We are so excited to be picking up a buck from Giffens Glades this week for finally breeding our two very spoiled girls. The process is quite long, over a year until breeding time (18 months for us), 5 months of gestation, 10 weeks until weaning, and then finally - goats milk! We have been buying goat milk periodically to try to get used to it, George will drink in his coffee, I find its not creamy enough, so will have to just switch cold turkey. We may get up to 3 cups a day each. So will be freezing and of course saving for SOAP making! 2022 will have lots of goats milk featured in our natural soaps! They really add an amazing creaminess to our soap. We will also be featuring lots of clay and corn silk soap - which was a HUGE hit for 2021, so plenty of vegan options.
It is that time of year that many of you NEW goat owners will be looking at breeding your 2020 or even early 2021 goat kids. We really couldn't find any info online on what to do to get ready, thankfully our breeder did not mind our many questions. I will post anything special we did here, and would love to know if I have overlooked or missed anything?
What it took to get here:
- We choose a reputable breeder - Promoted bettering of the breed. Knowldegable. Clean tested herd. Practises herd biosecurity. Strong business practises.
- We brought home 2 lovely doellings at 10-11 weeks old. We provided Stella & Mimzie 3 rotating smalls fields for grazing, plus allowed free ranging, and tons of pets and scratches.
- We began searching for suitable bucks for breeding. Checking with breeders to find one we were happy with to get traits to help better our line. We were happy to find a buck from our original breeder that is unrelated, and has an excellent pedigree!
- Once they were over 18 months and close to 70 lbs, We tracked their estrus for 3 months, and finally choose the month of January for breeding.
- This weekend we are travelling almost 8 hrs to pick up this handsome buck and we will provide updates on the success of breeding and pregnancy.
- To get prepared for this adventure, we have increased the size of their "barn stalls". reinforced all latches and gates, made a larger feeder and waterer, and mineral station. We picked up fresh hay, and ensure we have lots of goat mineral, and sunflower seeds.
- The gals have been measured, weighed, checked for anemia, lice, mites, worms, and had their hooves trimmed early and cleaned. We have also began for the first time, getting them used to a halter incase we need to assist them for any reason during their pregnancy, so the halter isn't too stressful. Up until this point, we pick them up to trim hooves, and they cuddle into George - they are spoiled!
What comes next?
- We are wondering about getting an ultrasound for confirming pregnancies, but our daughter will also bring home her stethoscope, to hopefully see if she can catch the sound of an extra heartbeat (or two), when the right time comes for that.
Stay tuned for the next journey in our goat breeding here at Willow Bay Naturals...
Check out the breeding pedigree info here