I have never had such a diverse bunch of goats....
Casper - registered Saanen Buck - White
J.T. - Boer Buck - Black
Mimi - registered LaMancha Doe - Brown with white and black trim
Mimi's Un-named LaMancha kids 1 boy, 1 girl - both tan
Jeanie - Purebred Toggenburg Doe - Brown and White (I'm sure she is registered because she has the tattoos and scrapies tag but I got her at a livestock auction so I don't know her background)
Pipsqueak - LaMancha/Boer cross - Black with Brown trim
Each one has their own little quirks which I don't always take time to appreciate... but tonight I did.
Mimi - needs her regular grain ration, an Amish made mix, with a scoop of sunflower seeds on top to help her put on a little weight and keep up her milk production. She doesn't mind sharing her mix with her babies, before it is time for them to go to their own 'rooms' for the night.
In the mean time, I caught the barred rock hen who somehow escaped from the chicken pen and put her back in with everyone else. Checked for eggs... OMG there were 6 in the nest boxes.... a record so far. There are 8 hens in there (well only 7 today).
Fed and watered the rabbits.
Checked in on the two HUGE white hens (more about them at some point) that live in the pen way at the end of the barn and there was another egg IN the nest ... a first for these girls, as they have yet to lay the eggs anywhere buy in front of the door. I know there is no way they will be able to get up into a normal nest box so I fixed a nest on the floor for them, in an old tire. I was begining to think they couldn't even get in that on their own.... yea ... I was wrong!
Back to Mimi and her kids, who are still on the milk stand sharing their feed. Take the kids to their separate pens for the night. Put Mimi in her pen.
Getting Pipsqueak out to the milkstand is no easy task.... she doesn't lead well at all but I am working with her trying to get her ready for next year's milking season.... hopefully by then we will both know what to expect from the other.
As for right now when I get her up there she immediately sits...yes I said it ... she sits down on her butt, like a dog (I really need to get a picture of this),while eating her grain. She is such a nervous little thing I'm not even sure if she will make a good milker - but I will try. She is a yearly and lost a set of twins a month or so before they were due. I suspect it had something to do with the way the rest of the herd treats her.
While I was waiting for Pipsqueak to finish I fed and watered the Coonhound, who's Kennel has an entry into the barn. and gave all the goats their hay and water.
Once Pipsqueak is done I bring Jeanie out to the milk stand ... she is the only one I am currently milking twice a day. I have had her for almost two weeks and have yet to find a grain that she will eat. Tonight I bought a new kind (Blue Seal's Course 16). As soon as I put it in her dish she started nibbling at it but wasn't really eating much. Once I started milking she stopped eating... maybe she isn't used to getting grain on the milk stand... I don't know.... I just wish I could figure her out. But she did eat more of this new feed then she has of the feed I give to all the others so I took what she didn't eat and put in her pen with her for the night... maybe she will eat it later.
Casper and J.T don't even care what Kind of feed or hay they get ... they are such nice boys. They wait pretty patiently for me to get done fussing with the girls and feed them too.
