About Dagney

Dagney was a late March kid and was only 6 weeks old when I brought her home in May of 2004. The runt of a set of twins, Dagney was very tiny for her age. She wasn't as athletic as other kids her age. This was due in part to her size and in part because she had been kept in a 4'X4' pen from the time she was born. She had not had the opportunity to run and jump around and develop her athletic skills. We used to watch her try so hard to climb or jump like the other kids her age. She just couldn't get the moves down. But she never gave up. That is how she got her name. Cerra had an exercise video that she exercised to daily. The character on the exercise video who demonstrated the exercises for the less athletic audience was named Dagney. The narrator just kept saying, "If you are at the beginner's level don't give up . . . watch Dagney . . . you'll get it."


We thought the name would be perfect for our little Dagney because she just kept trying and never gave up. Yes, she finally did catch up to the other kids as far as athletic abilities. However, for her breed, Dagney is still considered to be in the small, normal range.


Dagney is an Alpine goat. While I won't go into the history of the breed, I will say that I chose to raise Alpine goats because of their sweet and easy going nature not to mention their d e l i c i o u s, sweet milk.

Dagney is also a polled goat. That means that she naturally does not have horns. The reason I mention this is because I was told by a friend who is very experienced with raising goats that polled goats will either have the misfortune of multiple births (more than 2 at a time) or be sterile and not bear any kids. This may, (or not), be related to Dagney having 4 then 3 kids at a time. Just look at last year's picture when she was carrying 4 kids. Poor little thing!




These pictures were taken just days before Dagney kidded last year.



Dagney did much better this year. She carried herself better this year and she isn't skin and bones like she was last year after delivery. Although she was only carrying 3 kids this year instead of 4 kids I would wager a guess that she was carrying as much weight this year as last year. This years kids are much bigger and beefier than last years kids. (last year's kids below at about 6 wks old)

GOOD JOB DAGNEY! Love to all. TTFN :)

Kid Pics

Here are pictures of the newest kids to Almosta Farm, only about 12 hours old. Not the best shot but have you ever tried to get a goat to turn and smile!?Here are some head shots that will give you a better idea of their total cuteness . . . but even so, they are so much cuter in person!


This little sweetie was the 1st born, a little doe. This picture is a little yellowish. Her real colors are white and tan. In the picture above she is the one in the back (looking away of course).





This next little cutie was the 2nd born, a little billie. He already has attitude! So far he is the biggest of the bunch.




And this little angle was 3rd born, a little doe. She is inquisitive and a little cuddle bunny. That is probably because I got home as she was dropping to the ground and I held her the most, drying her off, because she was the wettest.

They are all precious. When I came out to see them today they weren't at all spooked and let me, and my friend Carolyn, pick them up and cuddle them. I put their sweaters on today because the heat lamp wasn't quite cutting it. In about a week I expect 2 other does to kid. In about 2 to 3 weeks I expect the last doe to kid. Lots of babies this year at Almosta Farm! TTFN :)

Goats Are Us . . .

Cerra and I noticed Sunday that Dagney was beginning to bag up. I knew it wouldn't be long before she kidded. I was very concerned about this since she had such a hard time last year. If you will remember, she had 4 kids last year and needed a lot of help delivering them. Cerra was finished with her job and was getting ready to go back to Utah. With Dillon and Cerra gone and me at work all the time I was worried that Dagney might get into trouble and that I might loose one or more of the kids or, even worse, Dagney. I tried to think good thought and make last minute preparations.

I went to work early Monday and stopped and bought a bale of straw to provide fresh bedding for the upcoming event. I planned to spread it out as soon as I got home Tuesday morning. When I did get home Tuesday, at 4:00 a.m., I was really, really tired. I thought to myself that I would just go take a nap for a few hours then spread the straw. Something whispered to me that I should do as I had planned. I am glad I listened to that little whisper.

I went out back when I got home and noticed right away that the heat lamp wasn't on in the shed. I checked the connection by the garage. I had the AM and the PM times on the timer mixed up. I corrected the problem before going out to the shed. As the light came on, I heard that familiar, high pitched bleating that only new baby goats make. I hustled out to the shed to find Dagney and her three beautiful, still wet, new born kids. Dagney looked at me as if to say, "Thank goodness you turned on that light!" I hurried and got some straw, spread it out, and cuddled with Dagney and her babies under the heat lamp until the kids had dried off a bit and found their legs. Each of them got a nice snack and settled down in a warm bed of straw to take a nap. Then it was Dagney's turn.

I got Dagney a big bucket of water, a couple flakes of hay, and closed the door to the shed so she wouldn't have to compete with the other goats. She didn't waste any time in slurping down a big drink of water and then went to munching on the tasty alfalfa hay. She did really well kidding this year and seemed to have a smile on her face as I stroked her head and told her how beautiful her babies are. Tomorrow I will take some pictures and post them so you can see the newest additions to Almosta Farm. TTFN :)

WETHERING

To WETHER a goat is to castrate a male goat. The goat is then called a wether. Wethers are widely used for pets and pack animals and more recently are used in herds to clear unwanted weeds from river banks. I actually just sold a wether that has gone to a weed eating herd.

There is a variety of ways to wether a goat. The two most common ways are cutting and banding.

1. CUTTING is just as it implies. A cutting tool is used to open the goat's scrotum and cut out the testicles. Quick and easy but leaves the goat vunerable to infection.
2. BANDING is the use of an elastrator. A very tight, very small but thick rubber band is placed over the scrotum, above the testies. The scrotum and the testies subsequently necrous and fall off (...yes Alan, it is awful...).

Banding is the method I use to wether my goats. There are many articles for and against wethering goats. Of these, I have found an article which describes the process and the risks and benefits pretty simply, (sorry, no pics).

DISBUDDING

Disbudding is removing horn buds before a kids horns mature.
There are several ways of disbudding. Some of these ways are chemical disbudding, mechanical disbudding, and burning. Of these methods I choose to use the latter.

1. CHEMICAL DISBUDDING is when a caustic compound is used to chemically corrode the horn buds. It is vitally important to follow the manufacturers directions for use. Accidental exposure to the compound is not uncommon and can cause severe, permanent damage to the subject goat or its pen mates or careless people.
2. MECHANICAL DISBUDDING (or gouging) is when a tool is used to cut and gouge out the horn bud. It takes a lot of strength and a sharp, clean gouging tool. Once the horn bud is cut out, the cavity that remains must be cauterized to stop the bleeding that occurs in this highly vascular area. This method is used more often on cattle and is not recommended for use on goats.
3. BURNING is to burn the base of the horn buds with a hot iron rod. The rod can be heated from an outside source (like hot coals) or an internal, electrical source depending upon the type of tool that is chosen. When it is done depends alot on the kid you are dealing with. It should be done when the first signs of a horn appear. This can be as early as 2 days old, (especially with bucklings) but should not be latter than 10 days old. The goal is to put the iron over the horn bud and burn the base until a gold ring appears. This kills the bed of cells responsible for horn growth. This method is relatively quick and very effective if done correctly. The kids recover quickly and really don't hold it against you. Some herders recommend repeating the process on scurs that begin to grow if you don't get the entire horn bud the first go 'round. Of course there are those who advocate against this.

Burning is the method I have chosen to use. I use an electric iron and have gotten pretty good at it (after some expert instruction from another herder). I have re-burned for scurs and have had good success with it. It is sure better than having to deal with and adult goat with horns or horn scurs. My goal, of course, is to get the kids at the right time and get the entire horn bud the first time so I don't have to repeat the process.

There are many articles for and against disbudding and dehorning. Of these, I have found one article that has really good illustrations of the process of burning the horns. The pictures are at the end of the article so if you don't want to read the article (although it is very informative) and just want to see the pictures, scroll past the text until you come to the pictures.

Speaking of WATER !!!

Driving home from work this morning I began to marvel at how very dark it was outside but, at the same time, particularly clear. The stars were glittering against an almost black backdrop. The only things readily visible were lights in the distance and those things that fell in the range of my car headlights. The roads were clear but had a funny glow as the headlights reflected off the never ending sheets of black ice. Turning off of Old Highway 70 on to Jonathan Road the glow from my head lights spilled over the surrounding fields. From this, light shimmered across the fields as though dancing across a lake. I thought to myself how picturesque it all was. Then I suddenly realized that there was water to either side of the road. Not just puddles. The fields were covered with water. The irrigation ditch was overflowing with water. People's yards were covered with water...and my yard was no different. As I came closer to my house I could see light reflecting off the water in my neighbor's field, which extended right into my front yard. The irrigation ditch in my front yard was filled to overflowing and running at a fairly good clip, (right along with the water in my front yard)! I pulled into the driveway and pulled into a good 8 inches of water, (thank goodness for my all wheel drive). There were a few places on my property that were high enough that the water didn't reach them. The water did not reach my house foundation, (ALMOST). The water did not flood the loafing shed or the hay stack, (pretty close). The water reached the chicken coop but because the coop is up on rail road ties it didn't get inside. The water surrounded my fruit trees but was only a couple inches deep there. Because my place isn't completely level the water level was different depending where you stepped. In back it was already frozen. In front the water was still running and was about 8 inches deep. I called the sheriff's office to see if they knew of the flooding. The dispatcher said the disaster crew had already been out and that they had done all they could. I'll have to investigate more in the morning. Funny, isn't it, that with all this water around I am still having trouble keeping my troughs filled :) TTFN