Thanks to Little Guy, mama-to-be Toka awaits the blessed event

Two weeks ago, after much procrastination, we took Little Guy, the only buckling born on the farm last spring, to the Windham Butcher Shop. We had held off because we worried about Charlotte’s reaction–anxiety that turned out to be completely unfounded when she declared that she thought he would be delicious, and then asked if we could make his pelt into a blanket for her bed. (We shipped the hide to The Tannery, in Lander, Wyoming, and were told we could expect it, tanned, in a few months, just in time for Cha Cha’s birthday.)

I don’t think our children are exceptionally bloodthirsty, but I do think that they understand that the meat we eat was once a living being. Though they’ve seen us plucking chickens and have been prepared for absences from the barn, we’ve shielded them from the actual moment of slaughter, which is something I think we’ll continue to do until they ask to be present. We haven’t shielded them, however, from the reality that the flesh we consume had a life and a death, and that it’s our responsibility as farmers to make sure that both are humane. The girls are kind to our animals, eager to help in the barn, and anxious for the arrival of spring babies.

And so they were delighted when we discovered, just days after Little Guy’s departure, that Toka’s udder was beginning to fill out, and that her wide belly was wiggling even more than the usual gurgles of rumination. Because of Little Guy’s prolonged stay in the barn, the kids were together into sexual maturity and, well, nature took its course. We never saw Toka go into heat, so the date of conception is a mystery, but we’re expecting a baby goat or two in the coming weeks. In the spirit of the French: Little Guy is gone, long live Little Guy!

Goats breeding, goat, meat, pregnancy, slaughter

Flyrod gives her tail a little wag and Jaylen gives her a little snuggle and gets ready for action at Chateau Briant in Saco

We were extremely proud of ourselves this year for getting right on an early breeding schedule. We had bred both girls by mid-November and would be expecting baby goats in early and mid-April–our earliest kids yet. We were pretty sure that both does had settled (been successfully bred): we didn’t see them coming back into heat, and both seemed to have the predictable drop in milk production that should follow the first missed heat cycle after breeding.

But goats are always full of surprises, and so it was that yesterday morning when I went out to do chores and milk, Flyrod was flagging away. “Flagging” is what they call it when a female goat wags her tail, which is one of the signs that a doe is in heat. The goats often wag their tails when they know their grain is coming, but settle down and stop once we put the food in front of them and start milking. Flyrod was not stopping. We sprung into action. We called Phil Cassette, to make sure he was going to be home and we could bring Flyrod down for another shot, got the kids dressed (Charlotte and Bea, not Toka and Tonni) and in the car, filled the back of the Subaru with hay, loaded up Flyrod, and headed to Saco for a second date with Jaylen, the Cassette’s Alpine Buck.

By the time we got to Saco, Flyrod was clearly in standing heat. She was still flagging, and her vulva was swollen and rosy. The last time we brought Flyrod down to Saco for breeding, she was pretty skittish and not very cooperative, which may have contributed to her not settling. Not this time. She just walked over to a half bale of hay, started eating and stuck her bottom right in Jaylen’s direction, and waited for him to do his thing.

It’s still hard to believe that she would go into such a strong heat in February, but she did. Assuming that it takes, and assuming that Chansonetta settled, too, we’re going to be kidding in April and then again in July! It looks like it might be a long summer of bottle feeding, which could become tedious, but then again, we might also have baby goats all summer long… and what could be bad about that?

Goats breeding, Goats, late heat

Flyrod peers out through the back window of the Subaru

It’s breeding time, and that means it’s time to fill the hatchback with hay, load up a doe and head to Chateau Briant Farm in Saco. For the past two years, it’s been mid to late December before we got around to breeding the goats. It can be tough coordinating schedule when the does come into heat and there’s only a 24 hour window of opportunity, so often it takes a few cycles before we get the timing right. For those of you not in the habit of breeding goats, most dairy does (with the exception of Nigerian Dwarf goats, who can be bred year round), will begin to come into estrus in the early fall. Each “heat” lasts around 24 hours, and if they are not bred during that time, they will come back into heat 3 weeks later. These repeating estrus cycles usually last until late December or early January. At least that’s been our experience. We typically look for that first strong heat of the season, which is marked by a lot of “flagging” (tail wagging), often some discharge, and rosiness or swelling of the lady-goat parts (not the technical veterinary term). Once we’ve seen the first heat, we mark it at 3 week intervals on our kitchen calendar.

So considering how hard it’s been for us in the past to coordinate our own schedules with the goat’s schedule and the schedule of the Cassettes (of Chateau Briant) and their buck, we were pretty excited this year to get both girls bred before Thanksgiving. And assuming they settle (conceive), we’re looking at due dates of April 9th and 19th. (Check out this handy goat gestation chart!) Make sure to check back in April for our kidding posts!

One last thought about driving the goats to be bred… it’s amazing how long you can drive around town with a goat in the back of your car and nobody notices: passing through toll booths, the sidewalk in front of Kinko’s, the Whole Foods parking lot, you name it – no one noticed. (Sometimes we have some errands to run on the way to the farm – those pesky schedules again.)

Charlotte directs Chansonetta as she hops out of the back of the Suburu at Chateau Briant Farm in Saco.

Goats breeding, driving, Goats