Tag Archives: Goats

Cow and goat

Baling, calving and a co-operative goat

Our delight at cutting the grass in July lasted about 24 hours, after which it rained and rained and rained (and rained). We expected rain of course, but not as much as we got!

Eventually we managed to bale it, but due to a number of factors we got only 100 bales – about a third of what we were hoping for (and need). At least we managed to do it all with our own equipment this time, and mechanically speaking, everything worked a treat!

Meanwhile, Rosie, one of our Dexters, delivered a calf for us a week earlier than expected. This was her first calf, and although the birth was fine, regrettably she didn’t seem too keen on feeding it! After quite a lot of fiddling about, we admitted defeat and separated mother and calf, and started feeding him from a bottle. He is called Albert.

One of our local dairies supplied colostrum, and another was happy to give us fresh milk for a couple of weeks, but unfortunately Albert just hasn’t taken to bottle feeding at all.

Luckily, the goat kids are already eating solid food, so the most sensible solution was to separate them from the goat and let Albert suckle it instead (pictured). Unusual perhaps, but working nonetheless. Kids, calf, and goat are all doing beautifully!

We have kids

Our first kids

We have been extremely busy just lately..

At the end of June, one of our goats had kids (our first at the croft, due to some unfortunate timing last year). Everything obviously went without a hitch, as they were waiting for us in the pen one morning, newly born. They are doing extremely well.

We managed to harvest a small amount of goats milk for ourselves, and made some cheese. Delicious!

Our annual battle with the peats is finally over, all bagged and stored in the peat shed for another year. They should keep us going until the next time.

And, the grass is cut ready for baling. With the weather being even more unpredictable than usual, this is no mean feat!

Going for goats

We adopt a pair of goats and then have to review our fences

What a start to the new year!

Both of us were suffering with quite severe winter colds, which slowed us down a little, however, as soon as we recovered, we were lucky enough to acquire some new goats from a friend of ours. They are Toggenburg goats, one 4 years old, and the other 8 months, and we hope to get plenty of milk later this year for goats cheese!

It will mean a slight change to the feeding regime (new animals always do), but not a major one. In the most part, they will eat what the sheep do, so no additional feed and feed containers are required at the moment.

Whilst we do a bit more fence work, they are currently living in our shed, with a small outdoor area constructed from 6′ high fence panels (another recent acquisition from another generous friend). That should keep them going for a week or so. Whilst the weather is as wild as it is, we don’t think they will want to be going too far!