We just bought our farm this past summer. But we can both recall the first time we came
to look at it, walking around the ten acres and admiring the various structures
that came with the property.
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| What goat wouldn't want to live here! |
One
structure of note was a little wobbly shed in a fenced in area that we
immediately referred to as the goat pen.
We're not even sure why it came to us that way, neither of us had ever
mentioned wanting goats – guess it just seemed obvious.
Once we had physically relocated to the farm, the goat shed became a frequent topic of discussion. We discussed various types of goats, but we didn’t want to be tied down by twice daily milking and had no interest in goats for meat. However, we became very interested in a type of goat known for its fiber, the Pygora goat. The pgyora is a cross between an angora goat and a pygmy goat. So they are of smaller stature meaning a little easier to manage for shearing and hoof trimming. Additionally, their fleece is a little bit finer than a full angora, which makes it more useful for spinning. We like our farm critters to help earn their keep if you will.
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| Looks rough here but spins beautifully! |
While browsing the web, we ran across Hawks Mountain Ranch in Oregon. They focus on raising Pygora goats and are well respected for the quality and upkeep of their herd. Once a year, they literally drive across the country delivering goats that have been ordered, everywhere from California to New Jersey. Unfortunately, the one time of year they do this happens to be in August. We had only been on the farm for 2 months. Alas, we didn’t want to wait another year for the next cross country trip so we took a leap of faith and ordered five goats for delivery within a week.
The five goats we picked were.....
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| Luna |
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| Hermione |
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| Minerva |
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| Dumbledore, our buckling |
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| And Hagrid, our wether |
Did we mention the original goat shed was wobbly?
Boy did we have some work cut out for us.
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| Reinforcing the wobbly, soon to be, boy shed! |
Boy did we have some work cut out for us.
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| And putting the finishing touches on the new girls shed! |
We meet George, the driver, and our goats, about an hour away
from the farm. Five goats were loaded
into dog crates in the back of the Excursion and we were homeward bound.
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| Sassy...the herd dog! Doing what she does best! |
Our five little goats bedded down in the barn for about a
month while we finished putting up new fencing and building an additional shed
for the girls, the boys would be housed in the newly reinforced and less wobbly
original shed.
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| I don't think we're in Oregon anymore!! |
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| They really liked eating off the chow wagon!! |
We did their first shearing in October, when they were about six months old. They were not too excited about the process, and we were a little apprehensive ourselves.
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"Just a little off the top please!"....says Hagrid |
We did have one little mishap when we nicked little Luna’s
back leg with the shears.
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| It's awfully warm for a sweater! |
It did require some stitching up (we always have supplies handy) but she is none the worse for the wear.
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| See.....all better! |
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| Hagrid and Dumbledore....sporting their new doo's! |
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| Dirty face....but king of the stump! |
They have proven to be far craftier than we initially gave them credit for in terms of trying to get to each other for mating season. This has kept us on our toes quite a bit for the last few months. Minerva has proven true to her colors, she is most definitely the "black sheep" of our flock!!!
We have really come to love these little guys. Letting them out and checking on them is one of the first thing we do in the morning. Giving them their chow and tucking them in with hay and fresh water is the finish to our day. Nothing better than a good night kiss from your goat! LOL
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| Luna says "We are not amused! Where's the chow!" |
They are very comfortable with us now, and
come up to us for petting and attention.
They are very funny to watch as they hop around and play on their stumps
and tree trunks. Wow....what a great life we have here on Just BE Farm.
And now....what everyone is waiting for....The winner of the giveaway!!
First we want to thank everyone in the blogging world for such a warm welcome. And an extra-special thank you (and hug) to our dear friend Vicki at 2 Bags Full. We would be nothing without her support and guidance.
Drum Roll Please.....And the winner is......Tanya of Bead and Needle!!!! Congratulations!
Tanya, please send us your mailing address and we will ship this gift out to you as soon as we get your information,
Thanks for stopping by again!!! Stay tuned for the next adventure at Just BE Farm!!!
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| Next time, we will introduce you to our featherd critters!! |
