Okay for years my dear friend (who happens to have our sister herd) has accused us of being boot camp for goats. If she has a goat that needs herd manners or sorting on the milkstand they come here. Keep in mind, my goats are very pampered......Faith would be exhibit A on the witness stand with her marshallowesque physique.
When they have a need, they ring room service and I am there will bells on to scratch their ears or just give them a hug or cookies....whatever needs tending. My goats are really spoiled rotten.
However. We run a pretty tight ship when it comes to our goat expectations. (can you tell I came from a military family??)
Morning milking is done early. We usually finish morning barn chores around 7am....so that we can be finished with evening barn chores by 7 pm. Good behavior is always expected of the goats. They must have good herd manners, be patient, and have milkstand manners. Of course they are allowed to voice their objections...as long as they follow the rules they may complain...but they must comply. (remember I have Nubian goats....well noted for voicing their opinions). Well yesterday, we were graced with little Moon Pie.
Pie is the daughter of Moon and Lace, and has always been a bit of a drama queen. It was late (for us) getting her settled in, so we didn't bother to get her into the routine. She was busy bullying the little kids, so she was quickly moved into the big herd. Pie is a yearling first freshener so she's in-between the babies and the Ladies.
I think this morning she was a bit in a daze with all the newness of routine. Especially since we begin our day before the sun rises...
Each of the does has a feeding station. A short chain attached to the fence, and they get their grain ration along with any herbs or supplements they may need. No goat has ever complained about the food here....it's a lovely mixture and I've had visiting folks compare it to human granola. I think the early morning is what had her a bit in shock.
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Pie's mother, Lace, has been with us for a while now, and knows the routine....
She has learned to take it all in.....granola bars, watermellon, carrots....it's all good. But after the morning routine was done....the new kid had to be evaluated. The first step is to give the goat a good haircut and hoof trimming....
I can never stress enough to homesteaders that have a family milker or two. Clip your goats. Clip them each spring once the weather is warm.....and clip them before breeding. You are not giving them a haircut to make them look good, you are giving them a good physical exam! You can not have a good idea of their physical condition with a big fur coat on. A good haircut will let you see their skin. Do they have any bald patches? Scars? Thickened skin areas?
How is their overall condition? Are they too thin?
When evaluating kids and yearling does....how is their depth of body? How is their topline? How is their width especially rear width?
Without a haircut you can not evaluate these things.
Yes, you will get this reaction from the goat....
But they do enjoy the haircut once it's done. They can rub and actually feeeeel the itchhhhh getting scratched. And they get a bit of confidence. YOU have the benefit of seeing the goat's condition....not to mention knowing that they don't have any hitchhiking bugs.
So there she is...She is really very nice....but you can't tell from the picture. I think she's a bit shellshocked.
Although she's a bit thin (for my liking...refer to exhibit A)....she has a number of good milking indicators. I will discuss these at a later time. When I can get better pictures!