Well..... I am picking up a new doe on Sunday (hopefully.) I stumbled across an ad on my local Craigslist for a herd dispersal of double registered Nigerian Dwarfs. So of course I went to the website for the farm and my jaw nearly hit the floor at the deals I saw. So I ended up putting a deposit down for a pregnant doe, due in April. I can easily recoup the purchase price from a single kid whether male or female. These are quality, fresh lines as well. Add the two doelings I am getting from reservations this spring and summer, and I should have a pretty diverse herd. Her name is Roc N Ewe K Sherry, pictured below:
(BRB Kakoakis x Roc N Ewe JM Sugar Shack)
The only drawback is that she is turning eight years old. She has a limited few years in the breeding shed, as I don't like to breed a doe past nine or ten. Nigerians can easily live to be fourteen or fifteen if you don't keep breeding them like goat factories when they are the equivalent of an eighty year old human. I think her worst flaw is lack of brisket, and she could stand to be more level out her rump and more dairy in general. She is a little "old school" in style. However, the buck she is bred to is strong in all of these areas, and Sherry is a long bodied, correct doe with sharp shoulders and good angulation. The owner claims she milks out well and always produces better than herself, making an excellent brood doe. She has also won one championship class as a dry doe. Her owner said that she has produced quads for the past few years and has never required assistance. Yes please!
Since I sold Val this month, I needed a new buckskin anyways. I had someone inquire as to if I had any does for sale. They wanted a 4H project, so I offered them Val, my last grade doe. She should have kids by Tomahawk in May as a first timer. She is missed, but I decided I needed to commit to a fully registered herd. I like to keep a lot of colors and patterns in my animals (although conformation, udders and overall quality are obviously more important) and I have fondness for buckskin. With my luck, however, I'll end up with a ton of buckskins. I want to retain a doe from Sherry, and she is a buckskin crossed on a buckskin, so my chances that all of the kids will be the same color are high (although dad has really fancy white.) My first choice from Bellafire is a buckskin. I am secretly hoping for a doeling that is the sire's neat color from that pairing. And my first choice doe from Camanna is also a buckskin. So I could possibly end up with not one new doe of that color, but four.
In any case, this is the buck that Sherry is bred to:
Little Dipper Big R Spender
PGCH Shooting Stars WS Ransom x ARMCH/CH Castle Rock Rainy Day Fund 2*D
He has two GCH and a RGCH. I love this buck. He is very refined, uphill and he has a great extension in his brisket, something most of my herd needs work on. His dam has a beautiful udder as well and I have seen pictures of his FF daughters that are quite impressive:
Dam's Udder:
I wonder if I shouldn't keep a buck kid from this pairing? I have been having my reservations about Tomahawk due to him toeing out...but decided to wait until I can shave his big furry coat and get him to the Megabucks show...and see how his kids turn out, before deciding whether to replace him or not. And then there is tiny Gizmo. He is so very small! He just doesn't seem to be growing. He has nothing wrong with him. No cocci or worm loads, he gets plenty of minerals and grain, etc. He is interested in ladies finally and is very correct and beautiful, just minuscule. I plan on bringing him up here next week to our new place to see if getting away from Tomahawk helps him prosper any.
We finished a nice roomy pen with two separate paddocks at our new house. Jacob never built me a shelter as promised, but I managed to acquire two massive dog carriers for giant canines and get a roomy kidding pen built with good cover from any elements. I want to bring Pearl, Dakota and Gizmo up Saturday. I will probably bring Sherry directly here as well. Pearl is getting ready to pop. She is due March 1st through the 3rd. Her ligaments are starting to sag and her udder is filling:
I'm not highly impressed this time around, but last year she tripled in size the day before she kidded, so we shall see what the final outcome is in concern to her udder. My bet is triplets, as I can feel and see one sitting on top of her rumen, and can feel one on either side of her rib cage a few inches behind her front legs. Maybe more? EGADS! I need to sell either her or Dakota this year. I'm pretty sure it will be her. I like her, and there are things about her build that I am impressed with, but I think there are more things about Dakota that I really like...besides her wicked personality and her propensity to destroy things. We'll take them both to a few shows and see who does better. That compared with how they both milk this year and how easily they kid will give me my answer (I hope!)
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