Saturday Sale

Friday night, when I got home from my long week of conferences, I immediately prepared for selling goats on Saturday morning.

Sappho

It actually went fairly well, and I got eight girls penned.  I got the five March girls, two April girls, and one June baby, Morton.

I will miss my Brigit, but I really do not need to keep more goats.

When I woke up in the morning, there was a heavy frost out there.

My nephews came and we got them all loaded.

My dog is not a help. He barks whenever we do this.

Sky barking at the girls

Then we were off.  There was no traffic out there, but I ran into one place where there was a dense fog.

I got to the sale barn and got them all unloaded without incident.

at the sale barn

I am glad to have another eight girls sold; that leaves nine more kids to sell this year.

Thinking About Breeding

With the start of September, it makes me think about breeding for next year.

All four bucks under the trees

Goats are cool weather breeders, so I am really thinking about the need to get rid of the rest of the little boys. Because goats mature enough to breed at a very young age.  And Bumble looks like a March baby, and he’s all buck.  So that is going to have to happen soon.

Bumble (born in June) next to Claire (born in March)

I’m also looking at my girls and trying to judge who looks good and who is struggling.  I know Astra is struggling because it was a hot summer.  I think she might get the year off.

Astra

Margarita and her kids both look horrible, so I am not going to breed her.

Margarita

Caroline was supposed to take this year off, and then she broke in with the bucks.  So I will try to give her this coming year off.

Caroline’s girl, Ducky (sorry, I forgot to get a picture of Caroline)

The last one who is not looking good is Sidney.  She just suddenly looks thin, and I don’t know why–heat, raising twins, or what.  But she is going to get a year off.

Sidney with her boy, Frosty

On the other end, I should have several girls to breed for the first time–Pretzel, Rosie, Perdita, Trace, and 2TC.

Trace

Then there’s also Onyx, who just didn’t settle this year.

Onyx (from the weekend when they were so hot)

So even with some taking a year off (or possibly retiring–who knows), we’ll still have a lot of kids next year.

A Hint of a Plan

I’m still annoyed over how bratty and wild most of these kids are.  Well, Ostara is a brat.

Ostara

She’s not wild.  If I get her in the right mood, she loves to have her butt scratched.  But it’s only if she’s in the mood.

I get why the June kids are wild.  I left on vacation at the wrong time, but Zora was already wild.

Zora

I still want to keep Zora.  She’s big, beautiful, and mostly dairy.  I just keep thinking of how awesome she would be to milk.

Then there’s Ava, who is an amazing milking doe who is getting older.  I’d love to keep a girl from her.

Ava

Unfortunately, all of her girls have been wild. Even her Freddie and Fanny–I have a sweet Freddie boy, but Fanny was so wild I couldn’t keep her.

Fannie and Freddie (from May 2020)

But this year, I took her girl, Heidi.  She is a bottle kid, and honestly, she was already pretty sweet before I gave her a bottle.  How many times have I posted about how the two bottle kids won’t leave me alone?

Heidi

Anyhow, I’m thinking I need to capture Zora and Ostara and shut them in the Love Shack with Heidi and Pretzel and Rosie.

Rosie will be sad when I sell her sister, Shelly.

Heidi and Pretzel

Maybe then, they’ll calm down and be sweet.  Because I really want them and I really want them to be not wild.  I’d settle for not wild.  We’ll have to see how this all plays out.