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To: Diana in Wisconsin; FamiliarFace

My niece has 2 regular size Jersey calfs. They are ‘bottle babies’ & so cute!! They are actually good meat cows so they’ll have a really good life for the next probably 2 years or so.

This niece has the goats. One of the original 2 Nubians & the Dwarf Nigerian are expecting in about 2 weeks and “are huge”. I told mom when the goats (8 of them) have had their kids, I AM going to see them - she can stay home because she hasn’t wanted to make the trip for just a visit. Surprisingly, she’s now insisting she DOES want to go with me LOL.

The 5 Nubian does that were born last year were bred to a Dwarf Nubian buck. This will result in kids that look Nubian & are good milk producers, but they will be small ‘mini’ size. Plus, it will be easier for the first-time mamas to birth their kids. Evidently, this is the new ‘hot’ goat to have. She’s doing all the blood draws & testing to have healthy goats & to be able to sell them. She sent me a video of “draw day” .... the goats are unappreciative of the fact they have an RN expertly drawing their blood!

My other homesteading niece wanted a certain breed of miniature sheep, but they also cost thousands of dollars each each so she ended up with 2 free Dwarf Nubian wethers.

CC: The downed cow may be alive- it looks like her head is up, but otherwise she’s not moving. Once the farmer arrives to do his morning check, I will see what happens. I can only see so much with the binos. There ‘may’ be a new calf with another cow but there’s another fairly small one in the herd already & it could be that one I am seeing. The brand new ones stick pretty close to mom & this one has wandered away just a bit.

My maternal grandparents had a dairy & I have always loved cows. On one visit, I woke up on Sunday morning to be told my very favorite cow ‘Redford’ had a calf the night before - so exciting! Poor Granddad - once my brother & I named our 2 favorites, they were always there when we visited because I don’t think he had the heart to sell them & have to explain that to us.


366 posted on 11/18/2025 6:08:54 AM PST by Qiviut (A Mighty Fortress: “...the body they may kill. God’s truth abideth still. His kingdom is forever")
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To: Qiviut

Sweet stories all around. I’ve never been around much livestock, but they sound like fun, until the work aspect settles in. Like gardening only more so.

Today is a rainy day, thank goodness, so I hope to get some inside chores done. I have a lot to get done before heading out to Oregon on Sunday.


367 posted on 11/18/2025 6:25:54 AM PST by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TPetty)
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