Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Farewells...
Friday, December 28, 2012
Our herd doubles...
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Day out to a Goat Farm...
Thursday, December 29, 2011
New Piglets...
Our piglets and Boer kids have been a huge success. We quickly sold out of all the piglets and kids from 2011, and have pre-sold sold several piglets and kids for this coming year. If anyone else is interested please contact us directly at farm@willowbrookpark.co.nz
It is always nice when people who have bought our animals stay in touch. One such person is Jacqui, who bought a piglet from our last litter and has named it 'Lady Marmite'.
You can follow 'Farmer Jax' at her blog: Little Acres Cottage
I do need to give a hugh thank you to Peter, for his amazing dedication to the 'pig run' every day (he drives across town and back to two grocers to pick up fruit and vegetables for the pigs - every day after he has finished work). Thank you for so willingly sticking to the mission. The piglets are a tribute to your hard work.
Monday, December 26, 2011
White Wash Only...
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Badger and Bailey...
Below: Bailey - named after the whiskey and cream liqueur.
We have been feeding Bramble a high protein, high energy feed to provide all she needs to cope with the strains of motherhood, and to ensure a plentiful supply of milk for making our organic goat cheese.
Addendum (6 August): Barclay and Briar...
We penned them into a little pen with lots of hay and feed and today both kids are standing and walking and suckling well. They will go back into the paddock with the rest of the burgeoning herd tomorrow. Arabella also looks set to drop twins within the next few days. We will have gone from 5 to 11 goats in a week! Below is a short clip of Arabella with Barclay and Briar in their pen...
Addendum (11 August): Barclay and Bailey...
It is also with intrepidation that I share the precarious position Bailey is in. Bailey, who like his brother Badger had looked so well for the first week, fell prey to a similar illness as Barclay.
He initially improved overnight and went from Death's door to Death's garden gate. We shall see whether this expensive scare (sorry, Intensive Care) wins out. We shall keep you posted. In the meantime he is curled out in front of the fireplace waiting for his next caring ministration...
Final Addendum (15 August): Barathea...
Arabella finally gave birth to a single doe kid yesterday, Barathea, who is now inside due to the freak arctic storm spreading up over the country. She is doing well. Bailey has also made a 90% recovery, and is back with the herd during the day, but is coming in every night until the weather passes. Time to get a new barn built I think.
Below: Half of the goat herd on a cold morning. Come Spring they'll get a good wash!
Monday, July 12, 2010
The Circle of Life....
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Introducing Bracken and Bramble, and Chestnut...
Above: Chestnut
Below: Bracken
Boer goats developed in South Africa from an indigenous breed with the addition of some European, Angora and Indian breeds. The name comes from the Dutch word “boer” meaning “farmer” and was used to distinguish them from Angora goats which were imported into South Africa during the nineteenth century.
The present day Boer goat appeared in the early 1900s when South African farmers started selecting for a meat type goat.
The Boer goat is a large animal and is a specialized meat-producer. Landcorp first imported embryos of the breed into New Zealand in 1989 but they did not become commercially available until the mid-1990s when they were released from quarantine.
Each purebred is tagged, and registered with the NZ Sheep breeders association (previously the NZ Boer Goat Breeders assoc).
We can now start our own Boer Goat Stud, with a Buck and a Doe, but best of all, the Doe is already pregnant, and possibly expecting twins. We will keep you in touch this September. They are very cute animals, very agile, and ever so intelligent. They don't stop following you around the field all day, and aren't aggressive, like many goats are portayed. But, they are challenging our hitherto fine fencing, so before we loose our orchard to a midnight goat rampage, we will have to start doing some reinforcing.
Other species of goats can be very cute as well...