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.

Jake and Ellie

He's a winner

Jake is our old farm dog. His breed is called a Large Munsterlander, which is a German bird dog, or hunting dog. Although the breed is very popular in Germany, there are very few Large Munsterlander breeders in the United States. Jake was born in Michigan, and came to us in the fall of 2004. His birthday is July 19, 2004.

Sitting pretty

Ellie was born in July of 2008 in Tennessee.  We adopted her from a shelter in November 2008.  She is a mix of 6 different breeds, American Eskimo being the most dominant.  Ellie and Jake, best friends, both enjoy running around the farm chasing rabbits and wild geese out of the fields.

When Ellie and Jake are not at the farm, they can probably be found in the house, stretched out and asleep.  Jake likes to sleep on the couch and Ellie likes to sleep on the back deck in the sunlight.

The Farm Cat

Picking his pumpkin early

Casey is the big, ol’ fat cat that everyone loves. Casey came to the farm as a kitten, and has grown into a big, loveable mush! Casey enjoys wandering the farm at night and can often be found sleeping on the office chair during the day.

Casey enjoys being the center of attention and is very affectionate around kids.

Our Girls

Warm and wooly

Ali is a Dorset ewe (girl) that came to us from a farm in Burlington County. In February of 2008, Ali gave birth to triplet ewe lambs; Madison, Sage and Sabrina. All the sheep are used by Kristie as 4-H projects and are used for Christmas nativity work. Sheep eat hay and a grain that is very similar to what the goats’ eat.

Sheep grow wool to keep them warm in the winter, but that wool must be shaved off each spring – it’s like getting a haircut. Ali’s favorite treat is rice krispie cereal.  Madison, Sage, and Sabrina enjoy peas and stringbeans as a treat!

A flock of hens

Heads or tails?

Our flock of chickens is made up of about 35 hens (girl chickens). The brown hens are called Orpingtons and they lay brown eggs. Both the black and brown chickens are called cochins.  The black hens lay green eggs and the brown hens lay blue eggs. We have two roosters (boy chickens).

Brooks is black and white and has long feathers on his neck and tail.  Ace is a huge black rooster, also with lots of long feathers.  Hens lay eggs, roosters don’t. Each hen lays one egg a day. We sell the fresh eggs in the farm market.

Dazzle’s daughter

It's party time!

Daisy was born on the farm on May 26, 2004. She was the first donkey baby ever born on the farm! Her dad still lives in Pennsylvania and his name is Scooter. Daisy is good friends with Jake the farm dog.  Daisy’s favorite treat is grass.

We had a big party for Daisy’s 1st birthday…and she LOVED eating her own birthday cake!

Miniature Donkey

Waiting for treats

Dazzle was born in 1998 in Pennsylvania. She is considered a miniature donkey because she is a breed that is smaller than most donkeys. Dazzle eats hay (dried grass) and grain (oats, corn, soybeans, and molasses) just like the other farm animals.

Dazzle’s favorite treat is watermelon.

Paint Horse

This is Razor

Checkers and Razor are best friends.  Born in 2001, Razor came to live with us in January of 2008. He is a Paint Horse that was born in Idaho. His reddish brown color is called chestnut. Razor has a full blaze on his face, has white stocking markings on his front legs and white socks on his rear legs.

Razor is ridden both English and western, occasionally goes to horse shows, and goes to the fair each summer with Checkers. Razor’s favorite treat is apples. Razor is owned and ridden by Kellie.

American Quarter Horse

Checkers

Checkers, born in 1998, came to live with us in November of 2005.  He is an American Quarter Horse and his color (brown with black legs, mane & tail) is called bay. He is ridden both English & Western, sometimes goes to horse shows, and goes to the Middlesex County Fair each summer.

Checkers favorite treat is pretzles. He is owned and ridden by Kristie.