For The Record



First ride



A big part of our goat management is record keeping. At High Meadows the goal is to produce uniform kids with good birth weights and excellent daily gains. Each kid is weighed and tagged within the first few hours after they are born.



Sporting a tag


Tagging on day one is helpful for several reasons. The kids can be identified and reunited with mom if they get separated. Right ear tag for does and left ear tag for bucks makes field counts easier. If you wait until they are older you will have a hard time catching them. Kids will be weighed again at several intervals to determine their average daily gain.

Special Delivery



Erma's first kid arrives at 11:20

The kidding process is remarkable and happens very quickly when all goes well. 


Sister  follows at 11:27





First wobbly steps



Bingo! Lunch is served at 12:00



Arrival

At 1:14 am on March the 20th Spring made it's official arrival. Several hours later the first of High Meadows kid crop for 2012 began to arrive. "Cupid" led off with a nice set of twins. "Elvira"was right behind her with twins. "Desiree" dropped triplets and "Abigail" presented a nice set of  bucklings.     

"Ernestine" picked a rocky spot to deliver twins

Six does have kidded so far and there are twenty more to go....more fun than a Easter egg hunt!

Countdown



"bagging up"



The countdown to kidding has begun. The first due date is March the 23rd and several of the does are really "bagging up". I will be keeping a close watch for signs of labor. Normally a doe in labor will separate herself from the herd and pick a spot to kid. Our does are not confined to the barn when they kid and usually do a pretty good job choosing a protected spot. There are several first time moms this spring and it is always interesting to see what their mothering skills will be like. Some does are very protective of their kids and don't want anyone to get close.



Bridgett....protective mom!





"Joy"

A lap full of kids and an attentive guard dog

Sam, Badger and Sparky

One of my greatest joys on the farm is the chance to interact with the goats and dogs on a daily basis. Everyday is different  as I feed, fill water pans, check mommas and babies, and make sure the dogs are doing alright. Sam and Badger ( on my left and right) are just pups and are learning from "Uncle Sparky" ( at my feet)

"It's A Dog's Life"

To the casual visitor it may look like all the guardian dogs do is lay around all day and occasionally wrestle with one of the other dogs. Most of their work is "night shift" when they patrol the farm boundry fences. They may look like they are off duty during the day but just let a red tailed hawk or a turkey vulture fly to close and you will see them bound into action. Kidding season brings additional duties for the hard working mature dogs. The seasoned guard dog will pay close attention to the doe as she kids and help with "clean up" duties.

Sparky with "his goats"

Heidi assists at kidding

Meet the Bucks

HMK Farragut

The senior buck at High Meadows is HMK Farragut. Born and raised on our farm, Farragut is 100% New Zealand and carries a blend of the best Kiko genetics in the breed. Farragut weighed almost 10 pounds at birth and 50 pounds at 90 days. He will be two years old on the 27th of March. We had several nice kids out of Farragut last year and are expecting another good crop this spring. He passes on good growth rates and parasite resistance to his kids. He truly is "mountain hardy".



HMK Gideon


Not even a year old and HMK Gideon is showing lots of promise. We have turned him in with a few does and are eager to see his kids.Gideon weighed over 9 pounds at birth and 60 pounds at 90 days.

Ancient and Majestic

It is a real blessing to live and farm in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of East Tennessee. Our farm is on the end of Embreeville Mountain and looks across the Nolichucky River Valley to Cherokee and Buffalo Mountain. The Southern Appalachian Mountains are old and beautiful and offer wonderful places to hike, enjoy wildflowers, waterfalls and tremendous biodiversity.

Waiting



Wide Loads....Bridgette and Desiree



Dancer

There are several seasons on the farm and now is the "waiting" season. It has been almost five months since the bucks were put in with the does. Kidding should begin around March the 23rd. Does are getting very plump and spend a little more time resting. As the time gets closer I watch for other signs that kidding is near. Normally the does udder will "bag up" which means milk production is under way. I always try to guess which doe will kid first and am almost always fooled. It is a very exciting time on the farm as we anticipate the new arrivals. There is some anxiety about first time moms and young dogs who have not been through a kidding season. Flash lights  and weight scales all have new batteries...and so the waiting continues....

"Ladies-In-Waiting"

Guardian Dogs

The relationship between goats and guard dogs is very important on my farm because of the proximity of bears and a large coyote population. Loss to predators is a fact of life if you raise goats. The Anatolian Shepherd is an ancient breed from Turkey that has been guarding livestock for thousands of years. I also use Anatolian/Pyrenees cross dogs. The pups spend several months with young goats and begin to guard around a year of age. The ideal situation is to have a pup working with a seasoned guard to "learn the ropes". The  guarding instinct is very strong in some pups and not so much in others. I have raised three litters of pups and most of them are working now.

Freya and Heidi are our foundation Anatolians

"G" Girls

Most mornings begin with a walk to the back of the farm to the doeling lot. We have a naming system for our kids which uses a letter of the alphabet. Last spring was "G" year so all the kids we plan to register got a "G" name. The "G" girls have a lot of their own away from the buck as they are to young to breed. I fill their hay mangers, feed the guard dogs and fill the water pan. After a windy night like we had I will walk off the fence to check for downed trees or other damage.

"G" girls looking to see what I am bringing them. That is Godiva out front followed by Georgia, Gwyn, Greta, Garbo,Glenda, Gladys, Gazzelle,Gretchen,Grace,Gloria,Giselle, Ginger, Genevieve, and not in the picture, Gidget.

Welcome

Welcome to High Meadows Musings. I have been raising Kiko goats since 2002 on a small farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of East Tennessee. It has been quite an adventure and I have decided to share some thoughts on the joys and pains of being a goat farmer. I chose the Kiko breed because of their hardiness, parasite resistance, good feet and mothering abilities. The breed was developed in New Zealand and imported to the United States in the early '90s. They seem to have adapted well to the Southern Appalachians. The Cherokee National Forest is my neighbor on the back of my place and is home to all sorts of critters. Livestock dogs are a necessity and we have found the Anatolian Shepherds work quite well. We will be kidding the end of March and look forward to fields full of kids.