Time for Kudos and Applause for the girls!

 

www.freewebs.com/firestone-creek-farms

I have to share news and congrats on a few of our lovely girls. First, we'll start with some of our 'firsts' here at Firestone Creek. 

First fresh udder Jody

On Firestone Creek HWD Jody Girl, has now earned both of her stars-- AGS and ADGA and is actually in line for possibly meeting top 10 requirements (holding my breath!) for protein and for production for 2014. Hoping she can hold her own and make it to the top. She deserves it for all of the work she's been doing! 

Palisade

Next, our 'star' doe--On Firestone Creek Palisade has surprised us by becoming our first Superior Genetics doe here at Firestone Creek! We were thrilled to receive the notice in the mail saying she had reached that designation as a SG doe. We have several of her daughters and a granddaughter here, so we hope to continue following that path with production, quality, and transmitting ability.

We do have a Palisade daughter (in milk) available for sale-- Palabra, in addition to a doeling out of the Palisade X NC PromisedLand Bolero cross available for sale. See website or contact for more information.

Minnie Me

Additionally, it looks like Palisade's daughter, Minnie, will also be earning her stars, and so far NC PromisedLand Z Bella has

Bella

earned her star with AGS and should have it soon with ADGA. Beyond that, I have my fingers crossed that a few others will earn theirs, too. 

PS Other News: 
It looks like Pistachio and Joy may be bred

Joy:
Palisade X Rosasharn TL Challenger

for late Nov/Dec. Joy is a Palisade daughter. Joy's would not have been an intentional breeding, and I will be doing DNA on all kids if she does freshen. I had no clue she was in heat, and the only hint I have now is that she hasn't had a heat and is getting a little chubby. If she is pregnant, the kids could belong to either Jacub, Sol, or Rumor. I will be doing DNA if she happens to kid.

Jacub

Rumor

CG Sol

I do separate boys from the girls at a little over 2 months, but this time, we had to finish their pasture first, and before it was completed, I had a few partially extending. I witnessed Sol breeding Pistachio. At first, I thought it was just 'practice.' Bucklings do this all of the time. However, I feel that at that point he did fully extend, and I do believe he is now breeding

M Pistachio

successfully, so with that said, Pistachio could be bred, too, by no one else except my spoiled rotten Sol or 'sun.' I like this breeding; those will be some gorgeous babies-- type-wise AND color-wise, pulling in Rosasharn, NC PromisedLand, and Firestone Creek genetics. I know, I know... blue eyes? moonspots? But yes, possible moonspots AND blue eyes, even though I didn't breed for them on purpose. Sometimes things just happen. By the way, Pistachio is a daughter of Nutmeg, niece of Acorn, and niece of Jody Girl (see above). Mesa was her father. 

The Mighty Mite and More Milk Tests

They say 'Rome was not built in a day,' and neither was a dairy farm.

The junior herd

Well, no one said farm life was easy, and that certainly holds true when it comes to maintaining does and keeping their milk capacity where you want it to be. We're small, so we haven't had many does freshen this year--only seven, in fact. We've still had our fair share of the fun with those thus far. Sometimes I can't even imagine doing this on a large scale, but I guess if it was my only job, and I had some additional help, it might be a little easier.

So far this kidding season--

First, because of the long winter and plenty of time spent by does in the barn, where we deep pile our hay for extra warmth, we had an issue with mites. I've seen the critters before, but this year was the worst ever! This is a new barn and much larger than the other barn, so I have to say I was a bit surprised, but then again, this winter was colder than the norm with several bouts of ice and snow. I'm thinking this had something to do with it. I noticed some 'dandruff' and a bit of scaly skin in a few of the does, especially those who were pregnant, so I treated what I knew was mites and/or lice. I thought I'd had it all taken care of. I was wrong.

A few of the girls developed a few 'bumps' or papules with the mites--mainly a couple of the does I was milking, and this might have been demodectic mange. According to Justin Talley and Dave Sparks, D.V.M, these papules contain more mites, are often found on the face, neck, and axillary regions, along with the udder, and can infect other animals:

The goat follicle mite causes dermal papules and nodules [sic] and this resulting condition is known as demodectic mange in goats. These papules or nodules are caused by hair follicles or gland ducts becoming obstructed and producing these swellings, trapping the mites within these lesions. These continue to enlarge as the mites multiply, sometimes reaching several thousand mites per lesion... Nodules can rupture and exude mites [transmitting to the other animals]. "External Parasites"

Dairy and pregnant/nursing animals seem to be particularly susceptible to the mites. I deduce it is because kids are nursing, we clip the udders (possibly with infected clippers), and udders can be exposed to more skin irritants hand/machine milking. This type of mange isn't the only threat! Another form of infection, chorioptic mange, also has similar symptoms with "formation of raised pustules on the skin, crusting, hair loss, reddening of the skin and eventually ulceration. These signs are first seen on the lower limbs, scrotum, udder and between the thighs. Rubbing and scratching is common" (Hutchens "Enough to Make"). Staphylococcal dermatitis--a secondary bacterial infection, often follows the infestation due to scratching, etc.

Some sources, including some discussion boards, say to 'pop' the papules (whether 'mange' papules or staph infection) since some do contain a pus-like substance. However, after witnessing the results, I do not suggest doing this. From my own experience, I noticed that those that had papules that I 'popped' tended to develop a much worse infection than the others; the action seemed to spread the infection, so I stopped popping and only treated. When left alone, the lesions seemed to scab over and heal very fast.

I try to treat holistically when at all possible; if natural medicine is not working, I refuse to watch an animal suffer, and I will treat with antibiotics and other medications, if necessary. I used lime and DE on the barn along with manuka oil, tea tree oil, and garlic on everyone. I also treated some with lime sulphur dip, which was recommended at a 4X treatment over a month long period by Hutchens ("Enough to Make"). However, one treatment of lime dip in addition to the tea tree and manuka oil seemed to actually clear up the problem. I did clip hair on those showing evidence of major infestation. Everyone cleared up fine with these treatments EXCEPT two does who seemed to have an allergy, perhaps, to the treatments. They did not respond well to the oils, and both worsened with lime dip and had more break outs. One really had an 'itchy' result on her udder and stomach area with many papules. Worried that this was a resultant irritation from the treatment itself, I did go ahead and use some Pen-G [for secondary bacterial infection, which was a probability], Chlorhexidine scrub [to destroy bacteria, fungus, etc], and topical antibacterial cream on these two does; this had immediate results--within 3 - 4 days, so it is very probable that the resultant irritation was probably due to secondary bacterial infection--possibly staphylococcal dermatitis. Thankfully, the whole herd is doing well now and recovering from winter's latent wrath. I did want to share my research and results in hopes that anyone else who is struggling can find some solace and aid with the problem.

*NOTE: I did treat with injectable Ivermectin when results seemed 'slow.' It was completely ineffective, and it seems to be noted that it often is when dealing with specific mites. I saw no changes whatsoever --even in a week's time, which should have been more than long enough for mite die-off. The key for removal seems to be killing, repelling, disinfecting, and treating secondary infection.

The keys to treatment:
1) Clean the barn-- keep it dry and destroy all infected bedding (burning is best)
2) Treat sleeping premises (I used lime and DE)
3) Treat ALL animals  (see articles and choose your own method according to your herd management beliefs)

Milk Test Results so far 

No one ever explains (before you go on test) that all of those 'little things' that drop production in your animals don't mean a thing when you are on test. While heats, illnesses, etc, are noted in CAR codes on DHIR tests as abnormalities, this doesn't change the overall results. One illness or low milk day (for any reason--even the weather!) can be enough to knock your animal out of the running for their star even if they are an excellent milker the rest of the time.

Bella --With all of the issues with the mites, we've had production drop some. I've sold Bella's kid, and with my work load, secondary bacterial infection from the mites, and issues with my carpal tunnel, her production has fell from her whopping 6.6 lbs a day to about 1/2 that. She is 4-00 with production at 43 lbs of fat, 30 lbs of protein, and projected production of milk lbs = 812 at this point in lactation (77 days). This has began climbing again with her infection clearing up, so I hope this amount does go up. She 'should' earn her star.

Sunnee -- Sunnee is doing well on test. She will be 'close' simply because I've had a lot on my plate and haven't milked exactly on schedule a few times, throwing her weights off a bit. I will make another post later with her weights.

Palabra -- Palabra is for sale for $350. She is on target to earn her star. The only reason I have her for sale is because 1) I own her mom; 2) I am retaining her daughter; 3) I also have several half-sisters. 

Acorn -- for sale for $400. Acorn will probably not earn her star, BUT it is NOT her fault. It's her nieces fault, in addition to the mite issue, which reduced her production after the first test. Her numbers were going to be close, but then on the last test, Pistachio, her niece, escaped (you know the type--able to leap tall buildings in a single bound) from the pen on milk test morning and emptied her udder before the test! This ruined the morning test. She would have had over 3 lbs for the day, but instead only had about 1.5 for the whole day, partly because she likes to feed her kid, Karuka, through the fence. She's impossible to get a good milk weight on unless you have a very good way to separate her from anyone who wants to eat. :) 

Palisade -- Kidded on Mother's day, so she will be on the next test. She already has her milk stars. 2*D 5*M 

First day of DHIR ... WHEW! And Hooray!

So Firestone Creek Farm had its first DHIR milk test on March 21. Anyone who knows milk testing rules will know that does are judged by their age (in years and months) and by how many pounds of milk they produce in a 24 hour period, in addition to the protein and butterfat content of the milk. Several of my girls tested haven't freshened many times because--well, I've had them since 2010, and the year that my late husband passed away, 2011, Firestone Creek did not breed many goats for 2011 or 2012 kiddings. We had a few (like Palabra), but breeding stalled at that time, so some of the girls--Bella and Sunnee, weren't bred or freshened until they were a bit older. This means it is more of a 'feat' for them to catch up with girls of their age that have freshened more times and therefore have more capacity. No matter, they did it! I'm proud of them!

We tested three does, those to kid thus far, which means we tested:

• NC PromisedLand Z Bella
• On Firestone Creek HWD Lil Acorn
• On Firestone Creek Sunnee Day 

On Firestone Creek Palabra and On Firestone Creek Palisade will be added to this list when they kid (Palabra, this week; Palisade, in May;)

Results thus far:

Side udder 2 weeks fresh

NC PromisedLand Z Bella

Sire: NC Promisedland RC Zohan *S

Dam:  NC Promisedland L Zodiac *M  

This is Bella's second freshening, and she was 4 weeks fresh on test day.

First milking 3.3 lbs

Rear udder 2 weeks fresh;
it's a bit lopsided from
 2 kids nursing unequally

Second milking 3.3 lbs

6.6 lbs total 
Bella is 4.1 yrs old and a spoiled brat. She loves the milkstand, mainly because there's food there.

Woohoo! So proud of you my Bella-Boo! :) 

________________________________

Rear udder 3 days fresh

On Firestone Creek Sunnee Day 

Sire: Rosasharn HNC Uproar +*S
Dam: Anbonjo SS Spun Gold

This is Sunnee's second freshening; she was 1 week and 1 day fresh on test day.

AM milking: 1.4 lbs
             PM milking: 1.6 lbs

side udder 3 days fresh

Total: 3 lbs 
She is measured at 3.4 yrs old.

Not too shabby for a little girl that is only 1 week fresh! :) I would like to see more rear udder height, but she has developed more since this photo was taken and her milk supply has really started coming in. Sunnee is a sweetheart, very refined, and well-loved around here.

_______________________________________

On Firestone Creek Lil Acorn

Sire: Gateway Hollywood Nights

Dam:  Plum Rotten BC Lady Ophelia

This is Acorn's third freshening, and poor girl, she still did really good on test day considering that her 4 week old daughter still got to her, nursed through the fence, and made her a bit lopsided for the test. She's been nursing her niece, too, who is almost a year old! I had to pen her up to keep her away from Auntie Acorn. 

This is Acorn's third freshening, and she was almost 5 weeks fresh on test day. 

AM milking: 2.0 lbs

PM milking: 2.1 lbs

Total: 4.1 lbs 

She is measured at 4.2 yrs old. 

____________________________________

So far all of the girls met their goals for a one day test when it comes to weights, so we'll see how they do on the protein and butterfat when it comes back! 

Now I am off to the barn to check on Palabra, who is about to freshen any day now. Cross your fingers for girls! :) 

Angie

Moving Toward Spring and Change, along with a special announcement!

Longing for Spring to Arrive

Dreaming of daffodils, dandelions, daisies, and green, green, green, knowing that spring is soon on the horizon, and change is floating in the air, not just here, but everywhere. Right now, it's cold. Yes, I know, it's winter, but I don't know many people (or goats) that LOVE 15-30 degree F days, and we've been having quite a few of those here lately. Also, many of you know, but I am sure that some of you do not, Firestone Creek Farm is in the process of relocating. We've purchased a new home, and we are moving (not just to keep warm) in this cold weather, but to a new farm with a new 'everything.' No worries though. We're only moving to the other side of town. 

As udders fill -- Kuka, Bella, Palabra, Sunnee, Acorn, and Panama, we are building a to-do list and trying to get everything completed by 'due dates.' This isn't an easy thing to do because there is so much to do when moving to a new place. We're also starting from scratch with the barn; we're building a barn from a carport so we can easily expand into the future as we grow. We have to work fast in upcoming weeks since babies come when they want--no stopping them, and the last thing any goat lady wants to do is have kids being born into a cold, harsh world without a warm place to get dry. So, we're working like carpenter ants--fast and furious. In fact, in the coming weeks I will be adding photos of our new barn as we progress in the building process. We're using freshly sawed lumber from my father's saw mill--lumber cut by my husband, Jose, and my father, Earl Lilly, who also makes handicrafts from cedar and other things Facebook Group: Little Cedar Things. He does do custom orders on things like cedar chests (of all sizes) and more. 

This year we are also venturing into the land of DHIR and LA with high hopes. We'll update on how things are progressing as the year moves along. Right  now, we are also taking deposits on spring kids, which will begin arriving sometime mid-February to March. We have plenty of very good breedings with excellent show and milk potential available, so don't wait until the last minute to make a reservation.

And finally, I'm so happy to add that my favorite 'chiva', Palisade, who now has all of her milk stars, will be re-entering our herd soon.

She's going to be joining us within a few weeks. We will have some other new additions, too, but I am waiting to 'surprise' everyone with those (yes, they WILL be a surprise!).

More to come. Keep warm! Spring will be here soon.