One is the loneliest number

The girls are gone (for the time being) and Francis is absolutely devastated. The poor guy isn't eating and he's been crying so much he's made himself hoarse. When you go to the pen he talks for a few minutes then settles down...so long as you're in his eyesight.  The minute you get up to leave he begs you to stay.  He hasn't eaten a lot of hay the last few days but if you bring him romaine lettuce he'll gladly accept it. I've read lots of things that say goats are companion animals and need a friend.  Since I have three I didn't really see this as a problem.  However, now that he's only one it's painfully apparent. I keep telling him that the girls will come back but he's lost all faith in me. Here's hoping the breeding goes well and fast so the girls can come home soon.

The things we do for love...

Today was an interesting day. A long interesting day. Today we took the does to a farm 85 miles away to be bred. They hated every minute of it. However, it's a necessary step in the life cycle of a dairy goat. Doe meets buck, buck impregnates doe, doe has kids, owners get fresh goat milk.

My ingenious father built a cover for his F-150 truck so that we could transport the goats without the need for expensive and slow trailers. They luckily followed me right in since I was carrying a bowl of grain and they're pretty greedy when it comes to grain. After they loaded up and we began to move they started crying. I mean full-blown belting their discontent. I couldn't take it and rolled the windows up.

On our drive we encountered 30 mile per hour winds, rain, a 20 degree temperature change and a double rainbow.  When we arrived they were shivering and frightened. We got them settled into a stall, attempted to introduce Rosie to her mate and left. They cried and cried as we walked out the barn. That is, of course, until they realized they had fresh alfalfa in their pen.

Weights II

The last time I weighed the goats I used a traditional scale and the traditional method. I stepped on it with them then subtracted my weight and got the approximate weight for the goat.  Apparently you don't do this. I soon realized that when I nearly broke my back since they're so heavy. The way you're supposed to weigh goats doesn't use a scale at all.  In fact you measure around their chest and use a chart to determine approximate weight.

Clover clocked in at 30" = 84+ lbs
Rosie clocked in at 29" = 78 lbs

This chart comes from Fias Co Farm and can be found here.

Inches	Pounds		Inches	Pounds
10 3/4	5		26 3/4	66
11 1/4	5.5		27 1/4	69
11 3/4	6		27 3/4	72
12 1/4	6.5		28 1/4	75
12 3/4	7		28 3/4	78
13 1/4	8		29 1/4	81
13 3/4	9		29 3/4	84
14 1/4	10		30 1/4	87
14 3/4	11		30 3/4	90
15 1/4	12		31 1/4	93
15 3/4	13		31 3/4	97
16 1/4	15		32 1/4	101
16 3/4	17		32 3/4	105
17 1/4	19		33 1/4	110
17 3/4	21		33 3/4	115
18 1/4	23		34 1/4	120
18 3/4	25		34 3/4	125
19 1/4	27		35 1/4	130
19 3/4	29		35 3/4	135
20 1/4	31		36 1/4	140
20 3/4	33		36 3/4	145
21 1/4	35		37 1/4	150
21 3/4	37		37 3/4	155
22 1/4	39		38 1/4	160
22 3/4	42		38 3/4	165
23 1/4	45		39 1/4	170
23 3/4	48		39 3/4	175
24 1/4	51		40 1/4	180
24 3/4	54		40 3/4	185
25 1/4	57		41 1/4	190
25 3/4	60		41 3/4	195
26 1/4	63		42 1/4	200