Meet Minnie and her first born, Lester. She came to us when she was about 8 months old because her previous owner didn't want her to get pregnant. Well, surprise of surprises, she delivered Lester about four months later. Minnie is a purebred Nubian (a dairy goat) but his father is a Boer (a meat …
Month: August 2009
Honoring Bucky Our Breeding Buck
Father's Day may have come and gone this year but we continually honor our big guy. He receives the treatment of Kings so he can keep taking care of his 'ladies'. Our neighbors knew I had been talking about getting a buck so they called when he arrived. I went to, as I told my …
Goats first taste of tree branches
Last week we trimmed a few plants back to manageable sizes. It's been a while since we've worked on the landscaping so we had bazillions of 'left-overs'. Not wanting to toss the plants aside, we fed them to our baby goats. They're amazing. They are so curious and cautious it took them longer to decide …
Goat Advertising for Local Parade
Lester, Lester, Lester what has Jordon done to you? This picture is priceless because if anyone is a bully, it's Lester. He soooooooo deserves this treatment. I say this with affection because Lester was our FIRST little surprise. We got his mama, Minnie, because she was little and her previous owner didn't want her to …
FAMACHA testing saved our goats
Today is really a day of rest. I'm the only awake; Bob is zonked out and the dogs are sleeping (two at my feet, one in the living room, and the other on the porch). Naming our place Sleeping Dog Ranch was a stroke of genius, even though we didn't realize it at the time. …
Barn activities continue …
Sure we have enough milk (freezers are full). The goats are delivering milk faster than I can make soaps and lotions. But we just can't stop milking them. We want our does to develop thoroughly. Our goal is develop the best goats we can. By best I also mean healthiest. The first picture is Jordan …
Trace broke his leg
What a heart breaker! Trace hobbled around the common area all day before I realized that he wasn't putting ANY weight on his leg. But he moved around quite well on three legs. Mind you, this little guy is about 5 weeks old; his whole life in front of him. I had to help him. …
Cheesemaking with Goat Milk
With so much milk in our freezers, I've turned to making cheese batches everyday. One or two gallons of milk yields about 1.5 pounds of cheese, sorta maybe. Wanna guess what our friends and family will be getting for Christmas? Didn't think so. So far I've made soft or cherve-type cheeses. Some have pepper, some …
