Getting ready for Babies

 I saw this picture on Facebook the other day.  It was a photo of a baby goat and it was labeled "Bankruptcy Starter Package."  And I totally get it.  Between feed and hay and meds when needed, it can get kinda pricy.  But since we are on a tight budget, we do a lot with what we have or can find cheaply.

Our goats were a gift.  My son bought them for us for Christmas.  We built our barn from mostly wood from our property.  This serves a dual purpose.  Much of the property is overgrown, and older trees get disease or rot and younger ones cannot thrive under crowded conditions.  This helps us thin the trees so the ones that we keep are strong and healthy.

We had to buy the siding and the roof material, as well as some wood for support, but all the cross pieces and uprights were cut from oak or cedar from the property.  

Even the fence posts came from the property.  

We had to cut this huge tree that was in the way of getting sunlight to the garden.  Randy used his chain saw mill to make lumber for the stalls and fencing.  Any wood that couldn't be used for the barn was split for firewood.

The barn is 15' x 15' and is divided into three sections.  The first half is for two does, a quarter is for Mr. Bill, and the other quarter is for feed and hay storage.  Eventually, we will be moving  Mr. Bill to a new location and we will use his quarters for babies.  The hay storage will be relocated and the current space will be used for milking.  

We spent less than $1000 on the barn and fence.  Of course, this was built in 2021.  Prices are much different now.  Since we are breeding our does this month, we are preparing for babies.  We have enlarged the pasture and cross-fenced some of it so we will be able to re-seed it.  Goats clear weeds and brush, it's true.  And everything else in their path.

We were at our local feed store and they had a stack of metal outside.  We asked about it and they told us their mowers were shipped in these metal crates.  They were selling them and we made them an offer of $25 per crate.  Our first three crates were able to build the four gates that we needed for the new pasture.  

 

For less than $100, we were able to get four gates that are heavy-duty and strong.  This would have normally cost us over $500 if we had purchased from the local home improvement or feed store.  Now we are working on a small barn for Bill so we can start preparing for babies.  Goats have a five-month gestation period so if we breed now, in early spring we should be blessed with little ones.