Royal Caprines, the Family Lineage of Dairy Goats

So Maggie had her hot date yesterday with this fine fellow:

Meet Chenango-Hills Jester *B, *S

This handsome buck has it all, good looks, that stick-to-your-cloths buck smell, urine on the face, and a pedigree dating back several generations.  Oh, and that *S & *B shows that he's recognized by both the American Dairy Goat Association and American Goat Society to come from a dam (mother) who's proven through a controlled test of her milking ability that she exceeds the average milking ability for her breed.

In Jester's case, his mom, Chenengo-Hills Goddess scored 2nd in milking production and 1st in butterfat & protein.  That's quite an accomplishment for a little goat!  And, Jester's sire (father) is no slouch either - he's the son of GCH Rosasharn Haiku 4*D, who is the ADGA 2010 National Champion Senior Doe with the National Best Udder!  First of her breed to win this feat!  After setting up Jester's lineage of ancestors in my pedigree software, I couldn't believe that some of his lineage has been tracked back to goats born in 1980... and Nigerians are a young breed.  Toggenbergs are the oldest pedigree-tracked breed of goat, with ancient Switzerland herdbooks going back in to the 1600's.

I'm uber excited to have Maggie bred to this buck, as their kids should be of great dairy character, any does from this breeding should be great milkers, and it's just fun to be part of this great heritage of noble dairy goats, and contribute to the several generations of work by farmers who've spent decades improving this breed to bring more milk to the table.

Caprine Conjugal Visits.

When you get into dairy goats, you think about all the wonderful milk & other delicious products, cute baby goat kids, and all sorts of wholesome delights.  But, to get the ball rolling... it all starts with a lot of sordid goat sex.  For months, I've been tracking heat cycles, looking at pictures of buck goats and their balls on the internet, staring at goat vaginas determining heat cycles, sending in pregnancy tests, and basically getting very intimate with my hoofed companions.

One of my does, Tink, has already had her successful conjugal visit with this lovely fellow:

I timed the visit just right, and Tink was in a state known as "standing heat", meaning she was very receptive to her male companion.  After a fine display of tongue flashing, raspberry sounds, urinating, and other very bizarre and hilarious rituals, the actual mating was very quick.

I've got two more does to get pregnant... so wish me luck.  Maggie is going into heat today, and I'm calling the buck owner frantically now trying to arrange for her "hot date".

Updated Farm Website!

Hi Friends!  I've been thinking alot about this blog over the winter, ideas I want to share, information I've learned, etc.  2011 & 2012 proved to be busy years for me, and we made huge progress here at Lucky Charm Farm.  Check out our new website with an updated roster of urban ag projects that we have going!  www.luckycharmfarm.net and keep an eye out for more posts in 2013.

Happy new year!!

Sheep!!

Another addition to my farming adventures, urban sheep!!

Wrangling a stubborn Icelandic ewe

Grazing at Maggie Kim's House on Beacon Hill

The shepherd strikes a pose :)

And, of course, with sheep, I must have a sheep dog!  Meet Dazy:

Wascally Wabbits!

Rabbits!  Meat rabbit project is going great, getting a steady supply of rabbit in our freezer, and occasionally enough to share with pals... managing the rabbits in a semi-colony method, using rabbit tractor pens and individual cages:

New Zealand/Californian mix doe is a great mother!

A colorful litter of kits!

Wow! Overdue Updates!!

Wow!  I can't believe two years have managed to sneak by since my last post to this blog!  I guess I've been ridiculously busy... here's some of the projects that have eaten up my time...

Jan 31st 2009 - Got engaged while on vacation to Kauai!  Here's us, freshly engaged on Kalalau Beach :)

Oct 30th, 2009 - Moved into our new house in White Center - yeehaw!

Dec 2009 - Hosted Dare to be Square, a fabulous traditional Square Dance convention!

www.bubbaguitar.com/d2bs

2010 has been full of crazy fun!  My band The Tallboys performed in Minnesota at the fabulous Moosejaw dance weekend hosted by the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers, and at the Alaska Folk Festival in Juneau. 

Here we are at Mendahall Glacier!

I've been working to help found a fabulous new member-owned feed store in Seattle, called the Seattle Farm Co-op where folks can get supplies for their urban farms.  www.seattlefarmcoop.com

I've had a myriad of urban ag projects going on, meat rabbits, silent-rooster breeding, ducks, and sheep!!  Also planning Dare to be Square 2010!!  More on those topics soon!!

Chicken Coop Pictures

So, here's the long-overdue pics of our new "chicken fortress" - this one is totally raccoon-proof! My neighbor and I assembled this over about 5 days using mostly free and recycled materials. We hit the free pile at the Restore and got most of the lumber, and managed to get some awesome corrugated plastic roofing for free by the side of the road. It has a large window on the south-facing side that we can leave open in the summer (it's screened in with hardware cloth). The front has a window that opens over the nest box for egg collection, and two large doors that can be opened for cleaning... we even put in a linoleum floor for easy cleaning!

And here are some pics of our beautiful hens, we've got the variety pack - 2 Rhode Island Reds, 1 Silver-laced Wyandotte, 1 Black Astrolarp, and 1 Golden-laced Seabright Bantam!