Meet My Dealer: A Chaffhaye Update

Darktanion owned and loved by New Horizons Ranch

So, about a year ago I blogged a bit about my switch to Chaffhaye Alfalfa and I thought some of y’all might like an update on how all that has been going.

Not only will ya get an update, but you get a healthy dose of Equine eye candy too..

Since we moved, I’ve had to hunt up a new Chaffhaye dealer and Heather at New Horizons Ranch is my go to gal…

Heather has the most gorgeous sport horses (looking sleek and stunning on Chaffhaye I might add) and on our last pick up she was kind enough to take us on a tour and let us meet her herd.

Shayla-Wayla, like most 8 year old lil girls, is totally horse crazy and this was absolute heaven for her.

Darktanion- Is he not just stunning??!

You can find Heather in Grand Saline, Texas. Her prices are great, she stores her Chaffhaye well so you don't have to worry about damaged bags.......

Whether you buy by the bag, or by the ton; she's able to load ya up with any size purchase, and she is more than happy to answer any questions you might have ....

The highlight of the trip for Shayla was getting to visit with Darktanion, a 16 year old Friesian stallion with the most laid back, sweet disposition I've ever seen in a horse. He was quite the clown showing off his various tricks he does for treats and was ever so tolerant with this over excited munchkin climbing all over him. Such a big, beautiful sweetie!

Darktanion & Shayla-Wayla

Shayla enjoyed meeting the adorable new baby

Momma didn't wanna be left out of all the attention.. Such a sweetie.

So, I've delivered on the equine eye candy promise and if you'd like to see more, or are in my neck of the woods and are looking for a Chaffhaye dealer, please don't hesitate to call Heather... Her info can be found here on her website: New Horizons Ranch

Now on to the Chaffhaye update portion of this blog post.
I must say, I couldn't be more pleased… Had my entire herd on Chaffhaye from the end of last lactation, through breeding season and kidding, and more than half way through another 10 month lactation.

Bleuberry, who should be on the milkstand, is stealing Chaffhaye instead, lol

Lovely Miss Bleuberry

My goats are real life testimonials to how great Chaffhaye is. Silky soft, shiney coats... Everyone, including the heavy milkers, have maintained weight very well, even during the peak of their lactations and my milk buckets have been plenty full.

Star, milking 12lbs a day and looking quite pretty.

Tricks, not to be outdone, had to steal a few mouthfuls too before I caught her and drug her out of the feed room.....Such a brat!! 

My most exciting report is my kids, the four legged, goat variety, not the awesome 2 legged human variety.... Typically all bottle babies are fed milk and I offer a meat goat pellet to them in lil handfuls early on hoping to tempt them to try it. 

Generally I see lil nibbles, but no real, noticeable pellet consumption until after 3 weeks old or so.

By the end of week 1, all the babies were noticeably eating it with gusto! 

I kept all bottle babies on a diet of Chaffhaye and milk for the first 12 weeks of life, then introduced pelleted feed when I reduced the amount of milk I was feeding.

Very happy to report that my kids averaged 18-21lbs of growth every 27 days. Color me happy!

This year, I gave a little handful to all the babies around 4-6 days old. All were curious and played with it a bit right from the start….. I think the soft texture and sweet smell make it a more interesting item for them to investigate.

Baby June Bug looking fat & sassy

These kids are lil monsters and I’m so thrilled that all will be more than big enough to breed their first fall to kid out as yearlings… This means no extra long wait to get a peak at the Jr. does' udders…

3 yearlings on the left, 3 spring kids on the right... I'd say these "babies" are well grown!

Oh, and Mr. Rocco, my lil buck from Oklahoma, was plenty tall enough to breed some yearling does for a friend of mine shortly before he turned 6 months old. If that’s not peachy, I dunno what is!

In my original post, A Noodleville Review: Chaffhaye Alfalfa I outlined our switch over to Chaffhaye from alfalfa pellets and I shared a nifty video and some cool pictures of the beneficial yeast colonies... Since then, it's kinda become a habit of mine to snap pictures when I find lil colonies.... These yeasty patches, BTW, belong to Bleuberry.. They are her favorite bit, she'll dig in my bags to find them and she doesn't think they need to be shared with anyone.
Yes, they look a lil alarming at first, but these are like the ultimate, uber probiotic supplement for a ruminant.

Patch on the left looks fuzzyish as it came from the center of the bag. Patch on right looks smoother as the surface was up against the plastic. These patches are not to be confused with mold, they are yeasty-yogurty smelling and not foul, rank and awful like mold.

Yeast colonies in a freshly opened bag

And..... for the grand finale and to end this for y'all...... Since my last Chaffhaye post had a video, I thought I'd share a teeny tiny clip on this post as well.

This is Rosie Posie & Tricks chowing down on Chaffhaye.... Rosie's face when she looks at me with a mouth full just cracks me up... And Miss Tricks, the rotten lil brat, couldn't stop eating for just one second to look at me..

Sorry, crummy cell phone video, but aren't the girls just pretty??

A Long Overdo Introduction

Following my trend of sporadic post and procrastinations, I'm finally back to update you on my last 2013 keeper kid born here...

Most excited to introduce Noodleville's Toi's Tori:

Seriously, is that not the cutest lil baby on four legs??

This lovely lil one is my second Tonka daughter to get and I couldn't be more pleased with her, though I wish Mr. Tonka hadn't been so stingy with the doe kids...

We call her Tori for short and she was one of triplets... Sadly I was horribly ill the day they were born and waited too long to go in and check on what was keeping things so slow... Finally mustered up the strength to go in...

Felt around and thought "Hmm, I feel an ear.... No, wait, this is a Lamancha! Darn it, that's a tail!!" Good sized buck kid was presented hips first and had to be shoved back in so I could fish out legs.. Thankfully after he came out, everything else was smooth sailing, though the very last kid was a tiny still born buckling.

Quite funny, but check out the markings on the buck kids face... I didn't notice it until his new owner pointed it out, but it looks like a mule face is painted on his face...lol Keeping with the double “T” name theme, his new owner named him Noodleville’s Timeless Treasure and he goes by “Time” for short… Such a handsome lil man.

And speaking of Tonka kids.... Check out little miss Tricks! This doe kid is so very precious to me... She was born on Mother's Day last year and was my last baby my mom got to hold.... Can't believe she's already a year old... Time just flew by!

Noodleville’s Trick or Treat

Anywho, I'm noticing quite the personality trend in my Tonka kids... All are very sweet tempered, quiet babies. All of them like to give hugs (Tricks still baby talks to me and ask for an invitation to jump up and give hugs, lol) and so far all the Tonka kids I've seen both here and in other herds are nice growthy, vigorous babies.

 

Goaty hugs are the best…

On Mocha's side of the gene pool I must say I'm pleased with her udder as a first freshening yearling. Great texture, very, very well attached, nothing is budging that udder... Good orifices and pretty easy to milk.

Mocha’s first freshening udder at a couple weeks fresh (please forgive the fuzzy pictures, I hadn’t got around to clipping anyone at the time these were taken)..

Thankfully Mocha did not pass on her roman nose to her kids as both babies have Tonka's beautiful head and I see more depth of body in the kids than I see in Mocha, so to say I'm pleased is an understatement....

When breeding goats it's kinda like a mad scientist type of experiment and it’s so rewarding when things work out like you planned.

Bittersweet Endings & New Beginnings

I’m happy to announce my 2013 kidding season is officially over! This year was a bit bittersweet. Welcoming the newest additions into the world was great, but each new arrival was just one more kid my mom couldn’t “Oooo & Ahhh” over with me.

I missed the smell of her overly sweet coffee (usually her 7th or 8th cup, lol) while I sat in the barn with laboring does.....There was no excited chatter about what may be coming and there wasn’t an extra set of hands and reassurance in the more stressful times. My first kidding season without her, and I missed her dearly. I had hoped that as time passed her absence would be easier to bear, but the reality of it all is the void she left behind will never be filled.

On that note, I made some rather large changes this year. I will no longer be raising Alpines. I grew up with the breed and have really enjoyed them, but going through my mother’s goat book with all of our Alpine plans is painful. You would think I’d want to continue on with all we had talked about, but the reality is, I have no desire to do it without her.

So, all the Alpine kids were sold; a total of 2 doelings, 4 bucklings and 2 grown does.
Bleuberry, my big silly goober who has starred in her own post more than once here on my blog, stays. She’s a rotten mess with an affinity for biting strangers all while doing her fabulous “devil goat” impersonation, so I just couldn’t part with her.

                                    The Last Alpine, Bleuberry
 

When one chapter ends, another must always begin……. Though I can’t believe I’m saying it, we have more Nubians! Years ago I owned a few… HATED them! Loud, obnoxious, dumb, annoying animals who didn’t produce worth a flip. Sold them and swore I’d never, ever do that again! But, ya know what they say about never saying never…
 

Last year we bought my daughter a little Nubian doeling for her 7th birthday. Miss Rosie changed my once foul opinion on Nubians. She’s quiet, calm, easy going, sweet as pie and smart. Nothing ever phases this goat and she’s very happy to go along with whatever you’d like her to do.

                               Rosie-Posie chewing her cud.
 

Rosie was bred to TLC Farms Mr. Beau Jangles and kidded on March 8th with a big, beautiful red roan buck kid and a very feminine, sweet blue roan doeling…
 

                            Rosie’s twins- Red roan buckling, “Lucky” & blue roan doeling, “Bonny”
 

Keeping with the flower name theme, we named the blue doeling Bonny, short for Bluebonnet. The buck had a rough time getting here, and for a lil bit I thought I’d be pulling a dead kid, so hubby dubbed him “Lucky” when he came into the world yelling his protest.

Typically I get rid of extra buck kids quickly, but this lil guy is such a handsome man, we decided to keep him as a companion to the buck kid we reserved..

Which brings us to Roco:

                             Prairie Nights Midnight Rococo
 

                           Showing off some of Roco’s little spots
 

Roco hails from Old Paths Homestead in Oklahoma. We are very thankful that Jana trusted this stunning boy into our care. His dam is Hoanbu PB Pure Graffiti…. She is such a lovely, correct doe and she has one of the easiest to milk udders I’ve ever milked. His sire is heavy on the Goldthwaite lines and I’m very excited to add these genetics into our little herd.

                   Noodleville’s Nubians: Bonny, Roco & Lucky
 

                               Roco channeling his inner artist.. Got a bit of green tattoo ink perfectly around his eye
 

One bonus to Nubian kids that you don’t get with other breeds is the EARS! I have had such a fun time snapping pics of flying ears, though this one of Bonny has to be my favorite:

                           Airborne Bonny
 

                              Flying ears: Roco, Lucky & Bonny
 

                             Lucky, Bonny & Roco playing “King of the dirt pile”
 

We have one more Nubian doeling due to arrive from Buttercup Acres in a few weeks and then we’ll be done adding new stock for the year.

And of course I had some lovely Lamancha kids born too, but my keeper kid from that batch is so stinking cute, she deserves her very own post!

Until next time… Happy kidding to those of y’all who aren’t finished yet… While y’all camp out with your does, I am very thankful for my nights of uninterrupted sleep. 

Chain Reactions & Late Night Dashes

I had this swell plan last year that I wanted to get all of my kiddings done within a month...

When kids aren't even conceived yet, this is a sound, idealistic theory. When you have does back to back kidding, no helpers, limited towels (just 5 measly towels available for kidding) and 500 other things going on at once, it's not the brightest plan I've concocted. Either way, the deed is done, so onward we go!

Due to Bleuberry going WAY past her due date last year and giving me a monster of a buck kid that was brutal getting out, I decided I'd induce this year right before the due date and hopefully prevent freaks of nature from slithering out of her womb.

Late night shot of Dexamethasone & Lute and like clock work about 36 hours later on February 28th, we're in labor.

Like Star, we had a day time kidding in beautiful weather. 8lb twins, a super flashy, uniquely colored buck kid and a splashy little doeling:

 

Bleuberry’s flashy buck kid

Bleuberry’s twins. Doe kid on left, buckling on right

Bleuberry’s precious doeling.

Ginger, a mothering fiend, LOVES babies... Her antics last year almost cost me my darling Tricks thanks to her barging in and stealing the lil Lamancha buckling from first time momma Casper, while Tricks laid in her sack on the barn floor, forgotten in the confusion. Miss Ginger was VERY curious about Bleuberry during her labor... Would stare at her, poke her head in and baby talk to her and spent a great deal of time pacing in front of the barn while we delivered babies. Finally ran her off and much to my surprise, she decided to stay out of the way and go lay down by herself. I honestly didn't think of her much during the hustle and bustle of the day.

Apparently I should have paid better attention though! Bleu's laboring obviously set off a chain reaction in my goat pen....Despite still having her ligaments and showing no signs of impending labor and despite my doubts that she was even bred, Ginger was actually in labor...... I had FINALLY finished up everything on my 2 mile long to-do list and just wanted to crawl in bed. Decided to take one last peak around the barn first and color me surprised when I find Ginger in the process of cleaning a brand new baby!

Ginger’s big buck kid

Snap the lil one up and run him inside (completely soiling my PJ's in the process) and run back out to deal with Ginger. And when I say run, I do mean run! We don't have proper gates up yet so there isn't a real efficient way to get into the goat pen, so that night I did quite a bit of dashing through the dark...

Anywho, I get back out to Ginger and she's just standing there. Since I highly doubted she was pregnant anyways, and the kid I took in was good sized, I'm betting she's done.

Of course with goats you NEVER, EVER assume anything, so I decided to bounce her once to see if I could feel any babies... So I wrap my arms around her, right in front of the udder and pull swiftly up and much to my surprise something dark rockets out of the barn and flies a good 3ft or 4ft before hitting the grass and sliding even further!

OMG! WTH was that?!?! Of course if a mass goes propelling out of your goat, even if it is pitch black outside, you must run after it! When I finally caught up to the unidentified flying goat mass, I was quite shocked to see it was the cutest lil scrap of a buckling! His brother was in the 10+lb range and this lil dude was right around 6lbs... I dubbed him "the left overs".

 

Ginger’s tiny buckling, dubbed “The Leftovers”

I must say, airborne kids are certainly a new one for me! I can also proudly say that I ran through the dark, in pajamas covered in birth fluids, chasing and scrambling after a flying, sliding newborn goat kid and I didn't even trip!!!

Quite the accomplishment if I do say say so myself.

Yes, the fast, easy labor and rocketing kids was great fun and all, but the work afterwards just sucked. After tending to momma, heat treating colostrum, getting a few days of milk pasteurized for 4 new bottle babies, and cleaning up the nastier bits of the mess I tracked into my kitchen, it was 3:30am before I even got in the shower...... At that exact moment I really started thinking my fabulous idea to kid everyone out back to back wasn't so great...

As I type this though I can't complain. All 4 lil ones have since gone to their new homes. 3 all went together just a couple days after their birth.

 

Shayla with Bleu’s doeling. “Noodle” to the right, & Houdini in the background as always..

I was so sleepy, I truly didn’t think very far into the future when I sold the first 3 kids… Goats being the herd animals that they are, do not do well alone. A newborn kid alone with no one to snuggle with for warmth is simply not acceptable. So once Bleu’s twins and “The Leftovers” left, I was stuck with Ginger’s buck kid, now aptly named “Noodle”.

Noodle became a kitchen goat. Slept in a crate with Karma, our Chinese Crested, and took his potty breaks with the dogs. Poor lil guy, I do believe we gave him an identity crisis….. He left on Wednesday but I managed to snap a few pictures of him hanging out with Jasper. Little Noodle had such a great time following him around like a tiny shadow and using him as a launching platform to bounce off of…

 

Jasper took his baby sitting duties quite well, though I do admit he seemed very relieved when all the babies were finally gone.

We get a tiny break, Nubian kids from Rosie are up next, due March 9th with Lamancha kids right on their heels on the 14th…. Cross your fingers for doelings for me! So far, I’m at 5 bucks, 1 doe kid born…. These numbers MUST even out soon!!

New Arrivals & Unique New Bonds

I had originally intended to start off 2013 with an update of our move and all that hoop la, but baby goats arrived so they of course take priority :)

Miss Star was due to kid on the 21st. The weather forecast called for "gusty thunderstorms" for the 21st... Since goats NEVER like to be convenient, I was certain she'd wait until her due date and go at 2am, in the nastiest weather possible.



Color me shocked when I went out on the 18th and she was having contractions…… Late morning, after all chores were finished and in BEAUTIFUL weather... I didn't even have any lost sleep on the typical late night barn checks! This is proof positive that Star must not really be a goat… After all, goats simply can't make things easy and convenient!



Anywho, 1st lil one had his front legs out, head back over the shoulder….... Took a lil maneuvering, but I got his head turned straight and out he came. This lil one was so vigorous he was sucking my finger while I was trying to get his head turned around properly....

Look at him! Is he not beyond precious?!

And sadly, yes, you read that right.. it's a he.



Right on his heels was baby #2. Saw this lil white zig-zag on the cutest, tiny nose.... Prayed as I pulled that it was a doeling...



Of course, this one was also packing a pair of testicles! I checked three times, and no matter how I prayed, crossed fingers and checked repeatedly, he stayed a he.



So very bummed I didn't get my much wanted Tonka daughter, but I'm thankful for the safe kidding and vibrant, healthy babies.



Now, I pull all kids at birth here and bottle raise them. They are raised on heat treated colostrum and pasteurized milk as part of a CAE prevention program. I literally catch the lil ones before they hit the ground and whisk them away before momma can see or hear them.

As a result, momma licks and cleans me, bonds to me and never has to go through the stress of being separated from kids she has bonded to and raised for 6 months or so at weaning time.

This all usually goes off without a hitch. Momma adopts me, loves me, baby talks to me, and tries to lick every inch of skin off my body. This time, we had a lil bump in the road.

That bump just so happens to look like this:

This is Houdini, the NOSIEST cat ever. She insist on being the in middle of EVERYTHING.

Usually it's cute, endearing even…. But when you're forearm deep in the back of a doe, you really don't need a nosey kitty in the way. Despite tossing her aside and shooing her away several times, she was persistent in being right in the middle of the mix.

Well, curiosity killed the cat! Ok, not literally, but she's not happy…… As I was easing boy #2 out, a HUGE gush of birth fluids gushed out, right on Houdini... She was instantly soaked to the skin! The look on her face was beyond hysterical, but I didn’t have time to help her, I had new babies & a new momma to care for….

On my trip back out to the barn to tend to Star, I find her frantically cleaning Houdini. Houdini would try to escape, Star would start talking and tote her right back into the barn again.

Houdini would yowl, and try to sneak away…..Star would ignore her protest. She’d talk to her, lick her, cover her in a bit of hay and was just over the moon happy with her new baby!

Houdini was absolutely disgusted by the thick covering of goat slobber that was now her new permanent accessory… The smell of cud still lingers on her fur…







I drug a reluctant Star away from “her baby”, got her cleaned up, milked and gave her a nice bucket of hot molasses water.

At this point, I still smelled like “baby”, so I got my fair share of the typical licking and fussing too...
After getting the immediate needs of everyone taken care of, I headed inside, got a much needed shower, then went out again to see if Star wanted to eat...

She sniffed me and took in my new, non-baby, soapy smell…….. She looked at me in confusion, snorted, then ran from me, straight to her feline child….. Star gently snatched her up and away she went to the barn for a baby bonding/cleaning session...

Houdini manages to escape, Star wails for her to return... The moment one of us walk out to the barn, Houdini's nosey nature once again gets the best of her, and she runs out to see what we are doing... Only to promptly be caught again by Star.

Poor thing never learns!

Happy kidding everyone! We have girls due next week, all the way through mid March, so I’ll be back with new baby pictures soon…