June Update

June was busy for us! We purchased three does and a buckling to add to our herd. Not just any does though... We were SO fortunate to be able to bring Pearl and Ruby's moms to our farm! Bramblestone Farm was kind enough to sell them to us, and it has been a very unique experience to watch the girls reunite with their mothers. There is something very special about animal familial bonds, and goats are social animals with beautiful family ties. We feel blessed to see them reunited and happy together. 

SG *M AR Wildwind Farm R Bit 'O' Honey *D (Ruby's dam)
(This is after milking, and the only photo not blurred)

3*M AR Old Mountain Farm Hot Tea 3*D (Pearl's dam)
(Dry, she took a year off)

We also bought Princess Buttercup, aka P.I.T.A. Can you guess what the acronym stands for? Well, she isn't all that bad, and she has a great attachment. She also milked over 4 lbs on her last test and she is only 2, so she will earn her milking star this year! We are happy to add her to Rakkasan Ranch. 

Sans Gene Princess Buttercup

Our buckling also came from Bramblestone Farm and I will update his info once we get pictures of the handsome little guy.

We also went to two shows in June. Rakkasan Ranch Kiowa Queen (Ruby's kid) earned her first championship leg as Grand Champion Junior Doe at the Logan, Utah show. The following week, 4*M Bramblestone Pal Pearl Tea won Best Udder of Show in Kennewick, WA at the Wine Country classic. 

Pearl with her trophy

The udder that won the show!

Kiowa with her first leg Grand Champion.

Syringa 2016

2016 Syringa Dairy Goat Show and Specialty Show, Boise, ID

We had a great time at Syringa! This was a 4 ring show, with the first ring being the Specialty show! Pearl, our Senior doe, took Reserve Grand Champion in the Specialty Show, out of 79 does! Tahoma also took Reserve Grand Champion in the Specialty Show! This was great news to us, because Tahoma and Pearl have 4 doelings who did very well also, with Granny's Pearl taking Reserve Grand Champion Junior Doe! Apache, our other heard sire, took Reserve Grand Champion in one ring. (Many of the show photos didn't come out right, so here are before, during and after show photos. :))

Apache, Reserve Grand Champion Buck

Apache, the judge favored his width, strength, and stature.

Tahoma, Reserve Grand Champion Buck
The judge liked his chiseled appearance, and dairy character. 

Pearl in the Specialty show ring

Pearl after winning Reserve Grand Champion Doe in the Specialty Show

Granny's Pearl, Reserve Grand Champion Junior Doe
There were 29 Doelings in her class alone.

4*M Bramblestone Pal Pearl Tea, second Freshener

Goat kids having fun!!

This is the best part of having Nigerian Dwarf Goats...

Black Pearl and Minnie Pearl 

Ain't Granny's Pearl is a great bouncer

Early Spring, a busy time of year!

Spring on a small farm is a busy time of year, and ours is no exception! We have baby chickens hatching, and our dairy goats are delivering kids and milking season has begun. This year we are preparing to produce cheese and butter with our milk.  We are starting with simple cheeses such as ricotta and mozzarella. Next will be brie and chèvre, and then more aged cheeses as we get more comfortable with the process.

We will have chicks for sale after Valentines Day, all the way through May. Large Orpingtons, which are an amazing fryer chicken, pretty much the size of a small turkey, and are beautiful as a backyard chicken.We will have mostly blue and black chicks for sale but we have 5 different colored roosters. We still haven't decided what colors we are going to focus on.

Blue Orpington Rooster

 Orpingtons are very sweet and the roosters are surprisingly gentle considering their size. These birds are huge! The hens are heavy layers which is great for our egg selling business!

Buckeye Rooster

 We also have buckeye chicks! These rare birds are considered threatened by the Livestock Conservancy. Breeding them back to larger population is our goal. They are a great multipurpose bird. Large enough for eating, a rooster's average weight is 8 lbs. Buckeye hens also lay very well, ours lay about every 26 hours. These birds are extremely cold hardy, originating from Ohio.  We took our Buckeyes to the Boise state fair and they all placed very well in the American breed class.

Our little farm in Ohio, 2014

Our back yard is beautiful in the morning! Here is a picture of our girls. Pearl Tea is the white one, and Lakota is gold with white. They are both sweet girls, with their own personalities. We are hoping for little ones to be bouncing around in the spring! Fun times!

We have barred rock and americana chickens. Today we got our first dozen! It started with one, and has gradually increased every day. It has been so cool collecting eggs. The kids are so excited every time we find them. For the most part, they are laying in their nesting boxes, but a few of them have their favorite spots around the property. Two of the girls lay right by the kitchen window, and one of them lays in the goat barn! Funny birds!