End of Summer 2012

Well, it's Labor Day 2012 now. Not too much has happened this summer, but a few great things have happened this summer! August 10th, Tara's Rowdy Kids Ava's Black Magic went to his new home as a herdsire for the beginning of a new Pygmy herd! Sad to see him go (I really loved that little character) but he got an absolutely PERFECT home! Sandusky Co Fair 2012 was also a decent time. In 4-H, Riley (Lil's Little Kids Winston) and I placed fifth in showmanship. LuLu placed second of four in her Junior Kid class. Tara's Rowdy Kids Chocolate Legacy placed sixth in her class and Pinetree Pygmies Esmeralda placed sixth behind her. Billy Goat Co. Mystical Dawn placed fifth in her Does 2-3 class, with Tara's Rowdy Kids Rosalie placed sixth behind her. Billy Goat Co. Kellie placed 4th in her Does Freshened 3-5. Lil's Little Kids Josie won first place in her large, Freshened Does 5 and older class. In the wether division, Breakneck Critters Desperado placed first in the wethers 2-3 class. Lil's Little Kids Winston (my Riley boy) placed second in a large class of wethers 3 and older. Open Show was very exciting however! Our first year with an actual Pygmy Goat Judge, Penny Clark of Saltbox Farms. :) LuLu got third in her Junior Doe class. Tara's Rowdy Kids Chocolate Legacy placed 7th in her large class of 16, while Pinetree Pygmies Esmeralda placed 8th behind her. Billy Goat Co. Mystical Dawn placed first overall of her 2-3 class for her "squareness" and correctness of the face/head. Tara's Rowdy Kids Rosalie placed fifth in the same class, despite choosing not to cooperate. Billy Goat Co. Kellie placed fourth in her class of Freshened Does 3-5. A doe previously owned by me, Billy Goat Co. Leighanna, placed third in front of her. Lil's Little Kids Josie placed third behind two very nice, older does in the 5 and over category. Dawn was represented in the Senior Champion Line-Up, however Mrs. Clark chose the first place Doe from the 3-5 age group for her Senior and then went on to give the doe second behind the 3-5 year old Senior Champion for her Reserve due to more maturity. Tara's Rowdy Kids Little LuLu, Tara's Rowdy Kids Chocolate Legacy, and Tara's Rowdy Kids Rosalie represented my herd in the Breeder's exhibit, placing fourth and were commended for proper breed specific markings and correctness of length. Wether show went off to a bang. In Wethers 2-3, I had Breakneck Critters Desperado. My cousin's stepdaughters own two of my past wethers, Bubbie (Moe) and Squirt (Apollo) from the Kookie and Bari Patch George cross from 6/16/10 were also in that class. Bubbie, placed first, despite not cooperating very well. Desperado placed second closely behind Bubbie. Squirt placed sixth. In Wethers 3+ Lil's Little Kids Winston placed fourth and TreeFrog Pygmies Musketeer (Andy) placed sixth. All four of the wether class came back out. It took the judge quite a while, she was extremely thorough in watching the goats all day. She examined them walking away, walking front, from the side, and was very hands on with them. After a lot of debating she finally made her announcement. "We have some very nice Pygmies represented, but one wether just really stands out to me from his correctness. He was a little stubborn and didn't want to cooperate for some of the time but he is the most correct structure wise, with a nice gait exhibiting nice width when walking away from the rear. Our Grand Champion Pygmy Wether will be our 2-3 year old wether. Which was one of the wethers I bred, Bubbie. I would just like to say, many of my friends and family asked me if I was angry or upset that I sold him. I would just like to say, I felt many emotions, but being angry for selling him or even upset never even crossed my mind once. I was so proud, the smile never even came off my face all day. I will even admit it, I did cry. I cried tears of joy in the show ring. I've never been so proud in all my life but it was more than even just pride. "Bubbie" was out of my first goat, Kookie (also my only crossbred, unregistered goat). It was always a joke between my parents and my grandparents (a way of friendly teasing) that Kookie always got last place in her show classes (one year though, she did get fifth!) In January of 2010, I was debating on who to breed Kookie too. I went to my "goat partner", my Grandad. He and I were debating on who she should be bred to: Mordecai, George, or Herbie. A little of talking and debating, my Grandad helped me decide that George would be the best choice. My Grandad passed away last year, leaving a huge gap and a huge difference not only in raising goats, but in my personal life as well. He was one of my best friends, I talked to him about everything. My goats were his and I's bonding, he gave me my love for farm life and animals and taught me so many lessons. I know "Bubbie" winning, was a joke from my Grandad. I was very proud (and still crying) when Desperado won Reserve Grand Champion next to him. I know my Grandad was looking over me, and I know he had a good laugh that Kookie's son won Grand Champion. Even though he wasn't registered and even though he technically isn't owned "by" me, he was a product of my selective breeding program. So, with a tremendous amount of pride, I can now say I have produced my FIRST ever, GRAND CHAMPION Tara's Rowdy Kids animal! Even though he isn't registered, it was still under a reputable Pygmy Goat Judge. :) Welpppp, I think that's it. Back to school now, 4-H is over for the year. Marching Band is here now. I am also proud to announce that this year is my Junior Year. My mom was also talked into letting me keep a handful of goats for next year... And this year, she is allowing me to BREED! YEAH! Last year to get your Tara's Rowdy Kids animals, well, at least until I get out of Vet School :-) Selling a few pet goats as well right now to prepare for breeding season. 6 does and a buck are up for grabs. I have a person dropping by tomorrow, so we will see :) Pictures will be up soon from fair as well! :)) Thank you all for taking the time to read this and hopefully respond. To get all up to date info, like "Tara's Rowdy Kids" on facebook. I appreciate everyone's messages of love and support over the past year dealing with the loss of my Grandad and having to slowly dispose of my herd. Thank you all, and please feel free to connect via facebook or my website (I promise I will update!) Really all, I mean it, a HUGE thank you for all your support! <3 <3

Long Time, No News

In this case, no news is good news! Well, somewhat I suppose...

Last summer I ended up placing second on my Creative Writing Project and First on my Star Spangled Food project! I got sent to the Ohio State Fair to compete with my cooking! Let me say while I didn't place or win anything special-- it was such an AWESOME experience!

And after selling Sugar Baby and Meg to Cedarside Farms I went on to sell Top Renegade Ranch Mary to Calico Patch Farm in PA! And Tara's Rowdy Kids Eric's Rebel and Rebel Angel went to a local home as pets and companions!

At the 2011 Sandusky County Fair we also did EXTREMELY well! Here's some results: Right off the bat at the 4-H show Riley helped me win Reserve Champion Division 3 Showman! At the pygmy show Billy Goat Co. Mystical Dawn easily won her class and Junior Champion! We went back out for Grand Champion Doe and without an ounce of hesitation he gave it to Dawn! Josie placed 5th in her class, Kellie placed 4th in hers, and I also got a third with Riley in Adv Pack! A doe I bred; Tara's Rowdy Kids Sparklin' Topaz, placed fifth in her class.
Open Class: Billy Goat Co. Leighanna (a doe I previously owned) won Sr Champion and Grand Champion and Billy Goat Co. Kellie won Reserve Sr and Reserve Grand!
So we had a pretty good fair year!

Since then, I've been nothing but busy with life... My Sophomore year of high school started up and so did my second year of Marching Band. Which, of course, meant football games. Proud to say I've maintained all A's and B's this school year! I also spent part of the winter Square Dancing at Ole Zim's.

Now, 4-H has started back up! I am on the Sandusky County Junior Fair Board and am also the Safety Officer for my 4-H club.

But, back to the goats... I didn't breed anyone for kids this year. I miss having kids around but right now, I'm glad to have what I do since this will be my last year with the goats :( I am sad, but I will be headed off to college soon and I know I will find wonderful homes for all my kids. Keeping up with them has just been so hard for just my mom and I. Especially since my Grandad passed away over a year ago. It's just not the same without him around the barn with the goats and I.

So, starting May 1st, I am starting my herd disposal.

I know I will be shedding many tears, but I still have the whole summer with most of them. It's definitely bittersweet for me.

Happy April everyone!

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.