Goat Hooves: Tools for Trimming

A very vital part of routine care and maintenance of your goat herd is trimming hooves. It doesn't take a lot of skill or any expensive equipment, mostly just trial & error/experience.

All goats, not just Miss Maggie, use their hooves to stand,
 jump, run and play. Overgrown hooves are painful and can
 cause many problems for your goat!

Goat of the Week: Introducing Maggie the doe

The Goat of the Week is.... Maggie!

Maggie loves Matt!

Our barn-mates have many goats, but one of my personal favorites is Miss Maggie.

Fun Monday: Taylor Swift feat. Goats

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Someone shared this with me over on our Northcutt Livestock Facebook and I just had to share it (Check out our page if you haven't seen it before!). As I mentioned before, goats are very vocal animals. Maybe their talents lie in music?

Barnyard Speak: Understanding Bucks

It's a 2-for-1 Thursday!

This post is a mix of Fast Facts and Barnyard Speak, it contains both facts and many of the terms you should be familiar with when working with bucks.

Photo courtesy of "Storey's Guide to Raising Meat Goats" by Maggie Sayer

Should I Raise...a Buck?

The final installment of “Should I Raise…” is here! I have previously evaluated raising does and wethers, so check those out if you haven’t already. Today, we focus on bucks.

Option 3: Raising a buck

MegaMind (our buck) when we bought him Oct. 2012

Goat of the Week: Introducing MegaMind the buck

This week the blog is focusing on bucks, so the Goat of the Week is our buck: MegaMind!

Baby Mega. So cute!!

On October 21st, my dad, sister and our good friends/barnmates drove to Medford, Oregon to pick up this guy. He is, without a doubt, the biggest personality in our barn.

Friday Fun: Yawing Goats

Happy Friday!

I have a lot of stuff in the works, so today's post is a quick one! Next week I will focus on bucks, so make sure to follow, subscribe, stalk the blog, etc....

On Tuesday, Delilah's roommate Honey delivered two healthy boys. As you can see, the moms are just as tired as the kids.

More after the jump!

Should I Raise....a Wether?

Continuing the series of "Should I Raise...", in this second installment I have evaluated raising a wether. Click on the link to read the previous post: Should I Raise....a Doe? 

So if you think you are ready to become a goat farmer, I have a 3 part post that evaluates 3 basic options: doe, wether or buck. 

Option 2: Raising a wether

Jordan and her 2012 Fair wether.

Goat of the Week: Introducing Ace the wether

This week the blog is focusing on wethers, so I decided to make Ace the Goat of the Week!

Ace is our most photogenic goat.
That's a nice way of saying he always tries to hog the spotlight.

Baby Goats: The Kids are here!!!! UPDATED!!

WE'VE GOT GOATS!!!!!

So I had a whole super cute post planned...but I just can't wait to share the pictures of our newest additions!!!!! They were born between 4:00-5:00 on Sunday, February 10th 2013. Delilah is an awesome mom, she did the whole thing by herself! We have all been worrying and checking on her at all hours....then she goes and has the kids without us! The twins are a boy and a girl....any name suggestions???

The boy is on the left, and the little girl is peaking through mom's legs

Friday Laughs: Running & Jumping Kids

Happy Friday!

This adorable goat video (found on Youtube) is just the thing to send us off into the weekend laughing.

I love playful kids (both human and goat). Our buck MegaMind tries to play tag and chase with us, so that "kid" behavior is something goats just don't grow out of no matter how old or big they are. According to the video description, these are two male Nigerian Mini goats that are being kept as pets. While we raise goats for meat, many places use goats as weed control. Better than mowing the grass, and far more entertaining!

Keep an eye out for next Goat of the Week on Tuesday 2/12 and Part 2 of "Should I Raise...." on wethers coming on Wednesday 2/13!

Should I Raise....a Doe?

It is important to evaluate whether or not you have the time, facilities, capability and dedication BEFORE you buy a goat. They are living creatures that require a great deal of care. You can’t just return them if you decide you get too busy! 
 

Now if I haven’t scared you off, raising animals is very rewarding. Goats are naturally very playful and curious creatures. They are a constant source of entertainment, love to be petted and can even learn their names just like dogs.

So if you think you are ready to become a goat farmer, I have a 3 part post that evaluates 3 basic options: doe, wether or buck.

Option 1: Raising a doe 

Two pregnant does, Delilah and Honey.

Goat of the Week: Introducing Bella the doe!

This Goat of the Week Post features one of our former goats, Bella:

Bella in 2011 when we first got her....

We bought our first meat goats in February 2011. While we have always had animals, raising goats for meat is still relatively new to us. My sister joined a local 4-H group and decided to raise a wether. Since goats are herd animals and NEVER are happy being alone, we bought a doe, Bella to keep Tyson the wether happy. After my sister showed her wether, we decided that we weren't ready for more does, so we sold Bella to our good friends and barn-mates.

...And Bella in 2012. What a big girl! She is getting her hooves trimmed (blog post coming soon).

Can you believe how much she has grown? They still have her and use her for their breeding program. She was bred to our buck MegaMind in November so they expect kids in April/May. We are so excited we get to see her have healthy kids!

Five Fast Facts: Goat Pregnancy

Five Fast Facts is a quick and painless post with all the information you need to know on a goat related topic.

This week I'm focusing on Goat Pregnancy:

Poor Honey is very, very pregnant with multiple kids due in February.

• Goats come into heat every 21-28 days. This means they have the ability to get pregnant every 28 days.
• Pregnancy lasts around 150 days, or about 5 months.
• Goats can have anywhere from 1-4 kids per pregnancy. First-time moms normally have a single kid, but twins and triples are not uncommon for the following pregnancies.
• The general rule of thumb is to use the 30-30-30 rule for delivery. This means the each stage of birth should take no longer then 30 minutes. The three stages are: 1) pre-labor, 2) actual delivery of the kid, and 3) the first nursing. After more than 30 minutes in any stage, most owners will intervene to help the struggling doe.
• Kids are weaned at 8-12 weeks old. Weaning is separating the kid from the mom in order to stop the kid from nursing.