Today I said farewell to the first two goats that I raised from kids, Pixie and Lala. I had noticed that because these two had horns they were becoming rulers of the roost and too aggressive. With dairy goats horns are a problem because the shape of the horns of a dairy goat is more dangerous than that of an angora, for example. Dairy goats also have relatively large udders that are quite vulnerable, and the udder of a doe is her most prized asset.

  It was a heart wrenching decision to let these two girls go, Pixie would have developed into a great little milker I think. And Lala had potential but really, I just loved her personality. But I had to think about the wellbeing of the rest of my herd, and since these two girls have gone you can feel how much more relaxed the other girls are.

Pixie and Lala found a home with a friend of mine who lives close by, so I can visit them if I want. I'm sure they've got a great new home. They will be missed.......

Last Friday saw another milestone passed on our little patch. We had the first on-site mating of any of our livestock, either alpaca or dairy goat. It has been a year since Creampuff had last given birth and she is in excellent condition, so we figured it was time for her to be introduced to Sappa, who has worn out a trench pacing up and down the fence line that separates him from our ladies.

We found an empty paddock and left our two love birds to get to know each other...but no introduction was required, as Creampuff went straight to the ground (the alpaca mating acceptance position) and Sappa was soon set about his business.

We'd opted for a paddock mating rather than a stockyard and at "half time", Sappa and Creampuff decided to pull up stumps and move their show over against the fence next to all the other females. This prompted three of them to go to ground next  to the fence (alpaca for "me too!") while another nibbled Sappa's ear while he continued the show with Creampuff.

I was too busy laughing to put my camera to good use.

Alpaca males have a fibro-elastic penis which has a dexterity that most human males would envy but from what I've seen, they can have that, there appeared to be far too much complaining from Sappa to make it worthwhile!

Mating with alpacas is a little hit and miss. Alpaca females ovulate in response to the act of mating and the presence of semen. So now we wait a while, then re-unite Sappa and Creampuff again. If Creampuff spits at Sappa and runs off, she's pregnant. If she submits for mating, she's not.

That's as precise and scientific as it gets with alpacas.

Today was the Dairy Goat Society of Australia Tasmanian Branch Southern Kid and Goatling Show at the Royal Hobart Showgrounds. We only took along Jesse-Belle and Basil to this show, making for a light goat handling day :)

Jesse-Belle brought home:

• 1st Place, Toggenburg Goatling 12-24 months un-kidded
• Reserve Champion, Junior Doe

This was Jesse-Belle's second show and the second time she has brought home both 1st place in the Toggenburgs and Reserve Champion. We're happy with her showings so far and hopefully she'll continue her run as she matures.

Basil is only three months old and this was his first show. Basil managed to snag:

• 3rd Place, Buck Kid under 6 months, any breed

The judge had some fine words regarding Basil, particularly as he was half the age of the other buck kids. We're fairly excited about this little Australian Brown's future.

Below are a few happy snaps from the day, click one for the gallery:

This website is still far from "live" but there's already a number of sections ready for you to read or participate in, such as News and Forums, with many other sections going live on a weekly basis.

With the farm lands in sore need of rehabilitation, this website will document our progress over the years to build a sustainable, productive farm and the many other ventures we take on in the process.

We also envisage this website to be a place of knowledge sharing. Where we share our knowledge and experiences for others to learn from or contribute to.

In keeping with our principles of living a sustainable life style, there will be a heavy focus on permaculture and sustainable building practices. I hope you find this site either interesting or of use :)