It’s time for another Kickstarter Thank You Video! Thanks Joe Levin & Family for your generous contribution!
Tag Archives: Dairy Goats
VOTE GOAT 2012
Julian’s Photo Journal #1
Welcome to the first of Julian’s Photo Journals! I’ll be posting my personal photos from the big Colorado trip throughout the Goat Show Doc experience right here in these journal “entries.” Stop by if you want to catch a glimpse of farm-life through a lens, from Colorado’s awesome landscapes and wildlife (including some pretty amusing cats and dogs), adventurous excursions, and goats! Please enjoy and don’t forget to comment.
Below you’ll find shots from the first two days of the trip. The Bowen household sits on an amazing plot of farmland with ample space for seven baby Boer goats, three curious Saanens, five cats, two dogs, and six humans to prance around. I’m honored to call this place home for three weeks. Much thanks to Joan and Dick Bowen for their unmatched hospitality!
Some Boer babies scrambling for attention.
Katniss in blue.
A brown and white Boer with an ear-up.
A black Boer on hind-legs, trying to get a better view.
Checkin’ out some orange twine.
Three Saanens standing in a row.
The Numbers are In!
Breaking News, Everyone: The numbers are in!
2283 Goats will be at the 2012 American Dairy Goat National Show!
Of course, ADGA is still totaling some of the snail-mail entries, but 2283 is a great start! This is going to be awesome!
(Sable breeders – I still haven’t heard back from anyone about whether or not Sables made it, but I’ll let you know when I do)
Taste Testing!
After returning from San Fran yesterday, Trevor and I went on a mission to Whole Foods to bring back some of our newly discovered goat bounty! Check it out: yogurt and kefir from Redwood Hill and goat milk ice cream from La-Loo’s! Find them at a Whole Foods near you!
Day 2: Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery (Part 3)
More pictures from Redwood Hill!
Jennifer converted the old creamery into a house when they moved into their new large production facility. You’d never know it used to be a creamery– it’s such a nice house!
Redwood Hill is powered 100% by solar energy! How amazing is that! These panels are next to Jennifer house- they rotate with the sun throughout the day. Redwood Hill’s creamery is also covered in solar panels. Their commitment to renewable energy sources and sustainability is amazing.
A line-up of does waiting to be milked
Milking time
One of the family dogs waits underneath the milking stands
Two does with milking claws on. (If anyone was wondering, that’s iodine on the stand– it is used to clean and disinfect the udder before and after milking)
The main barn
This lamancha doe kept following me around all day. So cute! Clearly it knew that I’ve always wanted a lamancha!
A yearling lamancha doe waits patiently for the buck to arrive!
Redwood Hill is surrounded by apple trees, which were in blossom when we arrived.
More pictures tomorrow. Thanks again to Jennifer, Scott and Trinity for our tour! For more information on Redwood Hill, check out their website: http://www.redwoodhill.com/ or their blog, “The Bleat Beat” http://www.redwoodhill.com/pages/
Day 1: Jack and Pinky Hawes of Ripon, CA
Hello Friends, Family and Followers!
Great news! Yesterday was our FIRST day of shooting and it went FANTASTICALLY! Our first stop was Jack and Pinky Hawes of Ripon, CA. Jack and Pinky raised dairy goats on one of the largest and most successful commercial dairies of all time: Laurelwood Acres. We talked with Jack and Pinky about the dairy, their experiences as ADGA judges and their love of dairy goats. Even though it has been 30 years since Laurelwood disbanded, Jack and Pinky’s home is still filled with goat memorabilia. Here are some great pictures from the day, taken by the talented Mr. Julian Broudy.
Jack and Pinky
The Hawes home is covered in family photos ranging over 60 years. Pinky’s style is of course expressed all over the house in her color of choice… pink!
Trevor and I getting some footage of Jack and Pinky. I am obviously pleased!
Pinky in front of a display case of goat figurines and old photos
Jack and Pinky showed us tons of old slides, photos and newspaper clippings from the days of Laurelwood Acres
Jack and Pinky camera-ready!
Trevor and I getting a shot of what used to be Laurelwood Acres, which is now a large suburban housing development
Thank you so much Jack and Pinky for all your hospitality and help on this project!
And finally, here are some beautiful photos of our journey from Los Angeles to Ripon, CA:
Less than an hour outside LA on the 5. Doesn’t this look like a foreign country??
Beautiful California! No wonder so many people want to live here..
More greenery…
Thank you Julian for sharing your pictures with us! More to come tomorrow on Redwood Hill!
Destination: SAN FRANCISCO!
Hello Friends, Family and Followers!
Great news! Tomorrow is officially our FIRST DAY OF SHOOTING! Trevor, Julian and I will be traveling to Ripon, CA to visit Jack and Pinky Hawes of Laurelwood, Sebastopol, CA to visit Jennifer and Scott Bice of Redwood Hill. San Fran is the major mid-point between Redwood and Ripon, but it is also host of the 2012 CUESA Goat Festival at the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market. We are SO excited to be visiting these wonderful people and this exciting festival! Stay tuned for updates!
That being said- we will have an extra day of free time in the city, so if you have any suggestions of fun things to do, let us know in the comments!
Adorable Lamanchas!
Hello Everyone!
Yesterday, Mom and I also made a visit to Marilou Webb of South Fork Lamanchas. Marilou has some of the best Lamanchas in the nation, and frequently wins big at goat shows. This spring, Marilou has FORTY-NINE kids and counting! She still milks all her does by hand and hand-raises all the kids. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.
Click on each picture to see a larger version.
The Lamancha is the only major breed of dairy goat that originated in the U.S! Lamanchas were first bred by in Oregon by Eula Fay Frey.
Lamanchas are one of the most easily recognizable breeds of goat because they appear to have no ears! Don’t worry- they can hear just like any other goat. There are two types of Lamancha ear: Gopher (less than one inch of cartilage) and Elf (maximum 2 inches of cartilage, turned up or down). Gopher ears are preferred (as seen above).
Lamanchas come in every color known to goats and can have spots, stripes or no pattern at all
The name “Lamancha” comes from the earless goats from La Mancha, Spain first exhibited at the World’s Fair in Paris in 1904
Only male goats (bucks) with “Gopher” ears are able to be registered because it is possible to breed the short ears out of Lamanchas by using elf-eared bucks and elf-eared does
Lamanchas are known for their high milk production
Lamanchas have very calm and loving personalities
Dairy goats are tattooed in each ear to be registered and identified by ADGA. Because Lamanchas do not have external ears, they are tattooed on the left and ride fleshy sides of their tails instead!
Like the Nubian goat, Lamanchas have high butterfat in their milk
Pictured above: Cate, an old goat with a goofy, toothy grin
To find out more information about Lamanchas, visit the American Lamancha Club website: http://www.lamanchas.com/
Thank you Marilou for sharing your goats with us! To find more information about Marilou’s herd, visit http://www.southforklamanchas.com/
Nubians are Great!
Hello Everyone!
Today we drove down to Erie, CO to visit Pam Bartholf of Wakan Dairy and her Nubian Goats. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the day, and some facts about Nubians!
Click on each picture to see a larger version.
Nubians originally came from Nubia, a desert region in the Northern Sudan, but the British and French are credited with developing today’s Anglo-Nubian from a variety of breeds
Nubians are the most popular breed of dairy goat in the U.S. today
Nubians are known for their long, pendulous ears and Roman noses
Nubians produce less milk on average than many of the Swiss-origin breeds
Nubians have short, glossy hair and come in a variety of color patterns
Because of their heritage, Nubians are able to withstand extreme cold and heat
Nubians are very commonly born in large litters – triplets and quads are more common in Nubians than other breeds
Nubians are known for being very vocal, sociable animals
Nubian milk is very high in butterfat- 5% on average
For more information, visit the International Nubian Breeders Association at www.i-n-b-a.org
Thank you Pam for sharing your goats with us!
