We took our herd of goats (milkers, doelings & bucks) to two spring shows this year. We attended the Legendary Goat Breeder’s Assoc show the weekend of May 3-5th in Winston-Salem, NC, and also the Piedmont Dairy Goat Breeder’s Assoc show in Rocky Mt., NC the weekend of May 24-26th. MLRT Caesar won his final Championship leg as a 2 year old and has now earned his CH title as a permanent Champion! Our first home-bred to win that title! We are thrilled!

Our girls placed good considering the amazing competition but did not win any championships. It is a LOT of work (and money spent) and we are rethinking showing. The weather was unseasonably hot (mid 90’s) and very humid plus we had trailer tire issues and pen issues. It just wasn’t as fun this year for us. Also, they picked up some sort of viral diarrhea that has made several intermittently sick with a fever and very loose stools. We definitely will not attend any fall fair shows this year and maybe by next spring we may feel like attending the spring shows… we’ll see….

One of the MANY positive aspects of having a small herd (currently we have six does and two bucks), is being able to give each doe their own private stall. We have been able to do this for years and the ‘girls’ love it. It doesn’t take them long to learn which stall is their own and they run right in it when I open the pasture gate.

They are brought in EVERY night and let out each morning. (I used to own horses so I naturally gravitated to this set up.) I can easily monitor each goat’s appetite, water consumption, stools and behavior at a glance. I can increase or decrease their hay/grain as needed. Also, when kidding time rolls around, they are already familiar with their stalls and daily routine so they are not stressed at all.

They are kept inside if the weather is bad (raining, snowing, etc.).

The stinky bucks stay in their pasture but are fed grain twice daily so I get to inspect them closely also.