Relaxed Farming - our farm in your classroom

We are currently feeling cautiously optimistic that we may have several, if not all of our pygmy goat females in kid!! Three weeks ago today was the start of a 48-hour period when all SIX came into season - our billy goat Marmite was then a VERY happy bunny (or goat) as he got to mate with them all! At the time we were a little nervous that six in such a short space of time may have been a bit too much for him but... so far, none have 'returned' i.e. come back into season (so showing they are NOT pregnant).
We still have a few days to go however before we can start to feel more confident. Pygmies come into season every 18-21 days. Thyme came into season on 27th September which was exactly 21 days ago, Nutmeg and Sage on 28th and Parsley, Onion and Garlic on 29th. Parsley and co are therefore only on day 19 of the 18-21 day period so we should not be celebrating just yet!! In addition, not coming back into season does not mean they are definitely pregnant...
In the meantime, today was the day for a full clean - this happens every few weeks when the Equinola (chopped rape seed oil stalks) we use under the straw gets to the stage where it can no longer soak up any more of the goat wee. We remove the whole lot and replace with fresh Equinola and straw and whilst we do it, we banish the goats to the outside so they don't get in the way. Today it has NOT rained and so being outside was not a problem for them. We left the gate to the compost area open which was as good as saying 'go on in, why don't you' and Onion and Garlic (in the photo) delighted in munching on some of the wheat grass that has started to grow there. It seemed unfair to move them...
And in other news: we have found a billy goat for our dairy nannies, all very exciting - more on this tomorrow (hopefully!!)