Goat Graduation

Sorry I haven't posted in so long.  I've been working ten hour days and I just haven't felt like blogging since Apatite died.  I do want to update you on how all the kids are doing so I snapped some pictures while we were out giving vaccines and copper to the goats.  They have graduated to the big pasture!  I hesitated for a long time because I didn't know if the horses would hurt them, but all our practice with letting them out to graze in the front yard together paid off because the horses ignored them.

Not a great picture, but it's fun seeing goats scattered across the pasture.

Being out on five acres is going to make them so happy.  They have room to roam and exercise and plenty to browse on.  The kids are a month old and doing great.  The boys will have to be weaned at two months and put in a different pen with Jasper so they don't get their sisters pregnant.  We will let the little doelings nurse for as long as their moms let them or until it's time to breed the does again.

Everyone gets along great although Amethyst is full of herself and tests her boundaries with the older does.  It's about time she socialized with someone other than her mother hehe.

Amethyst is doing great.  She slowed down in growth during weaning, but she's picking back up again.  She's around sixty pounds now at six months old.

 The four little ones are so big now they have to lay on their chests to nurse!!  Those are some big one month olds!!  Garnet's kids are still bigger even though they are six days younger, but all of the kids are around the twenty pound range at a month old.

Poor Jasper is in isolation until the boys are weaned.

 He's handling it well.... by pigging out on his protein tub.  That's molasses all over his face.

 He has gotten massive!!  He is sixteen months old and weighs a whopping 208lbs!  When he stands up on his hind legs he's as tall as I am and I'm 5'10".  He still has more growing to do too.  He's finally starting to take on buck appearances with his beard, horns, etc.  He's not looking like a baby anymore.  It was weird seeing him next to Topaz because they are the same age and he's twice her size!  I'm impressed with him for a percentage Boer buck.

 Bonus picture of Shadow!  It's still eerie sometimes how 

much she looks like Gray Kitty did.  I miss Gray Kitty...

 Well that's all I have for today.  We're about to have several days of rain again... ugh!  This has been a wet, nasty year..

P.S.  I just realized I didn't really get many pictures of the kids.... oops.  I'll do better next time.