Well, today was a long needed goat maintenance day. We bought some Kiko cross does once from a guy who had ads that read "no hoof trimming." Well, just because they need trimming less frequently does not mean you don't ever have to trim (especially when your goats live in the woods on soft soil), so the couple that needed it got it today. They were thrilled.
It was also time to give a couple of the kids some CD&T boosters, and since "Superchunk" looks like a body builder, we decided to weigh him in. We don't creep feed, so all the kids get pellet-wise is what the momma does let them have (which ain't much), but his momma really seems to produce the milk. He and his brother are tough little nuts.
The next big events we have coming up are weaning the buck kids, and watching carefully a young Caesar PB doe who is due to kid next month for the first time. The young NZ Iron Horse doe isn't due until May. We are looking forward to having kids born in good weather! Thankfully we have had no issues, although the weather has been really, truly horrible all winter. Our vet kept telling us we would need heat lamps for these January babies, but the Kikos proved as good as their breed's reputation and had those babies up and nursing quick. And the babies were getting around as well as week old Boer babies at a day old. Now, the weather made it tough on ME! so we probably won't be having January babies next year!
With Chuck working and me having to take over so much of the goat maintenance, we will be reducing our herd to only a handful of Purebred and NZ does. We'll be taking our NZ Wild Bill (Terminator II son - we're looking for that parasite resistance and super toughness!) kids and their momma from the house where they have been "resting" after their trip home from Oklahoma up to the country to get settled in and eat kudzu and sticker bushes for us. We are looking at a couple more from Goat Hill to round out the herd. They've been good to us, and we like their goats. If I can buy a doeling out of their goat Purdy I will be a happy goatkeeper, for the time being, at least. And maybe one of the LAB Nikita daughters. Well, I do have an anniversary and a birthday coming up. More frame, more toughness, better goats, more enjoyment and less stress!
I also must apologize for the photos we have taken recently. Our goats really aren't pink. My mother has been a tremendous help to us with all of Chuck's travel, and her nickname is "Old Dutch Cleanser." To make a long story short, she didn't feel our camera in one of Chuck's pockets and it got laundered. I left it in a bag of rice for weeks, and it worked for a while, but suddenly all our goats looked like dyed Easter chicks in the pictures we took with it. So, now I am using a cheapo camera and the pictures aren't so great, and they all look a bit overexposed. We will get a better camera soon.
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