This is part of a longer article I'm working on for my new puppy customers to help them learn how to integrate their new Maremma puppies with their stock. But I don't believe you can address what to do in a puppy's new home unless you first understand what happened - or should have happened - during the time the puppy was with the breeder. Therefore I decided to break this down into a series of blog posts so I can get the first part out there, then I'll come back to write more later, eventually hopefully making an entire page on ..read more

We often get questions from people wanting to know what the difference is between does, bucks and wethers and which is the best choice for therm. What you choose depends on why you want goats in the first place. Read on to find out which is the best choice for you. Bucks Bucks are intact males. They have one purpose and one purpose only - to breed the does and make more goats! They do not make suitable pets, especially for children. While they aren’t necessarily aggressive they are big and strong and can be hard to handle when in rut. (Rut is the buck equivalent to being in heat.) They can’t b ..read more

Pneumonia is one of the top two health threats to goats. (Parasites being the other.) Here at Prancing Pony Farm we strongly believe that all goat owners should be educated on the signs of pneumonia and have the proper medications on hand to treat it, or a plan for getting them IMMEDIATELY if a goat is showing signs of Pneumonia BEFORE they bring home their goats. Goats can literally die of Pneumonia in hours so time is of the essence! Stress is what brings on Pneumonia and this includes stress from weather (rapid hot and cold temperature changes, especially), weaning and going to a new home ..read more

This event actually happened in March 2020 and I posted it to my FB page and some goat groups, but didn’t think to blog about it, I guess because I was too upset at the time. But I thought I should add it here because this is a part of goat breeding that most people don’t think about or talk about, but I think it’s important to discuss so that we can all learn from these sad events and do better in the future for these animals that are entrusted to our care... I lost a baby goat today. When you have as many babies born as I do you’re going to lose a few each kidding season and he’s not the fir ..read more

Last fall I had a buyer in Massachusetts named Leanne who contacted me wanting to buy 6 goats, 3 from the fall season and 3 from the 2020 Spring season. I told her I was more than happy to sell her the goats but that she would have to arrange the transportation since I knew nothing about how to go about that. At first I was somewhat apprehensive about the whole deal, having heard some real horror stories on goat groups - goats getting “ lost” (stolen), not being properly taken care of and even dying. I’ve wanted to buy goats from out of state myself but was just too nervous about the ide ..read more

Milking Our Mini Dairy Goats This is how we milk our goats and the products we use. There is no one “right” way to milk but this is what works for us. We’re just sharing it here for those who are new to milking goats. Feel free to adapt it to your needs or to scrap the whole thing and do what works best for you and your does. ​Happy milking! ​??????? To get fresh, sweet milk you must be scrupulously clean and you need to get the milk chilled ASAP. Whether milking by hand or machine I bring the milk containers to the barn in a cooler with ice packs, to which I add cold water when I’m done ..read more

Before you bring home your new goats you should be prepared with all the supplies you’ll need to take care of them. Below is a list to get you started! Basic Supplies hay feeder/rack (we use a rack for alfalfa and horse hay bags for grass hay) feed buckets/pans water bucket (we like automatic ones) mineral feeder (for loose minerals) rake pitchfork broom (goat berries are hard to rake!) horse brush hoof nippers hoof pick hoof rasp digital thermometer stethescope (goats are prone to pneumonia) bandage or surgical scissors dog clippers & blades large dog kennel for transportation col ..read more

Keeping an eye on Lotte and her 5 cuties via the kidding cam! They’ll have a few days to bond in a smaller pen and then go with their buddies. It’s always exciting when a new kidding season starts and this year is no exception. We did have a few does kid in December, including one litter on Christmas Eve, so it hasn’t been THAT long since babies were born here. And we do have still several fall kids in the barn but still - more baby goats means more fun! The “count” starts over. New year, new tattoo letter! For those that don’t know the tattoo letter is the letter you see before each kid’s ..read more

If you’re purchasing goats from us this article is to help you prepare for your new arrival before you pick them up. If you live in another area of the country and are getting your goats elsewhere this article may still be beneficial to you but keep in mind that some things mentioned here are regional, like types of hay commonly available or shelter appropriate to the weather of the area, and some things are dependent on the types of goats being discussed. We raise Mini Nubian and Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats on our farm in Central California, where winters are mild but summers are brutal and wh ..read more