Some Goat Notes

Cutie and Ava are doing well in the new building.

Cutie and Ava

The pen is big enough that they can get some exercise but small enough to keep them from getting worn out.

Cutie and Ava in their pen

I did get the three bucks put up north last weekend.

BJ watching Jaques and Herky fighting

Of course, when Jaques saw the rest of the herd go out to pasture, he snuck out.  Luckily, I was watching, so I knew where to patch the fence.

Jaques and Herky

Now they are all in there!

Jaques, Herky, and BJ

The pasture looks really good on the bottom.

That green is deceptive though.

Estella and Cruella

We mowed the brown tops off the tall grass, and there is a bit of new growth underneath, but we are so horribly dry now.

Moxie (still wearing a horn apparatus)

We really need rain.

The Buck Conundrum

I have a problem with bringing bucks to the farm.  They get sick. They die.

Sam

Seriously, I cannot seem to keep them healthy.

Grover Street (had pneumonia; I sold him and he apparently really bulked up)

For the first however many years, I know now it was copper.

Boeris Van de Yell

That’s why I didn’t get a new buck for several years as I tried to figure out the copper.  Then I finally brought Benji to the farm.

Benji

That didn’t work out well. So I don’t know what to do because I still need new blood.  I have two bucks, but they are both Osboer bucks.

Xerxes is a Fionn baby

One option would be to buy a buck and just sell it after the breeding season.  But I’m not sure I like bringing bucks here and selling them because every new goat I bring comes with the possibility of new health risks.

Frodo is a Fionn grandbaby

The other option is to see if I can keep a Benji buck if I have one that is nice looking because the boys who are born here seem to do just fine.  That’s not totally new blood, but the only Benji baby I’ve kept is Ostara, and Sidney or LilyAnn would be a good option for keeping a Benji buck.

Sidney is bred to Benji

I guess we’ll have to just wait and see what happens with the Benji kids before I have to worry about it.

Last Names

In addition to my Osboer goats that I talked about yesterday, I’ve had several other lines.  My first buck that wasn’t an Osboer was Grover.  He was named when I was on a roll of names from Sesame Street, so his last name was Street.

Grover Street

I have only one Street goat left on the farm–Dolly.  She wasn’t Grover’s kid, but she came from Millie and Grover’s boy Bam Bam.  She’s the only kid I kept from Bam Bam.  I can’t believe she’s my last Street girl.  There were a lot of them.

Dolly Ann Street

After Grover, I got Jack Blackboer.  He was naturally polled, but he also carried a genetic defect that caused me to lose kids, so I sold him and didn’t keep many of his kids.

Jack Blackboer

The only two left are Casey and Bambi.

Casey Blackboer

Bambi Blackboer

Although, I do have four grandkids from him:  Cinnamon, Haley, Coral, and Victoria. [Edit: and Chiffon. How could I forget Chiffon?]

Cinnamon Blackboer

Beoris van de Yell was the next buck.  He was here for several years, but he gave me kids with huge heads, so I decided not to breed with him anymore.

Boeris van de Yell

I still have several van de Yell girls–Maisie, Joani, Reva, Gidget, Wanda, and Hilda.

Maisie

Joani

Reva

Gidget

Wanda

Hilda

By this time, I was milking mostly Boer goats, and they are meat goats, so I brought home Sam Goodberry.  He gave me most of my milking girls.

Sam Goodberry

I still have quite a few of his kids (and some grandkids).

Cutie Pie Goodberry

With selling Tiger, I won’t have any new Goodberry kids born on the farm (I don’t plan on keeping any of his bucks, but we’ll see if I want an insurance buck for making the perfect kid).

Lemuel Goodberry

That means all of my kids next year will be Osboers and for the first time we’ll have Butterboer kids from Benji.

Benji Butterboer

I’m excited to see what his kids will look like.