Once a year, in January or February, we place a massive order with Jeffers Livestock Supply - it's sort of like taking the goats on an online shopping spree!  We get stocked up with all of the necessities for the coming year - and usually decide to try out one or two new items that we discover along the way.

So what's in the Took a Leap Farm cart this year?  Let's take a peak!

1. Noromectin: While we worm based on fecal results, we always give goats that are under stress a dose of wormer, since parasites can take advantage of an animals whose energy is being used for other purposes.  This means that all new mamas get a dose of this orally after kidding (it gets washed down with a bucket of warm molasses water -- the proverbial spoonful of sugar!), kids get it when they move to new homes, and everyone gets it when there's evidence of need.  We're also stocking up on Valbazen, a different type of wormer that is used in rotation, to prevent resistance to internal creepy-crawlers.
2. CMPK solution:  Newly-freshened does also get a good dose of this, which boosts calcium after kidding.
3. CD&T Toxoid:  We vaccinate all of the pregnant mamas 21 days before kidding to give the babies passive immunity for Clostridium perfringens and tetanus, then administer two booster shots for the kids at 4 and 8 weeks. 
4. Bovi-Sera:  In the past, we've used a vaccine for pneumonia, but Bovi-Sera covers a wider variety of issues, including other respiratory and enteric diseases.  We're going to switch to this, which many goat farmers swear by.
5. Needles and syringes:  We use boxes and boxes of these.  But this year, we're also going to try out one of these bottle mount vaccinators, which should make things easier and reduce some of the waste.
6. A new feeding syringe:  Because every year, we can't find the one we used the previous year.
7. Pill guns:  These work really well for shoving copper boluses far enough back into the mouth that the goats swallow, rather than chew, them.
8. Kidding supplies:  We never want to be short on J-Jelly, feeding tubes, Tri-Iodine for navel dipping, Pritchard nipples and bottles, tattoo ink, and more once kids start to arrive.
9. FightBac:  We spray each girl's teats with this before she leaves the milk stand to help close the teat and prevent mastitis.
10. Replamin Plus:  We administer this mineral supplement to everyone about once a month -- it makes a big difference with shiny coats, happy skin, and more!
11. Feeding pans and bowls:  This year, we need to implement a new feeding routine, but until then, these large pans are great for feeding the "general population", while the smaller rubber bowls are perfect for kidding pens (and, ultimately, Pelly the Dog chew toys).

In addition to this heaping shopping cart, we're also picking up some supplies elsewhere:

1. BoSe, a selenium supplement, from our vet:  We're in a selenium-deficient area, and we dose all of our expectant mamas with a bit of this about a week before they kid.  While many goat farmers use BoSe 21 days before kidding, our original vet indicated that this can be an abortifacient, causing premature labor in late-term pregnancies.  Her recommendation was to administer later, in the last 7-10 days of pregnancy - if it does stimulate labor, the kids would likely still be viable at that point.
2. Banamine, a pain medicine, also from our vet:  We use the teeniest doses of this when disbudding and castrating...it takes a little of the sting out.  And speaking of stinging...
3. Stinging nettle and raspberry leaf from Amazon:  We start giving the girls a few days before kidding. Not only do they love it, but they get the benefit of herbal support for kidding and milk production.  While we're ordering here, we're also tossing in a few palmyra brush heads for the goats to rub against.  We screw them onto the barn walls and - instant bliss!
4. Teat wipes from Nelson Jameson:  We've used these for years - no muss, no fuss, and low price (when you go through 200+ a week, you need a low price!).

Folks do things a lot of different ways, but these are some of the tools, medications, and other goodies that prove useful to us.  After seven years of raising goats (which is hard to believe!), we've honed our needs and know exactly what we need for a successful year ahead!

2018 was one of those years that you hope doesn't repeat itself...and while we had our own challenges, I know we were far from alone.  So here's to a healthier, happier 2019 for each and every one of us!

In late July, Rob fell out of an attic crawlspace while trying to fix a drain pipe that some idiot (note: not us) duct-taped together in a half-hearted (or more appropriately, half-assed) effort at an earlier repair.  The result?  A fractured L-5 vertebrae and two surgeries, with nerve damage that will take the better part of 2019 to heal fully.  The good news is that he's getting back into the swing of things, including evening barn chores, and he's been able to use some of his unexpected "down time" to plan for a more productive 2019.

We would have been in real trouble without the amazing assistance of our two farm helpers, who stepped up to take on morning chores and the milking of our 20+ girls.  (Kathryn was fortunate to be able to stay home in the first month following the accident, but she returned to road-warrior status in September, so the extra hands were critical.)  It's not easy to find people who care about your animals like they are their own, but we've always been lucky in this department...and never more so than in the second half of 2018.  Even better, one of our helpers filled in for us at the Houlton Community Market most Saturdays, ensuring that we were able to continue selling cheese to all of our local "fans".

Our planning for 2019 is well underway, with our breeding activities complete and our kidding schedule posted.  The early spring promises to be busy, but it will be good to (mostly -- dang it, Standing O!) wrap up the new baby business a little earlier than in the past few years and focus on cheesemaking, lotion-and-potion producing, and marketing.  For 2019, we're hoping to get back to a more complete line of bath and body products, and we're considering adding an additional market or two to our repertoire.  Linear appraisal (our first since 2015) and getting on DHIR milk test (a long-standing goal) are also on the agenda -- since we don't show, both are great ways to demonstrate the quality of our goats.

Life on the farm - heck, life in general - sometimes hands you lemons, and 2018 was epic in that regard.  But we're grateful to turn the page to a new year full of promise and opportunity.  And when lemons come along, we'll keep making lemonade!

All the best,
Kathryn & Rob

OK, we confess...it's been awhile.  We've had our hands full...somewhere along the line we thought that we could balance the farm with running a restaurant (ha!).  After 18 months of that, we saw the light...and now we're returning our attention to the farm as we head toward the Spring 2018 kidding season.  And what better way to renew our commitment to the farm than with a refresh of our Web site?  (Never mind that someone accidentally locked herself out of the last version!)

The months ahead hold lots of baby goats (you know you want one...or two!), hard work, and hopefully an open house, which we know the community has missed over the past few years.  So stay tuned for updates about life on the farm and all of the exciting stuff that will be happening this year!

Looking forward to the excitement ahead,
Kathryn & Rob