We were really hoping that after the 2024 drought and the lower than average rainfall the year before that this season would be different, but so far that doesn’t look like its going to be the case.
Instead its just been unbearably hot, dry, dusty and heat wave conditions and we are already having to buy water by the truckload for the livestock, which is really concerning so early in the year when we may not get any rainfall to speak of for months.
Yes, I do know we live in Australia and Australia has hot dry summers – doesn’t mean I have to like it!
The Pygmy Goats of course don’t mind the heat or the dryness, they much prefer it to rain and wet ground and just spend their days lazing in the shade and then start to play in the evenings when it cools off a bit.
After a lifetime of horses, I am used to cleaning up all the mess on a daily basis, but the goat night pen has got so dusty we are trialling spreading their waste hay and leaving it for a bit longer to see if that cuts down on the dust. The goats won’t touch any hay that has fallen onto the ground (rather that they have pulled out and deliberately dropped on the ground), so there is no risk of them picking up worm eggs from the ground, but I have to admit that the mess from having the hay spread everywhere is doing my head in!
Amira is growing nice and strong, purebred Pygmy Goat buck Presley continues to impress us as he develops so much muscle, width and depth as he nears 18 months of age, and the new girls have settled in really well and are getting ready for breeding season coming up in the next few months.
