Welcome Winnie!
Fort Kickass welcomes it’s newest doe, Winnie. Winnie is a commercial Savanna doeling out of Thomas and Arya, and was born on April 19. She had a little bit of a rough start when she caught a respiratory infection at five days old, but some antibiotics and bottle feeding to make sure she was getting adequate nutrition got her back on track.
Winnie is named in honor of Winnie Madikizela-Mandella, who passed away on April 2, 2018.
Morning Playtime with Goat Kids
On a daily basis, the goat kids at Fort Kickass are getting some time together to develop their goating skills and learning how to interact with each other. Most of the time it just seems like it is goats kids flying around bouncing off walls and seeing who can stay on top of the straw bale the longest. Whatever it is, it is terribly awesome to watch.
The stars of today’s video are The Winchesters: Dean and Sam, along with their older sister Zelda. Visiting from their blue heated barrel to the south are Shiro and Rameriz, our two future dairy bucks.
Welcome First Kids of 2018
We are delighted to report that our kidding season has started off with an easy kidding, an adoring mama, and healthy, beautiful triplets!
We knew Yara would be the first to kid, and we were nervous because she rejected her kids in 2017 as a first time mother. We made a point of keeping a support network nearby around kidding time that included her mother, Lexsie and her half sisters, Arya and Cersei, all of whom are excellent mothers and can be trusted with newborn kids.
Yara’s due date was March 10, but when a winter storm blew in on March 5 I knew we were doomed, because she kidded in an ice storm last year. Sure enough, her udder started filling up that night. I checked on her a few times overnight and she was progressing, but slowly. By the morning of the 6th she was uncomfortable and anti-social and was happy to go into a kidding stall by herself. I checked in periodically to provide head and belly rubs, and around 3:30 she lost her mucus plug, so I settled in to keep her company.
Pushing started around 5:15, and by 5:45 all three kids were on the ground. As soon as the first kid was born Yara was licking and cleaning her up, and continued to take care of her while the second kid was born. I got kid #2 out of his amniotic sac and put him within Yara’s reach so she could check on both of them while kid #3 made his way into the world. We got them all toweled off while the adoring mama licked and nuzzled them constantly. Yara was exhausted, so she got a bucket of warm molasses water to warm her up and give her some energy along with a bowl of grain. A check under tails showed 2 bucklings and a doeling. The bucklings have been named Dean and Sam Winchester, and will be wethered and kept here at Fort Kickass. The doeling is our little Princess Zelda, and will be a welcome addition to our dairy herd.
They’re 3 weeks old today, growing fast, and eating hay and a little bit of grain along with nursing. In another 7-10 days they’ll start being separated from Yara during the day so that we can start milking her. Be sure to check out our Instagram for more pictures, and our YouTube channel for video of all the antics!
Welcome Ramirez and Shiro!
Fort Kickass welcomed two mini-Nubian bucklings from our friends at Bifrost Farms this month!
Ramirez is handsome, leggy boy out of Carpenter’s Ranch Ruby and has a strong Nubian look. We hadn’t originally intended to bring him home, but when he crawled into my lap and hunkered down for a nap we decided it was meant to be. He is named after Carlos Ramirez from the Dresden Files. The character of Ramirez is a Wizard and Warden of the White Council, and the youngest warden to ever make Regional Commander.
Shiro is a small goat with a huge personality. He’s out of Green Gables Esther and favors the Nigerian Dwarf side of mini-Nubians. His namesake is Shiro Yoshimo from the Dresden Files, who was a Knight of the Sword and wielder of Fidelacchius.
It will be at least a year before we can put them into the breeding rotation, but we’re excited to watch them grow and see what they can do.
Welcome to Fort Kickass!
Welcome to the new website for Fort Kickass!
Many of you have visited our site before and we thank you very much. We have upgraded and updated the site for many reasons, but the main reason is so we could start this blog you are reading right now.
We plan on bringing you a variety of topics in our blog. We will have profiles of our many animals including goats, dogs and cats. You will be delighted by our tasty recipes, many using food from our own gardens. There will be instructional posts and videos showing how we make our soap, lotions and other creative projects around the farm.
Don’t miss our bad horror movie reviews or what will surely be a favorite topic, “Drink this beer!” where we will be visiting local microbreweries to sample their delicious brews.
Please join us as we bring you stories and images from Fort Kickass. We look forward to your comments and ideas on the variety of topics that we will share with you in our blog.
Things will still be evolving around here so check back often to see what’s new at Fort Kickass!
