This is so exciting to me. Mike and I are getting our first goats. He had Pygmy goats in NC but they have been really hard to find here. Ok quick lesson on miniature goats. An African Pygmy goat is the smallest of the meat goat. They have short legs and stocky barrel like bodies. They only have a small variety of colorings. The Nigerian Dwarf goats are the smallest of the dairy goat. They are leaner and more delicate. They come in a wide range of color variations and can have blue eyes. At the time, and sadly still, many people call all small goats Pygmy which is incorrect as a Pygmy is a breed and doesn't just mean "small" goat. Anyway I had to clarify because when I called about Pygmy goats to buy they were usually Nigerian Dwarfs.
We have the 90x90 pen set up for the goats. So far we only have a 10x20 kennel with Igloo dog houses for them to sleep in at night. We will build a barn for them soon:)
Our boy was the first to come home with us. He spent the night inside the open area in our building until we picked up the 3 new girls the next day. We didn't want him to be alone in the big pen since he is just a baby.
Our first boy Billie and yes we were told he was a Pygmy. Look how cute:)
Billie in a bowl. Goats love to lay inside things.
The girls. This is Mama and her first baby, Cocoa who will eventually be known as Cocoa Nut.
And sweet Angel. She shares the same father as Cocoa.
Cocoa our first jumper:) and Angel.
Hanging in their new area.
Our 4 original goats:) Mama, Cocoa, Billie and Angel.
Cocoa is still nursing and always stays with her Mama.
Cute bowl babies:)
Just a quick glimpse of our new "kids". I miss how small they were:)
The goats are adorable. I'm gonna guess that Momma is to skittish to be able to milk? You did get these to milk, right...I can't see you doing the "MEAT" thing with something that cute. We couldn't, when we had goats up in PA (35 yrs ago). Thanks for the lesson on the differences between the small goat breeds. We had an "Alpine" which was much larger, but also gave about a gallon of milk each day. It was fun milking "Annie", but you have to do it EVERY day, so if you want to travel, you have to work around that, by drying her out after the baby kid(s) have weened. We found that our dogs loved the milk, as did the pigs we would raise for butcher (they aren't quite as cute, but even then, Claudia had a hard time eating the meat). We are loving the photos, and once again, enjoying your adventures...bringing back some of the memories we had.
ReplyDeleteWe actually got the goats to breed and also use as an agricultural exemption. To me they are like my pets:) I thought about doing the milking and making soap and cheese but like you said it's a lot of work, lol. Farms with animals do tie you down. When it's time for babies being born we need to be here. I'm with Claudia about the pigs:) I guess if your farm is really big and you don't name them it is easier to eat them, lol.
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