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“Dirty Harry” - My Boy
was just a week old and bottle fed him. He knows I am his mother. He is the one goat that has me wrapped around his little finger. His is the first name I call when I am on the path to the barn. Harry is a little wether who knows exactly
how I am feeling. My day starts and ends with Harry and I
can’t help it. He can be so naughty one minute and all is
<-Here’s a baby picture!
Goatastic Acres Goats
Our Winning Line Up
“Lola,” properly titled Laun Acres Bits K Lola” --Our Herd Queen Lola is a buckskin with a black and tri-color face. She has palomino spots on her sides and a wide belted belly. She’s a real looker—some eye candy--and a very elegant dairy animal. Lola shows length of body, neck, and overall dairy balance. She is very level on the move. She has good width of chest and legs are set squarely under her. Her teats are well positioned. To her credit, Lola doesn’t take no for an answer; she made me put her at the top of the line up.
Stella,” properly titled “Happy Tailz PC Tempertantrum” –My Sweeheart Stella is white and gold. She is by far the kindest animal in my herd. She never complains and will stand for anything. She’s a patient and a loving mother. Last year she produced a beautiful herd sire buckling along with two doelings. She has a very wide escutcheon and nice front end. Her udder is tightly attached. Her proportions and overall conformation of dairy character are evident throughout. Click here for pedigree information
“Ruby”(with the eyes that sparkle). Properly titled “Happy Tailz P Charmin’ Ruby Red” Ruby is deep solid red with a white topknot and some white “fawn” speckles on the sides. She is inquisitive and always on the take for treats. Ruby is extremely dairy and very correct. She is wide and level with a tight front end assembly and correct angulation to legs. Last year she freshened with twins and presented the best overall udder with lots of milk to spare. When full, her udder is highly attached and bulges out nicely. Her teat placement, angle, and size is as perfect as it gets for milking. The pictures I took of her udder don’t do it justice. Click here for pedigree information
“Roxie” properly titled “Happy Tailz Valentine Sox” – Our Lover Roxie is Dark Chocolate w/white spot on poll, frosted ears and muzzle. She has a set of horns --but we don’t let on to her. She thinks she is just perfect. She is a very well balanced doe who gave us twins last kidding season. She is long, level, wide, great barrell with soft pliable skin and ribbing. Everything you want in a dairy goat. She has a very capacious udder that is well attached with a smoothly blended fore. She is sweet tempered, very trusting and loving. Roxie will be for sale after this kidding season and she would make a wonderful homestead milker. She is patient on the milking stand and has “easy grabbers.” Click here for pedigree information
“Cinni-Minni” Our Special Needs Goat
Cinni Minni is the spice in our pumpkin pie. She is truly tiny, about 28 lbs., and we adopted her despite some latent sucking issues that she had. We named her after Burger King’s Cinnamon Rolls because she is two toned like the buns. There are lots of things that Cinni Minni isn’t. She isn’t put together right, she isn’t perfect, and she isn’t going to win any ribbons. But she IS the smartest one of the bunch. She’s a delightful, entertaining little elf. She has the heart of a lion. She, alone, stands up to our dogs with a whole repertoire of head butts. The brains and brawn that come with this little package provide a lot of fun. Having Cinni Minni on our farm reminds me everyday that life is what you make it.
Our Herd
Loving and raising little goats has put the “funny” into our farm. Whether our goats are playing “King of the Hill” or leaping from platform to plank, they are a constant source of curiosity, resilience, and humor all rolled into one. Some people relax by looking at fish swimming in circles in an aquarium. My goats are my fish. They bring me peace, happiness, and a sense accomplishment. I grew up in the heart of the City of Chicago and never once dreamed of raising livestock or harvesting grain. My colorful goats and the different crops grown on my farm give me a sense of being closer to nature and to the old ways of past generations or pioneers. The thing I appreciate most about goats in general is how forgiving they are. We have to do so much to them, like disbudding, hoof trimming, and immunizations. In the end, they love and forgive all --if a treat is involved. A glimpse of my orange hoof trimmers can send the herd running for cover until I break out my secret weapon…a handful of grain. I can fool (and catch) even the biggest sharpie out there. The relationship I have with my herd is affectionate. We love each other. They count on me and I like being counted on. They are my lap dogs with hooves. I began with just two goats; a beautiful doe and a little wether companion. What surprised me was just how much these two little pets tugged at my heartstrings. My own children were growing up and leaving home. I was ripe for the picking and those two little devils sensed it. Every baa-baaaa had me jumping to serve (for a while, until I got smart.) I was hooked on goats. More goats followed because I discovered I could have kids and fun without gaining 50 lbs. and having to give birth myself. They call them kids for a reason: they can be spoiled and demanding or, if you are lucky, patient but persistent. They are always full of surprises. Each goat has its own unique personality and emotional needs. I love trying to read their minds and try to anticipate their next move. I chose Nigerian Dwarfs because, as I mentioned before, I am a city girl and I’ve never been around large livestock. In truth, I was afraid of the big ones! Full sized goats scared the Bejesus out of me and so did the size of their “nanny berries.” When I first laid eyes on a mini goat, something inside myself clicked. I thought, “I can do this.” I chose to raise and breed Nigerian Dwarfs because I liked their conformation and likeness to the full size goats. I was totally impressed by what great mothers and milkers they are. I liked the black ones, the gold ones, the spotted ones, the chamois ones, the patched ones, the belted ones, the tri-color ones…oh so many colors and patterns to “collect!” Then it happened: I saw my first set of those sapphire blue eyes…and the rest is history. The goal of Goatasic Acres goats is to raise high quality, farm-friendly animals that will meet the many different needs for goats that people have. Some people want a pet or 4-H project. Some people are looking for high quality show stock. Some people need a good, cost-effective milking goat (the poor man’s cow as goats are sometimes referred as.) I think goats are the smart man’s cow because they are cost effective, offer delicious naturally homogenized milk by the buckets, and they are smaller and more manageable for children or the elderly. My breeding goal is simple: to improve with each generation. I’m breeding within the breed standards for size and conformation while using husbandry techniques to get full capacity milkers. I’m trying to breed multi-purpose goats whose common denominator is people friendliness and manageability. Goatastic Acres goats are goats that people can love and spend time with and/or show, milk and be proud of. It is my hope that they will continue to bring joy and success into the lives of their owners. Whenever I sell a Goatastic Acres goat, I make a contribution to Heifer, International with part of the profit. I’m so proud to report that last year our farm donated five goats and several flocks of chickens to help families survive in other parts of the world. Please reserve a Goatastic kid this year or make a donation to www.Heifer.org so, together, we can make the world a better place, one goat at a time.
Doe's Secret Code of Honor The doe's
secret code of honor is as old as goats themselves and is
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