Goats?

Yeah, I'm getting goats.

Today, probably.

Wanted to just get one dairy goat to milk and then freeze the milk, just in case of an emergency with my lambs. BUT ends up I might be getting two goats haha...
The family I'm getting them from is moving out of state due to the husband's job.
They treat their goats extremely well and seemed genuinely sad to see them go.

Turns out goats are kind of like pigs, in the social sense. You can't just get one, because it will destroy the fencing trying to escape.

Anyway, I'm getting a 10 month old doe who is pregnant and due to kid in August. Hopefully.
I was originally gonna stick with JUST her, but this doe's mother is extremely attached to her baby.
So I will probably have to get the mother as well. She's about 8 or so, and currently in milk.
She came from an abusive and strenuous home, and was once hit so hard, she now has a crooked jaw.
She was then rescued and has been with her 'now' owner for about 3 years.

So I'll be getting a young goat, and an older one with a lot of character haha

This is the 10 month old doe.
She's 50% Nigerian Dwarf, 25% Alpine and 25% Nubian.

This is the 8 year old. You can't see her crooked face in this picture.
But you can get a pretty good idea of what she looks like?
She needs a good home to retire.
She's 50% Alpine, and 50% Nubian.

New ewe final decision

So you know those two ewe lambs I was choosing between?
I went and took a look at them yesterday to make a final decision.

I chose the black ewe with the white speckles.
Her name right now is "Rain" but I think I'll change that.
I was going to get the white ewe lamb named "LemonDrop" and I loved the name haha.

Maybe this new ewe could be named RainDrop? To honor her original name, and my original choice?
It's a cute name too heehee


ALSO, HAPPY EASTER

Here is Rain's sire, he's full Dorper. SO HANDSOME

This is Rain's dam, she looks like a Blackbelly, but she's really a full Katahdin.
The 'badger' markings are just a throwback color.

AND HERE'S RAIN.
She's gotten so big.
Chose her because she has a longer body, straighter back, and longer legs.
Plus she's so pretty, that always sells.

Getting a ram in July

WELL
The neighbor I borrowed Duke from has a ram lamb that I think I'm going to buy.
I plan for Duke to breed MaryEllen, Wendy and Pax if she didn't take to Buttercup.
Then I'll return Duke, but keep the ram lamb up through October to breed Irene and my new ewe I'll be getting in May. They'll be 8 months in October and old enough to breed I'd say.
The ram will be 6 months, also old enough.
So it'll work out.

This guy is out of Red and a Katahdin/Dorper ewe.
He was a single at 11 pounds. He doesn't have a lot of color to him, mostly white with a dark nose and a brown-ish tail.
He's a big guy though, and looked a bit better than my other choice, who was a colored ram lamb.

This one is a bit blurry, but here he is

Here's the little guy and his mom.

Spring Term

School started back up again and I'm super tired right now.
I crammed all my classes into MWF so YIKES
Tuesday, Thursday will be homework days for sure.

Buttercup is now in the freeze due to bad behavior.
He started hurting the ewes, so now he's gone to freezer camp.

Good news is though, the little lambs are growing up real nice
Actually starting to look like sheep, and not just lambs.

Irene always comes over for scratches, we have a good relationship.
6 weeks old.

Here's the twins.  Samson's in the front, Jillian's in the back.
Both are about 9 weeks old.

Here's Marty, showing off his impressive lip curling skills, after smelling Diana's.... urine.
WHAT A LITTLE STUD.
He's about 6 weeks old here.

New Ewe Lamb

It's been a while since I've last posted.
School is finally over for the term though, so Spring Break is here.

I've decided to make the decision to sell Diana for a more durable ewe.
Diana is really flighty, and consistently wormy.... both traits I don't really like haha
I do like her though, I think she's wonderful... just a little below the others.
I'm going to sell her with the chance she may has been bred, seeing as how she's been with Buttercup for almost two weeks now.
There's a chance, but then, there's also a chance she's still open for business.

Anyway, I've been looking for a replacement for her, and I came across this very VERY kind young couple who is raising a small flock of Katahdin/Dorper sheep. I've visited their place twice and got to take a peek at the ewe lambs for sale.
I'm going to contact the lady about a month from now and tell her which ewe I want.

I've narrowed my search down to these two lambs!
The black/white ewe lamb was born the second week of Feb.
She has long legs and has very flashy markings. She's also a twin.

The white ewe lamb is HUGE.
She was a big single I guess, born around the same time Marty and Irene were born.
This ewe has a nice big frame, but shorter legs.
Her ear tips are also kind of tan/brown-ish, which is fun.
Her dam is a tri-colored brown/cream/and white ewe. So she should throw color, I suppose.

The Sire of both of the ewe lambs is a HUGE Dorper ram. He's black with white speckles.
Not the traditional Dorper coloring, but he's a handsome boy.

Buttercup is HERE

Well, he's home.
It was such a mess getting him in the trailer and taking him back home.
I had to trim his hooves and he was incredibly muddy and just awful and messy oh my goodness.

Here's a picture from this morning

I think if I can keep him separated, I'll do that and then put him with Pax and Diana next Saturday on the 15th. That'll give me late August babies, BUT he's a handful and slightly dangerous.
He's going to do his thing and then he'll be OUTTA HERE.
Buttercup is small, but built like a tank. He also has this awful old man voice and it's incredibly hilarious.
Poor guy.

Buttercup

Went to see a ram I might be buying.
Went to see him after school, and I took some pictures.

As of right now, he's basically mine, I just need to pick him up and pay the guy.
I have named the ram Buttercup already.
Buttercup is fairly small as far as rams go.
He's built low to the ground, and he's pretty stocky, wide shoulders and such.
From what the guy said, Buttercup sounds to be 50% Blackbelly, 37.5% Dorper, and 12.5% Katahdin.
Buttercup will probably do okay here. We're not going to keep him very long after he does his thing with Pax and Diana.

HERE HE IS

He has a nice profile

Little tiny legs, but a HUGE body

His horns are crooked, but oh well

THIS is Buttercup's first son, born December 2013.
This little ram lamb is already pretty big, considering he's only about 3 months old.
That suggests, if paired with the right ewe, Buttercup can throw quick growing market lambs.