The First Weekend of December
The first weekend of December, I had a pleasant surprise when I went to feed the goats at their winter location off of Minnow Way. The association was having a green waste day. The event was hosted by the Firewise Committee. The trucks and trailers were rolling in and out, the volunteers from the committee were directing traffic, Sam the guardian dog was watching the traffic, and the goats were munching away on brush.
As I was putting out the goat’s supplemental feed, trying to avoid being trampled, I got to thinking. This is what it takes to make a community safe from fire; Goats, dogs, and people all working together to reduce fuel loads. The commitment and investment in fire safety your community leaders, association employees, and those of you that live in Lake Wildwood is exemplary. Not only are you making your community safer, you are contributing to making all of Nevada County a safer place to live. Thank you, everyone!
November and December are all about preparation for kidding season and keeping the pregnant does healthy. To accomplish this, I have been watching the weather very closely. Being outside grazing is the heathiest place the goats can be. They can take a day, or even two days of wet weather, but the long, wet, cold storms we have been experiencing requires better shelter for them. Especially as they get closer to their kidding dates.
For the most part, we had excellent grazing weather in November. The goats were trailered off the golf course for a quick trip to the home ranch for inspection and sorting. Then they were moved back to Lake Wildwood to Minnow Way. The location the netting was set up for them had never grazed before. Half of the goat’s new pasture had been cleared by the Washington Ridge CDF crew, but was growing back again. The other half was untouched and unbelievably thick. A thick, overgrown location with good drainage is an excellent place to winter goats. They can use the brush, rocks and trees for shelter from a storm. The trouble is the goats eat themselves out of shelter. In just a couple of weeks the area was cleared of brush and open enough to see through.
I pulled the herd back home on December 11th in anticipation of the storm and to prep them for kidding. About half the herd will kid in January. The rest will kid in February. This separation is caused by the breeding cycle that occurs about every 21 days in goats. Friday, I will separate the does due in January, give them their annual vaccinations, trim their hooves, and put them in a new barn. The reason I vaccinate the does just a few weeks before they give birth is so the “immunity” the doe develops will be transferred to the newborn kid. Vaccinate too soon and the immunity to the kid will be diminished. The most common livestock disease the vaccination covers for both mother and kid is tetanus. Newborn kids are very susceptible to tetanus.
As always, if you have any questions send me a “general inquiry” from my website. Also, if anyone is interested in volunteering to help with the goat work during the kidding season, I could use the assist. Send inquiries <HERE>.