I know, it's definitely time for a blog post! Things have been going pretty good - it's really hot here! Every evening when the milkers come back to be milked some of them are really hot, especially the big old girls - so we have to put cool water on them, which they don't care for, but it works.
The bucks are now stinky and getting yellow and worse every day. I haven't noticed any does in obvious heats yet, but they should start coming in any time... I'm waiting! There's a few does that we milked through last year that I am going to breed on their first heat this year.
Baby and Prissy are still HUGE, but they're doing surprisingly fine in the heat.
Here's some photos from the past week.
all the animals grazing close to "home" after milking,
goats in. . . the jungle?
one of the meat doe kids. . . she hid her face right when I took the picture!
This is little Berry, the Nigerian Dwarf buck. He is so small and fat, there must be something wrong with him :)! He is 2 1/2 years old and tiny. . . I guess he'll just always be short.
Parker,
Hug,
My brother Todahyah built a new pen for his 2 pigs - a boar and a guilt that is due in September, I think.
the pond ;),
and one of the roads in the pasture,
That's all the pictures for now. There's really not much else to update on. . . just busy with life. The little goat kid that our friend gave us, Miss Cutie Booty, is doing great! She's such a silly little goat. Now she is staying out in the stall in the day and in the bathroom (in her crate) at night.
Have a good day and stay hydrated!
Suriyah
13 comments:
Love the pond and the rest of the photo updates! Do you worry about Berry passing his short-and-fat-ness on to his offspring?
Well, not really because I saw his dam and sire and they were nice. I have only had one kid out of him so far (because last year he was finally tall enough to breed my taller girls), and she is a really really nice doeling.
What I am using him for is to breed to most of my high percentage Mini Nubian does. I have a few that are 75%+ Nubian, so I am breeding them back to him to get lower Nubian percent and shorter stature but the kids keep the Nubian type, which is nice, like little "Blondie", Berry's doe kid from this year.
Because, with the Minis, when they are American OR Purebred, they *have* to be 70% or less of either breed. If they are more than 70%, they do not qualify for American or Purebred.
I hope I didn't confuse you there!
I can't speak for Ms. Lagerquist, but I got something out of it:) I didn't know about the % for the mini's.You are a wealth of info. I'm thankful I found your blog.
Thanks for sharing!
I'm glad someone understood me and learned something ;).
The % rule is actually a new rule, but most, if not all, of the Americans and Purebreds have not been over 70% anyway.
Ok, Suriyah,
I'm gonna hit you with 20 questions again (if you don't mind!).
Do you use a pre & post teat dip when milking??
We may be adding a milk cow to our farm this weekend and I was looking at post dipping options (I already have a pre). Do you think I could use Bag Balm? I know some use a glycerin based dip to "clog" the orifice to help with mastitis prevention and I wondered if Bag Balm would do the same? What are your thoughts?
I know you deal mostly with goats, but I can use the same procedure on both cow and goat.
This cow is older and has a larger teat dilation than younger cows, so if I'm not careful mastitis can become an issue (yikes!). Thus, my search for post dip options :)
Well, I guess that wasn't quite 20 questions :)
I hope you don't mind all my q's
Thanks for any info
PA
Hello PA,
No problem about the questions :)! If you ever need/want to email me directly, my email address is sf@goodgoats.net
I do not use any teat dip. Some people use them, and I think they are fine if you only are milking a few animals and are clean with it. Otherwise, they can just breed more bacteria than they kill.
Before milking, we spray our does udders with Nolvasan, let them dry, milk, and then they go out. They are standing up for a good 10 minutes or more after milking. Supposedly it takes less than 5-10 minutes for the orifice to close back up.
I have never had to deal with a case of mastitis in a goat until this last year with my Grandma Goat, and I think that was due to her system being compromised by the hypocalcemia.
We did have a cow last year, who after being in milk for a few months she got a small case of mastitis in one of her quarters. I cleared it up by rubbing on and infusing her udder with diluted Peppermint oil. I think she probably got mastitis probably because her udder was very saggy and it could just have been due to it "swinging-to-and-fro" :)! Or because we were new to using a milk machine? Don't know. But it cleared up and we sold her, and last I talked to her new owners, she was still giving lots of milk and had been in milk for about a year since she calved with us.
So, I hope that answers your questions. If you have any more, I don't mind ;). . . and I think my comment is longer than yours, lol!
Suriyah
Ever used Colloidal Silver for anything??
I am looking at different options.
I know what you mean about breeding bacteria if you aren't clean w/ the dip. I use a non-return dip cup with my goats and dump any left overs that happen to be in the cup before each milking.
If we do bring this cow home (I hope we do!)I want to take precautions due to the long ride (2+hours), her age (9+)& just the fact of moving to a new environment.
I was thinking of making my own post dip using glycerin,colloidal silver and distilled water.
The glycerin would be for 1. what I mentioned last time + as a moisturizer. The colloidal silver is a natural germicide (from what I've been able to gather), so that would fight bacteria. And the distilled water as a "carrier" :)
I'm just not sure of the measurements *sigh*. I would think that using 6oz of glycerin for 1 gal would be sufficient, but I've not figured out how much of the CS. And the water would bring it up to a full gallon.
I thought I'd ask you opinion as you might know more or see something that I missed.(plus I don't know who else to ask!)
Never used CS, so can't help with amounts. Sounds like it might be a good thing though. I have some friends that use Thyme tea as an udder wash. It works.
The glycerin is good to keep the udder moist. Some people do a udder wash that is glycerin (can't remember how much), bleach (I think 1/4 cup) and 1 gallon of water. It seems a little harsh, but I know a lot of people use it with good success.
I forgot to mention in my last one - a key to keeping bacteria out of her udder is to NOT touch her orifice, at all. Touching it/putting cream at the end of the teat/etc, will just put more bacteria there ready to go in.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you get her!
Ok, Now you have me wondering....
Is post dipping a good idea?? or is it just the creams?? Because doesn't the dips dry on? so there isn't bacteria just sitting there???
HMM......
Well, post dips are good for some things and not so good for others. If you could come up with a good post dip, and be clean about it, for your new cow (if you get her). I think it would be a good idea for her considering all the factors you've said.
But personally, I've never used post-dips and pretty much never had a problem. Older does/cows normally do have bigger orifices though, which is something to consider.
Creams - I use them fairly often. All I meant, was don't touch her orifice. We have an older doe who has a very dry udder all the time, so every day or two we'll rub my homemade udder salve on her. But, I have used many other creams with good results - Bag Balm, Udder Ointment, Udderly Smooth, etc.
ok, gotcha.
I think I'm gonna do something like
32+oz Colloidal Silver
6oz Glycerin
then fill the rest of the gallon jug with distilled water.
UNLESS I read something other wise.
Thanks, Suriyah, for your help & wisdom in this matter!
P.S -- If we buy her I'll post pictures on our blog:)
Sounds good! I hope everything works out for you guys.
Suriyah,
We went up yesterday and brought
Ms. Lootie (the cow) home. We got her papers and found that she's actually 10 instead of 9. She is the best cow (she stood still the whole 45 minutes that it took me to milk her!). And are looking forward to getting to know her better.
I'm in the process of up loading pictures of her if you care
to see :)
Thanks for your help,
PA
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