rachels.haven's Journal

rachels.haven

Herd Master
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
3,472
Reaction score
14,197
Points
533
Location
zone 7a
Glad you are home safe and sound, and things are pretty much okay at your place..... Cows are alot bigger to deal with even if they are supposed to be "small or mini sized".
I'm kind of confused by how easily contained their cows are. Their current enclosure is an orchard surrounded by welded wire and privacy fence and one side is a hardware cloth chicken raising coop...and they've been doing it that way for many years and many generations of cows. Are goats really that difficult? I thought the cows would just stretch out their leg 800-1k lbs leg and knock that coop wall down, but no, they just started at us feeding chickens. VERY confusing.
 

Mini Horses

Herd Master
Joined
Sep 4, 2015
Messages
10,559
Reaction score
34,357
Points
758
Location
S coastal VA
Yes, goats are! :lol: they seem to have inbred wanderlust. You'd sure think a big old cow would be more adventurous but, usually not. Of course they all have their moments and sex rules, when it's time. But goats? 🙄😳 Just like the challenge 🤣

Although I have some who don't even try to escape!
 
Last edited:

farmerjan

Herd Master
Joined
Aug 16, 2016
Messages
11,314
Reaction score
44,316
Points
758
Location
Shenandoah Valley Virginia
For the most part cows are not that hard to contain. We have then separated with a 2 strand elec wire from some very lush green grass at the one pasture... they will not breech it once bitten by the elec shock unless they are really really hungry. Many places they use a single hot wire to separate cattle for rotational grazing and that is all they need. There is always that one trouble maker... but they are more easily contained than most anything in comparison to their size. Where they get into trouble is when they are penned in tighter, like in a catch pen, and they will push and things get strained... got a few that will go over a fence/gate... BUT.... those are the ones that are the first to get sold when they get any other strikes against them..... calves will push their luck more than adult cattle...
 

rachels.haven

Herd Master
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
3,472
Reaction score
14,197
Points
533
Location
zone 7a
Me: *Leaves TN with family traumatized by tornados. Heads to Maryland where they supposedly rarely have tornadoes.Tells them there will almost never be tornados*

Also me: *Brings tornados following behind us like lost puppies*

Apparently I like my weather southern style. Sorry rest of MD.

Hello, we're having a basement sleepover with the boys this morning due to tornado warning. At least I don't have to wake them up for it!

And I'm really glad they're still asleep. I don't have to admit to anything. They almost never sleep in this long.
 

rachels.haven

Herd Master
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
3,472
Reaction score
14,197
Points
533
Location
zone 7a
So the lady I sent my dwarves with a year ago has decided she just can not do short goats anymore so she gave me the chance to buy a few of mine back before she dispersed the rest of her herd. So with tempered dairy expectations I bought Oberon and his distant sort of cousin "Beaul" back and brought 2 of Oberon's daughters back too. I forgot how much I love my tiny man goats. They're like balls. And the girls sound like Oberon but feminine. They'll be put on milk test. And I might add one or two more from semi related lines so I can justify both males. Everyone's ancestors stem from one of the milkiest ND herds out there, but like I said, my expectations are tempered. I might run the ND herd a little more like a business, but it will definitely be valuable to my mini project.

Oberon. His dam won first place, first place udder aged doe at ADGA nationals this year and made 1,188 lbs of milk when she was on test, so I guess he's okay as far as ND go. I have one mini Saanen by him that needs to be freshened this year.
Oberon.jpg


Beaul, who is going to breed my mini Saanens and all of Oberons daughters. He's not that rumpy. This was right after I put him in the stall after being bodily carried and shoved in a dog crate in my trunk at the meeting point and he was very stressed out, hence the side eye he's giving me. He really didn't like being toted around by what he probably felt was a female ogre. You can tell he feels so violated. (sorry about the horse poop smears on the walls, a gift from the previous owner that when we have extra $ we will get pressure washed...after fixing the roof and the basement floor)
beaul.jpg

This morning both tiny goat men got their back scratches.

Sandra and Amber.jpg


Sandra (left) and Amber are Oberon's daughters. Sandra is ready to be a FF in the spring. Amber is the same age as the Lamancha tail in the bottom of the picture so she'll be a dry yearling next year. Her rump will probably level out like Sandra's next year. Oberon's kids do that. (the Lamancha is on stall rest for a stifle injury and has been volunteered to live in quarantine with these guys because she was trying to break her legs the rest of the way while attempting escaping injury quarantine all day long by jumping out of the stall window and trying to climb the bars. Otherwise she would be alone or with a friend. Except she can't be with the others because she likes to get beat up until she's afraid to eat at the feeders. So now she's much happier with little friends that can't beat her big doofus self up.
The doe in this pic sitting in the feeder below is not the owner of the tail in the bottom of the picture above, but probably getting rammed while doing that is how Ms. Fire got a badly injured stifle and put in quarantine.
PXL_20240808_140128197.jpg


I'm working on getting recent disease testing on another doe from a related 1k+ lbs milk producing line that is for sale because the herd she's in is made up of her daughters and they are nicer than her, but she is 6 years old, so pricing is lower. Nobody wants a 6 year old doe even if they are from a long lived breed like ND. That and the owner wants her to go to a milk testing herd for the data that follows the daughters she's kept.

Today after 2 days of rain on the feeder I decided to put the bucks feeders in their forts because I hate that sunken in look. Pete really shows when he's not chocked full of hay. I'm scared to breed him this year because last couple years as soon as I exposed him to does he quit eating and looked bad until February. I don't want him to die.
PXL_20240809_135048363.MP.jpg
I've also upped the doe's hay ration because they looked sunken in the above pic too. Growing does.

Kenai, not to leave him out. (pic before rain became endless)
PXL_20240808_140540009.jpg


Aramis (pre-rain) on right, with Pete on the left. It may be time to copper some bucks based on the tails. Pics are so useful. Totally would have missed that.
PXL_20240808_140619135.jpg

Today Aramis does not look so bad in this pic. He is extremely uphill though.

So this was the week I brought back the ND. Apparently I missed the butterfat and the squatty man goats I can lug around when I want/need to. They're just stinking cute.
 
Last edited:
Top