Hi, Just thought with all the problems some experience with our animals, I thought I would report on a no-problem healthy kidding season so far. Last week we had someone kid every day for four days, and all the new babies were does, no problems whatsoever! WE dam raise and did have one first timer reject hers for about 12 hours but thats all. We have one more doe due anyday now who normally has 3! We stay busy with her usually making sure all 3 get enough to eat! Good luck to everyone else.

-- Carol in Tx (cwaldrop@peoplescom.net), April 09, 2001

Answers

That is good news Carol, especially about all does. We were done here about a month ago, and the kids are growing so fast.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@hotmail.com), April 10, 2001.

I think this is a great idea Carol. A thread of only good news, I think the problem "sick" goat threads are helpful, but certainly do put our goats in a wrong light. We are through until summer with our kidding. We had 18 bucklings and 2 doelings born, and of course one doeling is a Christmas baby and one a Feburary baby, so I just HAD to go buy 2 other doeling to keep with them for friends :) My husband wasn't swollowing this theory either :) The kids were all raised on bottles and then Lambar's the older group is weaned and not one day of diarrhea. The two younger ones are still on bottles, and are pests!

Though I do assist with all deliveries, a foot forward here etc. we also had all very easy births. We lost none of the kids, the does milking gangbusters, and thanks to the internet the only buckling left unsold is the one Cindy/Amber is getting. We all need to help her think of a F name for her new Purebred Nubian Buckling, Lonesome Doe E's F________. Blissmoor's AK Frosted Tart (my 11 year old) x Easy Stream Essential. She also is getting a beautiful brown and white spotted American Nubian named RKH Sarah, from a friend of mine.

Lucky you Carol in getting some doelings. I really was due though with this buck year, we had 36 doelings born last January! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 10, 2001.

Hi Carol,

so glad to hear you had a good kidding season, thats great! And Vicki.... wow....congrats on selling your kids and another good season:):) Glad to hear your does are milking like gangbusters. i have one doe who is, a first freshner. i am so proud of her, she isn't quite a month fresh and milks almost 9 pound a day now. in fact i noticed i just milked her this morning and tonight she was leaking milk, guess i'll have to go to 3 x's aday if she continues and she is dam raising a doe kid too. So the 9 pounds is minus what she drinks. Oh boy, will have to pen up doe kid to check this weekend what she is really milking. i hope i am pleasantly surprised:):) We had a fairly good kidding yr. We had lots of doe kids again, the ratio was 28 does and 5 bucks so far and have 2 more to go. i am so excited about these kids as they are out of a buck whose grandmother was in my opinion and many other Alpine breeders, the best doe ever, Wa-shaw-Me-snowbird. Oh, for those of you who get the United caprine News, look for the special Alpine issue next month, I had an article i had to do on national GCH's, and a dedication to her. hope Jeff prints it. had one tragedy (our first in a long time, had another last fall, we lost a doe to quads) , lost my special doe wizard to a hard kidding, kid came out with neck bent backwards and she got internal bleeding and died 36 hrs later. Was a sad story, but this happens from time to time. So... lets hear more success stories, i need to hear some! Happy kiding to those still waiting the stork.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), April 10, 2001.

Hey Bernie, I was going to email you, but since you mentioned your article here, that'll do. I was searching in GOOGLE and put in the names of my buck's line, and your page came up. I had allready read it before, when you told us about it a few months ago. Well, suprise, suprise, that's Bernie's page!

The line I was searching was Shahena's Ko. Sparky's great- grandparents are Sahena's Ko S Wild Apache and Sahena's Ko Sumo Zeta, which resulted in Shadow Ridge Apache Warrior (couldn't find Shadow Ridge). Also, the Shelburne line, which I found out Mr. Shelburne won some classes last year at the Ky. State Fair. Why is there no web site for Sahena's Ko? I got Sparky's half brother last Saturday, and he is black and white with a white saddle. He goes back to Sahena's Ko also, both the same mothers.

Names for the buck, Vicki. How about Firstclass. Favorite. Fortunate. Friendship. Frolic. Fulfillment. Festival. Fabulous.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@hotmail.com), April 11, 2001.

Hi cindy,

Thats interesting how my website came up, glad to see its in the search engines at least. I am very familiar with the Shahen'ko lines as my beloved Jackie goes back to Shahen'ko Black Pearl 5 generations. Val, the ruby red colored sr kid I brought to NAILE is Jackie's daughter. The 2 herds which dominated the 1980's..... oh, I know why it came up now.... i did the national GCH's page on my website for Alpine's international. I made some comments on how Nixon's Luminary, who knocked off my gal, Wa-shaw-Me-Snowbird off her throne as nationals GCH queen was the national GCh for 4 yrs in a row. Then the Shahen'ko herd ruled the roost from 1985 to 1988 0r 89 then again in 1990. I can't recall exactly the yrs of top of my head. But to see them go to the bottom of my page and to the national GCh and the national GCh pages. Or to Alpines International site. you can also learn more about this herd by trying the pedigree on the AlpineTalk database. Lynn Benedict, Walnut fork Alpines breeds heavy on Shahan'ko, she has a website but i forgot her addy, i do know you can access it from the search engines. Also, Mark Baden does too, his is Olengtary and his website is on agdomain as is mine. And Carmen Ellis from Washington, although she no longer raises goats, she sold out from illness, has asthma. Mary konnersman from Calif owned the herd, she had a big cheese operation and then went out of business. i think she retired. i'm not sure if she is even alive. In fact i think rebekah Leaf who posts here sometimes has Shahan'ko in her lines back a few generations. Lots of milk in those lines. thats interesting information on your guy, i'll have to re-read your post again as I forgot what else i was going to say, hmmmmm I'm actually out of words? LOL:):) Hope this information helps.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), April 11, 2001.

Yes, I do have a lot of Shahena'ko lines. Wisdom's Way

Carmen Ellis is actually back into goats again- here is her website. Iroquois KC Alpines She has some very nice stock. Much of what I have now came from her.

Mary Konnersman is now Mary Keehn. She is still doing the cheese making operation, think it is Cypress Grove, she makes some excellent cheese. The cheese part has a website, but not the goats. Mark Baden has some Shahena'ko because he also used some of Carmen's lines, I wouldn't say he has a lot though. He has gone back into the Sodium Oaks lines, which Carmen also had a lot of. Then there is Pat Morford, who has made very extensive use of one buck- Shahena'ko Z Beaux, and some use of others, including Shahena'ko Sumo. She has Three Ring Farms

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), March 07, 2002.