SCG, talk to me about goats.... I was thinking of getting a couple of wethers for my new property but I am totally ignorant. Plus I don't want to go to BYH to investigate the subject. I mean, I did, but it was tooooo wide for my mind to pull out ideas.
I like the look of the breed in that photo .... Nubian, right? Should I get kids so they grow up with the chickens, or are goats pretty poultry friendly?
OH! And thank you, everybody, for the wonderful birthday wishes! I have learned birthdays are good for you - the more of them you have, the longer you live!!
SCG, talk to me about goats.... I was thinking of getting a couple of wethers for my new property but I am totally ignorant. Plus I don't want to go to BYH to investigate the subject. I mean, I did, but it was tooooo wide for my mind to pull out ideas.
I like the look of the breed in that photo .... Nubian, right? Should I get kids so they grow up with the chickens, or are goats pretty poultry friendly?
OH! And thank you, everybody, for the wonderful birthday wishes! I have learned birthdays are good for you - the more of them you have, the longer you live!!
SCG, talk to me about goats.... I was thinking of getting a couple of wethers for my new property but I am totally ignorant. Plus I don't want to go to BYH to investigate the subject. I mean, I did, but it was tooooo wide for my mind to pull out ideas.
I like the look of the breed in that photo .... Nubian, right? Should I get kids so they grow up with the chickens, or are goats pretty poultry friendly?
OH! And thank you, everybody, for the wonderful birthday wishes! I have learned birthdays are good for you - the more of them you have, the longer you live!!
Birthday? I missed your birthday? Or did I? Oh well, nice thing about getting older and being forgetful..sometimes it's an ok thing...here's a hooray it's your birthday...better late than never, or, once again.
Birthday? I missed your birthday? Or did I? Oh well, nice thing about getting older and being forgetful..sometimes it's an ok thing...here's a hooray it's your birthday...better late than never, or, once again.
Nope, you didn't. Got another 90 minutes of it left, here..... I went to Helwig Winery for the regular Friday "Music at Dusk" thingie.... Mike Rodgers was playing, and I really, really like his work. He specializes in Classic Rock. My friends paid for my dinner and a bottle of wine, plus they bought me a decorated cake. A guy at another table was celebrating his 64th birthday. Mike Rodgers announced our names as birthday folks in the audience and led everybody in the traditional sing-along. I tried to share it with the guy but he had either left after dinner or moved to some other table where I couldn't find him again. I gave it to Mike the musician.
Share "it" meaning a piece of my birthday cake. Two layer carrot cake, made at the Pokerville Market bakery. Cake so good I did NOT bring it home,, but told my friends to take it with them. Three of them, one of me. If it was in my house, I would eat it instead of meals, much less snacks, until it was gone. Which would take me about twelve hours.....
SCG-- we gotta talk about this BIG BOY and the Cornish X hen. I cant quite see the comb-- is it a single. I 'm likely to forgive him for that given his size. Any info on his muscling yet?
Yes, single comb. Here's a slightly better picture of him:
I am pretty sure he was supposed to be a black Jersey Giant. All of the eggs I got from that lady on ebay didn't really grow up to be what they were supposed to. But that's ok, I was looking for a good meat bird. He's really quite heavy - we've had a few disagreements about his sleeping arrangements. His biggest defect in my mind is he has one of those blisters on his chest from it rubbing while he "roosts." I'm hoping it goes away soon but I don't know if it will.
SCG I thought everyone eats Nutella straight from the jar with a spoon. I bought a few long handled ice tea spoons for that and eating straight from the ice cream carton. Easier to reach the nooks and crannies and keeps your knuckles clean (sometimes).
SCG, talk to me about goats.... I was thinking of getting a couple of wethers for my new property but I am totally ignorant. Plus I don't want to go to BYH to investigate the subject. I mean, I did, but it was tooooo wide for my mind to pull out ideas.
I like the look of the breed in that photo .... Nubian, right? Should I get kids so they grow up with the chickens, or are goats pretty poultry friendly?
Goats are both easy to raise and difficult to raise, in my opinion. They are amazingly finicky eaters.They waste a lot of hay. They get into everything. But they're lovable, they eat brush, and they do the most absurd things.
Wethers are good for pets, you only need to worry about urinary stones in addition to keeping the rumen going and the hooves clipped. There are ways to reduce the stones - not feeding grain and giving supplements to keep the pH of the urine in a range to dissolve more calcium. We clip the hooves about every 4 weeks (whenever we get a haircut). That's an ordeal and requires 2 people.
In my very limited experience, wethers are really friendly, especially when raised by you so they're used to you.
I really like does, though. I had one that was a bag, but the two I have now are great. The nubian isn't mine, so I have to trade her soon for my wether back.
Get your kids dehorned. Horned goats can hurt themselves and others, and get stuck in places that are narrow (like the fence). I am not sure I can recommend having goats on property where you wouldn't be available most of the time. They get into things and require assistance. My doe got sick while I was at work earlier this year, and by the time I got home she was near death.
Goats also are very adept at getting out of fencing. They will push it over, stretch it out, and shimmy between it.
Now to breed - I don't think I will ever get a nubian again. They are very vocal. And when I mean very vocal, I mean drive you nuts vocal. When we go to the goat show we can always find the nubians, quickly. And bottle babies will scream constantly, they don't like being alone. There are regular screams and then fervent screams when they are really upset. My last batch of goats was 2 nubians, that constantly yelled at varying degrees of fervor, and I really do think my neighbor poisoned them. And I had thoughts of beating them senseless, too, just to get a few moments of silence, although I didn't act on it. (This is why I don't have human kids).
I really like my LaMancha - she's quiet, and when she vocalizes it sounds more like a sheep and less like the slaughter of the lambs. And if you're not going to milk anything, breed doesn't really matter. Get what you like to look at and what meets your needs, otherwise (sound).
Share "it" meaning a piece of my birthday cake. Two layer carrot cake, made at the Pokerville Market bakery.
Cake so good I did NOT bring it home,, but told my friends to take it with them. Three of them, one of me. If it was in my house, I would eat it instead of meals, much less snacks, until it was gone. Which would take me about twelve hours.....
Birthday? I missed your birthday? Or did I? Oh well, nice thing about getting older and being forgetful..sometimes it's an ok thing...here's a hooray it's your birthday...better late than never, or, once again.
SCG I thought everyone eats Nutella straight from the jar with a spoon. I bought a few long handled ice tea spoons for that and eating straight from the ice cream carton. Easier to reach the nooks and crannies and keeps your knuckles clean (sometimes).
I went to Helwig Winery for the regular Friday "Music at Dusk" thingie.... Mike Rodgers was playing, and I really, really like his work. He specializes in Classic Rock. My friends paid for my dinner and a bottle of wine, plus they bought me a decorated cake. A guy at another table was celebrating his 64th birthday. Mike Rodgers announced our names as birthday folks in the audience and led everybody in the traditional sing-along. I tried to share it with the guy but he had either left after dinner or moved to some other table where I couldn't find him again. I gave it to Mike the musician.
