2011 Winter Weather at Horseshoe Canyon Meat Goats...

Remember last years kidding season for HCR Meat Goats?  You might not but we do!  We had purchased quite a few does that were due to kid in Jan. and Feb.  It was one of the coldest most miserable Jan and Feb I can remember - at least it was during the times the does started to kid.  We had goats living in our garage to keep babies from being born and almost instantly freezing to death.  What a mess!  

This year we purchase a few goats that were bred to start kidding the end of January and that they did.  This year the difference was they picked a week that brought 60 and 70 degree weather.  The last doe to kid decided to do so the day before the "big storm" was to hit.  We were able to gather her up and put her and her twin bucklings in the end stall of our barn where we set up a heat lamp and had lots of straw for the kids to keep warm in.  Kikos are tough and so are their kids but letting less than day old kids stay out in freezing rain would have been pushing the limits, no matter what breed. 

All that is left for our winter kidding season are 3 purebred Spanish, 1 Willingham Spanish and one Purebred Kiko doe all bred to the purebred spanish buck (due to start kidding mid-Feb.) The date is approaching fast.  Hopefully this arctic weather will have moved on and we can have some days above freezing.  Time will only tell what mother nature will bring.  

A few days before the big freeze hit Arkansas.

Marlin our English Bulldog/Blue Heeler 

One of the early expecting Spanish does.

A 7/8 Kiko dam and her 2010 PB doe kid.

1/2 Kiko doe 

Joe and Mischief coming to say hello. 

Older NZ doe

The day after the storm arrived. 

Despite the cold the new kids that were born during the warmer weather seem to be handling it well.  We have found if a kid can have several days to nurse he/she can handle pretty cold weather.  They are more capable of finding shelter and following their mother around for some warm milk. 

New PB doeling

The majority of the herd waiting for the hay to be rolled out.  Forage is not an option when there is iced grass covered with snow. 

Cold but beautiful.  

NZ Kiko Buck DAR Kareem-O-Wheat

Corydon Indiana - THE CREAM OF THE CROP SALE

We had not planned on attending the sale this year.  I got a call from a past buyer who lived in KY that wanted to purchase another load of our commercial does - I will say this always makes me feel good. I am sure it makes everyone feel good, but sometimes don't you wonder how your goats are doing when they leave your farm and if the buyers are happy with them. Sometimes you never hear from the buyer again.  Anyway we struck up a deal to deliver goats to the sale.

I was excited because I wanted to go back and take the kids to Corydon during Halloween for their big festival things going on around the square.

We arrived late, late Friday night - we had planned on leaving earlier, as we always do, but it didn't work out that way.  The 9 hr trip always takes a little longer when you have 4 kids in the truck - but we arrived!
The next morning we slept in a little (because of that dang time change - Cameron our oldest didn't think that Corydon wad far enough East to allow a time difference. I think I agree with him).

When we finally arrived at the sale Dr. Browning was just about to start his seminar.  I feel that his information is so useful and well done if that is all you went to see it would be a well worth trip.  We learned a few things and were reminded of a few others.  He also talked about the flood from last year and showed a lot of photos from it.  The goat industry is lucky to have TSU and the Brownings and all of the research for us to use for free.

Sale time rolled around and some how Cody and Cameron (our two oldest - were helping work the sale).  It is funny because Cody is NOT a goat person but he was more than willing to go do a paying job.

The prices were up and I bid on a few but they were to much out of my reality price range for me to justify me buying a goat.  We are not in need of any stock but there were a few that that I really wanted. :)  I was proud of myself for refraining and having control of myself.  Goat auctions, well almost any auction, it is hard for me not to go home with out at least ONE animal or item.

There was a lot of high quality stock and they buyers appreciated it.  From what I can see the high selling buck was consigned by Egypt Creek Ranch Lot #71 and sold for $2400 - he was by BBM Hanky Panky's Y266 and out of a daughter of BHF Onyx's Shadow...he was a pretty buck and just got off of the WIU performance test.
The high sellind doe was consigned by Goat Hill Kikos Lot #27 and sold for $2700 sire: Sunboy Stanton 149 (Nick) Dam was a daughter of TNT Cody
The high selling % was a 1/2 AKGA doe Consigned by Goat Hill Kikos Sire: GHK Nick's Copy and out of a commercial Spanish doe - she was bred to Wild Bill... she sold for $525

After the sale we took the kids to the square for some Halloween fun.  We were just an hr behind on the good trick or treating, most of the homes were out of candy after dark....so we ended up taking them to Wal-Mart to pick out a big bag of candy to make into one big pile of sugary goodness.

Work, work, work....

FINALLY we got the goats up again to check FAMACHA and worm who needed it and do a little weighing of the 2010 kids (I think we are off by a month, but better late than never right?).  

I had the great idea of using our two oldest boys as "ranch goat hands" since they were off for Labor Day.  Cody, the almost 13 year old, let me know that working goats was a horrible "vacation" day activity.  Cameron, 16, who owns some of the goats, decided to have a smile on his face (forced) since he owns some of the goats. 

We started at 9 a.m. (if you don't count me getting up at 6:30 a.m. to get them all in before they left the arena/goat catch pen area) and finished at around 5:00 p.m.  There was an hr and half break when I went to deliver the 5 commercial doelings I sold to a near by new goater.  Probably having a not too excited preteen who complained of a sore wrist from rock climbing slowed us down by and hr or two - BUT we did it, together.  

Now we have wormed the ones that need to be wormed and marked the ones that need to be culled - oh and weighed those remaining 2010 kids, late or not, they are weighed!   Now onto breeding plans.  

I pulled 5 does out to put in with the El Chido Quate  (Spanish buck) tomorrow.  I hope we get some nice bucklings for the forage test. (1) PB Kiko doe (3) PB black Spanish does from the Koy ranch and (1) Willingham Spanish doe.   I wanted to breed some AKGA NZ and PB does early too but I do not have the paperwork back on the two older bucks we purchased this year.  So until all the DNA checks out they will stay doeless.  I am sure it all will but the minute I start putting does with them, something won't be right.  I know how it goes for me sometimes in the luck part of the goat business...  

Until next time!

New Bucks!

Meet El Chido Cuate (The Cool Dude or The Cool Man)

I was just minding my own business and here came this buck and I just had to have him.  That seems to happen to me when it comes to nice goats.  We have another young buck (2010 model) coming from the Koy Ranch where we purchased all of our does from.  He will be arriving around the second week of Sept.

A few weeks back we decided to give Ron Polette a visit and returned with AVG'S Ozark Hot Shot.  His bloodlines are known for good parasite resistance. 

More to come.... :)

The Kiko Advantage

Our goats at work

Our spanish goats...

While we were at the AKGA National Convention I had some people ask me how our spanish goats were doing. Well, I really didn't know how many we had left out of the 52 we purchased. Between natural selection and  a few, we are sure, leaving the ranch there could have only been 15 left.  

Today we worked goats, all 245 of them (well except a few 2010 kids that did not come in or slipped through the fence) and 39 of them were spanish.  So if you ask me again I can tell you how many spanish goats we still have left and how they are doing, pretty good I would say.  AND they are still wild as ever when you get your hands on them.

 

A few of our spanish does as yearlings.