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I would also like to know more about Magpie No Reason e: gently caress
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Jul 28, 2022 20:42
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| # ? May 7, 2024 20:21 |
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I still think What If I get room for some Sheep once in a while and if I ever get in that situation, I'll happily take someone home. Dang these are cute little friends.
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Jul 28, 2022 22:54
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Magpie is actually a lovely ram with really promising horns (here compared to his brother with horns that will be too close) and lovely fleece, he just is too related to most of my ewes so he's not one I could really keep back and use. I put plenty of perfectly nice rams in the freezer because there just isn't a huge market for 2 horned rams. I'd love to keep them all and generally keep way more than I should but I just can't. Tell Mariposa to have girls that I can keep back!
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Jul 28, 2022 23:42
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Jellyfish, I'm curious since I don't think you've talked about it before: do your dogs actually help herd your sheep and goats, or are they just pets?
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Aug 4, 2022 03:09
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Cythereal posted:Jellyfish, I'm curious since I don't think you've talked about it before: do your dogs actually help herd your sheep and goats, or are they just pets? Mina the pyrenees is an actual working livestock guardian dog, which is different from a herding dog but a very important job. She lives with the sheep and goats full time and protects them from predators. The livestock know when she's sounding the alarm and all run for safety in the barn but that's as close to herding as she gets. She mostly barks at things until they decide to move on to easier hunting grounds. Scout the acd is just starting with herding but has helped me gather up escaped animals a number of times and has a good head for it. I just haven't had access to a trainer and just don't know enough about herding training to start her on my own so our other sports have taken precedence. Recently someone posted on a local heeler group asking if anyone knew anywhere they could take their dogs to practice and I offered up my sheep so now I have a herding trainer coming right to my house almost weekly who is going to help me get started. She does primarily positive reinforcement training and is really careful with my stock so I'm happy to have her! Major is a million years old and has never been a herding dog, his main job is eliminating pigeons from the barn one crunch at a time. Edit: Scout and I got home from an 8 hour drive on Saturday and I saw the goats had escaped. I was getting ready to have to chase them around in circles for a while when I remembered that's why I had a herding dog. Let her out of the car and she had them all together in the barn by the time I got there to close the door  She definitely can do it, I just don't know how to teach her how to do it in an organized manner.
Instant Jellyfish fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Aug 4, 2022 |
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Aug 4, 2022 03:36
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Good job Scout! You herd those goats!
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Aug 4, 2022 18:24
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I didn't previously introduce Amber to the thread, because she has not had kids yet. She's always been our "helper" goat; she loves to help with anything and everything. One time I had to go into the house for something and she followed-- that created a monster. Here she is being judgemental at the TV.  Help, I have a house goat now.
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Aug 21, 2022 04:15
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she's lovely!
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Aug 21, 2022 15:46
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i love the flocks
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Aug 23, 2022 01:23
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Breeding season is in full swing here. One doe is already bred, one doe is due to be bred this weekend, and the final two does are due to be bred next weekend. The youngsters are going through puberty, but they are absolutely not allowed anywhere near a buck because I don't need any teen preggo immature moms next year thx. This makes me realize--I don't know if a lot of the readership of this thread has a good understanding of what happens in goat breeding. TIME FOR SOME EDUCATION KIDS Does go into heat, just like cats. And just like cats, they are utterly shameless and extremely horny. The signs are different for each doe. Some will be subtle about it, some not so much. There is one thing that almost all does do, which gives away that they're in heat:  The screeching. Oh god. The screeching. Two weeks ago, we had 3 does in heat simultaneously. They want the D and they're gonna make sure every buck within a mile radius knows. And these are the goats that are best known for screaming, so add it up and it equals earplugs. Well, we don't let sex happen willy-nilly around here. So the girls end up frustrated because they want the D and it's not forthcoming (I am not dealing with kids in February, ladies. Too cold). So what's a girl to do? Yes, you're correct. Country goats make do. If a buck isn't there to sex them, it's lesbian orgy time.  Pheromones are a hell of a drug. Let's talk about the buck. They're significantly bigger than the girls, and they go into rut like deer. Their muscles bulk up so they can fight for breeding rights, and they go a little crazy. Many stop eating, or barely eat. It's not their fault--their sole goal in life is to sex. This is also why intact bucks don't live as long as does. And the biggest part of rut is to make sure they smell nice for the ladies. If you've ever heard that goats stink, it's because someone has encountered a buck in rut. It's a very unique (very BAD) smell that just sticks to everything. If you touch a buck, change your clothes and shower. This is the way.  Why, you ask, do they smell so drat bad? Part of it is our friend pheromones. A bigger part of it is that they regularly piss on themselves to get that stank on.  They also become super affectionate, so you get a 180lb buck who wants to snuggle and wipes his pee-soaked beard all over you. Ask me how I know. So, as a buck, now that your stank is correct, how do you make sure that you're ready to go when you encounter a doe? That's right, regular autofellatio.  Try explaining this one to the kids. Okay, so now we have a buck with the correct stench and a correctly working penis, and a doe in raging "standing" heat. It's called standing heat because she will stand still to be mounted by the buck, but that's still no guarantee. She's still a lady, and has to be properly wooed. And, since you're a buck, of course wooing involves more piss because WHY NOT.  There are other steps in wooing, including the buck sticking his tongue out and making a "buh-buh-buh" noise called blubbering. So in all those cute/funny videos of a goat with his tongue out, that goat is trying to gently caress you. If the buck is stinky enough for the doe's taste and he woos her sufficiently, she will allow him to mount her. It's very fast--if you're not watching you might never know that your goats bred.  Here's where it gets surprisingly egalitarian. Both the buck and doe have to orgasm for the breeding to be successful. The buck will throw his head back, and the doe will hunch up. (Sidenote, does can do the hunch up at any time--just walking around BAM girl boner.)  We usually make sure they get three good breedings in before we separate the couple. It generally takes about 15min. There's a reason we call our bucks "studs." So in recap: stench, piss, orgies. If all is well, 5 months later we get adorable baby goats. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
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Oct 6, 2022 03:34
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Something about the minimalist art style makes it both better and so much worse. Thank you for this.
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Oct 6, 2022 03:44
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Why are goats like this? (that was fantastic, thank you for making it!)
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Oct 6, 2022 03:48
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holy poo poo lmao and thank you
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Oct 6, 2022 04:16
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What a glorious and educational post.
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Oct 6, 2022 05:44
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Celestriad posted:Well, we don't let sex happen willy-nilly around here. So the girls end up frustrated because they want the D and it's not forthcoming (I am not dealing with kids in February, ladies. Too cold). So what's a girl to do? Yes, you're correct. Country goats make do. If a buck isn't there to sex them, it's lesbian orgy time. Cattle do this too. If you put marking chalk on the top of their tails, you can tell who's in heat by checking who got their chalk rubbed off. This is useful for artificial insemination: you have special feed bunks installed which can be locked to hold their heads in during feeding. Every morning, you lock them up at feeding time, then the AI guy walks down the line with a bunch of semen samples and inseminates any animal with the chalk rubbed off. Fast, cheap, and easy to read. Your illustrations absolutely kick rear end, btw!
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Oct 6, 2022 06:37
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Celestriad posted:
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Oct 6, 2022 14:49
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Goats are gross and I'm constantly glad I don't have any bucks anymore. I shear for some angoras right around when they start going into rut and the bucks just stand around spraying like fire hoses when I'm done. My coveralls just reek after those jobs. The buck stench does not go away easily. Rams get a little musky and their facial scent glands get bigger but they don't piss everywhere or suck themselves off like those goat pervs.
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Oct 6, 2022 16:15
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Educational and entertaining. Thanks for this TED talk.
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Oct 6, 2022 21:51
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No pictures because we have not seen the sun in a week but breeding season is done here and lambs are due starting March 11th and dragging on until potentially the 28th. Less synchronized than usual because I always forget what CIDR protocol works for me (10-12 days! ignore the package that says 5 days!) and also I gave a ram lamb a try who was thoroughly intimidated by the big girls resulting in some reorganization so the big boys could take over. Breeding groups were: (*sold as bred but haven't been picked up yet) Isadore: Juno Mariposa Pennyroyal Woodrose *Pistachio Serendipity: Holly Keepsake Aphrodite Waltz *Dulcet *Sassafras Souvenir: Pansy Wildfire Daphne Indigo *Buttercup Isadore was bred to some of his granddaughters because I love Iz and want to cement his type in my lines. He's also getting pretty up there for a ram. I'm hoping for a keeper ram and ewe out of his group and keeper ewes from Aphrodite and Pansy since they're hitting retirement. Everyone else can do what they want because I probably won't be keeping lambs from them. I'll probably be selling all my lilac rams (Ashe, Serendipity, and Souvenir) this year because they're all related and bringing in a new boy. I've been very good and haven't bought a ram in 3 years so it's time to splurge again. I'll probably be using Wander, a 2 horn I kept back last year, on my 2022 ewe lamb keepers but I need a new 4 horn that isn't related to everyone.
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Dec 9, 2022 18:41
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Instant Jellyfish posted:We're off to NC to show at SAFF this weekend. I feel like I've used up all my wins for the year so I'm just going to have fun with my sheep friends and hopefully sell some lambs. Absolutely. Gorgeous.
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Dec 11, 2022 20:49
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yayyyyyyy lambies are coming
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Dec 11, 2022 20:50
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dismas posted:yayyyyyyy lambies are coming
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Dec 11, 2022 21:42
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Glory to Italia!
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dismas posted:yayyyyyyy lambies are coming 
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Dec 12, 2022 01:44
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Instant Jellyfish posted:and also I gave a ram lamb a try who was thoroughly intimidated by the big girls resulting in some reorganization so the big boys could take over. I can't find the specific Futurama clip but imagine Bea Arthur's voice from that one episode saying that there will be snu snu by the large women, then the average women, then the petite women.
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Dec 12, 2022 03:43
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And then the large women again.
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Dec 12, 2022 03:57
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are you able to tell yet which breeding attempts have taken? any early guesses about how many lambs to expect this year?
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Dec 25, 2022 15:57
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my cat is norris posted:are you able to tell yet which breeding attempts have taken? any early guesses about how many lambs to expect this year? The rams were in with the ewes for quite a bit longer than I usually do so they should all be bred. Probably somewhere between 12 and 20 would be my guess. Here are the breeding dates for when I saw them marked but the rams rubbed the paint off pretty quickly so it's possible they were bred again the next cycle and just not marked well. If they don't lamb the date listed they're due 17 days or so later.  Everyone made it through the arctic blast just fine. At one point we were getting 50-60 mph winds so everyone got shut up into the barn out of the wind. Really glad I have a big old dairy barn that can hold a lot of sheep in a lot of different groups just fine. The main hassle was my frost-free hydrant froze so figuring out water was a pain. Luckily I had fill everything up and the bucket heaters were working well so they could last until I could trek to Lowe's for some heat tape. Now I have that on a thermocube so it shouldn't happen again this winter.
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Dec 26, 2022 16:54
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We're about 6 weeks from the first kidding and hoo boy are there FEELINGS going on. The pregnant does are all huge. I would be shocked if they're not all carrying triplets at a minimum (I'm looking at you, Erin. Plz no 5 kids this year again). Erin and Andromeda are doing well with it, just that they can't eat enough and they can't get enough attention. Amber is a first-timer, and she is MISERABLE. She doesn't know what's going on and she has always been our most socially awkward goat so she's really confused and needy. The youngsters have been integrated into the main herd, and there's still some drama there from the older girls putting them in their places. The most drama tends to happen around milk stand time--the youngsters still haven't figured out hierarchy and milk stand order so I have to boss them around as much as the does do. The milk stand order will settle down in time. So hey, check this out: we finally got off our asses and built our website! https://snakeggfarm.com/ It shows all of the goats, and has a blurb about each one. It also has pedigree information, if you're curious how that looks. And we have stuffs for sale, including goat milk soap. We're still actively adding to the site every day. It's nice to look semi-professional about all this. I will take more photos of the girls in a couple of weeks. AMA if you have questions about pedigree or milking stuff--I will be happy to go on a long, detailed, educational, and hopefully amusing rant about Dairy Goat Genes (TM).
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Jan 25, 2023 04:07
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I wouldn't have thought goats were capable of quintuplets. She must've been more kid than Mom carrying those around. 
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Jan 25, 2023 04:17
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It's not common, especially in the standard-sized goats like Nubians! You hear a few cases each year, but the chances are less then 1%. Twins are the most common, probably about 50% of births. Singletons are next most common, probably about 30% of births. Triplets are about 15%, and the remainder is quads with a tiny sliver of quints. It's more common in miniature breeds, since it's a lot easier to fit five 2lb kids in a uterus than it is to fit five 6-7lb kids in a uterus (plus placenta and amniotic fluid). The vet was extremely surprised we had quints, and basically said, "Your nutrition must be perfect." It is more common if the dam was a triplet or higher for her to be able to throw triplets or higher. Erin was a triplet, so it makes sense she likes to give me 4-5 kids at a time. The biggest factor in multiples is nutrition, like the vet said. Dairy goats have high vitamin and mineral needs. To be honest, most goats are probably nutrient deficient because people think they can just browse trees and grass and do fine. They *can*, but they're not living optimal lives and fertility, milk production, and long-term health suffers. Unfortunately, only 3 of her 5 survived last year. That's the sad part of that many kids. In her case, they got tangled up in the uterus and drowned because it took too long to get them all out. Ironically, Maeve was the runt of the litter at just over 4lbs and is doing fine and will probably be as big as her mom. Erin, of all the does, is most able to handle quints, at least. She's huge--at her milking thinnest she tops 175lbs and her withers reach my crotch. But she definitely got to where she could not lug around all those kids! When she had quadruplets, she stopped being able to jump up on the milking stand about 2 weeks before her due date. When she had quintuplets, she stopped being able to jump up a full month before her due date. I'm watching her closely to see how many she has...
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Jan 25, 2023 05:27
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Congrats on the website! And the grumpy but healthy moms to be.
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Jan 25, 2023 05:47
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I promised pictures of impossibly wide moody pregnant goats, so here they are. First up, Erin - we're going to induce her to kid Friday, March 3 even though her due date isn't til Sunday the 5th. She's so huge she really doesn't need to be cooking those buns in the oven any longer than necessary. Still suspect quads, even though she can still be coaxed onto the milking stand with much petting and treats.   Next up is Andromeda, due on Saturday March 11. Suspect triplets from her because she's just impossibly wide.   Also, people who are unfamiliar with goats wonder if they are affectionate. Maybe their only interaction with goats is the bottomless pit pygmys in a petting zoo, who only want food food food. Andromeda would like to address whether goats are affectionate:  Finally, Amber is due on Sunday March 12th. She's our first timer and she's way too miserable for just twins. She's also a huge wide deep doe like Erin, and as you can see she's really spending a lot of time easing herself around and trying to take weight off her hooves. She's also having a lot of trouble getting up and down on the milk stand. So I suspect triplets for her as well, but this is her first time so I really have no baseline to go off of--just instinct.   I didn't take any updated pictures of Flag, the buck they are all bred to. I will do a photo shoot with him tomorrow and update the thread. But I have a good reason I swear! I did a photo shoot with the yearlings instead. Here's our kiddos from last year: Kachina - brought from AZ, smartest drat goat ever, A+ angry eyebrows  Queen Maeve - giving zero shits about the camera, food is more important kthx  Nebula - the one we swore we wouldn't keep. Andromeda x Flag daughter from last year, and splitting image of her dam. She just turned out so well put together and beautiful I could not sell her. You don't see yearlings with a build like hers--wide and deep and level. She will mature into an incredible doe, and should be a powerhouse milker as well. She's about as dumb as a bag of hammers, however, and super obnoxious. 
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Feb 22, 2023 03:44
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Look at those wide loads! My girls are looking fairly enormous too but it's impossible to tell just how huge they actually are until after I shear them, which should be soon. The fleeces this year are amazing  The person who was supposed to be buying bred ewes flaked out on me and it was too late in the season to bother trying to list them again so I'm lambing out 4 more than expected. I would have rather had the money to pay for hay but what are you going to do? I already have a waiting list for this year so they'll sell after lambing instead. Here are all my estimated breeding dates, although there are a couple that don't look close at all and will probably go a cycle or two later, so 17-34 days past when I'm expecting. At least enough of them look about ready to pop that my lamb camp should be busy for the people signed up.  I really (REALLY) shouldn't be keeping anything back this year but Isadore passed away a week ago and I'm hoping I can keep back something that I linebred on him in the fall. He was a good boy but just never really recovered after Twofer died a couple years ago and left him to manage the young boys on his own. I pampered him all winter though and he passed away peacefully in his sleep surrounded by his old grandma friends. I wouldn't mind keeping back a ram or ewe from Pennyroyal if she's cooperative and has some nice ones. She's only ever given me rams.
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Feb 22, 2023 18:22
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Celestriad posted:But she definitely got to where she could not lug around all those kids! When she had quadruplets, she stopped being able to jump up on the milking stand about 2 weeks before her due date. When she had quintuplets, she stopped being able to jump up a full month before her due date. I'm watching her closely to see how many she has... Is there a special procedure you have to do for milking when they can't hop onto the the platform?
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Feb 22, 2023 18:54
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kafkasgoldfish posted:Is there a special procedure you have to do for milking when they can't hop onto the the platform? Thank goodness, there is no overlap between "heavily pregnant" and "actively milking"! Every breeder does it differently, but I tend to only keep my goats in milk for about 9 months at a time. I tend to breed for kidding in March due to weather not sucking quite as much, and I dry them up (make them stop producing milk) at the end of December. That way, they have a few months off to recover and focus on their pregnancies. Milking takes a heavy toll on goats because they produce a much higher percentage by body weight than a cow does. A 1300lb Holstein makes about 64lbs of milk a day, whereas a 140lb Nubian makes about 8lbs a day, and Nubians have much higher fat percentages in their milk (5%) than Holsteins do (3.5%). They physically need time off to recover and put weight back on between milkings. One of the goals of my breeding is to have a goat who can milk for much longer than 9 months at a time, which is why I bought Flag as my herd sire. His dam milked almost 2 years before her production got low enough to warrant a re-breeding. And that's a perfect segue into Flag pictures! Look how much more macho he is than the girls. He's built so much heavier with a thick neck and a ruff of fur along his spine to make him look bigger. He's out of rut now, so his neck has actually thinned down to normal. During the height of rut, the muscles in his neck swell and thicken so much (to allow him to fight for breeding rights) that I can't close the milking stand upright. And he has a truly magnificent beard--most Nubian bucks have wispy kinda pathetic beards like a 15-year-old boy, but his is more along the lines of IPA-loving hipster.   And this was going on behind me the whole time I was trying to take photos of Flag. OH MY GOD did you know that there's a BOY HERE!?!? 
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Feb 23, 2023 03:38
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Celestriad posted:
goat hunk
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Feb 23, 2023 07:13
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Instant Jellyfish posted:
Hope all of the lambing and kidding this year goes as smoothly as possible for everyone.
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Feb 23, 2023 08:34
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I'm also sorry to hear about Isadore. What a loss. And yet...LOOK AT ALL THESE ZEPPELIN-SIZED GOATS!! holy moly
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Feb 23, 2023 14:55
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Celestriad posted:During the height of rut, the muscles in his neck swell and thicken so much (to allow him to fight for breeding rights) that I can't close the milking stand upright.
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Feb 25, 2023 18:56
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| # ? May 7, 2024 20:21 |
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I had to pull blood on a boer goat buck in rut once and never again. It took probably 45 minutes of digging in his massive neck to find a vein and I stank like buck for a week afterward despite washing all my clothes and myself several times.
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Feb 25, 2023 22:48
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