12.14.2008

Goat Clinic Day of Fun

Time to talk about goats again!

There is nothing better than spending the day outside with your pals. And that is what we did Saturday. I've fallen into being the District leader for the Florida Dairy Goat Association (FDGA). It was not something i necessarily wanted to do. But glad i did.  There aren't many people down this way interested in goats. And i truly don't know why. With so many living on an acre in my area, goats are a perfect pet/hobby/milker, etc. for smaller properties. They don't take up much space. They are truly, truly a SWEET animal. And to top it off you get fresh milk from them. Which gives me cheese, and soap, and FUDGE. What more could you want? So if i want to make goat friends down here, I'm going to have to search them out. Or create them. ha! We put up a clinic flyer at all the feed stores. And we got 4 new goat owners and their kids to come out. That is great.

The clinic was set up as a casual day to entice more ownership. Educate those that already own goats, but might not know much about them.  And to introduce them to some Big time breeders in the state. Big i mean they have 40+ goats, they milk daily, all year long. They show at state fairs and ADGA competitions. They make a living off the goats. They drop 40+ kids every year and so on.

Two such breeders are Kathy Duncan of Double Delight farms in Port St. Lucie. She raises and breeds Lamanchas. And hoping to start breeding Mini Lamanchas. And then the Lotts, Who are from Tampa Bay area. They raise Nubians. Like me. :) Though i am not as savvy as these two farms are. Not yet anyways.

Based on the criteria we had a great day. Good turnout. Lots of kids that started the day with a smirk, ending the day asking all kinds of good questions on owning a goat or two. I think a few of them are hooked. And this is the most important aspect. Get the kids involved. Get them knowledgeable now. They are the future, without sounding too corny.

But best of all I met and made a few friends. Down here in South Florida. All the big breeders are up in the Central and North parts of the state.

As always i took alot of photos. click here to see them all.

But, here are a few of my favorites.





Of course i have to put a horse photo in here.








Yes, This is how i transport my goats. What? you think this strange? I know. I know. Others do too!
but you know what? its a truck. And I can fit 2 fullsize or 4 little ones back there very easily. And I have. They
Transport easily. They are less stressed. The only problem is I can't get out of the car or they will
jump around crying looking for me.











3 comments:

  1. Ok, I know nothin about goats, so this may be an icredibly dumb question-why do you need to shave a goat? Is it just to make them look spiffy?

    ReplyDelete
  2. nope not a bad question at all. Dairy goats need to be shaved. Not meat goats. and obviously fiber goats do too.

    In the dairy environment, the udder and all the hair surrounding the udder really should be shaved when they are milkers. And they are in a commercial environment you wouldn't want to get hairs in the milk while milking.

    So in theory when you are showing your goat it's two fold reason, to make the goat look and you look like you were stepping out of that dairy environment. Goat to be shaved and even the handler needs to be in dairy whites. Both animal and person clean as a whistle.

    The other reason, while the goat is in the show ring its easier for the judge to see the finer details of confirmation. While its not necessary to always shave your goat you really should because if the judge can't readily see how stellar your animal is and might have to keep feeling past the hair ( in the winter they can get whooly), it could mean a drop in placement if it was a close call between a shaved goat and not shaved.

    Thanks for the question. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. If it's okay for people to have their dogs ride in the back seat of the truck, I don't see why it's strange for you to carry your goats that way! I think it's kinda neat that you have them close to you instead of in a trailer! Just my thought =)

    ReplyDelete

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