THE HERD - 2011 BUCKS AND DOES

Sales are done for the year, and I am pleased with my remaining herd of seven does and three bucks. I do not believe that a large herd is an advantage and have always kept my numbers around or below ten. This allows me to focus on and enjoy my animals. It was another successful sales year. Thank you to everyone who bought goats from me. I am so happy that I was able to find such nice homes for the kids and breeding stock I sold this year.

Now, looking forward...

BUCKS

Babel Brook Acres TP Andante (Avian Acres WVL Selene x Dancing Angels Tempo)

"Danny" is on lease from Julie Shere. I will be using him on the majority of my does this fall. I fell in love with his dam, Selene at a show and was able to add her to my herd. Selene is wonderful in every way, and Danny is a beautiful blend of Selene and his sire, Tempo. I love his strength and his "bowling ball" escutcheon. He has a beautiful head with good width through the muzzle.

Dancing Angels RockStar (Dancing Angels Rockette x Promisedland RC Obama)

Barack is very striking, with moonspots and blue eyes! His dam is a longtime favorite of mine, and Barack seems to have more substance than his sire. He is very structurally correct under all that hair, and he should improve rear udders, capacity and production. I am pleased with the way he is developing and I look forward to seeing what he can produce.

Dancing Angels Silver Dollar (Dancing Angels GhostBuster x Promisedland RC Obama)

Dollar is a nice buckling out of one of my first fresheners. When he was born he had such a presence that I knew I wasn't going to be wethering him! He has many moonspots and gorgeous coloring, and I like his overall build also. He is a little immature at this point (Dollar's dam line is notoriously slow-maturing), so I will be holding onto him to see how he develops. If he is mature enough by breeding season I will use him on Rockette.

DOES

Dancing Angels GhostBuster (Dancing Angels Tempera x Shere Country TR Minstrel)

GB is one of last year's kids that I retained, and in the end I chose to keep her over her sister, Lovely. GB has never given me any trouble and she was a very good mom. She still has some maturing to do, but I like her very strong topline and overall appearance. I would like to see a little more width to her muzzle, which may come with maturity. GB has a beautiful fore udder and she has very nice, milkable teats for a first freshener. She will be bred to Danny.

Dancing Angels Rockette (Sugar Creek PT Show Girl x CH Dancing Angels Cool Your Jets)

Roxie is my only blue eyed doe and my best milker, and she has become very loving over the years. I adore her overall look and substance. She could be a bit sharper through the shoulders, but she crosses very well with a more refined buck. Roxie has a beautiful udder and her teat size is ideal. She requires very little grain and doesn't like to dry off, making her especially useful as a home milker. I hope to breed her to Dollar but if he can't manage she will be bred to Danny.

Avian Acres WVL Selene (Sugar Creek FR Wanda x Sugar Creek C Beau Weevil)

Selene is just wonderful. She has a super sweet personality, although she is "into everything" - such a goat! Her milkstand manners are just perfect and she is beautiful to look at too. I love her pretty but strong head, her depth of body and her nice, wide rump. Selene will be bred to Barack, and I am very excited to see what she can do when crossed with Roxie's lines.

Shere Country MP Bollywood (Dancing Angels Masquerade x TX Twincreeks WDF Megapixel)

I reserved Bollywood from Julie Shere. She is out of two animals I sold Julie, and Megapixel was one of the best bucks I ever had so I was very excited to add Bollywood. She is not people friendly but is getting better about being handled, and her structure is amazing. She is so dairy and close to ideal. The only thing I would like to improve slightly is her head. I plan to breed her to Danny.

Dancing Angels Summer (Dancing Angels Lovely x Promisedland RC Obama)

Summer is the one doeling I retained this year (it was a buck-heavy year for me). I had originally planned to sell her but she endeared herself to me so I let her sister go instead. Summer is very sweet and I love her soft buckskin coloring. She has sharp shoulders and a nice wide rump. I will probably breed her to Danny, possibly for fall 2012 kids.

Recently I had the opportunity to get one of my original herd matriarchs back. South Campus Temperance was one of the first does I acquired. She was originally sold to me because she was wild, but she did very well on my farm and produced well for me. She was a dedicated lead doe but I eventually sold her because she was a bit too aggressive with my other goats. Now she is eleven, and while she did fight and growl a lot when she was first re-introduced, she has settled in well. She is in great shape, apart from being a little arthritic and a lot smaller than I remember! I will try to breed her and see if she will settle, but either way she will retire to my farm. I enjoy having her back.