzah has a date scheduled with our own buck MCH Lost Valley ML Asher. 

Asher finished in AGS this year, classified at 87.9 Very Good and 

I think will be a great match for her.  She is a good solid overall doe who has earned a 

grand-champion title, reserve champion, Best Udder and Classified at 90.9 Excellent. 

Asher has what I think she's lacking - uphillness.  She has what Asher lacks - a nice rump. I hope this combo produces corrections in those areas. 

Next on the docket is Stars - my beautiful Black and White Blue eyed doe from two years ago and dam to 

Wishes.  Because we like the cross so much (so did several other folks) we are looking at repeating the breeding.  So Stars will go to Intrigue in a few months. A doe from this cross is already reserved. 

At the same time as Stars we will be breeding a new little lady to our herd.  

Last Straw Chattahoochi.  She is also an Intrigue daughter who is joining our herd due to her owners downsizing.  She is one of the 3 daughters Intrigue had this year - the last is owned by Crazy Wisdom Dairy

http://crazywisdomdairy.com

Taking this doe allows me to see how 2 of Intrigue's daughter mature and freshen this coming year before I make the mistake of selling the best buck I've ever owned.  

I am debating whether or not to throw Ammi back in with a buck at this point in time or sell her as a show goat.  She has a beautiful udder, nice build but I have a hard time milking her due to small teats.....

Decisions, decisions.  

I will not be breeding Lisianthus or Marina this year but holding them out until spring to kid in September. 

FALL is here!

Fall is finally here

and with it so much going on at the Farm.  Garden is winding down summer production and with it canning and freezing. There is a distinctive smell in their air - Here in NM that's usually the smell of Green Chiles Roasting but here on the little farmette, it is the smell that distinctly says - Breeding season is here - BUCK STINK! 

It's also time for the Fairs. Above is the doe we have a doeling coming out of (we hope next year as this year she kidded triplet bucks) MCH Lost Valley TB Terebithia who finished at NM State Fair and is full sister to ARMCH Lost Valley TB Obie *D/*M. Now that the Fair is over, I can think clearly and start to plan a little.  WE did have an unexpected kidding this year which also made it's little mark.  CBF CS SG Ammi kidded with triplets and a lot more milk. Two of the three have already left for new homes (any one need a white buck or a sweet little pet wether?) and the last one I'd like to see go soon! 

Ammi will be on milk test - last night she milked 1.7#'s Not too bad! 

I like what I see in this girl.  Straight legs, nice topline, long, dairy, sweet disposition and a very nice udder with TINY teats (not my favorite as I prefer hand milking) 

I will probably put her up for sale in the spring because I have some nice girls with bigger, easier to milk teats. But I think she'd make a great show goat for someone who doesn't like to hand milk (Machine Milking would be easier) Plus she produces nice kids. 

IF you are interested - please contact me at NMgoatgal@gmail.com

The next couple of weeks will bring updated website, pics of the girls and hopefully firming up breeding plans with the thought of having some nice girls in milk for Spring show season.  Also we will start showcasing some of our handmade Goat Milk Soaps.

As usual, It's time to go milk!

Farm update.

It is painfully obvious that I have not updated my blog in some time.

I cannot believe all that has happened in the last few months. As you all know, all of our does Kidded in Feb - March. We were blessed with a lot of does and only two bucks. Happily both boys got to stay intact and will be herdsires at two different farms. CBF AGI Maverick got to go to Milan, NM and CBF AGI Captain America got to go to Tularosa, NM.

In April we were blessed to have Ammi and Pepper return to the herd - sadly it was because their owners' dreams of a dairy were shattered when they could not find a well on their property in Fence Lake. All of the girls that are in milk are on 305 day milk test this year and I am happy to say that it is a real possibility that most of them could earn their milk stars in at least AGS this year. I think 3 have a real possibility in ADGA. It's been a lot of work but I think the effort will pay off in the long run. When we were blessed with so many does it was really hard to decide who we'd keep and who we'd sell. Doubly hard in that there isn't one of them out there isn't worthy of staying here and carrying on the herd name HERE. But I cannot keep them all. Our decision was made a little easier in that I already have Hope and Tirzah kidded 3 does who are the same breeding as Hope - because Hope is in milk, she gets to stay. I think all 3 doelings are finally sold but I sure will miss them. One of them, Fauna, is really close by so I will still get to see her often (YEAH!) Cleo's two girls were a bit of a harder choice but ultimately we chose Marina over Mew for really no other reason but preference. Both are lovely, correct doelings but I prefer chocolate to gold and white. Marina also took Jr. Grand Champion at the Quad show at the beginning of June which really made Suzy's day since she is truly Suzy's doe.

Hope kidded a single buck kid so no choices to make there. Lastly Stars gave us 1 doe, 1 buck and since I was wanting to keep an Intrigue doeling - she's it. She also did well at the Quad - she took 1st and 2nd to Marina.

We did have one surprise this year. When we got Ammi, she left her kids, herd, home and owners all in one day, she was terribly depressed and lost a lot of weight. Because of it she also dropped milk. She started here milking 1.6# per milking and went downhill. Then, she started eating again and started to get somewhat pudgy but her milk kept dropping. I wormed, I supplemented, I milked her and added some herbs to increase her milk all to no avail. Well, about 3 weeks ago, walking behind her I thought....hmmm - she looks pregnant but NOOOOOO! I contacted the previous owners and they didn't think so either but she LOOKED pregnant. So we ultrasounded her. Oh yes, she's pregnant. I ultrasounded her and the vet said she is not less than 90 days which would mean she came to me bred and had good reason to dry herself off - it's time. He also said there were at LEAST two in there. I guess we will know for sure in about 2 months time. We really do not know her due date but at least we know the sire since the previous family only had 1 buck - Lost Valley PAR Pepe Le Pew *S. I wish Ammi had the chance of earning her stars but she will go right onto milk test with me after she kids. I think she'll have her stars by the end of her next lactation. I believe all kids will be for sale as I wasn't planning on keeping any more this year and I have (I HOPE) a doe coming in a month from Nizhoni herd.

Very excited about that kid! She is a cross between Lost Valley TB Terebithia and Lost Valley ML Rigley. That should be an incredible doeling if we get a doe out of the breeding. But tha will probably be in our next update!

Storm's Daughter's - Part 2

This could be titled - "The UDDER view" haha! Anyway. In dairy goats, it kind of becomes all about the udder at a certain point....with a buck - seems to be one thing we goat folks look at. What does the buck's dam and sister's udders look like? What about his daughters. And while this is only 3 daughter's of Storm, I can honestly say - what it looks like only tells half the story - you need to have more of a hands on approach!
NONE of Storm's daughters have the same udder (at least not the way it looks. None of them even have very big udders. But I can see that they could easily have them with subsequent freshenings. One thing I can say about their udders is that each one is an improvement somewhere from their dams udders. This and the top picture are CBF CS SG Ammi. Her udder is softer than her Granddam - Willow. She has the same small teats but as far as milking her goes she is waaaay easy. Her udder is so soft. I milked her dam for a very short time - Dixie and from what I recall - it is easier than hers as well. She has good MSL and Lateral attachments - I'd love to see bigger teats and better foreudder extension.

Hope is one of my favorites. She has the good Foreudder attachement, is snuggly attached and fills out that escutcheon very well. She also has a very soft udder and wonderfully plumb teats. But they stick out to the side some. I kind of hope that when that udder fills out next year that it will push the teats down a bit.
Stars. This udder doesn't look big and for her size - it really isn't but I can tell that there is a lot of capacity there - if she had triplets or more - watch out world. There is plenty of room for expansion - her teats are nearly ideal in placement, has good foreudder extension but could use some lateral. Her escutcheon is a bit on the narrow side but most certainly she is an improvement on her dam and granddam!Like all of Storm's kids so far that I've milked it is butter soft and milk just flows out of her.
I am so excited to see what next years' kiddings with these girls are like. I think it will be even more exciting than this years for me. Not to mention I will get to see an Intrigue daughter freshen as well. It is so much fun to see what your breeding program is doing.

Storm's Daughters

For two years I have been waiting for this year - I have 3 of Piddlin Acres H Calm the Storm's daughters in Milk here at CBF Nigerians. I really was hoping to have this last year but it just didn't happen! I freshened Stars (out of CFB Ent's Twinkle Lil' Star 2*D)

and Hope (out of Nizhoni's DW Tirzah) and just was blessed to get CBF CS SG Ammi (Out of CBF Ent's Whistlin' Dixie) back from the Ruiz's.
Ammi is the only 2nd FReshener but one thing I am really noticing about Storm's girls is that they are consistant. They aren't huge milkers (though I don't usually expect First Fresheners to be huge milkers) but they are very level so far and have very little fluctuation in their milk amounts from day to day.
and I really like what Storm as done in other areas as well. His daughters are typically long, have level toplines,have good strong legs and feet - very straight.They are also very dairy - having good bone structure and ribbing. I am excited to see how the girls do with another freshening and some maturity but so far - I'm not at all unhappy by what I'm seeing. Even though Storm has moved on to work in someone else's herd (Nizhoni's) I am sure glad he was here for two years and that his wonderful genetics have worked so well for my herd!

Life on the mini Farm.

there is never a dull moment here at CBF. It's always something - changes, chores, happenings. Yet, at the same time there is always some comfort and familiarity in the routines of the day. I am not big on winter and despite the insanity of Spring - Fall - I enjoy it. Recently I found that some lovely folks who had bought two of my does a few years back ran into a few walls on their "homestead" and sadly had to give up their goats. Since two had my herdname I brought them back - albeit somewhat temporary! CBF TD SG Pepper

is a daughter of Nizhoni's Joie De Vivre*D/*M out of Piddlin Acres KM Tapdance and CBF CS SG Ammi (means Cumin) daughter of CBF Ent's Whistlin' Dixie and Piddlin Acres H Calm the Storm.
Neither girl had been milked but they were in milk, and came without babies. SOOOO, they had to endure a crash course in becoming milkers! While neither girl has just completely embraced the whole milker thing wholeheartedly - they are actually doing pretty good at it. Pepper is going to go to a new home in the next month and for now, Ammi is staying. Both girls are showing me that they are doing what they were bred to do - MILK. For that I'm happy. Right now we are milking 6 does. 2 are for sale/sold and eventually

We will be down to 4 milkers and a few babies (we hope!!!!) YES, for anyone wondering - we still have several wonderful babies for sale!!!!!
And because we have such an abundance of milk - we are back to making soaps, yogurt and cheese (CHEESE GLORIOUS CHEESE!!!) Something I was REALLY missing those cold winter days without a milker. For those who don't know the story, Priss, our main milker just decided to dry up one day in Oct. (all other goats already dried up) and wouldn't get pregnant so we had to wait until the Nigies freshened in Feb. It was a REALLY long wait! We are now down to Nigies only!
And if our milk abundance wasn't enough, the feathered friends have also stepped up to the plate and graced us with an abundance of eggs as well. Nothing better than farmfresh eggs! And they are beautiful to boot. We are also slowly getting our garden started and PRAYING the cold (unseasonably for NM in April) doesn't damage any fruit trees!!!! Thanks so much for visiting us for an update on our little goat/chicken/veggie farm.

Come back again soon - there's always something going on here!

CBF Nigerians welcomes new herdsire!

About 2 years ago - when NM hosted the AGS Nationals I was offered a doe Lost Valley TR Esther pregnant to MCH Lost Valley Malachi. As much as I wanted that doe, we were in the middle of Alyssa's treatment for cancer.I just did not feel like it was a prudent time to be buying a new goat. Later, I found out that Hippity Hooves bought Esther (YEAH!!!!!) who kidded in August with twins: Asher and Naomi. They offered Asher to me as buck kid but then changed their mind which was fine.
Well, circumstances have a way of changing and Asher came available recently and while I wasn't looking for a new buck - the situation and time was right! Asher is now ours. WE really appreciate the Allens/Hippity Hooves giving us another chance to own this gorgeous buck. He brings together some of our Favorite Lost Valley lines (Zinfandel, Kingwood and Malachi) as well as one of my all time favorites: Twin Creeks BH Baywatch ++*S!

I am really looking forward to seeing what this boy can bring to the table for our herd.

Last Kids of 2011 - Cleo/Ten Zen

This is Cleo just prior to kidding. Cleo was bred to Rosasharn's USH Ten Zen from Crazy Wisdom Dairy. She showed signs (or so we thought) on Friday of kidding but then abruptly changed her mind and we saw nothing until Monday. On Monday late afternoon she began contracting again and 6pm she had her first and judging by the size of that kid - I was sure she was done. Well, we quickly figured out that indeed she was not as she literally popped out a tiny doeling nearly half the size of the first born.
Right now, this is CBF TZ Itty Bitty Mew as her little Maaa sounds more like a mew! She is so tiny and cute but a little feisty thing!!!! I think it was good that momma waited as I think Mew needed a few extra days growth before she was born.
Here is first born, Dark Chocolate and white, CBF TZ Marina. One of these girls will be retained and the other one sold. We are also considering selling Cleo. Not because we don't like her, we do but we just want to make room to keep some more does with our herdname and right now I have 3 doelings owed to me......YIKES. I wish I did not have to make these choices but living on half an acre dictates that we keep our numbers small but we will not make a decision on this for a few more weeks.

2011 Spring Kidding for CBF is done!

Well, this last month has been a whirlwind for us. We've had one kidding a week and obviously I am behind. On March 11, 2011 Nizhoni's DW Tirzah and Piddlin Acres H Calm the Storm welcomed triplet does into the world. They are all 3 beautiful and very different. These 3 are full sisters to CBF CS Hope Diamond. This is 3rd born CBF CS "Toffee" A very flashy chocolate broken buckskin doe. She is the longest/tallest of the bunch and the most outgoing but by far the least friendly. WE are working hard to help her to realize we aren't here to thwart her fun filled days!!!!
Next up is the first born CBF CS "Special Dark". A very dark chocolate Chamoisee. YES, she looks black. She is not. She is wonderful all around and probably has the greatest width of the 3 girls. I really like her build and she reminds me a lot of why I kep t her sister, Hope. IF I was to keep one, this is the one.

But, alas, I have Hope and I am not going to hang on to Special Dark - no matter how tempting it is.
Last of all, but certainly not least is middle born and beautiful little CBF CS "Karmel Kandy" She was small at birth and was really hard to tell how lovely this doe really is but she's grown and matured a lot in two weeks showing me what a nicely built little doe she is. She is a light chocolate buckskin with blue eyes and a great personality. She has taken to the bottle very well and is very independent! All 3 girls are available to go to new homes upon weaning or as bottle babies. We are asking $325 each. Tirzah is milking between 1.6 and 1.8#s once a day and is on official 305 day test. She will be shown at Spring Fling, Quad and July show in hopes that she will follow in her dam's hoofsteps (MCH/CH Esperanza SJ Patience) We believe she can do it and earn her star this year. Buyers can name the girls, their names are temporary but of course if you want to keep their names we are fine with this. I will raise the price on these girls if their dam does well unless someone gets a deposit in before this happens! Tirzah already took Reserve SR. Grand as a FF last year.

Shaved Udder Pictures for Carol

Here is Stars with her backend, legs and udder all shaved for showing in 2 weeks and for milking without getting loads of hair in the milk. YUCK!
Here is what she looks like from the side. You can see the udder much better without all that hair in the way. Less chance of nasty things falling in your milk.

CBF CS Hope Diamond X Ironwoodranch A Good Intrigue

Last night at about 6:30pm Hope kidded with a singe HUGE blue eyed Flashy buckskin buckling. I was really hoping if she had a single it was a doeling but alas, NO. He's a handsome little guy and I hope he will make someone a nice wether pet.
I was NOT thinking of doing it but now that she's kidded a single buckling - Im thinking we may breed her back when we breed back Stars in April for fall kids.

This boy is extremely well built and lovely so she will be re-bred to Intrigue. I may pull this guy and bottle feed him to make sure that Hope's udder stays even. I hate to do it but I'd rather do it than have her udder uneven. Will be watching her the next day or so to see if he nurses both sides or not.

Chickens

Yes, I know this blog is for my goats but really, I have to give some light to the other productive animal here at CBF Nigerians. Chickens. While they don't produce precious bouncy baby goats, an abundance of milk that can be made into: ice cream, soap, cheese, yogurt etc. they still are a part of the productive team here on the mini farm. When we moved into our first house, the ex-owners left us two gifts, their beautiful Black lab (who they told us they were leaving for us) and 2 chickens which they did NOT tell us about. Now, being that I was a Country girl wannabe raised in the city I had NO previous experience. I still giggle about my first experience of discovering our two Older than the hills but still laying occassionally Barred Rocks. I heard strange noises and called hubby about the noises. He told me to investigate. I did and found these two girls wandering the property. OKAY - I had no idea what to do with them but quickly found out and we fed them and found little treasures in the hut built around the well pump - EGGS! A neighbor told us that the chickens had been there for a loooong time and were quite old. Well, I didn't care and we quickly added to the flock - Araucanas, Wyandotts, Hamburgs, and Buff Orpingtons. Just before moving here we lost our whole flock save 2 to dogs who dug into the pen off the ditch. I just didn't have the heart to replace them - yet. But about 4 years ago I got the itch to raise farm fresh chickens and eggs again and the new flock was born. We've added different breeds and are trying to raise an egg/meat flock now. NOT all of them are but still we've had fun trying out different girls.

This morning I found a great article and this weekend I was informed that Albuquerque NM is the Urban Chicken capitol of the US. Apparently raising chickens in Albuquerque is BIG!!! There have even been articles written in the local paper. Personally I'd like to see Albuquerque step up to the plate and allow urban goat keeping too (Nigerians are NO BIGGER than an Australian Shepherd and are usually less noisy!) 2 does per family could keep a family in milk, meat and dairy products and really be an asset especially for folks with food allergies! Since us goat breeders cannot sell the milk to these folks, it would be great for them to have them!

Nothing more fun than having your morning coffee complete with fresh goat milk creamer while watching the bouncing babies play!

But I digress, back to chickens! Anyway, I found this great article this morning thanks to a fellow facebooker who posted it and I think it is awesome!!! Whether you are an urban chicken farmer or farm that raises chickens for eggs and meat or just someone THINKING about it. Here it is:

http://blog.mcmurrayhatchery.com/2011/02/22/7-reasons-to-raise-chickens/

So get out there, build a coop and enjoy your chickens and your farm fresh eggs!

Starting tomorrow I am going to try to post about some of the different breeds we raise and why, complete with pictures. Wanna learn more about chickens? Stay tuned! OH, that is if we don't get pre-empted by the birth of bouncy goat babies that are due - TODAY!!!!!

2011 Kids are Here!

CBF CS Paint Th'Sky With Stars kidded around 6 am on sunday February 20th 2011 with Beautiful buck/doe twins out of Ironwoodranch A Good Intrigue *S/*B

They are both very nice looking kids (yes, I am biased!) with what appears to be good conformation and dairy character. I was debating whether or not to keep a doeling from this kidding until I saw her and the answer is YES! I have to keep one of Intrigue's kids this year and I think this little darlin' is it.
Brother, The one in back with the big white splash is a buckskin blue eyes and lots of white is very nice. I cannot wait to see what Stars' udder/attachments and his conformation are like to be able to decide if this boy might be buck quality or not.
Doeling, whose name is CBF AGI Wish Upon A Star is a tiny little chocolate buckskin with white splashes on both sides mixed with spots.
Both kids remind me a lot of what Stars' sire Piddlin' Acres H Calm the Storm throws but they have their sire's head, and outstandingly sweet personalities and we hope much more!!!! Only time will tell. This is a great start to our kidding season here at CBF. We are looking forward to 3 more sets of kids in the next month so check back often.

We will also post updated pics of the kids as they grow and mature as well as dam's udders and updates regarding their milk tests as we will be starting our testing for 305 in ADGA/AGS next month. The First show of the year is March 26th and we will be showing: CBF CS Paint Th'Sky With Stars, CBF CS Hope Diamond, Nizhoni's DW Tirzah and Hippity Hooves GD Lucky Stars. Tirzah will be Classified by Tim Flickinger at the show as well as she is the only doe who qualifies for the classification. We will be trying to get shaved pics of all the does and their full udder shots at this show as well.

IF you would like to talk to us regarding one of our breedings, please feel free to contact me at NMgoatgal@gmail.com

READY for kids!

The last of the shots, wormer and hoof trims have been given. It's hard to believe that in about 1 Month we will have 4 sets of kids on the ground and be done with spring kidding season. Udders are starting to form and you can tell some of the girls are getting really uncomfortable (Tirzah - who is HUGE - I'm thinking triplets).
Most of them are spending a lot of time laying around, panting and

being a bit cranky at each other but I guess that is to be expected. Monday is our first due date so I'm sure we will have baby announcements SOON!

2 Weeks and counting!

we are approximately 2 weeks away from the first babies of the year. Never before in my life have I been this excited about our babies. It's funny, I am always excited about our babies but it seems that these little ones really are special to me for MANY reasons. About 5 years ago, after doing a ton of research and knowing what bloodlines I wanted I bought Nizhoni's Joie de Vivre *M/*D. as a 2 month old kid. Joie really is our foundation doe.

I like her so much, I ended up with her 1/2 sister a few years back - Nizhoni's DW Tirzah who will be 3 this coming year. Joie had a rough birth her second year - 1 doe/2 bucks and the doe came breech - all I could see was a tail and butt! I pulled her and fell in love. That was CBF Ent's Twinkle Lil' Star - I kept the only two girls I got that year - Twinkle and her 1/2 sister Dixie. The following year my daughter was newly diagnosed with cancer and I was faced with some rough decisions. I knew I could not milk that many girls so I parted with Twinkle and Dixie even though I did not want to and kept one of TWinkle's twin does: CBF CS Paint Th'Sky with Stars. After we sold her, Twinkle went on to earn her milking star in AGS. Twinkle also milked over 18 months as a First Freshener. Last year, Stars did not end up getting bred and it has been a rough process. NOW she is finally bred, and with our newest buck's First kids of the year.
Ironwoodranch A Good Intrigue *S/*B came to us last year after a LOT more research and searching for just the buck! WE had settled on another pair from Texas but through some very disappointing circumstances (for the breeder and for me) that fell through. But we found Intrigue. Intrigue's dam Pecan is probably Ironwood's best all around doe. She does well in the showring, milks well and has scored well in her Linear Appraisals. As a result of the Ironwood ranch's hard work, Pecan was honored with the Superior Genetics title along with her herdmate Minnie. this is the first group of Nigerians to have earned the title through ADGA. We got Intrigue last year and I am sure glad I did - Pecan's kids this year have been sold since before she got bred. I would have had no chance!!!! I have high hopes for Intrigue and Stars' kids and for Intrigue and STars. WE are looking to earn milking stars though 305 day testing (hoping that Stars will be our first 3*D in AGS) I would really like a doe kid to continue the line. But if she doesn't have one for me we will re-breed her to Intrigue again.

I am also very excited to see Stars' udder as she is the first of my Storm kids to freshen here at CBF. Hope is the 2nd. Other of his kids have freshened, just not here for me. Sooooo, these kids kind of are our 3rd generation of homebred kids who can carry on the torch for CBF Nigerians.

It has been a long hard road for us over the past few years but God has blessed us abundantly through the trials as well.