Breeding Season is almost here (already!!)

I’m having a hard time believing it is already breeding season. With the addition of Acorn, 7 or so weeks ago, I feel like we can’t possibly be getting close to the time for breeding, we are still milking and feeding kids! And we still have a few more shows! Ah, well, seasons begin to change whether I like it or not. The girls and boys are all coming into season and the air near the buck pens are beginning to smell strongly…

The breeding list for 2011 kids has been updated with the current plan. Of course this is just a plan and could change as we get closer to actually breeding them.

We will be leasing a Togg buck this year and all the toggs (including our two newest acquisitions) will be bred for Togg kids. The Lamanchas will be split between Arabica and Brazil, with Brazil for the older does and Arabica for the younger does. Most of the Saanens we will take else ware to breed although we are going to try breeding Zinfandel AI for a few rounds. We are also really excited to use Brazil for several sets of grade kids. Besides Ysis – who would have grade kids regardless – we will be breeding Thistle for Saanchas (Saanen-Lamancha) which should look like adorable mini Ysises. Additionally, we are leasing 4 Alpines from Tori Kennedy and breeding them all Lamancha. Hopefully there will be some nice grade kids who come from this cross.

Even though it does not possible seem like it could be late enough for breeding animals, it is exciting to plan for all the kids next year, and we should have a lot! With the total as it is now, possible up to 19 does kidding!!

Little girls growing up

I promise I will write about state fair at some point, but I had to post this picture this morning. I am working on a 365 project (where you take a picture every day for a year) and not surprisingly the goats show up in a lot of my pictures. Well this was too precious not to share. Katie on the left with Alaska in the middle and Arizona on the right. Wow they grow up fast don't they? Already the "little girls" are almost as tall as their mother. We keep asking in jest "so you think they will be big enough to breed this fall?" but seriously it always amazes me that slightly more than 6 months ago this girls were the size of Acorn (yes the Nubian-Nigerian has a name of sorts) and were cuddling on our laps. Now they are inching towards 100lbs and are almost one of the "big girls". In 6 months or so everything will start over and we will have a whole new crop of little girls in the pasture.

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Just in case you are wondering, the kids are enjoying a brief vacation from the weaning pen. You can see on the other side of the feeder Ysis and Artemis eating side by side. It is sweet to see the kids cuddled up against their mothers. I didn't get a picture of it, but right behind me at the other feeder Thistle and Azalea were standing together eating and Fritter has not left her mother's sight since she has been allowed back in. I know that they will all act this way again once we finish weaning and drying off, at least until new babies arrive keeping this years mothers and next years new mothers busy.