Slaty Creek Angoras

If anything can go wrong…………… It did.

So we had planned a great start to the school holidays, just me and my two girls,  Chloe (8) and Kaylah (6) on our way to pick up some mini Angora’s from a commercial Angora breeder in NE Victoria who happened to have a few dwarf size drop from his flock and a great Buck who was kid registered as a potential B grade Mini but grew oversize from a little further north.

All went well, trip was great with a few “touristy” stops on the way for the girls and meeting with Geoff (Benalla) and Robin (Rutherglen) all going to plan. Just when all was going well “Mr Murphy” decided to pay a visit, somewhere between Violetown and Bendigo the stock trailer blew a bearing which left us sitting on the side of the road at Epsom Vic at 11pm waiting for Tanya (our business partner and rescuer (oh and my loving girlfriend too! )) to arrive with another trailer to continue the trip. ( Thanks to Lisa at Daylie Trailer Hire, Wedderburn for responding to our late night  emergency request)

Unbeknowst to us (but well known to the goats in the trailer) the engine in our beloved Hilux Ute started to give way at about the same time as our trailer bearing and our three new does were exposed to ever increasing amounts of black diesel smoke and this, coinciding with the first decent downpour in two months gave inspiration to their new (and now registered) names of “Sooty” “Dusty” and “Sweep”! (Thanks to Chloe and Kaylah for the naming of our very black, white angoras) See Photos!

In Summary, we now have a stock trailer with a blown bearing in Bendigo, a Hilux with a Blown motor in Wedderburn. An adult Buck and three adult Does happily ensconsced at our Wedderburn property which is only set up for weaning kids and six miniature/coloured foundation does all in cycle waiting for servicing at Slaty Creek by a buck permantly in cycle at Wedderburn.

While on the topic of the Slaty Creek property (which is after all, supposed to be the main focus anyway!) All seems well with the AHA does and bucks, Bo and Windsor think they are very much lords of the manor but the does still seem to have them trailing around like puppy dogs. It appears that all does our now out of cycle and hopefully this means that we have successful matings al round.

Alllbucks and does will be rejoined next month to make sure (including the well travelled Wedderburn mob) as soon as the new buck/mating runs are finished.

Murphy was definately not a farmer……..

Or maybe he was………

A Busy month coming up with 3 Bucks to put over 14 does, plus all the normal husbandry activities and the stockyards need some urgent repairs to boot!

Welome to our website and blog.

Apart from publishing a new website we have also been attempting to finalise everything ready for the autumn break and March Breeding.

Still have 1 new buck and 4 new does to pick up so running a tad behind there, can only hope they settle in quickly and get busy!

We have also been nurturing several hundred seedlings through the summer, late germination means they wont be advanced enough for autumn planting so we will have to keep them going in their tubes till spring, still, that’s one job we can cross off our plate. For the record we are planning to plant out Tagasaste, Old Man Salt bush, She Oak, Kurrajong and Egyption River Hemp for fodder trees.

This will have the fourfold purpose of 1. Providing browsing fodder for the goats (their preffered method) 2. Providing windbreaks and shade 3. The deeprooted/drought tollerant nature of these trees will go someway to “droughtproofing” the farm and providing feed during the summer/winter shortfalls and 4. Helping improve the soil by decreasing water tables/salinity, increased nutrient cycling and bio activity in the soil.

Well thats the theory anyway!