In Memory
Reference animals - sold or retired - are at the bottom of page. Animals that have passed are at the top of the page.
An inevitable part of raising animals is losing animals. Hopefully, at the end of a good, long life or a humane dispatch.
Unfortunately, a good death isn't always the case. Predators, internal parasites, toxic plants in fields and hay sources, accidents, kidding problems, extreme temperatures and weather, diseases and illnesses, a lack of goat-knowledgeable veterinarians...the list of life-threatening problems is long.
I am thankful that we've had relatively few losses. But each one hurts. I try to learn from the experiences. I try to be thankful for the good memories of those lost too soon and be grateful the other healthy animals still in the fields in barns. I try to hope instead of dread. But it isn't easy, sometimes. Farming is experiencing the full spectrum of life.
Please read the description - that will tell you if an animal has passed away or went to another farm. These are all animals I have owned. More reference animals (ones I have NOT owned) are listed in the Reference Goat album on the Facebook farm page.
Farming is not easy. Please, even if you are not a farmer, be kind to those that are. It is very possible non-farmers just cannot grasp the struggles of those in the ag industry. It isn't just animal losses - it is weather, fuel prices, the market, debt, sometimes the pressure of preserving the farms that have been in the family for generations...so many stresses pummel ag workers, year after year, season after season.
"Farmers are among the most likely to die by suicide, compared with other occupations, according to a January study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study also found that suicide rates overall had increased by 40% in less than two decades." - from the March 2020 article found at the USA Today website, the story a collaborations with USA Today and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.
Several resources are available, including the Farm Aid Crisis Hotline and the Farm Crisis Center as well as organizations at the state level.
Farming is not easy, but there is always help and always hope.
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney - named because he was a tiny thing, less than three pounds at birth - was born 3/21/2018. Born to a first-freshener doe with a half-formed (deceased of course) doeling stuck between the uterine horns and gumming up the works. The vet pulled this kid next, laid him on the ground, assuming he was dead. This little goat gasped. The vet went "Whoa!" and I hollered, "Give him back!" I got to work stimulating him and he was just fine. A third kid - another full term buckling - was pulled but was deceased.
Due to the stress on his dam, Rooney was a bottle baby from Day 1 and lived in the house for quite a bit. He was happy to curl up on the couch with his people or paw and pull at the pile of laundry until he made an acceptable bed.
Rooney, also known as Pooney or Poone, eventually went to live with the herd. It always tickled me that the doelings all loved him - he was usually found sleeping surrounded by all his "girlfriends." Rooney liked to be loved on by his people , occasionally go for a ride in the mule or pop back into the house for an animal cookie. He was always up for taking a selfie with me, hamming it up for the camera.
I lost Rooney-Pooney on 3/14/20. I believe his illness was caused by a plant toxicity. Until that week, Rooney was perfectly healthy, always in good condition and bright-eyed, with a non-existent parasite burden.
This one is going to hurt a long time. Love you, Poone.
Hefty Goat Holler Farm Rosemary
April 29, 2019 - June 19, 2021
F1 Grade Miniature LaMancha
Storm X Jupiter
Rosemary was the most promising first freshener mini doe with my herd name. Never as friendly as her littermate sister Verbena, Rosemary eventually decided people were okay. Like Storm, Rosemary was quiet and content with existing peacefuly within the herd.
She was a wonderful dam already, delivering triplets on a bitterly cold night in the winter storm this past February as a first freshener. I brought her and her new kids into the the house, in the laundry room, and she never missed a beat. She cared for her kids exceptionally well! Her udder was lovely and she was as calm as could be the first time I milked her.
Rosemary was put down after to succumbing to some sort of neurological issue (likely listeriosis as rabies was ruled out at necropsy) and declining very quickly when her kids were close to weaning. I will miss her calm presence and pretty war paint face in the herd. She is survived by a daughter, Anastasia, and a buckling, Squeak - who found homes in new herds. Squeak went to a good friend who has bought many of my goats over the years.
Rusty Lane Farm Aubrey
Aubrey was my first Kinder doe, the last doe for sale when a breeder sold out. I purchased her with her doeling, Farrah. Aubrey was the first Kinder doe I'd ever seen in person. She eagerly jumped into the carrier, thinking she was going to a show. She was a very laid-back, quiet doe. Her udder wasn't very well-attached but she always milked like a champ and kidded very easily. While her bones were more refined, she was capacious and wide throughout.
Aubrey kidded twice while she lived her, each time with a doeling and buckling set of twins. Her last kids were only 6 weeks old when Aubrey came down with listeriosis in February 2019. Even with quick treatment, I could not pull her through, and Aubrey was put down - she'd just turned 7. The kids absolutely refused to take a bottle or nurse another doe, but they grew alright initially. Vixen stayed small. Her brother lives at a friend's farm, and grew very well and has sired many kids for her mixed her.
Her last daughter, Vixen, is nearly identical to Aubrey...it is a nice kind of tribute to my first Kinder doe. Aubrey now (as of 2022) has a granddaughter in the herd as well, Sienna.
Tom Thumb and Bombur
Tom Thumb and Bombur were purchased from a local hobby-breeder, after his goats had escaped and eaten his wife's garden one too many times. In hindsight, they were both weaned too young, but this was back before I knew much about goats. These two were part of the "original" hodge-podge herd. Bombur, blue collar and on the left, was a laid-back, sweet little guy with a hilariously gruff voice.
Tom Thumb was my little buddy, always squeezing out of the old fences and leading me to the barn every morning. He loved to come in and visit, wiggling his tail like a happy puppy. When my dad pulled up, Tom Thumb bee-lined for the truck , eagerly awaiting num-nums - peppermints.
They were sweet, friendly little guys.
Reference Animals
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Zachary's Champion Goats Tigger
April 06, 2016
Generation - 2nd
Height - 27"
E E E 86
Tigger was my first Kinder. He is an incredibly good-natured buck, even in rut. The mammary systems and production in his paternal line are excellent. His dam was a correct, prolific doe. Tigger has been slower to grow but has now hit his max size and weight. He has weighed 140lb at 4 and 5 years old. He is correct with a nice topline and very good feet. If I had to pick an area to improve first, I would improve his rear leg angle, just a bit, and quicker growth.
So far, I think he has improved rear udder attachments and straightened teat placement in his daughters. He throws small kids, which has been very helpful when breeding to first fresheners.
In spring 2022, Tigger went to live with a good friend and wonderful Kinder breeder at Dualidad farm! Before he went, he was appraised and appraised very well! The evaluator especially liked his blending.
GoGo's AqSt Duke
April 2019
F4 American
I sold Duke in the winter of 2022 because I'd basically backed myself into a corner as far as breeding - most of my does were too related to use him on. I hope he's doing great in his new home!
He is a super sweet, friendly boy, the first to come see you. It was one of the things that made me choose him as a baby. He has some lovely mammaries behind him and it looks like he's going to have daughters with nice udders. He helped improve some hocking in, too. Nice and wide between the hocks, nice rib spring, tight shoulders, and rump length. While his hooves were nice and solid, his pasterns were a bit too angled, as was his rump.
Always super-healthy boy and low maintenance - honestly, most of my bucks are. He's the sire to retained does Pearl, Beryl, and Zephyr and paternal half brother to Pixie.
Domino
Early 2014
Breed - Nubian Cross
Domino is one of the original three goats of the holler, bought as doeling.
She has kidded with two singles, two sets of twins, and a set of triplets. She is an excellent dam with plenty of milk, though her udder attachments are utterly lacking. I have milked her and was pleasantly surprised with how easily she milked - her teats are a nice size and shape. She is my biggest doe at the moment. Crossed with Tigger, Domino has given me some incredibly chunky meat kids, making her a good brood doe.
Domino is typically NOT an affectionate adult doe - she was clingy as a kid - but she has her moments with people. As far as other goats, everything is generally terrified of her because she is a great big jerk if you are any goat but her baby.
As of 2022, Domino is retired. She can live out her days being a grouchy butt here.
Zachary's Champion Goats Bindi
June 13, 2012
Bindi was one of three doelings in a litter of quadruplets and has been a prolific doe herself, giving birth to triplets three times here and at least once for her breeder.
Bindi is an overall quality doe, though she is not a large doe. I would like to see tighter shoulders but that has proven to be easy to fix in one generation with the right buck. Her rump is a bit steep but wonderfully wide. She's aged quite gracefully - she's shown as an 8 year old in the watermarked side photo and the udder photo, for instance. All photos are from her at 8, 9, or 10 years of age.
She has good udder attachments even with this many freshenings, good teat placement, and is very easy to hand milk...except for the fact that Bindi does NOT like to be milked. She would MUCH rather feed kids. Bindi might get the sillies sometimes, but she's just as likely to walk up and breathe on you politely until you give her some chin and cheek rubs.
Bindi is an excellent dam and very tolerant of the other kids using her as playground. Most nights, you can find her sleeping by her daughter Topaz. I expect she'll remember Patience whenever the doelings are put back in with senior girls.
I decided to breed her one last time and in March '22, she gave me triplet doelings! Because of her age and tendency to get nervous the first couple days, I left only one doeling on her (Patience( and pulled the other two to raise on bottles. Bindi looks great this spring, especially for a doe turning 10! She will live out retirement here with her daughters, granddaughters, great-granddaughters and soon great-great granddaughters!
