It ain't me!

  There was a new stink at Vivian Acres, and this time it was not ALL Jethro.  I mean Jethro is beginning to get nice and stinky for the girls next month but this was something new.  Poor Jethro and his hormones but that is another blog.

  I put the goats to bed as I normally do around sunset and everyone settled in for the nite including me.  I awoke at about 4am and heard some commotion coming from the boys barn.   With Jetro beginning the rutt sometimes he likes to get a little physical at nite and pushes the other boys around a little and you can hear their horns hitting the side of the barn.  This has become normal.  No one gets hurt and it is just a goat thing so I don’t pay much attention.  But this was unusually loud and kept going.  I heard one of the boys scream and I knew something was up.  I jumped up, got dressed and ran out to see what was going on.  As I approached the barn I began to get some idea.  The smell of an unwelcome visitor.  The boys were all yelling now so i hurriedly opened the door to the barn.  The goats could not have run out of there faster if the place was on fire.  The smell of skunk was powerful.  The trespasser then leisurely made his exit seemingly unaffected by the incident.  He walked out and even brushed my leg on his leisurely exit .  He was big!  The size of a small dog.  I held still as I did not want to also become a victim.  I looked down and saw that the skunk was mostly white with only a small strip of black down his back.  I then realized this was the same skunk that got my dogs about a month ago so he is a repeat offender.  He had somehow gotten under the small space under the barn door.  I am so glad the goats had been sheared and their fiber safely stored.

There were several concerns after this.  #1 What if the skunk was rabid.  He didn’t act rabid.  It was still dark and the goats were very excited and there was no way of telling if any of them had been bitten.  Hard to catch them and do an exam with a flashlight.  When the sun came up and the goats had relaxed some i did see some small marks on them but their location (on their backs) and appearance led mem to believe they were from each other’s horns.  My goats have had all their immunizations including their rabies.  A quick call to the Vet set my mind at ease.     #2 Jethro was the only one sprayed.  He has been working for a while getting his own funk going, and I was afraid the skunk smell would interfere with that.    This also would mean that we could not use deodorizer.  Well we are not planning on breeding until 1 Nov. and the skunk smell is going away on it’s own.  #3  The barn stunk like a skunk and the goats would not go in.  Well fall cleaning had not been done yet so  there was my motivation.  I spent the day friday moving all the hay from the barn.  I was lucky that when the skunk had sprayed, he only got it on the hay and no further decolorizing was needed.  #4  I fixed the bottom of the door to keep the skunk from revisiting.  I also plan to submit the skunk to the Fish and Game people for rabies testing if he returns .

Some lessons learned are you need to check the barns to check for ANY areas where unwanted animals can get in.  We were lucky.  Also “MAKE SURE ALL YOUR ANIMALS ARE UP TO DATE ON THEIR SHOTS!”  you just never know.

The offenders cousin

Jethro Lookin Good

Fall has come to Vivian Acres again.  Beautiful fall.  Cooler temperatures, leaves changing colors, and the farm has begun some of it’s fall rituals.  There is a lot to do before old man winter sets in.  One of those is the shearing of the goats.  This is the first year that I have decided to take this extra step by doing this for my animals myself.  Anogra goats have to be sheared every 6 months.  Their hair grows an inch a month and left for longer than that, their fleeces would be a mess.  This is also necessary before another ritual can take place and that is the anual date night with the buck.  There would be so much hair it could make things more difficult for Jethro to perform his duties.  The exception to the rule is the kids that were born this past spring.  I intend to let their fleeces grow and I have a woman that will use their soft curls to line her custom made mittens.

I attended a class last spring on shearing.  Unfortunately for me all they had was sheep to shear.  The class involved a lecture in the morning followed by a demonstration and then they brought in the flock.  The idea was for us to chear as many as possible to get some experience.  This reinforced my love for goats.  The sheep were a lot bigger than my goats and certainly a lot less friendly.  There are many differences between sheep and goat anatomy also.  Sheep have more bulk than goats and their skin is a lot tighter.  The shears run smoothly down their skin.  Goats skin is a lot looser.  When shearing, you have to be careful not to get the loose folds caught in the clippers then cutting the skin.  Unfortunately there were not goats at the class, but there were a couple of master shearers that had experience with goats and we talked about it.  

Anyway, the decision was made to shear the goats the first week in October.  This is soon enough for breeding and also their fleeces will grow sufficient enough so they will have a fleece to protect them from the Vermont winter.

I knew that Jethro would be the toughest since he is my only intact buck and he would be first.

I began with placing Jethro on his butt.  If you take a goat (or a sheep) and place them on their butt with their head between your legs, they will go to sleep, kinda.    Then the shearing began.  Starting first on the chest then belly being careful to avoid the pizzle (opening for male parts).  Then the legs, sides and butt.   Before long,  Jethro’s thick fleece was all in the bag and Jethro had a new look.  A nice clean look, and I had my first goat sheared.   I have to admit I was pretty pleased with myself.

The goats are sheared now and fall is steaming along.  I have gained another skill to become more self sufficient on the farm.  There are so many things to do before winter comes to prepare the animals to help them have an easier winter. 

Clearing one of Jethro's front legs

Jethro just chillin

In brief, since last May we were blessed with a successful kidding season.  We had a set of twins Elvis and Priscilla born to Gwen, Pink gave birth to Janis Joplin who is very sweet and had to be hand raised by Georgi and I (Story to follow)  Sharon our dairy goat gave birth to twins Axel and Slash.  Although they are half dairy, they have beautiful soft fleeces.  Momma gave birth to our little Ga Ga and lastly we adopted one more goat from Kirby’s Happy Hoofers a wonderful blue eyed girl named Averil.  I will go through and introduce them individually in later blogs.

Vivian Acres has also grown in another way this past summer.  I will be introducing later the Pussycat Dolls.  These are a group of 34 chickens  living on the hill which have begun earning their keep providing us with eggs.  In the spring we had housed 19 meat chickens who had no name as a group but they were only here for 6 weeks and then moved into the freezer.  There were some real lessons learned there that I will share.

We had a summer of farmers markets, sometimes 3 each week.  Man that was a lot of work.  They are beginning to wind down now and we had a good time and met a lot of great people and sold some yarn and our goat milk soap.  They were a lot of work but in most cases worth it.

Of course our regular residents of Vivian Acres have made it through another summer, mostly without incident.  With fall comes shearing (which I have been doing myself this year) and later it will be date night with Jethro (our resident buck) who has already begun making himself pretty for the girls.

I hope to be blogging regularly again as there is so much to tell.

Naked goats on the hill

The gang enjoying the warm weather

    I was outside working yesterday and I heard a familiar sound that has been absent for a few months.  The honking of the geese overhead this time though they were heading home after vacationing down south.   The warmer days (mid 40s) and the appearance of a chipmonk running through the goat pen which has been looking a little less white every day can mean only one thing.  Spring is coming to Vivian Acres.  It is not here yet, (nights are still in the low 20s and everyone keeps telling me there will be at least one more winter-like push) but it is coming none the less.

    Here in Vermont this time for some means it is time to tap the Maple trees for sugaring but here at Vivian Acres it means it is time of spring cleaning.  During the harsh winter it is important that that the goats have a dry warm place to sleep.  Inside the barn the goats take care of this themselves to some degree.  Goats are very wasteful when it comes to their hay.  I have read that they waste about 30% of what is given them to eat, just pulling it out onto the barn floor and once it is trampled they will not eat it.  This waste is what is used by many for their buffer from the cold ground.  It slowly builds up and with the propper moisture provided by their urine etc this growing layer of hay begins to compost.  The heat given off is like a heating blanket for them.  I have picked up their droppings, they need the place clean, and each day a new dry layer of hay is added to the pack.  Goats do not excrete the amonia in urine as other animals may so there is no smell.  Healthy goats do not excrete any diseases this way either.  I am still amazed by their cleanliness in that respect.  I had last cleaned out the old hay last fall, as many do and just let them just have at it.  Then comes spring cleaning!

Entrance to the barn on day 1 of cleaning

    Over the winter the barn had accumulated more than 2 feet of hay.  I found myself stooping over more and more to keep from hitting my head.  The temp inside was nearly 10 degrees warmer at the level of the pack.   For 3 days using a pick, pitchfork and a wheelbarrow I removed the hay.  With each dig, the steam rose from the pack.  The odor was more like what you would get from a pile of wet leaves that has been laying there for a while.  The goats were very interested in what was going on.  They sat on their hill chewing their cuds watching me travel back and forth from the barn to the compost pile more than 100 times.   It was like being on an archeologic dig sort of.  I found the ear tag that pink had lost, several misplaced grain bowls and even a glove that one of the goats had pulled from my coat pocket months ago.  And still the goats watched.

      Eventually I was able to stand straight  again in my barn and I reclaimed for the goats what was theirs.  I thought they may notice but being goats, they just took it all in stride.    I also took a dust brush and dusted the whole barn down as a lot had accumulated.

Last corner of the barn. Yeah!

    Spring cleaning is more than just cleaning up a mess.  Parasites common to goats like lice and intestinal worms are more dormant in the winter.  Lice of course can still live on the goats,  just not on our goats.  As spring comes, the temps rise and these dormant fiends come back to life.  It is important then to pay particular attention to barn cleanliness.  They really don’t need all that heat in there anyway.  It is also important to keep the barn as dust free as possible.  No cobwebs etc.  Having electricity running to the barn for heating water buckets and even the light could become a real fire hazard and all it would take is a spark to ignite the dust and then if anyone has seen a pile of hay on fire………  It is wild.

    I normally clean the barn every 3-4 weeks or more if needed but am glad I got the spring cleaning out of the way.  We also have plenty of good compost for the gardens courtesy of the gang.

Fat Albert enjoying all the new space.

Jethro jumping for joy when he met his roommates

    Last saturday, we cranked up the van and headed out to meet our newest family member, Jethro.  I had heard it through the Goatvine, kinda like a grapevine only with goats, that there was a gentle buck in search of a new home.  The farm we got him from is located in Eastern Vermont, where he lived with his own girls but his owners were interested in getting some new blood for their does by next breeding season.  This happens frequently with people who breed their does, eventually the doelings grow up and you certainly cannot breed them with their own daddy so it is time to find a new daddy for the does.  It is unwise to have more than one breeding buck at a time as during the rutt they tend to become very agressive and teritorial and can hurt each other and the other goats on your farm.

    After talking to Tedd, and finding out more about Jethro I decided with him that Vivian Acres would be a good fit for him.  It was about a 2 hr drive to his old home. When we first saw Jethro we fell in love with him.  He was very gentle and welcomed us with his own little dance.  I thought at first he was rearing up to butt us with his horns but on observation it was explained that he was playing with

Jethro Arrives at Vivian Acres

us.  His little tail was wagging about a mile a min and instead of charging he simply went back on all 4′s.  He gobbled up the treats we gave him and we loaded him in the back of the van.  We brought a kennel to put him in but we decided he should just ride like the rest of the goats in the back of the van.  He rode back well laying down and sometimes standing to look out the window and wag his tail at the passing cars.

    It was easy to get him into the pen with the other goats.  They all ran down the hill and began sniffing him and I had to believe he enjoyed the attention.  Soon the goats wandered off and he was with them when they went, straying only at times to scout out his new diggs.   Soon he was doing his little dance and eating at the feeder with the rest.    Angoras are so cool, it does not take too much time for them to decide if they like a new goat, we are blessed that so far they have not had any problems with new permenant or temporary (Mugwart) guests.

The rush to meet Jethro

  Next Fall, we will be using Jethro for our kidding needs.  We are excited about having our own buck on the farm since I will have more control over when I can put them together for breeding.   The other bonus is that he is originally from Mass so he also offers new blood to the herd here in the north.  New blood is always good.  We plan to keep him for the next 2 or 3 breeding seasons.  We plan to enjoy the big guy until it is time to move him to greener pastures.

Jethro and the Gang hanging

Jethro showing off

Sharon the Excitable one

Beautiful Snow

    Last weekend, we were lucky enough to get nearly 3 feet of snow.  It was nice and fluffy and turned the country side into a pristine playground.  Some people look at this as an excuse to hibernate by sitting next to a nice warm fire sipping hot cocoa  and looking at the snow from their window.  Well Georgi and I looked at it as an excuse to break out the snow shoes and enjoy.

    For those of you that don’t know, snow shoes are flat pieces of plastic that have a cleat on the bottom for traction that you strap to the bottom of your hiking boots.  This area that is larger than your normal shoe distribute your weight and push down on the snow allowing you to walk easier.  You don’t really walk ontop of the snow, you still sink down some but it certainly makes it easier than your foot sinking down and the snow coming up to your knee.

    The day we went the temperature was around 7 degrees so we had to bundle up.  Not too much though, you don’t want to work up a sweat.  Yes you can work up a sweat at 7 degrees if you wear too many clothes.

Georgi and Jay on the trail

    Well we donned our long underwear, winter coats, got some water and hit the trail behind our house.  It did not take any coaxing to get our border collie Jay to go with us.  He doesn’t need any snow shoes , he enjoys just plowing through to keep up.

    Behind our house there is a large maze of trails weaving through the woods.  Some is privately owned but the majority is owned by the park system.  I am not sure how much there is but there is a LOT of woods and a lot of wildlife living there.  There are a lot of deer tracks and other animal tracks.  In that area last spring there was a black bear that was roming looking for something to eat after the winter hibernation.  Sometimes at night we can hear the scream of a fisher cat and a few nights ago there were even a pack of coyotes hollering.  We really enjoy walks in this area and each season has something to offer.  We love our little corner of Vermont.

Making our own trail

Me and Jay Posing

 

My Snow Queen

 

Ho Ho Ho

    Christmas came for the goats at Vivian Acres a little late but better late than never.   They received a present that they can all enjoy.  They got themselves their very own Christmas tree.  Now this was not one that was set up with lights and Christmas balls but more one they could eat.  Yes eat.

   One of the things I noticed when I let the goats in their pen for the first time was that the first thing they all ran to and ate where the small evergreens located in their pen.  The cedars and pine trees went fast.  Whenever it got windy and a branch would fall off of one of the many pine trees located in their pen, they dive on it and devour it.  Since goats are entirely food driven, I thought of the perfect present for them.

    We have a fake tree at our house but our neighbor across the street bought a real tree.  I asked them if when they were done with it I could have it for the goats.  I knew the goats would love it.  Now you can’t just feed any tree to the goats though.  It has to be clean in that it can’t have any tinsil or similar decorations like flocking as they would make the goats sick.  Also some people put chemicals in the water to help the tree live longer and i can’t imagine that would be good for them either.

So yesterday, I went out and shoveled an area for the goats to congregate (we had more than 30 inches of snow over the weekend) and threw the tree out there for them.

Goats chowing down

I had shoveled a path for the goats from the barn to the feeder but the goats just plowed through the snow to get at the tree and attacked the tree like it was maple sugar candy.  I knew I had picked the perfect gift.  All their tails were wagging and satified grunts were everywhere.  Even the goats that had been staying in the barn since the heavy snow came running out to get theirs.  I don’t expect the tree to last too long.

    Giving the goats a Christmas tree will not hurt them.  After eating what they wanted they returned to the feeder for the hay.  A steady diet of Christmas tree would not be good for them.   Too much of any change in diet is not good for them.  Their whole process of digestion is very delicate and you should do what you can to keep their diet as constant (I use hay and grain) as possible but hey we all ate a lot of things at the holidays and this special treat was enjoyed by all.  And it is a great way to recycle the tree.

Gwen getting hers

lovin it

Goats enjoying? their winter wonderland

   A couple of days ago we woke to a nice suprise.  Once again, winter has expressed itself in a beautiful way.  The ground was covered by a blanket of snow and this time the snow had also decorated the trees.      I really enjoy the snow and nothing is more beautiful in the winter than to have the ground covered by a pure white blanket that covers up all the otherwise drab countryside.  Since the temperature was relatively warm (32) the snow that fell was wetter and stickier than at times when the temperature is lower.  Because of that the snow also sticks to all the branches in the trees giving them a picturesque view.    Although it is beautiful it is also sometimes dangerous.   

     The streets were a mess with the wet stuff making it difficult to drive.  Well the driving is not really the problem it is the decreased inability for the car to stop or make sharp turns at a fast rate of speed.  Since we do not live on a main drag the plows are always a little late getting up our street. In fact up until today the plows had not really been very active and with the cold temps the snow has not melted off the street. 

 The other problem is too much  snow sticking in the trees.  Luckily by the end of the day there was only about 5 inches of the wet stuff. 

Snow in my back yard

 As the snow gathered on the branches it weighs down the branches.  This can cause the branches to break since they are already less flexible since they are frozen.  As a boy I remember large sized branches and even trees breaking during a snow storm.  Especially since some snow storms also have strong winds.  The trees and the large bushes were bent pretty good but since there was only a small amount of snow and no wind with the storm, it produced a sight that was so beautiful that only mother nature could have done it.  No one in Hollywood with a team of special effects artists could reproduce this.

Snow in the trees in the front yard

More out front

Snow on one of the bushes that still has some berries on it

Sharon Showing off her new coat

With the temperatures dropping with no relief in sight until spring (we live in Vermont after all!) and this being my first winter with the goats I have been keeping a close watch on all the residents.

    As expected, the Angoras are doing well with the cold.  It is hard to believe that with the temperature of 15 degrees, they are often laying up by the feeder in the sun like it was the middle of the summer.  When the wind blows, they retire to the barn and I give them some extra hay inside.  The other goats, the non-Angoras namely Ozzie a nigerian dwarf, Sharon a dairy goat and Weezer and Atreyu the dairy colored angora mixes seem to prefer to be outside in all weather.  They all seem to do really good unless the weather gets bad and they also retire to the barn.  Sharon though seems to be having a little trouble with the cold.  I have noticed her shivering.  I did some research and found that like the rest of us, goats can shiver in the cold.  When they are healthy it is not really a problem, they are just trying to stay warm.  But being a doting goat herder I wanted to do something for her to help her out some.  I bought her a coat.

Sharon is the most fashionable at the feeder

     Goats are outdoor animals.  They are used to being outdoors.  The one thing you don’t want to do to them is to get them overheated in the cold weather.  For this reason, the barn has windows in it and the roof has vents in it.  The goat’s body temp is about 103 and they can generate a lot of heat.  Conventional thought says that the temp inside the barn should not be more than 10 degrees above the outside temp.    The barn is there to keep them dry and out of the wind.  For Sharon, the temptation, for me anyway, would be to get her a nice fleece sweater to keep her nice and warm.  This would not be healthy for her.  Instead I got her a spandex type coat that would be both stylish and functional.   It insulates her just enough i think and helps to break the wind and to keep the snow off her back.  When I put it on her, which was a chore in itself as she is very strong, she at first bucked like a wild bronco.  Then in true goat fashion in about 1 min she went to the feeder and began to eat like nothing was different.  It continues to amaze me how things just don’t bother the goats.  People could learn a lot from goats.

    I have other coats for the other non-Angoras and will continue to watch to see how they do as we have another cold snap.  I think that the warm water with molassas and the Angoras continuing to grow their hair will make for a peaceful and confortable winter here at Vivian Acres.

Sharon Posing

Ozzie Jealous??

Goats seemingly uneffected by the cold

Sometimes as the saying goes, the greatest plans of goats and men often go awry.  I added goats since we have no mice, at least that I know of.  I spent the fall planning ahead for a water supply for my goats this winter.  Since this is the first winter I have had goats, I had no real experience with this problem.  It all made sense to me then but now I have had to resort to plan “B”. 

    The water heater was keeping the water tank ice free when the temperatures dipped below freezing well enough.  The heater also kept the hog nipples warm enough that the goats were able to drink the warmer water from them.  Well for the past 3 or 4 days the temperature has been much below that, as expected living in Northern Vermont.  The nights have been around 0 degrees with wind chills at some points -18 degrees.  For those that don’t know, when the wind blows, especially from the north it feels much colder than it is.  Wind chill is what the temperature actually feels like.  It is so cold then that if when working out there I was to get some water on my gloves, they would be frozen within a few mins.

   I went outside and noticed the goats were eating snow.  I found that kind of odd since I assumed they had plenty of water to drink.  To my suprise, when I checked the hog nipples, they were frozen solid.  So after checking the heater to make sure it was working, I discovered that my plan had not worked according to the way it was layed out.  Well, every day is a learning experience.

Hog nipple frozen solid

    I took water out of the tank and served that to the goats in buckets.  They were not drinking that much and the main reason for that was that they could not get to it soon enough.  Each hour I had to go knock the ice out of the buckets to allow access to the water.  I also noticed that Sharon and Ozzie were shivering.  This concerned me. The angora’s with all their hair were properly insulated I suppose.  I did some research online and the general concenses there was that the goats needed very warm water to drink.  This would warm them up  and help with their digestion.  It was also recommended that you should mix a bit of molasas with the water.  This would sweeten it up some and offer them a little sugar to help them with the cold.

    So I got my two 5 gallon buckets and filled them with very warm water.  Inside the water I put just a smidgen of molasas.  I do not think I could have made the goats any happier at that moment.  I put one bucket outside for the outside gang and they sucked it up.  Soon Sharon and Ozzie were not really shivering at all.  The inside gang, on that day most of the Angoras drained the other bucket also quickly.  All was well again at Vivian Acres.  Now that they have cought up on drinking I have been bringing them the two buckets twice a day.  I will give more if needed but for now that seems to be doing the trick.  An amazing part of this though is that when I went out to check after a couple of hours the water had not frozen.  Even on  a chilly below zero day.   I have also orderd heated buckets that will plug into the wall and keep the water from freezing up to -20.  This will work for the winter until it gets really cold.

    The goats are really doing well this winter so far.  With all my worrying they are just doing their thing.  The barn is always left open during the day so they can go in and find shelter from the wind.  I don’t think goats mind the cold but they really don’t like the cold wind.   My lessons in Angora Goat 101 continues.

Mike D. Chillin on the hill

Mugwart and the girls keepin warm

Weezer at 10 below

Atreyu enjoying? the snow

    Yesterday we had our first real snow.  We have had some that amounted to a dusting to an inch but this storm system dropped 6 inches or so on Vivian Acres.  I really enjoy the snow, everything seems so clean and fresh.  My concern was that this was the first snow for me with the goats.  All the goats are from Vermont and I am sure they have been snowed on before.  I was not sure whether I was going to keep them in or let them out.  With Mugwart visiting the barn is crowded and with another doe in heat I let them out for the safety of the others.

    I opened the barn as normal and put hay in the feeder up the hill and some extra in the barn so if they wanted to stay in they could.  It seems the goats could not care less about the snow.  They walked up the hill and began chowing down.  The snow just piled on their backs seemingly unnoticed.  Mugwart and Gwen continued thier romancing even in the hardest blowing of the snow.  Who knew?  Well a lot of people knew apparently but it was a lesson to be learned for me.

Snowy goats at feeder

I did some research on this seemingly ignoring of the snow by the gang.  Goats have a very thick undercoat that repels water to some degree and protects them from the cold and snow.  I know the Angoras hair is very thick but aparently it is the same for all the goats.  When things got really snowy, the goats did move into the barn on their own.

I was very pleased to see also that the water tank and hog nipples plan is a success.  We have had some cold nites, Tuesday nite was in the teens.  The heater even warms the steel nipples so the goats can have warm (45 degrees) water.  I will be interested to see how it works when the cold weather gets here.

Every Day is a learning lesson for me.  I am begining to think it is best to let the goats figure it out for themselves.  I have only had goats since May but they have been goats all their lives.  They are teaching me a lot and I am having a great time learning.

Ozzie on hill

Amy makes her way down the hill

Some goats have opted to go inside

A view down the street yesterday morning

Mugwart Showing Off

    Last Saturday, I took a ride down to Kirby’s Happy Hoofers in Brandon Vt and picked up a very important visitor for Vivian Acres.  The long awaited arrival of the future father of the springs kids.  The Big Man’s name is Mugwart.  I had never experienced this part of goat farming that is necessary if you want your herd to grow.

    Mugwart to say the least is impressive.  I have gotten used to seeing my little girls and to be introduced to an adult male, is awe inspiring.  He was big and smelly and even a little agressive.  We loaded him in the trailer and headed off to Cholchester and Vivian Acres.

    I had built a small enclosure for him with the intention of keeping him apart from the herd and would introduce one doe at a time for breeding.  Here I go with the control thing again.  Well the goats have been doing this for millions of years and Mugwart was going to do it his way.

Mugwart on the hill

   A couple of things that you may not know about the Buck Angora Goats are these.  A buck is much larger than the does.  Mature doesweigh between 70 and 110 pounds while the mature bucks are 180-225 pounds.  Their horns are much larger and thicker than the does.  Thier   body shape is even different.  Their shoulders are a lot larger and they generally look sturdier.  I can tell you from experience that they are a lot stronger too.  They are generally mild tempered like the rest of the Angoras but for one time of the year.  It is that time of year.  The does go in heat in the late fall early winter.  This means the kids will be born in May or after 145-153 days of gestation.   Mugwart is not fully grown yet as bucks reach full maturity in 5 years.  

   Mugwart has gotten a head start on prettying himself up for the girls at Debbie’s at Kirby’s are already in heat.  The problem was that Debbie was breeding her other male and since Mugwart has already prettied himself up he was feeling left out and kind of pissed off about it.  By prettied up I mean that Mugwart has made a mess of himself.   A buck will get himself ready by urinating all over himself.  The more the better.  As you can see from the picture, he has urnitated all over his face, front legs and chest.  This makes him pretty rank!  But apparently the ladies like it.

Georgi welcoming Mugwart. He is not looking at her but using his vantage point to check out the girls

   The first day Mugwart settled into his new home.  When i called the goats down from the hill, he welcomed them with a series of loud grunts and snorts.  He stuck his nose through the fence and kept sticking his tongue out.  I guess the girls also thought this was pretty impressive.  All was calm and once again I thought I was in control.

  I woke up this morning and as usual went out to feed the goats and things were pretty quiet at Mugwart’s house.  As I got closer, I realized to my horror the gate had been broken and he was gone!  Imagine my panic.  I had no idea how to go looking for him.  As i got closer to the barn, I heard some of that now familiar grunting.  Apparently he had broken out and gone to the outside of the barn  and was standing on his hind legs looking in at the girls.  Judging from the droppings, he had been there a while.  I should have known.  I was able to coax him back into his pen again but I knew this was going to be a long month if I had to repair the gate every morning. 

    I called a woman that I have come to rely on for help with my herd at the Universty of Vermont Extension, Alex and posed my dilema.   She knows how much of a control freak i am when it comes to my goats and she suggested I just let him loose in the pen.   She assured me that it would be alright and I decided to give it a try. 

    The girls and the rest of the herd were at the feeder when he entered.  He ran at a speed that was amazing for a goat as big as he is.   The herd dispersed quickly in anticipation.   All but one that is.  Sharon, our dairy goat stood her ground.  I thought that this was going to be a show down but once again I was wrong.   She squatted to pee, what’s up with this pee thing.   Mugwart bent to take a whiff and I swear he was smiling at me.  He then proceeded to mount Sharon, repeatedly for a period of about 5 mins.   I was in awe of the sheer intensity of the situation.  It even borderd on violent but Sharon just stood there.  When it was over, Mugwart and Sharon slowly walked back to the feeder like nothing had happened.  Maybe I was the one traumatized.  Obviously Sharon was the one that was the object of Mugwarts attention.    The other goats seem to be disinterested in Mugwart but I am sure everything will work out the way it is supposed to.  It was cute earlier today when I looked in the barn and Mugwart was laying in the back of the barn and all the other girls were all laying down close by.   Problem is the barn normally odor free, now smells like Mugwart.  He has become such a sweeter goat now even letting me go in and pet him, on the back of course, but he still has a lot of work to do before he goes home.

Do you think he'll call?

As you know the boys had to be removed from the herd as the fall arrived for the protection of the other goats, especially the does.  Even though they are young, Slim and Rob were beginning to show signs that they were making preparations to “step up”.   This would not be a good idea as they both are related to the same bloodline as the does.

Slim and Fatty still unaware they were going home

Today started for the goats as any other day, although it was kind of cold at 25 degrees.  I let them out of their little house and fed them breakfast as normal.  That is where it ended for them.  One by one I grabbed each of the boys and led them to the big pen.  I thought, or better hoped, that they would sense they were getting closer to the others and would be happy.  Instead they were very apprehensive and after putting each inside the fence, they stood there looking at me.    I guess they were waiting for me to reintroduce them.  I had forgotten that Sharon, Ozzie, Weezer, Atreyu and Courtney had not met them yet.

I went inside with some treats as an icebreaker and when they all milled about, things began to happen.  I was, as usual, immediately swamped by a mass of curly white fleece.  In that swarm were the boys.  The others tried to push them out since they were now seen as outsiders but the boys did not give up and before long,  Slim was once again trying to crawl over the other goats to get some of the hay stretchers.   I walked up the hill to watch what would be next.  There was a lot of sniffing of the “new” guys.

Sharon and Ozzie checkin out Slim

Ozzie and Sharon made a point of visiting with all the boys but Ozzie and Atreyu seemed to welcome the chance to bully a few goats their own size.  The ones i was most curious about was Momma and Slim.  Slim was walking past her when he stopped and turned to her and they began a prolonged session of sniffing each others muzzles.  I think that somewhere they recognized each other.  It was sweet.  On the other hand, Rob and his mother Gwen did not seem too chummy.  It was fun to watch the goats reaquaint  themselves with their old homes and explore some of the new additions like the water tank.

One of the most important things in a goat family is the hierarchy.  It is a matriarchy.  The larges goat is not necessarily the alpha.  In my herd the alpha is Pink.  All the other goats have a certain place in the chain of command and they are always reminded of it by those above them.  All the shuffling and some head butting was an example of the goats all readjusting their places int he family.  I have found that although some are dominant and others are not, there is never a goat that is left out of the bunch.   I know this can happen but has not happened in my herd yet.

All in all,   it was a relatively calm reunion and it is nice to have all the family back together again and it was another study in goat society for me.    Check out the Video of the homecoming:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcFyifyokR8

Rob and Fatty exploring the "new" watering system

Rob caught on quick

Slim seems no worse for the wear and tear

    Early this morning Vivian Acres was visited from the 2 of the Vets from Large Animal Medical Associates.  They are an organization who provides us with Vet services from nearby Essex Junction VT.  Steve and Brady had been to the farm on other occasions but today was a really special day.  Today was the day that Slim and Rob would be wethered.  Wethering is the removal of their ability to reproduce, castrated.

  We waited until now to do this for several reasons but mostly when a goat is wethered, their urinary system stops growing.  The rest of the goat grows but the urinary system stops.   This becomes a problem as male goats are susceptible  to kidney stones and if the tract is too narrow it can cause a lot of pain and even be life threatening.  It is recommended that the goats be at least 6 months old.

    There are many reasons people get their male goats “fixed” .  The main one is to prevent them from reproducing.  The reason we don’t want these two cuties from reproducing is two fold.  1.  Slim is from the same herd as most of the does we have.  It is not recommended that goats from within the same blood line reproduce.  After all Slim’s mother is in the herd.  Don’t go there!!  2.  Rob’s mother is also up in the herd and he is also not a pure blood white angora and although his hair is very soft, my goal is to have a regisered herd.

Rob undergoing his "procedure"

There are a few ways of accomplishing this.  One way is to put a special rubber band around the young goats area, then over a period of time the area dries up and just falls off.  This is good for small nearly new born goats but is not recommended for older goats as there are complications.  This procedure is painless for the goat.

Another way is using a metal clamp.  This clamp that kind of look like a pair of pliers crushes the cord inside and has similar results as plan 1.  I do not imagine that this method is painless.  This option was ruled out and was not even up for serious consideration.  It is not 100% effective.

  We at Vivian Acres chose the humane way.  This involved the vet giving anesthesia to the 2 goats and they went to sleep.  We set up the garage with a padded improvised O.R. table.  Drs Steve and Brady were quick and efficient.  A quick cut, some tying off and some more cutting, and it was done.  I will not share the details or any of the detailed pictures but suffice to say there was little blood and no pain. 

ditto Slim

  Slim and Rob were quick to wake up.  It was not too long before they were up and running in their pen like nothing happened.  The were chomping on hay and hollering at each other again.  I am glad because I think Georgi and I were more tramatized than they were.  Goats are amazing animals. 

  The two boys will now join the herd again in 2 weeks.  I am glad that they will be with their families again.  I am axious to see if they recognize them.  But i am sure it will be ok.  Thank you Steve and Brady for making this as easy as possible.

Rob watching his back after surgery

Oh yeah, for those that saw the “Dirty Jobs” show where they were castrating sheep, Yes it is a real way of doing it and NO we were not going to do that here at Vivian Acres.

Rich and I getting ready to feed breakfast

Each week the Morning Show “Rich and Mary’s Morning Mess”  on 101.3 Champ the two personalities, Rich and Mary,  do their football picks for the week in a competition and the loser has to do something odd.  Recently when Mary has lost she has had to go to a busy intersection for a period of time wearing Red Sox pjs (she is a Yankees fan) and go trick or treating through a neighborhood wearing a bo-peep outfit in the middle of the day.  Rich who seems to lose more times has had to go to a bar wearing a Yankees outfit and even go on a date with a transvestite.  Well, Rich lost again and the station was looking for ideas of things for Rich to do.  I called in on Tuesday with the recommendation that Rich come help me clean out the goat barn.  On Wed. I found out that Rich and Mary’s Morning Mess would be coming to Vivian Acres to broadcast their morning show so Rich could help me around the farm on my morning chores.  This was fantastic news as I was planing to clean the barn anyway before winter set in.

They arrived at Vivian Acres before 6am and quickly set up their equipment to broadcast.  The idea was that Mary who won the bet was to stay inside in my kitchen where it was warm and Rich was to go outside where it was not so warm (27 degrees) and help me with my work on the farm.  They brought along a friend of theirs “Mike the Mechanic” to make sure Rich accomplished  his tasks.

Mary enoying the fruits of victory

So while the three of us ventured outside to provide the goats with their breakfast, Mary was sitting pretty keeping my cats company.  I am not sure if Rich has been around a lot of goats, but he was very brave, even when I left him inside the pen alone while Mike and I  searched for my camera.  I think the Goats thought that Rich had their breakfast and began to swarm him.  He kept telling them that he had nothing for them but since goats don’t understand they continued to show how friendly they can be as they swarmed him.  As i have said, goats are very food driven and they certainly knew that it was breakfast time.  He seemed very relieved when we showed back up but I am sure he made some friends along the way.  He especially seemed to take a liking to Courtney Love.  Go figure.

Me feeding, Rich being swarmed

Well, there was the usual swarm at breakfast as I put out different bowls for each goat but they seem to want what is in everyone else’s bowl.  I am only thankful that Rich didn’t get knocked over during the process.  Mike thought it was pretty funny but then Mike is a strange guy.

After breakfast was over, it was time to put Rich to work.  The barn had not been cleaned for a while so after giving Rich a pair of nice gloves and a pitchfork and under the complete command of Mary from in the house, Rich was made familiar with the not so glamorous side of goat farming.   He really “Dug in”  with a lot of complaining i might add and went to work.  I think his new friend Courtney was somewhat offended by his references to the smell.  As those of us who raise goats know the smell is minimal, but like I said, Rich does not know goats.

Rich making himself useful

Rich really digging in

We finished our cleaning chores early and Rich was itching to find out more about goat farming.  There is always something to do at Vivian Acres and Mary was not going to let Rich off easy.  Hoof trimming was next on the agenda.

Rich learing the fine art of hoof trimming

Rich did not do so good at this.  Well like I said it is kind of an art.  What he did learn was about goat hypnosis.  After grabbing Billy Joe and putting him on his butt, he was amazed at how the goats can go to sleep so fast so you can handle them.

Later, he even held Ozzie who is a bit under the weather, for a shot.

Rich and Mary were both very good sports about coming to Vivian Acres.  As always I enjoy visitors and I enjoy help even more. Both Rich and Mary were really a blast.  Even Mike, although he was more of a spectator than anything else.  Although he did try to interview Momma and even got a kiss from her.    I really enjoyed having them all here.  They were a blast and the fact that I was able to provide Rich with some meaningful employment was a bonus.  Vivian Acres would certainly welcome them back whenever they can come around.  I know that Courtney would be  happy if Rich was to visit again.

Mary still enjoying her victory

Mike the Mechanic interviews Momma

With winter approaching though i was dreading the walking out to the barn through the snow to bring them water, and i was worried about having to check it often to make sure it was not freezing on them.  Goats prefer water that is not too cold and cold water is not really too good for their digestion.

I spoke with other angora farmers and they use a variety of methods from using warm tap water to having buckets that you can plug in to keep the water warm.  I thought long and hard about what i would do.  My neighbor had given me a 175 gallon galvanized tank and I knew this would be part of the solution but how.    With the help of my wife we came up with 2 words.  Hog Nipples.

First I had to prepare the tank to be used.  It had not been used in some time so i had to clean it out and reseal all the seams.

Hog nipple

A hog nipple is a piece of stainless steel tubing.  Inside that tubing is a stem attached to a valve.  This valve when bit down on or the goat will close it’s mouth around it will allow the water to flow into the goat’s mouth.  Pretty sweet.  Well to keep the water from running out of the goats mouth and causing a ice berg below the waterer, you have to put it up above the level of their back so the water will run down their throats.  So I needed to build a stand for it.  They also run on gravity so the higher up the better.

The water tank on it's stand.

I also had to insert a water heater to keep the water warm.  By warm, I mean the heater will keep the water between 35 and 45 degrees.

The heater in the tank

Now the tricky part!  Teaching the goats to drink from the tank.  As far as i know none of them have any experience with this neither do i.  Well I read in the book that it is possible to train the goats to do this.  The first thing to do was to remove all other water sources during the day.  I still fill their buckets at night to make sure they are getting enough water,    Then I stood near the tank and when a goat would come up, I would push down on the lever so they could see water coming out.  Well It has been 3 days now and it appears that after the first goat figured it out, the rest  have followed suit.

Gwen and one of the boys having a drink

Courtney having a drink

This is one drinking problem that the 12 step program could not solve, but with a little thought, I hope that this will provide the gang a plentiful water supply this winter without me breaking my back in the snow.

  After some training on farm safety, Alex who is a master spinner noticed I had a wheel just gathering dust in the corner of my living room.   She asked if I would like to perhaps learn the skills needed to spin my own yarn from the fiber i am producing.  She showed me how to adjust my wheel to work properly including tensioning and lubricating the wheel to get it up to where it should be to make the spinning easier.

Adjustment is critical

    Spinning is a lot of fun once you get the hang of it.  Certainly a lot more fun for me than the other spinning class that involves a lot of exercise.  This in fact is very relaxing.  Well it is getting there.  Hand spun yarn is really different than machine spun as it is unique in feel and look and you can have the satisfaction of knowing that you can have more control over the hair that comes off the backs of the goats and then ends up in the yarn.  I will do another blog on spinning when i can get the time.    It is a very interesting process and certainly very Vermont.  Look for some hand spun yarns when our yarn goes on sale sometime around the end of the year.

One of our cats "Sammy" watching the spinning progress

The other spinning class, too much like work for me

Debbie Kirby of Kirby's Happy Hoofers

Last weekend I received a call from a friend of mine, Debby Kirby of Kirby’s Happy Hoofers.  She told me that she and her husband Dick were going to be in town visiting a friend and wanted to know if it was ok  for her to stop by and see the goats.  I told her of course and that it would be a great opportunity for her to surprise the goats as the majority of the Angoras I now own were born on her farm.  I didn’t tell the goats she was coming.

Debbie Kirby produces perhaps the finest goats in Vermont.  Certainly, I am not the only one that thinks so since many of the herds here have at least one of Debbie’s line of  goats living in it.  The Green Day boys, Momma, Slim and Fat Albert are examples of her careful breeding that has produced healthy, happy goats that have produced for me beautiful fleeces.  Thank you Debbie.

Well the goats were happy to see her.  Momma came up to both her and Dick to say hello.  Her name was Esther there, but is now known as Kat Von D.    I think they would have been even happier to see her if I had not been carrying a scoop of treats and their attention was directed at me.  Debbie was surprised at how much her Slim had grown since she had last seen him, and as always he was very sweet.

Debbie was also introduced to the other goats that she had never met before Ozzie, Sharon, Weezer, Atreyu, Amy, Courtney, Rob and Gwen.  As I stated earlier in another blog, Pink was also a goat born on her farm and bought by someone else several years ago and then to me.  Like I said, there are a lot of Kirby goats out there.

Debbie seemed pleased with Vivian Acres and the life the goats now lead.  It is important to her and to me that the goats are well cared for and happy.  After all, Vivian Acres is not just a goat farm but a legacy for my daughter Vivian.

It was wonderful to have Debbie and Dick stop by and I hope next time they are around  that they would make a point of stopping in again to visit.

Weezer working his way in to say Hello!

Goats closing ranks, safety in numbers

A goat must have well trimmed hooves to be able to walk properly.  If they are not trimmed regularly then they can become lame from the pain caused by pressure.

Wild goats must spend their days walking long distances and running from predators and they usually live in rocky places.  This activity keeps their hooves trimmed naturally.  If this doesn’t work then the hooves will cause them to be slower than the others and we  have all watched Animal Planet enough to know what happens to the slower small animals.  They either cannot keep up with the herd to graze or they get eaten by a predator.  Either way not a good time for the goat.

I find that I have to trim the hooves about once a month.  I could probably go longer but it is easier to do when they are not too overgrown.  This is also another opportunity to get up close and personal with the goats to check their health.  Most of them take it pretty good but there are a few in every crowd.

Underside of a goat's hoof

Trimming a goat hoof

A goat’s hoof has two real parts that you are concerned with when trimming them.  Along sides is a hard fingernail like ridge enclosing the softer inner part.  The outer ridge grows faster than the inside and will eventually bend over and cause the pain.  The back part of each hoof is softer and extend to the end where it is called the heel.  To properly trim the hoof, you must use hoof  trimming shears designed for cutting the hard surface of their hooves.  There is a line on the outside of my goats hooves that will show you where to trim down to.  You don’t want to cut them too short or it will cause the goats some pain and they will bleed…. a lot!  The bleeding will eventually stop on it’s own but i always have a can of blood stop powder available.  When you start to see pink you need to stop.  The inner soft part of the hoof is very vascular.  Lastly you must trim the heel of the hoof.  The hoof must be level so the goats can walk evenly.

The question is how do you keep them still when you do this?  I have used 2 methods.  Method one involves using another person.  All summer I have the son of a neighbor around and he would hold the goat’s head still in a standing position and I would go around the goat and lift up each leg to trim the hoof.  This is the easier way.  Since i could not convince him to not go back to college, I have to use the alternate method.  Here is where the wrestling comes in.  A goat or sheep will, when placed on his butt sitting with his legs outstretched and  his head behind you between your knees, calm right down.  The trick is catching them and getting them in that position so you can lean over them to trim.  First I have to round up the goats.  Goats are food driven so this is easy.  I take the grain scoop and put some treats in it and walk inside  the barn.  (They always fall for this one).  Then while they are chowing down, I close them in the barn.  Then i take one at a time out wrap my left arm under their neck and use my right arm under their belly, lift them up and plant them on their butts.  Sometimes this is difficult.  The angoras do it pretty well but Sharon the dairy goat was not going to go down easy.  It took me several minutes and several hits to my chest with her head and horns for you to make that point.  Well  I was not going to give up and once she was on her butt, she calmed right down.  I got all 15 done and am glad i have at least another month for my bruises to heal.  Some may think that is traumatic for the goats but after letting them up they slowly walk off and eat at the feeder like nothing happened some even stick around to see the others get theirs.  With ample treats after i am done, all is forgiven.

Hoof Trimming is just another thing that must be done to ensure the health of the goats.  I enjoy spending any time with the goats I can and as you can imagine, it is good exercise.

Sharon says "Bring it on"

]]> http://vivianacres.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/goat-wrestling/feed/ 0 tomdockery Goats at the feeder a goats hoof Trimming a goat hoof She bad http://vivianacres.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/last-but-not-least/ http://vivianacres.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/last-but-not-least/#comments Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:07:16 +0000 tomdockery http://vivianacres.wordpress.com/?p=248 ]]>

Weezer and Atreyu are always seen together

Last weekend saw the arrival of the last 2 goats for the fall at Vivian Acres.  They came to us from Brigid’s Farm located in Peacham VT.  Peacham is located in the area known as the North East Kingdom.  The two boys names are Weezer and Atreyu after 2 more bands that were special to my daughter.  They are 3 month old brothers who are wethers, meaning fixed, and are a mixed breed.  Their mother was a dairy goat, we saw her and she is beautiful and their father is a colored angora.  This brings the total number of goats at Vivian Acres to 15.

The boys look like their mother in body shape and their horns with the exception of their beautiful soft fleece they are sporting.  It is like the softest thing i have felt.  Unlike the angora fleece theirs is straight and unlike my white angoras they have some color courtesy of their father.  They are always seen together and make a cute pair.  They are also noisy as i guess it is because of the fact they had just been weened.  They also holler in concert.  When one hollers, usually Weezer first then Atreyu feels it his obligation to not leave his brother hanging and pipes right in.

Weezer on the hill

Weezer is the larger of the two new boys.  He is mostly white in color with some black highlights, especially around the face and along his back where it sticks up like a mohawk .  He is very lovable and loves to be petted and will run to me whenever I am in the pen.  With his brother in tow.   He has a beautiful fleece and i am intersted to see what it will do between now and shearing time next spring.  Looks like it could be a rare and exotic fiber.  He loves to run up and down the hill and eat the fallen leaves like the others.  It is so cute to see them in the morning when i open the barn. Over in the corner, he and his brother are all cuddled up together.  Goats always feel a family attraction and it stays their whole lives.  I have Amy and her Mother Pink that still cuddle at night.

Atreyu with his brother close behind

Atreyu is truly a goat of a different color.  He is mostly black and is the smallest goat we have here. Like I said about Weezer, he is rarely seen without his brother.  He is mostly black with some white highlights.  His hair is also very soft and about a couple of inches long.  Am interested to see if his fleece can be spun also.  Because Atreyu is the smallest he poses a unique problem that i have not had until him.  I don’t know yet how he is doing it but several times i have heard him hollering loudly and when i go out to the enclosure, he is standing in the main feeder.  He gets upset cause although he has found a way in, he cannot find his way out.  So I have to reach in and get him out.  You would think he would learn but after all he is just a kid.  I will be watching him because he only seems to do it when i am not around.

Weezer and Atreyu have adjusted well to life on Vivian Acres.  The others seem to tolerate their antics and will sometimes discipline them when they overstep their bounds.  I am sure they will continue to be great additions to Vivian Acres.

Another shot of Weezer

Across the pasture behind my house

Well they are really not on fire.  It is fall in Vermont and with it come the chilly mornings, the sounds of thousands of geese flying south and a brilliant show of colors courtesy of mother nature.  Fall is a beautiful time in Vermont.  Each season, whether it is the lush green of summer, the snowy white of winter, the smell of spring in the air or the bright reds and oranges of fall each is beautiful in its own way.  I love all the seasons for what they offer.

It seems to happen overnight when the trees one day are the usual green and then the next day the colors start to come out.  These are caused by the dying of the leaves in the trees preparation for winter.  As the green parts of the leaves (chlorophyll) the colors under the leaves in some cases were there all along begin to show.  In the case of the maple trees, glucose is trapped in the leaves and the sunlight and cold nights cause that glucose to turn red or purple.  Then as fall continues the leaves continue to die and all it takes is a good wind storm and all the leaves are gone.  Well not really gone, they are on the ground waiting for a good raking and a trip to the compost pile.

For those that have never seen fall and the turning of the leaves all of this may seem magical.  I feel it is.  Since it is our last real look at color as too soon there will be only branches where the leaves were.  The trees will be ready for the winter which is right around the corner.  The real magic of nature comes several months later though when the ground begins to thaw and once again the trees wake up and again seemingly over night the leaves will be back and the mountains will again be the Green Mountains.

A beautiful tree in my front yard

A maple in my neighbors yard