Git 'er done

Yes, that's right, it is time for some goat news!!!

Well after a month of wondering, pondering, and considering we have now been successful. . . um, maybe.

You see, it isn't easy (at least it didn't seem so) to tell if a goat is in heat or not, especially if you a)aren't a goat, b)haven't had goats before, or c)don't have a virile buck around.  Annie and I strike out on all three counts.  So we have spent the past month trying to figure out if Hoppy and Lilly are in heat or not.  This has involved a number of considerations:  are they "whining" more, are they waggin their tails, are they more affectionate than usual.  Thus far we had strikes on all of those (well except that Hoppy is always whiney so that didn't help).  We have also been examining (visually only) their nether regions on a regular basis for signs of "excitement" but couldn't tell for sure if they were swollen or what.  The other test we had was a rag that I had rubbed all over the head and forelegs of a buck who was wanting some action (you see they pee all over this part of themselves, because the ladies LOVE that).  We let the ladies smell it and they react "like a teenager mooning over some boy" (that's close to an exact quote) then we have a doe ready for action.

So this past Saturday, after a month and a half or so of uncertainty we finally hit pay dirt.  Hoppy had been whining almost non-stop for two days (the first day it was raining, and she always whines in the rain so we wrote that off).  I let her smell the rag, and she rubbed her head all over it, and started wagging her tail.  I looked behind her and their appeared to be a secretion.  This was a goat who was feeling amorous.

Then the race was on.  Goats only stay in heat for 24-72 hours at a time and we now suspected some of the whining the day before had to do with her being in heat.  So we called all of our goaty friends and acquaintances, and there were no answers.  Aaarrgghhh!!!  So we waited, then I called one of them back, and - HALLELUJAH - he answered.  So quickly we rustled Hoppy into the dog carrier in the back of David's truck, and whisked her off to a farm about a half hour from here.  We got there.  I had my hand in her collar, and she was straining against me as hard as she ever has to get at that buck.  So we got her over there, and within - oh I'd say 45 seconds the deed was done.  We wanted to wait around to let him have another go at it, but he seemed to be exhausted - so we came on home.

Goats typically gestate for about 5 months, so probably sometime around March we will have some little kids born here at deerfield.  Lilly was acting kind of goofy today, so probably the next time or two she comes in heat we will breed her too (we want to space them out a little bit, so we don't have lots of newborns all at once).

So that is the latest news here from Deerfield.  Aside from that we are working on the barn still, the chicks are all doing well, we got our first frost last night, so gardening is changing, and I'm staying fairly busy with work.

Hope you are all well,

Jeff

ps.  Just in case you wanted to know, Hoppy's one minute stand was with a goat named Tater Tot, who is a La Mancha, which is a different breed of goat, but still a dairy goat.