Waiting, waiting...

This time of year the time just crawls as I count down the days (hours, minutes) until kidding begins.  Tiny Town Treble is due first on March 21, so still seven weeks to go.  She doesn't look pregnant at all, so I'm sure hoping she is.  There's no reason to think she isn't as I haven't seen any signs of heat and I know she was bred back in October.  I don't expect any more than twins.  She seems just a tad thin to me, so I've begun supplementing her with a small amount of alfalfa and grain.  Once she hits four weeks before kidding I'll begin increasing the ration up to close to where I think she'll need to be for milk production.

Sweet Garden Blossom is the next doe due on March 31.  Blossom has looked pregnant since she was about six weeks old!  She has incredible rumen capacity, which I hope will bode well for future milk production, but it's hard to tell what's kids, and what's stomach!  Blossom is maturing beautifully with plenty of size and a grand, regal bearing.  I continue to be confident of her potential, both in the show ring and in the milk pail.

Tiny Town Blue Suede Shoes is due on April 1.  "Melody" looks very pregnant, about ready to pop in fact.  I'm expecting triplets at the very least, very possibly more. 

Tiny Town BP Sweet Muzette is due on April 15.  She's maturing beautifully, but shows no signs of impending motherhood.  It really is too soon for her.  It's hard to tell with all of the hair, but she has a very level topline and is very smoothly blended.  If her udder lives up to expectations she'll be a force to reckon with in the show ring.

The final kidding here will be Tiny Town Sweet Serenade, due May 12.  I'm glad it's so far away as Sara is growing slowly and needs a good bit more size for my liking for a safe birth.  She has three and a half months more, so all should be good.  I have begun to supplement her diet with some alfalfa and grain to help, watching carefully to be sure she doesn't get over-conditioned.  Fat first fresheners are a recipe for disaster!

Melody is now herd queen, the other four don't seem to have a clear hierarchy, although Blossom seems terrified of Treble.  I'm not sure what happened there!  Muzette and little Sara can hold their own with anyone except Melody.

I'm expecting 8-12 kids.  I anticipate that all of the males will be sold as wethers, but I won't make a final decision until I see udders and the kids themselves.  I plan to keep two doelings, so should have several for sale, depending on my buck to doe ratio!  I have not done well the past two years, my totals for the two years combined:  Does 3 -- Bucks 8.  I'm certainly due a doe year.  I'll be doing the doe dance as kidding draws nearer.

Eggs for Sale

We are officially in the egg business.  My plan is to post a sign on the goatyard fence whenever I am home and have eggs to sell.  Since I only have 24 hens I won't have an unending supply, so I thought this would be a good plan.  So, if you are in the area, stop by for some farm fresh, organic, free range eggs.

Today's Menu

Breakfast:  Home Cured Bacon, Egg and Goat Cheese Omelet, Gogurt with Blueberries
Main Meal:  Grilled Grassfed Hamburgers, Glazed Turnips and Carrots
Evening Snack:  Hardboiled Eggs dipped in mayonnaise, apple and peanut butter

Ingredients from today's menu courtesy of Sweet Garden Farm:  bacon, eggs, goat cheese, gogurt, turnips, and carrots.  The blueberries were hand picked about five miles from the farm.  The grassfed beef is from Potomac, Maryland.  Now if I could just get some apple trees and peanut plants I'd really be local!!  :)

November 2010 Update

Just a general update of all that is going on:

Goats - I continue to move towards a show herd.  I now own the following goats:

Tiny Town Blue Suede Shoes (Melody) - a terrific milker and a proven producer of show quality kids.
Tiny Town Treble - a solid milker with show potential in her own right.
Sweet Garden Blossom - maturing beautifully: deep, wide, and long. I expect big things from her next year.
Tiny Town BP Sweet Muzette - A flashy blue-eyed doeling with potential for excellent milk production and outstanding conformation.
Tiny Town Sweet Serenade (Sara) - A beautiful white doeling with royalty in her blood.  Hopefully this precious girl will live up to her pedigree.

I've posted a kidding schedule here:  http://www.sweetgardengoats.com/Kidding_Schedule.html.  Reservations will be accepted.  No deposit is required.

Melody and Blossom have both been bred to NC Promisedland Peeping Tom.
Treble has been bred to Tiny Town Sunny Surprise.
Muzette has been bred to NC Promisedland SIA Samuria.
Sara will be bred to NC Promisedland SIA Samuria in a couple of weeks.

Tigger is still here, but will be returned to Tiny Town Goats in a couple of weeks.  That will complete my plans for this year.  Then I will just have to wait for all of the girls to kid next year and see what the stork brings!

I have also placed a deposit on a buckling and doeling from Rosasharn Farm in Massachusetts.  Those additions should put me in good stead, along with my current does, to move forward towards a show herd with solid milk production.

Pigs -  The pigs have grown and grown and grown, and now they are ready for the slaughterhouse:

Tomorrow evening we are taking them up to Mt. Airy Locker for slaughter.  We'll bring them back down here, hopefully Wednesday, to butcher them ourselves.  I'll have to report back later on flavor and how the processing went.

Broiler Chickens - we ended up processing about 75 broilers.  They are all (except for the ones we've already eaten) in the freezer.  We've been extremely happy with the chickens.

Layer Hens - the twenty-five Rhode Island Reds that we purchased in the Summer began laying a couple of weeks ago.  I don't expect a lot of eggs until Spring, but I did collect eight eggs today.  They are still mostly small eggs, with an occasional larger one.

Garden - The greenhouse is up.  I have six squares producing lettuce, cabbage, Spring onions, Swiss Chard, and spinach.  The root cellar holds turnips, kohlrabi, beets, and carrots.  So, we're set for the winter.

And that's my November 2010 update...  Hopefully I'll have more time this winter for blogging, but Spring will come and along with that a heavy show schedule, milking, cheesemaking, gardening, and normal life responsibilities.  It's all good...

Updates

Well faithful blog readers, I apologize that it's been so long since I last posted.  I've been spending time getting my new website up and running and making plans for next year.

In the late Summer I decided to move from a "just milk" operation to show goats.  My reasoning is simply that I need to breed to produce milk, so I might as well breed the very best goats I can.  And, if I'm breeding the very best goats I can I might as well show them and be able to sell these higher quality  kids for a better price.

As you know, I had already rehomed Una as a pet.  Tigger, my other original milk doe purchase, is still producing well and is a fine doe, but will never be a show goat and has proven not to produce show quality kids, so she is being retired.

Melody, the goat I purchased this year to add to my milk supply, is a proven producer of show quality kids, and a truly exceptional milk producer.  I have also acquired her daughter, Treble, another good milk producer with show potential in her own right.  She actually has one leg towards a championship.

I kept the doeling from Una this year, Blossom, who continues to mature and look really outstanding in her general appearance.  I also purchased Tiny Town Sweet Serenade for her outstanding show potential.  I believe I have one more junior doe on the way this week to add to my show string for next year.  More details and pictures later about her.

These two mature does, Melody and Treble, and two-three junior does will form the foundation for my show string.  I have also partnered with another breeder and purchased a buckling from Dills in Oklahoma, and I have placed a deposit on a second buckling for next year from Rosasharn Farm in Massachusetts.  (These bucks will not be available for outside service.)

This should give me a good foundation to begin to build a premier quality Nigerian Dwarf goat herd.  In order to achieve this goal without ending up with 100 goats, I will need to cull ruthlessly.  Therefore, kids will be available for sale every Spring beginning 2011, and one-three adult does in milk will more than likely be available after each kidding season beginning 2012.

I've lined up a list of fairs and goat shows for next year, and plan to invest in a small trailer to house the goats for travel.  So, I'm on my way.

Much thanks in helping me every step of the way to my friend and mentor, Jane Bailey at Tiny Town Goats.  She not only advises, but has made every step of the way truly fun!

New Website!

I have a new website!  There's still a lot of editing and work to be done, but it's up and running.  Check it out here:  http://www.sweetgardengoats.com/. 

Tiny Town Sweet Serenade (Sara) has arrived.  Pictures soon!  She's taking a good bit of bullying from the rest of the herd, but is doing very well.