Breeding season is upon us...

And the late bred doe just refuses to kid out. We had two young does we picked up at Cream of the Crop that we decided were not grown out enough to breed in the early winter, so we kept them home until they had a few more months to grow. Hence, we have a doe that is big as a house in the middle of July, and I've been holding off moving the rest of my long yearlings up there to get bred because I don't want them to beat the tar out of her in her current delicate condition. I guess I chose poorly when I decided I didn't want to wait until the next fall to get her bred. Live and learn. The real problem is, there isn't a better field of similar age does to put her in, and time's a wastin' with the does scheduled to be bred. In order to maximize the potential of their future kids to be breeding size by next winter, and to minimize the possibility of parasite issues when thier immune system is down, I am again aiming to get the does bred for December kids. In retrospect, although it was hard getting up to check on them in the bad weather, it was easier on the does and the kids after their initial rude entry to the cold, cold world. If the pasture we planted on the other farm takes, and we get the does on it late winter as planned, life will be a lot easier this winter. Keep your fingers crossed for us to get all the work done. This is the season where we start our planning and gambling, hoping for the perfect cross that gives us maternal does, fast growing kids, meaty bucks, and increased parasite resistance all the way around.

Now if only Connie will just get with the program and kid out. We did not see her get bred as we did with almost every other doe (Boomer is not shy, which is helpful figuring out when kids are due). She waddles around, enormous - udder huge, sides dropped, pawing here and there and acting like kidding is imminent, only she has been doing this for a week. When she lays down, she spreads out like Jabba the Hutt. I have decided the other does are going to the country anyway in a few days. I had wanted to wait until her kids were at least a couple of weeks old (if she doesn't have twins I'll make Chuck eat his hat), but I don't want to miss another cycle with the rest of the does, because they are definitely gearing up to make babies.

I'm looking forward to this breeding season, as I'm sure all the other producers are doing as well. We have several Iron Horse daughters ready to be bred, out of some of the GHK herd mother does. We only crossed Boomer with one young Iron Horse doe this year, and the single doeling she had is developing nicely and with more muscle than our other doe kids, so she will be interesting to see in two years.

Hopefully I will get a new crop of replacement does with the genes for muscle and meat. We have a new "elder" doe who is a Tasman Aristocrat daughter we hope has a few more kids in her, and a few other does with traits we'd like to see in our herd - good udders, documented parasite resistance, and a good thick meaty hind end. I'm looking forward to "34's" next set of kids because phenotypically, she also crossed really well with Boomer with both a doeling and buckling and I'm really hoping her mothering abilities breed true. I know to some folks the 100% New Zealand tag is more important, but this Purebred doe is one of my favorites so far. That's why my plan right now is to keep her daughter.

Come spring, I hope my Terminator XX granddaughter and some of my Purdy doelings are ready to breed, but if not, they'll be ready for next fall!

AKGA Conference

Well, we are home from our adventure in Mississippi. We were expecting an even larger adventure, as we had planned to take our children with us to the AKGA seminar, but Grandma took pity on us, and on them, so they stayed with her. We knew it was going to be trouble when our daughter announced she didn't want to go to the goat conference because there weren't going to be any rides. Obviously, it was not her idea of a vacation. So, Chuck and I loaded up the night after my final class of a 3 week intense graduate level education class - the class I couldn't miss because all the projects were due - in our brand new shiny truck. Well, it is brand new to us. The youngest of our vehicles had 110k on it, so we broke down and got a new used farm truck just before the conference. It handled the trip admirably and we felt like we were riding in style.


We drove all night after being up all day, and while I spelled Chuck for a bit so he could have a nap, I was exhausted from my class and he did the vast majority of the driving. We arrived in Batesville, Mississippi at the conference center just in time for the doe selection seminar, without a minute to spare. We learned a lot from the seminar, and then had the opportunity to rate the live does. We originally had one "keep or cull" decision wrong, but when the majority of the folks participating said they'd cull the doe, too, Dr. Sparks tossed her out of the mix. We still didn't win the prize in the drawing, but it was nice to know we are learning something. Now we just need to practice what we all are preaching!


We got some great information in the LGD seminar, which was timely, considering we had sent in a deposit on an Anatolian puppy to be the eventual companion of our Great Pyrenees, Ralph (yes, Ralph is a female). We were very pleased with the pup when we saw him. He is sensible and brave without being too aggressive, and is just a good looking pup. He came from Horseshoe Canyon Ranch. He even rode home beautifully in the dog crate. I think he was exhausted from his big weekend and all the heat, and he slept most of the way home.



One of my big moments of the weekend was getting to hear Dr. Pinkerton in person. He writes so well, and has such a wonderful sense of humor that permeates his writing, I couldn't wait to see his seminar on winter forages for the SouthEast. Of course, I am very interested in winter forage suitable for NC for obvious reasons, although we've already got some stuff planted that we hope will be up for this winter. I learned about several alternatives that will work if the orchard grass doesn't make it because of when we planted. After listening to Dr. Pinkerton, I have a new favorite saying. I can't put the whole thing in my blog lest I offend anyone, but I just hope I don't do anything where he'd have to tell me I was "eat up with the dumb***." Well, anything else that is. I've sure had my moments, and now I have a particularly eloquent way to describe what must have come over me.


One of the speakers at the conference runs a Halal slaughterhouse, and I had read some articles last year that suggest Halal slaughter produces less pain for the animal. I am interested in this, as even though we do believe in eating goat meat, we believe that no animal should have to be treated cruelly or subject to great fear even in its last moments. He also was kind enough to bring both a spicy (which Chuck ate) and a mild (which was still almost too spicy for me) goat meat dish with saffron rice and a fresh vegetable salad. What a wonderful afternoon snack. It was delicious. Anyone who hasn't tried goat meat should try some of the stuff they have at these goat conferences. It will make a believer out of you.



Of course, the weekend would not be complete without a rundown of the sale on Saturday. We missed the meeting Friday night as we were unable to keep our eyes open any longer, and were concerned after all that driving we might have smelled worse than the buck goats, so we went to the hotel and crashed. One of the older does I had decided I was going to bring home no matter what was not there, so we carefully looked over some others, and did get our hearts set on two in particular with a few alternates that would also fit the program. I made a list of goats I might be interested in, took some pictures, and when we went back to the hotel, I put myself to sleep reviewing my notes. As exhausted as we were, excitement was the stronger of the two and we were there bright and early to look at goats and attend seminars Saturday morning.



I spoke to the man who owns Sports Kat now, as "Boomer" is a Sports Kat grandson and I love how he is built. He mentioned he had some young doelings at the sale, so I took a look at them and thought they looked pretty good. I loved several of the old does, weathered but regal in their demeanor, and really wanted to get some of these old genetics for our herd. Of course, there were some good younger does with great udders and body types, and some nice babies, too.

When the auction started Saturday, prices were lower than I expected for some pretty good looking goats. Of course, on the goats I was after, this was not the case. I did get the Sports Kat doe for a good price, but the rest of the does I had wanted really got out of my price range. There was a gorgeous young doe named Eulie I wanted, but she just went higher than I could go. I bet she does great things for the farm that got her. I also tried mightily to get old Tay W27, but my pockets weren't as deep as the farm who got her, or rather, got her back. Apparently the high bidder had gotten in trouble for selling her previously so he was under strict orders to bring her home. He is going to flush her, and of course we don't flush, but I had hoped to bring her home and get a crop or two from her and then feed her bon bons the rest of her days because she's old and she deserves it. Can you tell I'm an older mom too? Maybe someday I'll get her... but not this time. I did get a doe by Tasman Aristocrat and we're going to see if she has a set of kids left in her. I hope so. She's an awfully good looking doe for her age. We also got a young doe to be a companion to the Sports Kat daughter, and she is a nice looking Sports Kat granddaughter. I really like the Sports Kat look and meatiness. There was another relatively young doe that looked pretty good and had a nice udder, and her price was right, so we took a chance on her to round out the group. Now I just have to hope everyone is parasite resistant and a good momma. Only time will tell. I guess even with ones you breed yourself, it is a crap shoot and you just have to hope some traits breed through. I haven't had time to take decent pictures of the new does yet. They are settling in after their very long trip. I gave everyone some Bovi Sera because they've really had the stress, and anything very young or very old is always more delicate. They are eating some hay, and hopefully that will help settle their stomachs.





My entry would not be complete without a mention of how nice it was to finally meet so many of the goat folks face to face. I normally have to work, look after the kids, and look after the goats, so Chuck usually travels alone to these things. I was pleased to have met such a nice group of folks, and especially the other bloggers out there. It really does feel like we already know each other, doesn't it? Well, off to look after some stuff and more later...

some of the kids looking for new digs

Here are a couple of pictures of two of the doelings we've had some interest in. I'd be delighted for them to find some good homes, and get Boomer's genetics out there for some other producers. That will be a true test of his mettle, and it will take a few years for us to really know how those bloodlines play out. First is Magnolia, who is a triplet doeling out of a older doe we bought at BBM's dispersal sale. She has raised many sets of triplets, and is a tough old goat. Her buck kid is now at the house with the other buck kids, and although he is a triplet and a month younger than the 75% twins we brought home at the same time, he is a little taller, so we'll see how he develops muscle wise now that he is on his own. Here is a picture or two of Magnolia. Please excuse the ears in picture two.

Although the next doeling is very similar in color, this is Indy's 100% NZ doeling "China Doll." She is much younger, and won't be ready to wean for a couple months.

Here is a picture of all three kids in that field - PB twins out of "34" and of course little "China Doll", the youngest on the farm.

And here is a closer picture of "34's" doeling "Ginger."

And Ginger's twin brother, who isn't all the way named yet. I'm partial to "Freeway" but for $400 you can name him anything you'd like and put him in the back of your truck. He's a good looking little buck, and we're sure impressed with his mama's mothering abilities...

Here are a couple of pictures of the two older does we bought - both born in April of 2009. The red doe in the middle of the two new ones is miss Louisianna, who believes she is the center of the universe. We purchased her from Goat Hill late last year and Chuck picked her up with the Boulder Hills does we purchased bred to Wild Bill (son of Terminator XX). Louisianna is by Iron Horse and out of Tay W48, a daughter of Goldmine I and a Generator daughter. The two new does are, on the left, DSW W3 Jesse, who is by Boulder Hills S77 and out of JFK Tranquility and on the right is GHK Y 145, also by Iron Horse and out of MGR Lightin's Lady P21, by Sunboy Waco 139 and out of Victoria Farm Puddin. I normally keep new goats to the farm in their own area at our house for a much longer time, but these does came in acting strong, and we needed an area to put the weanling bucks, so we did put these girls together. Louisianna is enjoying being able to mash someone around, since the Mama goat she was previously kept with was definitely dominant to her.

Just a picture or two...

Just a couple pictures of the new babies. All three of them are just happy to be here. Actually, I think they would be happy to be anywhere. The larger does are still a little subdued, but it is hard to garner a lot of attention when you have to compete with a trio of happy little weanlings, so they have only had some Bovi Sera to boost their immune system and we are transitioning their food, but most of our attention is on the little girls. Of course, the weather has been unseasonably cool and very rainy and damp since they arrived, but we always seem to bring home goats in the rain. Amazing how that works, since we had been without rain for weeks. The doelings are settling in well. The larger two - brown and black, are the Iron Horse/Purdy cross kids, so they are heavily Tasman Zorro. The smaller doeling is also by Iron Horse and out a daughter of Nick and Tasman Temptress, so she has more in common with Boomer.

Best of the Midwest Sale

Well, Chuck is on the way back home (accompanied by our nephew who went along to assist and spend a little time in St. Louis) with our five new does. We only bought two at the actual sale, and were having two doelings delivered there from Goat Hill, and they had brought one of the other Purdy doelings with them in error, and since they aren't going to make any more of Purdy's kids (she died this spring), we bought her too. Overall, I am happy with what we are bringing home. I wish we had more space and money and time, because I would have loved to have gotten some of the older does being offered from the original Kiko bloodlines, but such was not to be.

I had metioned in an earlier post that I wanted a Purdy doeling (the Purdy/Iron Horse cross has seemed to be a good one from performance testing in the past). Well now I have two. I hope these two doelings prove to be good framed does, good mothers, and complement Boomer. I guess we may have a better idea this time next year.

The other doeling brought to us at the sale is sired by Iron Horse and out of a daughter of Nick and Tasman Temptress. Dr. Sparks had mentioned her to us, so we decided to give her a try. I like Sports Kat, and he is out of Tasman Temptress (I believe), so maybe we'll see if some of the Sports Kat hip came from her. She's a smaller doeling than the Purdy kids, so maybe she will need an extra year to grow before she is bred, but we'll know more after she is here a while. I would like to have some very maternal does that last a really long time. Of course, only time will tell about that. Chuck didn't get a picture of her, so we will have to wait until she gets home.

I had very much wanted another Goat Hill doeling from 2009, GHK Y145. She is by Iron Horse and out of a full sister to Titan. I liked her mother very much on the Herd Mother page on Goat Hill's web site, so I told Chuck that if we could get her, I thought it would be a good idea. She is a nice bodied doe, and deep, and long, so I have very high hopes for her future kids with Boomer, but of course, I cannot count my chickens before they hatch. I can still hope, however.

The other doeling we bid on is a sister to a doe that sold for a pretty penny at last year's AKGA sale (okay, I read a lot - I get to the point I recognize goats from sale to sale). She is by Boulder Hills S77 and out of JFK Tranquility. I liked the looks of her sister last year, and really the looks (and butts) of most of the Boulder Hills S77 kids, so hopefully she will turn out nicely and again, be a good complement for Boomer. We are trying him on tall framey does, and stockier, more muscle bound does, and we should know after a crop or two what makes the best kids. It's all a learning experience.

It has been a while since last we posted, but sometimes life gets in the way of goats, just like sometimes goats get in the way of life. We've been having to deal with the first really hot temperatures of the summer. The goats aren't thrilled - most of them aren't all the way shedded out, and of course the near freezing nights that have been interspered with the heat have not helped. The buck kids are going to be weaned soon, as they are still growing well and muscling up, and we don't need anybody thinking they need to breed any of the doelings. The doelings, so far, are on track to be naturally weaned by their mothers. If any of the does gets doing too poorly, we may amend that decision, but so far, with supplemental feeding, they are keeping a reasonable body condition while the kids are still on them, and the kids are benefitting greatly from still being on momma's milk. I just think it is best to allow mother nature to have some say in the weaning process. Especially in the case of replacement does. Here again, we are still learning and we'll see how we feel about that in a few years. Goatkeeping, like life, is a journey with more than one single path to take to get where we hope to go, and some of the detours may slow us a bit, but we certainly learn from them.

Indy's doe kid is growing stronger each day. Little "China Doll" is having to deal with the fact that she is smaller than "34's" older twins in the pasture with her, and "34's" brown doeling "Ginger" takes every opportunity to give her a good smack whenever she can. It is amazing how much goats really are like teenage girls. China Doll is holding her own, though, and now all the babies (and adults) are having to deal with the ticks. We have ticks on top of our ticks, and aren't sure quite how to handle it. We tried guineas last year, and after we kept them up for weeks, when we finally had them out they disappeared (all of them, within about thirty minutes, without a trace). Hmmm. We may take some of the spare chickens we have here at the house and turn them loose up there and see if they can out any sort of dent in the tick population. A friend asked recently, "don't they make a Frontline for goats?" and I had to mention that these are, ultimately, food animals, so no, no Frontline. I sprayed the kids with a Neem product (I love Neem - so gentle to the skin, but quite effective on so many bugs) and that seems to be helping to some degree. I would love to hear if anyone has any great ideas for controlling ticks in the woods - especially with natural products.

Here is a picture of the three Musketeers in the yearling field. We hope to keep the doelings, but the black and white buck (Purebred) will be for sale. I can't imagine he wouldn't throw color for anyone for whom that is a priority.