Update on weanlings

Kiko bucklings on the day they were weaned.

June has been a hectic month with the trip to Perry, Ga., for the Kiko Roundup, a short vacation trip to Fort Walton, Beach, Fla., then three days in West Monroe, La., for the Amercian Boer Goat Association National Show. 


I knew I was going to be busy most of the month; that's why I rounded up the goats and weaned the buck kids on May 27. I put them into a pasture full of grass, left instructions for them to be fed a half-pound of 16% goat feed each day. Some of these buck kids were only 10 weeks old, so I expected them to drop off some when they were pulled off their moms. I knew they would need some extra supplementation.


After the bucks were weaned, it was nearly two weeks before I had a chance to see them again. Of course they had lost that baby fat, but most were faring well in their new home. The shock came when I inspected the main herd of does. I had left the doe kids on their moms and expected them to be in much better shape than their male siblings. Surprisingly, the doelings were not in as good a shape as the bucklings.


I did spot checks for parasites or any signs of illness. Everyone seemed healthy, just on the thin side. The momma does were fat and slick, which was an odd contrast to the thin doe kids. 


Later that day while watching the local weather report, the announcer mentioned that we were on our 20th day of above-90 degree temperatures -- an average of 10-15 degrees above normal. With this fact, along with a lack of rain for more than 2 weeks, I concluded that the excess heat was putting stress on the doe herd and had caused a severe drop in milk production.


I went out in the pasture and watched the goats. I didn't observe any kids nursing, although they were busy grazing alongside mom. The Deep South's high temperatures, along with our high humidity, is notorious among cattle producers for reducing milk production. The same is true for goats.


The little bucklings, who were on better pasture and extra daily supplement, out-performed their sisters who were with the moms. An unusual occurrence but one that I think I have figured out.

Southeast Kiko Roundup Sale

The stands were full of buyers and observers.

The Southeast Kiko Goat Association held its Kiko Roundup seminars and sale this weekend at the Ga. National Fairgrounds in Perry, Ga. 


There were a good many vendors and farms displays set up. Producers from as far away as Oklahoma and Illinois brought approximately 85 goats to the sale, which was held on Saturday. The high seller was a 2-year-old Goatex Generator daughter out of MGR Lightin's Lady. She brought $2,000 and was purchased by Tom Keisau of Oklahoma. Keisau also purchased two other top-selling does: two Loverboy does that brought $1,500 and $1,600. All three does were consigned by Goat Hill Kikos.


The 85 goats brought a total of $43,675. Averages were:


100% NZ does - $642.22

Purebreds - $355.00

7/8s - $445.83

3/4s - $258.33

1/2s - $318.75

Bucks - $393.75

Grown bucks did not sell well and have not for quite a awhile. This is a trend that I first witnessed at the Cream of the Crop sale two years ago. We had several nice 4-year-old bucks that we could not even get a bid on. Buyers seem to want a young, "pretty" buck that they can raise up.


The only bad thing about the Roundup was the weather. It was 100 degrees every day. It was almost reminiscent of Sallisaw year before last when the temperature was 104 and folks were putting ice cubes in the goats' water buckets. There were big fans in the barn at Perry, which made it more bearable. Fortunately, the sale ring was air-conditioned.


Overall, it was a great weekend. There were individuals affiliated with IKGA, AKGA and NKR in attendance and there were goats registered with each registry in the sale. The Roundup was evidence that although there are some disagreements within the Kiko industry, breeders can come together for the benefit of the breed and have a good time. 


Special appreciation goes to Marilyn and Bob Seleska and all the other members of the Southeast Kiko Goat Association who worked many hours to put this event together.

There were a lot of lookers before the sale.

My grandson Rylan helped NKR registrar Karen Brown at the National Kiko Registry booth.

The sale was held in the air-conditioned auditorium.

Old friends and new: (from left) John Hancock and sons,

Brenda Moore, Jerry Hancock, Bill Moore and Neal McIntyre.

New Xcelerator buck

His father is an Xcelerator son and his mother is an Xcelerator granddaughter.

With all the CCR Xcelerator kids I have sold over the years, I found myself without Xcelerator genetics this year. My last Xcelerator son died last winter so I have been looking for a replacement. 

One of my repeat customers who has bought does from me several times and continues to lease bucks each year wanted a sire for spring breeding. He also said he had a good buck he wanted to find a home for.  We ended up making a deal. I traded a New Zealand yearling TAY Onyx grandson for the 4-year-old buck above, whose sire and dam are both ECR Kikos. We each retained the option of first refusal on the bucks if either of us get ready to sell them.


My new buck is a purebred so he will go over my commercial herd. 


By the way, Xcelerator is still alive, enjoying his retirement. He turned 11 in February. He has his own little pasture and gets about 3 pounds of senior equine feed a day, which just melts in his mouth.

Roundup time again

Grandson Rylan (on 4-wheeler) keeps the stragglers moving 

while his friend Will keeps the middle moving. 

It's been nearly two months since the goats have had any feed out of a bucket so the old "rattle the bucket" trick didn't work at roundup time this month. First they wouldn't follow and, of course, it's always hard to drive them. It was especially difficult because the sides of the county road we drive them down to the corrals is covered with fresh johnsongrass and other goodies. Everyone had to stop along the way for a quick snack.

Finally, using 4-wheelers and on foot, we managed to get the goats penned up.

We had gotten a late start, so we didn't begin working goats until 2 p.m. First we pulled all the kids out and put them into a pen. Then we FAMACHA'd all the does with only about 5% needing deworming. Not bad since the majority were still nursing kids at this point.

After going through the does, we sorted out the buck kids for weaning. None of the bucklings needed deworming! 

A few of the late-born doe kids were still on the small side and had rough hair coats. We gave them a dose of Valbazen for possible tape worms and a delousing.

We finished about 4:30 p.m. and turned the doe kids back with their moms and penned them in a small pasture next to the barn. Today we'll be trimming hooves on the does. I've only seen one limper this spring, but hooves have not been trimmed since last summer sometime. Some of the hooves are looking a little ugly and overgrown, so while we have this cool, cloudy weather, we'll take care of that job.

The corrals are located behind this building where

the Goat Rancher office is located. The office really

is located in the middle of a goat farm.

The goats are funneled through the back yard into the corrals.

Penned up and ready for sorting — finally.

Goats for sale

These are some of our "Nick" daughters. They aren't for sale,
but I do have a few of their bucks kids available.

I am fortunate to have several daughters out of Sunboy Stanton 149, better known as "Nick". Although these are keeper does, I do sell their offspring on occasion. This year I have four bucks available out of these does. I will have more details available later, but you can get a glimpse of them by clicking on the GOATS FOR SALE tab at the top right of my blog. I hope to update and list more goats for sale in the next week or so.

Moving to new pasture

The goat herd runs into a new pasture filled with fresh grass.

Over the weekend I noticed the goats had made a good dent in their paddock. All the does and kids are running together now, so they can consume a good bit of forage in a day's time. Also, the pasture that has been sitting idle had grass so tall, it was starting to fall over and get ruined.


So Sunday afternoon I opened the gates so the goats could wonder into a new paddock. They found the open gates pretty quickly so there was a flood of goats into the new pasture. As usual, however, small groups of goats got left behind. I had to get a feed bucket yesterday and walk through the paddocks until I finally got all the goats, mommas and babies, etc., all in one group.


I didn't check this morning, but I hope they are still all together. 

There's a regular smorgasbord of grasses available.

This pasture has been idle for only about 30 days
but the grass is around a foot deep in most places.

YUMMY!!!

Sydell coming to West Monroe, La.

We use our Sydell working system several times each month.

Much of my goat equipment comes from Sydell. They advertised in the first Goat Rancher and have advertised consistently for the past 15 years. They have steadily worked with sheep and goat producers to develop new products or refine old standbys like working chutes and kidding pens. I love their feeders. They last forever.


My smartest purchase was our corral system. The older I get, the more labor-saving equipment I want. It may sound expensive at first, but once you use it and figure out the cost per year for the next 15-20 years, it seems like a bargain.

When I need new equipment, I always arrange it so that I can meet them at one of the National Boer goat shows where they will have their vendor booth. Sydell is located in South Dakota so if I can avoid paying shipping from there to Mississippi, I'll jump on that deal. What they do is take orders now and haul it with them to the show, where I can pick it up while I am there.

This year the American Boer Goat Association National Show will be in West Monroe, La., and Sydell will be there June 6-11. They leave South Dakota June 3, so contact them now (and no later than May 27) if you need something. They'll also meet you along the way if you live near their route from S.D. to Louisiana.

To place an order or get more information, call Kyle at 800-842-1369 or click on  www.sydell.com.