March on the farm is another busy month. It is the kickoff to the very busiest time of our little homestead! My husband and I were recently discussing all of the farm things, and Joey commented that it would be “nonstop busy” from here on out – he is correct!
March on the Farm
We were not expecting our goats to start kidding until early April, but our youngest doe – Bossy – had twins (possibly prematurely) overnight last Sunday and when we found them, they were dead. This wasn’t a very reassuring start to our milking season, but we decided to go ahead with milking her for a few reasons.
- her udder was full and needed to be relieved.
- we might as well benefit from her being in milk.
- it is good training towards her being a dairy goat in the future, regardless of the outcome this season.
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This is her first freshening (her first time having kids and being in milk), so we did not know what to expect from her; in her milk production or attitude on the milk stand. She has always been skittish and wild compared to her mom, but we have all been trying to tame her.
Bossy has been difficult. She does okay sometimes and kicks like crazy other times. Sometimes she refuses to get on the milk stand and pays no attention to the treats awaiting her. She is unpredictable and it makes for a stressful milking.
Bossy is a Nigerian Dwarf breed, as are our buck and other doe (her mom). We are milking her twice a day (rather than once per day like we would if she had kids) and we know they do not produce a lot of milk, but we are barely getting 4-8oz from her each milking. Overall, it has been discouraging but I am determined to persevere a while and see where it leads.
Her mom (Betsy) is also pregnant and we expect her to kid within the next few weeks. We have been training her to the milk stand (she does great because she loves the treats), but she starts kicking and sidestepping when we start touching her udder. We are praying that she will ultimately do good with milking!
The other goat we got as a bottle baby in January 2022. Buttercup is a sweetie who loves us, especially our daughter (Hadassah) who has cared for her. She is most likely pregnant and we plan to try milking her, too. Buttercup is an unknown breed, so we do not know what her milk production will be.
If we get enough milk from one or all three of our dairy goats, I will attempt to make cheese and yogurt. I am hoping our efforts pay off in the end!
Other Farm Animal News
Chickens: We hatched our first batch of chicken eggs of the year and have another batch in the incubator. One thing we do well is hatch chicken eggs! We have a lot of chickens, but not enough for the egg production we need. Along with adding to the flock, we are also replacing old hens with new ones. We cull the flock and process the chickens for our freezer. We have several young roosters from last year that we will also be butchering soon because they are starting to fight and get mean. That’s on our to-do list.
Rabbits: We haven’t produced many rabbits lately. However, two of our teens each built a small rabbit tractor and bought female Flemish Giant rabbits last year to breed to our California/Rex buck. They have had two litters so far; they sold some and grew out the remainder to make rabbit jerky – all with help from their dad. It has been a great project for them all around.
Pigs: We processed two pigs so far this year and have one growing out to butcher weight. Otherwise, we have a sow that we bred this month to our boar(due in June).
More Farm News
We fenced our pasture (thanks to our tax refund). So, now we have a better setup to put our goats on grass and let our chickens free-range. I am very thankful for that!
One of the most exciting things to happen in March on the Farm is that we used our tax refund to replace our wood stove, too. It was old and had cracks, so it was not very efficient or safe. We wanted a wood stove with an oven and found a great one for an affordable price – compared to all other options. (see it here) I have baked in it several times and it has been wonderful.
Those are all of the highlights from March on the Farm. If you enjoy farm updates, please comment and let me know! 🙂
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So sad about the baby goats, but GREAT job on milking anyway! We use a hobble on our wild milkers, and they eventually calm down – but ours are Nubians – MUCH bigger! Congrats on the new stove!! EXCITING!
Thanks! We do hobble them but we’re new to using it, so not sure if we’re using it correctly since they can still kick and move to the side.
Love the update!
Thank you
You’re welcome and thank you!
I definitely enjoy your farm updates! Grateful that your share about the good times and the challenges, and how the kids are involved. 🙂 So sorry about the baby goats; we had that happen last year also. Keep persevering with the milking! Our Nigerian Dwarf does give us anywhere from 2 cups to 6 cups a day (depending on the babies on them). She can give you more as she learns to relax on the stand. 🙂
Thanks for the tips, Alyson! She did great with milking last night and this morning, so hopefully she continues to improve. We also got 1.5cup this morning, so her milk is increasing! Yay!