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.

*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.

More on Shotsi and Pistol Pete!

These are photos of SGCH Heaven's Hollow Shotsi 5*M, 2008 National Reserve Grand Champion, potential 2007 Top Ten List Milker. Pistol Pete, one of her 2008 triplets is our new Jr. herdsire. I'll add more pictures as he grows.

Compared to our bucks, including the one we shipped in from Arizona, Pete is huge. On the other hand Shotsi is not a huge doe so whatever Pete's ultimate size, he probably won't sire huge animals.

For people who really are not "into" goats or Oberhasli, Shotsi classified 92(EEEE) earlier this year. This score is based on the scorecard which has 100 points. The four letters are for: general appearance, dairy character, body capacity and mammary, in that order.

GCH Willow Run Hassida, three time national show champion and current national show champion, classified 92 last year, the first Oberhasli in history to do so. This year there were two more: Shotsi, of course, and Sir Echo Brickers in Arizona. This is a very elite designation and the fact that two 92 does were champion and reserve validates both the linear appraisal system and the quality of the national show judging.

In addition, the sire of Pete is *B White Haven Sousa, 92(EEE) a Spotlight Sale buck in 2003. The sire of Sousa is the legendary *B Tonka Tails Court Jester (91), arguably the best and most influential buck of the current decade. The dam of Sousa is a doe I've never seen: White Haven Kalliope, but she was winner of "produce of dam" at a previous national show. She also gave birth to White-Haven Precentor a popular buck and sire of one of my own does: Squaw*Mountain Raspberry. I have to look to be sure but some of Kalliope's does may have also been champions in the now dispersed White-Haven herd. It seems to me, off the top of my head that the 2007 National Champion was a Kalliope daughter. I'll look that up and edit this. Stay tuned.

Well, having a gorgeous buck with this pedigree, we feel like we can't lose. However, a "pretty boy" buck is not what we're after. The good or bad (hopefully good) will be on the ground next spring. Good news is that the buck is mature enough to cover does in September for sure. He's got a "let me at her" attitude.

Tomorrow, I'm going to start blogging about herds and people I met at the national show. I attended, without goats, Tuesday for the milking show. As a Board Member of Oberhasli Breeders of America, and since the OBA sponsored the Grand and Reserve, I was planning on handing out awards. I got so involved with the show that I completely forgot.

These are just my opinions. So if I make a mistake or you don't agree with something I've said, leave a comment. It's a bright future for Ohio Oberhasli.

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!!