I've been remiss about blogging. Just never seem to get to it. However, I'll try harder to post and put pictures up.
Last August I shipped in 8 purebred Oberhasli kids from Texas. Many thanks to Laura Rivard. She wants pictures but I've been remiss there, also. I promise to try to get those up soon. I love pictures, too.
These does are yearlings now and each and every one of them is a good looking and healthy young doe. Of course, I have my favorites. Here are the names in case you want to look them up:
Rivard-Farm Zorro's Cashew
Rivard-Farm Lucious Lilly [polled]
Rivard-Farm Wonder Woman
Rivard-Farm Sapphire's Summer [twin to next]
Rivard-Farm Star Sapphire
Rivard-Farm Lime-x Artemis
Rivard-Farm Zorro's Victoria
Rivard-Farm Limex Sweet Dreams
Purebred [PB] Oberhasli are descendents of the Pence Importation of Oberhasli in the '30s.
I have made a big effort to get PB semen in the tank to use. Some of these are:
Destiny Farm Duncan
Y-Knot Time to Dance
Commancheland Rewind
Meadowsong Rewind Yuri
Meadowsong Levi Amos
I'll post it if I get any good AIs settled. If you have any information at all about these does or bucks, I'd love to chat.
Information about American Oberhasli in the herd will be in the next post.
Showing posts with label Oberhasli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oberhasli. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Oberhasli Buck Roll Call 2010-2011
First up, the American Oberhasli buck: *B Heaven's HOllow Pistol Pete. This is Pete's third breeding season with us.
http://www.adgagenetics.org/GoatDetail.aspx?RegNumber=B001436090
Shotsi classified 92EEEE and was the Reserve National Champion in 2008 and National Grand Champion in 2009. She has made the top ten in the past and is slated to make it again in 2010. Shotsi's 2010 buck has been selected for the 2010 Spotlight Sale. This would be full brother to Pete.
We are all pleased with first kids out of Pete. Have no milker yet to show but soon.
2. Robin-Wood Bunda Big Cinsation.
http://www.adgagenetics.org/GoatDetail.aspx?RegNumber=B001532120
"Runaway" is a beautiful, growthy, balanced young American buck. He is the result of an AI breeding to the great *B White-Haven Bundaberg, who happens to be sire to Shotsi as well.
3: The Lindisfarme Red Apache, pending.
This young buck is a Purebred which we purchased to breed to our young Purebred Oberhasli does when they are big enough.
His sire is: Milk-n-More PG Red Apache, owned by Arden Ward.
His dam is: Milk-n-More Miss Bonetti.
We have some other American homebred bucks here:
Lindisfarme Life Insurance, Ludwigs Mohawk Vada's Hansel X Lindisfarm Zeus Annette.
Lindisfarme Oscar, Ludwigs Mohawk Vada's Hansel X Squaw*Mountain Raspberry
Lindisfarme Pete's ...., Heaven's Hollow Pistol Pete X Lindisfarme Hansel's Trouble
All these bucks will be collected and semen available.
S:
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Cabbage Leaves! Get out of my way!!
Yes, my small herd of purebred and American Oberhasli goats are getting cabbage leaves and some cull cabbage heads again, just like every year. People are sometimes surprised how much they love them and how many they eat. My goats can hear the old farm truck putting up the road and run to the fence in anticipation. The horses are eating their share as well. All four of the horses are cabbage eaters. My granddaughter swears that the horses hooves are improved due to the cabbage leaves.
While the goats prefer the crunchy leaves, the horses eat the heads like big old apples. And speaking of apples, they are all getting apples as well this time of year. The pen of purebred kids has had their cabbage leaves thrown in but aren't really all that crazy about them. They nibble, but really haven't gotten enthusiastic yet.
So I have a routine that I have evolved. I fill up the feeders with hay. Then I thrown in cabbage leaves or let them go to the pile. Then I give them their grain a couple hours later.
Pumpkins will be coming soon, girls.
While the goats prefer the crunchy leaves, the horses eat the heads like big old apples. And speaking of apples, they are all getting apples as well this time of year. The pen of purebred kids has had their cabbage leaves thrown in but aren't really all that crazy about them. They nibble, but really haven't gotten enthusiastic yet.
So I have a routine that I have evolved. I fill up the feeders with hay. Then I thrown in cabbage leaves or let them go to the pile. Then I give them their grain a couple hours later.
Pumpkins will be coming soon, girls.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Breeding Season or The Joy of Hormones
I have a pen of 9 sweet little 50# PB does. Right along side is a pen of 3 kid bucks. they're fighting and butting heads and mounting each other, blubbering at the girls. Then my big buck gets out and he's been blubbering around the little girls for 2 days. By that I mean, he was running around the pen on the outside, fighting with the little bucks in their pen throught the fencing and trying desperately to get to the girls. Knowing I was going to drag him back to his own barn, he wasn't about to let me catch him.
I go down yesterday to feed. Horror! Here's the 3 buck kids running amuck! the old buck was so upset and running around the outside, pushing the gate and sticking his head in. He just couldn't get over it. Just couldn't figure a way to get in.
The little girls are running around and around in the doe pen trying to get away from them. But there's no way to get away from 3 horny little bucks. One of the larger ones seems to be in heat but wasn't standing. And a couple of the other little girls had managed to get into the buck side. They were too spooked to let me catch them.
One person can only do so much.
I managed to get the three buck kids back on their side but the does wouldn't cooperate so I had to leave them in on the buck side, too. Poor things. They were jumped and mobbed and molested continuously until someone could go down and help me separate them.
Yeah, it's crazy all right. I don't really think anything got bred, but you know goats! It'll be over in a month or two. TG.
I go down yesterday to feed. Horror! Here's the 3 buck kids running amuck! the old buck was so upset and running around the outside, pushing the gate and sticking his head in. He just couldn't get over it. Just couldn't figure a way to get in.
The little girls are running around and around in the doe pen trying to get away from them. But there's no way to get away from 3 horny little bucks. One of the larger ones seems to be in heat but wasn't standing. And a couple of the other little girls had managed to get into the buck side. They were too spooked to let me catch them.
One person can only do so much.
I managed to get the three buck kids back on their side but the does wouldn't cooperate so I had to leave them in on the buck side, too. Poor things. They were jumped and mobbed and molested continuously until someone could go down and help me separate them.
Yeah, it's crazy all right. I don't really think anything got bred, but you know goats! It'll be over in a month or two. TG.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Pistol Pete semen is available at Naitonals.
Since Pete collected particularly well this winter and we are well stocked for 2009 semen we are offering it for sale with delivery to the National Show in Louisville. Please get in touch with me so I can reserve the straws you want. Pete's semen was used this past winter and he has AI kids on the ground.
I have two beautiful buck kids out of Pete. One buck's gr-dam was a once in a lifetime milker. See this blog for an old post about Cherokee. It was our first modern oberhasli and we didn't know that she was special. She milked almost 2 gal 2X a day and even in the fall was over a gallon. That certainly would have put her in the top ten and maybe even a bigger record. We weren't on test. The dau doesn't milk anyway near that but has a beautiful round udder and small teats. Her name is Lindisfarme Fred's Cherry. Price is $350.
Second buck is out of a taller doe. Again very prestigious pedigree. West coast genetics. Great udder, good milker. If I can get her into the show ring should be a winner. Price is $400.
Looking for some young stock to add to my herd. Let me know if you want to trade or sell.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
New 2009 Junior Herdsire
This little guy is getting on a plane and flying from UC Davis in California to Dayton Inernational Airport sometime within this next week, probably Sunday. We can't wait to get him.
His dam is the lovely SGCH California Kalvin Special K and AI sire is White-Haven Remus, son of National GCH White Haven Misty. Special K is multiple top ten doe. She has classified 90EEEE and was #2 in her class in the 2005 National show. The ETA of this buck and his two brothers is 99/44 which should put him on the Elite Young Sire list.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Liver Fluke in Goats
LIVER FLUKE
(an often-misidentified worm that's lethal if not treated for properly)
Update 2/08 by Sue Reith.
SYMPTOMS:
Liver fluke damage is generally rather slow in appearing in mature goats... In a reasonably healthy goat, it can take years of gradual decline before the owner is even aware that Liver fluke is present. Symptoms are some, if not always all, of the following: Gradual increase in unthriftiness (dry coat, guard hairs sticking up, ribbiness, pale eye membranes (indicating anemia caused by the worm's activity), a swelling under the jaw (that has erroneously been considered among the veterinary community to be symptomatic of resistance to treatment for haemonchus contortus), and, eventually, a possibly sub-normal temp (less than 102 degrees), a distended belly (symptomatic of last-stage liver disease), and fecal pellets that are almost black in color and shriveled up with pointy ends on them.
Often the victim goat is one that has been wormed routinely, and yet still continues its gradual decline. The problem is that there's only one wormer on the market that will wipe out Liver fluke properly, Ivomec PLUS, (the PLUS part being clorsulon, specifically for eradication of Liver fluke) and many owners don't even know this wormer exists! Sadly, even when the owner finally learns about it and starts treatment, by that time there has often already been too much damage to the goat's liver for it to be saved even after proper worming.
BTW: While Liver fluke damage is often found in otherwise well-managed mature goats that despite good care continue to decline in appearance, in my experience this sudden appearance of anemia and weakness with either normal, or subnormal, temp (and sometimes swelling under the jaw as well) is not at all unusual to discover in young ruminants within the first few months of life as well. At that age it commonly shows up when they're heavily exposed to it in pastures containing wet areas, before their immune systems can get up and going to protect them. In fact, it's not uncommon for these young victims to die so fast they hardly have time to be sick.¹ This is especially true if there are any clostridial (Entero) organisms present in them, since they multiply and secrete their toxins fast in the already damaged, poorly oxygenated liver tissue .¹
TREATMENT:
I'm not one to quit without at least doing my best to save the goat...So if a goat of mine were affected with Liver Fluke I'd start it immediately on Ivomec Plus, using the appropriate worming approach as follows: All wormer packages note on the packaging that the product kills off ONLY the adult stages. So in order to get the worm load in the host down to a low enough level so that the immune system can take over and keep the problem under control, you need to worm 3X, with 10 days between wormings. The first dose will wipe out the adults already in there, the second dose will wipe out the larvae as they become adults (but before they can start laying eggs of their own), and the third dose kills off those eggs that were already in there when you started the worming, after they've passed thru the larval stage, when they, too, have become adults.. That leaves just a very low level of the parasites still in the host, the ones that from sheer timing
(good luck?) missed being wiped out by the worming onslaught... And that's just enough for the immune system to keep under control from then on. Having begun the repair process by giving the first dose of Ivomec Plus, the next step would be to immediatelystart it on subcutaneous injections of Ferrodex 200 (each 1 ml dose of which delivers 200 mg of elemental iron), to restorethe liver's red cells, the loss of which was the cause ofthe anemia and the blackened, shriveled, pointy-ended fecal pellets.And at this very critical time, as adjunct (supportive) therapy, I'd give it subcutaneous doses daily of 'Fortified' B-complex' (a combination of B vitamins needed for proper body function that has everything but B-12), essential because every time the patient urinates, it's losing all of those vitamins that are needed to maintenance of its body functions, and BoSe (to support his stressed immune system so that the goat can help itself to get well from
inside, while I work on it from the outside), and Banamine (to reduce the goat's pain and cut the inflammation caused by the worm damage) which, once given, will encourage the goat to want to eat once again! And last but not least, I'd give the goat a preventative doe of C&D antitoxin (to prevent entero from taking this opportunity to sneak in and finish the poor victim off because while it's down its stomach is not digesting food and moving it out of its body as it should.)
BACKGROUND:
Liver fluke is found in most of the US, but it's especially common in the Southern states due to the lack of good frosts to wipe out eggs and larvae in winter. We see it often up here in the Northern states as well, but because we have colder winters, the numbers, fortunately, are somewhat lower. However during the rainy season, no matter what part of the country the goat lives in, the Liver Fluke problem becomes particularly pervasive each year!
Today, by far the most difficult problem that we as owners face with Liver fluke treatment/control is that the veterinary community in general isn't even aware that it's there. As a result, they're unable to recommend proper treatment for it. This is because the egg of the Liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica)² looks so similar to that of the Barberpole worm (Haemonchus contortus)² that when it shows up on the slide in the Vet's office it's routinely misidentified to BE that of the Haemonchus contortus (or perhaps by some general term like strongyles, stomach worms, et al).
Until just a few years ago the veterinarian, seeing what was thought to be Haemonchus contortus eggs on the slide, would recommend Ivomec to the owner as the wormer of choice to eradicate it. And rightly so, because the moment Ivomec appeared on the scene back in the early 1980's, it was recognized as the most effective general wormer to show up ever! And frankly it remains, in my view, still the best and most efficacious general wormer on the market today.
And largely because the real Haemonchus contortus has always responded very well to Ivomec, veterinarians, misidentifying Liver fluke eggs as those of Haemonchus contortus, quite logically continued recommending Ivomec for treatment. When the Liver fluke failed to respond to the Ivomec treatment, unfortunately the loss of the animal in question was assumed to be a sign of the Haemonchus contortus having developed 'resistance' to the Ivomec! This notion has now become so pervasive that the veterinary community in general believes these days that the worms affecting livestock have developed a resistance to Ivomec, the result being a recommendation to their clients that they (1) increase the doses, and (2) turn to other wormers. Neither approach has even slowed down the deaths being caused, in fact, by Liver fluke. Since neither of those suggestions are working, the most recent approach has been to set up Famacha classes to
instruct owners and veterinarians alike in how to check the eyelids of the downed animals to see if they're anemic. If the animals have pale eyelids, indicating they're anemic, owners are sometimes advised to destroy the victim, fearing that if it lives, the 'resistance to wormers' will spread even further.
Sadly, neither plain Ivomec, nor Panacur, nor any of the other general wormers on the market today, are effective against Liver fluke. The fact is, this parasite can ONLY be eradicated efficiently by using a product called Ivomec Plus . It's not the Ivomec itself, but the PLUS part of the combined wormer, which is actually 'clorsulon' , that effectively wipes out Liver fluke. And (very critically) since it only kills the ADULT of the species, clorsulon (just as all wormers) has to be used at regular doses, 3 X in a row, 10 days apart, to kill it off completely. ¹
And it will no doubt be of particular interest for those owners who are worried about using milk from does being treated with Ivomec Plus that the Pharmaceutical companies have now run the required tests on those two products that officially clears them for use in lactating ruminants!
So in my view, these days (particularly if the reader is having a hard time controlling internal parasites in his/her animals) Ivomec Plus (instead of plain Ivomec) should ALWAYS be used for general worming, 'just in case'! Just like regular Ivomec, it can be given orally although it's actually an injectable. But since right now Ivomec itself is less readily being used by people (most of whom have never even heard of Liver fluke, and many of whom have their vets ID their goats' fecal samples as well) Ivomec Plus, while its importance is gradually growing among goat owners, may not yet be available in your local feed store... However it is readily available in livestock catalogs, and online as well, at about the same price as Ivomec.
END
¹ Georgi's Parasitology for Veterinarians, Dwight Bowman, 7th Ed. P116.
² Veterinary Clinical Parasitology, Sloss & Kemp, 5th Ed. P.41, Fasciola hepatica eggs; P.46, Haemonchus contortus eggs
Sue Reith
C Carmelita Toggs
Bainbridge Island WA
(While I urge you to share this information with other individual goat owners, please do not reproduce the article for publication without my specific permission. Thank you. Sue Reith.)
(an often-misidentified worm that's lethal if not treated for properly)
Update 2/08 by Sue Reith.
SYMPTOMS:
Liver fluke damage is generally rather slow in appearing in mature goats... In a reasonably healthy goat, it can take years of gradual decline before the owner is even aware that Liver fluke is present. Symptoms are some, if not always all, of the following: Gradual increase in unthriftiness (dry coat, guard hairs sticking up, ribbiness, pale eye membranes (indicating anemia caused by the worm's activity), a swelling under the jaw (that has erroneously been considered among the veterinary community to be symptomatic of resistance to treatment for haemonchus contortus), and, eventually, a possibly sub-normal temp (less than 102 degrees), a distended belly (symptomatic of last-stage liver disease), and fecal pellets that are almost black in color and shriveled up with pointy ends on them.
Often the victim goat is one that has been wormed routinely, and yet still continues its gradual decline. The problem is that there's only one wormer on the market that will wipe out Liver fluke properly, Ivomec PLUS, (the PLUS part being clorsulon, specifically for eradication of Liver fluke) and many owners don't even know this wormer exists! Sadly, even when the owner finally learns about it and starts treatment, by that time there has often already been too much damage to the goat's liver for it to be saved even after proper worming.
BTW: While Liver fluke damage is often found in otherwise well-managed mature goats that despite good care continue to decline in appearance, in my experience this sudden appearance of anemia and weakness with either normal, or subnormal, temp (and sometimes swelling under the jaw as well) is not at all unusual to discover in young ruminants within the first few months of life as well. At that age it commonly shows up when they're heavily exposed to it in pastures containing wet areas, before their immune systems can get up and going to protect them. In fact, it's not uncommon for these young victims to die so fast they hardly have time to be sick.¹ This is especially true if there are any clostridial (Entero) organisms present in them, since they multiply and secrete their toxins fast in the already damaged, poorly oxygenated liver tissue .¹
TREATMENT:
I'm not one to quit without at least doing my best to save the goat...So if a goat of mine were affected with Liver Fluke I'd start it immediately on Ivomec Plus, using the appropriate worming approach as follows: All wormer packages note on the packaging that the product kills off ONLY the adult stages. So in order to get the worm load in the host down to a low enough level so that the immune system can take over and keep the problem under control, you need to worm 3X, with 10 days between wormings. The first dose will wipe out the adults already in there, the second dose will wipe out the larvae as they become adults (but before they can start laying eggs of their own), and the third dose kills off those eggs that were already in there when you started the worming, after they've passed thru the larval stage, when they, too, have become adults.. That leaves just a very low level of the parasites still in the host, the ones that from sheer timing
(good luck?) missed being wiped out by the worming onslaught... And that's just enough for the immune system to keep under control from then on. Having begun the repair process by giving the first dose of Ivomec Plus, the next step would be to immediatelystart it on subcutaneous injections of Ferrodex 200 (each 1 ml dose of which delivers 200 mg of elemental iron), to restorethe liver's red cells, the loss of which was the cause ofthe anemia and the blackened, shriveled, pointy-ended fecal pellets.And at this very critical time, as adjunct (supportive) therapy, I'd give it subcutaneous doses daily of 'Fortified' B-complex' (a combination of B vitamins needed for proper body function that has everything but B-12), essential because every time the patient urinates, it's losing all of those vitamins that are needed to maintenance of its body functions, and BoSe (to support his stressed immune system so that the goat can help itself to get well from
inside, while I work on it from the outside), and Banamine (to reduce the goat's pain and cut the inflammation caused by the worm damage) which, once given, will encourage the goat to want to eat once again! And last but not least, I'd give the goat a preventative doe of C&D antitoxin (to prevent entero from taking this opportunity to sneak in and finish the poor victim off because while it's down its stomach is not digesting food and moving it out of its body as it should.)
BACKGROUND:
Liver fluke is found in most of the US, but it's especially common in the Southern states due to the lack of good frosts to wipe out eggs and larvae in winter. We see it often up here in the Northern states as well, but because we have colder winters, the numbers, fortunately, are somewhat lower. However during the rainy season, no matter what part of the country the goat lives in, the Liver Fluke problem becomes particularly pervasive each year!
Today, by far the most difficult problem that we as owners face with Liver fluke treatment/control is that the veterinary community in general isn't even aware that it's there. As a result, they're unable to recommend proper treatment for it. This is because the egg of the Liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica)² looks so similar to that of the Barberpole worm (Haemonchus contortus)² that when it shows up on the slide in the Vet's office it's routinely misidentified to BE that of the Haemonchus contortus (or perhaps by some general term like strongyles, stomach worms, et al).
Until just a few years ago the veterinarian, seeing what was thought to be Haemonchus contortus eggs on the slide, would recommend Ivomec to the owner as the wormer of choice to eradicate it. And rightly so, because the moment Ivomec appeared on the scene back in the early 1980's, it was recognized as the most effective general wormer to show up ever! And frankly it remains, in my view, still the best and most efficacious general wormer on the market today.
And largely because the real Haemonchus contortus has always responded very well to Ivomec, veterinarians, misidentifying Liver fluke eggs as those of Haemonchus contortus, quite logically continued recommending Ivomec for treatment. When the Liver fluke failed to respond to the Ivomec treatment, unfortunately the loss of the animal in question was assumed to be a sign of the Haemonchus contortus having developed 'resistance' to the Ivomec! This notion has now become so pervasive that the veterinary community in general believes these days that the worms affecting livestock have developed a resistance to Ivomec, the result being a recommendation to their clients that they (1) increase the doses, and (2) turn to other wormers. Neither approach has even slowed down the deaths being caused, in fact, by Liver fluke. Since neither of those suggestions are working, the most recent approach has been to set up Famacha classes to
instruct owners and veterinarians alike in how to check the eyelids of the downed animals to see if they're anemic. If the animals have pale eyelids, indicating they're anemic, owners are sometimes advised to destroy the victim, fearing that if it lives, the 'resistance to wormers' will spread even further.
Sadly, neither plain Ivomec, nor Panacur, nor any of the other general wormers on the market today, are effective against Liver fluke. The fact is, this parasite can ONLY be eradicated efficiently by using a product called Ivomec Plus . It's not the Ivomec itself, but the PLUS part of the combined wormer, which is actually 'clorsulon' , that effectively wipes out Liver fluke. And (very critically) since it only kills the ADULT of the species, clorsulon (just as all wormers) has to be used at regular doses, 3 X in a row, 10 days apart, to kill it off completely. ¹
And it will no doubt be of particular interest for those owners who are worried about using milk from does being treated with Ivomec Plus that the Pharmaceutical companies have now run the required tests on those two products that officially clears them for use in lactating ruminants!
So in my view, these days (particularly if the reader is having a hard time controlling internal parasites in his/her animals) Ivomec Plus (instead of plain Ivomec) should ALWAYS be used for general worming, 'just in case'! Just like regular Ivomec, it can be given orally although it's actually an injectable. But since right now Ivomec itself is less readily being used by people (most of whom have never even heard of Liver fluke, and many of whom have their vets ID their goats' fecal samples as well) Ivomec Plus, while its importance is gradually growing among goat owners, may not yet be available in your local feed store... However it is readily available in livestock catalogs, and online as well, at about the same price as Ivomec.
END
¹ Georgi's Parasitology for Veterinarians, Dwight Bowman, 7th Ed. P116.
² Veterinary Clinical Parasitology, Sloss & Kemp, 5th Ed. P.41, Fasciola hepatica eggs; P.46, Haemonchus contortus eggs
Sue Reith
C Carmelita Toggs
Bainbridge Island WA
(While I urge you to share this information with other individual goat owners, please do not reproduce the article for publication without my specific permission. Thank you. Sue Reith.)
Friday, January 30, 2009
Beautiful Rear Udder--Okanogan Oberhasli Hyacinth 2X GCH
Sigh. I wish she were mine. (Note the cutie at 2:00)http://www.netneon.com/88257494006C1FEE/pitem/Okanogan_Oberhaslis_Hyacinth_2xGCH_-_Kids_9A003FEF56B243DD8825754E00236A11
Friday, December 19, 2008
*B Heaven's Hollow Pistol Pete Collection
The son of SGCH Heaven's Hollow Shotsi *M, 92EEEE and Res. National GCH 2008 and #5 Top Ten milker, is generating a lot of interest because of his impeccable pedigree. Pete is now a working buck. He has been in the pen with most of the does and they are starting to show heavy bellies so no doubt we'll have a lot of babies in a few months.
Pete was collected for AI in November by Biogenics. He was dwarfed by the other bucks, these big old nubian behemoths. The only other young buck there was also an Oberhasli. He was Kirt Schnipke's buck Utterly Crazy Richochet. When it came to "jumping the does" you had to get out of the way for the other bucks, they reminded me of a fancy quarter horse running up and sliding to a stop. But not Petey. He acted like he didn't know what to do.
The collector suggested we take him and the doe outside and try it without the other bucks and people. He got a slow start but after a while he caught on and we collected 27 straws. Kirts buck collected about as well. So it was a successful collection even though the little guy got off to a slow start.
I donated 5 straws to a fund-raising auction on cometothefarm.com for the benefit of OBA. There were two eager bidders and they went for $201! So we'll be shipping it out to Dan who has the Butte Creek herd in Oregon or Northern California. I'm not quite sure which.
I hadn't planned on selling any more but there seems to be enough interest that I'm going to see if I can have him collected a second time after the first of the year. If you are interested in a purchase let me know. I'm not certain I will be selling any more this winter and spring but it is a possibility, and I can start a waiting list.
Every spring is an exciting time. I am so fortunate to have owned and used such fine bucks. My foundation bucks were so precious and choosing and buying them all those years ago was such a matter of beginner's luck. Last year I used the son of GCH Vassajara Vada, 91EEEE, Top Ten, and an Elite doe. These are some of the prettiest kids ever born here.
Using fine bucks, generation after generation, the quality of the herd progresses every year. Pete is bred to about 15 does, many of them daughters and granddaughters of our dear late FDF-Pleasant Fields Solaris, son of GCH Destiny Farm Souvenir 91EEEE, 2X Res. National GCH.
Pete was collected for AI in November by Biogenics. He was dwarfed by the other bucks, these big old nubian behemoths. The only other young buck there was also an Oberhasli. He was Kirt Schnipke's buck Utterly Crazy Richochet. When it came to "jumping the does" you had to get out of the way for the other bucks, they reminded me of a fancy quarter horse running up and sliding to a stop. But not Petey. He acted like he didn't know what to do.
The collector suggested we take him and the doe outside and try it without the other bucks and people. He got a slow start but after a while he caught on and we collected 27 straws. Kirts buck collected about as well. So it was a successful collection even though the little guy got off to a slow start.
I donated 5 straws to a fund-raising auction on cometothefarm.com for the benefit of OBA. There were two eager bidders and they went for $201! So we'll be shipping it out to Dan who has the Butte Creek herd in Oregon or Northern California. I'm not quite sure which.
I hadn't planned on selling any more but there seems to be enough interest that I'm going to see if I can have him collected a second time after the first of the year. If you are interested in a purchase let me know. I'm not certain I will be selling any more this winter and spring but it is a possibility, and I can start a waiting list.
Every spring is an exciting time. I am so fortunate to have owned and used such fine bucks. My foundation bucks were so precious and choosing and buying them all those years ago was such a matter of beginner's luck. Last year I used the son of GCH Vassajara Vada, 91EEEE, Top Ten, and an Elite doe. These are some of the prettiest kids ever born here.
Using fine bucks, generation after generation, the quality of the herd progresses every year. Pete is bred to about 15 does, many of them daughters and granddaughters of our dear late FDF-Pleasant Fields Solaris, son of GCH Destiny Farm Souvenir 91EEEE, 2X Res. National GCH.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Best Oberhasli
For a while I couldn't quite make the seasonal adjustment from summer to autumn. It was so hot so long. This week we have finally got our 50 degree good sleeping weather nights and a few dry leaves are starting to hit the lawn. Pumpkins, gourds, mums decorate the yard.
And the bucks smell to high heaven.
Our new buck Pete is doing his buck job. He's in with the girls and I seeing him chasing one, then another. He's a busy guy. I haven't seen him actually breed any of them but I don't have to. I know he's doing his job.
On OberhasliTalk@yahoogroups.com recent we had a discussion about memorable Oberhasli goats we have known. I told the story of my first modern Oberhasli. I wanted to copy and paste it here but can't seem to find it. Airhead me must have deleted it. So I'll just tell it again.
In 2001 a really beautiful Oberhasli looking doe fell into my lap. She was half wild. Wouldn't come to me but would milk or lead nicely if I cornered her. At the time we had the goat pen (3 goats) under an apple tree on the east side of the house. We moved it because in the winter the wood stove smoke blows that way. Knowing that smoke isn't good for people I figured it couldn't be good for goats either.
Anyway, we called her "Grandma" and she freshened in the spring with twin bucks, a habit of Grandma her whole life, bucks, bucks, bucks, bucks, doe, bucks. Yes, one daughter in all those years we had her. The goats lived in a shed which was basically a large dog house. I drug my old milk stand out of my dad's barn and put it in the corner and started milking her.
She ate as much as she wanted basically. I milked outside. I milked by hand. If it was raining I didn't milk at all. Here's the neat part. The old girl started filling up the gallon ice cream pail that I was milking into. Then she filled one and part of another. Then at her peak she almost filled up two gallon ice cream pails, two times a day. Yes, that's almost four gallons of milk a day.
And I thought, man, these Oberhasli can really milk!!! That would be about 30# more or less milk and definitely in contention for breed leader, had we been on test. Well, she was a once in a life milker and that was her one glory year. She was a good milker, a persistent milker, but never milked her brains out like that again.
We tracked down her tattoo and the people were kind enough to give me her papers and transfer. Yes, she really was an American Oberhasli with a pedigree going back to some really great Seneca Valley lines and others as well. She was linebred on Seneca Valley Hedrick 20+ times that I counted. Her grandsire on maternal side was Barabbas, a well known buck in this area.
We lost her at 10 years old and even though she was always a free spirit, miss her terribly. Hubby especially liked to treat her. Her took her out apples, starlight mints, crackers, and other treats. In that way she was thoroughly spoiled. I should have called her "Beginners Luck."
And the bucks smell to high heaven.
Our new buck Pete is doing his buck job. He's in with the girls and I seeing him chasing one, then another. He's a busy guy. I haven't seen him actually breed any of them but I don't have to. I know he's doing his job.
On OberhasliTalk@yahoogroups.com recent we had a discussion about memorable Oberhasli goats we have known. I told the story of my first modern Oberhasli. I wanted to copy and paste it here but can't seem to find it. Airhead me must have deleted it. So I'll just tell it again.
In 2001 a really beautiful Oberhasli looking doe fell into my lap. She was half wild. Wouldn't come to me but would milk or lead nicely if I cornered her. At the time we had the goat pen (3 goats) under an apple tree on the east side of the house. We moved it because in the winter the wood stove smoke blows that way. Knowing that smoke isn't good for people I figured it couldn't be good for goats either.
Anyway, we called her "Grandma" and she freshened in the spring with twin bucks, a habit of Grandma her whole life, bucks, bucks, bucks, bucks, doe, bucks. Yes, one daughter in all those years we had her. The goats lived in a shed which was basically a large dog house. I drug my old milk stand out of my dad's barn and put it in the corner and started milking her.
She ate as much as she wanted basically. I milked outside. I milked by hand. If it was raining I didn't milk at all. Here's the neat part. The old girl started filling up the gallon ice cream pail that I was milking into. Then she filled one and part of another. Then at her peak she almost filled up two gallon ice cream pails, two times a day. Yes, that's almost four gallons of milk a day.
And I thought, man, these Oberhasli can really milk!!! That would be about 30# more or less milk and definitely in contention for breed leader, had we been on test. Well, she was a once in a life milker and that was her one glory year. She was a good milker, a persistent milker, but never milked her brains out like that again.
We tracked down her tattoo and the people were kind enough to give me her papers and transfer. Yes, she really was an American Oberhasli with a pedigree going back to some really great Seneca Valley lines and others as well. She was linebred on Seneca Valley Hedrick 20+ times that I counted. Her grandsire on maternal side was Barabbas, a well known buck in this area.
We lost her at 10 years old and even though she was always a free spirit, miss her terribly. Hubby especially liked to treat her. Her took her out apples, starlight mints, crackers, and other treats. In that way she was thoroughly spoiled. I should have called her "Beginners Luck."
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Breeding Dairy Goats
Many people probably don't realize that dairy goats are seasonal breeders. They start coming into heat towards the end of August and on through the fall up through about January. Going into breeding season, the bucks are starting to go into rut, which means they get stinky and disgusting.
Although our bucks are sweet as they can be, there are times when you can smell them before you get to the driveway. A couple years ago we wouldn't have company or let anyone come over it was so bad. We sold a litter of pups and I drove them down to the truckstop and met people there in order for them not to come over.
Many people will hand breed their does. That means they have to recognize a doe in heat and then take them to the buck. This has never been a successful technique for me. When I have tried to do this I have missed a couple. So I pen breed. I put the buck in with the does I want him to breed and let them do their thing.
Choosing which bucks to use on what does is just your best hunch. In the past I have had older proven bucks and I pretty much knew what to expect out of their milking daughters. This year and last I have used young bucks with no milking daughters, just relying on their impeccable breeding and the quality of their dams.
Although our bucks are sweet as they can be, there are times when you can smell them before you get to the driveway. A couple years ago we wouldn't have company or let anyone come over it was so bad. We sold a litter of pups and I drove them down to the truckstop and met people there in order for them not to come over.
Many people will hand breed their does. That means they have to recognize a doe in heat and then take them to the buck. This has never been a successful technique for me. When I have tried to do this I have missed a couple. So I pen breed. I put the buck in with the does I want him to breed and let them do their thing.
Choosing which bucks to use on what does is just your best hunch. In the past I have had older proven bucks and I pretty much knew what to expect out of their milking daughters. This year and last I have used young bucks with no milking daughters, just relying on their impeccable breeding and the quality of their dams.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Oberhasli Breeders of America
For people who raise Oberhasli dairy goats or just people interested in Oberhasli, there is a breed association call for short OBA. OBA was founded from the very people who worked so hard to get the breed out of the alpine herdbooks and established as a separate breed.
The website is Oberhasli.org. One of the Board of Directors is currently in the process of updating the website. On the website you can pay you annual dues by Paypal, which is the way that I do it.
I have the privilege of being on the Board of Directors for the past two years and I'm again running for office. Please vote for me if you are already a member.
If you're not a member, go pay your dues and sign up. There are many special programs that recognize outstanding Oberhasli for both show and milk. We have a very informative newsletter that is sent out several times a year.
Right now a fundraising auction is being planned for OBA. It is on the website cometothefarm.com. Please consider donating or if you see something you like be a bidder or better yet a buyer.
We need feedback about the OBA, so please feel free to leave a comment. What do you like, don't like, would like to see done better?
The website is Oberhasli.org. One of the Board of Directors is currently in the process of updating the website. On the website you can pay you annual dues by Paypal, which is the way that I do it.
I have the privilege of being on the Board of Directors for the past two years and I'm again running for office. Please vote for me if you are already a member.
If you're not a member, go pay your dues and sign up. There are many special programs that recognize outstanding Oberhasli for both show and milk. We have a very informative newsletter that is sent out several times a year.
Right now a fundraising auction is being planned for OBA. It is on the website cometothefarm.com. Please consider donating or if you see something you like be a bidder or better yet a buyer.
We need feedback about the OBA, so please feel free to leave a comment. What do you like, don't like, would like to see done better?
Monday, July 28, 2008
Tonka Tails Court Jester, the Bizmark of the 2000s
This is *B Tonka Tails Court Jester. He is arguably the most influential buck of this decade. And he figures prominantly in the pedigrees of elite animals in the breed and in my own herd as well.The founding buck of my herd: *B FDF-Pleasant Fields Solaris was the last son of two time national reserve champion in the '90s, GCH Destiny Farm Souvenir *M 91EEEE. The sire of Solaris was a grandson of Tonka Tails Court Jester.
My new buck, *B Heaven's Hollow Pistol Pete is grandson of Court Jester as well. His sire White Haven Sousa 92EEE is a Court Jester son.
On their website Dauberts a few years ago mentioned that they still had Court Jester but he appeared to be sterile. That must not have been the case because he sired more kids in the last few years, including a spotlight animal. When someone on OberhasliTalk asked about a picture of Court Jester, Dauberts made a rare post and said that he is still alive and looking great. That was about this time last year. I sure hope he is still alive and kicking. Jester was collected and there is still some semen around that people are using from time to time on their best does.
Just as an example or two, here are some winning animals at 2008 nationals and how they are related to Court Jester. Ober-Boerd Jayda was the eye popping gorgeous yearling daughter of Tonka Tails Tipperary Prince, a Court Jester son. A CJ 3year old daughter was 14 place, SG Tonka Tails's Jester's Vanity. First place 4 year old was SGCH Tonka Tails Violet of Toulouse (a former National junior champion) is a grand daughter out of SGCH Tonka Tails Jester's Mischief who is a high scoring excellent doe but I'm not sure of the score right now. There are more; these are just a couple.
These are my observations and opinions. If you want to agree or disagree or if you know of an euqlly influential buck compared to Court Jester, please post a comment I would love to read it.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Cabbage Leaves!
This is the time of year my goats are the most happy. The neighbor is starting to cut cabbage every morning and then every afternoon, my goat/pigs get a nice pile of cabbage leaves and a few cull heads of cabbage. My neighbors are a family farm, Osswalts (Ohz-walts) and they grow acres of cabbages, more every year. It is a very prosperous farm. Cabbage leaves are my goats' favorite goody and they eat a lot of them, let me tell you.
We park the farm truck at the end of their conveyor belt. The waste cabbage and leaves goes out the barn and into the truck bed. We bring it home late afternoon, dump it and I feed it to the goats two or three times a day. And we take the truck back over and park it for the next day's leaves.
This works out well for both of us. My goats get the added food, obvious benefits for me. Mr. Osswalt doesn't have to dump the leaves in the field and let them rot. OMG they smell like... well, you can imagine. And when they rot they get slimy. Yuck. Much better to put the leaves through goats.
I fork leaves into an old fashioned metal bushel basket and empty it over the fence or into feeders. That way I can keep track of how much I'm feeding. I have several of those hard plastic dark green kids' wagons which are filled up and parked outside the cattle panels. I carry the bushels of leaves and dump over the fence, fill up wagons and even a tote or two. The idea is to get them spread out enough that even the smaller ones can get what they want.
(Jill, Petey loves leaves and he makes sure he gets his fill. By the way, he has had a little bit of a runny nose. You were concerned with the AC at the National Show and I guess it got to him a little, but he is eating good and no temp.)
They still have hay free choice and get feed once a day instead of twice a day, but they will be fat and happy the rest of the year.
We park the farm truck at the end of their conveyor belt. The waste cabbage and leaves goes out the barn and into the truck bed. We bring it home late afternoon, dump it and I feed it to the goats two or three times a day. And we take the truck back over and park it for the next day's leaves.
This works out well for both of us. My goats get the added food, obvious benefits for me. Mr. Osswalt doesn't have to dump the leaves in the field and let them rot. OMG they smell like... well, you can imagine. And when they rot they get slimy. Yuck. Much better to put the leaves through goats.
I fork leaves into an old fashioned metal bushel basket and empty it over the fence or into feeders. That way I can keep track of how much I'm feeding. I have several of those hard plastic dark green kids' wagons which are filled up and parked outside the cattle panels. I carry the bushels of leaves and dump over the fence, fill up wagons and even a tote or two. The idea is to get them spread out enough that even the smaller ones can get what they want.
(Jill, Petey loves leaves and he makes sure he gets his fill. By the way, he has had a little bit of a runny nose. You were concerned with the AC at the National Show and I guess it got to him a little, but he is eating good and no temp.)
They still have hay free choice and get feed once a day instead of twice a day, but they will be fat and happy the rest of the year.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
New Friends at the 2008 National Show in Louisville
First of all, I want to apologize that I didn't have a camera with me to take pictures this year. It's a long story. Hubby put the camera somewhere and couldn't find it. I borrowed a camera and it didn't seem to be working. So, I missed some great photo opportunities at the national show.
Today I want to tell you about some of the conversations I had with Oberhasli breeders and maybe gossip a little.
I met one of those sweet little ladies from Tennessee named Arden Ward and her husband Eddie. I really enjoyed chatting with Arden after the show. She only had a few Oberhasli there but they were nice ones. She has a young OberBoerd doe. I was so excited to find out that doe was the grand-daughter of my sweet old doe, FDF-Pleasant Fields Bridgette. I promised her pictures so I'll try to publish those.
Bridgette was such a great doe but it looked like she was put together by a committee. She had a long, level, smooth "national grand champion" body, a lovely udder, milked like crazy. Her udder attachments just weren't the best. It's hard to describe. It wasn't pendulous. It had a large area of attachment. She just needed a tummy tuck, er, udder tuck. Her daughter Garnet, a show stopping doe, classified excellent, a credit to old Bridgette and FDF. Ober-Boerd still has her full sister Tornado in the herd and I think Tornado has the "here for life" deal with the Schnipkes.
Turns out Arden and Eddie, especially Arden, were coveting my new buck before I got there. [See earlier posts.] We're going to see if we can work something out in the future so they can use him or maybe get a son, something. Being one of Arden's goats would be the "Life of Riley" for any goat. She admits she spoils them to pieces. I used to spoil mine, too. That is before I had about 30. So mine don't get much individual attention any more.
I asked Arden about how she got interested in Oberhasli and goats in general. It's a familiar story. She saw some, fell in love and then wouldn't shut up until her husband let her have one. Then one led to two, then three.... But he seemed to be enjoying himself at the show. I couldn't get Bob to come along. He preferred to be home puttering in the garden and making hay. But if he had come along, I think he and Eddie would have hit it off. They both are avid gardeners, married to crazy goat ladies.
I told her I was going to write this blog. I'm also outing her as a lurker in OberhasliTalk@yahoogroups.com. Hi, Arden! Arden's website: www.eponafarmtn.com and email is epona1@comcast.net. Her herdname is Trinity Rose. Isn't that pretty?
Today I want to tell you about some of the conversations I had with Oberhasli breeders and maybe gossip a little.
I met one of those sweet little ladies from Tennessee named Arden Ward and her husband Eddie. I really enjoyed chatting with Arden after the show. She only had a few Oberhasli there but they were nice ones. She has a young OberBoerd doe. I was so excited to find out that doe was the grand-daughter of my sweet old doe, FDF-Pleasant Fields Bridgette. I promised her pictures so I'll try to publish those.
Bridgette was such a great doe but it looked like she was put together by a committee. She had a long, level, smooth "national grand champion" body, a lovely udder, milked like crazy. Her udder attachments just weren't the best. It's hard to describe. It wasn't pendulous. It had a large area of attachment. She just needed a tummy tuck, er, udder tuck. Her daughter Garnet, a show stopping doe, classified excellent, a credit to old Bridgette and FDF. Ober-Boerd still has her full sister Tornado in the herd and I think Tornado has the "here for life" deal with the Schnipkes.
Turns out Arden and Eddie, especially Arden, were coveting my new buck before I got there. [See earlier posts.] We're going to see if we can work something out in the future so they can use him or maybe get a son, something. Being one of Arden's goats would be the "Life of Riley" for any goat. She admits she spoils them to pieces. I used to spoil mine, too. That is before I had about 30. So mine don't get much individual attention any more.
I asked Arden about how she got interested in Oberhasli and goats in general. It's a familiar story. She saw some, fell in love and then wouldn't shut up until her husband let her have one. Then one led to two, then three.... But he seemed to be enjoying himself at the show. I couldn't get Bob to come along. He preferred to be home puttering in the garden and making hay. But if he had come along, I think he and Eddie would have hit it off. They both are avid gardeners, married to crazy goat ladies.
I told her I was going to write this blog. I'm also outing her as a lurker in OberhasliTalk@yahoogroups.com. Hi, Arden! Arden's website: www.eponafarmtn.com and email is epona1@comcast.net. Her herdname is Trinity Rose. Isn't that pretty?
Thursday, July 17, 2008
New Junior Herdsire: *B Heaven's Hollow Pistol Pete
He's out in the yard now, trying to figure a way to get into the doe pen. He is a perfect Oberhasli buck kid. A bit precocious for 4 months. The name is *B Heaven's Hollow Pistol Pete and he is the son of the new national champion Oberhsli, SGCH Heaven's Hollow Shotsi 5*M.
I had ordered Petey a couple weeks ago and went down to pick him up at the National ADGA Show and see the Oberhasli show Tuesday. Louisville is a 3 hour drive, compared to most a hop, skip and jump, but for me and my old junk vehicles it's a major trip. Instead of driving the big truck (aka gas hoggin' SOB), S10 (lights are kind of acting crazy but at least he got the muffler fixed), Ranger (the floor board might drop out any time), I drove the '90 something Oldsmobile station wagon with a large crate in the back.
While I was in the middle of trying to find my way OUT of the fairgrounds Monday night, it started making the most terrible noise. Heart stopped. Oh, no, it's a flat tire! No, it's still rolling. It's the engine. Wasn't overheating, wasn't smoking, wasn't quitting, no lights. Then, thinking back to my Maverick days, it's the donut gasket.
Well, it actually turned out the old girl threw up a spark plug. In my 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme days (Man! That was a beautiful car, silver with maroon vinyl roof.) I had that happen, too, but the Cutless sounded like it had firecrackers under the hood. Anyway, I made it home. It was noisy as heck. I worried the whole way, but it was only 3 hours. Louisville to Indy about 100 miles and about that many from Indy home.
I got home right after dark, stiff and ready to unwind. Get the cover off the hot tub! I hadn't counted on such a big, strong buck so I didn't really have anyplace easy to put him. So we moved the crate into the yard, fed and watered him and left him until morning.
I went out first thing to check him. Here's what I thought would happen: I would let him out in the yard, he would follow me to the barn or at least wonder around the yard a while. I would feed him and put a collar on him. I mean, this is what I've come to expect in 30+ years of having goats.
Turns out Pete isn't tame. He's not skiddish around people, just doesn't really like to be close. Kind of hurts my feelings. No doubt he was left on his dam, Shotsi. That also explains why he's so well grown. He can't really hurt anything in the yard. We fenced in our flower beds last year. You other goat owners will know what I mean. He can come up on the porch but couldn't do much there either unless he decided to nibble on the screen door or something.
After trying to catch him for a while, I gave up but still worried about him getting under the non-goat proof horse fencing down into the woods, or worst yet if he wondered out of the woods and got on the road. What really, really worried me is him getting into Bob's garden. OMG that would be capital punishment! Sends shivers through me.
I still have a few cull buck kids left from this spring and he totally bullied them. I thought they would hang out together. Nothing doing. He was only interested in does on the other side of the fence. What the heck, I needed to make sure if he got down in the woods or weeds he would come back up with them. So I got out one larger doe and two smaller ones, and walked the four of them down into the field, with brush and weeds and a lot of goat goodies.
In regards to the garden, I lowered the height of the electric wire around the garden just in case. Turns out he didn't even glance at that. Thank God he didn't know how tasty cabbages and fresh sweet corn is. Whew!
Then I'm thinking, I'll tether the old goat and that way they'll hang around here. Well, they did for a while. Then the three walked away leaving a very upset Raspberry and disappeared for an hour, a long hour. I had visions of a feral herd in the woods. But all's well, they walked back up to get a drink of water. No creek water for these goats.
We're still debating where to put him. Might have to put the old buck pen back in service, a little distance from the house, since he already has got a little stink to him. Despite the car, and the cost of gas, I had a wonderful time and I just love my new buck. I thank Jill Thomas so much. She not only sold me this buck but she even drove him down, free. She doesn't know it but she has a friend for life!!
I had ordered Petey a couple weeks ago and went down to pick him up at the National ADGA Show and see the Oberhasli show Tuesday. Louisville is a 3 hour drive, compared to most a hop, skip and jump, but for me and my old junk vehicles it's a major trip. Instead of driving the big truck (aka gas hoggin' SOB), S10 (lights are kind of acting crazy but at least he got the muffler fixed), Ranger (the floor board might drop out any time), I drove the '90 something Oldsmobile station wagon with a large crate in the back.
While I was in the middle of trying to find my way OUT of the fairgrounds Monday night, it started making the most terrible noise. Heart stopped. Oh, no, it's a flat tire! No, it's still rolling. It's the engine. Wasn't overheating, wasn't smoking, wasn't quitting, no lights. Then, thinking back to my Maverick days, it's the donut gasket.
Well, it actually turned out the old girl threw up a spark plug. In my 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme days (Man! That was a beautiful car, silver with maroon vinyl roof.) I had that happen, too, but the Cutless sounded like it had firecrackers under the hood. Anyway, I made it home. It was noisy as heck. I worried the whole way, but it was only 3 hours. Louisville to Indy about 100 miles and about that many from Indy home.
I got home right after dark, stiff and ready to unwind. Get the cover off the hot tub! I hadn't counted on such a big, strong buck so I didn't really have anyplace easy to put him. So we moved the crate into the yard, fed and watered him and left him until morning.
I went out first thing to check him. Here's what I thought would happen: I would let him out in the yard, he would follow me to the barn or at least wonder around the yard a while. I would feed him and put a collar on him. I mean, this is what I've come to expect in 30+ years of having goats.
Turns out Pete isn't tame. He's not skiddish around people, just doesn't really like to be close. Kind of hurts my feelings. No doubt he was left on his dam, Shotsi. That also explains why he's so well grown. He can't really hurt anything in the yard. We fenced in our flower beds last year. You other goat owners will know what I mean. He can come up on the porch but couldn't do much there either unless he decided to nibble on the screen door or something.
After trying to catch him for a while, I gave up but still worried about him getting under the non-goat proof horse fencing down into the woods, or worst yet if he wondered out of the woods and got on the road. What really, really worried me is him getting into Bob's garden. OMG that would be capital punishment! Sends shivers through me.
I still have a few cull buck kids left from this spring and he totally bullied them. I thought they would hang out together. Nothing doing. He was only interested in does on the other side of the fence. What the heck, I needed to make sure if he got down in the woods or weeds he would come back up with them. So I got out one larger doe and two smaller ones, and walked the four of them down into the field, with brush and weeds and a lot of goat goodies.
In regards to the garden, I lowered the height of the electric wire around the garden just in case. Turns out he didn't even glance at that. Thank God he didn't know how tasty cabbages and fresh sweet corn is. Whew!
Then I'm thinking, I'll tether the old goat and that way they'll hang around here. Well, they did for a while. Then the three walked away leaving a very upset Raspberry and disappeared for an hour, a long hour. I had visions of a feral herd in the woods. But all's well, they walked back up to get a drink of water. No creek water for these goats.
We're still debating where to put him. Might have to put the old buck pen back in service, a little distance from the house, since he already has got a little stink to him. Despite the car, and the cost of gas, I had a wonderful time and I just love my new buck. I thank Jill Thomas so much. She not only sold me this buck but she even drove him down, free. She doesn't know it but she has a friend for life!!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Oberhasli type
I was looking around for a picture of a typical Oberhasli for those who aren't familiar with them. The picture I chose is a doe named Sir Echo Snitzi. She is a two time top ten doe. The Top Ten list is the top producers in the breed for the year. Snitzi had quads this year and has currently tested most than 17# a day, which is roughly two gallons. At this rate she is probably heading for another top ten record.
I never thought I would be able to afford a buck from a top ten doe like Snitzi but since she had three bucks and a doe, I was able to snatch up one of them. His name is Fritz and he is a sweet but masculine half grown buck. We're expecting some great things out of him.
Welcome to my Blog about our Dairy Goats!
We have a herd of Oberhasli, which is one of six dairy breeds registered by American Dairy Goat Association, ADGA. Why Oberhasli? Years ago we had nubians and bought an American Oberhasli buck to start in that rather small breed. Flash forward 20 years. I have a "modern" herd of Oberhasli that has been assembled and bred using the finest bloodlines in the country. Oberhasli are gentle, pretty and vigorous goats.
They trace their lines back to Switzerland. Dr. Pence made an importation of a buck and four pregnant does and that was the basis of Oberhasli in this country. Every Oberhasli goes back to those animals. For several decades Oberhasli were called "Swiss Alpines." They were part of the Alpine herdbook. Oberhasli enthusiasts worked diligently and got the Oberhasli out of the Alpine herdbook and into their own herdbook in the early 1980s.
Little by little, step by step the breed has advanced a tremendous amount. I attended the 2006 national show in Indianapolis and classes were huge. However, what was really neat to see if that udders, especially fore udders, were beautiful at least halfway down the lineup.
Last year two time national champion Willow Run Hassida classified 92EEEE. This year we know of at least two more does that classified 92. Those are: Sir Echo Brickers in Arizona and Heaven's Hollow Shotsi in Colorado. We, by we, I mean the Oberhasli community on OberhasliTalk@yahoo.com, are still waiting to hear about more high scoring does. Shotsi is going to be at the nationals next week in Louisville, Ky. I will try to get some pretty pictures.
If you are interested in dairy goats, stay tuned. I would like to start discussing various blood lines and my opinion on these. I would like to discuss my bucks and various animals in my own herd.
They trace their lines back to Switzerland. Dr. Pence made an importation of a buck and four pregnant does and that was the basis of Oberhasli in this country. Every Oberhasli goes back to those animals. For several decades Oberhasli were called "Swiss Alpines." They were part of the Alpine herdbook. Oberhasli enthusiasts worked diligently and got the Oberhasli out of the Alpine herdbook and into their own herdbook in the early 1980s.
Little by little, step by step the breed has advanced a tremendous amount. I attended the 2006 national show in Indianapolis and classes were huge. However, what was really neat to see if that udders, especially fore udders, were beautiful at least halfway down the lineup.
Last year two time national champion Willow Run Hassida classified 92EEEE. This year we know of at least two more does that classified 92. Those are: Sir Echo Brickers in Arizona and Heaven's Hollow Shotsi in Colorado. We, by we, I mean the Oberhasli community on OberhasliTalk@yahoo.com, are still waiting to hear about more high scoring does. Shotsi is going to be at the nationals next week in Louisville, Ky. I will try to get some pretty pictures.
If you are interested in dairy goats, stay tuned. I would like to start discussing various blood lines and my opinion on these. I would like to discuss my bucks and various animals in my own herd.
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