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  1. DustyBoot

    Adopting barn cats

    Not sure if I'm looking for advice, or just to document this process for posterity. Guess I'll take it either way! We're seeing significant evidence of mice, so getting barn cats has jumped from "yeah, we should look into that" to "can we pick some up tomorrow?" status. Last time I lived in the...
  2. DustyBoot

    Putting chicks outside

    I haven't raised chicks since I was a kid and didn't pay attention to details, so checking in for a refresher. Our chicks are just over three weeks old and doing well. Right now I'm putting them outside during the day in a small chicken tractor thing, and bringing them in at night. But they're...
  3. DustyBoot

    Bunny fiber!

    When I bought Thing 2, I was told he was about to release his coat. Sure enough, he did! Man, that stuff gets everywhere. But I think I figured out the plucking thing, and now I have a rabbit who looks smaller and much less scruffy, and a fair bit of angora fiber in the process of being turned...
  4. DustyBoot

    It's a start!

    Dottie's kids are two and a half weeks old now, and growing fast, so last night I penned them next to their mom for the night (with feed, hay, and water) and made my first real attempt to milk a goat (I did a little milking a couple of times when one side of her udder seemed engorged, but just...
  5. DustyBoot

    Recapturing escapees

    One of our goats has discovered the joy of pulling J-feeders off of rabbit cages so that he can eat the rabbit food. We're resolving this issue, but before we discovered it, two of our six-week old bunnies escaped through the open slot in the cage. I was ready to write them off as a loss, but...
  6. DustyBoot

    Wethered sheep with a buck?

    This is a totally crazy, probably dumb question. But I'm going to ask anyway. Would a wethered sheep work as a companion for a buck during the "off season" when he can't be kept with the ladies, or is that just not a great idea? Looking around for a wether for our year-old Kiko buck and a friend...
  7. DustyBoot

    DustyBoot's kidding thread

    I didn't think I'd need to start this for at least another month, if not two! But Dottie had twin doelings yesterday afternoon, so here goes. I bought Dottie in early January and was told she was due "in the spring, March or April." I'd been thinking her tail ligaments felt softer for a couple...
  8. DustyBoot

    Building a routine

    We bought our first dairy doe, a 3-year-old LaMancha, this week. She's supposed to be due in March/April. She's been milked before. I've... uh... read a lot about milking? Let's just say she's a lot more qualified than I am. So it may take us a while to get everything going smoothly, but she's a...
  9. DustyBoot

    Feeding a dairy goat

    I know this must be about the 100th thread of this title, and I promise I've been reading everything I can find, but I want to check myself with some outside opinions if anyone is willing to offer thoughts. I picked up Thelma yesterday from a couple who's going on the road in an RV so getting...
  10. DustyBoot

    Dusty Boot Ranch

    Guess it's about time I started one of these. We moved here in February and took some time to evaluate and get settled in. New perimeter fences started in August because they were in poor shape and wouldn't hold cows, let alone goats. It's been a long process, but should be finished today! We...
  11. DustyBoot

    TAMUK variety?

    We're looking at adding meat rabbits to our little ranch in the near future and I'm trying to figure out what breed. We're in central Texas, which means cold probably isn't an issue but heat certainly is. I'm wondering if anyone here has tried raising the TAMUK variety of rabbit that's supposed...
  12. DustyBoot

    Introducing our herd

    I introduced our LGDs and slipped a picture of the goats in there too, but figured I should formally introduce them where they belong. We were looking for a starter herd of Kiko or Kiko-cross does and got in touch with a lady who was getting out of the small ruminant business. My understanding...
  13. DustyBoot

    Introducing King & Glory!

    Since y'all have been so helpful as I've tried to learn what I'm doing, I thought I'd better pay the picture tax. Last night we went and picked up our new goats and their guardians. Glory is in front, King in back. They're 3.5-year-old sibling Great Pyrenees/Anatolian mixes. I posted in a...
  14. DustyBoot

    Crash course: LGDs

    Next month we will be acquiring three Kiko-Boer does and two GP/Anatolian mix guardian dogs. The dogs are 4.5 years old, brother and sister, spayed and neutered, been with goats their whole lives and -- according to the seller -- doing a great job. She's selling out so they'll be out of a job...
  15. DustyBoot

    Planning: Take 2

    Earlier this summer y'all gave me tons of helpful feedback on my theoretical goat-raising plans. I've been quiet for a while, working on getting other stuff taken care of (fences...) and reworking the plan. Thought I'd come back and run Take 2 by y'all. :) Initially I was trying to figure out...
  16. DustyBoot

    Making a plan

    Having moved to some acreage that includes some seriously overgrown woods, we've decided that goats are part of our livestock plan. Here in central Texas it looks like Boers are probably the way to go... although I'm open to being told otherwise. We'd like to be able to sell the kids for...
  17. DustyBoot

    Getting started small

    Me again! I'll start with a recap of our situation: we have just under 14 acres of mixed grass and wooded area in central Texas (Georgetown/Taylor area). We're looking at keeping a few goats and a few cows to make the best use of the land we have. I talked with the county extension agent...
  18. DustyBoot

    Fencing for rotational grazing

    Hi y'all, Here's for my first big question: fences and layout. We're on just under 14 acres in central Texas, north of Austin. Right now my thinking is a couple of Dexter cows (renting a bull from a friend annually) and maybe 5-10 goats (Boer/Spanish seems to be the popular type around here...
  19. DustyBoot

    Howdy from Texas

    Hi folks, I've browsed a little here and there in the past hoping to have reason to join, and it's finally happened: we've escaped the restrictive HOA and are now living on about 14 acres outside of town. :weee We moved in in February and we've been getting settled and trying to work out The...
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