Category: - Kalispell Kinders & More!

Crying for Cream

7/26/2018

Cream…..that thick, luscious stuff that makes all our dreams come true.

You know it: whipped cream, butter, sour cream, and ice cream. The yummy goodness you pock and prod the local supermarket picking out your favorites only to find its more expensive than last time or your favorite just isn’t on the shelves…..

Admittedly, we don’t like electronical things….you can tell by our lack of blogging this winter. Besides age and life in general….we just don’t really like computers... ....anything that requires electricity just isn’t our thing…..Yes, even our coffee pot is the old tried and true non-electric version, makes the best coffee ever!

So luckily we were able to find a Manual Cream Separator from the Ukraine. Lovely thing, but with a shortage of milk because of pregnant does……we really didn’t have enough to spare. Don’t get us wrong, Adal did ok milking through the winter….but not much was left for anything else beside oatmeal, some cheese, and for general drinking.

But FINALLY, most of the kids are weaned and we have so much milk!!!! BUT……here we go with the buts… ..the directions weren’t what we had hoped for……though in English, not exactly explanatory in nature. Parts? Yep, it told us the names of the parts…..but not necessarily how to clean, use, and enjoy the thing. We had used it once or twice last year, but hey that was last year!

We’ve been using it for a while now and OH MY! How wonderful it is to finally enjoy the toy. Does it entail a little work, yes to clean…..but it is still so very worth having. So let’s talk……………

I Want a Goat NOW!

7/25/2018

So, you want a goat…….that’s great. But don’t get excited just yet. Just because you want to buy a goat, doesn’t mean someone should sell you one even if they have one for sale. There's always more to this story........

New Organic Products!!!!

12/10/2016

OK!! We are really happy to post this SHORT post! Short? Yes, finally, a short post! Even we can do that from time to time....

Everyone who has goats need to supplement minerals for their overall health. Unlike others, we like to do things as organically, or natural, as we can. Thanks to Advanced Biological Concepts they are making it really EASY to do.

Check out our Helpful Links page!

Now let's talk about new products we are so VERY happy to use! All are from Advanced Biological Concepts.

Poop and the possibilities

11/29/2016

Many of you with goats should already guess where this is going………..pretty obvious. Let's be perfectly clear, we aren’t giving you medical advice, but we are going to talk about kids, kid goats that is, and kids with runny stools………so as long as you aren’t eating……..let’s talk……..

Everyone has had at least one kid with a loose stool……..panic and Facebook have been the option for many………. Don’t get me wrong, the first time for us, diarrhea had us running for the internet, the local chat group, anything as we searched and despaired over WORMS or WHAT???

We, however, take it mostly in stride now, and use it as an opportunity to practice what we preach. What do we preach? Keeping it simple, as natural as possible, and before you dose with chemicals? Find out what is going on. So let’s talk about some of our run in’s with the runs.

Drying time.....milk that is

9/21/2015

As many of you know, you can’t have milk without breeding your does. That is just the way things are….some of us are very lucky to have does that ‘milk through’, meaning they can milk over a long period of time without the need to rebreed them.

Our Zuri and Eysha were that way, both milking for almost two years before we chose to rebreed them. Our Davi is from those same lines, with a little Antares thrown in to increase milk production and improve the medial suspensory ligament.

Knowing that the milk bar needs to be replenished occasionally, we have our own methods of doing this that we would like to share.

Culling.......Can or Can't?

8/14/2015

OK, culling, it’s a topic many don’t want to talk about. Who can blame them, when you see those sweet littles being born the last thing you want to think about is culling them. We are probably going to offend some with our views, but as a breeder culling is the one MOST important decision we can make.

When you buy a registered goat, you don’t buy them to later cull them; you buy them with the hope of what you will get from your purchase. All those visions of the kids that will soon populate your farm, the milk and cheese you can make. Hey, who hasn’t wondered about making goat milk soap!

There are quite a few that also think about the meat aspect of their Kinders, understanding from the beginning that some will be meat goats. As many know, who have dreamed of their first Kinders, there can be quite an expense to getting your first herd or ‘starter kit’.

There is the actual cost of buying the goats, throw in the cost of importing them into your state (especially if you don’t have any in your state), finish that all off with whatever it costs you to actually get them home. Can some of us say ouch? But to most of us, actually having our Kinders is well worth the cost to get them. So having spent so much to get them and waiting ‘not’ so patiently for your first Kinder kids – the last thing you would think of is having to cull.

Honestly, for us it isn’t an easy decision to make, but it is an important one. Kinders are new to Montana. Yes, we’ve been here a while, actually for years, but the breed is still very new here. Boars and Kikos are all the rage here, so one of the worst things we could do as Kinder breeders is sell kids that will NOT help the Kinder breed become popular. There are also problems that can eventually happen because someone doesn’t cull an animal that they maybe should have.

Let’s talk about some problems that could happen, and honestly have happened because culls weren’t culled. We’ll also use our kid crop from this year to talk about culling and why some of us make that decision.

Measuring Milk vs. Grain……….

5/3/2015

Often we hear people talk about how much milk they get from their goats, while we hear others complain about how much they have to feed their milking does.

That is one of the reasons we got into Kinder goats, their ‘so called’ feed conversion rate ratio. What?

So what does all that mean anyways? We don’t know about you, but simple is better right? So, we thought we would share our personal views on our does and what we expect from our milk makers.

Davi's 2015 kids are here......

4/2/2015

Ah, Davi......no longer my baby girl

Well, Davi decided to wait until 30 minutes into her 150 day pregnancy. What a show! With Naavah, of course, loudly proclaiming another blessed event.

First came our smallest, at just 2 pounds, but a carbon copy of her mom was she. Sporting a white crown to show what a Queen she was!

Our next little arrival was also a carbon copy of Davi. Coming in at 4 pounds, she was all legs and love. Though being a twin to her sister is fun, she had to be just a little different. What girl doesn't want to be? Choosing for forgo her crown, made her no less regal than her smaller sibling.

Finally, as our excitement continued, with our yawns, came out our 4 pound handsome black buckling. Though his suit, suited us just fine, he chose to add a little splash to stand out!

Well done Davi, well done! Our little girl isn't a baby anymore!

2015 Kidding Begins!!!

3/15/2015

Naavah had twins!!!!

Thought we would finally get the ball rolling with our two newest additions!! Naavah proved again what a good mommy she is. First on the barn floor was a cute black buckling with brown socks. Stripes on his face and a white star on top completed this little fella. But little wasn't exactly right, coming in at 6 pounds already chattering like a BIG boy!

But Miss Naavah wasn't done just yet. Coming in at 5.5 pounds is an adorable little doeling. Not to be outdone by big brother, she also has a white star on top. But what is a girl without her jewerly? Stealing the show with waddles, this beautiful doeling has it all!

How can you NOT LOVE those cuties!!!!

Blessings
Nick & Brenda Lee

Small doesn't mean he's out.......

11/3/2014

OK, breeding time is here!! YEAH right? Match making is in full swing for many. But what happens when you have a buck that runs for the hills the minute he's presented with a horny doe? Let's just say an inexperienced buckling has a whole world of time to learn, even if your breeding program doesn't...

Planning is the first step in a successful breeding program. The second? Being able to change your plans!!!

Copyright © 2012-2019 Kalispell Kinders & More! by Brenda Lee, all rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976; no part may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a data base or retrieval system without prior written permission of the
copyright holder.

Montana Homestead Goats™ is trademarked by
Kalispell Kinders & More!

Kinder® is the registered trademark of the KGBA