I haven’t written about our little hobby farm in absolutely ages, probably years, so I thought it would be fun to write a post about where we are at with it currently.
I have 5 adult does (female goats) at the moment and they are all due to kid in March, from the 12th to the 25th. In hindsight, I really don’t know what I was thinking, having them all bred at the same time… it’s going to be utter chaos! (Or should I say, udder chaos? heh heh heh) I have no idea how it’s all going to work out, but I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it, in T-minus 16 days!! 😬 Generally, my goats throw twins or triplets. I’ve only had singles twice, so I tentatively expect 10 plus kids (of the goat variety). However, as with all things, you really can’t count your chickens (or goats) before they hatch. I still do not own my own buck (male goat), so I have to rent one to breed my does and that is why they all got bred at the same time. He was one busy dude, for a few days! haha…
Anyway, in terms of milk, I am terribly excited to have (Lord willing) 5 does in production at once. For 3 of them, this is their second time around. I milked them last year and they did great. Because it’s their second freshening (coming into milk again) I expect they will do even better this year. I am planning to buy a milk machine soon, because milking 3 by hand one after the other was time consuming and hard on my hand and shoulder, I really don’t think 5 in a row would be pleasant at all. But oh, how lovely to have all that fresh milk! I want to try making cheese this year.
In terms of chickens, we currently have 6 hens and 1 rooster, but the quantity of chickens we have is an ever-evolving thing. I will probably pick up a few more here and there but hopefully not be hatching any chicks this year. Of course, if I end up with a broody hen (one that decides to sit on eggs and incubate them) I will probably let her have her fun. They aren’t laying yet since they take a break for winter, but I do expect to see eggs any day now, since its staying light longer, We have one hen in production now! It’s her first year and she’s laying green shelled eggs. 😍 Praise the Lord. I am so over winter… good to see another sign of spring!
Don’t worry, they get plenty of time to free-range. The coop is locked every evening to guard against predators.
Aside from poultry and goats, we have our 4 cats (all females, all spayed lol), our faithful dog whom I’ve posted about over the years (he’s been such a good dog!), and our singular goldfish who is *at least* 7 years old now. Yes, 7. Years. Old. We got him from a random kid who won him at a fair and didn’t want him. That was way back when I was preggers with Z, who is 6 and a half now. This fish has gone from a one gallon tank to a 5 gallon tank and now he’s in a 20 gallon tank, which is hopefully going to be it for the rest of his happy little life because it seems he’s finally stopped growing. Also he might be a she, I really don’t know. He, or she, has a few snails for tank-mates, but that’s all, at present.
Off I go. Dinner prep beckons and these boys don’t like waiting for their food! Until next time, adios.
Journey For My Baby 