Category Archives: goats

Chili and Carolina Kid

March 24, 2025 Anna Leave a comment

Chili started us off on the tail end of our main kidding frenzy last Sunday with triplets. She had two bucks, one black with red, and one black with tan, and one little chocolate doe. They weighed in at 8, 7, and 5.6 pounds. Chili looks great and her udder has increased in size this year, she is really putting in the pail!

Chili’s kids have been named Biscotti, Tiramisu(doe), and Cannoli.

Carolina went into labor on Monday evening and delivered a large 9 pound single doe. We were concerned she had slipped her pregnancy earlier this spring because she was not very large. I guess she was just hiding that one little doe in her big body (Carolina is 160 pounds plus). We named the doe Creme Brulee, or C.B. for short. C.B. is a light chamoisee color and will likely clip a little darker and look more brown. But she is adorable here in this baby coat.

The kids are now a week old and have been disbudded and are transitioning to the lambar buckets. It’s no secret that Tiramisu is “mine” and C.B. is Rob’s favorite. They will both be nice does.

Tiramisu pedigree: https://genetics.adga.org/PlannedPedigreePrint.aspx?SireNum=L002384545&DamNum=L002232082

C.B. pedigree:

https://genetics.adga.org/PlannedPedigreePrint.aspx?SireNum=L002384570&DamNum=L002158268

We have two more goats due to kid this year. Next up is Ferrari with a due date of April 3. She is bred to Sawfish Crete, Carolina’s son, so expect some black and tan goats. Bali is our milking yearling this year, she is due at the end of April, carrying twins by Blue Farmhouse Apollo. Fingers crossed for at least one more doe to keep, but time will tell. Most of all we want easy nose n’ toes deliveries and healthy mamas and babies. And maybe some color babies from Bali…

goats

Are You Kidding Me?

March 16, 2025 Anna Leave a comment

This week we welcomed Camellia’s and Porsche’s kids into the world. Let’s just say, we should not play the lottery anytime soon. Our buck kid to doe kid ratio is currently 7 to 1.

Camellia (Camellia pedigree ) started filling up her udder for real on Tuesday and presented with a little bit of mucus discharge late on Tuesday evening. Anna spent most of the night checking on her and things did not progress in a normal fashion. She started having some bright red bleeding discharge early am, but no real contractions and we went in to check her and could feel a head but she was not completely dilated and we could not get in any further. With the abnormal signs we were seeing and the length of the labor, at 5 am we decided to call our vet out, as we were concerned about hurting her in the process of getting the kids out and felt the kids were probably in distress at this point. Camellia had aborted with CVV last year and had had a retained placenta, so we knew her delivery may not be textbook. We had given her some calcium and as we were waiting for the vet Camellia started to have some smaller contractions. Dr. Cara came and helped us deliver live triplets and one mummified fetus. We had US Camellia with potential quads, so that checks. Two bucklings and one doe kid. Camellia was bred to Carolina’s son Sawfish Crete (Crete pedigree). The kids were 9, 8 and 7 pounds, and their names are Churro, Apple Fritter and Peanut Brittle. Churro came out pretty distressed and weak, but breathing. Apple Fritter (doe) is a spunky little thing. And Peanut is catching up. Camellia is milking a gallon a day already and while a little sore, is recovering well. In hindsight, Camellia may have been slightly hypo calcemic and we should have given her calcium sooner. But we live and learn.

Porsche, Camellia’s daughter decided to have her babies on Thursday afternoon. I had a dentist appointment mid day and she was kind enough to wait for me to get home to kid. Rob and Amanda made it home from work and school just in time to welcome her two buck kids into the world. One is a broken black and tan, the other a solid black, both weighed in around 8 pounds. The have been named Smore’s and Macaroon (Rooney). Porsche (Porsche pedigree) was bred to Apollo (Apollo pedigree). Porsche is doing great after kidding.

We are happy to report all the kids are doing well, and we are grateful for that, however if someone knows how to summon the doe fairy, we would like for her to visit for Chili and Carolina, who are up next for kidding.

And, yes, there is certainly a certain color trend in our goats so far…

goats, kids

Kidding Around

March 10, 2025 Anna Leave a comment

Sawfish AS Tesla July 2024 as a dry yearling.

We officially started off kidding season for us last night with Sawfish AS Tesla (pedigree). Tesla was bred to Blue Farmhouse Eros (Eros pedigree). Tesla brought us triplet bucks, 9, 8.5 and 7 pounds. Number one and number two are carbon copies of Tesla, and number three was cream. Unfortunately number three was DOA, and appeared to have aspirated and we were unable to revive him despite our best efforts.

The naming theme this year is desserts, and I think one of these boys is going to be Biscotti. Until decisions are made it is “big boy” and number two. Big boy came out head first with one leg back, and Tesla needed just a little bit of assistance getting him out. She is a 2 YO FF, and looks good with an appetite this morning.

Quinn and Amanda enjoyed having baby goats again and the boys slept on Amanda’s bed for a bit. The first babies are always the ones to get a little spoiled. Maybe they will get to move out to their garage pen later this week since the weather is going to be nice and warm. For now they are enjoying being house goats.

Mother daughter pair Camellia and Porsche are due Friday, so stay tuned for updates. Camellia was US with 3 plus, Porsche is carrying twins. We bred Camellia to Carolina’s son from last year hoping to add a little length and a wider escutcheon and straighter teat placement to her strong frame. Porsche was bred to Apollo for a fun outcross (and Amanda would like some not black goats). Let’s think pink, especially since none of Amanda’s 4-H projects carried does last year!

Time to baby clip Camellia! Her udder is slowly filling, she usually goes on her due date.

goats, health

Sparrow Soaps

February 21, 2025 Rob 3 Comments

We have goats so surely we make goat milk soap, right? While Anna, Quinn, and Amanda have made soap a few times, making soap and selling it at a farmer’s market or online isn’t our passion. Especially when there are so many others out there that do it in higher volume and quality. One of those soap producers is Sparrow Soaps.

Michelle Lyon and Danielle Payne own Sparrow Soaps and have used Michelle’s herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats to supply the milk used in their soap. Unfortunately, Michelle has been facing some substantial health issues over the past year and caring for the goats has become too much for her current situation. Anna and I have been following Michelle’s posts about her health and knew things weren’t going well. When we heard she was looking for places for her goats to live, we reached out to Michelle and Danielle with an idea that turned out to solve their problem.

We decided to establish a goat milk herd share at Sawyer Family Farm and through that relationship, Sparrow Soaps will be able to keep making their products! This new relationship allowed Michelle to sell her remaining goats but continue to have the business she loves and is passionate about. We are excited to be able to help them continue their journey! Check out their website to get some great personal care products.

goats, kids

Big E 2024

October 2, 2024 Rob Leave a comment

Thursday 9/26 through Sunday 9/29 was our annual pilgrimage to Springfield, MA with a herd of goats. On Thursday afternoon, Quinn and Amanda checked in at the Big E with 9 goats for the 4-H portion of the event which includes milk test, showmanship, fitting, breed competitions and more. Rob was a chaperone for CT young men and stayed in the dorms at the Big E with all the kids. This was Quinn’s final event in 4-H based on aging out.

Friday morning was the showmanship competition which focuses on things such as goat knowledge, correct handling of the goat, and understanding of the scorecards. After lunch, the kids went in the ring again for a fitting competition that focused exclusively on the preparation of the animal. There were a total of 53 youth present this year from the 5 of 6 New England States (none from VT) which is an increase from recent years. Quinn placed 3rd of 12 in showmanship and was in the bottom half for fitting. Amanda was 2nd of 14 in showmanship and also in the bottom half for fitting. Clearly our kids prefer the knowledge portion over the time required to do well in fitting.

On Saturday, the goats were shown in breed classes. Unfortunately, there was only 1 other junior Lamancha present (Carolina’s kid from last year) so there wasn’t much competition. That said, the goats looked great. Bitterblue’s LSD Phaylene took Champion Senior doe, CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina took Best of Breed, and Sawfish AS Tesla took Champion Junior Doe. This trip to the Big E was Phaylene’s final show as she is being retired at the age of 9. The real win of the day was when CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina was chosen as Best Senior Doe in Show out of the ~75 seniors.

At the awards ceremony, Quinn was presented with the Ruby Morris 4-H Scholarship for $2000 towards college.

Quinn receiving the Ruby Morris scholarship

Once awards wrapped up, some of the youth left while new herds came in for the Open Show on Sunday. We received Lucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot Chili’s awards for winning Recorded Grade Best of Breed twice at the Nutmeg show from May. Chili approved of the mugs.

The Open show was quick and fun. Luck 4-Leaf Red Hot Chili took second in her class of 2yo Recorded Grades. We are hoping she continues to mature as we expect and think she will be a competitive 3yo.
Fox’s Pride had some very nice 2yo does in milk that took Champion and Reserve, and Carolina was second to CH Argonne’s Khaos in Best of breed.

In in the Junior Show, Sawfish QS Mina swept the competition as the youngest junior doe to earn herself a restricted leg towards her championship as Junior Lamancha Champion.

Quinn showing Lucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot Chili

At the final awards ceremony, Amanda received the Lamancha Premier Breeder plate based on the number of points her does acquired throughout the day!

goats

Brooklyn Fair 2024

August 25, 2024 Rob Leave a comment

We took the Sawfish goat herd to the Brooklyn Fair today and had a great day. Our friend Terrell Lavoie is the superintendent and we love supporting our friends. Things started off with Showmanship: Amanda took 1st in Intermediate with Sawfish AS Porsche, Quinn took 1st in Senior with Bitterblue’s LSD Phaylene, and Rob took 1st in Open with CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina. Quinn took Best Overall Showman (limited to youth) and won a nice blanket, with Amanda Reserve champion.

Lamanchas were a popular breed at Brooklyn. Sawfish AS Porsche was 1st under 2yo milker, CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina was was first 3-5yo , and Bitterblue’s LSD Phaylene was 1st aged milker (we didn’t have a 2-3yo entry). Carolina took Best of Breed and Senior Doe in Show (winning us a second blanket). Lucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot Chili took 1st in 2-3yo milker Recorded Grade and Best of Breed for Recorded Grade.

In Juniors, Sawfish Chrysi took 1st in 4-8mo Jr Lamancha, Sawfish AS Tesla took 1st in dry yearlings, and Tesla was Champion Junior Lamancha. Sawfish Kipu was 1st 4-8mo Jr Recorded Grade and Champion Junior Recorded Grade. We had 4 daughter/dam combos with us and 3 placed in the top 6 of 16. We were 1st in Best 3 and 2nd for Git of Sire and Produce of Dam.

Overall, we were very pleased with the our placings and look forward to the next show on our schedule at Blandford.

goats

Sawfish Lamanchas 2024 Linear Appraisal

July 31, 2024 Rob Leave a comment

This afternoon we were a host herd for linear appraisal (LA). If you aren’t familiar with the LA program from ADGA, you can read about it here. This was our first time to do LA and we had 3 other herds trailer to our farm to participate. Here are the results:

Goat	DOB	Score
Bitterblue’s LSD Phaylene	2/4/2015	EVEV90
CH(pending) Majenli LK Carolina	2/20/2021	VVVE89
Sawfish Jasmine	5/1/2021	VGVA83
Sawfish Camellia	4/11/2021	VGVG85
Lucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot Chili	3/12/2022	GAVV83
Sawfish AS Porsche	2/18/2023	GGEG84

2024 Linear Appraisal Scores

goats

North Country Showcase 2024

June 24, 2024 Rob 1 Comment

Sawfish Lamanchas attended the North Country Showcase 2024 ADGA show at the Deerfield NH Fairgrounds. Temperatures were over 90F in CT when we hit the road on Friday afternoon. We hit a little traffic on the way there but the goats traveled fine and in under 3 hours were arrived to temperatures in the mid 70s. We had coordinated with our friends at Blue Hill Too and arrived all at the same time to camp next to each other. It didn’t take long to get the pens set up and covered with a canopy, tack area set, and travel trailer rigged out. It was nice to be ready to eat dinner at 6 and not be stressed through the evening. We took 5 milkers, 2 dry yearlings, and 6 kids for a total of 13 goats.

This show was a “6 ring show” which means we showed the goats under 3 judges Saturday (Ed Cavanaugh, Anna Thompson Hajdik, and Emily Thompson) followed by 3 different judges on Sunday (Barb Norcross, Todd Biddle, and Joanne Karohl). There were over 400 goats there and it was great to see the quality from New England.

We had a great weekend, but I’ll spare the expense and say CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina’s 2x Champion, 1x Reserve, and 1x Best of Breed was the highlight of the event.

Sawfish AS Porsche is Amanda’s milking yearling and the first udder we have freshened from E.B. Farms LL Regal. We are definitely pleased with the improvements we see over her dam, Sawfish Camellia. Tulsi and Jasmine were also in attendance. Tulsi is such a sweet, chill goat.

Chili and her daughter Kipu are Recorded Grade due to a DNA exclusion. We were pleased with Chili’s placings throughout the weekend and look forward to her continuing to mature.

This year’s kid crop placed about as we expected. We didn’t come away with any big wins, but we got valuable feedback on the strengths of various bloodlines relative to others in the area. Unfortunately, we were too busy shuffling goats to get a lot of junior pictures.

Baby goats learning how to stand on a show string

Overall, we learned a lot and were very pleased to see Carolina get the wins we knew she was capable of.

goats

Nutmeg Classic 2024

May 19, 2024 Rob Leave a comment

Last weekend was our first goat show of the year and the only ADGA sanctioned show in CT. The Connecticut Dairy Goat Association 2-ring Nutmeg Classic is held in Somers, CT and we took 8 goats. Quinn and Amanda did all the clipping to get the goats ready. Since the temperatures in CT this time of year can still be rather cool in the evenings, we opted to only use a 1/2″ guard to leave a longer coat to avoid dealing with blankets for the goats. For showmanship, the judge commented that the longer coat impacted placing for both Quinn and Amanda. Maybe next year we will do a shorter clip for the May show. The judges were Todd Biddle in Ring 1 and Aprit Hitch in Ring 2.

Both Quinn and Amanda used new goats for showmanship this year. Amanda chose E.B. Farms Sunstone Tulsi and Quinn used Lucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot Chili. They clipped udders at the show on Saturday morning. Amanda placed 5th of 13 and Quinn was 2nd of 3.

For the breed classes, Chili is a recorded grade due to a DNA exclusion in her pedigree after we bought her. Unfortunately, there were not many Recorded Grade at the show, but she still won Sr. Champion, Best Recorded Grade, and Best Udder in both rings.

Tulsi was the only Lamancha milker we took. As a 2yo, 2nd freshener, she placed 8 of 9 in Ring 1 and 5 of 9 in Ring 2. While she isn’t as big as some of the others in our herd, her udder has great texture and capacity.

For the Junior Doe Show, we took 2 dry yearlings and 4 kids under 3 months old. Sawfish Kipu (recorded grade) is Chili’s daughter and was 2 of 2 in both rings. In the Lamancha under 3 month class there were 9 entries for both rings. Sawfish Chrysi was 2nd Ring 1, 1st Ring 2; Sawfish QS Bali was 6th Ring 1, 3rd Ring 2; and Sawfish Tahiti was 9th Ring 1, 4th Ring 2. For the yearlings, there were 11 entries in both rings. Sawfish QS Ferrari was 11th Ring 1, 6th Ring 2 and Sawfish AS Tesla was 3rd Ring 1, 5th Ring 2.

Overall, we had a good first show. In particular, we were very pleased with how Tesla looks in the ring and think she is going to continue to do better as she matures.

goats, kids, random observation, Uncategorized

The Spice Girls’ Baby Goats and Phaylene kids

March 25, 2024 Anna 1 Comment

Can I just say crazy couple of baby goat weeks…We had 7 baby goats in mid March. Two from Tulsi, two from Carolina and preemie triplets from Jasmine.

On Monday March 18, Chili was giving me all the indications she was planning to out her babies, but she wasn’t due until Friday, so I left her out with the others. She is a drama queen goat, and doesn’t like to be isolated by herself.

Well, after morning chores I decided to check on her and then go deal with milk dishes. An hour later I came out to check on her and she had two babies on the ground already. An almost 9 pound buckling and a small 5 pound doeling. We named them Kauai and Kipu. Kauai got Chili’s frosted nose and ears, but Kipu certainly got her personality as she is a little diva already. Chili has been great settling into being a milking goat and is super easy to hand milk. She is still opiniated and will let us know if we forget to bring out the alfalfa.

Later that week, on Thursday, Rob and I had been invited to an equine educational evening sponsored by Flemings Feed. It was informational and dinner was great with some awesome desserts. We came home and went to check on Pepper in the barn, who was due Saturday, and low and behold, she had one buck kid on the ground and was pushing out a second! Pepper had eaten dinner on the stand 45 minutes earlier with the kids…

We named Pepper’s boys Principe and Palau. Our naming theme this year is Vacation islands.

Here are some pictures from the foursome being outside last week. The three boys are available as pet wethers, as is Tulsi’s buckling Trinidad, if anyone’s looking. Kipu is staying here.

Last Tuesday April 9 Phaylene, our aged doe, kidded with triplets. We had been watching her all day, but it wasn’t until we left the barn to have dinner that she decided to kid. We sent Amanda out after dinner and she called the house screaming “babies!”. There were two kids out and a third on the way. Two doelings, one buckling, all pretty small at 6.6-6 pounds. Phaylene did great and is already cranking out over a gallon a day.

Quinn and Amanda named the kids Minna, Malta, and Mykonos (where Rob and I honey mooned). These may be Phaylene’s last kids depending on how she looks this year, as she is 9 years old, and Quinn wants to retire her. One of Phay’s doelings is likely to be available.

The current baby goat count is 14, with one goat left to kid.

Porsche is our last pregnant doe, due May 10, with kids from Fox’s Pride KS Smooth Swagger. Amanda is really hoping for a doe kid out of this breeding, as she doesn’t have one yet this year from her project does. Porsche is a yearling, and while we don’t usually breed our yearlings, Porsche was on the heavy side and plenty big enough at 110 pounds last fall. Keep your fingers crossed for her!

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The story of our lives with horses. And goats.