New Arrival

 

This is Swsan. She is a month old and has just joined our herd. We are looking forward to entering her in Tregaron Goat Show at the end of May.

 

FOR SALE

ANGLO-NUBIAN BUCKLING & ANGLO-NUBIAN GOATLING
One year old brother & sister.
Bottle reared & very friendly.
British Goat Society registered.
CAE negative
Black with snow storm ears.

£150 each

Positive signs

Mabel & Dilys" kids are coming on really well; we are pleased with the girls & are planning to enter them in TREGARON SHOW at the end of May. The other Alpine kids are also a real joy this year although two boys are destined for the freezerunless they get a reprieve! The male & female kids from Hafina are looking very good...the black & white markings are very crisp.
The two Anglo-nubian females are really nice, especially the one from Snowdrop(Monach Avena); she is the image of mum.I think we are going to call her Pheoby as she is quite delicate & it seems to suit her. The other is Abney chosen by my neice.
It has been a good year for the kids. The older nannies need to gain a bit of weight now after kidding & some are moulting, but hopefully they will all come good for the showing season.

Baby Photos!

Kidding 2012

I am really pleased to be able to write that kidding this year has been significantly better than previous years! The British Alpines began to kid at the end of January with Mabel taking the lead. She had a single female kid which was really good news; it was much better for a girl of her great age to have just the one large kid & she has not disappointed. Her sister Dilys was next, again with a single female kid....this is her first kid at the age of nine & she did not have any help, a true star! We continued with the Alpines, Hafina had a male & a female with really lovely markings followed by her sister the next day, Hafwen who unfortunately had two males. Next, we had an Anglo nubian kid for her first time....Monach Danaa. She had a male & female but the male has since died which was sad as he did seem a really healthy kid but that is just the way it goes at times. Strudel, who is our boar/saanen x had a male & female but the female was still born which is a disappointment as we really want a female from her simply to provide her with a companion as she is always bullied by the others. Her little boy is very sweet but any boys we do not need will be raised for meat so it does not pay to get attached to them. Next to kid was Snowdrop ( Monach Avena!) who had a single female who is actually stunning; she is the image of her mother. However, Snowdrop rejected her because by this time she had stolen Danaa"s kids. Disastor!! Danaa did accept her her own kids plus Snowdrops in the end even though Snowdrop had fed all of her collostrum to Danaa"s kids.....not a good situation but we came through ok; we did have to listen to Snowdrop moaning for quite a while though as she wanted Danaa"s babies! The final goat to kid really was an accident.....Bronte(BA) with Chicory(AN). She is only just 12 months old herself but she has had two kids, one male & one female. The female has become a bit of a celebrity appearing on Facebook! We kept her in the house for a while where she received alot of attention because mum was really too young to know what to do with her. Bronte did feed her little boy for a few days but then got fed up & so he then joined some of the others on bottles. I am pleased though because the little girl has a new home to go to where she will always remain center of attention! We now have eight bottles to do, four times a day so we are a little busy at present! The next goat to kid will be Madelaine the pygmy who is due in May.
A few pics will now follow but i have more to add so keep checking for updates!

That time of year again.....

It did not start too well really as we did lose our Anglo-nubian nannie that we called Patch,back in December. She was carrying four kids again but couldnt keep up with the demands of the babies. Unfortunately, she was prone to toxemia & acetonemia so we knew we could have problems.
Also, Jac,the British Alpine billy dropped down dead on Christmas eve which really was a shock as he seemed really well. Therefore, we need to replace him from the kids which we hope to produce this time.
The good news is that we have had two really strong female British Alpine kids from the two sisters Mabel & Dilys. It was Mabels first time to kid last year if you have been following this blog & now it is her 9 year old sisters first time! Dilys did so well. She gave birth on her own which i was suprised about because i thought she would struggle & is being the perfect mum now.

We are now anxiously awaiting Hafwen & Hafina to kid....they were due yesterday! Most of our goats will kid now in the next 3 weeks so dont go away!

USK SHOW & THE ADVENTURES OF BRAMWELL

I need to take you back to the beginning of this story so that you can understand the true effects.On Thursday 8th September,the day before we were to leave for the show,three of the goats had escaped from their pen; we put them back in & all seemed fine; they were also fine at feeding time.Friday morning we found Eleri dead; no sign of vomit or the runs. At this time Ffiona was also unwell but no sign of either of the above. We gave her medication & lots of tea as we believed the symptoms to be poisoning. She was up on her feet & not in a state of collapse. The day was spent administering medication when needed & we prepared to go to the show in the afternoon.
Unfortunately, we did not get away on time as there was so much to do to prepare for leaving all the animals in safe hands overnight & for most of the next day.
When we entered the showground it was dark which was not ideal but we thought we would be alright......how wrong can you be?!
Bramwell,the eldestof the three goats we were going to exhibit,decided that she did not like the look of the competition & ran off into the night. She was cornered at one point early in the proceedings,but managed to evade her capters! The next four hours were spent searching for her.The show site was shut down with all gates closed for the night to ensure that she could not get off the showground.The stewards on the site helped search and the other goat exhibitors turned out, but to no avail.We decided to call it a night & continue the search at first light. We did not have much sleep as we were really worried for her especially as the weather forcasters promised rain & they were not to be dissappointed.
At first light we went in search of her again before the show opened to the public.We walked around miles of hedges searching for her, but she had not even been seen by anyone.I was convinced that she had been really frightened by all of the noise & activity & had just run far away never to be found again......but still we searched.
About 8.30am we went back to the motorhome & had a drink & some breakfast & saw to the other goats who were safely tucked up in the marqee.We had no intention of now showing,but Nigel was persauded to in order to support the show itself. Our minds were not really on the job in hand but we came away with a couple of rosettes for 2nd & 3rd places.
The weather was really good so we felt sure that Bramwell would come out somewhere & sunbathe or take a nibble as she would be hungry by now.We continued our search after lunch & retraced the path which by now we knew very well indeed.We decided to look deep into the ditches as there was alot of cover & indeed we spotted her not far infact from the marqee where she escaped from.But as we got closer to her,she bolted & ran off at high speed across a field of cars, clearing some of them! The situation looked hopeless.....a young goat which could run faster than any quad bike would be difficult to catch! In the corner of the field there was a ditch with water in it & lots of nettles,thistles & all things that hurt. There were a couple of drainage rings for the water to run into from the adjoining road. We established that she had not gone any farther than this area & i went to get as many bodies as i could so that we could surround her.As i returned with help, Nigel & our friend Gary, appeared with her; she was really scared,coughing,panting & was really dirty & with blood pouring from her ear. They had managed to drag her from the hedge along the roadside by the only means they could.....her ears!!
Everyone was so pleased to see her( none moreso than me); i was so relieved; i really did think that she had gone forever.
We took her to the marqee & put her in a pen with her friends.....she did not resemble a show goat at all. She had alot of attention & soon settled down & had something to eat & drink. I did not get over the ordeal quite so quickly!
We were very careful on loading the goats back into the trailer to bring them home. I think she was really pleased to be home & warm & dry.She cleaned up well & her ear is much better.
I do not think that Usk Show 2011 will be forgotten very quickly by any of us who searched the fields for a goatling called Bramwell.

Sadly, Ffiona, poorly at home, did not make it.....sweet dreams.