Hi everyone! Wow its been a LONG time since I last posted. Things are going well on the farm, been very busy with college finals this week and next week but I'm glad the semester is almost over.. Here are some goatie photos from around the farm. Next year I'm going to really start looking for a herd buck. Its an exciting but daunting prospect! The disbudding on my little babies failed, I'm thinking the heat wasn't applied long enough so they're going to be dehorned this winter now that fly season is over. Caddy and her son Patches Tambourine up front, Dixie and Oreo in the background Dixie and Athena taking down a "charlie brown xmas tree" Fiddle and company browsing Handsome Fiddle up close Goat noses are so cute Joy scratching an itch Patches checks out the camera Fiddle pigging out Chime, I'm looking forward to the horns coming off We had the first snow of the season, the goats were more interested in their hay Why is it that dogs always like goat rear ends? Lady one of the farm dogs Munch time The faithful livestock guards are never far off I put in new "bunk beds" in the goat barn Now there are 3 levels to choose from, of course they all try to sleep on the top! Cleaning out the car with the goats nearby is hazardous.. Fiddle started eating my college papers! Oreo, can't wait to get his and his brother's horns off soon!
sorry the disbudding failed.... Glad to see you back it has been a while... :thumb: Such nice goats ....you have there....... :hi5:
Nice pics! Beautiful goats. And I your goat bunk house! In a dog's mind, they are analogous to personal treat dispensers. :shocked: My choredog stimulates production by licking the area. I guess you could say she's kissing up. :ROFL: Deb Mc
Wow..now that is a goatie dream house! My goats have 1 level to jump up onto & have found that the windowsill makes a great place to stand..if they had their choice, they'd have 1 more platform so they could get up into the hay loft! Very cute goats..looks like they have a very spoiled home! Good luck on your finals!!
I find that the paste works really good for disbudding if you are careful. I use Dr. Naylor's, which can be bought at most feed stores for under $10. Everyone told me that if I used it I was cruel, it wouldn't work, etc. etc. However, it worked like a charm and I didn't end up with any scurs. Also, the kids screamed when I painlessly clipped the hair from around their horn buds, but didn't make a peep when wearing the paste. They shook their heads a little at first, but then were content to explore the barn and scamper happily about while it set. The key is duct-tape helmets. Lol. I clip the area, slather the paste on the buds and in a circle around them about the size of a dime, larger for bucklings...put a strip of duct tape on the buds, put one behind the ears attached to the main strip, one over the top of the head between the ears, and one under the jaw. Then I let them play in the barn (I only do one at a time), and set a timer. I usually let it sit for twice as long as indicated on the box, because that small amount of time isn't effective. Then I take off the helmets, turn them upside down and rinse their heads while covering theirs eyes, smear vinegar on their heads and rinse again. If in a couple of weeks their buds are growing I will do it once more. I have goats that were disbudded with an iron by two different farms, and all have scurs. None of my paste babies do.
Oh, and it takes awhile for the chemical to actually do anything. I got some on my bare skin and felt nothing. Let it sit for about thirty seconds and still felt nothing. I rinsed it off with vinegar and water, but your skin isn't going to melt off instantly with contact. But still, care is obviously needed.
:clap: :laugh: This is very true!! One of the guards likes to do this too... sooooo gross!! Thanks everyone, the goat bunks are great! the kids have so much fun jumping up on them and so forth, one of these nights I'll need to sneak out there and get a good photo of them all piled on the top. Thanks for the paste info too, I'm going to have to seriously consider it next kidding since the disbudding was an epic fail!
