In just 10 days we will have owned our property for 6 months. My how time flies! Looking back we have achieved so much in this time. The monthly wrap-ups are clickable under categories in the side bar just in case I've forgotten to list something here.
We sat down on January 1, 2015 and have outlined our goals for the coming year - it's a big list, but we are so excited about it! Stay tuned!! Finally, in closing out 2014 and ringing in 2015, we would like to thank everyone who has visited the blog. We would also like to thank everyone who has supported and encouraged us.
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Bottle babies are not ideal for the newbie goat farmer, and let's face it, it's better to allow the mother to care for her own offspring. We didn't expect this to happen to us so soon. It was in our future plans, like way future, but not 8 days after unloading the goats onto our property. If you remember, the goats were running free on the entire 10 acres for a week before we caught them. One of the pregnant does went into labor on a Monday morning (while the rest of the herd was lured into the net fence trap) and had twins later that day. Mark was able to find the kids, but the mother was no where in sight. The first kid born was clean and resting. A few feet away, standing up, but not cleaned off from just being born was the other little doeling. Mark waited around for a while to see if their mother would return, but as the day went on, the fear of predators was too great, so he scooped them up and took them to where the herd was safely inside the net fence. We were unsure if they had nursed for the first time, so we bought colostrum and milk replacer and bottles. The safety reasons were very real. Mark spent that first night on the property - baby goats safely tucked into warm blankets in a box inside the truck as packs of coyotes howled all around the borders of the farm. He was never able to see how close they were to the actual fence, but it was close enough. Yes, the exterior fence is electrified, but the drive of a hungry prey animal can override the danger of getting shocked in the snout Two days later, their mother returned, accepted her first born, but the second one had never formed that first bond and did not go to her. Therefore we became her Maa. The first week of her life, we toted her up and down the trail in a large cardboard box in the wheelbarrow, and that's how she got her nick-name, Totes. She was less than 5 pounds 36 hours after birth. Very quickly this little goat bonded with us. She would cry and we would answer - usually with a bottle of warm goat formula or a soothing voice to calm her loneliness of being away from her herd every night. She hung out with the rest of the goats during the day, but because she was dependent on the formula, she had to come home every night with us. So we hung out in the garage with Totes. We watched her grow and thrive and act silly. She climbed on the shop vac, the coolers, and into our laps. She graduated from climbing to jumping. The jump down with a kick out to the side is her favorite. She also loved to put her head in the alfalfa bucket and snort the dust and sneeze and sputter About three weeks ago Totes had a growth spurt. By this time she had graduated from her cardboard box (that she could escape from) to a hot pink wire dog kennel. We would put her in her kennel for a few hours, come out to feed her and swear she had grown in those few hours. She literally grew overnight. It was amazing to watch this little animal grow so fast. Her time with the herd was the most beneficial. This is where she learned how to be a real goat. She learned to forage, to play with the other goats, and began to ruminate. When it came time to go home at the end of the day she started to run back to the herd - risking getting stung by the electric net fence just to be with them. It was then we knew that her time in the garage was coming to an end. We did a test run while camping one evening and it worked out very well. Two days later, she was living on the farm full-time with the rest of her herd. Totes is always happy to see us when we get there in the morning. Of course, it's mostly because we are carrying her daily ration of warm formula, but even that time is coming to an end. It's been decided that our little bottle baby will be weaned on January 1st. She will be 10 weeks and she's a big goat now - more than triple her birth weight. She forages hard, she gets her daily ration of pellets and alfalfa and can drink water. She plays with the other kids, and has found a goat mentor in one of the younger goats. She's doing just fine! It's been a fun experience and while it wasn't in the plan, I think it worked out very well. By the way, it doesn't take a village to raise a kid up right. It just takes a human with a baby bottle full of warm goat formula. //tr
Another letter from the USDA came in the mail. This time it was our Mandatory Program Scrapies Flock/Herd ID. What? According to the paperwork we received from the USDA, "scrapie is a fatal, degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of sheep and goats. There is no cure and there is no treatment for scrapie." It is an expensive disease, costing producers between $20-25 million each year. Humans who consume goat and/or sheep meat and/or milk or those folks who work closely with sheep and goats are NOT at any risk of contracting the disease. There is an eradication program in place, and any sheep or goat that leaves a farmer's property whether it is for resale to another farmer, at a livestock sale, or giving it away to someone, the animal must have an official ear tag with your flock/herd number on it.
Who says nothing in life [from the government] is free? The scrapie tags are free. We had to fill out a little form, that gave our name, farm address, and the number and type of animals in our herd. We received our herd number and they will be mailing us ear tags and an ear tag gun in the next couple of weeks. Easy! When we bought our herd from the farmer in High Springs, he tagged the goats with his herd number before we left. He also made sure that he wrote down each number tag that was put in a goat's ear, because he has to maintain that record for 5 years.//tr It's official, today we are a "farm" in the eyes of Uncle Sam. We received our USDA farm number and paperwork today. Although this is not a mandatory requirement, it will open up opportunities for us in the future as we move forward in our farming odyssey.
We know everyone is recovering from their turkey hangovers, so we thought this little video of the kids playing would be the perfect ending to the Thanksgiving holiday. We are very thankful this holiday season for everyone who has supported and encouraged us these last few months as we began writing this exciting new chapter in our lives. This is a border tour of the south line from September, and yeah, we know we are that far behind on blogging. In the video, Mark touches on some of the specifics regarding the electric fencing configuration as well as future plans for the south line (meadowing). This video brings the south line up to date as far the September wrap-up. We knew there were critters out there snooping around. We caught a critter on our trail camera back in September, but it was only an opossum. We never caught the baddies. The night our kids were born, Mark spent it on the property. About midnight he heard the eerie chatter of several packs of coyotes all around the area. One group was too close - right on the SW fence line. He was never able to spot them but we knew setting up the trail camera would help us pinpoint their movements and provide valuable intelligence that will aid in the upcoming meadow war.
The threat to our goats is real, and as we move forward with our growing herd we want to do our part to help protect them. As our herd grows with upcoming kidding seasons dealing aggressively with coyotes is necessary. A neighbor just up the road lost a mamma and baby alpaca this summer, and there are other stories of entire goat herds being wiped out in a single night. These pictures were taken this week. It's been awhile since we put up a video, and thought you might like to see our completed fence. This first video shows the completed east fence line. I work a town job, so I am only able to be at the farm on weekends or in the evenings. This week it is especially frustrating, because I so badly want to be out there helping to figure out what to do with our wayward goaties. Today I had to settle for text messages.
Mark was able to spot the gals right away. Of course, they scooted off pretty quickly. After checking the fence battery, he strolled down to the south line where we laid out the food and water inside our "trap". The goaties were there! They poked around the area, but never completely fell for the bait. Next thing he knew, they were bugging the dogs on the opposite side of the property. Those things can really get around. Mark spent the day putting up their lean-to shelter up in the moss meadow where they have been hanging out a lot. This area is centrally located off the Fridge Line. After putting up the lean-to he made a goat homeless camp with a tarp, rope and saplings. This will ensure that they are able to get out of any bad weather. The tarp will serve as a rainwater catchment system. He left their food and water on the south line tonight, but will bring part of it to this new area tomorrow while leaving food and water on the south line. We'll continue to brainstorm. We have a few ideas up our sleeves. The one thing that did go right was that Mark set up the trail camera. So here are some pictures of the goaties for ya'll. Okay, this shepherding stuff is proving to be a tad bit more challenging than planned, BUT things are improving. So far shepherd school score is “N”. Remember that grade score from back in Mrs. Brown’s second grade? That’s right, “N” = “Needs Improvement”.
Since our shepherding “Needs Improvement”, the one thing I am grateful for is the inherent drive for goats to herd. With all this being said, today all the goaties are accounted for. That’s right, all six have been sighted multiple times and they are herding well. They are hanging together towards the middle of the property in a live oak thicket that is surrounded by sparse woods. This location gives them security with all the cover and affords them good sight. While trying to gain their confidence I was able to note a couple interesting things. The neighbor to the north of the property has two “deer” dogs. He’s got a bloodhound and a young walker. Both dogs have excellent noses and our goats smell, well, like goats. Now, I just mentioned where the goaties have chosen to hunker down and it’s about fifty yards away from the kennel run on the neighbor’s dogs. When a good breeze carries the whiff of goatie past the dogs they start baying and going absolutely crazy. Once the dogs get all lathered up the goaties perk up. As the dogs’ antics reach fever pitch the goaties actually start gravitating towards them. The farm we purchased the goats from used two border collies to work the goats and two Annatolian shepherd mixed dogs as livestock guardian dogs (LGD). The conclusion I’ve arrived at is that the goats know what a barking dog is all about and that these dogs are not the dogs they know, but they must seem to feel that getting closer to a barking dog is better than being far away. This makes perfect sense since coyote pressure on goats can be pretty high and a barking guardian dog would be an alert for the herd to gather close, not scatter. So, the neighbor’s barking and baying hound dog might be driving the neighborhood crazy, but it’s keeping the goaties herded up nicely. The second observation I made while trying to gain the goaties’ confidence was their reaction to the perimeter fence. At one point I made it to within twenty or so feet of the herd and they simply trotted off towards the northwest corner of the property. All the fence lines are nice and clear, but the goats decided to shy away from the easier walk along the fence line. At one point the neighbor’s dogs started barking and the goats trotted towards them, but once they sighted the fence the goats doubled back and actually came within ten feet of me before they trotting back to their previous bedding position amongst the live oak thicket. The conclusion I came to with this behavior was that the goaties have obviously experimented with the fence and FELT IT. That’s great! The whole point of electrified fencing is the added psychological deterrent the shock instills in addition to the physical barrier. It appears that a couple of the goats have sampled the power of Thor and don’t like it. Although the goats have yet to be fully contained to the “planned” level, they are providing a good lesson in goat behavior. All we have to do is be patient and take the time to observe and gain their confidence. The good news from the second day of shepherd school is that all the goats are gathered together and safe in the middle of the property. A good day of observing and learning goat behavior to boot. Not a bad day at all.//mr |
About UsIn 2014 a couple of 40-somethings decided to make a change. The purchase of 10 raw, pine scrub acres along Florida's Nature Coast started it all. This is that story. Archives
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