Bayleaf Meadows

Bayleaf Meadows · Apr 9, 2017

Bayleaf Meadows said:
On our little farm, we have three goat sheds and a chicken coop that doubles as a kidding stall when it's not used for the young cockerels. The sheds are painted different colors so we can know which one is which. All of them also function as part of the fence, so we are careful not to make them climbable. The central shed acts as a sorting space because it has doors which open on three sides to three different paddocks. It helps us when need to feed separately, catch certain ones, and when we milk and have each doe take a turn.View attachment 30394 View attachment 30395 View attachment 30396 View attachment 30397

I wanted to add that the tall fencing isn't for our goats- it's to keep out the deer. We use 10' electrical conduit pounded into the ground to make 8' tall sides to attach deer fencing to. They can still jump it if they are extra motivated!

Bayleaf Meadows · Apr 10, 2017

Time went by and we tried to breed our two other does, Mabel and Zaph in the early spring. They had some visits from OFA Big Brown and all looked like it was a go. When summer rolled around, however, the signs just weren't there. No new little bouncy kids for 2014, but we enjoyed the four does- Hazel and her baby, Scully, and Mabel and Zaph.

Bayleaf Meadows · Apr 10, 2017

Now it was September, we were still looking to breed our does and borrowed a young buck from OFA, Fortunato. I fell in love with Fortunato the moment I saw him! What a nice animal. He was brown all over with a blond streak down the back. It looked a little flamboyant or something, like someone had added highlights to his coat. But it was the length in his body and neck and his overall build that really struck me. He was young and unproven, yet sweet and full of promise. The photos don't do him justice.

OneFineAcre · Apr 11, 2017

Those pictures of Fortunato make me sad.

He was about 6 or 7 months old then.

frustratedearthmother · Apr 11, 2017

He was such a pretty boy!

Bayleaf Meadows · Apr 11, 2017

It was obvious that Fortunato had gotten the job done- the due date for both does was mid-February. In the meantime, another friend's buck came to visit both Hazel and Scully. Rocky Balboa was the sweetest little blond buckling.

Bayleaf Meadows · Apr 12, 2017

Mabel's due date came and went. She knew the code by instinct and waited for the coldest weather to settle in to keep us guessing. After trying to freeze in the barn with her, we decided to make things a little warmer and a lot more convenient and moved her to the garage. She wasn't happy, of course, and Zaph's due date was catching up to her and so we brought Zaph in also.

Bayleaf Meadows · Apr 12, 2017

You can tell the goats are cold and a little miserable with waiting on the new arrivals, even in the slightly warmer temporary lodgings. This was only our second kidding and Mabel was being hard to read- ligs? no ligs? She kept us on our toes and DD ended up spending her high school winter break vacation sitting watch, taking turns with me and her older sister. 5am seemed like just the right time to go into labor with two chocolate brown doelings, Bella and Stella who had some white markings.