Helmstead Miniature Goats

Bucks

Does

Kidding Schedule

Kids

It was very difficult to decide which doe kid from this litter to retain!  Aside from a slight variation in their shades of red-gold, they were identical. 

Goldie has been an easy addition to the herd.  She gets along with everyone and is amiable to us as long as we're not trying to DO anything with her.  Leashes, hoof trimmers, clippers...these are clearly goat murder weapons and should be avoided at all costs!  Goldie reminds me a lot of an Arabian horse in that she is very reactive and full of self preservation but is also very sweet and gentle.

Goldie, as a yearling, is quite a bit more "dairy" than her dam.  She has finer bone and holds less condition which seems to be true to the daughters and sons of her sire so far as we have seen.  This is not a "bad" thing at all, it is just a little different than we are used to!  She is very proportionate, standing on good feet and legs with adequate width.  We love her boxy pelvis which she carries very level and her nice, long neck.  Her features are fine and feminine.

Goldie freshened for the first time with absolutely no assistance and in between checks out in the pasture (sneaky!).  Within an hour of her last check, she had both kids nearly totally dry and nursing.  THIS is something I try to breed for - easy kiddings!  Her udder is SOCKED ON.  I don't think you can get an udder any higher in the rear.  She shows an appropriate 1/3 from the side.  At the time of publishing, I'm milking her twice a day while she's feeding one of her kids.  Her teats leave some room for improvement - her sire does seem to hurt teat size, which is making her less of a pleasure to hand milk.  Her texture, however, is pliable and the udder is sublime.

Goldie's Kidding History

Date

Does/Bucks

Sire

Names

Photos