~ Faithful Acres Farm ~

Cowkid and Melani

Well Cowkid had triplets, but we lost two to floppy kid syndrome, the doeling and her dam are at Toni's being cared for and are doing well. Melani had twin bucklings lastnight at about 5pm and all are doing well.

Blessings
Linda of Faithful Acres Farm

Posted on Friday, February 29, 2008 at 12:55 PM

Well we lost a doe also , floppy kid syndrome we think.

I would ask for prayers for FA Little Cherub and her dam Cowkid, both are not well, suffering as we believe Cowkid has a calcium deficency and from what we have read that leads to what Vets are diagnosing as Ketosis but that is a side effect of the lack of calcium. Both are weak and Toni has them both at her place and is caring for them as with the new baby I just cannot devote as much time to their care as she is able to do. Prayers for their recovery and healing are needed.
This all so troubles my heart. As I now wonder if this is what took Graces life last year also.

Pray for Melani , as she is due to kid March 5th and is pretty big, pray she kids well and is healthy and the kids are healthy.

Blessings
Linda

Posted on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at 11:56 PM

Triplets again !!!! but we lost the little buck as his dam laid on him.

Cowkid finally had her kids yesterday at 2 pm. She had triplets..... Once again Toni was here to help us.
Thanks Toni for saving Cowkids life and the life of her kids. She had a buck who was on the large size and was
stuck. Thank the Lord Toni got him freed up and out. The first doe was mixed up too and her legs were not to the front and so again Toni had to reach in and straighten out the kids and pull her out too. The last doe came out on her own Thank the Lord. As Toni said while doing this, what is this, no one sent directions to the party !!! I have two sweet does out there
one is white with black and a small amount of brown on her and a brown kid with a white heart on her shoulders.
We lost the buckling today as Cowkid accidently laid on him and my son Wes 18 found him out there not breathing but it was too late to do anything for him. We are thankful for the doelings as we needed more this year. I will try to post pictures of all the kids here Lordwilling in the very near future.

Blessings
Linda

Posted on Monday, February 25, 2008 at 9:28 PM

Buff Chickens / Goats

Well after giving Maryanne the 4 red hens and rooster, I am still getting 3 eggs right now a day, so I guess this is good. I still have hens out there that are this years hens hatched, so all may not be laying as of yet. Nice thing is I have thier mammas out there as well to lay for me this year, they were last years hens hatched out. Its sorta nice to have all Buffs.
I can see all those little Buff chickies pecking arround this year with their mammas and learning to scratch and peck and then , more hens to lay more eggs for me right... I will keep a replacement rooster too perhaps come fall and butcher the rest. I am so looking forward to seeing those chicks though...

Well my does are not kidding as of yet. Magnolia has a nice udder , already bigger then when she had Daniel in July but she is still hanging in there. Cowkid has lost her ligaments, has a smaller udder but is still hanging arround too.
So here we all three are waiting ....Ladies in waiting.

Blessings from our Farm
Linda

Posted on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 at 7:14 PM

Debbie Osborne's Animal Worming Recipe by Debbie Pearl 2003

Debbie Osbornes Herbal Wormer

While looking for a good wormer for my goats I happened upon this recipe to use. I try to look for natural ways to treat my animals. So while browsing The Bulk Herb Store I found this.

www.bulkherbstore.com

Ingredients

1 cup dry Mustard seed - powder
2 cups Thyme leaf - cut
2 cups Wormwood herb - cut*
1 cup Black Walnut hull - powder*
2 cups Sage leaf - chopped
1 cup Garlic - minced*
2 cups Rosemary leaf - chopped
1/2 cup Cloves - chopped
1 cup Psyllium seed - powder
2 cups Diatomaceous Earth (D.E.)*

She says, “As a rule of thumb, I use 1 cup of the powdered herbs to 2 cups of the cut herbs, except for the cloves and the D.E.” The most crucial ingredients in the recipe are marked by an asterisk (*).

Directions

Sprinkle the mixture on their feed in the morning and evening for 7 days straight. A mature goat gets about 1 tablespoon in the morning and evening. A mature pony gets about 1/4 cup in the morning and evening. A mature horse gets about 3/4 cup in the morning and evening. Use slightly smaller amounts for offspring.

This recipe can be used with other animals. Just use your judgment on adjusting the amounts of the daily dosages according to the animal's body weight.

Posted on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 6:22 PM

My girls are laying now and my does are due to kid Dec/Jan.

I guess the hens were just slightly to young to be laying and a few were in molt.
We are now getting 1 to 2 eggs daily and it is getting colder and we are getting snow
now. Nights are in the 20's and days are in the 40's if were lucky.

Cowkid is due to kid December 5th and she is so happy we found a new supplier of hay
here near us. Magnolia is due in January 2008 and so we are keeping an eye on them
as their times approach. I have two other does born this year that will be kidding for me
next year. Melani and Angelina are my two does born this year. Melani was brought in
from WI from Green Gables Farm and Angelina was born here on our farm this year.
Melani will be kidding from a breeding with Lucien also from Green Gables Farm and
Angelina will be kidding from a breeding with our newest buck born here Faithful Acres Daniel.
I am anticipating that our 2nd gen kids born here this year will be nice looking and equal to that
of our 5th gen kids born here this year and next.

Mark thinks that I should exhibit them at the state fair, but untill I have enough kids to sell as well as
keep breeding here, I don't think that would be a good thing. He seems to think I should have a waiting list
of folks ready to buy up my kids here. Only thing is that supply doesnt meet demand as of yet and I know that once folks see the little mini nubians and love them that I will have more then enough demand and not enough kids to sell.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day...

Blessings
Linda of Faithful Acres Farm
Red Creek, NY

Posted on Thursday, November 22, 2007 at 8:42 PM

My Does seem to come into heat, but yet are still pregnant and due Dec/Jan

Has anyone heard of false heats during pregnancy in Goat Does ? Well I am starting to wonder if this is the case
as Magnolia and CowKid both are still looking pregnant. Yet they both seemed to come into a heat during regular
fall breeding season. Its not the first time some of our does seemed to come into heat, even allowed the bucks to breed them and yet were still pregnant with kids. Just wondering if anyone else with goats has noticed this. Now we raise Mini Nubians ( Nubians x Nigeriens ) so they are known to come into heat year round ( poly estrus ) spelling might be off there but that is what they call it when goats come into heat year round I guess. Anyways, since the breed is made up of both these two breeds they tend to come into heat at other times and not just Sept - January. For us this is a good thing as I can get more breedings per year from my does and can choose the times of the year that I want kids born on our farm.
I can also stagger breedings so that we have milk year round if that is what I desire. Most standard dairy goats come into heat during the standard set breeding season. Well I am glad that my does are still exspecting. Just wondered about thoughts others had on this.

Blessings
Linda
Faithful Acres Farm
Red Creek, NY

Posted on Saturday, October 20, 2007 at 7:23 PM

Faithful Acres Grace : 2002 - 2007

Well this is not the next post I had in mind.... Grace is gone to goaty heaven , if there is such a place.
I left to pick up things from my parents and she was fine, but I came home when my son called me
to tell me that he went out to feed and found Grace had died. She was indeed dead, had no signs of having gone into labor or any distress at all. Her eyes were open, relaxed, no signs of being in any pain at all. So I lost Grace
and 3 to 5 kids in just a few hours time. My anticipation, turned to tears and mourning. She was a Mini Nubian
doeling born on our farm in 2002 that summer and I will miss her greatly. She had horns but yet I could trust her with
my 4 and 5 year old girls , she loved attention and was just sweet to have arround. This was sad for me as I have no other goats from that same line to use here now. I have 5 does still and 3 bucks. I am not sure if Joyful Spirit is even bred, we have bred her 3 times and no kids at all. She was checked by my friend Toni today and she said she felt nothing inside her or moving... sorta a bummer as well as Having a goat that won't breed and give you kids leaves you without milk or kids to sell for hay and feed. If she doesn't kid she will be going to a new pet only home to live. I am grieving the Loss of Grace and I guess also Spirit if she never kids for us.

Linda
Faithful Acres Farm
Red Creek , NY

Posted on Tuesday, October 2, 2007 at 9:47 PM

Anticipation !!!!

Have you ever longed for the time you can open your birthday presents or " christmas presents". We don't do christmas and I have not had that in my life since 11 years old, but sure remember what it was like...

Well that is what it is like waiting for Grace to kid !!! She is so huge and I can hear her over the monitor as she is uncomfortable laying down and I cannot say I blame her own bit. She is bagged up and her udder is just waiting for those kids to nurse from her.

You know for me working on the breed of Mini Nu bians for my 5th year, it is so awesome getting new colors and working up in generations to get to meet the set standard for the breed. I just can't wait till I get to see the new kids and what colors they are, if their ears will be pendulous and their noses roman.

Since Grace was born on our farm 5 years ago and left to live in OK for several years and came back to once again be a breeder here last fall, it s truely sweet to get to have her kid again here for us and see what the Lord has in store for our goats and us. I spent alot of time out there with her today, talking to her. My 14 year old son , just says here she goes talking to the goats again. Mark told him its like Dr DoLittle and we all sorta chuckle.

Do any of you have goats or other animals you breed that when they are due you feel the same way ?

I would love to hear about your exsperiences.

Blessings

Linda

Posted on Sunday, September 30, 2007 at 9:31 PM

My Ladies in waiting

What a day !!!! Its not here and my ladies are out there so uncomfortable and soon due to kid. Grace is due Friday and she is huge, carrying I think 3 or more kids within her. Joyful Spirit is not as big but she is having sympathy for Grace, both are out there groaning at times as they lay down to rest. I cannot wait to see the blessings they will be having and I am praying for doelings to raise up from them. I can surely relate with them as I am not huge yet at 5 months along but being older my body is getting use to carrying a child within me after 4 years of miscarrying babies and now being pregnant with Daniel Josiah. He is an active little one at 5 months moving arround several times a day and at night he moves but being the tummy sleeper I am I cannot get comfortable as my belly increases in size.
Sometimes it is hard still to believe that we are pregnant and that we are having a boy. Its so odd at times as my youngest son is 14 already, but surely a blessing indeed.

My Hens are laying about 4 to 6 eggs daily still and we have started allowing them to free range during the day
so that they forage for their own meals and at night they all head in to the coop to roost. I so enjoy watching them
in the yard looking for food and only thing is they have started to come onto the back porch and are stealing our cats food... Not sure Jerimiah is happy about this, but he is sorta out numbered, I guess it is time for a back door on that porch, it is more of a store wood there porch, not a sit on porch as it is small.

I hope everyone is feeling blessed today...

The Lord is Faithful...
Love in Him
Linda

Posted on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 at 5:29 PM

Our Breeder Buck...or is it a contractor buck !!!!

Yesterday we did some fencing work here and while Mark was in the Pen, Francis decided to be curious...lol
Everytime Mark bent over he would come sniffing Marks hair and Mark would shoo him away... mind ya it is at
the start of breeding season here. He has a doe in with him also...
Well First he stole Mark's pencil from behind his ear...Did I tell ya he is a talented buck.
Then he tried to steal every piece of wood Mark was putting on the fence...Mark wasn't impressed.
I tried to entertain him so Mark could fix the fence, but that didn't work either. He finally went over
and grabbed Mark's hammer from his bucket !!! and slobbered all over it....lol
I guess he just wanted to help!!! or maybe he just wanted to learn about tools and what Mark
was doing in there... He sure could care less about Magnolia yesterday....

Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 at 10:19 AM

Faithful Acres Angelina is here !!!!!

Born this morning at 1AM was our first 4th gen mini nubian doeling " Angelina" , She is a sweet doeling, she is light copper colored with tan colored stipes down her nose and a tan stripe down her back, she has lightly frosted ears and a small white spot on her head. She has nice pendulous ears and is just lovely. She loves her Mamma Penny and is doing well.
(Pictures to come)

Blessings
Linda

Posted on Monday, June 4, 2007 at 9:46 PM

in Goats in my Barn - 4 Comments - Link

Goats in my Barn

We are awaiting kidding to start this week. Faithful Acres Grace is due to kid tomorrow April 5th.
She will be kidding with 3rd gen mini nubian kids. Her photo can be seen in the section on here called
"Goats in my Barn" . There also is a picture of my buck at 4 months Mini Blessings Francis who Grace is bred
to, he is a 4th gen mini nubian buck. Also posted there is another doe we own and is now bred Mini Blessings
Magnolia, she is also bred to Francis for 5th gen kids this summer. We have another doe, Tiny Blessings Lucky Penny and she is also bred to Francis this year. We will be getting a new buck in the next few weeks.

We register all our mini nubians with MDGA, Miniature Dairy Goat Association. We also belong to and support
the NMBC, National Mini Nubian Breeders Club and I am currently running for president of that club. My hopes are to win and improve what is being done and get more folks interested in Mini Nubians as Little First Class Milkers and
Family Farm Goaties. With MDGA, there are many mini nubians on milk test and being shown. If you love nubians, but like smaller goats, well Mini Nubians may just be what your looking for.

Feel free to email me if you have questions.

Blessings
Linda Finn
Faithful Acres Farm
Red Creek, New York
www.faithfulacres.com/wordpress
www.homesteadblogger.com/TheCountryHomemaker

Posted on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 at 6:50 PM

Mini Nubians : National Mini Nubian Breeders Club

Are you interested in Mini Nubians ? Have a smaller acerage or just love nubians and want smaller goats ? Well check out the listing of breeders currently on NMBC and see if someone who breeds is near you.... If you do not see a breeder near you , please email me and I will see
if there is one that might not be listed on the club listing yet.
http://www.mininubians.com
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to send them to me...
Linda Finn
Faithful Acres Mini Nubian Dairy Goats

Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 11:13 PM

www.faithfulacres.com/wordpress

As Kidding Time Draws nearer...

This weekend Mark and I were busy doing alot of thinking and figuring....

We made a trip to Lowes to price wood for our new buck shed and while there

we picked up some bricks for the front stairs as the mud out there was getting a

bit too slippery for my liking....Falling down again would not be my favorite thing

as I am healing up from the last fall that damaged my right leg. I can finally walk

arround a bit , so I would like to keep doing so and be able to head for the Goats

should I hear someone in labor. We installed the intercom system today so we can

hear the does and know when it is time to head on out there and help out if needed.

We love being present for our kiddings, it is so nice to see new life come into this world

it gives one so much hope and joy...smile

As soon as all this snow is gone we will set to building a buck shed just behind the garage

so that Francis and any other bucks we raise up or use as breeders have their own space

away from the does. They will also have their own pasture area to go out into then the does use. No Breedings done here that are not planned. I can hardly wait till kidding time is here.

This year we will be building a new milking stand... I can hardly wait to be out there milking and leaning my head on a warm flank, while I hear the sound of fresh warm milk spraying into the stainless steel milking pail. I tend to do alot of thinking and praying while milking , I find it a relaxing place to be and the Lord knows my heart on this and many other things. Prayer is a

great thing and I tend to do alot while the does are kidding and while milking.

I have also readied the towels for cleaning off the kids as they are born, it is still sorta cold here. Today it is like 18 and tonight it will be 4 degrees. It is on and off whiteout conditions today...they say it is due to an artic front coming out of canada today... So NY just below Lake Ontario and East of the Lake are getting some very wintery weather today.

I love winter but the very cold weather isn't my favorite thing these last few years.

I hope you all are warm and well...

Blessings

Linda

Faithful Acres Farm

Home of our Mini Nubian Dairy Goats

Registered with MDGA

Posted on Monday, March 5, 2007 at 9:58 AM

Horns on Goats IMHO

Well as you can see Faithful Acres Grace has horns for sure, but she is very much the one who tries to be dominant in our herd and she is not careful with them toward my other goats. I will be saving her daughters to use as breeders and we will disbud them. I can tell you that 2 years ago we had a 4th gen mini nubian buck Faithful Acres Joshua , he was very much domicile but one day thought to play with me when all I wanted to do was get him fed and hay'd. He horned me on the inside of my right leg and left one nasty bruise from my knee and up. To be safe with anyone I would say disbud them. There is still a very natural, leave them the way God made them part of me. Grace was one of the first kids born on Faithful Acres Farm and thus I was unlearned on horns. She doesnt use them on me. I can say that with a stubborn doe, they come in handy to control them and get them on the milking stand.
All kids at Faithful Acres Farm will be disbudded for the safety of those buying goats from us.
We use a Rhinehart X50 to disbud the goats, it is quick and I cannot say that we have had any goat suffer from being disbudded, all kids go right to nursing or the bottle or the grain soon after.

Blessings
Linda

Posted on Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 7:04 PM

Two down One to go

Well I believe I finally may have two of my does bred. Faithful Acres Grace and Mini Blessings Magnolia. Now to get Tiny Blessings Lucky Penny Bred. She is in with the buck as I write and has been since in later afternoon today. I am praying this brings on a heat and she gets bred for June kids. Grace is due in April and Magnolia will be due in early June as well.

I spent my afternoon helping DH Mark clean stalls and I trimmed all four goats hooves today.
That is 16 hooves for anyone who is a math buff !!! I left Lucky Penny in with Francis and we left his stall smelling of " Bucky Cologne" until she gets a good heat and is bred.

It is so warm here in Upstate NY that you would think it is kidding time already.
Todays high was 60, that is way above normal for here in the northeast...
It is raining now, but I will not argue with no snow for the time being. I do love the snow though as it is a reminder of our sins being washed white as snow...

Blessings
Linda

Posted on Friday, January 5, 2007 at 8:57 PM

Milking Mini Nubians

In some the teats can be the size of Nigeriens. In some the teats are more like Nubian Teats. So they vary in size depending on the liniage. I have found that with most of my does in the past that the teats require the use of maybe Thumb and first three fingers to milk them. All the standard Dairy goat breeds are now being worked on in mini size and are so sweet in tempermant and the size is not quite as small as you think. Most of my own does range from 24 to 28 inches at the wethers(shoulders) and with a mere lowering of the keyhole in most milk stands they can be used for mini's as well as the standard size dairy goats. Same with your buckets for milking into. If you use a milking machine you can get the fittings for Nigeriens if you have goats with smaller teats.

Anyone interested in learning more can also join the yahoo groups :

MiniNubians
MiniNubians_Sales
MiniatureDairyGoatAssociationTalk
MiniBreed_GoatTalk

Posted on Sunday, December 3, 2006 at 11:48 PM

~ Faithful Acres Mini Nubians ~

Well, I wanted to come and share with you all what a blessing it is to be in the country again and what a true joy it is to have goats again. From 2002 to 2005 we bred and raised Mini Nubians.
Mini Nubians are a cross made with Nigerien Dwarf Dairy Goats to Nubian Dairy Goats. The goal a smaller sized goat that will give a good supply of milk at less cost. We have had Mini 's that gave us over a gallon a day. As of yesterday I actually have 4 goats, 3 breeding does and 1 buck. Capridot's Penny came to live with us as a gift from a friend here near us , who knew that I wanted another doe to breed. Thanks Toni ! Currently we have three stalls built in our garage and it takes up nearing half the space in there. (2 car garage) and another 1/4 of the garage is storing hay ( the other 1/4 is Mark's workshop) All this till we can get a addition put on the back to house the goats. So more about the goats... If one was to breed the following way this is what you would get :
Nigerien Dwarf Buck x Nubian Doe- 50/50% 1st gen Mini Nubian
1st gen MN x 1st gen MN= 2nd gen 50/50% Mini Nubian

Now I diverged from continuing to bred 50/50 % in 2004 and
bred a 4th gen 50/50% buck to a Purebred Nubian Doe, giving me a 1st gen 75/25%
and in so doing ended up with better breed character by far then I was getting before. See the picture at the following link for Faithful Acres Jacob 1st gen 75/25% Mini Nubian Buck.

Click here.
Although I am happy that Tina and Steve Weeks kept breeding so that the cross was as close to 50/50% as one can come and ended up with Francis and Magnolia who are excellent examples of what a Mini Nubian should look like and the breed Character they should possess. All Mini Nubians can be registered with MDGA, The Miniature Dairy Goat Association , they are shown more so on the west coast but as the breed increases and the demand also increases there will be shows all over the US. http://www.miniaturedairygoats.com/ Is the website where you can go to learn more on Mini Nubians and other Mini Breeds of Dairy Goats.
The next 3 posts are of my Mini Nubians that are here that we are breeding with at Faithful Acres .

Blessings and Enjoy
Linda

Posted on Sunday, December 3, 2006 at 9:11 PM

~ Faithful Acres Grace ~ Queen Breeding Doe here...

Faithful Acres Grace is a 2nd gen. Mini Nubian Doe of 50/50% She is faithful in giving
4 to 5 kids per kidding and she is an excellent Milker and Mamma to her kids.

Posted on Sunday, December 3, 2006 at 9:06 PM

~ MIni Blessings Magnolia ~ One of my Breeding does

Magnolia is a 4th gen Mini Nubian doe. This picture is of her at 4 months old, she
is now 7 months old and will be bred in a couple months for kidding next summer.

Posted on Sunday, December 3, 2006 at 9:02 PM

~Mini Blessings Francis~ Herd Buck at Faithful Acres

Francis is a Mini Nubian Buck of 5th gen. This is him at 4 months old, he is now
7 months and is doing a fine job at being our breeder buck. Lordwilling we will have
many fine mini nubians this year born from Francis bred to our does.

Posted on Sunday, December 3, 2006 at 8:50 PM