New Goats on the Farm
We are very excited to welcome two new goats to our farm!
We recently brought home Everland Rogue and her wether son Charlie. Our plans for the goats in 2020 have changed a few times. Quite awhile ago, we had hoped to just breed all our Nigerian Dwarf does and have a full kidding/milking season, but as fall progressed we realized how much we’d have on our plate in 2020 and we weren’t sure if we could find good homes for all the kids. So, we decided to breed Ginger, our Nubian. We opted for a driveway breeding but several circumstances came together and we ended up not having Ginger bred. For awhile we discussed breeding only Tater, our herd queen. But as spring approached, it seemed like we would just have a kid-less summer this year.
One day my husband was browsing Craigstlist and found a dairy farm that was disbanding. The goats were to good homes only, and included some bred does. After talking to the farmer, we settled on Rogue and her son and started working to get them home. It took several weeks for the test results from the vet to come back, but once they were declared healthy we did a socially distant pickup and added these two colorful beauties to our herd.
Rogue and her son are, like most of our herd, Nigerian Dwarf goats. Rogue is a bred doe and is due on May 9. We are very happy to have found a doe with excellent milking lines bred to a good herd sire. Practically speaking, adding new goats is actually a very good idea for our farm. Not only will it mean we have plenty of fresh milk all summer, but it diversifies our genetics a bit.
It is also a boon sentimentally speaking, less practically. Adding goats and knowing there will be some kids born here this spring brightens every day. Rogue and her son are both remarkably sweet, curious goats with beautiful markings. I can’t wait to bond with Rogue on the milking stand this summer, and turn her milk into all sorts of delicious recipes.
The countdown has begun! With less than three weeks until Rogue’s due date, we’re prepping the kidding kit and getting ready for an exciting spring.