Milk Test at Prairie Wood Ranch

 

Last Friday I drove down the road to my friend Lora’s house at Prairie Wood Ranch, I hadn’t been by to see her since I bought my mini-mancha doe, Latte from her 2 years ago, even though I got to work with her at a couple goat shows during that time. My friend Deanna of Cornerstone Nigerians had contacted me to let me know she would be coming up from the valley to be the official goat milk tester at Lora’s ranch and she had some of her wonderful homemade goat milk soaps for me, so “would you be able to come over?”

Well, I had the farrier coming over at 4:30pm, but I said I’d be right over afterwards. I had never been to a milk testing before and was also excited to catch up with my dear friend Deanna and Lora, too.

When I arrived everyone was inside Lora’s house enjoying a delicious potluck dinner. After we had eaten our fill, we headed outside to get started.

 

Lora has a very nice set-up for her goats with lots of space, food, play areas and resting areas.

 

 

 

Double-Mint Goats 

 

“Come on into the barn. All the milk testing action is in here”

 

“See I told ya. Welcome to the inside of the barn, two-legged creature. Got any treats?” 

 

My buddy, Deanna. This was actually her first milk testing event, though you’d never know it. She did an awesome job and was very thorough and professional.

 

 Dairy Herd Improvement Research, (DHIR) testing involves weighing milk produced by each individual goat. A good milking doe should be producing at least six to eight pounds of milk on a daily basis.

In addition the Milk Tester takes a milk sample from each weigh sample, and submits the samples to a DHIR laboratory to measure butterfat, protein and somatic cell count. Somatic cell count is an indicator of overall udder health. First, ear tattoos are checked on each goat for identification. Nigerian Goats are also height measured at the beginning of the test, too.

 The first testing involves milking out the goat and weighing in, usually in the evening. The following morning, the goat is milked and the milk is weighed and samples are taken.

 

 

 The final testing is done that evening, when the goat is milked for the last time, and the milk is weighed with samples taken.  The does earns points based on ‘Days Fresh’, ‘Pounds of Milk’, and ‘Butterfat’. The total points are added together and if they equal 18 or above, that doe earns her Milk Star.  

 

 

 

(Warning: Don’t play this video while you’re at work, or while anyone in your house is sleeping……and even if you do decide to listen to this video, you still may decide to turn the volume down. It’s very very loud!. These were the sounds we listened to during the goat milk testing)

 

 

 

 

After the goat milk testing was completed on that first night, we went back to Lora’s house for dessert, and then went on a farm tour. We saw Lora’s Mom’s Angora goat. Lora’s Mom is a fiber artist and uses the mohair to spin and knit.

 

 

 

 

A couple of bucks. 

 

 

Lora also raises Boer Meat Goats, too. 

 

 And she breeds and raises paint horses.

 

This little boy was born a couple months ago and was sold soon after. Lora didn’t even have to advertise. Someone drove by and admired her stallion and wanted to know if he was for sale. He wasn’t, but his son was. 

 

He'll go to his new home as soon as he's weaned. Check out that blue eye. I love this side of his face, too. Very unique.

 

And this is his Dad. HIs name is Domino. He’s one handsome boy. And even though I already knew he was a stallion, I was still surprised at how puppy dog-like he was. Very affectionate, friendly, and gentle.   

 

 

It was impossible to get a good full-body photo of him because he wanted to be right beside me all the time, petting and scratching him. He reminded me of a cat and how it wants to always rub against your legs so you’ll bend down and pet it. What a sweetie! 

 

 He didn’t like when I moved away and would nicker at me until I walked back. He sure is one handsome fella!

 

Lora also breeds and raises Corgis. Along with her Nigerians and Pygmy Goats, she sells and ships them to folks around the country. On her website she has listed the animals she has available for sale. Most of this litter of puppies is already sold. They'll go to their new homes once weaned. They are just too cute!

 

 This is the Dad, in the background. The Corgi in the front is her second female, who is due to deliver her puppies very soon. They were both very friendly, sweet and active. Almost impossible to take a photo of them. They were moving all the time and wanting to be petted and loved on.

 

These are Lora’s Great Pyrenees Livestock Guardian Dogs. Typically they have free reign of the property, but with the gate open and all of us goat people there for the milk testing, Lora had them temporarily locked in their kennel. This puppy was so cute….like a little polar bear!    

 

It was a great day and a very fun visit. We enjoyed yummy food, conversation, animals, and loads of laughter.

                           The End……………

 

 

                   No really………………..The End!

Farewell Pepper and Moon Pie

 

After much thought and consideration we decided to find a new home for Pepper and his pal, Moon Pie. It was a very, very difficult decision and we are already missing them.

But we did manage to find them an excellent new home with animal lovers that have provided a wonderful home to several dogs, rabbits and horses.

 

Between the cost of feed, the time it takes me to take good care of all of our animals (hoof trims, worming, feeding, attention, grooming), and the fact that with Ranchman John now on the road full-time as Trucker John, all of the animal care, kidlet care, homeschooling and housework is solely on me and I find that I don’t have enough hours in the day, or energy, to keep up.

So we based our decision on which critters are giving back or paying their own way on our little ranch. Dogs and cats are exempt, of course. Any critters that give us eggs, wool or milk are safe. We had a total of five goats, two sheep, two llamas and one horse. Luna, the angora goat gives me mohair fleece, and the sheep give me wool. The llamas not only give me fleece, but they both guard our little flock and they are trained to pack and join me for hikes.

Mud Pie, our rescued Nigerian wether has a home here as long as we have Latte our Miniature Dairy Goat because they are best friends. And Baby Doll  has a home here as a pasture pet because I can’t imagine not having her whinny and come to the gate whenever she sees me, so unless I find her the perfect home, she’s here to stay.

Pepper was a rescue situation almost 2 years ago and he was the first choice, but after we found him a new home, we discovered that the new owners didn’t have any other goats, though they were planning on adopting one or two more goats very soon. Moon Pie is Pepper’s best buddy, so it just made sense to offer Moon Pie, too. And that way we knew that Pepper and Moon Pie would have each other to support one another through the changes of moving to a new home and environment. Pepper’s new owners were thrilled to have Moon Pie, too.

Over the weekend, we drove up to Santa Fe to drop off Pepper and Moon Pie to their new home. It was important for us to see what sort of environment they’d be living in and we were happy to see that their new owners had set up a very large pen with a covered area, next to their two horses and two boarder’s horses.

They plan to build a special goat shelter for the winter, too. They also showed me the horse arena that the boys would be allowed to exercise in and eat weeds with the horses. Most of the time Pepper and Moon Pie will be in a large yard attached to their artist studio, and since the new owners work from home, Pepper and Moon Pie will always have human companionship, too.

C. is a talented artist and we were thrilled to be given a tour of her studio and some of her artwork.

We will greatly miss Pepper and Moon Pie. They were the loudest of our goats and also the biggest eaters. But they were also goofy and sweet. Their new owners invited us to stop by anytime that we’d like to check in on the boys. And they’ve already sent us updates via e-mail with beautiful, artistic photos of Pepper and Moon Pie, so it’s reassuring to know that they are settling in to their new home as much-loved family pets.

Farewell Pepper and Moon Pie!

From the Tower of,

Goat Wrangling

Yet again I discover renegade goats. This time there are four: Pepper (Boer/Angora wether), Mud Pie(Nigie wether), Moon Pie(Nigie wether), and Latte(mini mancha doe).
I'm beginning to think that Ranchman John fails to securely lock the Wooly's gate on purpose. All it takes is one wrap around the gate and post followed by the snap lock and they're in like Flynn. Otherwise this is the inevitable result.The kids arrived first on the scene, to the relief of the renegade goaties.
The next on the scene is our resident goat herder, our GSD, Zuni. This is the reason why I think Ranchman John 'forgets' to secure the gate. He is working on training Zuni to herd the goats. She's pretty good at it, except she often forgets to listen to any commands and believes she knows the best way to get the goats where they're supposed to be. I watched helplessly from my tower window and worried about my sweet little Latte. She looked terrified. Thankfully she's not interested in biting, but only in chasing and herding. Zuni eventually herds Latte directly to Ranchman John and his friend who stopped by for a visit. Ranchman John scooped up Latte and returned her to the Wooly's paddock. (In case you were wondering, Mud Pie and Moon Pie, the smart nigie twins ran right into their paddock as soon as they saw Zuni coming)
Next up to be herded was Pepper. He's a wiley one, and fast, too.
Baby Doll says, "Run Pepper!"
Zuni, in her excitement ignores commands, and gets on the wrong side.
Somehow it worked out and she got back around. Jax tried to help catch Pepper, but fell over instead. Zuni stayed on Pepper's tail until he headed in the right direction.
Zuni turned Pepper over to Ranchman John, who opened the Wooly's gate so Pepper could run in.
Job well done, Zuni!
Whoooeee! The things I see from my tower window!

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Okie Dokie, I just want to thank all of you who were so helpful in leaving your 'Buggy Lists' and sharing the things you like and dislike about where you live. I learned a lot and it was fun, too.
Several of you reminded me that I forgot to include my own 'Buggy List', so I'll include mine here:

~Location
Central Mountains of New Mexico

~Dislikes
1)Wind and sometimes freezing temperatures and lots of snow.
2)Limited variety of restaurants
3)No delivery (never was an issue until I couldn't drive. Hubby and kids are limited in what they can cook. My palate is bored)
4)Some people move out here and drive like they're still in the city
5)Those same people move out here and try to turn our rural mountains into the city where they came from.

~Likes
1)Fresh air, nature, grass, trees, wildlife, snow and mountains.
2)Quiet, gravel and dirt roads, no traffic.
3)National forest, BLM, Open Space and Wilderness trails right out our back door or within 10 minutes of driving.
4)Only 25 minutes to a major city(Albuquerque), 10 mins. to a major interstate(I-40).
5)Friendly people, small town feel, uncrowded post offices, stores, restaurants. People call you neighbor even when you live 5 miles from each other.
6)Never needing to use air conditioners (or swamp/evaporative coolers) in the summer. We just open our windows and let the cool summer breezes in.
7)Good weather and sunshine at least 300 days of the year.
8)The spicy winter aroma of pinon tree smoke from woodstoves.
9)Green and red chile and delicious southwestern/New Mexican cuisine.
10)Unique Southwestern Adobe style homes and Mountain style homes.
11)No cookie cutter houses and houses set too close to each other.
12)Big blue skies during the day and dark clear star-filled night skies.

I love New Mexico!

We moved here in 1992, from Maryland, and fell in love with our state. Unfortunately in 1998 we had to move, due to a job transfer, but we knew we'd be back one day. We leased out our home and moved to South Carolina for 7 years. I dreamed about New Mexico ever day and was terribly homesick. The humidity, mosquitos and monster sized Palmetto bugs (giant flying roaches!) in South Carolina were horrible. If it weren't for our camping trips to the beautiful beaches those 7 years would have been unbearable.

Finally, hubby and I retired from the airlines and made our move back to our enchanting New Mexico. Setting my eyes once again on the impressive Sandia Mountains, and seeing the sage and juniper covered high desert spreading out for miles, made my heart sing. I was finally back home!

In my music Playlist there is a song by Kutless, called "Strong Tower". The words of that song describe my heartfelt feelings towards these beautiful mountains that shelter and watch over me. For me, mountains ground me and lift me at the same time. The mountains fill me with spiritual energy, and I feel closest to God when I am closest to the mountains.

Well, there ya go. A lot more than you asked for 'eh?

What makes you feel more spiritual?
Mountains? Ocean? Desert? Church? Or just hanging out with your animals?

G~is for Goats

Today's Letter of the Day, is 'G'. And since we have several breeds of goats on our mini-ranch, I thought 'Goat' would be perfect for a word beginning with 'G'.

You might not know that domestic goats are one of the oldest domesticated species. A goat is useful to humans both alive and dead, as a renewable provider of milk and fibre as well as meat and hide. Some charities provide goats to impoverished people in poor countries, because goats are easier and cheaper to manage than cattle. Goats are also used for driving and packing. And in the last century goats have gained some popularity as pets, too.

Just in case you didn't know, female goats are called does or nannies, intact males as bucks or billies and their offspring are kids. Castrated males are wethers. Goat meat from younger animals is called kid, and from older animals is often called chevon.

Goats are ruminants. They have a four-chambered stomach consisting of the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum, and the abomasum.
Goats have horizontal slit-shaped pupils, which increases peripheral depth perception. Because goats' irises are usually pale, the pupils are much more visible than in animals with horizontal pupils with very dark irises, such as sheep, cattle and most horses.
Both male and female goats have beards, and many types of goats may have wattles, one dangling from each side of the neck.


First up to talk about is our fiber goat, an Angora doe, named Luna. We rescued her a year ago from living a life all alone in a tiny mud-filled enclosure being fed only a few scraps of dusty alfalfa crumbs every day.
The Angora breed of goat produces long, curling, lustrous locks of mohair. The entire body of the goat is covered with mohair and there are no guard hairs.

The locks constantly grow and can be four inches or more in length.
the Angora goat usually gets shorn twice a year with an average yield of about 10 pounds.
The fiber is made into products such as sweaters and doll's hair. Mohair is warmer per ounce than most other types of wool and are not as scratchy, itchy or as allergenic as wool. Mohair fiber commands a higher price than other types of wool.

Here's Luna, unshorn, with our llamas, Cataleya and Catlinite.
And here's Cataleya, our female llama, with Luna when Luna first came to live on Laughing Orca Ranch. Cataleya and Luna are both quite close and share a special bond.
Here's Luna, after being shorn. She's the matriarch of the goats and sheep and likes to play Queen of the Hill.
And here she is again, unshorn.
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Next up is our meat/pet Boer goat, named Pepper. We saved him from a sad place last Spring. He came to us brain damaged from being disbudded when he was 2 months old. It's recommended to disbud a goat's horns when they are less than 2 weeks old. Apparently disbudding too late can cause the horn to be too difficult to stop from growing and can cause brain damage due to excessive heat trying to kill off the horn bud. And usually the horn grows back anyway.
Even with brain damage and horns, we love our goofy boy anyway.
One of the most popular goats grown for meat is the South African Boer. Goat meat is lower than mutton in fat and cholesterol, and comparable to chicken. It also has more minerals than chicken, and is lower in total and saturated fats than many other meats. One reason for the leanness is that goats do not accumulate fat deposits or "marbling" in their muscles. It is popular in the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, northeastern Brazil, the West Indies, and Belize.
Pepper won't be served up on our plates, though. He's primarily a pet, as you can see.
In addition, Boer goats have a high resistance to disease and adapt well to hot, dry semi-deserts. Boer goats commonly have white bodies and distinctive brown heads. Like the Nubian goat, they possess long, pendulous ears. They are noted for being docile, fast growth, and having high fertility rates.
Mature Boer bucks weigh between 240-300 lb, and mature does between 200-220 lb. Pepper is probably a Boer/angora or nubian cross goat, and is the goofiest, people loving goat you'll ever meet.
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Next goat to talk about, on our little ranch, are Nigerian Dwarf Goats, of which we have two, Mud Pie and Moon Pie. They are twin brothers and serve as our cute, affectionate pets. Don't you love that cute face?
The Nigerian Dwarf goat is a miniature dairy goat breed of West African ancestry. Originally brought to the United States on ships as food for large cats such as lions, the survivors originally lived in zoos. Nigerian Dwarf goats are popular as hobby goats due to their easy maintenance and small stature.
Nigerian Dwarfs are gentle and easily trainable goats. This, along with their small size and colorful appearance, makes them popular as pets. Many breeders sell bottle-fed babies (kids) that are bonded with humans and easy to manage. Here I am the first time I held Moon Pie, he was a little kid about 8 weeks old.
Nigerians can easily be trained to walk on a leash and some enjoy coming into the house with their owners. Nigerians' small size also makes them excellent 'visitor' animals for nursing homes and hospitals. Moon Pie lived in our house and was bottle-fed for several weeks, before going out to the barn to live. He was a very well-behaved little goatie.
He wants nothing more than to cuddle in your lap and is such a sweetie.
Nigerian Dwarfs give a surprising quantity of milk for their size, with an average of 2.5 pounds per day. Their milk has a higher butterfat content than milk from full-sized dairy goats, making Nigerian Dwarf goat milk excellent for cheese and soap making.
Mud Pie was a rescue situation. The breeder asked me to take him in, because the people who had originally bought Mud Pie allowed him to get hurt by their dogs and horse and then neglected him. We thought it would be great to have Moon Pie's twin brother live here, too. You can see the family resemblance between Moon Pie and Mud Pie. Mud Pie has spots.
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Some goats are bred for milk. Goat's milk is commonly processed into cheese, goat butter, ice cream, cajeta and other products. Goat's milk can replace cow's milk in diets of those who are allergic to cow's milk. However, like cow's milk, goat's milk has lactose (sugar) and may cause gastrointestinal problems for individuals with lactose intolerance.
Goat's milk is naturally homogenized, which means the cream remains suspended in the milk, instead of rising to the top, as in raw cow's milk.
Many dairy goats, in their prime, average 6 to 8 pounds of milk daily (roughly 3 to 4US quarts. Goat butter is white because goats produce milk with the yellow beta-carotene converted to a colorless form of vitamin A.

And our last breed of goat to share with you is our dairy goat which will be bred soon for a late Spring freshening. This goat is a relatively new breed, but recognized and registerable with the The Miniature Dairy Goat Association, and is called a Mini La Mancha. The breed is noted for a generally calm, quiet, and gentle temperament.

Mini-goat is a term misunderstood by many. They are created by crossing a Nigerian Dwarf Goat with some other type of standard breed. A mini-dairy goat is a Nigerian dwarf that has been crossed with one of the six standard dairy breeds -- La Mancha, Oberhasli, French Alpine, Sanaan, Toggenberg, or Nubian. Mini-goats have the benefit of providing large quantities of milk and not needing a lot of space. They have been reported to produce approx. 2 lbs of high butterfat milk per day.

It is often assumed that the terms “pygmy goat” and “mini-goat” are interchangeable. Pygmy goats are small meat goats, so they are a poor choice for anyone who wants to milk a little goat.

Our doe is named Latte.

The LaMancha breed is a type of dairy goat noted for its apparent lack of, or much reduced, external ears. There are two types of LaMancha ears. In does, neither type of ear has an advantage over the other.
Gopher ear: The external ear is very small and appears to be 'shriveled'. There is no fold and the external ear must always exceed 1 inch. This is the only type of ear which will make bucks eligible for registration.
Elf ear: An approximate maximum length of 2 inches is allowed. The end of the ear must be turned up or turned down, and cartilage shaping the small ear is allowed. LaManchas with a fold exceeding the allowed length cannot be registered as purebred animals.
The reason only gopher eared bucks are allowed to be registered is because two 'elf' eared animals bred together can create an erect eared kid. Some breeders prefer the gopher ears on all of their animals, but the type of ear is purely cosmetic.


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And here's our little flock of 'Woolies' on their way to the barn for dinner.