Cavanhs’ Crazy Acres

07/20/2024

Settled in & ready for some fair fun!

07/13/2024

Last few months have been busy! Here’s a quick recap:

* Two IDGA Share-a-Kids left for their new homes in early May. This program is how we got into ADGA registered dairy goats, and we are very happy to support more interested youth!

* We attended the WDGA Badger Stateline show Memorial Day weekend, and had a great time! First time all four Cavanh siblings showed together. Piper had a few placings in a couple of her rings and Eloise was 3/20 in one ring. Highlight was Taylor winning age 12-15 Intermediate Showmanship! This show’s showmanship classes were probably the most competitive we’ve been in!

* A couple of kids left for their new homes!

* The doe kids got a new pen and the weathers joined Footloose. They have been doing great!

Now, we are currently getting ready for the Johnson County Fair that’s coming up the 20th-25th! More to come on this!

Additionally, good luck to all of those attending ADGA Nationals!

04/14/2024

Lovely weather this weekend ☀️

Fun in the sun & tattoo time!

04/12/2024

Say cheese!

04/07/2024

Been a bit since the last update; everyone is doing well! Almost time to wean some of the kids!
Pics from our sleepy Saturday

03/15/2024

Tough morning today. Piper had a single buck kid, but unfortunately he was DOA. Not the end we wanted to our kidding season, but we are very grateful that Piper is recovering well.

03/13/2024

Pasture pictures ☀️
Taking advantage of the nice weather before it rains tomorrow!

03/13/2024

Napping after playtime. Broken wheelbarrows = the best beds

03/11/2024

One doe kid for Lexi! Now, we’ve just got Piper left to wrap up our ‘24 kidding season :)

03/05/2024

Matilda’s kids!
Everyone got to play outside this morning before the rain

Chocolate - buck
Black w/ white & moonspots - buck
Chocolate buckskin w/ white - doe

We now have 15 kids on the ground, and two more does still to kid!

03/04/2024

Mavis wrapped up our ‘24 Nigerian Dwarf kiddings with buck/doe twins!
More pics to come soon of these two & Matilda’s

03/02/2024

Someone’s jealous that her sister was switched to a birthing “suite”! I moved Mavis out of Matilda’s stall when she went into labor, and she grumpily fashioned herself a new residence outside…

Mavis is on day 148 of gestation, but isn’t looking like she’s ready to evict her kids just yet. Still has her ligaments. She’ll be the last of the Nigerians to kid, and then on to the Alpines, and then we’re DONE!!

03/01/2024

Two bucks & a doe for FF Matilda!

02/20/2024

Violet’s quads! Supplementing with bottles right now, all are gaining and doing well!

Does:
Chocolate, white poll
Chamoisee
Black w/ minimal white

Buck:
Chamoise w/ minimal white

All have blue eyes (and so does Matilda from last year) so guessing Violet might be homozygous blue. Not relevant to dairy conformation, but a little fun fact!

02/18/2024

FOUR kids for Violet! Born yesterday morning, three does and a buck! Easy delivery, but monitoring everyone pretty closely to make sure they’re eating enough. Pictures coming soon.

02/11/2024

Violet’s ready to be done with pregnancy… 5 days until her due date!

02/09/2024

Birdie’s kids are here!
Triplets, our first Footloose kids on the farm!
Monitored throughout the night on the camera, and then labor started this morning, 6 ish.
Kids 1 was backwards, but came out fine. Kid 2 (ironically the tiniest of the 3) was breeched & stuck, so I had to assist & correct her legs. (Not too bad after Poppy’s breeched, as the kid was not as far in as the last!) Kid 3 was in normal position and was delivered super fast!
Grateful that everyone is doing well so far 🙂
And it’s one buck & two does! Can’t wait to see how they unfold.

02/08/2024

Still waiting on kids from Birdie, meanwhile Violet is now a week out from her due date.

02/02/2024

Great opportunity for any youth looking to get into dairy goats!

Iowa Youth 4th to 12th grades Applications must be postmarked by March 15, 2024 Rules and Entry Form Each year, the Iowa Dairy Goat Association promotes interest in dairy goats in our state. One of the ways we encourage our young people in this aspect of agriculture is through our Share-A-Kid progra...

01/27/2024

Birdie’s due to kick off the ‘24 kidding season soon! Gotta get things prepped this weekend. Looking forward to seeing the kids, first we’ll have by Footloose

01/14/2024

Chip is King of the Castle!

01/14/2024

The critters have been faring well so far!
We’ve been working to keep up with the snow, shoveling paths to keep gates and doors accessible.
Extra bedding and warm heated water to help combat the colder temps. Heat lamp on the kids, which are two weeks today and doing superb (also have gotten their names - Chip, Flapjack, & Maple!)
Chickens and turkeys have been doing good as well, and the bucks are bunkered down pretty good in their house.

For all of our farming friends also tending to their livestock in the snow & cold, and especially to anyone with animals due to deliver this week, prayers for warmth and safety!

01/02/2024

Just like that, day 1 of 2024 is almost over!
Happy New Year to all!

Poppy & the kids are doing well! No names yet but they’re having fun running around and trying to climb the wall…

12/31/2023

They’re here! Day 147. Poppy had three kids, two bucks and a doe. This is her third set of triplets in a row! I thought I saw a fourth on ultrasound, but looks like she had to keep her consistency. And after everything that happened, I’m a-okay it was only three!

It was a rough and long labor. Two of the kids had to be repositioned to be delivered. The first buck was backwards, but twisted to the side, so I had to find and straighten his legs so he could slide out. The second buck was positioned normally and was fine. The third, the doe, was breeched, so I had to push her forward and pull her legs out from under her to slide her out. This is the most I’ve had to assist so far… definitely learning a lot with these critters!
Thankfully, they are all are doing pretty well now. Poppy got some antibiotics, feed, and nutridrench, and is being an amazing mother, as always. Kids are eating and learning how to use their legs. Keeping an eye on them all for sure, but looks like everyone’s gonna be okay.

12/25/2023

Merry Christmas, everyone! ✝️🎄
It’s a beautiful rainy morning. We are grateful for all of God’s blessings: our family, friends, and all of crazy adventures on the farm. We wish you all a wonderful day!!

Throwback picture to Poppy’s kids from last year. Still watching Poppy… ligaments are super soft now but her udder isn’t quite tight yet. Hopefully she kids sometime this week before the weather gets colder again.

12/23/2023

5 days until this gal’s due date… but I’m not sure she’ll make it that far! As you can see, Poppy’s ready to be done!
Her ligaments are pretty soft now and her udder is filling. Just gotta wait and see now!

11/23/2023

Happy Thanksgiving! May your day be filled with connection, gratitude, grace, and good food. Here’s a throwback photo to a grumpy Poppy in a turkey costume 🦃

We are certainly grateful for everything that’s been going on, on-farm activities and beyond, though it’s been keeping us busier than ever! Glory to God for all the opportunities we’ve had so far and all of the ones to come.

And always thankful for all of our great goat/farm friends & mentors, too!

More details to come & the website needs to be updated, but I’m excited to say that our breeding season is done, with 7 does confirmed bred! Everyone looks to have multiples, so we’re going to have our hands full in a few months 🐐

09/16/2023

We’ve been busy, so I haven’t gotten the chance to post a lot.

Here are some updates of things around the farm:

* Mr. Murwin Fitchburg left for his new home back in August. We can only manage so much, so we have a one buck only rule. He’s a sweetheart and will be missed, but I’m excited for him in his new home!

* Milo, one of our wethers, also left. Keeping things as manageable as possible. So, the only boys around now are Footloose & Charlie.

* Miss Supposed-To-Be-Retired (AKA Poppy) has pulled herself out of retirement. Before Murwin left, there was a day that he got out and in with the girls. Thankfully no one else was, but Poppy was in heat, and now today she’s 41 days pregnant with 3-4 kids. Due December 28th. Not ideal or what I wanted, but God’s timing always works out, as she’ll kid during my winter break so I can be there to assist. I initially retired her because she’s my only grade doe, her udder attachments have gotten low, and she had a little bit of a more difficult kidding last year. I don’t think she or the kids would have made it if I hadn’t been there to help, as the very first kid was pretty stuck with one leg out and the head and other leg tucked back. But, she is pregnant, so plans will adjust, and she will kick of kidding season!

* Our *planned* kidding season has started too!! All of our does will be bred to Footloose this year, which I’m VERY excited about!!

* A few days ago, Birdie had her date, and now she’ll be monitored to see if she comes back into heat, and then have a 30 day ultrasound to further confirm. Violet will also be bred in September on her next cycle.

* Mavis & Matilda will be bred in October for March kids, and Piper & Lexi in November for April kids. We’re trying to give a little space between kiddings so we can balance goats with school, activities, & work.

* The website is currently in progress for updates too. Pages will be added for some goats, and a breeding & kidding schedule page will be added as well.

That’s all for now!

09/03/2023

Footloose is not a huge fan of having his picture taken. Always stands awkward and prefers to have his head scratched instead of looking into the distance majestically. We’ll keep working on it…

08/21/2023

Day 2 (Friday) Juniors recap

Kicked off Friday morning with Taylor & Piper winning open senior showmanship! Piper is the GOAT goat for showing; she knows her job in the ring and always behaves so well, and Taylor does a great job with her!

Then, for the Open Junior show, Matilda placed 8/10 and Mavis placed 3/5. Lexi placed 4/15! (Piper did not show since she already had her leg)

Later that day was the Costume contest. Taylor took Piper & Lexi and was a “Tired mom with two kids”, and Laurie took Mavis and was “The Cow That Jumped Over The Moon”. The costume contest was a lot bigger this year with a lot of creativity, which was fun to see!

A big thank you to all that made the ISF & goat shows possible! And especially a big thank you to Travis Cockburn, the judge this year.

Now on to getting ready for breeding season!!