tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86366145585939860872024-03-13T19:11:19.177+00:00Ellie's Dairy - The Finest Goat Milk, from KentFrom the North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty we bring you the best milk, cheese and meat. Traditional responsible and ethical farming means free range access to grazing with all feed, including hay from our own ancient meadows, GM and chemical-free and blended by us.<br>We know the name and personality of every single member of our pedigree herd of happy healthy goats. We love - <i>and thoroughly spoil</i> – every one of them, male and female alike.Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.comBlogger480125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-76411351000451425182024-01-10T20:13:00.000+00:002024-01-10T20:13:08.229+00:00Farmers' Market Monthly Schedule 2024<p> </p><h2><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Farmers' Market monthly schedule 2024</span></h2><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.6px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.4;"></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.6px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.4;"></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.6px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.4;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">1st Saturday Balham</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.6px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.4;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">1st Sunday Blackheath</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.6px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.4;"></span><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">2nd Saturday Ealing</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><div><span>3rd Saturday Wimbledon </span></div><div><span>4th Saturday<span> Water Lane Walled Garden (between Cranbrook & Hawkhurst, Kent)</span><br /></span>Last Sunday (4th or 5th Sunday) Winchester (Hants)<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div><b>Please note:</b><br /><b><br /></b></div><div></div><div><span>It's that time of year again! </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>As we wait patiently for our girls to start kidding in the spring, we have very limited milk available and most is already allocated to existing customers. Any spare milk will be allocated to those on a 'reserve' list which will be held for each market. If you would like to add your name to the reserve list, please let us know as soon as possible and, if there is any milk available, you will be notified by text on the evening before market.</span><b> </b> Please note that it is very unlikely that there will be any milk available for general on-the-day sale at markets until at least April.<br /><br /></div><div></div><div>Email: ellie@elliesdairy.co.uk</div><div>Tel: 07770 777970 (text is best!)</div></div>Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-8707388467620077172023-01-08T12:07:00.004+00:002023-10-03T18:39:59.228+01:00Farmers' Market Monthly Schedule 2023<p> </p><h2><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Farmers' Market monthly schedule 2023</span></h2><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.6px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.4;"></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.6px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.4;"></span><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.6px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.4;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">1st Saturday Balham</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.6px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.4;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">1st Sunday Blackheath</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 17.6px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.4;"></span><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">2nd Saturday Ealing</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><div><span>3rd Saturday Wimbledon </span></div><div><span>4th Saturday<span> Water Lane Walled Garden (between Cranbrook & Hawkhurst, Kent)</span><br /></span>Last Sunday (4th or 5th Sunday) Winchester (Hants)<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div><b>Please note:</b><br /><b><br /></b></div><div></div><div><span>It's that time of year again! </span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>As we wait patiently for our girls to start kidding in the spring, we have very limited milk available. </span><b> Please reserve your milk a few days in advance of market</b> to avoid disappointment as it is unlikely that we will have any spare milk for sale at market for the next few months.<br /><br /></div><div></div><div>Email: ellie@elliesdairy.co.uk</div><div>Tel: 07770 777970 (text is best!)</div></div>Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-42499552984037309922020-01-01T19:17:00.010+00:002023-01-08T12:05:40.005+00:00Farmers' markets monthly schedule 2022<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.86px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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</span><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>Farmers' Market monthly schedule 2023</b></span></h2>
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<span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 110%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.4; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">1st Saturday Balham</span><br />
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</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">1st Sunday Blackheath</span><br />
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
2nd Saturday Ealing</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div><span style="font-weight: 400;">3rd Saturday Wimbledon <br /></span>Last Sunday (4th or 5th Sunday) Winchester (Hants)<br />
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<b>Please note:</b><br />
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<div><span style="font-weight: 400;">
It's that time of year again! </span></div><div><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-weight: 400;">As we wait patiently for our girls to start kidding in the spring, we have very limited milk available. </span><b> Please reserve your milk a few days in advance of market</b> to avoid disappointment as it is unlikely that we will have any spare milk for sale at market for the next few months.<br />
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<div style="font-weight: 400;">
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<div style="font-weight: 400;">
Email: ellie@elliesdairy.co.uk</div>
<div style="font-weight: 400;">
Tel: 07770 777970 (text is best!)</div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-80229313102670657702019-01-02T20:37:00.001+00:002019-11-13T21:38:23.086+00:00<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Farmers' Market monthly schedule:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px;">1st Saturday South Kensington & Balham</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px;">1st Sunday Blackheath & Romsey (Hants)</span><br />
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2nd Saturday Alton (Hants)</div>
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2nd Sunday Winchester (Hants)<br />
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3rd Saturday Wimbledon & Ealing<br />
4th Saturday Notting Hill & Twickenham<br />
Last Sunday (4th or 5th Sunday) Winchester (Hants)</div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Please note:</b></div>
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<div>
It's that time of year again! As we go into winter, milk production is now dropping. Please reserve your milk in advance of market to avoid disappointment as it is unlikely that we will have very much spare milk for sale at market for the next few months.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Email: ellie@elliesdairy.co.uk</div>
<div>
Tel: 07770 777970</div>
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Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-51297990343959842692017-12-24T20:27:00.000+00:002017-12-24T20:27:11.255+00:00'Twas the night before Christmas ...<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, we made it through another festive season and have landed on Xmas Eve still in one piece, though a little weary ... The dairy fairies have done a fabulous job of keeping our market stalls and counters stocked with yummy cheese, Joe has worked his little goatie socks off at Borough Market and the goats are completely oblivious to any of the chaos going on around them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And now the fridges are all empty, the last hampers have been delivered and I am tucking into some scrummylicious truffle Brie from our friends at Allsop & Walker .. You can never ever ever have too much cheese! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And so it only remains for me to thank all our customers for their support over the past few weeks and to wish everyone a Very Merry Xmas!!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As is now traditional, I leave you with a delightful piece written by a goatkeeper in Wales.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ooo-0-ooo</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />There is a very lovely ancient tradition that holds that on Christmas eve, at midnight, animals are given the power of speech. I’ve even heard it said that at midnight, all the animals sing songs of praise.<br /><br />Walking into the warm barn, coming in from the icy, windy dark outside, it’s easy to believe this lovely story. I look into the slender faces of my familiar, much loved goats, with their dark eyes and knowing expressions, and I can easily imagine them opening their mouths to sing at midnight. Glenda, Wandi, Patsi, Juliette – I know all their names, and I can tell them all apart, as identical as they might seem to a stranger. I can imagine just how each of their voices might sound, raised in the choir. Juliette rears up her hind legs to have her cheek scratched – just there, by the hinge of her jaw –and to rub her head lovingly against my shoulder.<br /><br />I come here every day, twice a day, to milk these goats and commune with these lovely animals, and they have taught me a thing or two about miracles.<br /><br />They have taught me about dedication, and patience, and discipline. Waking up at 6 am on a freezing morning, and going outside sounds like a punishment when I’m wrapped in my duvet. But as soon as I haul myself up and out, and into the barn, I realize the truth of it – coming into the barn is my reward. The teaching really is in the practice – putting my hands on the goats, tending them and receiving the healing milk that they give me, is all I need to know of magic.<br /><br />The Christian tradition holds that the king is born in midwinter. The pagan tradition too, speaks of rebirth in the time of darkness. It is a principle as old as man, when we were frightened and crouching in the caves, waiting for the light to return. Peasants have milked goats as long as humans have been around, and I follow this time-honored tradition with gratitude now, as the warm streams of milk hit my pail in a fragmented melody.<br /><br />In that song, I can hear everything I need to know about rebirth. These goats are pregnant in the darkness, gestating new life. In the spring the kids will be born, and the milk will be freshened. The life force dies back, and blossoms up again. New life. It is a miracle that we few – who are lucky enough to tend the farm – learn over again with our hands and feet, arms and eyes and hearts, every year without fail.<br /><br />Christmas eve, in the darkness – the goats and I wait together in the silence. We wait for the rebirth that is certain. It is certain as life, certain as breath, as certain as the knowledge that someday, spring will come again and light will return to the world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ooo-0-ooo<br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B_Dy4nUiwJQ/VJs6n0XoZ6I/AAAAAAAAFYI/iYzdBwSooYg/s1600/Ellie%2BXmas%2BHat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #6699cc; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B_Dy4nUiwJQ/VJs6n0XoZ6I/AAAAAAAAFYI/iYzdBwSooYg/s1600/Ellie%2BXmas%2BHat.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" /></span></a></div>
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Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-80002180355564538802017-11-11T22:21:00.001+00:002017-11-11T22:21:38.617+00:00A trip to the vet for HugoAnd so Wednesday morning duly arrived and straight after morning milking, I loaded our rather large and stinky hormone-driven Hugo into the trailer and set off for the veterinary surgery where Peter was scheduled to perform a little 'operation' on him.<br />
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Poor Hugo! I had explained to him what was going to happen but I don't think he really understood!<br />
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As I mentioned in the last post, we had taken the decision to have Hugo completely castrated for his own sanity and the safety of other goats in his area. It was not a decision that was taken lightly - any operation carries a risk and although Hugo is a big healthy chap, this kind of procedure under general anaesthetic can be quite dangerous.<br />
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Having unloaded and weighed him (to calculate the anaesthetic dose), we moved him into one of the stables at the clinic where Peter gave him a couple of injections to sedate him. Very quickly, Hugo sank down into a deep sleep.<br />
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The operation was swift and perfectly executed by a well-practised Peter and his team of nurses and having administered a final dose of painkillers, they then left Hugo to come round in his own time. And so I sat with his huge head in my lap, snoring and drooling away for almost 2 hours before he was finally conscious enough to haul himself to his feet.<br />
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Turn your sound up and you can hear him gently snoring away!<br />
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He is now recovering well at home and, when the hormones all finally work their way out of his system in a few weeks, he will be able to live permanently with all his old lady friends. Lucky old Hugo!<br />
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And, just as a little footnote .. those of you who follow us on Twitter may have seen a photo of one of our little female kids who has recently been very poorly:<br />
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She has been living in a cosy corner with a nice warm fleecy jacket and a heat lamp and has been getting lots and lots of cuddles and treats and TLC ... All our efforts seem to have paid off as she is now much better and almost back to her usual cheeky little self ..<br />
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Such a difference and so nice to see!<br />
<br />Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-81672635487904281462017-11-04T22:10:00.001+00:002017-11-04T22:14:11.753+00:00It's all about the boys!August, September, October ... and here we are already in November! Leaves are falling and so is the temperature as the thermals are starting to make a more regular appearance for morning milking .. And, as we all know, dear readers .. as the temperature drops and the days get shorter, so goatie thoughts turn to romance ...<br />
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Joe and I spent a very wet and stinky day some weeks ago moving all the working stud boys back up to the farm so that they could be closer to the girls ..<br />
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And so it was that our lovely Hugo was first out of the blocks this season with our gorgeous goatie girls Lara and Zenobia ...<br />
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And here he is doing his very best to woo our lovely JoJo with his best chat-up lines ..<br />
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But our young buck Hilton has now taken over and is proving to be very popular again with our ladies this year .. This is a group of girls vying for his attention!<br />
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Two of his young sons, Percy and Wilbur, have also managed to escape a couple of times this week when their hormones got the better of them, so we may well have a few unexpected 'surprise' babies in the spring!<br />
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Sadly, our lovely Hugo is getting older now and, understandably, he gets very frustrated at not being allowed in with the ladies all the time. He cannot live with the younger males as he tends to get quite violent with them and we are concerned that he may also manage to injure himself with his constant attempts at trying to knock over very large and heavy metal cattle gates which we have to use to keep him separated.<br />
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For those of you who have followed our blog for several years, you may remember that Hugo came to us as a young chap from an older goatkeeper who was suffering from dementia. He was kept alone and did not receive a lot of attention and was quite a handful when he first arrived. It look a lot of TLC and persistence (and personal injury to yours truly!!) to get him settled and happy. In a more 'commercial' herd he would now be put to sleep as his working days are over but, as you know, we are not your average commercial herd.<br />
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So .. David and I have taken the rather non-commercial decision to have Hugo castrated. This means that he will become a much calmer boy and we will then be able to either leave him in with the girls permanently (where he can no longer do any damage!) or with the younger stud boys. His hormones will completely disappear, he will not smell any more (for which David will be eternally grateful) and he should live a good few years being perfectly happy and content.<br />
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To those of you who have no concept of adult male goat behaviour, I understand that this may seem a little drastic! But, trust me .... there is nothing quite like a 120kg testosterone-fuelled male goat in season.<br />
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His little op is scheduled for this coming Wednesday morning with our lovely vet Peter and so we all cross our fingers that everything will go well for our big Daddy Hugo!<br />
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<br />Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-55192363867298296302017-08-18T22:04:00.001+01:002017-08-18T22:04:06.746+01:00Everyone needs a friendOne of my favourite things is to wander into the goat shed and just watch all my lovely goatie girls. I am always particularly interested to see who has a special friend, who cuddles up next to whom and who prefers to be alone. It never fails to amuse and fascinate me .. why do certain goats become special friends?<br />
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Some team up when they are very small kids and continue to stay with their friends all through their lives. Our current goatlings all tend to sit together in the same area of the barn:<br />
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Most sisters will always stay together, although our dear old Betty and Wilma never used to sit together. But there was still a bond there which became very clear on the night Wilma died. Having sat holding her for a few hours while she slipped peacefully away, I became aware of a goat standing behind me - Betty. And Betty spent the rest of the night lying right next to the gate where Wilma's body lay overnight before we moved her in the morning. <br />
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Girls who have joined our herd from outside generally stay together - safety in numbers I think! Witness our beautiful big Nubians, Lara and Zenobia ..<br />
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Although it is interesting to note that when Zenobia has been feeling a bit under the weather, she does not want to be anywhere near Lara. She takes up position on completely the opposite side of the barn and just stays alone until she feels better ... then she returns to her friend.<br />
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Incidentally, Zenobia is getting much braver at coming into the milking parlour on her own and happily leaves her friend behind. Lara was being particularly lazy yesterday and didn't even bother to get out of bed for her dinner ..<br />
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The group of Mary goats generally all stay together in the same area ..<br />
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And of course, sisters Truffle and Mocha are totally inseparable .. the Chocolate Frogs!<br />
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Almost like they are joined by a piece of string .. Where one goes, so does the other!</div>
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You may remember that our lovely JoJo (our first Anglo-Nubian) used to settle down with her daughter Cleo. Sadly, Cleo died earlier this year and JoJo has been a bit lost without her. Even Mel who helps us with morning milking was heard to remark that JoJo looked sad and hadn't been the same since she lost Cleo.<br />
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And so I was overjoyed to come across this pair earlier this afternoon:<br />
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To the left is JoJo and the younger goat in front of her is Pakora, one of her triplet daughters born a couple of years ago. Lovely to see! Hopefully this means that JoJo won't be on her own any more.<br />
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Of course, there are always a few goaties who just prefer their own company. The most notable is our oldest girl Tammy who is not really a people person at all. Loves humans, hates other goats! If you ever hear a grumpy growling noise in the goat shed, it is generally Tammy complaining that someone else is invading her personal space! Although she did allow Betty to share her bucket at feeding time ..<br />
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<br />Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-66255293877892066592017-08-12T22:50:00.001+01:002017-08-12T22:50:14.206+01:00Big goats, little goatsYou may remember the two beautiful Anglo-Nubian girls who joined us last year from an elderly goatkeeper who was suffering from dementia ... Lara and Zenobia<br />
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Well, they have really settled in and are truly part of the herd now. They do like their own space though and, when it comes to feeding time, they won't let any goats with 'normal' ears eat out of the same trough. Goats with long floppy ears are, apparently, fine to eat next to them! Goat racism ..<br />
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They do actually come into the parlour for their food occasionally and we have discovered that they both enjoy a scratch on their shoulders. Lara is particularly fond of it and goes all silly ... Allow me to demonstrate with a little video clip:<br />
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Always brings a smile to my face!<br />
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And, at the other end of the goatie spectrum, we have a little white chap who has been a bit poorly recently. Poor Skippy had a terrible chest infection and, although we managed to sort that out, he was looking very thin and sorry for himself. So, although all our babies are now weaned, I decided that he should be given a couple of bottles of milk every day to try and build him back up again. All those lovely natural probiotics and enzymes had to be good for a poorly wee goatie ..<br />
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And it seems to be doing the trick! Skippy is getting bigger and stronger every day but is still looking for his bottle of milk at feeding times ... And here he is:<br />
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Such a sweetie!Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-67751646779023240572017-07-27T23:46:00.001+01:002017-07-27T23:46:05.182+01:00No ordinary day ..Today was never going to be just another day. <br />
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Today was the day that lovely vet Peter had been booked to come and send our dear old Betty goat to join her sister Wilma in goatie heaven. Over the past few weeks, Betty had become increasingly frail and, although still eating well and happy, we decided that she should be put to sleep before things got any worse. Her poor old legs were starting to stiffen up and you could feel her aches and pains whenever she tried to lie down or stand up. Twice this week we have found her lying on her side and unable to get herself up again. So, it was time to say goodbye.<br />
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I had been hoping for a sunny day so that we could have one final walk together around the farm. The morning did not bode well, but the sun broke through in the early afternoon and so we set off for a short stroll around her favourite places to have a final snack of docks and thistles.<br />
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We finished our walk with her favourite thing - a nice ripe banana - and then we waited patiently for Peter to arrive.<br />
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But Betty did not make the journey on her own today as we also had to say goodbye to our lovely Dusty - the girlie with the bone tumour in her jaw. Coincidentally, Dusty was Betty's great-niece.<br />
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So, they lie together in the tractor shed overnight, waiting to be taken away in the morning. It would be lovely to be able to bury Betty in one of her favourite spots but, sadly, this is not the harsh reality of farming. Betty is livestock and must be incinerated. All that will be left of her will be an official 'pink slip' and a whole bundle of memories.<br />
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Betty and Wilma were our first two goats, all those years ago .. Here is a very young Betty at 4 weeks old when I went to visit them in Essex where they were born:<br />
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A couple of weeks later, we brought them back to Kent and that's when the fun began!<br />
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Wilma was always the quiet dependable one. Betty was stroppy and much more 'in your face'! As a kid she was always inquisitive ..<br />
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And, as a goatling in the show ring, she was unbeatable ..<br />
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In 2006 she had her first two babies, Perdita and Morticia .. The first of many kids she gave us over the years:<br />
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In 2014 she celebrated her 10th birthday with a special birthday breakfast of fresh fruit, lovingly prepared by goatie Auntie Anita ..<br />
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A few years ago, both Betty and Wilma were quite poorly for a short while and so they got a lot of extra walks and grazing to try and build them up again ..<br />
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And so they continued, until we lost our beloved Wilma last year. Betty always had the air of a wise old goat .. been there, seen it, done it all before. She was there right from the start and had seen a lot of changes through her 13 years with us. But even Betty goats don't live forever and so we sadly had to say goodbye.<br />
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During milking this evening a young hare appeared in the field - something I have never seen before so close to the farm buildings. It approached the milking parlour and sat watching the goats. Then it disappeared, only to reappear the other side of the hedge in the other field. And later, when I was feeding the kids, it skipped across the yard. As it disappeared round the corner, the black clouds gave way to a rain shower and the most beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky ..<br />
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Strangely enough, hares have a special significance in Celtic mythology and the Celts considered that hares had supernatural powers and a link to the Otherworld. It's probably the over-active imagination of an emotional old goatkeeper but I like to think that this was Betty saying her final goodbye. <br />
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RIP my beautiful old girl. And our lovely Dusty goat to keep you company.<br />
<br />Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-52344647882991290142017-07-23T22:42:00.000+01:002017-07-23T22:42:03.502+01:00The boys ...Two blogs in two days ... we're on a roll here folks!<br />
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We spend so much of our time working with those goatie girls that it's easy to take the other half of the herd for granted ... those lovely boys!<br />
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All our boys live together in a separate area - our stud boys:<br />
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and our little meat boys:<br />
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Big Hugo is in charge, ably assisted by young buck Hilton and stud-boys-in-waiting Magellan and Ivanhoe ..<br />
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And, as you may remember, there is also Jack and Babba. Two of our chaps who never quite made it to the butcher ... Now almost fully grown and catching up in size with daddy Hugo ..<br />
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Babba is a beautiful boy with his long elegant ears:<br />
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And Jack is a bit of a silly thing ... If you get too close, he will happily lick your nose like a dog!<br />
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The big chaps are very tolerant of all the little people and can be found snuggled up next to them at bed time. Or, like Hilton, surrounded by his sons at feeding time this evening!<br />
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<br />Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-68140679378988942092017-07-22T22:41:00.001+01:002017-07-22T22:41:21.866+01:00Alive and kicking!!Please can someone explain where the last 4 months have gone??! Blimey .. what happened there?! No, we haven't disappeared off the face of the earth but I do admit that it's been a bit of a long time since I managed to sit down in front of my laptop and string a blog together .. No excuses really - maybe I'm getting busier or older or something but, by the time I finish with those goatie girls, have dinner and do paperwork and email, there's just no time left for blogging and I often find myself face down asleep in my keyboard (and wake up with QWERTY .. imprinted on my forehead)<br />
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In my defence, I have managed to keep twittering (when we have had a mobile signal!) so hopefully some of you may have been reading our news up there. But here I am .. alive and kicking and (hopefully) ready to get back into the swing of keeping you up to date with all things goatie ..<br />
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So, a quick waltz through the past few months .... Kidding season came and went. The usual endless round of babies, new mums, buckets and buckets of milk and sleepless nights. We had a few weeks with our wonderful vet students - a new lot this year and they were all absolutely fabulous! So, many many thanks to Joe, Erin, Arabella and Lucy. Couldn't have done it without you all and we hope to see you again soon!<br />
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We ended up with about 150 gorgeous babies .. around 50/50 male and female. Sadly we did lose a couple on the way which is always gut-wrenching, but we are always happy that we try and do our very best for every single one. Just that sometimes, there is nothing more you can do ..<br />
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Here's a few pics of those bouncing babies for you to enjoy:<br />
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And, not to be outdone, the Gracie Moos provided us with 7 lovely calves between them all. Such gorgeous little creatures who are all growing up very quickly!<br />
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Harvest is in full swing at the moment and David is really busy helping out neighbouring farmers with carting grain and baling hay. Thanks to the good weather and David's impeccable timing, we have already got all our own haylage baled, wrapped and safely stacked ready for the winter. Those goatie girls have got plenty to eat for the next year!<br />
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On a more sombre note, we have had to say goodbye to some of our older girls during the past few months. Our beautiful Diddi goat died very suddenly one Sunday morning when I was away at market .. David was there with her but I never got the chance to say goodbye:<br />
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But I was there when we lost lovely Millie and two of our characters you will be more familiar with - dear showjumping Shares and long-eared Cleo .. As you may remember, Shares was our first mum of the year:<br />
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She was absolutely fine after kidding and was happily up to her old tricks, jumping all the gates around the barn. But several weeks later, she started to go downhill rapidly - she didn't want to eat (not like Shares at all!) and just lay around looking miserable. A visit from the vet confirmed that she had a serious heart condition which would not improve and so the sad decision was taken to send her to the big goatshed in the sky .. She was a very feisty, stroppy old girl and we miss her very much.<br />
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Equally sad was the demise of our beautiful Cleo .. Those of you who follow us on Twitter will have seen that Cleo had a hugely difficult kidding. It took all our skill to deliver her and, miraculously, her female kid survived the ordeal ..<br />
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Cleo was pretty poorly for a few days afterwards but then seemed to pick up and was doing really well, being very attentive to her little Olivia who was doing a great job of looking after her mum. One afternoon a few weeks later, I started to move the goats across the barn ready for milking and found Cleo fast asleep in the middle of all her friends, with her head stretched out on top of her sleeping baby. Only she wasn't asleep ... Poor Cleo. Young Olivia was gently moved in with some other babies the same age with whom she quickly made friends. She is a very bouncy, happy little person with the most ridiculous ears!<br />
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So, as you see .. a few months of ups and downs. And in the midst of all this goatiness, the dreadful events at Borough Market and Grenfell Tower which shook us all to the core. Our hearts go out to all those affected and we will never forget the horror of events which were very close to us and those who work with us. We were all very lucky .. we remember those who were not.<br />
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<br />Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-38906026536554617472017-03-16T22:36:00.001+00:002017-03-16T22:36:39.037+00:0030-something .. and counting ...The new arrivals have been steadily appearing this week .. No major traumas (so far) but there's still plenty of kidding time left!<br />
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The glorious spring weather has made life much easier and it's lovely to have all the barn doors wide open with the warm sunshine flooding in. The girls have been spending a lot of time out in their field enjoying the sunshine and even our two new girls, Lara and Zenobia, were also spotted testing out the electric fence!<br />
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David has been busy getting the front field ready for sowing new grass seed. You may remember he ploughed it .. well, the next stage of preparing the ground is with a power harrow - this breaks up the big clods of earth left by the plough and leaves a lovely fine soil which is then rolled before the seed is drilled in. <br />
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As with all boys' toys, a power harrow is a big bit of machinery that fits on the back of the tractor ..<br />
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The plough turned the soil and left the field very rough ..</div>
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And it's interesting to see where the worms have been hard at work in the newly turned soil .. Their casts show up as darker soil where they bring everything back up to the surface .. We like our worms!</div>
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The power harrow breaks up the soil and you can see the difference here ..</div>
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In between arrivals this afternoon, I had a ride in the tractor with him, just to enjoy the view and watch what was going on. </div>
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This is all so important for us - getting everything right now means that we will have great forage for the goats to eat and that means we will have lots of lovely milk!</div>
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Anyway, enough about fields ... We want pictures of baby goats!!<br />
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So, here's a quick selection of new arrivals for you to enjoy ..<br />
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Many more to come yet!<br />
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If you use Twitter, keep an eye open for our postings on the new arrivals (when we have a mobile signal!!) @elliesdairy<br />
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So, that's it for tonight .. I'm back off to my little caravan at the side of the goat barn .. Another night of listening and waiting ... Night all!Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-66626154844600769272017-03-09T21:56:00.001+00:002017-03-09T21:57:24.751+00:00I now declare the kidding season officially open!Over the past month there have been many trials and tribulations .. but, as usual, we got through it and the kidding season has now officially begun!<br />
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As happened last year, the Gracie Moos beat the goats to it again as our oldest and (in my opinion) loveliest Gracie quietly gave birth to a beautiful little bull calf. All by herself with no fuss and bother .. he was there all clean and ready as we arrived to start morning milking yesterday morning.<br />
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He's a stocky little chap and is happy with all the attention he is getting from mum and all his aunties. Shouldn't be too long before he is joined by a few more little people.<br />
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Meanwhile, David spent a busy few days mucking out the goat barn and moving gates around to put everything into kidding mode. There are a lot of very large goaties around at the moment ... here's Poppy and Pippi looking slightly rotund ..<br />
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But our main contender for the Dolly Parton Award 2017 was our dear Shares who was sporting rather a large udder yesterday evening:<br />
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Due to kid today, she looked absolutely nowhere near this morning. But early this afternoon as David walked into the barn to investigate a strange growling noise, he found Shares fighting a crowd of goats who were all eager to see the first new baby of the season!<br />
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And here she is ..<br />
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Every year I just marvel at how tiny and perfect the new babies are .. Just gorgeous! Our first baby looks strong and healthy and hopefully there will be many more to follow. It remains to be seen how mummy Shares copes this year .. regular followers may remember that we had to leave her two boys with her permanently last year as she kept on jumping gates to get to them!<br />
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Next week promises to be a hugely busy week with many girls due to have their babies .. My little caravan is cleaned and ready for habitation as I prepare to spend the next couple of months sleeping (I use the word very loosely!) outside the barn.<br />
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I will do my very best to keep the blog and twitter updated with all those new arrivals, so watch this space!<br />
<br />Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-21101028409949994712017-02-04T22:13:00.000+00:002017-02-04T22:13:04.290+00:00A night of scanningYes folks, it's that time of year again when the scanning man came to call to check which goaties are pregnant and which are just fat and lazy!<br />
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We decided on a different tactic this year and ran them all through the milking parlour so that Michael did not have to crawl around on his knees to get under their ample stomachs ... It all worked very well (helped by a little extra bit of food in their troughs), although there was a bit of ear-pointing as they came running in for the second time that evening!<br />
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So, I have still yet to collate all the information, but it looks like we are due to have around 160 babies starting around mid-March. Only a few sets of triplets this year - mostly twins. And some of our older girls are due to be mums again as well. But the best surprise of the evening was one of our stroppy new girls, big brown Zenobia goat ..<br />
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In kid with twins! Very exciting as, although she is over 4 years old, she has never been put in kid before by her previous human and we were not sure that she would take ... the stress of the move to our herd could well have affected her but it seems that she and Hilton did indeed have a little romantic encounter when noone was looking!<br />
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Husky remains purely ornamental because of all the problems we had with her horrendous udder last year .. but her daughter, young Monkey goat, is having twins. So, Husky will be a grandma once again!<br />
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On a more sombre note, towards the end of last year I noticed that one of our older ladies, Dusty, had a very swollen jaw ..<br />
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Lovely vet Peter came to check it out and was concerned that something nasty was going on in there. So I took Dusty for a little ride up to the surgery where Peter x-rayed her jaw. And this is what we saw ..<br />
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This is a picture taken of the laptop screen and the image appears in the middle. You can see the roots of her teeth coming down the screen in the centre (under that bright white line) .. below that there is a white line which runs across the screen from left to right (curves upwards) - this is the normal jaw line. But, as you can also see, there is a lot of stuff around this line - some kind of mass in the middle of the picture. This is abnormal bone growth and, unfortunately, it looks like Dusty has some kind of bone tumour in her jaw.<br />
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So, what to do? No real treatment for this kind of thing sadly ... so, put her to sleep or leave her and see how she gets on? Well, at the time she was still very happy and healthy and was eating well. And, there was also the chance that she was also in kid .. So, we decided to keep a close eye on her and see how things progressed. Obviously, at the first sign of distress, she would be put to sleep ..<br />
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So, now we are a few months down the line ... Dusty is still happy and healthy and eating well. Her jaw has not grown any bigger and we have also now confirmed that she is in kid with twins. So, the right decision we think!<br />
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And finally ... when Shares is not busy standing in buckets ..<br />
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She is constantly demanding attention ... Here she is in the parlour tonight ..<br />
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Oh .. and she is having twins as well!<br />
<br />Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-84368193530489458872017-01-19T22:25:00.001+00:002017-01-19T22:25:05.890+00:00Spiced tea and Ivanhoe's hairdoWell, it's been rather a glorious week for goaties! Hard frost and sub-zero temperatures have meant that all that horrid wet ground and squishy mud has gone hard ... great for little goatie feet! And so, for the first time in ages, most of the herd went running outside yesterday morning to enjoy the winter sunshine.<br />
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Plenty of people in the field..<br />
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Some playing up their mountain ..<br />
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While others took advantage of the peace in the barn to tuck into that delicious haylage..<br />
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A bale of pea straw ..<br />
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Or the freshly scattered barley straw ..<br />
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So much choice! No wonder there were a lot of fat goatie bellies tonight!<br />
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Our oldest lady, Tammy, often trots round to the back of the milking parlour hoping to be let in and given a treat. Like many of the older girls, she is very partial to the odd banana but lately she has taken a liking to spiced black tea for some reason. She has tried to help herself to my cuppa on several occasions and I have lost a couple of nice mugs as she brought them crashing to the floor.<br />
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So, this morning when she started hunting round for her morning brew, I made her a mug of her own. Nothing like warm spiced tea on a cold January morning ..<br />
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David has been away at a farming machinery show for a couple of days, so I have been milking solo in the evenings. On the whole, the girls were pretty well behaved, but there was the odd naughty person who took full advantage of a single human. <br />
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The empty stall has been vacated by a naughty goat who jumped off ... So, only natural that the girl next door has to check out if there is any food left over ..<br />
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Finally, I would like to introduce one of our little stud-boys-in-waiting .. Ivanhoe. <br />
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We decided that we would keep 2 youngsters this year - Ivanhoe and Magellan. They are growing well and hopefully will be ready to work next year with our lovely Hilton. Ivanhoe was quite nervous to start with but, as you see, he is now very friendly and keen to come across and see you. He has quite an interesting hairdo going on .. I need to get a good photo of it .. Sadly easier said than done!<br />
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<br />Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-16961258270909437832017-01-13T22:01:00.003+00:002017-01-13T22:01:37.511+00:00A night of weatherWell the weather certainly came in with a vengeance last night! Part way through evening milking the snow began falling quite gently .. and then within minutes we had a raging blizzard. Unsurprisingly, those goatie girls were very reluctant to go outside and milking did become a bit of a battle towards the end. Once out of the parlour, the girls have to run up the outside of the barn (very briefly) to get back inside .. not happy. <br />
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Inside the barn, the snow was blowing in and there was a lot of consternation and ear-pointing going on .. As David and I battled to shut all the doors, block gaps and clear drifts, the goats gradually settled down into their cosy beds for the night ahead.<br />
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Fortunately, it did not last more than a couple of hours. Sadly for David, it did not last long enough to warrant getting the snow plough going ... Which was a shame as we have a brand new shiny (and bigger) one this winter ..<br />
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This morning was very icy and driving up to the farm was interesting to say the least .. even with 4 wheel drive! As the sun rose, the fields glistened and it was all rather pretty:<br />
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And I just love all those little footprints around in the fresh snow. Looks like the rabbits were busy picking up little bits of barley last night!</div>
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Our two new arrivals, Lara and Zenobia are bravely venturing into the parlour every day now. Lured in with buckets of food, they are happy to stand and eat while everyone else is being milked .. Notice how they are careful to place those enormous ears outside the bucket!<br />
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Some girls continue to find the whole milking experience too much like hard work and just prefer to stay asleep as long as possible before they have to come into the parlour. Coco goat curls up next to her much naughtier sister Beanie while they wait until almost the very end of the session ..<br />
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And for those of you who have been missing Husky in action .. she still prefers to drink her water straight from the tap ..<br />
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And, back for the winter, the Gracie Moos are content in their yard. Oodles of lovely barley straw and fresh hay .. beats standing in a field in the cold and snow!<br />
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<br />Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-91320399571037037462017-01-04T21:28:00.002+00:002017-01-04T21:28:50.413+00:00Happy New Year!And a very Happy 2017 to all our readers!<br />
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I trust that everyone had a wonderful festive season and New Year ... Life continued much as normal here at Ellie's Dairy - the goaties don't stop producing that delicious milk, so their humans don't get a chance to stop either! But it is a little less hectic for a week or so, once all the Christmas cheese chaos is out of the way.<br />
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Christmas morning was much like any other morning ..<br />
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As always, the Ellie's Dairy team worked their little goatie socks off for several weeks to make sure that we had as much delicious cheese as possible for all our customers. Joe and Julie worked particularly hard and were both absolutely exhausted by the time we all drove home on Christmas Eve .... Julie also made a couple of guest appearances at Borough Market with Joe:<br />
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Whilst I was entertaining the lovely Phil the Elf ..<br />
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And yes, I am bending down!!</div>
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Borough looked wonderful as usual with decorations and twinkly lights .. all very festive!</div>
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As our milk is seriously limited this time of year, we did run pretty low on some things .. As I always say, when I am Queen, I will move Christmas to around June or July when we have loads of milk and unlimited cheese! But the stall looked wonderful and I think we put on a great show for all our customers<br />
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The Borough Market Evening of Cheese was unbelievably busy. Joe and I struggled to keep up with customers and we used our entire weekly stock of cheese in less than 3 hours! Apparently, the event made the national papers and came in for some criticism as so many people had attended. I think that next year, things will be considerably different!<br />
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I spent a happy Boxing Day making more cheese ... a table full of Shaggy's Beard camembert and bags of fresh curd draining ready for the weekend ..<br />
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Enough about cheese!! What about the goaties?<br />
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Well, just before Christmas, we adopted a couple of lovely Anglo-Nubian girls. Meet Lara (lying down) and Zenobia:<br />
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Big and beautiful and pretty stroppy! They came from a lovely old goatkeeper near Canterbury who is sadly suffering with dementia and is now not able to look after her goats any longer. It is the same place where our big chap Hugo came from a couple of years ago.<br />
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These two lovelies spent a couple of weeks in their own pen, meeting all our other goaties through the fence .. and then we let them loose into the main herd. We need not have worried - they are more than capable of standing up for themselves!<br />
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Having only ever lived in a very small, quiet goat shed, our herd is a bit of shock to the system and they are still quite nervous of us. But, they are getting gradually more trusting and now appear at the parlour gate at milking time. Lara has been brave enough to come in a couple of times but Zenobia is still not too sure about things.<br />
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Chaos still reigns at milking time and I do wonder about my sanity sometimes ... One particular night had Shares standing in a bucket while Husky was drinking water from a tap behind her ..<br />
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It's all just like a circus .. Where the goats all just do their own thing and the humans have no control! But at least they are happy and that's all that matters.<br />
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The end of the year also sees me sitting down to bring all my goatie paperwork up to date .. and it's always a sad task to flick through all the 'pink slips' for our dear girls and boys who have passed away to that big goatshed in the sky. We have lost quite a number of our older ladies and I have a feeling that 2017 will also bring some sadness .. but, as our herd gets older, it is only to be expected. I have already given Tammy (14) and Betty (13) a serious talking to ... they are not allowed to get ill and they have to live forever. So that's all sorted!<br />
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Having moved the Gracie Moos back to the farm for the winter, the front field is now empty and so David spent a happy time yesterday ploughing it all up ready for reseeding. He thoroughly enjoyed himself and did a pretty good job of ploughing, even though it is not something he does very often. Here's a little clip of the man at work ..<br />
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And so, on we go into 2017 .. We have a few projects in the pipeline and hope to bring a few more new products to you this year. Fingers crossed and watch this space!<br />
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<br />Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-84301915500258255012016-12-25T21:39:00.001+00:002016-12-25T21:39:27.197+00:00Merry Xmas everyone!The goaties and their humans at Ellie's Dairy would like to wish you all a very Merry Xmas! As is now traditional, I leave you with a delightful piece written by a goatkeeper in Wales.<br />
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There is a very lovely ancient tradition that holds that on Christmas eve, at midnight, animals are given the power of speech. I’ve even heard it said that at midnight, all the animals sing songs of praise.<br />
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Walking into the warm barn, coming in from the icy, windy dark outside, it’s easy to believe this lovely story. I look into the slender faces of my familiar, much loved goats, with their dark eyes and knowing expressions, and I can easily imagine them opening their mouths to sing at midnight. Glenda, Wandi, Patsi, Juliette – I know all their names, and I can tell them all apart, as identical as they might seem to a stranger. I can imagine just how each of their voices might sound, raised in the choir. Juliette rears up her hind legs to have her cheek scratched – just there, by the hinge of her jaw –and to rub her head lovingly against my shoulder.<br />
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I come here every day, twice a day, to milk these goats and commune with these lovely animals, and they have taught me a thing or two about miracles.<br />
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They have taught me about dedication, and patience, and discipline. Waking up at 6 am on a freezing morning, and going outside sounds like a punishment when I’m wrapped in my duvet. But as soon as I haul myself up and out, and into the barn, I realize the truth of it – coming into the barn is my reward. The teaching really is in the practice – putting my hands on the goats, tending them and receiving the healing milk that they give me, is all I need to know of magic.<br />
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The Christian tradition holds that the king is born in midwinter. The pagan tradition too, speaks of rebirth in the time of darkness. It is a principle as old as man, when we were frightened and crouching in the caves, waiting for the light to return. Peasants have milked goats as long as humans have been around, and I follow this time-honored tradition with gratitude now, as the warm streams of milk hit my pail in a fragmented melody.<br />
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In that song, I can hear everything I need to know about rebirth. These goats are pregnant in the darkness, gestating new life. In the spring the kids will be born, and the milk will be freshened. The life force dies back, and blossoms up again. New life. It is a miracle that we few – who are lucky enough to tend the farm – learn over again with our hands and feet, arms and eyes and hearts, every year without fail.<br />
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Christmas eve, in the darkness – the goats and I wait together in the silence. We wait for the rebirth that is certain. It is certain as life, certain as breath, as certain as the knowledge that someday, spring will come again and light will return to the world.<br />
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Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-25638003790484276792016-11-12T23:07:00.001+00:002016-11-12T23:07:45.146+00:00Monkey finds love ..So life continues apace here at Ellie's Dairy. Our new young man, Hilton, has been a very busy boy and has had been keeping many of our ladies entertained over the past few weeks.<br />
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Young Monkey goat was one of his latest conquests and they enjoyed a romantic dinner for two without anyone else for company .. Young love!<br />
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Tonight he was looking rather worried at the prospect of having to deal with one of the more outspoken members of the herd .. But, fortunately for him, Peaches is still milking well and won't be put in kid this year. <br />
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She managed to keep quiet long enough to eat her dinner in the milking parlour, but it didn't last very long ... Just in case you have ever wondered what a goat in season sounds like .... here she is at full throttle!<br />
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And note that waggy tail just at the end!<br />
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Meanwhile, farmers markets continue to be busy and there was a great moment at Blackheath last weekend when Alex from Cakehole found his space to be already occupied by a car whose driver had clearly not read the signs .. Not to be outdone, he set up his stall carefully around the car ...<br />
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We were all so disappointed when the driver did not appear during the market .. Perhaps they did come down but were too embarrassed to come over and say anything!<br />
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And finally ... we just had another of our Dairy Hygiene inspections .. Olu, our lovely inspector, is very keen on goats and always enjoys the chance to make some new friends on his visit. Vivien was quick to come and greet him .. Just in case he might have a little treat for her I suppose!<br />
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<br />Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-56756481667694556492016-10-29T21:16:00.000+01:002016-10-29T21:16:26.183+01:00Never a dull moment ..As the days get shorter and the mornings get darker, it becomes increasingly difficult to get those goatie girls out of their comfy beds for milking. Some of them take advantage of an empty hayrack to bag the best spot in the barn ..<br />
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Others just stay curled up fast asleep and hope that you won't notice them .. Not sure who that ear belongs to!<br />
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And in the evening, they are all very keen to get back indoors - they don't like standing outside in the dark. One side of the barn is just made of thick wooden boarding at the bottom which goaties like to gnaw .. Over the years they have gradually worn it away in places and there are odd holes which they can stick their heads through. It all needs to be properly replaced before bad weather sets in, but at the moment they can still use the holes as windows ..<br />
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So, in the evening as darkness falls and goaties are still outside, this tends to happen:<br />
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And from the outside, the view is something like this ..<br />
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Never a dull moment with goats!<br />
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Our dear Husky goat is gradually drying off that one-sided udder which she is extremely pleased about as it means that she does not have to come in for milking twice a day. So, back to her old tricks, she takes full advantage of her new status as one of the 'useless goats' and helps herself to food out of the wheelbarrow and anywhere else that takes her fancy.<br />
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And should her chosen bucket be tightly closed, it would appear that this is no obstacle to a determined Husky goat ..<br />
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Young Hilton is still a very busy boy with lots of girls queuing up for his attention. This morning I could hardly see his pen through the crowd of wagging tails.<br />
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The girls outside his house are noisy and fight to be next to the gate so that they can talk to him .. the girls inside just won't leave him alone! <br />
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And amongst all this noise and chaos, old Betty goat just soldiers on in her own little world .. But even she can still raise a smile with her antics. One day last week there was just something too tempting at the very bottom of a bucket ... And this is what happens to naughty greedy goats ..<br />
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Poor Betty!<br />
<br />Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-22778447225839562522016-10-15T23:11:00.001+01:002016-10-15T23:11:58.090+01:00'Tis the season for romance ...Well, I am not sure that 'romance' is the right word ... but, following on from our last post, our new boy Hilton has suddenly become a very busy boy!<br />
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David rearranged the hay barn to give young Hilton a lovely big house where he had plenty of room for entertaining any ladies who may show an interest in visiting him. The gates at the far end were positioned so that he had a panoramic view of all the goatie girls in the main barn .. and they were also able to talk to him ..<br />
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His first visitor was one of our older ladies who was spotted making eyes at him through the gate and wagging her tail earnestly ... I let her in with Hilton (who was very excited to have his first romantic encounter) but it seemed that all she wanted was to stick her head in his food bucket and eat all his breakfast. As Hilton approached, she growled at him and clamped her tail down firmly over her bottom! Poor boy was most upset ...<br />
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But, all was not lost as later that same day one of our little fat goatlings, Clarissa, took a fancy to him. And so it came to pass that young Hilton finally began his new career as the Head Boy at Ellie's Dairy! <br />
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He has had a quiet few days with no visitors but there must have been something in the air this morning as he had quite a crowd of girls around his gates, all wanting his attention. While I was busy at market, David had his hands full with hordes of noisy hormonal goats! At the last count this evening when we put another group in with him, he had 'entertained' around 20 girls today! I think he should sleep well tonight (if the girls allow him to)<br />
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The weather has continued to be fabulous and the goats have been making the most of the dry weather to continue grazing in their field .. not sure it will carry on for much longer though. They are quick to run outside after milking and are still enjoying their pea straw as the early morning mist rolls up the field..<br />
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Our young goatlings are all growing into quite big girls now but they all still tend to stay together as a group. <br />
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That's Mbuzi staring at the camera!<br />
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Some are very brave and are venturing into the milking parlour with the older girls. Needless to say, those two naughty brown things (collectively known as 'The Chocolate Frogs') were the first of the youngsters to come in:<br />
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At the opposite end of the goatie spectrum, we have also had to say goodbye to a couple more of our older ladies, Columbia and Magenta. These two sisters were over 10 years old and have always been inseparable. These pics were taken a few years ago by our talented artist and photographer friend Sue Clinker:<br />
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Magenta had recently lost a lot of weight and, despite tempting her with all manner of treats (like digestive biscuits and bananas) she was clearly not happy. She suddenly became very unsteady on her feet and David found her one morning struggling to stand .. There was no hesitation in calling the vet ... but we also took the tough decision to have Columbia put to sleep at the same time. She was starting to look thinner and, although she was still pretty bright and alert, she would not have done well without her sister by her side. They were always together and never apart ... so it was only right that they should make that final journey to the big goatshed in the sky side by side. <br />
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Meanwhile, life in the dairy continues as usual with yours truly having to turn her hand to lots of different jobs again as various members of our team take some well-earned holiday before the madness of the festive season begins ..<br />
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Whilst Joe was enjoying a restful fishing holiday, I was working on our stall at Borough Market and enjoyed having the chance to snap yet another early morning picture of one of my favourite London views ..<br />
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I never get tired of looking at the Shard! It's just stunning ..<br />
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And for those of you who only ever see Joe working at Borough .. here's another side to his talents ..<br />
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<br />Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-7697070430529194872016-09-22T22:50:00.002+01:002016-09-22T22:50:31.670+01:00There's a new boy in townAs the evenings draw in and the temperature starts to drop, those goatie eyelashes start to flutter and those little goatie tails are starting to wag. Yes, dear readers, mating season is almost upon us once again. The air will soon be filled with the unmistakeable aroma of male goats in season and there will be much gobbling noise and flapping of tongues! Don't believe me? Well, when it all kicks off, I shall be sure to take a little video for your enjoyment.<div>
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Our main problem this year was our lack of male goats .. we have two little stud boys in waiting, Magellan and Ivanhoe, but they are far too tiny to work with our stroppy old milkers yet. Of course, we have our big old Hugo but he has been busy for the past few years and is just kept on now for a few very special long-eared ladies!</div>
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As the years pass, there are fewer and fewer pedigree breeders around and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find good male goats. But, with some persistence (and a lot of luck!) I have found a lovely brown boy - from the same breeder as our dear Fenn.</div>
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So, today I whizzed up to Cambridgeshire and picked up our new boy ... Hilton.</div>
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As I pulled into the farm, I think the girls must have been able to smell him as there was suddenly a great deal of interest in my direction ..</div>
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He will need a few days to settle in, so he he has his own house round the corner near to the other kids and the other side of a gate to the milkers. As you see, it didn't take him long to spot all those lovely ladies!<br />
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He is a lovely young chap and seems very keen to start work!</div>
Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-56047732393335813422016-09-17T23:40:00.000+01:002016-09-17T23:40:17.619+01:00Back in the land of blogging!!!Well, it's been a while but here we are again!<br />
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It's been a good few weeks of long solo evening milking sessions for me while David has been frantically hedgecutting, trying to keep ahead of the farmers harvesting and re-sowing their crops. To be honest .. by the time I've been getting home at night, I haven't had the wits to string two decent words together for you ..<br />
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Added to the fact that my trusty old laptop crashed .. terminally ... some weeks ago. I have commandeered David's laptop but have had to rebuild it with all the software that I need. And then discovered that it didn't have an internal Bluetooth adapter .. so I couldn't transfer my photos onto it. And, let's face it .. what's the point of blogging without piccies?!<br />
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Anyhow ... having dredged my old IT memory banks and remembered how to do all this stuff, I think I am almost there and now have an (almost) working laptop again. Hurrah!<br />
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So, here we go!!<br />
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The last few weeks have been utterly glorious .. if a little too hot in places. There has been a lot of lying around panting, although some girls do enjoy catching some rays after morning milking .. Here's Campie soaking up the sunshine!<br />
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But generally, those goatie girls don't like it too warm and have been pretty grumpy recently. Much happier when the weather cooled down ..but then it rained and they were grumpy again. No pleasing some people.<br />
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Babies are growing bigger and noisier every day. Only a few left on bottles of milk now as most of them are all weaned and grown up.<br />
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Cheesemaking and milk bottling has all continued apace ... It has been lovely to have all our staff back fighting fit and working hard! We have been busy at Borough Market and all our farmers markets throughout the summer ... and it's really nice to see all our customers returning refreshed from their holidays!<br />
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Sadly, we have lost 3 of our older ladies over the past few weeks. As time goes on, we have an increasing number of 'oldies' and so it is inevitable that we will have to say goodbye to more of them .. But it never gets any easier, especially when they are girlies we have known and loved for many years.<br />
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So .. RIP to our beautiful Foxglove (one of our first goaties) who left us recently, aged 11 years .. Here she is as a younger mum a few years ago. Beautiful girl. We think she had some kind of stroke as we found her collapsed and unable to stand one evening. Emergency call to the vet confirmed that there was nothing to be done and so she drifted off to the big goatshed in the sky.<br />
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And last week we said a planned goodbye to Margot and Kim who were both getting very unsteady on their feet. Both around 11 years old, they have suffered with arthritis since last year and were starting to struggle a little bit. With the cold and damp weather just around the corner, we took the tough decision to send them to sleep before they suffered too much pain. Our lovely vet Peter sent them away together side by side on a beautiful hot sunny day, surrounded by all their friends.<br />
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Kim was a particularly sweet girl - she came to us as the eldest of the 'Mary' goats only a few years ago. She was barely in milk when she arrived and has never kidded with us .. she was just a beautiful, loveable old lady who has enjoyed her last few years in retirement.<br />
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As David finished our own harvest some weeks ago, he also managed to acquire a few bales of pea straw. The girls have never experienced this before so, as it can be a bit messy, David decided to erect one of the old round hay racks in the field and put a bale in there for the goats to try ... Took a few minutes before they all piled out there .. but it seemed to be very popular with everyone!<br />
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Shares has been looking after her young chaps very well and they have grown hugely since you last saw them ..<br />
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Dear old Betty is still going strong .. grumpy as ever ..<br />
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And we still enjoy seeing double as Cleo hangs out with mum JoJo ..<br />
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And finally .. managed to snap a rather lovely pic of Gilly as she was waiting patiently to come into the milking parlour yesterday ...<br />
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Don't forget that you can always catch little updates and piccies on Twitter (when we can get a mobile signal!). Check out our feed @elliesdairy.</div>
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So, it's lovely to be back. I will do my best to keep you up to date with all the goatie news from now on!</div>
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<br />Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636614558593986087.post-31611393235266083362016-07-21T22:25:00.000+01:002016-07-21T22:25:08.036+01:00Babies safely delivered!The hottest day of the year was forecast for Tuesday - exactly the same day that I was due to take the second and final lot of kids to their new home in Herefordshire. David had also intended to come with me but reluctantly decided to stay behind to make the most of the good weather and get the rest of the hay baled. When the sunshine comes, you have to get harvesting!<br />
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Initially, we had reckoned on me leaving around 6am so that I would be with Andrew and Diane by lunchtime. But the hotter the forecast got, the earlier my departure time became!<br />
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And so, around 2.30am on Tuesday morning, the babies were woken up in the darkness and gently loaded into a trailer. There was great excitement as we set off and all the little heads poked out of the side to see what was going on! <br />
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Sunrise was somewhere around the M40 and we finally reached our destination just after 8am as the temperature was beginning to rise ..<br />
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We unloaded them all into their great big new house ..<br />
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And they were soon tucking into their breakfast and investigating the new spaces under the hay rack!<br />
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They settled down very quickly and looked like they had been there for ages!<br />
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These girlies (and 2 stud boys) are very lucky people to live on this farm as they will be well looked after, along with all the other goaties that we have taken there over the past couple of years.<br />
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It was fantastic to see their massive new barns and see how all our little girlies have grown into lovely big milking goaties.<br />
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The girls are all very well looked after and Andrew cuts fresh grass for them all every morning ..<br />
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It is such a beautiful place .. would love to live there myself!</div>
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Ellie Goathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862289330558377608noreply@blogger.com0