Not the people kind, but the goat kind! And lots of them…

At one time we had about 30 running around, sometimes with 6 or 7 does kidding at once, and we still have about 15 left to go.

It was a fairly intense process for the first week or two, when the wave of babies came. There was a lot to prepare for, getting pens ready for the mamas, getting the baby pen ready, getting the automatic milker ready and warming up bottles, keeping a watch out for any goats that might be birthing as they may need some help (the kids always come front feet first, followed by the nose), and that on top of everything else that usually goes on. Most goats have anywhere from 1 to 3 kids – sometimes 4 or even 5 – at a time. And unlike cows, it can be any sort of combination of boys and girls. For our milking we’re really hoping for girls, but we raise the boys just the same and try to sell them as quickly as we can. This year has gone really well, with 25 girls and about 15 or so boys, not including the ones we unfortunately lost. Like they say, if you have livestock, you’ll have deadstock; it’s just one of those things you deal with in any sort of business like this.

Overall, the ones we do have are full of energy. Within minutes of being born they are trying to walk and looking for something to eat. Within a few hours they’re on their feet and bouncing around like little rabbits. Now, a week or so old, they’re bouncing off the walls and getting more energetic each day.

Other than babies, We’ve been getting a start on the gardening, planting carrots, beets, potatoes, onions, and beans. With the planters and tractors we’re able to get a LOT done quickly, including weeding. At this point I’d like to reference the EcoWeeder, with which I have spent – and will continue to spend – plenty of quality time; but without a goofy straw hat like the guy in the picture. It is very fast. When I think about hoeing the amount of ground we EcoWeed… I just can’t, it’s ridiculous. Between gardening, kids, and cowboying with a neighbor on some of my days off (working cows, riding fences etc. sans hat, horse,  or spurs) things stay busy and interesting. For sure I never thought I’d be where I am now, but I like it a lot.

P.S. I’ll try and update this little thing a little more frequently now that… I feel like it :) Also, dang has it been wet. SO wet and muddy. I really can’t emphasize this enough. For a while there you couldn’t plow or plant or anything, and only recently can you get out there – if you have a 4WD tractor. A lot of farmers in this region are late with their corn and other crops, we’ll see how that pans out in the long run. Being here, a part of everything that goes on outside the city, it’s becoming obvious how much the weather determines so many things. We can try to trick nature or work around it, but most of the time it’s just not possible. So yeah it’s been cold and wet, I guess i’ll have to carry an umbrella and coat to work, is what I thought before, not really knowing what it meant for other people; can’t carry cows hay for all the mud,  calves dying from overcrowding on the dry spots, crop failure, flooding and washouts, wormy livestock… so many ramifications.

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