Below are some items to peruse through that we were referred to in the video. 

If you would like more information about an item or would like to buy,

simply click on the picture and you will be navigated to the

Farmer John and Jason Storefront

regarding that particular item's description and price.

There you will find more information you are looking for.

Remember, at the store, there are more items that haven't been listed here!

Shirley's "Farmer John" Quilt

Marcia's "Cardinal Red" Braided Rug

Richard's Kitchen/ Dining Table

Richard's Goat Cart Coffee Table

Richard's Silo Door Towel Holder

Rustic Coffee Table

Many interesting items at

Farmer John and Jason's Storefront.

Click here to go there.

And thanks again for your interest!

DORA

Production Records

2007-274days 2018#

2008-215days 1732#

2009-268days 2400#

2010-268days 2585#

This is Dora. She usually poses like this after she has eaten. Dora is a mixed breed doe. Her father is Tucker an Alpine, her dam Dory is Nubian/Saanen and grandmother Dolly is Saanen.

Dora is VERY pregnant. In 2010 she had quadruplets, 2 bucks 2 does. She looks like she has at least 4 in there again. Maybe 5!!!!!!?

Dora's due date is February 16th.

This is Dora's grandmother Dolly on the left. She is 9 years old this year. Dora's first daughter Doreen is on the right. She's a big girl too. Triplets last year.

 

Dora's twin sister Dixie is on the right and Dixie's first daughter Pixie to the left.

 

The middle goat is Darla from Dora's second year. She is a triplet.

 

This is Danee from Dora's third year. Danee is a triplet.

 

From left to right this is Darby and Della. The does from Dora's quadruplets.

 

This is Daisy, Danee's sister.

 

This is Doris, Darla's sister. Doris was not in the mood for a picture.

My D line has been very prolific over the years. Dolly started the D line and I have 36 does in the barn that started with her. I have had to use 2 other letters the P's and the E's to come up with enough names.

There are only about 2 weeks and the babies will start coming.

Dolly's daughter Donna is one of the first ones due.

I'll post pictures when I can.

Happy kidding!

2011 is here!

Hello faithful followers.  2011 has arrived and it arrived in a very pleasant way. The weather has been calm and very warm. We still have not gotten more than a couple inches of snow so far this season. So does this mean we are in for a long winter season?
It's about 6 weeks and the fun will begin. February 9th is when the first 2 girls, Talea and Donna are due. I imagine there may be some to go a little early. Those of you who have been watching the goat cam have noticed how big Dora is. Dora had quads in 2010, 2 does and 2 bucks. She certainly looks like she has at least that many again this year.  Maybe 5?

I'll begin ordering my supplies for the new season. Lot's of nipples for the buckets, stop at the vets for some BOSE to have on hand. Check the hair dryer, new heat lamps, paper towels etc.......
I need 2 new 2 goat bucket lids, milk hoses, claws and the run of cleaning supplies. Touch up the paint in the milkhouse and milking room.

I need to check in with the DHI technician to get ready to sign up for that. I may even join ADGA and register my top girls with them.

January is a busy month for birthdays for us. Mine is tomorrow the 2nd. Bill our sister-in-lam Emmas fathers, who will be visiting from England, is the 4th. Brother-in-law Bruce is the 6th. Jason's father, Richard is the 13th, Jason's mother Marcia is the 21st and my sister Jeans is the 25th. And you thought holidays were busy.

I hope everyone had a great 2010 and that 2011 will be even better.

I'll do my best to keep you posted on births.

Milking season is done

Well the 2010 milking season is done. The girls overall did very well, only a few didn't do as well as I would have liked. I had 68 does average 235 days with 1684 pounds of milk. 26 of those 68 were first time milkers. My highest producer again this year is Sunny. Sunny milked 296 days and produced 3534 pounds of milk. Dawn came in a close second, 306 days with 3504 pounds, Dotty came in third with 263 days and 3305 pounds. I also had 20 that produced over 2000 pounds of milk which is absolutely wonderful. That's just how it is supposed to happen. Each year you keep getting better.

Jason and I are looking forward to a great kidding season. Hopefully the really cold weather is happening now and February and March will be moderate.

As you can see in the store I have been busy making scarves. I am just about done with number six and will probably work on a small blanket next.

Stay warm.

The slow time of year

Hello.
This is the time of year that I don't like. The goats are almost all dry, the weather is up and down and nothing grows but my waistline.

I think most of the girls are pregnant now. There are 35 due in February, 31 in March and 18 for April. Can you say kid overload. I still have about 31 doe kids from this year that I want to sell. Not having any luck yet. I don't think I have enough room in the barn to keep all of them through the winter so I will end up taking a group at a time to the local auction and hope they find a good home. There are a few that I may keep because their mothers milked much better than I expected them to. I may breed them next month for May kidding. By then I will know better who of the others need to go because of low production and how much milk is needed to sell.

Next year I will have to be more strict with myself about whose doe kids I will keep for adding to the herd. I am also going to implement raising the doe kids on a CAE preventive program.  CAE is caprine arthritis encephalitis. I also plan on going on DHIA, dairy herd improvement association, this will keep official milk records on the does. It will also tell me the butterfat, protein and somatic cell count of each goat. These are all helpful in deciding who stays, who goes and whose kids I keep.

There is always something new to add or change in dairy farming whether it be cows, goats or sheep. You need to constantly try to improve the quality of life for the animal so that it will improve the quality of life for the farmer. It's a never ending process.

Thanks for reading. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been awhile

since my last blog. It's hard trying to think of things to write about.
In my last blog I wrote about Happy and that she wasn't feeling well. I was hesitant about writing about her again because she didn't make it. I had moved her to a pen by herself and put her back on antibiotics. I called the vet to ask if there was anything else I could do for her.  I made the quick trip to the vets for a different bottle of medicine and came back to give her a shot. I went about the rest of the morning doing the weekend cleaning. When I stopped to check on her she seemed very distressed. I got her a bucket of warm water. I let her drink and then I sat with her stroking her head and chin. She seemed in more pain so I layed down next to her to comfort her and I began to cry. As I lay there she seemed to relax and breathe more easily and then she stopped. I was glad she was no longer in pain but sad she was gone. Happy has been layed to rest on the hill next to the grove of maples.

Happy leaves behind two beautiful daughters, Harmony and Heather and a few great milk records for a 4 year old.

This is one of the saddest things about farming losing one of your better animals long before they should go. It's part of the life that I have been given and I am Happy for it.

Back to the rain

Well we have rain again. It doesn't rain just a little it rains a lot. Makes for little to do outside. Yesterday I did get some leaves mulched and picked up. I put them in for the pigs to rut around in and to compost. Last night we went to Jason's brother Josh and sister-in-law Emma's house for pizza and wings. Emma's mother Jenny and her partner Mark are visiting from England. It was a fun time.

Chores went fine this morning. Happy seems to not be feeling good again, so I put her in a pen by herself so she can rest. Happy was diagnosed with hardware in August and has a magnet in her to hold it in place (if that is what it is). Some days she seems fine and other days not. She can butt heads one day and then just lay or stand and moan. She did come in heat and I had her bred. This is where farming can be really tough. ?????

There are only a couple more milk pick-ups for cheese left for the season. The girls are getting ready to go dry for the year. The last few weeks of the milk will be used for the goat milk soap. Then it's rest time for the farm and get things ready for kidding season. February seems a long way a way and then boom!

Talk again soon,

John