A micro-dairy goat farm located in the beautiful upstate of South Carolina. French and American Alpines
Whole herd CAE negative. No history of CL.
Kids raised on Coccidia prevention. Mostly GMO Free. Striving for a 'Totally Natural' herd. Breeding for conformation, production and hardiness. We participate in American Dairy Goat Association's performance programs Linear Appraisal and the Dairy Herd Improvement Registry.
Operating as usual
Kids For Sale!
Inman, SC
$350
ADGA Registerable American Alpine dairy goat kids available. Nearly weaned. Excellent genetics to work with. Whole herd tested CAE negative. Sires and Dams on premises. Working herd with individuals producing 1-2 gallons per day at peak.
16 kids born in the past 4 days.
Total count so far:
18 live and thriving kids. (1 beautiful buckling born DOA this morning.)
12 doelings.
6 bucklings.
2 sets of triplets.
6 sets of buck/doe twins.
1 singleton doeling.
9 does have kidded. 2 more due any minute.
Pictures coming soonish.
Have had 3 does kid in the last 24 hours. Sara, Sandy, and CLAIR.
Sara gave us buck/doe twins.
Sandy gave us TRIPLET DOELINGS!
Clair gave us buck/doe twins.
I had hoped that Clair was pregnant. She is really good at hiding babies. She's a big girl with a nice long body and lots of room. I really wasn't sure if she was pregnant or just fat. But the last time she kidded was 2 years ago and it ended with her prolapsing her uterus. It took her 2 weeks to really come into milk, but when she did, she ended up milking for 2 years straight. We tried to breed her last year, but she wouldn't settle and we figured that she had scar tissue in her uterus from the prolapse that prevented eggs from implanting. She had a very easy kidding and produced an 8lb doeling and a 6.5lb buckling.
3 days old and doing well. ❤
First babies of the season. Triplets from Josie by Mojo. 2 thriving doelings and a healthy little buckling.
Located in Inman, SC
For a limited time, price remains at $350.
Still have four beautiful doelings available. These girls are ADGA registerable American Alpines. They all come from hard-working, productive dams who milk, on average, at least a gallon a day. They have been maintained on a coccidia prevention protocol and have been started on a weekly natural (garlic ginger paste) deworming schedule. Hooves maintained. Disbudded. Tattoo'd. Herd tested CAE negative. Three will be weaned on 6/6 (15+ weeks old) One still has 3 more weeks on the bottle. These girls are well put together and have lots of potential to be strong partners on your farmstead. Raised with love.
CAE results are in. All clean!
I have bragged on Sandy a few times for her excellent production. She's a phenomenal doe.
But Doughnut ain't no slouch. From much humbler beginnings, Doughnut holds her own. Today she yielded 13 pounds. Over a gallon and a half. She's a good, strong doe and such an asset here. She can be a cantankerous witch, but I loves her rotten self. Deep down, she's a doll. I have a doeling from her available for sale. :)
And Josie is quite a good doe in her own rite. Today she yielded 11 pounds. Nearly a gallon and a half. Easy keeper. Beautiful. Sweet. I love my Josie girl. All of her kids are sold this year, but she deserves a brag nonetheless.
Located in Inman, SC.
Prices starting at $350
ADGA registerable American Alpine doelings available for sale. Much loved bottle babies. Very tame and friendly. Raised on coccidia prevention protocol for strong, healthy kids. Whole herd CAE negative. Strong working lines. Excellent, productive genetics. Great potential for show or homestead.
Please message me for more details about their pedigrees or for any additional information.
It kills me when people balk at a fair, reasonable price for a registered, well-bred, healthy, well-mannered, productive dairy goat.
If you sell a gallon a day milker for $600 and the going rate for milk is $15 a gallon, in one month she will have produced $450 worth of milk. She will pay for herself in 40 days.
Even if she only milks half a gallon per day, she pays for herself in 3 months.
Ah, but food and upkeep are not figured in...
Let's take it a step further.
1 bag of grain should last for 25 days at 2 pounds per day. We buy expensive grain, so... $50 for 50 days of grain.
I conservatively estimate that 1 bale of alfalfa would last a week for 1 doe. Figuring a high cost of $20 per bale comes to $80 per month... so $160 for 2 months.
So... that's an $810 investment, still paid for itself in 54 days... less than 2 months...
Now figure the productive life of a goat is 10-12 years... numerous kids produced... thousands of dollars in milk and milk by-products. $600 is a very fair and reasonable price for such a valuable asset on a farm.
Let's talk about Alpines!
Alpine dairy goats are not your average goat. They are intelligent, hard working, beautiful goats with a reputation for being a bit on the sassy side.
They tend to be a medium to large sized breed with mature does that range from 160-200 pounds and mature bucks ranging from 200-300 pounds. It can take 4 years or more for a goat to reach its potential at full maturity.
Alpines are true working goats with not only the capacity to produce high yields on a daily basis, but also the endurance to maintain an extended lactation.
According to ADGA records, the All Time Breed Leader milked 6990lbs over 305 days in 2015. The highest recorded yield in 2017 was 5650 pounds. The average weight of a new car in 2017 was 3221 pounds. But as amazing as those figures are, those are superlative does under intense management. I would venture a guess that the average Alpine probably yields 2000 pounds a year under optimal management.
My best producer is a 6 year old who gives 2 gallons a day at her peak and maintains 1.5 to 1 gallon for the majority of her lactation. My best first fresheners average about a gallon a day for a good portion of their lactation. My least productive doe gives about 3/4 of a gallon at her peak and levels off to about a half gallon per day. This is plenty of milk for a small family's daily consumption with plenty left over for making cheese, confections and soap!
One of the great advantages of the Alpine breed is that they are capable of maintaining an extended lactation for much longer than the traditional 305 day lactation. I have read an account of a pair of maiden does who have maintained a lactation of 8+ years. Personally, I have a doe who maintained a 2 year lactation and I had one heck of a time drying her off.
There are a few awesome benefits to keeping a doe in milk. One being that you can have milk year round. Another being that you are not obligated to freshen your doe every year. Pregnancy is tough and kidding can be dangerous. Every time a doe kids, she is at great risk.
Another wonderful thing about Alpines, and Swiss breed goats in general, is that they are seasonal breeders, typically coming into heat in late summer/early fall and cycling every 21 days until around January. This is great for a couple of reasons.
The short window is easier on the bucks who become very hormonal and tend to forget to eat and expend a lot of energy fighting each other and running the fence trying to impress the ladies. Not to mention the smell that comes with rut is short lived for the Swiss breeds.
Kidding season tends to be contained in a short window, ideally taking place in the colder months of February and March which diminishes the incidence of parasites which rob the kids of growth.
Alpines have a notorious reputation for being a bit on the bossy side. In a mixed herd, Alpines tend to rise to the top in regards to dominance. In my experience, the temperament is highly individual. Our herd queen, Doughnut, is bossy, for sure. Almost comically so. But she's not mean. She also does not care for visitors, viewing them as unwelcome intruders. She is protective of her herd and I do not fault her terribly for this.
Once I had a triumvirate of queens who were all very different. Doughnut would bow to Sandy, while Sandy bowed to Annie, and Annie would bow to Doughnut. It was beautifully complex and fascinating.
I have does who are exceptionally friendly and outgoing as well as does who are sweet and shy. I have a doe who is a bit of a clown and troublemaker and a doe who is stoic and unflappable. They are individuals.
I love and appreciate the great intelligence of this breed. They can certainly be a challenge at times, but they keep things interesting. They usually learn their names within a week, and the same holds true for changes in their routines for their whole life. After about a week on the stanchion, first fresheners stand like statues for milking. There is no hesitation for 2nd, 3rd, 4th fresheners to get back on the stand and go to work after kidding. And despite their intelligence, very seldom do I have a goat challenge our fencing. For the most part, my beautiful herd is well-behaved and manageable.
Speaking of beautiful, have you seen the amazing color patterns that Alpines come in? Several variations of chamoisee, sundgau, cou blanc, cou clair, cou noir along with belted, pied, broken... the combinations are endless which allow for a colorful herd of goats that are each beautiful and unique. Kidding season is always like Christmas because you never know for sure what exactly you will get.
So, you see, Alpines are amazing and fun. They are definitely not your average goat, and as such, not everyone's cup of tea. But they are a true asset and incredible partners for any working farm or homestead.
Do you think an Alpine would be a good fit for you? I have a handful of bottlefed doelings who will be ready to go to their new farm very soon. I also have a couple of mature does, both dry and in milk, who will be available. Also a wether with some packing experience is ready for a life of adventure! Contact me! Let's talk about Alpines!
!!!NSFW!!! -=GRAPHIC=-
Camille is making her entrance into the world.
Looks like Paloma will be next to kid. Pushing has commenced.
Maybe Fatima, too.
Here we go again. SARA is pushing. Babies soon.
MEDICINAL HERBS FOR RABBITS
Wild rabbits not only eat a healthy diet of fresh grass, but they also have access to a wide variety of wild plants which they can eat to balance out their diet and keep themselves healthy. When we…
Nice, 8lb, 2-tone chamoisee doeling from Tenga. She's really striking.
Here comes a baby!
Hedy is quietly labouring. Should have another kid fairly soon. She hasn't reached hard labour quite yet. Has been positioning baby for a couple of hours now.
Sandy is starting to push! Should have babies very soon.
Crash
Catdaddy
Two of our does kindled in the past 24 hours. Mel the Red gave us 4 kits, Godiva gave us 6 kits. So tiny and warm. Little velvety soft bodies.
Alice
Paloma
Beautiful Fatima.
Bahni
Hedy Louise
Tildie Jane
Tenga
Eclair
Sandy
My beautiful Sara.
Inman, SC
29349
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