Kidding Season - Annie's Doeling

Tricia keeps tight records and announced to me that Annie's due date was today, January 17th.  Plus it is a full moon.  Annie is our 9 year old Nubian momma goat.  We happened to be outside when the labor began, and we coaxed Annie to push.  Hooves pointed outward and we see the little face.  Everything seems to be positioned right.

In three shakes of a billy goat's tail, the little kid was on the ground.  We checked it out and it is a doeling?  Healthy, active and vocal.  Annie began licking her to get her all cleaned up.  She scratched the ground all around and threatened all the chickens who wanted to venture too close.

Annie's teats are huge, and as a dairy goat, that is a good thing, except Annie's bags are messed up.  Mastitis in the past have rendered her unable to provide any milk to her offspring.  Therefore we have goat colostrum that we'll bottle feed and then this little doeling will be a bottle baby.

At first, she didn't get the sucking reflex too good, but after a second trip to the barn, Tricia had her draining the bottle.

She has all kinds of interesting markings on her face!  

We welcome yet another kid to the homestead.  Now we have to figure out a name for this new arrival.

Milking Agnes, the Goat

Agnes is our La Mancha goat.  She gave birth to Cupcake about six months ago.  We haven't weaned Cupcake yet, but that day is coming soon.  Last week we took blood samples from Agnes and sent them off.  We wanted to test for all the common diseases and things that could pass through the milk and get us sick.  We got the test back and Agnes got a clean bill of health.

We wanted to do a "test" milking in order to see what type of a milker she is.  Will she be calm?  Will she kick?  Goats have only 2 teats whereas cows have 4.  Pound for pound goats are very productive.  Their milk is naturally homogenized.  Unlike cows, where the cream rises to the top, goat milk and cream is combined and doesn't separate like cows.  Here is a look at Agnes' bag.  She has a nice bag full of milk.  We put her up on the goat milking stanchion and hobble her back leg to the stanchion with a lead rope.

I built this stanchion from plans that I found in a magazine many years ago.  It has held up well over the years and is a very useful tool to have.  We put Agnes' head in the head gate and close it around her neck.  As a result, she is unable to pull her head out.  We also feed her some sweet feed in the trough to keep her otherwise occupied.

Tricia uses a quart jar with a muslin rag rubber banded around the opening.  It acts as a filter to keep out dust, hay, hair and other particles we don't want in the milk.

Milking a goat is quick work - if the animal is behaving.  Annie, our Nubian goat, did not behave.  She was not a good milker at all.  She would kick and thrash about.  She would sit down.  Just horrible.  I thought many times about putting her on the barbecue pit.  However, she delivers beautiful baby goats.

Fortunately, Agnes is a good milker.  No shenanigans like with Annie.

Tricia is a diligent milk maid.  She is determined and serious in her work.  In no time flat she was done.  This is a little bit of the milk from Agnes the La Mancha dairy goat.  It is a lot whiter in color than cows' milk.  We put it in the fridge to chill it.

When it was chilled, Tricia asked if I wanted a taste.  I've never been a fan of goat milk.  It is great in keifer or cheese, but as far as drinking it?  To me, it always had a sharp taste.  However, that was Annie's milk.  I tasted it.  Pretty good stuff!  La Mancha goat milk is much better, to me, than Nubian.  I could drink this plain just like cows' milk.  Once we wean, we plan on getting all the milk and we'll make keifer and goat cheese.

I'm Not Kidding - But Agnes and Annie Are

Early spring.  It's kidding time.  Buckwheat did his job and bred Agnes and Annie.  On February 25th, Tricia let me know that Agnes would be the first to kid.  Here bag was growing larger by the minute.  Sure enough, in the evening Agnes starting acting funny, making strange noises.  We got her into the barn where she could be isolated from the others.  Soon she was laying in the corner crying.  It's her first kidding and it I can gather from all the racket that it is not a pleasant experience for her.

Soon things started moving, we could see something coming out.  Trouble was, we couldn't see anything.  Agnes was really crying with each push.  It didn't seem like there was any movement in the delivery.  We didn't know if the baby was positioned correctly or if we'd need to pull the baby out.

We've learned to be patient and let things take its course.  In most instances, they can (and will) handle most things on their own just fine, thank you very much.  We saw the head first and could see the tongue moving.  Once the head was out, the delivery progressed quickly.  

The baby seemed to be healthy and Agnes seemed calm and relaxed again.  It was a happy, peaceful time in the barn.  Most times we've had triplets or twins, this time only a single.  And it's a doeling.  We decided to name her Cupcake.

We'll have better photos a little later.  There is a problem with Cupcake, though.  She has a deficiency in Selenium and Vitamin E.  This results in really tight tendons on the front legs.  They are curled and she stands on her knees.  If you try to straighten her bent legs, they are very tight.  Tricia purchased some selenium paste and vitamin E and has been treating her.  This deficiency also contributes to an issue with nursing.  So Tricia is being the country vet to Cupcake and is also bottle feeding her with colostrum we have stored in the freezer.  Cupcake's getting better.  She was nursing on her own today, so Tricia will soon stop bottle feeding her.  We'll have updates and reports later.

Two days later, on February 27th, Annie gave birth to a single buckling.  He is a healthy little fellow, tall and playful, energetic and strong.  We haven't named him yet.  While he's healthy, unfortunately, Annie is not.  Annie is a big goat, a pretty goat - but she has had mastitis issues in her bag over the years.  She is 8 years old and her bag, although enormous, will yield no milk. 

So Tricia is bottle feeding the little guy several times a day.  He is strong.  Sadly, because Annie is unable to provide milk, he cannot nurse and considers Tricia to be his momma.  He's not really bonded with Annie.

Two little goats on the pasture.  You've "goat" to be kidding me!

Matilda's Horns

Matilda is our new Nubian kid who was born to Annie not long ago.  When the last set of triplets were born, we didn't de-horn (dis-bud) them.  We learned our lesson.  Many times in the following weeks and months, we heard crying out in the pasture only to go out and find that the goats had put their heads through the fence to eat green grass and got stuck in the fence.  While they could get their heads through the fence, when they went to pull out, their horns caught.

We'd run out and free them, but they are dim bulbs.  They would inevitably get stuck again.  It is not safe for them to have horns.  Furthermore, it is not safe for us.  Those horns can quickly put out your eye if you are not careful.  Of course to leave horns or remove them is a matter personal due the goat owner and there are strong opinions either way.

We decided to dis-bud Matilda when she was about 2 weeks old.  You could just feel the little nubs of her horns on her little head.

I used our cow clippers to trim the hair away from the horn buds.  We are using Dr. Naylor's De-Horning paste and we want to ensure the paste makes good contact with the horn bud area.

Then, using gloves, I held Matilda's head firmly and applied the paste on her horns and in a ring around the base of the horn.  Dr. Naylor's De-horning paste is made with Calcium Hydroxide and Sodium Hydroxide.  It prevents horn growth.

This stuff will burn you.  You want to make sure it doesn't get on you.  You also want to make sure it doesn't get in the animal's eyes.  To prevent this, we make a 'cap' over the paste area with duct tape.  Matilda cried and cried.  

Annie, the momma goat, did not like hearing her baby cry.  She poked her head up above the gate to the next stall to check things out.  

After 40 minutes we took the duct tape cap off Matilda's head and neutralized the de-horning paste with vinegar.  Matilda was back to her normal self, so while the de-horning paste caused some momentary discomfort, it ended quickly.  And hopefully we will see that the paste prevented horn growth so that Matilda won't get her head stuck in the fence and won't poke our eyes out.

New Kid in Town 2020

The days are getting longer!  Now it is still daylight when I get home from work.  On April 27th, I was working in the garden after work and Tricia hollered at me from across the pasture, "Annie had a baby!"  I ran out to meet her and found Annie standing over her little kid.  In her previous three pregnancies, she's had triplets.  When she only had one on the ground, Tricia and I made a thorough search of the pasture, looking for her missing babies.

We found no additional babies.  Annie only had one baby this time.  The next thing we always check is the sex.  Did she have a buckling or a doeling.  We lifted the legs to find...  A Doeling!  Got a girl.  Good news.  I hope this carries over to the dairy cows.  We've had nothing but bulls for the last six pregnancies.

The little one is a strong little thing and got up on shaky legs and began nursing.

I picked up the little one and Annie followed us to the barn.  We wanted to make sure they had a clean, dry place for the night.  Annie delivered her placenta and began nudging the baby to drink more.  We stayed and watched to ensure that she got her colostrum so she'll be strong and her immune system healthy.

Little goats always bring such excitement to our little farm when they are born.  They are playful, mischievous, and personality by the boatload.  She was giving Tricia a kiss on the cheek right here.

We decided to name her Matilda and may call her "Matty" for short.  We'll just have to see if she grows into that nickname.  Welcome to Our Maker's Acres Family Farm, Matilda!

Dealing With Annie's Mastitis

Annie, our Nubian goat, has struggled with mastitis for a while.  Milking her has always been a pain - for us and for her.  She kicks like a saddle bronc every time we milk.  She doesn't let her kids nurse for very long.  We normally shy away from antibiotics.  We normally try natural remedies.  Up to this point, we've been unsuccessful in the methods we've experimented with.  We resorted to trying an antibiotic treatment to attempt to finally clear up Annie's mastitis.

Tricia purchased some Today syringes which are to be inserted into the teats in order to inject the meds to fight off the infection.  You can purchase this at your feed store or Tractor Supply Company. Tonight we started the "Today" process.  We'll see how it goes tomorrow.  Ha Ha!

We went out the the barn at night right before supper and used alcohol to wipe down Annie's teats in order to keep things extra clean.

I have cleats on the milking stanchion and we put ropes around Annie's feet and secured them to the cleats.  This will keep her from kicking as we insert the syringe about a quarter inch into each of her two teats and inject the medicine.  We put some dairy ration and alfalfa pellets in her trough to somewhat distract her.

Tricia inserted the syringe into her teat and injected it all in.  It went surprisingly smooth!

She held the teat closed and used her thumb and index finger to push the meds upward into her bag.

Nothing dripped out.  We did the same thing on the other side.  The directions say to use every 12  hours, but only two doses.  Others, including some veterinarians, say to use it until it clears up.  Tricia did the California Mastitis Test after the second dose and she still showed some slight mastitis.  We may give it one more dose and then test again.  If it doesn't clear up, we may have to culture and see exactly which bacteria we're fighting and get the appropriate meds to knock this stuff out.

Kind of discouraging, but we'll keep trying.  Perhaps we'll find the "Annie-biotic" that will work.  I know Annie (and Tricia) will be happy.

Triple The Trouble

Annie, our Nubian goat, has had triplets twice before.   She has been growing and growing.  She was so huge that we were sure that she was carrying triplets again.  We have been waiting on her to kid for the last several weeks, every day thinking, "Is this the day?"  Well, Saturday afternoon as I was working in the garden I looked over and heard some grunting.  Annie had given birth to twins!  She was licking them clean - a buckling and a doeling.

Well, I thought, I guess you are not going to have triplets this time, old girl.  Well, I thought wrong.  After a little while, she sat down and promptly gave birth to a third.  My primary job was to stand with a stick and chase off the chickens.  They love to peck at the placenta and at the baby goats' hooves.

It wasn't very long until Annie had them all cleaned up AND had devoured the placenta.  We worked with the babies to ensure that they got to drink the colostrum.  One of Annie's teats was so engorged it almost drug the ground.  After the babies drank, we went ahead and milked it out.  Annie was being very motherly to her offspring.  It is neat how their instinct for caring for their young kicks in.

She has had 9 kids so far!  This time three - two boys and a girl.  Tricia got the kitchen scale to weigh them.  One weighed 5 pounds and the other two weighed 5 and a half.  It was a little difficult to get them to stay still on the scale!

One of the little bucklings has some nice-looking spots.  The other two are mostly black with tan and white markings.

And here is the deadbeat dad - Buckwheat.  He didn't even come check out his kids.  Off in the distance, he just laid in the dust disinterested.  He wasn't interested in helping out with discipline or care of his kids.  I told him that he owes child support, but he just rolled over and looked at me indignantly with his goatee.

While we had the scale out, Tricia walked over and got Salt and Pepper.  They are Oreo's kids and are a month and a few days old.  We weighed them.  Pepper was 9 and a half pounds and Salt was 10 and a quarter.  They are growing!

So we have five babies on the pasture now.  It is quite a zoo we have.  Our plans are to let the kids grow for a bit and then sell them.  We don't have the pasture (or the patience) to keep them all.  They are cute, though!

We Have a Milk Thief!

I've talked in other posts about our milking routine.  We keep Rosie and her little bull calf, Aussie, together all day.  He's able to drink as much milk as he wants.  At around 5 pm each day, we separate the two and that enables Rosie to make milk for us overnight.  We separate the two by locking Aussie in the barn overnight.  Then the first thing the next morning we go out and before putting the two back together, we milk Rosie.  By doing this, we're able to share the milk with Aussie. 

Aussie stays in the barn overnight while Rosie makes milk for us!

This morning we had an issue.  Before I went out to milk, Tricia told me that the little bull, Aussie, was out in the pasture with Rosie.  How could this be?  I had separated them the night before.  How did he escape and did he get all of our milk?  I would soon find out.  When I went to clean Rosie up to milk her, her bag was completely empty.

The perp had a very innocent look on his face.  He was sitting as if nothing was wrong, but you can almost see his milk moustache.

So we have a crime.  Milk was stolen. 

We have a motive and we've determined who the perpetrator was.  We need to deconstruct the crime and determine how it occurred to keep it from happening again.  In my estimation it had to be an inside job.  There had to be an accomplice.  But who?  The locking mechanism on the barn door is on the outside.  Aussie is locked INSIDE.
 

The barn latch

Who could have opened the latch from the outside and set Aussie free?  I found out the answer.  I was in the barn yesterday, preparing food for all the animals.  I usually lock myself in.  I happened to look out in time to see Annie, our Nubian Goat, use her nose to pop the latch up and enter the barn.  I thought it might have been just a lucky break, so I latched it again and watched in amazement as Annie popped the latch open again!  Annie sprung the milk thief, Aussie, loose.

Here is a mugshot of the accomplice:

What a guilty face?!

I've now taken some steps to fix the latch.  I even watched Annie to ensure that she is now unable to unlock it.  The crime has been solve and all is well again on the farm.  Well, except if you are Aussie.  He's not so happy with me!

The unhappy milk thief

Treating Hoof Rot on Annie, The Nubian Goat

We started noticing that Annie, our Nubian dairy goat was limping.  After closer inspection, we could smell a powerful stench.  Yep, you guessed it, foot rot.  Foot rot is a condition that goats and cows get between their hooves.  It is caused by bacteria and high temperatures and humidity causes the skin between the hooves to crack and then the bacteria infect the foot.  Moist, warm conditions make a perfect environment for the bacteria to grow and that is exactly what we have.  Hoof rot makes the animal feel really bad.  They stop walking and spend a lot of time sitting down because their feet hurt.  Therefore they don't eat and become skinny and sickly.

Annie exhibited all of these symptoms and ALL of her feet were infected.  Tricia was very concerned about her.  We quarantined her in the barn as we didn't want her out walking in the ankle deep mud.  Tricia brought clippers out to the barn and began clipping privet and other browse from the woods in back to feed her.  At first she wasn't eating very much.  We drenched her with a molasses/water solution to get her rumen active.  Then we mixed up a 10% solution of copper sulfate with water along with two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and gave her foot baths for 10-15 minutes a night.  The ACV is supposed to increase absorption.

There is likely a much easier way to give the foot baths, but we normally choose the most difficult way, unfortunately.  Tricia mixed up the copper sulfate solution with apple cider vinegar and poured it into a yogurt container.  Then we put her in the goat stanchion and hobbled her legs to the side with a lead rope. 

• Yes, she kicked a lot and carried on, but we dunked her feet in the cup of copper sulfate solution and held her feet submerged in the solution for between 10 - 15 minutes.  Opportunistic mosquitoes swarmed and bit us menacingly as we held her feed down with both hands.  Unable to swat the mosquitoes, we resorted to blowing them off of each other as sweat trickled down our noses.  Each night we repeated the process, but on different feet.  All this for a smelly goat.  You've GOAT to be kidding me, right?

Each night we would trudge out to the barn and repeat the process and we'd sprinkle lime down on the floor of the barn.  Over the course of 3-4 days, we're seeing great results!  Annie's feet don't have a foul odor any longer, she's no longer limping and she's begun eating again with great vigor and is even being bossy again to Oreo, our La Mancha goat.  Thank God Annie is back to her normal self again.

Making Chevre

Chevre is cheese made from goat's milk.  Our Nubian goat, Annie, provides the milk.  Tricia normally milks Annie.  She is temperamental, stubborn, and hard-headed.  (Of course, I am talking about Annie the goat.)

In her goat stanchion, we feed Annie a little dairy ration to distract her while Tricia quickly milks her.

We milk through a rag filter to keep hair, dust, bugs, or hay from falling in the milk.

Tricia added a chevre culture she got from Cultures for Health to the milk after warming the milk to 86 degrees and then covered and let it sit for 12 hours. 

Starter packet & Instructions

As you can see, the whey has separated from the curds.

We poured off the whey into a jar, leaving mostly the curds.

Then we spooned the chevre into a colander lined with muslin cloth.

We hung the chevre and let it drain for 7-12 hours.

In the morning the bag was opened and all of the liquid had drained off, leaving chevre!

Goat cream cheese.  Tricia normally spices it up by adding some herbs and we eat it with crackers.  Good stuff!