Blazing Acres 1st Kidding Thread:samssimonsays olive surprise!

[Calendula]

Oh yes. I remember the long two year wait until I could have my own kids. I spent the time when I was waiting for my girl last year by reading any and everything I could and preparing myself for any possible complication.

Are you going to let them be dam-raised or bottle-feed? I remember that was a big decision for us.

 

[samssimonsays]

Yep! April already! EEk! Possibly end of March for Olive but she went back into heat 2 weeks later so I am expecting that date but preparing for the first.

We are gone a minimum of 12 hours a day so we will be dam raising. Maybe one day we will do bottle kids but for now It will be the moms unless something happens.

 

[NH homesteader]

My dam raised goats are all lovely and super friendly.

I'm so excited for you!

 

[samssimonsays]

Mine too. It just takes time to make sure yousocialize them to make them friendly. Our bucklings both had never really been handled, one for 4.5 weeks never touched, the other 12 weeks occassionally handled and both are about as big of hams you could imagine now.

We also already have about 6 families between our friends and coworkers who have already lined up to come bring kids to meet the kids LOL. That is not including my neighbors grand kids and our own families and grown friends who want to come out to see them.

 

[Calendula]

Hopefully the weather will be warm for you by then!

Personally, I like my dam raised kid from last year better than the bottle-fed ones. Don't get me wrong, I loved bottle-feeding the kids and I'm thankful for the experience, but they're so clingy. All over me all the time and make it very difficult to clean out their pen or do much of anything! My dam-raised doe is still loving (she's one of the first to come up for love), but she also isn't all over me the whole time and she doesn't mind if I'm in the yard and not paying full attention to her. Plus, she's better on the milk stand than the other three, and I think maybe it's because she used to get on it with her mother? Or my milk stand training has just improved.

Are you going to milk? If so, please tell me you've started milk stand training. That was my biggest mistake.

 

[samssimonsays]

We are milking, I have 2 who were FF last year prior to me purchasing them, Scarlet I bought with a kid at her side that was 4.5 weeks old and had never been trained. We struggled hard core through that... But eventually we figured each other out and all went smoothly "most" days. May was already stand trained when I bought her at 8 weeks fresh. VERY thankful for that! But bringing her into our routine really messed things up for a while until I figured out that May needed to go before Scarlet. I figured Scarlet would be upset if I didn't do her first and struggled through both of them being horrid on the stand and then one day I tried it opposite and all went smooth from that day on. May is the herd queen, Scarlet a close second at the moment. My SNubian doe, Tilda, developed a precocious udder last year and I milked her a little but I had been stand training her and my little Olive last year after I got the stand built for Scarlet.

 

[Calendula]

Well that's good. When I get my Nubian kids, that's the first thing I'm going to do. Fighting a ND was hard enough.

I never thought about changing up the order... My herd queen has been going last with our practices... I love this website. I learn something new every day!

 

[samssimonsays]

Well that's good. When I get my Nubian kids, that's the first thing I'm going to do. Fighting a ND was hard enough.

I never thought about changing up the order... My herd queen has been going last with our practices... I love this website. I learn something new every day!

I know right?! I would have never thought of it but @Ferguson K (I am pretty sure) mentioned trying it. I was about ready to give up and tada! LOL

 

[Hens and Roos]

our does are milk in order that they have kidded and so far that has worked pretty good for us. This year we will be adding our FF Lamancha doe so

 

[samssimonsays]

I don't know what Scarlet's deal was but she would not have it. Maybe because May was in the barn in her stall (quarantine) and watching her? My goats are just weird!