When is the farm open?
- The barnyard and goat pasture is open 7 days/week, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m, to visit with the dairy goats.
What are the goats names?
- Bocephus (mottled black and brown)
- Carl (black with white spot)
- Carl is a temporary name, until the goat receives his official name through a raffle held by the Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara during the Flat Rock Ice Cream Social on June 1st. Check the Friends Facebook and webpages for updates on their raffle. o Name suggestions will be placed into a hat and the winner will be chosen at random.
Where are they from?
- Bocephus: Rock N Holler Farm, Cedar Mountain, NC
- “Carl”: Foxwood Farm, Chuckey, TN
How old are they?
- Bocephus was born: 2/28/2024
- Carl was born: 2/14/2024
What kind of goats are they?
- They are both Nubian goats.
What are they eating?
- They are being fed goats milk supplemented with a goat-specific milk replacer.
- They also have access to pasture, hay, minerals, salt, and a small amount of grain.
Why are they separated from the does?
- FIRST WEEK - Because these bucks were born on other farms, they need to be quarantined for a period of up to 7 days from the Sandburg does, to ensure the buck kids do not have any serious illnesses that could be passed on to the rest of the herd.
- AFTER 7 DAYS - The bucks can share a fence line with the does but will not be allowed in the does’ pasture. The does would not accept these bucklings as their own.
Why did Connemara Farms not breed in the fall and have babies born on site?
- We periodically introduce more genetic diversity into the herd to increase overall herd health of future kids. This year we did so by purchasing buck kids from other farms.
How may goats do you have?
- We maintain a herd size of 15-17 goats.
Are the new bucks related to the Sandburg line of goats?
- Bo is a Sandburg herd descendent, from a different farm. Carl is not a Sandburg descendent. We periodically introduce new goats to the herd to provide more genetic diversity and to increase overall herd health of future kids.
Does having a non-Sandburg goat introduced dilute the Sandburg bloodline?
- No. We periodically introduce new goats to the herd to introduce more genetic diversity and to increase overall herd health of future kids.
How many goats will you breed in the fall?
- We will work with our veterinarian and the Piedmont Dairy Goat Association to determine the exact number to be bred and which goats will be bred. We take into account the following: age of doe, previous kiddings, shape and stature of doe, and overall health-history of the doe.
