Category Archives: goats

goats, horse

Snowy trails

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Last night, we got another 5″ or so of fresh snow dumped on the farm.  After clearing the driveway (again), clearing paths to/from the barn (again), breaking ice (again), and finishing morning chores, we came in for coffee.  We were originally scheduled to trailer ponies to a pony club games practice, but it was cancelled. So, Anna and I decided to call the next door neighbor for some babysitting after lunch.  We saddled up King and Calli and headed out for a trail ride.  There was over a foot of snow on the trails.  Mack got to come along, but Turbo stayed home.  We did encounter fresh snow mobile tracks, but no actual machines and no people.  We got to work on Calli and crossing icy water.  We will need to continue to build this skill.  We spent an hour on the trails, and even though we only walked, I think the horses got a pretty good workout trudging through the winter wonder land.

Lucy also got to venture out into the snow with her kids, Red Maple and Oak.

goats

Kidding season has begun!

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Cedarfields Lucy kicked off our goat kidding season this afternoon.   Vicki was diligently checking in her all day and came in for a brief time at lunch. She informed us Lucy was very close.    Sure enough, when Vicki got back out, she rushed in to tell us Lucy was kidding and feet were showing.   We went out and after a while, decided to help things along.   This was Lucy’s first and she needed a little help.   A healthy 6.8lb buckling came first and was quickly followed by a 5.3lb doeling.

We only name girls starting out, and this year our naming theme is trees.

Lucy’s doeling is Sawyer Farm’s Red Maple!

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chicken, goats, horse, rabbit

Countryside Organics feed

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Imagine you walk out to feed your chickens and spill some of the chicken feed on the ground in an area where the chickens can’t get to it.  If you came back a few weeks later, what would you expect to find?  Well, if it was commercial feed, you would probably find a pile of moldy feed.  What you wouldn’t find, is sprouts.  Just like the potatoes you bought in the grocery store – when was the last time you had to remove a sprout?  More and more chemicals are being used on the foods we eat, and on the foods we feed our animals.  Soy is cheap and has become a MAJOR component in animal feeds.  One REALLY big problem with that is almost all of the soy grown in the US today is GMO soy.

For quite a while, this topic has concerned us.  The problem is, commercial feed is cheap, and organic, GMO free, soy free feed is NOT cheap.   However, we have decided the time has come to shift our farm to a product line that is GMO free, Soy free, and organic.  We have chosen Countryside Organics because they offer feed varieties for all the animal types we currently have on the farm (and are considering in the future).  The down side is cost.  Our rabbit feed will be more than 2x as expensive.  The chicken and goat feed will be about 80% more.  However, in gathering info, another farm told us that their goats consumed about 3o% less feed and produced more milk on the Countryside product.

Since we know others in the area may also be interested in some of the products, we are starting a co-op.   There are no resellers nearby, so we will be buying a full pallet at a time and having it shipped from VA (that’s not cheap).  By coordinating a co-op, we won’t really save any money, but it allows us to order more frequently and not have to worry about exactly figuring out the next 3 months of feed needs.

If you are interested in joining our farm in the co-op, let us know.  The first order will be going on Monday, 8/12.

goats

New buck pens

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Last weekend I was able to get one project knocked off the list. I spent Friday after work building the shelters, Saturday afternoon they for painted and started fencing. Sunday was the completion of the fencing and the boys moved into their new pens around 8:45 when I was done. We are now ready for breeding season, and the bucks are too (they already smell).

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And the momma hen with her chicks:

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goats, horse

North Stonington fair weekend

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This weekend was the North Stonington fair. We had rabbits that spent Thursday-Sunday at the fair. Vicki showed Devil and WON the walk trot division on Saturday. I showed King; we had fun and won a class, but didn’t do great overall. Unfortunately, King was lame after the show from a coronary band injury, likely sustained while evading Huey in the pasture.
Sunday was the goat show. This was only the second time the kids showed goats; the first was the same faerie last year. After a difficult showmanship class for each of them, things improved. They both had fun and resolved to learn more to be better prepared for showmanship at the 4H fair in 2 weeks.
Here are some pictures from the weekend.  027  Rob and Amanda on Devil for lead line029 Rob and King  042 Vicki and Devil 047 Vicki getting awards 051 Vicki and Amanda 062

Rob and King

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Vicki and Amanda with Devil

Alex and Onyx

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Vicki and Pocohontas

Alex and Diamond

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Alex and Vicki with Poco and Ruby in the Daughter and Dam class

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Alex and Diamond

goats

Goat heaven

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Our new farm is a little smaller than the last, however, the usable land actually makes it better. There is about 1 acre in the back that was made for goats. In fact, it even had old 4″ square fencing up. Unfortunately, it was so old, we had to remove it all to make it goat proof again. It took about a week of work, but today, I finally finished getting the entire perimeter fenced in with hard wire. We plan to subdivide a little and make some additional isolation pens, but that can wait until after everything else is moved.
The acre that is now a goat pen is completely covered in poison ivy that is about 12-18″ high at this point. Additionally, there are briars and other general brush plants growing. This makes it ideal for the goats. In fact, they probably won’t need any hay for a while. The only downside is getting more poison ivy on my arms from milking goats.
Here are some pictures of the area and the herd getting there first taste. It was getting dim, but I wanted to take some day one photos. If you have considered goats for clearing poison ivy, come see the before for yourself. Just swing by the old house and grab some boxes on the way.

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goats

goat herd reductions

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Anna and I have been debating what to keep and what to sell as we prepare to move.  The one thing we agree on is, we have too many goats.  It was fun developing a larger herd, but we can’t stay caught up with the horses and goats with the herd size we have now.  We are not ready to give up entirely (though the thought has crossed our minds a few times).  We have decided to sell our Oberhaslis and keep the Lamanchas.  You can see exactly which goats are being sold here.