The goats have journeyed to freezer camp

I just drove them up to a local butcher that provides onsite kill service and they took care of the goats on the spot.  I didn’t understand that with live kill, I could have just taken the carcasses+organs+hides all in one day, so I only brought enough containers for the organs and hides.  Next week it’s off to pick up the cut and wrapped carcasses.

It was very quick, they did fast, clean work.

And yes, despite all the horrible trouble they gave I kinda miss the goats running around the yard bleating furiously and scampering.  I hope they taste good!

 

 

Goat and duck lawnmowing

Before and after.  The ducks really put their fair share in.

We need better fencing

Goat update

The goats are happy with our use of electronet to make temporary paddocks until we set up our permanent perimeter fencing, which will consist of the magic of t-posts and combination panels.  They are thriving on pasture alone, free choice baking soda and free choice minerals.  The grass is really showing their work, we can see our neighbors again instead of a sea of grass seeds and pollen clouds.

They are happy coming in at night to a treat of dandelions and nameless weeds picked out of the driveway or from the side of the barn.  It’s a good thing.

It’s hard to believe it hasn’t even been three weeks yet.  How time flies!

“The Kinder is easily the most awesome goat breed!”

Yeah, that’s a quote from the Kinder Goat Breeding Association, but they are pretty sweet little animals.  Kinders are essentially a unique Cascadian goat breed, begun with a Nubian Doe/Pygmy Male cross.  The resulting goats are charming, hardy, and provide wonderful milk and meat by all accounts.

And we now have three to call our very own!

http://www.kindergoatbreeders.com/breedinfo.html has more info on them as a breed.  The ones  we have are serving as blackberry-clearers and general tidy-uppers of the browse for our sheep, which are coming late in summer and heavy with unborn lambs.

The goats are named Jewel, Mac and Taco and someday when we aren’t all perished with hay fever, I’ll have pictures of them!

Mac and Taco are wethers (castrated males) and freshly weaned.  Jewel is unsuited for breeding but healthy.  Her mother was found rushing all about the pasture trying to shake her out when she was born. Not a great mothering line, but safe to breed for meat if we want to chance it, but we are likely to just treat all three as pets/brush clearers until the time comes for them to move on.

I dig goats!

PS: Mac and Taco loooove that the grass is super high and full of stupid pollen because we let it get too high.  They sometimes lie on their little goat backs and nibblemunch with pure goat joy.  They are sweet little guys.  We got all three from a local Kinder breeder in the area.  I like the Kinder quite a bit among goat breeds.  It’s mostly plusses and smallish size is perhaps the only con, but they still convert feed well, so I’m happy.