Thank you for your interest in the herd. Dairy goats have been part of my life for the past
34 years and they now are supplying milk for the third generation of goat lovers. This relationship has brought great rewards, frustrations, wonderful human and caprine friends, and a lifestyle that few outside goat world can understand.
The herd has access to pasture and a round bale of mixed grass hay 365 days a year. Limited amounts of a 14% whole grain mix (no pellets!) are fed by hand. Very little alfalfa is fed to fresh does. Close attention is given to minerals offered. Kids are removed from the dams at birth and raised on heat treated goat colostrum and pasteurized
milk. The herd is certified, accredited, abscess free and was tested 100% negative of Johnes by the state. We expect our does to be healthy, hardy and trouble free. Excess milk is used for soap and cheese making and feeding the Holstein heifer calves on the farm.
Losing Adam the guard llama at the end of the summer was devastating. He was a creature of amazing intelligence and presence. The coyotes figured out he was gone in record time, leading to sleepless nights. At times like this you really know who your friends are. I cannot thank Ray Graves, April and Mike Hitch, Harold Nation, and Carrie
O'Brien and Loretta Brolsma enough. The herd is now protected by Tony Llama from Ray, Mi the Pyr X Maremma cross from Loretta and Carrie, and Roo the Pyr pup from the Hitch's. Harold drove lots of miles to help it all happen. I can now sleep at night.
Some of the older does are having issues dealing with life with dogs but they are getting used to it
The herd has been on continuous standard DHIR since 1984 and has been appraised numerous times. Judging assignments, two engaging grandchildren and a shift in priorities have limited our time for showing.
The herd only went to one two- ring show in '05 with 1 XBIS, 3 XGCH, 2 X RGCH, 3 X BU and both Best Dairy Herds in
Show. Because we are showing so infrequently, we are more apt to let some fancy milkers go to homes where they will be shown. This summer we let Passive Aggression go to Shady Lawn in
Kentucky where she earned all three legs of her GCH and scored EX91 besides.
Appraisal scores show numerous generations of excellent does in the herd.
There are currently 9 Excellent does in the herd and 7 of them are 91 or 92.
We strive to produce animals who are structurally correct, will live a long productive life, and reproduce themselves. We are not interested in the flavor of the month, nor are we interested in excessively high milk records, except in the area of percentage of components . This Alpine herd currently tests 3.9% fat and 3.0% protein with certain individuals testing over 4.5% fat.
We would be happy to supply you with a kid or milker to be competitive in the show ring but are just as proud that commercial herds look to us for breeding stock and are often repeat buyers. Please let us know if you have any questions . Our email is generally checked daily.
