Goats Galore.
April 8, 2025
Dear Friends,
Spring is springing and we are geared up for another full season of grazing. After finishing up the 2024 grazing season, Rex and I decided to sell our personal herd of goats. We were sad to see them go, but needed to focus on developing the targeted grazing side of our business (as opposed to breeding does, kidding them out and raising new offspring). We have worked to secure a great partnership with a producer in Oklahoma that raises high quality Spanish nannies (breeding females), our preferred breed for the targeted grazing work. Last season we were able to bring in around 100 of these yearling nannies just to try the arrangement out. This year, we brought in 400! Goats. Galore. They are little girls, still about 50 pounds each, but their appetites are big and so are their personalities. We've had fun getting to know them.
Since receiving these little nannies about four weeks ago, their health has held up quite well. When receiving animals after any extensive shipping event, you expect to see some sickness from the stress of long transportation itself, along with the transition to new forage, weather, management techniques, etc.. This group, despite the stress, has done quite well. Quite a few things have gone in our favor to help this happen: the spring weather has been mild, the brush has already started leafing out, and we made sure to meet any and every need that came up with lots of fresh food, water, and supplementation. They were a sturdy bunch of girls from the start and they've held up beautifully.
Lively herd on a dormant pasture
In these first weeks, we've been training them to our systems: fencing and water set-up, moving on a regular basis, and working with Patsy (our working dog). Our next training session will be trailering. We're confident they will get comfortable with this quickly too. The girls are getting to know us one day at a time, and they seem to enjoy their new life just fine.
Patsy couldn’t be happier about her new herd
The goats are getting hungry, and we’re excited for another great grazing year ahead. Hope y’all are well and keep in touch!
Susan
