T is for TESTING

Sorry, again no photograph for this post.
T is for TESTING - something we do pretty regularly in our herd. We love our goats and they take care of us so we want to make sure they are healthy. We began our testing several years ago with TB/Brucellosis. We don't test often for it but we do test periodically as we want to keep tabs on their health. So far we have had no positive tests on our goats - Thank God!
We also began from the beginning testing for CAE - a debilitating disease for goats - it stands for Caprine Arthritic Encephalitis. Again - none of our goats have tested positive for this.
This past year we added Johnnes disease and are planning on testing for CL (Caseous Lymphodenitis) - a disease that attacks the lymph nodes and is marked by abcesses - this nasty one is one that once you have it on your property you cannot get rid of.
It is expensive to test your goats but we know what leaves our herd is healthy and we usually do not buy goats unless they are tested or are from a tested herd. Also, when folks bring their goats here we require testing for at least CAE.
Last year we decided to take the plunge and do our own tests so I learned to draw blood and we began sending it in to WADDL (Washington Animal Disease D??? Laboratory) for the tests.
Not as expensive as having the vet do it but still costly. We believe that since these goats feed our family with good, raw milk and products it is worth the effort to make sure that these girls and boy are healthy and can provide us with quality babies and food!

S is for SOAP.

S is for SOAP...ONE of the main reasons we got into goats (besides all of the yummy cheese, milk, ice cream etc.) I was already make soap when I got the goats, but I was using the melt and pour. I sooooo wanted to learn to make it from scratch - you know - the old fashioned way!!! I was and still am to a certain point very enamored by the whole do it yourself thing. I probably would have felt right at home (MAYBE) in Laura Ingalls Wilder's day.
About a year into getting my goats my precious Hubby signed me up for a soapmaking from scratch class through UNM Continuing Ed. And now I'm a soap maker. I even sell quite a bit
at craft shows and to a few loyal customers (Thanks you all!!!!!) as well as give soap workshops of my own to goat owners who want to learn. UNFORTUNATELY, these computers aren't scratch and sniff or you'd be able to smell the Lovely Lavender scent of this batch of soap.
I make about 6-8 varieties and try to come up with a new one every year and typically discontinue those that don't sell well. IF you'd like to order soaps from us - feel free to drop us an email at NMgoatgal@gmail.com - our soaps are $4.00 for a large bar of soap and YES we do ship out of state!!!!

R is for RELIEF

R is for RELIEF!!! For the last two days we've been dealing with BABIES. Our Little Visitor, Shihara decided to kid late Saturday night. After a very exhausting day working outside I was already asleep and Aaron came in and said "UM, honey, there is a goat out in the goat pen making wierd noses!" So up I get and go out there throwing on barn clothes indeed - Baby number one was NEARLY out but with only back legs. She was no problem. Out pops this precious little doeling (YIPPEEE!!!!)

Now, Shihara was so small we thought we were done. Baby gets cleaned up and we are trying to get her to nurse when Shihara plops down and starts hollering again. UHHH, NO WAY!!!! After what seemed like a very long time of her screaming (at nearly midnight or after now) I'm panicking - she's making no progress and I can't feel anything but a bony thing in the birth canal. Baby #2 is stuck. So I call and beg on the mercy of my neighbor the retired OBGYN nurse who said to call her if I ever need help. YEP - baby # 2 is wedged in

that birthcanal - NOT normal. she pushes, we massage and encourage. At one point it seems like the contractions stop. She rests and we give her her first baby hoping to stimulate some contractions. WE are back in business - Well, after what seems like ages the sack bursts and all we see is fur and bone. I am panicking, because we cannot find anything to get hold of to pull him out - Thankfully my neighbor is NOT! A few really strong contractions and baby #2 makes his entrance.

Baby #2 is a little buck kid. Both babies apparently will be gold though they look light brown now. Momma was EXHAUSTED and could hardly do anything so we cleaned up the babies, gave momma some Penicillin, dipped cords, and expressed some colostrum into the babies mouths hoping to get them to eat. Which begins part 2 of our saga. Shihara isn't making much milk. AARGH!!!! So we've spent the last day trying to get enough food down the babies throats to keep them alive. Buck is doing well REALLY - Doe isn't - well, wasn't. WE are supplementing with bottles to make sure she survives.

Here is doe kid shortly after birth and before baby #2 contractions begin. We are calling the girl Cupcake and the boy Scooter while they are here but they are due to go home on Saturday the 31st - we will miss them.

The best news of all though- both babies are blue eyes like their daddy, also it appears that their conformation is good - strait legs, long strait toplines. Shihara's owner said I did a good job picking out a herd sire (BIG SMILE! I cannot wait to see OUR babies out of him).

Q is for QUEEN of the herd.

For those of you who don't know this, there is a definite hierarchy in the Goat Kingdom. With the Alpha goat as QUEEN. The QUEEN goat is the one who basically keeps the rest of the herd in order. Usually when you bring in a new goat everyone has to challenge each other and that involves a lot of posturing and head butting (usually not hard and dangerous - just challenging). IN our herd the QUEEN is Miss Priss (yes, Lisa - she owns me and the whole herd!!!! LOL!) IF you have more than a few milkers - you know you always milk the QUEEN first or you could be in for PROBLEMS!!! I find it kind of funny that Miss Priss isn't the biggest goat but she is still head honcho....So far the Alpine (Narnia) hasn't knocked her off her throne.

Miss Priss is the most Senior Doe here and has been here the longest and in her mind - that's enough for other's to respect her. Willow, when she was here was really the QUEEN (don't tell Miss Priss) but she let Miss Priss think she was in charge. I thought for sure Dixie would try for the throne but she seems quite content with Princess of the Universe status. She's cute, she knows it and that's all there is to it. Who is your herd QUEEN?

P is for PREGNANT Goaties

P is for PREGNANT goaties. I love watching these little bellies growing. I sit around and look at the does and their ever growing bellies and wonder - how many are there? What color will they be? Will they deliver right on their due dates? Will I be there to watch the blessed event? AHHHHH - and of course their are the trepidations.....will they all be alive? Will I get ALL BUCKS (talk about a NIGHTMARE!!!)? Will they be healthy? Have I fed them enough to keep them all healthy? I hope no one is breech (had that last year - no fun!!!!) I hope no one is stuck (had that the year before - NO FUN!!!!) Yep, this is probably the most stressful and wonderful time of goat ownership. This little pregnant belly belongs to Twinkle Lil Star....she is bred to Storm for babies due March 27, 2009. she is also the one with the smallest pregnant belly - if we get two I'll be happy, If we get one I'll be happy especially if it is a doe.

This is our little visitor, Shihara - today is her due date and NO BABIES! hubby says yeah - tonight at 1am when it's cold she'll have them. I think she has a single kid and she too is due to Storm. We are watching and waiting with much anticipation for Storm's first kids of the season.

This BIG pregnant belly belongs to Narnia - she is MY first one due and she is due to kid March 1st. Most folks probably wonder what we do during pregnancy. Well, if the doe isn't milking we cut out the grain completely and feed them a combination of Alfalfa and grass. I think it must be working as all the girls have beautiful soft fur and look healthy enough. We give them their BoSe shots and CDTs one month before kidding...That means Narnia is due for her shots around March 26th.since February is a short month. We will also trim her feet and worm her one last time before kidding. She is bred to a Boer buck and we are hoping for twin bucks so the kids can show market goats. Before kidding, we clean out our stall real good and fill it full of fresh, clean straw. It's going to be a juggle this year since the three does are due all in one week.

This pregnat belly belongs to Dixie. She's much rounder than Twinkle but smaller than Joie. She is due March 29, 2009 also bred to Storm. She is beginning to show a little bit of an udder also. Normally I don't see this until 2mo to 6 weeks prior to kidding but we are still 2+ months for this one so she's early.

This big round belly belongs to Joie - Amazingly this doe is almost as big as she was when she kidded with triplets last February. I am truly wondering how many are in there as she still has nearly 2 months and a week to go and they usually do the most growing in the last 2 months. She already waddles and looks uncomfortable - I remember those days well - Poor Joie! She was a trooper last year and delivered 3 healthy babies - the first one, Twinkle, was breech presentation and I had to pull her out....Hopefully not again! Joie is due March 25, 2009 and is bred to my friend Darlene's buck Tapdance. I am beginning to get very excited for kidding to begin in about 5 weeks but at the same time - I'm kind of glad for the little break from all the work I have right now. I know that will change soon- probably as soon as Shihara moves back to her rightful home....I will have to dig out the stall, add lots of sand and straw and be ready for the first set of babies.....until then I'll be dreaming of bouncing baby goaties!!!

Tell me about your doe's pregnancies? How many will you have kid this year?

O is for OBERHASLI

O is for Oberhasli. This is the first breed of goat we got into at CBF. I loved their beautiful coloring and smaller size as well as their generally calm, quiet disposition.
We bought a doe named Praline first- boy was that a mistake. That goat's milk was ICK! and she really wasn't great quality. Then we bought Rita - who had great milk but wasn't a huge improvement conformation wise but at the time we weren't showing much so we didn't care.
Rita was pregnant with two does; Miss Priss and Licorice. Both does were black and Miss Priss immediately crawled in my lap and well - she's still HERE!!!! Yep - this skinny, black, goofy goat is Miss Priss. She has great milk and makes lots of it. And despite the fact that we have a hard time putting weight on her, we love her. She may be here until she dies (we tried selling her once and she didn't eat or drink for 4days and the new owner said COME GET HER). Darn goat.
She is good with the Nigies and keeps us in milk most of the year. So far she has had no problems birthing and we just adore her quirky personality.
WE think Oberhaslis are by far the next best thing to Nigerians.......and for my hubby she is Numero Uno. Oberhasli's are another Swiss breed of goat and were derived from the Alpines. Black is okay for does but not for bucks. They are generally quiet and sweet personality-wise.
Their milk is lower in butterfat than most other breeds. Most Oberhaslis come in Chamoisee coloring (Red brown with black legs, face, belly and dorsal stripe. )

N is for NEWS!

Life is always interesting - and I never know how things are going to turn out but here are 2 pieces of NEWS for N day. One - I got hold of Eva at Langston and she is sending out the CD and the tests for me and one or two buddies to become certified milk testers for ADGA and AGS in this area. WooHOO!!!! The other piece of news is that Shihara (Nizhoni's BB Shihara's Mace) who my daughter sold back to Shihara's breeder when she decided to get out of goats came back temporarily to have her kid(s). So we get to goat sit until the babies are born. WOOHOO! This will be Storm's first kid(s) of the year to be born so I'm super excited to get to be a part of the birth. She is losing ligaments in her tail and I noticed considerable swelling in her vulva today.
WOW. Maybe sooner than later. I did not realize how much I'd miss little Shia but her sweet face sure brightened my day - she let me give her a belly and side rub today while she stuck her head in the air like this was the most pleasurable thing to ever happen to her. I sure am gonna love having her here while she gets to stay. can't wait to see Storm's first baby(ies) of the year!!!!
I will keep you all posted and post pics - NO MATTER WHAT the letter of the day is.