Dear Diary – February to April
Valentine’s Day & Day 1 in the Magnifique Mohair diary.
Finished hand sorting the remaining fleeces from the August 2022 shearing of the ‘Tinies’ (this is our name for the babies born in 2022 whose names all start with T. Not sure what we’re going to call this year’s babies, maybe Ultra Tinies?!)
Each fleece needs to be cleaned by hand to remove as much debris as possible before they go to be spun. Some goats are really messy (thanks for finding so many sticks and leaves Okapi) and can take hours to clean, others are done in less than an hour.
17th February 2023
Shearing Day! Our shearer, Francis, arrived at 8:30am, as did our wonderful friends who volunteered to help us (I find that offering wine works miracles when it comes to people’s willingness to assist. I have had to restrict the wine distribution until after shearing, otherwise it seems things aren’t so efficient). Kirstie and Russell, Tom and Linda, and Marja came ready to get stuck in.
Francis doesn’t always have time to shear our whole herd of 49, so we like him to start with the babies as well as the pregnant females. Then we take out one goat at a time and brush, brush, brush before shearing. It’s amazing how much vegetation they carry around in their coats and the cleaner they are going into the shearing, the less time someone (i.e. me, Rose), has to spend pulling out the brambles, sticks and leaves afterwards.
Goat shearing is quite an art. Sheep are much easier and Francis’ record for shearing sheep is 400 in one day versus 70 goats in a day, but he’s not keen to repeat either of those records. Francis spent ten years shearing sheep before moving to goats. He is used by many Angora owners, not just in the South West, but in other parts of France too.
Over the past two years Mario has been learning to shear; as our herd grows, Francis doesn’t have the time to do all of them. Therefore, after Shearing Day, we set aside a few mornings to shear the remaining goats.
27th February 2023
Today we had the delightful task of collecting samples of goat poo to send to a laboratory where they are analysed for parasites.
Some farmers, especially those whose animals are kept inside all year or who don’t rotate the animals’ grazing lands, routinely worm their herds. However, we are an organic farm and we do rotate the pastures, leaving three months before reintroducing the goats onto a parcel of land. We only worm if the parasite loads are above a certain level.
So, off we went with our numbered bags and a rubber glove, to pick up poo from each stable that the goats use at night. One bag for the adult girls, one for the Tiny girls, one for the adult boys, one for the Tiny boys, and one for the six rescued goats. The results will be back in a few days.
1st March 2023
Today we had our first unannounced visit from Ecocert (the company that audits us annually to ensure that we qualify as an organic farm). Prior to today they have all been scheduled visits. However, we learned that it’s something Ecocert does on a random basis, as part of their certification and ongoing audit process. Everything went well and the lady loved the goats, who all came over to say Hello and nibble her clothes.
4th & 5th March 2023
Although I clean all the stables every day to remove poo, damp straw, etc., (and top up the bedding so that there’s always a thick, dry layer), twice a year we remove everything. Then we scrub the stable floors before putting down clean, fresh straw.
We did all this by hand one time and it was horrendous; it took hundreds of wheelbarrow loads to empty each stable. After that, I nearly lost the will to live and we swore we’d never do it again. So now our lovely neighbour (to whom we both owe a kidney in case of need) lends us his mini-digger. Because the mini-digger is from the brand Mustang, a US company, we’ve named him Hank. Guess who gets to drive Hank and who gets to shovel the stuff that Hank can’t reach… so it’s still a tiring job, for me!
We always advise our friends and neighbours when we’ll be clearing out because, while we have Hank, it’s easy to load their trailers with the lovely stuff that’s been decomposing on our sh*t pile since the last clear out.
I wish I’d taken a picture of the cars and trailers – our lovely friends, Tom and Linda, from Jardin les Gonies took eight trailer loads.
Spring cleaning
It takes a full day to clean each of the two big barns where the Angoras sleep at night. So we have to plan for two dry days as obviously the goats need to be outside in the pastures. We also try to time the spring cleaning for a week or so before the babies are due to be born. Last year when we put the goats out on cleaning-out day, Ms Nouvelle ran from the pasture back into the stable and wouldn’t come out so we guessed, correctly, that she would give birth that day. It wasn’t ideal that she was inside the stable with the machine going in and out. So we put her in a small pen to the side of the main pens and I sat giving her cuddles when I wasn’t shovelling; Turbo and Thandi were born that very afternoon.
14th March 2023
Not our favourite day by any means. It was time to put the grown-up ear tags in the Tinies’ ears. They already had a baby tag in their left ears, but we’re required by law to put an official one in each ear. We hate it! We love our animals so much and there’s really nothing worse than doing something that will be uncomfortable or sore for them. Their ears are thinner than humans so it’s probably not as bad as having your lobes, let alone cartilage, pierced, but still…
So, the process is – giving treats, hugs, kisses, apologise. More hugs, kisses, a few more treats, dip the piercer and the tag into iodine solution, remove the old ear tag. A couple more kisses and apologies, then hold them tight and go for it. Finally, more kisses, hugs, chin rubs and apologies.
It all went well – for them. For us, we had to have a drink afterwards.
16th & 17th March
Before the babies are due to be born, we start getting the baby pens ready. Separated from the bigger pens in the girls’ stable, they’re small and cosy and each one has a heat lamp. We built extra ones this year so we now have a total of eight.
19th March 2023
Mario cut the grass around the house for the first time this year, spring is definitely here.
22nd March 2023
A very exciting day! The first babies of the year were born.
This morning Orbitale wasn’t sure that she wanted to go out into the field, so we took her back inside accompanied by her daughter, Stella. She still wasn’t happy and, after complaining loudly, she decided that, actually, she might like to go out. We checked on her every 15 minutes or so and about 11 am, while I was in the pasture giving Paprika a back massage, Orbitale went under the fence and trotted back into the stable.
Clearly it wasn’t going to be long before she gave birth. So we got the baby kit out (gloves, sterilised towels, iodine for the umbilical cords, etc) and I sat and waited with her. Baby no.1 arrived about midday and no.2 a few minutes later. Twin girls whom we named Una and Uma. Although Orbitale can be a bit mean with some of the other goats, she’s a really wonderful mother.
First Babies of 2023!
After a birth we put the new mama and her baby(ies) into separate pens for several reasons. First of all, it helps with bonding and we can check that the little one is nursing properly. They also stay lovely and warm under the heat lamps. In addition, being in a separate pen reduces the chances of ‘baby-stealing’ by other females, usually expectant mothers. These are called Super-Mamas and they will nurse babies who aren’t their own. Unfortunately, they sometimes stop the real mother from getting close to her little ones, particularly before their own kids are born.
23rd March 2023
An awful day – we had to put in an ear tag each for Una and Uma. I managed not to cry but it wasn’t easy. They really didn’t care and went skipping off immediately.
24rd March 2023
Mario used the regenerator de prairie. When we arrived at the estate it was head-high in brambles, which we’ve managed to clear, but now there’s moss. Mario ordered some spiky things that he fixed together and now drags around to help to break up the moss. This means that the grass, and other things that goats like to eat, can come through.
26th March 2023
Grandma arrived! That’s Mario’s mother, Rita, who drove down from Switzerland. The dogs, particularly Maggie, were beside themselves with excitement.
Una and Uma are doing well, gaining weight and are very active.
27th March 2023
A delivery of four tons of steel arrived today. It’s needed for expanding the storage areas above the pens in the stable and the barn. There’s an existing area above the main girls’ pen which we use for hay and straw, but as our herd grows we’re going to need a lot more space.
While mum Orbitale was outside for a break and some fresh grass, Uma escaped from the baby pen and went exploring. So we decided to put the twins into the main pen where they have plenty of space to race around. All was fine. Perle gave them a bit of a shove when they tried to feed from her, but Orbitale soon bustled over and nipped Perle’s ear.
29th March 2023
Another baby arrived and it’s a girl, born to Paprika. We were convinced that Paprika was having twins because she was HUGE! After the first kid we waited and waited and then realised that was it.
We’ve named her Unika as she’s a single birth and that’s the closest name we could think of to Paprika. However, we’ve been calling her Maxie (short for ‘Maxima’), as she’s the biggest baby ever born on the farm (so far). At 4.33kg, she’s a big girl!
31st March 2023
Our lovely Paquerette had twins today, a boy and a girl, and we’re considering what to name them.
As you’ll know if you’ve read this far (Congratulations for that, by the way), 2023’s naming letter is U and we’re struggling to find nice names. There’s a French agricultural magazine that we receive and, in anticipation of this year’s letter, in the February edition they published a list of names beginning with U. Unfortunately, some of the names are a bit bizarre, such as Undertaker, Umbrella, Ugly, Undo and User. So not overly helpful then.
2nd April 2023
Today Nouvelle had twins – a girl and a boy. The little girl is so loud! Nothing wrong with her lungs then. Her brother isn’t quite as loud, but he is big.
7th April 2023
First thing this morning, Mario went into the stable to find that Perle had given birth to a little girl. I say little but she’s a chunker at 4.23kg.
Later in the morning, Laridée went into labour and delivered two boys. The first one is the spitting image of his daddy, his head is massive as are his feet.
8th April 2023
Pénombre had a little boy today. As we’re still considering names for everyone, we’re calling him Mini-Man for now as he is a small person, which is normal because Pénombre is one of our smallest goats. He’s also super-cute – she always has really pretty babies.
10th April 2023
The new babies’ characters are really showing. Number 007 is Nouvelle’s little boy, so we’ve been calling him James until we finalise all the names.
24th April 2023
I’ve been away in the US visiting friends for ten days, so Mario has been coping alone (with Grandma’s help).
The babies have really grown while I was away and Paquerette’s little girl has turned into an escape artist. She’s always getting out of the pen where the mamas and babies are and goes to visit the other goats.
26th April 2023
We have, finally, decided on the names for the Minis!
- Twin girls, Una and Uma, born to Orbitale.
- A girl, Unika (we call her Maxie as she was so big when born), born to Paprika.
- A boy and a girl, Urs and Ursula, born to Paquerette.
- A girl and a boy, Ulyssia and Ulysses (we call him James as his number is 007), born to Nouvelle.
- A girl, Uliana, born to Perle.
- Twin boys, Ubie and Ulfie, born to Laridée.
- A boy, Umberto, born to Pénombre.
That’s all for now
I hope you enjoyed the first in the series of Farm Blog Diaries. We’ve included a few baby photos below, but there are lots more on our Gallery page. Come back soon to stay up to date with everything that’s going on at Domaine Le Pouzatel and Magnifique Mohair.
