Our Herd: Oberhasli and LaManchas
Our goats are all dairy goats, which means they are bred to give and produce milk. Goat milk is very similar to cow milk, and is produced by goats just as a cow produces milk. All the brown goats look alike, because they are the same breed, called Oberhasli. The black goat is also an Oberhasli (Male Oberhasli must be reddish brown with the black markings, called bay. Female Oberhasli can be wither bay or black.) The goats with tiny ears belong to Kristie, and are the LaMancha breed. LaMancha’s can be any color, but they all have tiny ears. Most of our goats are does (girls) which produce milk. Our bucks (boys) are used for breeding in the fall. Kids (babies) are usually born in February.
Our goats are milked twice a day and we use the milk to drink, cook, and bake with. We feed the milk to our baby farm animals in the spring and sell it for orphan animals and as a supplement for litters of puppies. Goats are very picky eaters and get fed a special diet of alfalfa hay and grain. It is not true that goats eat garbage or tin cans. Goats are very curious animals so they nibble on things and get into lots of trouble if you let them.
Although the goats are used on the farm for our school tours, they are also pets and are used as 4-H projects by Tim, Kristie, and Kellie. The goats are shown in both 4-H and American Dairy Goat Association shows throughout the northeast. Most of our goats have won show ribbons and some are show champions!
Here’s a few fun facts about our goats:
Kids: Born in Spring 2010
Charm, Dancer, Foxxi, and Rilee (she has the small ears!) are all doe kids that were born here on the farm. They are best friends, and sleep curled up next to each other in the barn at night.
Bucks: The Boys
Cruiser and Rebel are the bay bucks. Cruiser was born in California. Rebel was born here on the farm in 2004. Cruiser came to us as a kid on an airplane. Mo is our new LaMancha buck, born in April 2009. He was born in upstate New York.
Oberhasli Does: The bay girls
All our does were born here on the farm. Twist is the oldest doe, born in 2001. Rosie, born in 2003, is the 2005 American Goat Society National Oberhasli Champion. Her favorite treat is bananas! Sammi is the black doe. Her sisters are April and Dreamer. Promise was born in 2008. Sunny, Julianna, Sweet Dreams, and Treasure are all yearlings, which means they were just a year old this spring. Since they’re still young, they are often seen happy – running and kicking up their heels!
LaMancha Does: With tiny ears
Lucy is the tan goat with tiny ears…and she hears VERY well with those little ears! Lucy was born in 2003 on a farm in Bordentown. She is the 2005 NGS National LaMancha Champion! Lucy is little Rilee’s mom. Melody, Lucy’s daughter, is the tall black LaMancha.
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