Bye, bye babies

It's that time -- time for the summer babies to start going to their new homes. Yesterday a couple picked up four goats to start their own herd of Nigerian milkers. They got two does, a buck and a wether. Scarlet was one of the does. She had the premature kids at the end of July. Seeing how brutally the other goats treated her, I decided she would be happier in a home where she would be top goat.

People often ask if it's hard to sell kids. Yes, it is, but it's harder to sell older goats. Once they grow up here, I start thinking of them as one of the family. That's why I sold all the doelings this year except one. Since Margaret has gone off to college and will be followed in a couple years by her siblings, I need to start downsizing. I know I can't have a huge herd reduction sale in two or three years, because I can't even part with anyone over two years old now. So, the only way for me to reduce my herd is to simply not keep kids.

I'm keeping Bonnie Parker, daughter of Lizzie Borden. Bonnie's kids will be named after depression-era people and things. A lot of people laugh when I tell them this, considering the economic state of our country, but that had nothing to do with the naming. All of Lizzie's kids are named after gangsters. And Lizzie got her name because she's out of Carmen, and all her kids are named after operas -- yes, there is an opera about Lizzie Borden. This crazy naming scheme helps me to keep track of who is related to whom. Otherwise, I'd be pulling out pedigrees almost every day. But I digress . . .

The summer kids are starting to turn two months old now, so the number of goats in the barnyard will start thinning out. All the kids born this summer will be going to only four homes, all of which are starting herds, and I've already started to receive deposits for next spring. Three families have already contacted me about starting herds. It's amazing how interested people are in having their own home dairy supply now. I've also heard that the hatcheries have been barely able to keep up with demand for chicks this year. As you can imagine, I am pretty excited about people wanting to eat healthier and be more self-sufficient.