Today on the farm…
February 25th, 2010 by gbw. No Comments.
Lightning had triplets yesterday morning and the first doe kid weighs in at just under four pounds. She is tiny and perfect… a little fairy baby
We weighed her in a tupperware on my cheese scale
February 21st, 2010 by gbw. No Comments.
Selena’s and Minnie’s babies moved out to the new kid shelter this afternoon. They are much too big to be in the house but I was hoping the wind would let up a bit before moving them out. Today was the best day to move them so they will have a couple of warmer days before the next snow comes blowing through. They are thrilled with the leaping room but a bit frightened of the sounds of the wind. Selena’s kids are about two weeks old and are very interested in eating hay and even tried the water in their bucket. Minnie’s babes are only one week old but are still enjoying the leg room and learning how to caper and leap.
Selena’s doe stops for a moment before trying another caper across the pen.
Minnie’s boys look handsome in burgundy coats to help them get used to the colder outdoor temps.
Selena’s doe did some impressive leaps in celebration of her new home.
February 12th, 2010 by gbw. No Comments.
Selena’s babies are three days old and very busy learning how to use their long legs and persuade us to give them more milk. We bottle feed all our baby goats so we have some milk for the cheesepot and they get what they need. We also practice CAE prevention although we keep a closed herd that has been CAE free.
It has been very windy outside so the kids will be staying in the house for a few more days before we move them to the kid housing.
Nap time…..
Published under Goats,
July 8th, 2009 by gbw. No Comments.
What a strange summer so far. June brought us a new record for rainfall in this area at well over a foot which is making life quite a challenge for all farmers in the area. Vegetable crops are late or lost and mud rules most fields and barnyards. The goats are holding up under the strain of poor weather but lately have been making regular breaks out of the barn in the hopes of finding higher and drier ground. Zues, one of my daughter’s wethers, is particularly fond of jumping out of the barn and wandering over to the unopened pool and nibbling the weeds that have grown out of control. He is a funny fellow when we lead him back to the barn and doesn’t want to walk through the mud to go back in… afterall he had to walk through that mud to get outof the barn. This past weekend was sunny and breezy so the herd went down the hill to browse for the first time in quite a while. The unrelenting rain made it impossible to be outside much less walk around. Despite the dreadful June weather the girls are milking fairly well and all the kids are weaned so we have plenty of milk going into the cheesepot. We have a full schedule of markets and we are hoping July will bring some sunny dry weather so everyone can be in a sunnier mood.
June 19th, 2009 by gbw. No Comments.
It rained another 2.25 inches yesterday and we are up to our knees in mud. This month has been filled with rain and we have been unable to finish planting the garden and cleaning the barn. This type of weather is the worst for goats and we are doing everything we can to keep the girls healthy and happy in a bad situation.
The new Gardiner farmer’s market was scheduled to open yesterday but it rained so much it was cancelled. We hope for a better day next week so we can kick off this new market with a smile.
June 5th, 2009 by gbw. No Comments.
It has been a very busy start to the 2009 farmer’s market season. Both Cold Spring and New Paltz markets opened on Memorial day weekend and the weather was spectacular. We are happy to be joining the vendors at Cold Spring and have been warmly welcomed by the customers who remember our two Saturdays there last October. This is our sixth year at the New Paltz market and it is always a treat to see all the familiar faces who support our market. We have been warmly welcomed at the Tuesday CSA share pick at Brook Farm Project and hope to work out an ordering system for Brook Farm members who pick up their shares on Saturday.
We are just beginning to wean the alpine/nubian cross kids along with Neesa’s and Calypso’s kids. This will make a considerable difference in our cheese production schedule considering we are currently feeding twenty-one gallons of milk to kids per week.
Here’s to hoping for a sunny weekend!