Playing catch up on the homestead...

 You know what they say about the best-laid plans?  I had high hopes to write on my blogs every day, but somehow, life just got in the way.  First, the most exciting news of all!  We have baby goats.  Our does, Laverne and Shirley, were bred in October a week apart.  We bred them then since gestation is five months for goats and we wanted babies in the spring.  I was so nervous, just waiting their arrival.  Of course, I had heard horror stories about tough deliveries, and all the things that could go wrong. 

Our does are twins.  They are Oberhaslis, a somewhat rare breed in the US.  They are an alpine dairy breed that are known to be mild-mannered and good milk producers. I never really thought about goats but my husband always wanted them.  So my son bought us three, the twins and a buck named Mr. Bill.  I have fallen in love with them and they are always very entertaining.  

On March 21, we fed the goats as usual.  Laverne just wasn't herself.  She was big as a barn but didn't want to get up and eat.  I knew it was close.  I had some work I had to do so right after lunch I told my hubs that I wanted to go check on her.  We had put her in the stall that we had designated for birthing earlier that morning.  When I walked in she was hanging around against the wall and all of a sudden her water broke!Talk about timing!

My husband is good at so many things.  But I guess birthing goats is not one of them.  He told me he didn't know what to do and wasn't comfortable doing anything.  So I sent him to the house for towels while the contractions started.  

My poor girl was in so much pain and was screaming because she just couldn't get the baby out.  Though I was nervous, I helped her deliver a healthy boy!  It was exciting and scary at the same time.

I was beside myself witnessing the miracle that I had just witnessed.  My husband said, "She's not done."  And I, the now accomplished midwife, said, "Oh, I think she is!"  And at that moment, Laverne had another contraction and delivered a little doe.

Meet Jack and Jill, my sweet little buddies.  They are mischievous, yet sweet, love attention and animal crackers.

Meanwhile, Shirley who was bred a week after Laverne wasn't looking too pregnant.  She didn't bag up.  She didn't get big.  For a little bit, I was starting to wonder if she would have a kid or not.  On March 30, three days after the date I had calculated as her due date, we fed the goats and headed off to a local flea market.  Shirley was cranky and was butting at the babies, so we locked her in the birthing stall while we were gone.  On the way home, I checked our camera that we have in the barn.  You really can't see the birthing stall very well, but I could see a tail wagging.  Shirley had given birth while we were gone, and by the time we got home, her baby was dry and nursing!

Meet little Butterscotch!  She is a lighter color than the twins, but then, so is Shirley.  She is also bigger than the twins.  She is happy, spunky, and always into some kind of mischief.  

We feel so blessed to have these babies.  My wallet says we should sell them but my heart says they need to stay here with us on the homestead.  They provide us with love and entertainment every day, which explains why I am no longer offended to be called the Old Goat Lady..haha

Till next time....

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.