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.