The Reason Why I Could Never Have Dairy Goats

I absolutely love some of the dairy breeds like the Nigerian Dwarf, Nubian, Alpine, Toggs, Oberhasli, Saanen, etc. I like them, they've got nice personalities but I don't think dairy breeds are right for me.

I like Pygmies, Boers, Kikos, Fainters, etc because on dairy breeds it bugs me that you can see ribs and bones. I like my thicker goats much better. It also bugs me that dairy cattle are the same way. Thin animals just bug me too much.

And another reason. There's alot to judge on. The heads, ears, face shape, neck, brisket, legs, feet, rumps, and blending. I suppose it's the same for the Pygmies and Boers but the dairies also are judged on udders. Medials, orfice sizes, milking amounts. There are so many abbrev and *s and +'s and other symbols in their pedigree it gets a bit confusing.

They're also VERY expensive if you want top notch goats.

Not to mention the mane registries. AGS, ADGA, NDGA, NMGA, etc. I don't think I could handle each goat having 2-4 papers per goat.

Boers and Fainters and Silkies also have multiple registries. With Boers there are %, purebred (nearly fullblooded boers, but they'll never be fullblooded), and fullbloods (completely 100% Boer). It's also a bit confusing.

I also must say I've spent lots of time with the bigger dairy goats and I have to say... Of all the breeds I like, my favorites are the Pygmies. They're small, easy to handle, have great attitudes, and reg pygmies don't cost alot (even if they are GREAT in the showring).

Anyway, that's just my two cents worth about the various breeds. And why my herd will ALWAYS be mainly pygmies.

Pre-Fair Judging!

Pre-Fair Judging for my non-livestock projects was yesterday! :)

I took:

Vet Science 2
Star Spangled Food (yes I know... cooking! my worst talent!)
Creative Writing

I got A's on ALL three! And all perfect scores! I am soooo proud of myself! All three judges had really nice comments and positive things to say about me and my projects! :D Especially the Creative Writing judge!

Should find out if I got anything county wide in a few weeks. I'm not holding my breath though ;) I'm proud that I did as well as I did! :)

Just had to share ;) Will later post pictures of my posters and some of my writings for my creative writing project ;)

And here are a few pictures of my backyard today. I was bored and playing with photo options on my new Droid Incredible 2 :)





Here is another picture (yes I'm full of them today!) Of me with my bottle baby Daisy! :)





And then Billy Goat Co. Mystical Dawn and myself! What a pretty girl!



Tara
Tara's Rowdy Kidz

Odds & Ends Updates!

Well, I can't say it's been an easy winter or spring.

On March 16 my Grandad (aka my best friend and my goat business partner) passed away. Anyone who knew him, knew how amazing he was. He had such a love for all animals, I am glad he has passed that onto me. He is very much missed and I will admit, it's been hard for me to keep going with the goats but also my life. Cancer is truly a terrible thing, but he fought long and hard and lived a great 15 months after being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in his brain, liver, lungs, and lymphnodes. He really was my hero and I miss him very much. Not a day goes by I don't think about him or miss him.

As for the goats, things have been doing alot better than the winter! Still no live babies though. And so far I've sold TreeFrog Pygmies Sugar Baby (back to her original owners) and they also took home Sycamore Creek Pygmies Nutmeg! Thank you Battigs! Hope your happy with them :)

I'm DOWNSIZING! I'm selling a buckling, several PET does, and 1 wether. :) Just too hard for mom and I to handle on our own.

On a side note, I'm welcoming a new show doe to the herd! She is my belated birthday present to myself! (using my b-day money to buy her!) She's a BEAUTIFUL light brown agouti with a bellyband! Her name is Billy Goat Co. Kellie! And she is *hopefully* bred to Miss Jill's handsome silver agouti buck, Burntwood Farms Deacon! :) Thank you SOOO much Jill for selling this gorgeous doe to me! :)

Seems like that's it for now! :) New pictures of everyone coming soon! :)