The Walden Effect: Farming, simple living, permaculture, and invention.

No heat

Honeysuckle hedge

For the last two winters, I've debated the pregnancy status of our goats at length. This time around, though, I'm confident Artemesia is pregnant both because her behavior changed markedly after being bred and also because we passed the three-week mark with no signs of heat.

I'd like her to gain a bit more weight before she hits the hard final months of her pregnancy, so we're increasing rations --- more carrots, more alfalfa pellets, and a daily head of sorghum. Good thing I've started being able to expand my own dietary repertoire at long last or I would have been fighting my pregnant goat for those precious carrots!



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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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My doe just passed the 3 week mark with no heat, same as Artemisia. Considering how hard it was in previous seasons to get her bred, this time was remarkably easy. It sure helps to have a buck on the premises. Or should I say buckling, because apparently he got the job done at only 20 weeks of age!

Looks like we'll both be looking for mid April kids. Congratulations!

Comment by Another Julie Fri Dec 9 18:44:47 2016





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