i just purchased 5 goats today. it might not have been the best judgment but the price was right ($250 for 5 grade goats: 2 alpine, 3 nubian). all are does. 3 are babies, 2 of the babies are about 1 week old and the alpine is 6 months old. mama alpine is due in june.
mama nubian is the one purchase i'm not sure about. her hooves are horrendous. they were curling in the back and it is affecting her walk. i started trimming them as soon as i got her home. it will be a long journey back to normalcy if it can be obtained.
also, her udder looks like a train wreck which may be passed on to her twin doelings. one teat has 2 openings. the other side of the udder is smaller. milk flowed freely from both teats so that may not be an issue. she has a lump under her right ear which could or could not be something to worry about. worst case scenario, she dies on us or we take her to the sale barn and re-coup our $50 for her. i could probably sell the two alpines for $250 regardless.
now for the fun part: naming them. here at our herb farm, all goats get an herbal name. so far, we've got: ginger, cinnamon, lavender and rue (buckling).
so far, i'm leaning towards these names:
alpine mama: thistle
alpine baby: sassafras or dandelion
nubian mama: yarrow or clover
nubian red doeling: poppy or calendula
nubian black/white doeling: elderberry
would get rid of mama FAST - as im, the second the kids are weaned, or earlier if you have the time to bottle feed them... 'bumps" can be CL - a horrendous icky disease, and so hard to get rid of. We culled three does before we finally got rid of it here. Take into account the weird stuff going on with her udder... I'd sell her ASAP.
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