We were excited to add a few new additions to the farm this week. Actually we purchased these three new goats back in early September but decided not to pick them up from St. Augustine until we returned home from Costa Rica. One thing led to another and life got in the way of us taking a family trip to go get our goats so finally last Friday Josh offered to take off of work and go pick up our new goat friends.
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The family we purchased them from live in the St. Augustine area and the daughter is big into showing her goats. At the show last weekend she took Jr. Grand Champion for her Nubian doe. Now that she is approaching college age they are selling off their prized herd. They mainly raise Nubians and Oberhasli's which I have long been drawn to Ober's. Not only are they elegant and beautiful but I was eager to get to experience their quiet nature and sweet temperament that many have spoken about. I don't know if I ever blogged about it (most likely not since I pretty much gave up blogging) but we were forced to sell our Nubian Gracie who was our family milker due to her loudness. She was obnoxiously loud and our neighbors were becoming our enemies because of her so she had to go. We also sold her younger sister Ruthie along with Gracie because not only was she nearly as loud but she was Gracie's sidekick and rarely left her sisters side. I couldn't bare to separate the two of them so they went to a Jewish family down south who are planning to start up a big goat dairy farm. It deeply saddened me to see them go but at that point in time I knew we didn't have another option. Josh jokingly said we'd have to put bark collars on them if they stayed so that meant it was time for them to go.
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So back to the Ober's, the two that we bought both both came from excellent show and heavy milking lines. The doe's name is Brioche and the bucks is Qwilleron and they both derived from Devonshire farm. Brioche's grandmother Hassida won national champion Ober and Grand Champion Udder and is also the dam (mom) of the highest selling Ober doeling ever sold which went for $4800. I know this is totally more than you care to know about but it is fun to brag about my goats instead of my kids for a change. Also I am learning so much recently about pedigrees and what it can do for your line and I'm just so excited to have a piece of such a great lineage.
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Our Ober Buck Qwill is not so bad himself. His grandmother Nikki is a highly valued Ober who also is a Grand Champion and earned her star milker status and his other grandmother Remote is a Reserve Grand Champion and Reserve Best Udder so this speaks a lot about Devonshire Farm. They produce top notch Obers for sure!
We also were given the opportunity to buy their Nubian yearling who also came from a great line of show Nubians. His name is Heart Throb but the kids are trying to come up with a good strong nickname for him. Qwilleron is so bold that Heart Throb needs to match it so he can keep up with Qwill's manliness. Heart Throb's grandfather is the well known Extreme Style from My Buddy's Nubians and his sire (dad) Extremist was bred with a gorgeous doe to produce him. I think he'll make a great match for our two Nubian does who are ready to be bred along with any other Nubians that shall come live on our farm in the future.
So far so good with the boys. I was slightly hesitant if not scared about having bucks of our own but we did our research and came to realize that if we plan on raising goats for years to come then having our own bucks is going to be the easiest route. By the time you travel to go breed your does along with the stud fee it adds up when you have multiple does. And we are already at six. But the boys have been very well behaved and quiet for the most part and although they would do anything to get into the does territory they keep to themselves in their pasture. We are waiting for signs that the does are in heat and then they can go on dates with their men. I am so excited for babies! If all six happen to breed successfully imagine the little ones that will be hopping around come spring time. As the babe of my own prepares to turn one, I think having some cute needy kids around will help cure me from baby fever.
Brioche fits nicely in our herd of does. They took to her right away and she is so gentle and sweet that she doesn't stir up any issues. Our spotted Nubian Mary Rose is the queen of the herd. She keeps everyone in line and often pushes them around.
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The sire (father) of our three Alpine triplets was an Ober. Oberhasli used to be in the same category as Alpine until it became a recognized independent dairy breed in 1980. We are going to breed them with Qwill our Ober and although they are registered goats they will be a mixture of Alpine and Ober. I think they are about as gorgeous as any goat gets and they will make lovely family milkers. They all have such sweet and friendly personalities and out of all of our goats they are the most loving by far.
