Goat News
At Pate Farms
July 2008
July started out with a bang as we had three new kids born this morning (July 1). It was a cooler day and made it easier for the young ones to enter into our hot dry summer. First Honey one of our boar nannies delivered two healthy little kiko/boer mixes....(Sire was Buster Billy a registered 50/50 kiko/boar). We named them Patriot and Flag...(trying to think of some patriotic names).
Then we noticed that Rainny was in labor too... it was her first kidding... so it took her a little while but instinct took over and she did well bringing little BetsyRoss (another patriotic name) into the world. (Sire also Buster Billy). I kept checking on her between picking the butter peas, and the white acre peas, and then some purple hulls... luckily we only have a row of each...Finally the little one was here...and a little doe! We had just had four billies straight... I left mom and kid to bond...and went on about my chores... later in the day I brought them up to the kidding pens with the other goats.
7/2
I am always relieved to see them eat right away and get that much need colostrum. It's in the first milk of the mother and has all the nutrients the baby needs to survive. They all seemed to nurse right away... and the moms are doting over the little ones... After losing a baby last month due to a mom rejecting a twin...I am trying to keep a careful eye on these little ones...
I took some pads of hay for the new moms later in the evening since they weren't out grazing but in the kidding pens... Little Claybo and Buster ran and jumped on top of the square like they had conquered jumping on the top of a mountain... Early this morning when I went out for the newpaper I stopped to check on them again... they were trying to jump on to the old bath tub to play... but can't quite make it yet... a quick pet and good morning to all and then off to my cup of coffee...some grits and fresh scrambled farm eggs... nothing like a good breakfast to start the day!
Favorite goat sites:
http://www.mymobilevet.com/caprine_medical.html
http://www.hoeggergoatsupply.com
http://www.famu.edu/herds/UserFiles/File/Herd_Health_for_Goats_GHB.pdf
http://www.infovets.com/styles/?page=home%2Ehtm
We have one more Nanny waiting to kid... Miss "Sugar"... we anxiously wait...
Well is 3:00 this afternoon and we have a new kid on Pate Farms...."Miss Independence" is a precious little doe...We'll call her Indi for short...She's a little chunk! She was already up on her feet and nursing when I went to check on momma Sugar this afternoon... Sugar wouldn't follow me up to the kidding pen ...so I had to leave them in the woods in the pasture. We'll try to move them up again this evening... She's such a pretty little girl!
That makes six new kids this week... for a small goat farm in Georgia... last of the summer babies....now we will just watch them grow and play...I love having new kids on the farm!
Miss Independence
Patriot and Flag are here....
meet Miss BetsyRoss
July 8
Although we've had some much needed rain the past two days, goats generally do not like the rain... they seek shelter with in the first few drops to fall. After today's shower mama goats were up on the old bath tub that the babies have been working hard to jump on...guess they didn't want to get their feet wet. Also here's a picture of a device to try and get Ms Carole goat to stop putting her head through the fence...she looks a little like Wilma Flinstone with a bone through her hair...hope it works as she's been going for the greener grass and getting stuck two -three times a day this past week....
Socks is growing...here's a picture of him playing after the rain today.
Claybo 
Lauren comes for a visit and checks
out the new babies...
Buster