Coyote Ridge FarmsWelcome To Our Rural Blog

To start with… I thought that our Monday-Tuesday ‘snow storm’ was going to be more than it was.  Yes, we got a bunch of snow.  Yes, we got the wind.  But no blizzard-like conditions – maybe next time.

Tuesday evening was a little rough to be out in, but not enough to keep me home.  I traveled to Benson, MN to take part in a focus group discussion, hosted by Action Media, a consulting company out of the Metro.  It was concerning the Chippewa 10% Project.  Chippewa 10% Project’s goals are to help farmers realize and participate in conservation efforts that are not only good for water quality, but also are profitable to the land owner.  They believe that there can be a solid link between environmentally-friendly farming systems and profitability.   The program is called Profits From Perennials.

Last night (Wed) we had a little excitement.  The kids went out to do chores – Madison first… then Austin.  Around the time Carol was heading out, word came up from the barn that we had baby goats being born.  Carol grabbed an old towel and headed out.

look at those ears

We knew that the mother was pregnant, but we thought she might be due 2 weeks from now, as that was the only time she was exposed to our buck/billy goat.  Carol bought a few Nubian dairy goats in July.  They were not suppose to be bred.  One of the does obviously was.  She gave birth to the goat in the photo – a good-sized buckling.  He was not premature.  In fact, he might be a little bigger than most newborns.  Due to his size, Madison had to pull him.  She said the mother was having a difficult time with the delivery and needed assistance, no question.

The photo above shows the buckling in a home-made warming barrel, just a few minutes after being born.  He’s still quite wet.  It was very cold (12°F) last night, even in the barn… and his little body was starting to cool down.  When a newbie goat gets chilled, it loses the instinct to suckle.  When the chores were nearing the end, Carol brought the buckling in the house.

Once in the house, the baby goat got a warm air treatment.  Carol gave him a blast of her hair dyer… in just a few minutes, he was dry.  Carol always has some goat colostrum on hand.  Not knowing how much milk the baby got from his mama, Carol bottle feed him a bellyful of the most important drinks of this young goats life.  After he was full, Carol dressed him in a pet-sized hoodie/jacket, then brought him to his mom.  It seems that once you can get that first meal into the baby, they are able to maintain a healthy body temp., the hoodie is just a precaution.

Right away this morning, Carol checked on the new baby.  She found him nestled in the warming barrel.  She got him up and he took to nursing on mom right away… and he is doing fine.  We’re excited to have this new buckling added to the farm’s goat herd.  He will most likely rise through the ranks and become a herd sire for our dairy herd.  The fact that is not related to anyone, other than his mom, is a huge plus.

Related posts:

1. A New Baby Goat Arrived
2. Cornstalks Are Baled And A New Goat Was Born
3. We Have Goat Hay For The Winter
4. Crooked Horn Gives Birth