That went well...
May. 3rd, 2010 07:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fiberaddictBusy weekend yadda yadda yadda......only this was a bit different from usual. See, Sweet Geek found some goats, so out we went.
Only, there's a problem.
Goats are *supposed* to look like this:
NOT like this:
This:
Not this:
And this:
NOT this:
Do you see the problem here? Goats are supposed to have floppy, hangy-down ears, NOT long, sticky-uppy ones. :lol:
These are our new dairy goats - they're Alpines. The doe is Rose A Texas, the doeling (on the slide) is Dulcinea, and the buckling is Goliad. Calvin's not sure what to do with him - they are by themselves in the "batch" pad right now (Goliad is 4 months old, and already peeing on himself. So.....no hanging with the girls for him!). According to my Nubians (Yes, they're MINE - the Alpines are all Sweet Geek's!), these guys are weird. The ears! :snicker:
Rosa's supposed to be a gallon-a-day milker. I...think we may have been sold a ringer. I realize that the stress of the move causes a drop in production. I get that....but 5 pounds today? And.....she has a hard spot in her udder. Possible mastitis - the Porta SCC test came back iffy, and the CMT was off, too. (That might be because I didn't mix up the reagent correctly. I did it quick - I'll mix it more carefully tomorrow to be sure). Might just be a plugged duct, might be bruising from someone butting her.....but......:sigh: The milk itself looks fine - not yellow, not creamy, no strings or lumps, so I may just be over-reacting (I...honestly didn't WANT another breed of goats. If you couldn't tell. I prefer Nubians...but Sweet Geek wants LOTS of milk. So.....he decided that Nubians just couldn't cut it. There's times ya just gotta run with it, y'know? At least they're not La Mancha's - the no ears thing bothers me!)
They are sweet and well-mannered - Rosa hops on the stand like a pro (she's a FF). BIG difference in technique, though - she's got sausage teats, and they hang down more than the Nubians do. Not hard to milk, just...different. (We're doing her last, and using dedicated equipment. IF it's mastitis, I do NOT want it going thru the other milkers. Got enough problems with the pinkeye right now!)
It was a 2 hour drive 1 way, and we brought them home in the Jeep. Rosa was neat....Goliad pee'd in the Jeep 3x, and Dulcinea pooped 2x. :sigh: Sweet Geek got the Jeep detailed for me today....thankfully! It smelled like a barnyard in there! :lol:
Only, there's a problem.
Goats are *supposed* to look like this:
NOT like this:
This:
Not this:
And this:
NOT this:
Do you see the problem here? Goats are supposed to have floppy, hangy-down ears, NOT long, sticky-uppy ones. :lol:
These are our new dairy goats - they're Alpines. The doe is Rose A Texas, the doeling (on the slide) is Dulcinea, and the buckling is Goliad. Calvin's not sure what to do with him - they are by themselves in the "batch" pad right now (Goliad is 4 months old, and already peeing on himself. So.....no hanging with the girls for him!). According to my Nubians (Yes, they're MINE - the Alpines are all Sweet Geek's!), these guys are weird. The ears! :snicker:
Rosa's supposed to be a gallon-a-day milker. I...think we may have been sold a ringer. I realize that the stress of the move causes a drop in production. I get that....but 5 pounds today? And.....she has a hard spot in her udder. Possible mastitis - the Porta SCC test came back iffy, and the CMT was off, too. (That might be because I didn't mix up the reagent correctly. I did it quick - I'll mix it more carefully tomorrow to be sure). Might just be a plugged duct, might be bruising from someone butting her.....but......:sigh: The milk itself looks fine - not yellow, not creamy, no strings or lumps, so I may just be over-reacting (I...honestly didn't WANT another breed of goats. If you couldn't tell. I prefer Nubians...but Sweet Geek wants LOTS of milk. So.....he decided that Nubians just couldn't cut it. There's times ya just gotta run with it, y'know? At least they're not La Mancha's - the no ears thing bothers me!)
They are sweet and well-mannered - Rosa hops on the stand like a pro (she's a FF). BIG difference in technique, though - she's got sausage teats, and they hang down more than the Nubians do. Not hard to milk, just...different. (We're doing her last, and using dedicated equipment. IF it's mastitis, I do NOT want it going thru the other milkers. Got enough problems with the pinkeye right now!)
It was a 2 hour drive 1 way, and we brought them home in the Jeep. Rosa was neat....Goliad pee'd in the Jeep 3x, and Dulcinea pooped 2x. :sigh: Sweet Geek got the Jeep detailed for me today....thankfully! It smelled like a barnyard in there! :lol:
no subject
Date: 2010-05-03 01:55 am (UTC)Man I am only milking three goats now and my hands are tired...and really I am pretty used to this, just try not to wear yourself out too soon. You might wanna look into a milking machine if you have so many in milk, it might seem like and expense, but you don't want to wear out your hands and wrists - in that case it is an investment.
~ali
no subject
Date: 2010-05-03 01:18 pm (UTC)We're only milking 3 right now.....5 next year. I gave up on the Cashmeres (don't tell Sweet Geek that!) because their udders stink and...I have my hands full. Of course, I also have kids helping, so *I* am only milking 1.5..that helps.
You *like* manchas? :lol: The lack of ears disturbs me...
no subject
Date: 2010-05-03 02:07 pm (UTC)~ali
no subject
Date: 2010-05-03 02:12 pm (UTC)~ali
no subject
Date: 2010-05-03 11:19 pm (UTC)And that Damascene goat? :shudder: I.....no. NOT the most beautiful. It's almost as bad as some of the extreme Arabian heads :shudder: