I get a lot of questions asked of me regarding this blog.  One of the most common is “How do I need to feed my goat?” or “What do I need to do to my goat at the show?”  These questions come in the form of emails, phone messages, texts, etc.  I normally don’t reply.  Why don’t I reply?  I haven’t seen the goat and therefore, can’t properly tell you.  Simply put, I don’t know.  I handle every goat as an individual.  They are all different in terms of genetics, muscle, finish, quality, who the heck is judging, showmanship ability, etc.  I don’t want to screw things up for you so I just step aside and say nothing.  Saying nothing is not an art form that I am good at, either.  But I don’t want to recommend something and it be wrong.  Give me the goat & showman in real life….well, let’s just say the confidence level goes up.

       A lot of those show kind of questions come in.  But, the most common asked question, without a doubt–no close second, is….”You don’t really call your wife the ‘Dragon Lady’ do you?”

     The answer is “YES”!  Her phone # is logged into my phone with that moniker.  She will answer to that name.  When I was teaching, students called her that, to her face.  There is some discrepancy as to whether she came up with the name or I did.  We’re not sure.  I do know that we were living in Waynoka and that we referred to her car at the time as the “Dragon Wagon”.  She wears the name as a title.  It isn’t derrogatory.  Think about it.  If you lived with me, then you would probably breathe fire also.  

      How do you get her to reveal the dragon side?  It’s actually pretty easy.  First & foremost, do something negative towards her kids.  Holy Jeeminy!!  Wear FR gear and get a helicopter with fire extinguisher stuff.  Flames are coming out.  Sometimes, negative acts towards close friends and family will also get her to shoot flames.  We don’t have a home phone anymore as there are numerous ag teachers walking around with burns from calling the house “after hours”.  

      The other way is to hang around near my dumb ass.  I can cause all kinds of flammable havoc.  Sometimes, I try to cause issues.  Other times, I just have a knack for it.  I’ve lost a friend or two because they were in the vicinity of her being pissed at me.  I haven’t seen Nick Pool in a decade or so.  Big Bill lost part of his moustache.  Mikey Thompson used to smile.  So how come I haven’t been consumed by flames?  Simple.  I have an uncle that is a retired aerospace engineer that helped design the heat shields on numerous space vessels.  You know? The black undersides of the space shuttle that keep it from burning up on re-entry.  Well, I have the same engineering.  Impervious to extreme heat–pressure at work, griping parents, bad judges or a wife shooting flames at me–I’m fine with it. 

     Actually, it is all in good fun.  She is fine with it.  She earned the title.  Most of the above is true.  However, YOU have to screw up to see the flames.  And if you want to see the fire, without being the target…then come hang around me.  It doesn’t take much for me to light the fire.  I’ve noticed lately, that Duke is becoming very good at getting the Dragon Lady fired up.  I’m not sure if this is healthy or not.  I’m sure it is my fault as he is my son.  

GO Juice is now available.  You can get it wherever Statewide distribution delivers feed.  Or from Troy B. Or I keep some of it on hand.  

What is GO Juice?  GO stands for Gamma Oryzanol.  This is an active ingredient found in rice bran oil.  The Special K GO Juice is an extremely pure form of gamma oryzanol added to rice bran oil.  

We have fed GO Juice for years.  It was a different brand that is also very high quality.  I always felt it was completely over-priced.  We have spent time & effort studying the nutrional side of gamma in a ration.  And realized changes needed to be made.  The other brand was developed for a 1,200 # horse.  An animal can only utilize a certain amount and the rest is simply bypassed out of their system–unused.  Ours is designed for a 75-150 goat/lamb.  If you are bringing a horse to a goat show, then feed the other stuff.  If you are feeding goats, then GO Juice is what you need.  Ours is roughly the same price for a GALLON versus their 1/2 gallon.

How do we feed it?  We use a cement mixer to mix our rations.  I mix 7 gallons of Special K feed at a time.  I also add Vindicator at the recommended level.  Then 1 squirt (1 ounce) of GO Juice per gallon of feed.  If you are needing to add cover, increase the amount of GO Juice.  I would not recommend over 2 squirts per gallon as the feed will be too wet and most goats don’t like wet feed.  If feeding does, I would recommend 1 1/2 squirt per gallon of feed.

Wethers need to be exercised while being fed GO Juice to fully optimize use.  I also recommend exercising does.  Would I recommend feeding GO Juice to does?  YES!  Tori Sessions and Braden Schovanec’s does have always been fed utilizing gamma.  

GO Juice will aid in achieving the “touch” and “handle” that you hear judges refer to when picking their champions.  It will help the hide.  Wethers fed GO Juice respond to “holdling” rations and higher exercise levels while still being “fresh”.  

Does it work like paylean?  No.  It is nothing like paylean.  It will not immediately POP muscle.  It is completely legal for all species, unlike paylean, zilmax or any of that other crap that you don’t need..  

Will it work miracles?  NO!  You need a quality animal on a quality feed & exercise program.  Nothing takes the place of hard work and knowledge.  It is simply the little extra that most are looking for.  It will increase the palatabilty of a feed ration and aid in feed conversion.  

Can you feed it to “bloom” sale goats?  Yes, you can.  I don’t because I like goats to get better after they are in their new home and I don’t know what kind of feeding program they are going to.  There are no adverse side effects or crashes associated with GO Juice.  It does not work overnight.  I would not recommend drenching with this.  It is extremely high in fat and can possibly cause an adverse reaction to their digestive system.  In other words, too much could give them the shits.  It is designed to be a feed additive.

How long have we fed a gamma product?  Longer than most of you Okies have been in the goat business.  Kela, Slaters, Schovanec, Greenroyd, Sessions, Duke, Taylors, Comstock, etc, etc.  It isn’t new technology, but we have improved it to fit your goat program.  

p.s.  Chickens, as in the Tulsa broiler chickens, do extremely well on it.       

     There are many different forms of retardation.  Some of it is more of a medical issue.  Some people would say that this goat deal has gotten retarded.  And then there are others that can just plain prove that we are retarded.  Enter Big Bill and myself.

     We left my house Saturday morning headed to goat sales.  We stopped at Steve Simpson’s to look at goats.  Then we headed towards Perry to Milligan’s.  As we traveled eastward, we went through Hunter, OK. This is where the retardation began.

     You see, I have been keeping an eye out for an extra set of wheels, like a ’77 oldsmobile, 4 door Lincoln or maybe an ’87 chevy pickup.  At 11:30 am on Saturday, I had not been looking for a Chevy van.  But by 11:40, I was in the market.  Sitting a 1/2 block south of the elevator in Hunter, Ok was a slick ’93 Chevy van with a for sale sign in it.  Good rubber, chrome wheels, LIMITED edition leather interior and no leaks.  I called the phone numbers listed on the sign.  NO ANSWER!!!  If you are trying to sell a ’93 Chevy can, then you better be answering your phones as I would think it would be a pretty limited supply of buyers in the marketplace searching for a ’93 Chevy van.  Especially, one sitting a 1/2 block south of the elevator in HUNTER, OK.  Bill and I discussed what we thought it was worth since there was no price listed.

     We pulled into Perry and went through the McDonald’s drive through a bought a sack full of burgers.  We needed to do this as there was NOT going to be any food at Milligan’s.  As we pulled out of McD’s, I tried calling one of the #s from the for sale sign.  I got an answer this time.  

“Hello.”

“Do you have a chevy van for sale in Hunter, Ok?”

“Yes and I damn sure wish it would be your van!”  

     Wow, what a sales pitch.  Then he proceeded to tell me about all the features, amenities and upgrades that this thing has on it.  Finally, I asked the important question…How much?  He responded with the same $ amount that Bill and I thought it was worth.  I told him that I was going to goat sales and would call him later in the day.  

     Let me tell you, it was hard to concentrate the rest of the day.  I was slowly getting more and more retarded, thinking about a ’93 Chevy van.  I was off my game.  I bought doe kids at Milligan’s.  Then I passed my usual spending limit on a wether at Pfeiffer’s.  But, Jerry had grilled pork chops.  Soon as we got done there, we headed to Hunter.

     We met the owners at the van.  We looked it over and crawled around in it, on it & under it.  Heck, I can almost walk upright inside of it.  Now, it was time for the main points.  I took it for a test drive and left Big Bill to practice his William Shatner–the negotiator– to go to work on getting it cheaper.  I came back ready to buy.  However, the negotiator met his match.  He wouldn’t budge.  So, we just wrote a check, got the title and headed back to Perry to tour the dirt roads of Noble county.  We even let RIng drive, which probably won’t happen again.  Milligan wants to buy it and he keeps referring to it as a JACK wagon.  I guess he’s been watching too much Duck Dynasty.

     This thing is slick, complete with trailer hitch, air bag suspension, tv/vcr, vacuum, power couch that folds into a bed, sun roof, captain’s chairs, & a built in radar detector.  I would imagine that this thing will roll up to a show or two pulling a trailer.  We’ve already been to Texas and hauled kids to the swimming pool.  The wives weren’t over-joyed when we called them and told them about the purchase, but they are liking it now.  They’ve driven this luxury ride and are making plans for delivering kids to the first day of school in it.

     It is a cheap form of entertainment.   How cheap?  Cheaper than most of the goats for sale on Saturday.  Yeah, it is probably a little bit retarded that Big Bill and I now own a ’93 Chevy van, but it is fun.  And we like to have fun.  

     The worst word associated with rain is actually the lack of rain–DROUGHT.  Hopefully, we are seeing the end of this drought.  The end has to be close since Beaver actually got rain.  

     The other bad term associated with rain is FLOOD.  Tammy and I can tell you a thing or two about floods as we actually lost a house due to flooding back in the nineties.  It happened two years in a row.  It could have been worse as our lives were not in danger, but I will tell you that is wasn’t fun.  Financially speaking it took me a lot of years to heal up from that deal.  Heck, I even lost a microwave in that deal. But that is a whole other story.

     I do like to hear all of the natives use different terms for the amount of rain that they have recieved recently.  THANKS be to GOD for the rain.  For those that still need some, I hope it is on the way.

–“We just got a SKIFF, but a mile away they got a regular TOAD STRANGLER.”

–How much rain did you get?  “Well, we got a regular old TURD FLOATER.”

–“Just got a SPOTTER. A spotter here and there on the windshield.”

–DUST KICKER–just enough to kick the dust up.

–“That rain was better than a naked chick in a MORNING SHOWER.”  I asked this elderly man, “Don’t most chicks get naked when they take a shower?”  He dropped his head, shook it side to side and solemnly said, “I don’t remember.  But I’m pretty sure that I’d  like to.  Anyways, that was a dang good shower we got this morning.”  Sometimes, I think farmers/ ranchers don’t have much to talk about except the amount of rain or the lack thereof.  When your life depends on it, then that is what you talk about.  

–TERRACE BUSTER

–FURROW FLATTENER (how do you spell flattener correctly?)

      Several years back when I was still teaching, I served a couple of sentences serving on the OK ag teachers board.  While attending one of the region 2 summer meetings I met an extremely experienced ag teacher from Texas.  The region 2 consisted of 7 states including OK, TX and New Mexico.  At the first meeting, every ag teacher would get up, state his name, school, town he taught in and something unique about their hometown/school.  They always started at the front of the room.  On this occasion, I was sitting at the back next to this elder statesman from Texas.  

       As they went around the room, a younger teacher from New Mexico stated that “He was from the DRIEST county in the United States.”  This old man next to me growled, cursed and said, “That pup don’t know what dry is.  I can dang sure tell you that.”  He was legitimately pissed that somebody thought they knew what DRY was.  

     We continued around the room until it came to this gentleman.  He was tall–6’5″ or taller, looked Texan, sounded Texan and acted Texan.  He slowly stood up, hung his thumbs in his front pockets, stated  his name, and then dryly said, “I’ve taught 41 years in Iraan, Texas.  Get a map and look it up.  Some young whipper-snapper said a minute ago that he was from the driest county in the United States.  Well, he don’t know what dry is!  They once wrote a good book with good stories in it about a time when it rained 40 days and 40 nights and the rain covered the Earth.  Well, in Iraan, Texas, we only got 2 inches out of that shower.  And it hasn’t rained since.  That is dry.”  I loved it.  Take pride in your hometown for whatever reason.  I’ve since been to the area of Iraan, El Dorado and Ozona, Texas.  I think he is right.  There dang sure wasn’t a ship nearby, loading animals two by two.

      Anyways, rain is good.  People are funny.  And I’m glad to be where I am.  It could always be worse.  It’s Friday night, George Strait is playing on the iTunes and I’m not out of the tan sack that Gambill left here.  Tomorrow, I will see good goats, good people and have a fun time.  Not at 2:22, but before and after.

     Oh, by the way, there was a pot bellied pig on tradio that was missing.  It was not the fat bastard that lives south of Fargo.  I saw him this morning in the front yard–the pig, not the owner.  

This is just a list of stuff that everybody should see with their own eyes at least once.  Maybe even once a day.

–That animal that just hits you where you go “Dang, I’m going to have to spend some jack to own that one.”  Could be a dog, goat, koala, steer, etc.

–The deep, deep, dark, dark, blue water of the Pacific that you can just look down into and wonder just how deep you can actually see.  

–Puppies being born.  

–A smoker full of meat (pork, beef, bologna, chicken, sausage,  turkey, goat, penquin, whatever) that is ready to eat.

–Sea turtles in the ocean or better yet, on the beach leaving a nest.

–Your favorite band live in concert.

–Baby Herefords

–The inside of a church.

–That showmanship job, done by a kid that has obviously put in some serious hours of work, that just oozes with “I’ve bonded with this animal, I’m the best showman in the ring and I am going to make this animal look like the best here today, so hand me a banner because I’ve got a picture to take.”

–The Dragon Lady says that everyone should be able to watch their kid achieve a goal.  Graduate college.  Get a job.  

–A true artist at work–musically, on canvas or Kirk Stierwalt clipping a steer.  

–A moment of clarity.

–A whale, so that you realize just how small a mammal you really are.

–That moment while watching your own kid(s) and you go, “Oh hell!?  That kid has my same problems. I was hoping her/his mother’s genetics would counterbalance that.” But deep down, you go “YES!!”  That one is gonna go far.  And you know that you are right.  And then they prove you right.  

–Mother Nature

–Duke says “that instant when a fish hits the lure and your pole starts to bend.  Oh, and OSU colored squirrells in Costa Rica.”  I agree.  Oh and getting a new box of legos.  

–Sunrises

–Sunsets

–The inside of a major league baseball park.

–A check bigger than you expected. 

–Cows being milked by hand.

–Moms

–A favorable class schedule.

–Friends

–More friends–can you have too many?

–That moment when working with a kid to help them improve a skill and you see the look in their eyes when  “IT CLICKS!!”  What’s the term?  PRICELESS!!

–Rain–once again, PRICELESS!

–Barry Sanders recieving an opening kickoff in the east end zone while you are sitting in the shitty east end zone seats and a 100+ yards later it is 6 to 0.  

–Washington D.C.–Dang near every monument means something and makes you go Hhmm?  

–The changing of the guard at Arlington Cemetary.  If that doesn’t make you choke up a little, then something is wrong.  

–A really good report card.  

–Success

–Failure–learn from it.  It is a success if you don’t do it again.

–The ground from an airplane.

–A sibling do well.

–Thunder and lightning.  Yes, you can see thunder. 

–That skinny animal that isn’t quite right, but just gives you the air that “I am a show animal and I wish somebody would just give me a chance to prove it”.  

–Your name in print. (not in the legal notices–unless it’s in the part where some oil company is leasing your minerals)

–Grandparents–one more time.

–Clearly, out of BOTH eyes.  (something I haven’t done in a long time)  For all the modern marvels of medicinal science, they can’t fix my right eye.  

–A job well done.

–Ronnie Swigart giving your dad a raft of crap.  If you know him, then you are laughing.   

–A favorite comedian on the radio. Yes, on the radio. 

–A true act of forgiveness.

–Your signature at the bottom of a check when it is for way more than you ever thought you would write a check but you know in your gut/heart/head that it is money well spent and you can actually cover the check.

–Somebody you know smoked-ass drunk so that you now realize you don’t want to act like that.  Except on certain occasions.

–That open door of opportunity.

–2 week old goats running, climbing on top of stuff and jumping while turning sideways in mid-air, landing on their feet and bouncing a different direction.  How do they do that?  How are they so cute and their mothers can be almost demonic?

–Tadpoles, horny toads and baby ducks. I’ve never been in a bad mood when in the vicinity of a horny toad. 

–a true random act of kindness.

–flowing water

–Hay being baled, wheat being cut, ground being plowed–all by green equipment. 

–A hero

–The light at the end of the tunnel.  

–An ex– so that you realize just how good you have it now.

–A Paid in Full statement/Lien release.

–Tomorrow

–that moment when you realize that tonight’s blog might be fun to read, thought provoking, yet non-controversial and you look at the screen and think “Dang, I’m glad that I am not on facebook.”  Once again, PRICELESS!!

There is a pile of other stuff, but I haven’t seen them YET, so they didn’t make the list.  What kind of things you ask?  Well, things like Bigfoot, perfection and a good tomato. I’m done. 

Good day. 

Stay flexible but not limp.

     Angus.  This isn’t a word of the day.  It is more an anology of the day.  Angus.  What do YOU think of when you hear “Angus”?  Me?  I think of the lead guitarist of AC/DC–Angus Young.  (and yes, there is a little thunderstruck playing right now).  Some think of really good cows.  The majority probably think of premium beef.  The Angus breed of cattle has done a tremendous job of marketing their brand as being the best beef on the market.  I won’t argue.  But just because McDonald’s offers an Angus burger doesn’t make it a great one.  

     How does the current goat industry compare to anything to do with Angus.  I’ll tell you.  “Moneytalks”  An absolutely great AC/DC song that fits the Angus bull market and the buck goat market.  Everybody wants to cash a check on a high $ buck.  I don’t blame them.  

      Think about it a second.  The Angus breed has capitalized on the low birth weight market for decades.  Originally, the Angus breed was noted for low birth weights, but throw in skewed EPDs and single trait carcass selection and all of a sudden there wasn’t as many TRUE low birth weight Angus bulls available.  My point…..every Angus bull sale promoted low birth weight bulls. Every High Plains Journal has an ad for low birth weight Angus bulls for sale or heifers bred to low BW Angus bulls.  But yet, they still sell a lot of calf pulling chains and vets still do C-sections on cows bred to low birth weight Angus bulls.  Why?  Too many people trying to sell bulls when they should have sold steers and spent less on feed.  Likewise, there was too many buyers that actually didn’t know what they were doing.  As I’ve said before, find a breeder that you trust and is proven and roll with it–regardless of species.

     This is where the goat industry is similar.  Everybody is looking for THE buck or even the NEXT buck to go on their already proven stuff.  Some of us are just barn blind and hoping he’s a good one.  Others are just wanting to find a buyer.  Some just don’t know if they have a good one or not.  In reality, most buck prospects should have been cut.  I’ve been guilty of both.  I’ve cut dang sure proven buck prospects and I’ve left the nuts in some that weren’t good enough.  

       Here’s the problem.  Just because a prospect has so-and-so for a dad/grandpa/great grandpa and the doe goes back to some ennobled or proven great one does not make it a good one.  Sometimes, genetics just don’t click.  900 is the sire to compare to all others in the goat world.  He has made more GREAT ones than any of them. Yet, I have seen some quinine goats that were out of 900.  It happens.  I’ve seen some common looking sires backed by genetics that sired great ones and I’ve seen some absolute specimens that just never sired quite how they looked.  Do your homework…as a buyer and a seller.

      There is one major difference between the bull and buck market.  Most bucks are sold at 3 months of age and bulls at 1 1/2 to 2 years of age.  191, Colt, Rumour, I40, etc, were all young bucks when they changed owners.  When they are that young, they better be backed by genetics.  But I’ve seen national champion purebreds that had some age that never sired anything of great value.  It isn’t an exact science.  And never will be.

      Before you leave the nuts in that next great one, ask yourself one question….Would you use him in your own herd or are you just trying to cash a check?  If you have to think about it….cut him.  

hitting the “save post” button.  As a result of not hitting the button last night, you, the readers have missed out on an incredibly well written piece.  It started to rain last night, so I sat down to write.  And write.  And write.  Then a power flash.  Then a power outage.  I wrote a tremendous piece full of social commentary, a tutorial piece on proper feeding/exercising instructions of goats complete with secret feed additives.  And another blog involving tricks, for does and wethers, both legal and illegal that are commonly used.  And I named names on users of the illegal tricks.   

         But now, that I have power restored to this computer, I’m just not in the mood to put it all back into print form.  So, as usual, there is all of this info rattling around in my head.  It was probably my 2nd best blog ever.

     Anyways, we got 1.1″ of rain last night as well as several feet of thunder and lightning. 

      It was a nice evening last night and a really nice morning today.  

Noticed on an online auction that they have some genetics listed wrong.  The grand wether at 2013 OYE was a Freak On A Leash on a Hang 10 doe.  Ask Schneberger.  Hang 10 did NOT sire that wether.  

     I can’t hardly stand to watch espn or listen to espn on Xm radio right now.  I really wish a-rod would go away so that they would talk about something else.  Like what kind of crap that a&m quarterback is doing now.  

     Last night, we had to deal with the down-side of getting rain–mosquitos.  We hadn’t seen many of them all summer, but they have now shown themselves.  It’s only fitting, as they can hang with all of the flies and these dang grasshoppers.  

       Time to start getting goats broke to lead and show.  It is 2 months away to the Tulsa state fair.  Time to get to work.  Tis the season.  It’s also nearing the end of the buying/selling season.  There are a couple of sales this weekend.  Depending on work, I’m going to try to attend.  It is also a month until our labor day sale.  Need to decide what all we will sell at that thing.  Probably going to part with a Rumour doe kid or two.  

     Joe Dirt came home from his stint up north.  He had been well cared for while he was gone.  It makes it easier to lease a buck to somebody when you know that they will be well cared for.  

     Sounds like there was a high $ dispersal sale this past Saturday.  It amazes me how high trailers, panels and equipment sell for at these sales.  

Fifteen. In years, that is a decade plus five more years. After more than fifteen years, the Dragon Lady worked her last day for Chesapeake Energy. She parted on good terms. She had enough driving for awhile. She had a really good run there and has a lot of fond memories. It’s tough to work at one place for 15 years, especially while driving a LOT the last 8 years. What’s next? I’m waiting to find out as well. I gave her some options, but I don’t think that she is planning on following my rules. Maybe, she will just raise goats.