I have been having such a time this fall getting my LaMancha, Onyx bred. The closest LaMancha buck is 2 hours away. So when I saw an ad for 2 Alpine does only 30 minutes away from a breeder who will always have a buck, something just snapped in me.
First I tried to talk a friend into buying them. She declined but I just couldn't let them go. I started doing research on Alpines. Looks like they'll produce more milk than my Lamanchas but with lower butterfat. The Lamancha milk is like drinking half and half this fall so mixed together we should have creamy deliciousness and lots of it!
The new gals are about 7 months old. I am buying them bred. My goodness, I'm going to have a lot of kids come spring!
I bought the black one (the color is called Sundgau apparently) and the light tan one. Goats with ears how weird (and cute)!
We are butchering chickens today. I need to go get everything set up. Only 11 survived of this batch....terrible.
I bought another batch from Town Line Hatchery in MI. They are the best looking chicks I've received yet and got here so much faster than the chicks from Ideal. It was the same price for 50 as it was for 30 so guess what I did..... Looks like we'll be having a BIG butcher day.
Naw, you're not crazy! I love Alpines. I do wish we lived closer. I have a stinky Lamancha buck that needs a new place to go after his job at my friend's farm in a few weeks. I'd be more than happy to ship him down there! He's only been at my friend's farm one week and she said her husband said he can't stay 5 more weeks. He's ready for him to go already. I told her he has to stay 6 weeks! Anyway, have fun with your new girls. They must be big to be bred already at 7 months old.
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about Alpines to be honest. The breeder said these were bottle raised and very friendly. I suppose they're 8 months or so now since they were 7 when she first advertised them. She said she waits until they are at least 85 lb to breed.
DeleteI think I'll pass on the buck for now. If I get one for next year, I think I'd rather get him in August lol.