The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Goats => Topic started by: langdon on February 25, 2011, 03:42:22 pm
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sorry guys i havent been on ere for a long time, we moved just before christmass ( hope everyone had a good one and happy new year! ) and we are having alot of trouble getting our landline connected >:( >:(.
As i said we have been without a landline since christmass ( by the way if anyone is guessing as how im on now, im using the comp in my beths workplace! ).
i have missed been on ere so much, goats milly and molly are enjoying their new home and chucks is well.
we have decided to buy in a billy ( i can hear the groans! ) and go for it, we have two goat keepwers who are expecting kids in spring time, so we are waiting for who ever gets in touch first, and the good thing is that both are not living far from us at all, maybe half an hour from us.
we have been giving a date for our landline to be connected-APRIL, what a laugh.
so this will be proubly be the only time ye will hear from me untill then, i dont think beth will to pleased to
see me coming in her workplace and using their comps!
langdon
p.s. new bunglow is called " the pear tree " i dont fancy that as a name profile!
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Langdon!!!!!!!!!! good to hear from you ;D looks like you won't get this till April ::) but Happy New Home and good luck with the Billy. I'm making a coffee soap that gets rid of 'that' billy smell, will have to send you a baaa of it LOL.
take care Mr!!
Lisa
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phonelines.. how frustrating :-\
like the name of your new housy :)
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hey up mate,
good to hear you are all ok and the "move" has gone to plan.
hope the little goat has had no further foot or other health problems.
"see" you again in April then, Pear Tree ;) ::D
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I didn't know you had moved - probably missed your post about it, due to me being off line for months!!
I was only wondering today where you had got to .....and now I know!!!
Good to hear from you.
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Where is 'home' now ?
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Welcome to your new home. Look forward to hearing about "billy's" antics, I'm sure there will be plenty. :D
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Good luck in your new home! Is there a pear tree?
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Hope all goes well with your new house. Hope your billy settles in well :)
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yes there is a pear tree!! and other fruit trees, i have to say its a lush place we are so blessed.
hope your new place is going well
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i wil deff have some of it if it does the job!!!!
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hey little blue! missed talking to ya ;)
you never guess what? go on guess then!
mollys udder has seemed to sort its self out, that side of the udder that swelled up has gone down!
i couldnt believe my eyes as i noticed when she was standing on her hind legs with two front legs on gate looking
out of her field! she seems really happy, milly is doing great, brought them to vet for check up and worming and
he said they are looking in good shape, for a bloke it nearly brought tears to me eyes, well just between you and me it did!
they are weighing in at 60kgs.
by the way we have made a final decision on a billy could be getting him on monday or tuesday.
im that sort of person that likes to take the bull by the horns and go for it. we want a milking herd and i want a closed herd. can i let him run with girls all the time and share house is well?
nice talking take care ;) :goat:
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hey roxy how are you, missed the chatter as we are still having problems getting a landline >:(
im on a computer in beths workplace ;)
milly and molly are great we have decided a billy is the wayforward for us in our goatkeeping future.
you take care ;) :goat:
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hey little blue! missed talking to ya ;)
you never guess what? go on guess then!
mollys udder has seemed to sort its self out, that side of the udder that swelled up has gone down!
i couldnt believe my eyes as i noticed when she was standing on her hind legs with two front legs on gate looking
out of her field! she seems really happy, milly is doing great, brought them to vet for check up and worming and
he said they are looking in good shape, for a bloke it nearly brought tears to me eyes, well just between you and me it did!
they are weighing in at 60kgs.
by the way we have made a final decision on a billy could be getting him on monday or tuesday.
im that sort of person that likes to take the bull by the horns and go for it. we want a milking herd and i want a closed herd. can i let him run with girls all the time and share house is well?
nice talking take care ;) :goat:
thats great about Molly, she likes to keep you on your toes doesn't she?!
what breed is your billy?
as you know, we keep a Bagot billy .... he is in with Geraldine all the time (and thier boy!) and as he is quite shy he is no real trouble, even when she was kidding, as we were in there with her so he stayed well away!
Max pretends that he is starving & his dad wont let him eat.. but he's just a mardy! there is no real fighting or threatening as the three of them Know where they stand in the pecking order ;)
the main issue is that you may not know an exact date for kidding, if he runs with your females all the time.
but like you, we decided a closed herd was the best for us & our goats, and our lifestyle & situation.
I bet you're dead excited - hope you get back on soon to show us some photos...
:wave:
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Hello Langdon :wave:
Can't be too long before you are back on line - why is it taking so long?
Did you go for a billy kid, or an older one? If its a kid, I would definitely keep it separate from the females, as they may attack it and hurt it. And then he would be used to being in his own shed, and not cause any hassle when older, about being on his own.
An older billy - I would personally keep him separate if you have the room - in a well built shed, as they can be rough and destructive!! Billies taint everything they touch with their smell, so this way, you would at least have a nice smelling shed where the females are :)
But, Little Blue'ss bagot billy did not smell at all when I visited - I was amazed......hopefully your billy will be sweet smelling too. What breed is he?
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Thanks Roxy .... Cesar is definitely a special young fella!
Bear in mind Langdon, we didnt intend on keeping our own billy straight away, and would have planned him a separate house. its just when he came on loan, he would have gone back to be castrated which we felt was a bit mean him having had the experience so to speak! his owner had no luck selling him & his twin and so when the opportunity came we took it!
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We have 3 billies now..gluttons for punishment did I hear you say?..and we for us the best situation is to let them all have a wife and a concubine or two! That way they are not lonely and the girls who are too young or too old are safe from their attentions. They sorted it out for themselves who wanted to stay with whom and some definitely couldn't get out quick enough after their brief nuptials. No reason why they shouldn't have their preferences I'm sure. We have obviously kept a note of when they are likely to kid and will take them out to give them a bit of peace when they are imminent. I'm not saying everybody would agree with our way of doing things but , for us, this is a nice happy way to run our herd.
The main problems with letting a billy run whith the whole herd full-time (and we have done it that way too!) are
for one thing it's difficult to keep the youngsters and the geriatrics away from the randy little devils, plus, if you are milking it WILL smell and taste rather like a billy smells (an aquired taste I think) , they will mate again straight after kidding so your poor girls will be worn out and finally, you will have no real idea of when to expect kids. But..you will have a tired and happy billy!!