Milking season is done

Well the 2010 milking season is done. The girls overall did very well, only a few didn't do as well as I would have liked. I had 68 does average 235 days with 1684 pounds of milk. 26 of those 68 were first time milkers. My highest producer again this year is Sunny. Sunny milked 296 days and produced 3534 pounds of milk. Dawn came in a close second, 306 days with 3504 pounds, Dotty came in third with 263 days and 3305 pounds. I also had 20 that produced over 2000 pounds of milk which is absolutely wonderful. That's just how it is supposed to happen. Each year you keep getting better.

Jason and I are looking forward to a great kidding season. Hopefully the really cold weather is happening now and February and March will be moderate.

As you can see in the store I have been busy making scarves. I am just about done with number six and will probably work on a small blanket next.

Stay warm.

The slow time of year

Hello.
This is the time of year that I don't like. The goats are almost all dry, the weather is up and down and nothing grows but my waistline.

I think most of the girls are pregnant now. There are 35 due in February, 31 in March and 18 for April. Can you say kid overload. I still have about 31 doe kids from this year that I want to sell. Not having any luck yet. I don't think I have enough room in the barn to keep all of them through the winter so I will end up taking a group at a time to the local auction and hope they find a good home. There are a few that I may keep because their mothers milked much better than I expected them to. I may breed them next month for May kidding. By then I will know better who of the others need to go because of low production and how much milk is needed to sell.

Next year I will have to be more strict with myself about whose doe kids I will keep for adding to the herd. I am also going to implement raising the doe kids on a CAE preventive program.  CAE is caprine arthritis encephalitis. I also plan on going on DHIA, dairy herd improvement association, this will keep official milk records on the does. It will also tell me the butterfat, protein and somatic cell count of each goat. These are all helpful in deciding who stays, who goes and whose kids I keep.

There is always something new to add or change in dairy farming whether it be cows, goats or sheep. You need to constantly try to improve the quality of life for the animal so that it will improve the quality of life for the farmer. It's a never ending process.

Thanks for reading. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been awhile

since my last blog. It's hard trying to think of things to write about.
In my last blog I wrote about Happy and that she wasn't feeling well. I was hesitant about writing about her again because she didn't make it. I had moved her to a pen by herself and put her back on antibiotics. I called the vet to ask if there was anything else I could do for her.  I made the quick trip to the vets for a different bottle of medicine and came back to give her a shot. I went about the rest of the morning doing the weekend cleaning. When I stopped to check on her she seemed very distressed. I got her a bucket of warm water. I let her drink and then I sat with her stroking her head and chin. She seemed in more pain so I layed down next to her to comfort her and I began to cry. As I lay there she seemed to relax and breathe more easily and then she stopped. I was glad she was no longer in pain but sad she was gone. Happy has been layed to rest on the hill next to the grove of maples.

Happy leaves behind two beautiful daughters, Harmony and Heather and a few great milk records for a 4 year old.

This is one of the saddest things about farming losing one of your better animals long before they should go. It's part of the life that I have been given and I am Happy for it.

Back to the rain

Well we have rain again. It doesn't rain just a little it rains a lot. Makes for little to do outside. Yesterday I did get some leaves mulched and picked up. I put them in for the pigs to rut around in and to compost. Last night we went to Jason's brother Josh and sister-in-law Emma's house for pizza and wings. Emma's mother Jenny and her partner Mark are visiting from England. It was a fun time.

Chores went fine this morning. Happy seems to not be feeling good again, so I put her in a pen by herself so she can rest. Happy was diagnosed with hardware in August and has a magnet in her to hold it in place (if that is what it is). Some days she seems fine and other days not. She can butt heads one day and then just lay or stand and moan. She did come in heat and I had her bred. This is where farming can be really tough. ?????

There are only a couple more milk pick-ups for cheese left for the season. The girls are getting ready to go dry for the year. The last few weeks of the milk will be used for the goat milk soap. Then it's rest time for the farm and get things ready for kidding season. February seems a long way a way and then boom!

Talk again soon,

John

Colder weather is here

It's been a busy week.  My dad and I were able to get all of the manure that was piled up from the big spring clean out and all that was piled from the summer spread on the hay field the last 3 days. Last year it took us weeks to do. This year went faster because my dad decided he needed some new "toys". He bought himself a new 50 horsepower Kabota and a bigger manure spreader. It made the work go so much faster.  Thank you dad.

Had a couple more goats bred. There are only 3 more of the milking girls to breed. Toby got to join the "keeper" girls on Sunday. So far Davisa has been bred.

I finished the scarf today!!!!!!!!  Now I have to put the measurements down for Jason to post. I even started another one today. I have one row done.

The new milking system seems to be working great. The milking season is extended til the end of the month for cheese making. Then November will be used for the soap. I also will make some farmers cheese for me and Jason. Jason's niece McKenzie likes it alot too.

Last night we went to a local cafe to hear a friend of Jason's sing and play guitar. Jason had taken a college class with him. The funny thing is I new his mother. We played in all-county concert band back in the early 80's. It was a very enjoyable evening.

Josh's parents Jackie and Dave arrived today. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  They are such wonderful people. I enjoy their visits SO much.

Well that's all for now.

A few good days

It's been nice having a few good days to do some things outside. My Dad has been able to be here during the wekk now that Shirley's restaurant is closed for the season. We have done some barn cleaning.
Today we put more round bales in the barn for the girls to eat. Guess what it's suppose to rain for the next couple days. again. It's suppose to be heavy at times on Friday.

Last Saturday I had a new milking system put in on a trial basis. It is a co-pulsation system. It is suppose to be easier on the goats mammary system and improve the quality of the milk. We will see if it helps for the last few weeks or if it will make a bigger difference next year.

Only a few more af the milking does left to have bred. Next weekend I will put Toby in with the younger girls to begin his "work".

Almost done with the scarf!!

Later.

Is that the sun?

Well after 4 days of rain the sun has finally decide to show itself. The ground is saturated. Have had to keep an eye on the sump pump too.
Have had several more does bred in the last few days. Several of them have been repeats so that means not quite as many in February just more for March. Bucks during breeding season is still the most disgusting smelling time ever.

Still working on the scarf. I have about  four feet done. How many feet long is a scarf? 5? 6?

Time to go check on the goats and see if anyone else is in heat to move to their chosen buck. Then it's time to start the evening chores. My Dad won't be stopping in tonite, he and Mom are going to a church supper.

Later.

Rain Rain go away.....

I imagine most everyone on the Eastern coast are saying this to themselves. With it raining so much I only can do the daily indoor chores in the barn. Of course this gives me the opportunity to do things in the house that get put off because there is so much to do outside. When you look at what needs to be done it's very hard to get motivated. So I have done a few things.

I have also started crocheting again. I am using the yarn Phoebe gave me. Phoebe was an intern here at the farm over the summer. Hi Phoebe we miss you! I have decided I will try to make a few scarfs and put them in the store. I do a little bit while I am watching TV. When winter hits I'll try and get into making the blankets.

That's it for now. Going to go check on the girls and then run some errands.

Sunday- a day of rest?

Sunday was a slower day.  Up at my usual 4 am. Did the milking. Spent extra time in the house working on the web page. Did a little filming with Josh. Had a bite of lunch and watched a little TV. Then I swept the barn out to be ready for the Reformed church of Sharon Springs to come for a tour for their rally day.

The tour went great. There were about 20 in the group. One of the group had lived in the Beekman when he was younger and told a couple stories about the crypt and the underground railroad tunnels.

After the group left it was time to milk. The goats are nearing the end of their lactations so milking is much faster now. My former neighbor Trooper Phil made a suprise visit. It was nice to see him and catch up on how he and his family are.  Jason came back from a visit with his parents and we finished up the barn chores.

Sunday is laid to rest.

This is my first time blogging. I'm not quite sure what really should be going here. So I may just do a journal type entry. I'll start with this weekend. Saturday was a busy day cleaning the barn. My dad usually comes over and runs the tractor while I shovel and fork. We got over three-fourths of the barn all cleaned out. Smelled bad but it looks nice.

Had one more doe bred, Trinket, bred to Yaris. That makes 41 that have been with the bucks. Going to be a busy February. March will be busy too will breed about 20 more for then and then 20 yearlings for the end of March beginning of April.

Finished up the day with milking and was done about 6:30. Had a big salad and some salmon. Watched a little TV and that was it.

Til next time.