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Tell me your success stories!

2K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  Ana 
#1 ·
So life is rough and 2020 has been crazy hard on my family. I need some positive stories to read.

I'll share 2 of my successes this year.

First is a successful AI breeding resulting in a stunning kid! I'm so happy with this little doe and I really look forward to watching her grow. Plus she's an absolute sweetheart [emoji171] Clarisse was 4 months in this pic for virtual fair and with a novice handler so no push down and standing pretty naturally!



The second success is my daughters success. She took a risk and bred our Boer cross does (they're nothing special, just 50% and over grade does) to a Myotonic buck for youth market kids. She dealt with a lot of ridicule for this but after doing a lot of research she traded an Alpine doe for a Myo buckling and went from there. This year the does we're bred on time, the kids were great, gained well, and were packed with muscle. Both kids placed 2nd in their weight classes at our pretty competitive fair. Forgive the bad pic, it was a socially distanced market show!


So there are two of my successes, what are yours?
 
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#2 ·
A huge congrats on your AI. She is such a beautiful girl! And the biggest heck yeah to your daughter! You know you never know until you try, she wanted to try something different, she probably stepped out of her comfort zone a bit to try it and it worked! That’s not even my kid and I’m so very proud of her. Please tell her she is amazing :)
I think my only success was last year I took a gamble on a registered jersey cow that was exposed to a jersey bull. She had a bum leg and no one would buy her. I decided the worse that could happen is I loose $150 and the best I have a nice cow and a calf. I REALLY wanted that jersey baby. After 9 LONG months of not knowing if she really was bred, and if she was did my angus bull breed her she didn’t just have a jersey baby but a heifer! That absolutely made my year. I’m a sucker for jerseys to start with and I don’t think anything is more beautiful then a new born jersey calf. She couldn’t get up for her first few days of life so I gave mom my bottle baby bull calf and have been raising this sassy sweet girl for 3 months now. She is a absolute doll to have.
 
#3 ·
One of my successes this year may seem really small, but is big to me.
My ND doe, who is not of any good milking lines or udder wonders, and in fact I can never breed her again because of very bad genetics, well, she is a sweet little milker!
A small amount of milk, but so well behaved, I smile every time I milk her!
It is big to me because she was dam raised and was terrified of two leggers when she came here. And I'm in love with her.:inlove:
Vertebrate Wood Fawn Terrestrial animal Snout
 
#4 ·
Congratulations @CBPitts!

My goats are doing wonderfully this year. I think I finally figured out a mineral regimen that works. Bella is the softest, blackest, and shiniest I've ever seen her! Both of my does were also bred for the first time so I'm ecstatic!

One of my successes this year may seem really small, but is big to me.
My ND doe, who is not of any good milking lines or udder wonders, and in fact I can never breed her again because of very bad genetics, well, she is a sweet little milker!
A small amount of milk, but so well behaved, I smile every time I milk her!
It is big to me because she was dam raised and was terrified of two leggers when she came here. And I'm in love with her.:inlove:
View attachment 192099
She's so cute! She has such short little legs! Adorable!
 
#5 ·
Sounds like happy ending to 2020 @CBPitts !! Congratulations.
@MadHouse i love her!! I have a ND pet too. Never gave a drop more milk than her kids needed lol. I dont breed her anymore but shes my sweet one!!
@MellonFriend its a great feeling when our goats are balanced and doing good!! Congratulations!!
2020 presented many challenges! But Emmie is still giving milk after nearly 2 years..shes down to a quart again as we close the year. But im betting it will go back up come spring!! She is super sweet and easy to milk. So bonus. We had our first F1 mini lamancha doe born this past spring..who both are well built. More of a lamcha look than ND which is what we want. Thier mama is one of my fav blood lines here. We have her and her sister along with all our lamanchas bred to Kimchi..a registered blue eye naturally polled ND buck. Hoping everyone settled..spring will bring more F1 minies.
We have two calves on the ground and more to come!!
Everyone is healthy..and going strong..i can't ask for more than that!
 

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#12 ·
Congratulations.
@MadHouse i love her!! I have a ND pet too. Never gave a drop more milk than her kids needed lol. I dont breed her anymore but shes my sweet one!!
Thanks, Genevieve is a cutie too!
@MadHouse I cull heavily for personality reason so I completely understand getting a shy or scared goat to be your bestie! She is adorable too!
Thanks!
 
#6 ·
@AndersonRanch There really isn't anything cuter than a baby Jersey! And a $150 for a bred cow is an absolute steal! Congrats!

I am also very, very proud of my daughter! She did so much research and took the time to find a breeder that had the type of Myo she was looking for before taking the next step. She was lucky that breeder was interested in getting a milker too! She dealt with a lot of derision, mostly from adults, that breed for youth auction too. They told her you can't take a small breed, they'll never make weight, they won't be of type, she got openly laughed at by another parent that also breeds. . . She actually took a kid born the last week of February to our July fair. He was 5 months and 86 pounds, our minimum weight is 60. He stood 3 places above the wether bred by the parent that laughed at her [emoji16] And she was gracious about it! I was really proud of her then!

@MadHouse I cull heavily for personality reason so I completely understand getting a shy or scared goat to be your bestie! She is adorable too!

@MellonFriend Yay for bred does! It's so exciting waiting for kids! Sometimes our smallest successes are the sweetest or most meaningful when we look back.
 
#7 ·
@MadHouse
Goat Working animal Mammal Fawn Grass
this is Genevieve running with my daughters boer doe ..I just love her
 
#9 ·
Two successes for me this year.
1. I got a real job. The past ten years or so I've been riding horses at the horse barn I went to in the summer, and the past couple summers I actually got a job working under the table at the farm. But last summer there was a lot of drama going on there that I didn't want to be a part of, and the job its self wasn't very clear, and the horse I was leasing wasn't working out, and things just fell apart and I had to quit.
Now I am not a social person AT ALL. I dont like meeting new people, being around people, talking to people, even people I already know if its forced. I'm not a people person. But I got waaay out of my comfort zone and applied to Dunkin Donuts
Because it's within walking distance of my house and I needed the money for my goats. And I got the job! And after I got over the shock of constantly being around people for 8 hours straight, I actually like the job, and its helped alot with my social skills, so I'm glad I did it.

2. I got my first goats! Probably not the best way; for my birthday. My mom told me a week before my birthday, so my dad and I had to rush to throw up a shack and little pen for them. It didn't go very smoothly and the pen was not goat proof, but i got them! My very own goats! They are amazing : )
 
#10 ·
What a nice post!

It's been crazy, for sure, but we've had lots of wins on our farm this year. We got a whole lot of fencing installed and a new water line to a frost-free hydrant AND an automatic, heated Nelson waterer. It was 70% paid for through a cost share program I discovered!

We are breeding quality homestead polled milking minis (big woot)!

Our lamb crop was stupendous and fun, especially compared to our first year's awfulness.

I just finished our farm website, that I am super happy with.

I learned that mountain biking is super fun, even at 45, and so is traveling with the kids, sans hubs. :) No offense, hubs.

Plenty of struggles and losses too, but we're not here for that part. Our health is good and we're enjoying this life we've chosen for ourselves.
 
#14 ·
Love this post! I have myotonics..and your Daughter is right in track..where.do Tennessee meat goats come from??
My 2020 has been very trying..but from that I have a very very important Treasure.
My 1st Full blood 100% buck with bloodlines of several ennoblements injured himself at 3 months old. I took him to a So called Specislist..said he would be dead in 10 days. He crushed his cruciate ligamet in his left knee and it went septic. That was in May. Lightning is 8 months old. Over 125lbs. He is walking , eating very well, blubbering at all the does, and reared up on a spool the other day. He will not make a show...But he will make babies. To me..its a miracle. SO yes..tragedy turned triumph!
 
#15 ·
[mention]AlabamaGirl [/mention] I had our local AI tech teach me so I've saved a lot doing it myself. Her rate is $75/visit and most people breed goats twice at 12 hour intervals.

If I broke it down $75 for the lesson from the AI tech, about $150 for my kit/supplies (I only bought what I needed, not a complete kit), plus the price of semen. I share space in the neighbors nitrogen tank.

I've gone absolutely top notch on Alpine semen because some the very best breeders live within reasonable driving distance so I can pick up and skip shipping costs. I'm typically spending about $75/straw.

Last year I had 100% success on 4 does but 2 had single kids. I've got another 2 weeks to be able to test the last 2 out of 6 I AIed this year but 4 have been confirmed bred by ultrasound.

I'm probably right around $100 to $175 per bred doe right now, depending on if I bred them once or twice.
 
#16 ·
Lightning is 8 months old. Over 125lbs. He is walking , eating very well, blubbering at all the does, and reared up on a spool the other day. He will not make a show...But he will make babies. To me..its a miracle. SO yes..tragedy turned triumph!
Whaaa Hooooo! Yay Lightning, way to go Little buddy! I'm thrilled To hear he's able to hold his weight to rear up like that! What a great success story! All those different splints and amazing care you gave him paid off!
I can't wait to see his offspring soon...:)
 
#17 ·
Love this post! I have myotonics..and your Daughter is right in track..where.do Tennessee meat goats come from??
My 2020 has been very trying..but from that I have a very very important Treasure.
My 1st Full blood 100% buck with bloodlines of several ennoblements injured himself at 3 months old. I took him to a So called Specislist..said he would be dead in 10 days. He crushed his cruciate ligamet in his left knee and it went septic. That was in May. Lightning is 8 months old. Over 125lbs. He is walking , eating very well, blubbering at all the does, and reared up on a spool the other day. He will not make a show...But he will make babies. To me..its a miracle. SO yes..tragedy turned triumph!
So wonderful! :goodjob::clapping:(cheers)
 
#18 ·
Great thread! We've all heard (and experienced) a lot of grief throughout 2020, and those stories just keep coming at us from all directions (if I read "Grim Milestone" in one more headline I might just scream!), so reading about everyone's successes is very uplifting and brings a great smile to my face.

I recounted a lot of our successes in the "2020" thread so I won't re-post them here, but I will post this amazing picture of Butterfly climbing down a very steep rock in Utah this fall. When I found her at three days old, lying in the horse pasture covered in dirt with her hind legs not functional, I feared the worst. I was sure her spine was broken, but it was her pelvis and the vet thought it might heal if we gave her a chance. Boy did this little gal exceed our wildest expectations! Fly Butterfly, fly!
Sky Bedrock Goat-antelope Goat Mountain
 
#19 ·
Thanks! That brings tears to my eyes!
Great thread! We've all heard (and experienced) a lot of grief throughout 2020, and those stories just keep coming at us from all directions (if I read "Grim Milestone" in one more headline I might just scream!), so reading about everyone's successes is very uplifting and brings a great smile to my face.

I recounted a lot of our successes in the "2020" thread so I won't re-post them here, but I will post this amazing picture of Butterfly climbing down a very steep rock in Utah this fall. When I found her at three days old, lying in the horse pasture covered in dirt with her hind legs not functional, I feared the worst. I was sure her spine was broken, but it was her pelvis and the vet thought it might heal if we gave her a chance. Boy did this little gal exceed our wildest expectations! Fly Butterfly, fly! View attachment 192141
 
#21 · (Edited)
This is an awesome thread I’ve had success this year with my first Nubian, I’ve never had a big goat before and I most definitely have never had a little goat breed a big goat but it happened and i just can’t wait to see the outcome in a few days or so. My success is in my avatar. (Her name is Annie I talk about her a lot because I love her too much)
 
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