My how time flies! It's been nearly a year since I've made an entry. All of the kids I was excited about have been born, and the two doe kids I retained by Fireworks are now eight months old! Not only that, but all my does are bred for the 2014 season as well. We now have two adult bucks, a junior buck, and a little buckling prospect. I'm thinking I need to scale back on the stinky boys.

We took a few does to the Lelia Berry show in May, and they did very well for us! Angel took first place in her age groups, and Dakota took a best of breed and a grand championiship! We were very ecstatic about that! This spring we are hoping to have our herd go through a linear appraisal, and that is very exciting.

And because a blog entry is useless without a cute picture, one of the cutest kiddos of this last spring:

-We wethered this guy and named him Rumpelstilskin, he's still here. :)-

We have nine does to kid in 2014, including Sherry, my older doe who was supposed to kid out for her last time before retirement LAST spring. She skipped last year and refused to conceive. She had some interesting discharge so I gave her a round of antibiotics, thinking a dirty repro tract. Tried one more time, no dice. I decided to hang up her breeding hooves so to speak as I feel over 10 is too old to keep the poor dears producing babies. She had other ideas and interfered with a leash breeding with Densil and is due the end of January. I can feel the kiddos doing somersaults to I know they are really in there! I also did go ahead and purchase a wattled girl, AND a 2013 doe kid out of a Baywatch daughter (I need to figure out how much I still owe on her so I can pay her off and get those papers!) So my pasture is a bit full. Hopefully I don't insist on retaining too many doe kids this season. :)

A New Year, New Plans

Well, some new plans...but so far we are doing a good job of following through with last seasons goals! Goldenbrook Farm MR Fireworks has been with us since the week before Thanksgiving. He covered four of our does the end of November, and all four have come back positive! I tested them for CAE/CL as part of the lease agreement, so went ahead and tested everyone and we are still a CAE/CL free herd. :)

-Goldenbrook Farm MR Fireworks-

Not only is Fireworks a gorgeous buck to look at....extremely level, angular, dairy, WIDE, and uphill with beautifully sharp shoulders and extension of brisket....but he has blue eyes AND moonspots, so I'm expecting some killer babies. It will be all I can do to not keep every doe kid that hits the ground. But not only would my husband kill me, but I will make no money on kids sales and have too many related does. I'm going to try and make sure any doe kids go to show homes that will get them in the pen, these kids will be very nice!

My two yearlings also conceived and were tested positive by Biotracking, Winry (Cupcake..hate her registered name..) to Densil and Lady to my Jr. buck, Mad Hatter...which proves his "tackle" works well! I also may be announcing a new addition soon, with wattles and from some gorgeous animals behind her. I'll be very excited to see wattles in my herd!!! But you don't count your chickens before they hatch, so I'll hold off on the official announcement until I have a deposit down. 

Sherry fooled me twice, and has gone past both of her due dates from the heat cycles I saw while she was rooming with Densil. I am positive she was covered the first one, along with her daughter..who happened to kid for her new owner right on time for that date...Saw her come in three weeks later and saw evidence of the deed..passed that date. As it is, it looks like she is due based on the last week or so with Densil. Talk about waiting for the last minute to conceive. Her ligaments are getting soft and she is losing her plug like crazy. Hoping to have photos of newborns this time next week! Everyone else is due the same week in April, and my new wattle girl might be bred for me before she comes home if everything goes as I hope which would mean I would have some summer kids as well. I'm thinking about breeding Yuna next month as she will be a year old, but we shall see. 

And newer pictures of Panda, looking like a HORSE and not a giraffe!

 

She will be two in May! I can't believe it! I can't wait to stat bitting her up and doing the prep work for her training this summer. :) ... I plan to breed Chardonnay to Rhocky Rhoad in June, so fingers crossed its an easy AI experience..it will be my first and more than one try gets spendy fast.