Live Natural Birth Caught in the Field When we bought our goats we knew three of them were pregnant. Happy to say we got a bonus kid! Yes, a fourth goat was pregnant. Good, but the problem in all of it was we had no clue when any of these does were going to give birth. The first two does had their kids on day 10 and 11 after introduction to the farm. We were totally unprepared. With the next two we wanted to make sure we were more prepared. We noticed their udders were getting larger and their right sides bigger, but you can read everything there is to read on the internet about goats and birthing, and unless to you know the approximate date they were bred--it's all just a crapshoot. The biggest thing we took away from everything we read, was to know your goats. This last doe we knew. She's a friendly goat, always right there at feeding time to get her ration and a snout scratch. Her demeanor is gentle. A regular sweetheart. On Sunday, February 8th, we noticed that this goat was not acting like herself. She seemed almost aloof and didn’t come around like she normally does. We knew she had to be close. Tuesday, February 10th rolled around and as usual, I asked Mark to text me an udder picture. He obliged. Her back-end looked really puffy and her udder was huge. Almost uncomfortable looking. Kidding was imminent! Mark went about his daily farm chores and decided to take some time and visit the neighbor up the road. I gave him a ring and he was back at the farm. We were chatting on the phone when he returned to the farm and he was passing the current goat pen setup. Whenever we arrive or pass the goats, they usually greet us looking for something to eat which gives us an opportunity for a quick head count. Well, one goat was missing. Yep, Mrs. Preggerz. Mark made his way into the goat pen depths and heard the short, soft murmurs of labor. Mark relayed all this in our conversation and I immediately left the office on lunch break. Mark grabbed the camera to capture what he could of the birth. Less than 10 minutes later, we had a bouncing baby buckling! I arrived in time to see him getting his first bath and learning how to walk on those wobbly legs. It was a textbook birth in the field - something we are strive for with our herd. Resilience and natural birthing at it’s finest. Disclaimer: The video below is the actual birth and the little guy’s arrival onto Must Bee Kiddn’ Farm. Viewer Discretion Advised
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Yep, sure enough 2014 just flew by and the new year just rolled right in with what seemed to be a blink of the eye. Before we let 2014 get small in the rear view mirror here's the latest tour of the property's west line as it stood on the last workday of the year. Of course the video shows the state of the west line but I'll also bullet point the main items outlined and discussed. Talking Points
//mr 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. 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 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. 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 SUBTITLE: Double Secret Probation
We pulled down our road bright and early this morning and saw a crowd standing around the front gates. My heart sunk into my stomach. We pulled up and the crowd started chattering away. It's all kind of a blur now, but basically two of our goats were spotted by the passers-by and they were in need of rescuing. They were rescued and they are okay. Back Story: Before starting on this farming adventure, we decided that we wanted to use a 7-strand, high tensile fence for the perimeter of the property with a big charge on it. We would further contain our goats with net fencing that also had an electric charge. We practiced with the net fencing and made sure the electric going to it would work a few weeks ago. Friday evening we set up the area we wanted the goats to start working on when we unloaded them. The net fencing was not able to hold a charge due to the tight space, thick underbrush conditions and undulating terrain. Well, you all know how that went. We left the four goats in what we had hoped would be a safe and secure area that again, did not have electric running through the net fencing. Disclaimer: While this is a blog and everyone's intent is to want it to be sunshine and lollipops all the time this blog also serves as our personal (albeit public) journal. We want to share our experiences even if they are not all positive. Everyone can learn from the trials and tribulations of others. I hope to serve that purpose for anyone that wants to take on the challenge we have. Today: After chatting with the wonderful neighbors who scaled the gates (and didn't get zapped) and cut two of our goats from the net fencing that was NOT electrified, we decided we needed an entirely new game plan. We gave our name to animal control who had been called, profusely thanked the neighbors, exchanged phone numbers, and slowly took in the new reality that instead of two goats bounding around our 10 acres, we now had all 6. Animal control? Yes, animal control was called by the good samaritans, who thought they might need back-up or extra hands. I think the animal control lady was happy she didn't have to shag down 6 goats bounding across the county. Oh boy! Our barely passing average from yesterday at 66% dropped to Double Secret Probation. I could hear the goats echoing, "Toga, Toga, Toga" from deep within the farm. Regroup: We took a quick walk around the area where they had been sort of contained. The damage was minimal and easily repaired (net fencing is designed to be cut and repaired easily). We took a longer walk around the main arteries of the farm trying to see if we could spot any goats roaming about. Unfortunately, we didn't see any signs of them. Our hopes were that because they are herd animals, they would gather up and feel safe in one group. Thinking: The goats we purchased were basically on an open range/pasture. They spent their time in a herd and interacted with humans for food, worming and being sent off to auction. This is fine. This is in our future plans, but like I said in yesterday's post, we didn't have a clue. You make plans, you have a vision in your mind of how things are going to be, and then like the quote from the infamous Mike Tyson: "Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth." Plan Roll Out: What had once been an undesirable place to work, was now the best area to try to trap our wayward herd - the south line! We took one run (160 feet) of the net fencing, heavy metal t-posts and fiberglass, step-in posts (to sure up any sagging) down to the meadow and set our plan into place. We set up a "trap" of sorts. Our hope is that they will seek out food and water and this is the area that they will find all they need. We shook the food can, hung out for about an hour after everything was set up, and still didn't see any sign of the ladies. We left the farm with high hopes they will hang out with the food and we can hopefully trap them into the properly laid out net fencing. I guess we can always change the business plan from farm to wildlife management area...//tr |
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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