Didn’t get much done with goats on Sunday. Basically, they recieved feed & water. We had other priorities on this day. Duke wanted to see a wrestling match, so we headed to Stillwater to watch the Pokes kick the crap out of Iowa State. It wasn’t close. Met Kela and some of her friends at Joe’s for lunch. Then had to go back to Joe’s after the match.

Duke has been getting into shape lately. I took the 4 wheeler to Seiling to get serviced, so he has been running wethers on foot. Got the 4 wheeler back on Thursday, but it died on Saturday. I hope it is the battery. One thing about it, if I was the having to run, it would get fixed immediately or the goats wouldn’t get ran.

This addiction that we have called stock showing takes money. Every town or county raises money to support the kids with their projects. Trophy auctions are popular in this part of the world. Operating a Deere dealership means that we get hit up from every school in the area. It gets old making donations, but that is part of it. Tammy and I also personally donate to a couple. Waynoka’s was last night. For the past fifteen years, this has been the best trophy auction in this part of the world. Hutch’s always provides a heck of a meal. The mothers have a phenomenal dessert table. There will be a silent auction of forty or fifty items. The area auctioneers all work together to sell the trophies. The kids are in their FFA/4-H dress and serve the tables.

The usual grand champions, breed champions and showmanships are sold. But they also sell items such as semi loads of rock. David Litzenberger donates the hauling of the rock with his trucks. They also sell silver dollars. Tri-K equipment in Alva used to donate three silver dollars to the auction when I was teaching there. We sold these three silver dollars for 50 or 60 dollars apiece in 1996. As the trophy auction began to build and bring more money, stranger things began to happen. Somebody would buy a silver dollar for one or two hundred and then say “sell it again!”. That round dollar might sell 3 or 4 times and bring $600 before it was done. Take that times three and it adds up in a hurry.

Tri K became Western Equipment and they still donate silver dollars to Waynoka. They do this to several other places, but it works better in Waynoka. They sold four of them last night. The first three were sold. Two were sold several times. The second brought $200 on the first bidder and Poe kept it. The third one sold several times. Then the fourth one. They were bringing $350 to $450 each time it sold. Then Tony Houston offered his for sale again. I bought it for $500. “Sell it again!” Poe Cat felt guilty about his $200 dollar so he had them sell it again. You’ll catch some crap if you keep one. But somebody has to. I don’t know what the final tally on the dollars was but they brought in several thousand dollars. Now mind, you, if you haven’t bought a silver dollar at a bank lately, they don’t cost a dollar.

I had to get some papers signed and checks collected on equipment after the sale, so I didn’t get to hear the total auction results but it was nearing $50 thousand. This is a town of 700 people. There is one cafe, two quick stops, one bank. It is not a big town. The people just get it. The teachers all throw a few dollars together and buy something every year. Ryan Redgate gets his feed dealers to donate. The COOP gets their suppliers to donate something. The bank gets their lawyers and office supply stores to donate. The oilfield people get other companies to donate. Poe might even put stipulations on people that he deals with that they have to attend and spend money. “It would be in their best interest.” One of those companies spent over $2,000. Even the LEGEND, though retired, still gathers and spends money. Everybody collects donations–no amount to small. It is fun watching people with their papers with all of their donations listed–$20 here, $200 there and $100 there, trying to match them together and buy trophies and not lose track. You might have four buyers on one trophy. But it all ads up. Everybody gets their name listed in the newspapers, listed on the wall at the local show and EVERYBODY gets a handwritten thank you card–wether you donate $5, $2,000 or ball cap for the silent auction. And 100% of the money is spent on the kids at the local show. Not a bad pay day.

Thank you to all who donate and raise money for kids in order to fund these projects. Whether it is a state, national, county, district or local show, it takes people donating time and money. Thank you. Money spent on kids is always money well spent.

For the sake of the OK ag teachers, I’m glad to hear that there is an extension on the due date for the Final All Day Report. I never understood the name of this report nor did I ever understand why they required this waste of time and effort.

Speaking of things that are a PITA. That would be Pain In The Ass. Duke and I burnt horns on babies last night. I despise doing this, but it has to be done. Of all livestock management practices, this is the worst one. We dang near screwed up as most were too big to fit into the box correctly. We try to do them about 3 weeks old, which is usually just after the horn starts poking through the hair. The horns were just poking through, but the goats were bigger than normal, which is good as that means big tops, bone. rib and butts

A lot of people don’t disbud goats correctly. I think there are two reasons why. 1–They don’t keep the burner on there long enough. 2–They don’t let their iron reheat between goats. Even when you do things correctly and you feel like you got a perfect burn, six weeks later a horn or scur will come growing out. Likewise, you can think you screwed one up and their head will be smooth their whole life.

I have never lost a baby due to burning horns. But we came close last night. The next to the last one, which is a wether named Carl, raised heck when Duke caught him. He threw a fit when we vaccinated. He did everything he could to not go into the box. And he screamed during the whole process. I finished, opened the lid and he was quiet. I picked him up and he was limp. He wasn’t breathing. I shook him, cussed and then I proceeded to trying to save him. Yes, I did CPR on a goat. After about 20 seconds, he started coughing and wheezing. Then he tried to get up, fell over, then stood back up. He then drunkenly staggered into the pen with his mother. He went to nursing and I am happy to report that Carl is fine this morning. I may be a little scarred and Duke just thinks I am wierd.

I watched Fred and Lanna give CPR to a goat one time. It wasn’t a succesful venture. But it wasn’t their fault. The wether was a PITA Pfeiffer wether that everybody hated dealing with. He hung himself in his stall at OYE with people standing only a few feet away. It was an interesting burial at the OYE show, conducted by OYE staff.

Isn’t it amazing how the stock show competition has changed. When I was showing, my dad and I bought our animals on a very limited budget. We did our clipping and feed management. Almost all of the animals were bought within a 150 mile radius of Shattuck, OK. We made premium sales at Tulsa and OKC with pigs and steers. We used sound livestock evaluation, proper nutrition, showmanship and hard work.

Now, if a showman doesn’t have somebody helping them, regardless of specie, it is tough for them to be competitive. Whether they are a jock, fitter, breeder, friend, whatever, somebody needs to be able to pick out the right animal, give proper feeding and showing instructions and have an idea what the end judge is looking for. And do it all on somebody else’s budget.

I spent a lot of money out of my own pocket when I was teaching to make sure kids had an animal that I wanted us to show. Now, I just try to cover my travel expenses. Some might call it an addiction, some a hobby. Me, I call it fun.

It is nothing for me to drive 750 miles to look for goats or bid on a pig in Iowa on an internet auction that I haven’t seen before. I study all of the cattle websites, auctions, magazines just in case Duke says “Dad, I want to show a steer.” I talk to breeders of all species. One because I like showing animals. Two because I might learn something. The cattle boys always have new hair care products and clipper blades, the hog boys are always working on new feeds and who knows what the hell the sheep guys are doing, they don’t even talk to each other.

Now, a lot of ag teachers are less involved in the buying process, so parents turn to successful people to get their animals for their kids. They don’t have the time, knowledge, or desire to go on the hunt, flipping rocks looking for that next great one. Some don’t want the pressure of buying an animal on a limited budget and making sure it is the right animal. Whatever the reason, it is easier and probably better to get help.

No matter who picks out the animal, there still has to be sound livestock evaluation, proper nutrition, showmanship, hard work and better facilities than what we used to need. Sometimes, even a bigger checkbook.

On another note, the Dragon Lady grilled up some filet mignon steaks from Hutch’s. Perfectly cooked medium rare, taters and beans. I ate too much. Couldn’t sleep past 1 am. So I watched a rerun of Pawn Stars. Then a re-rerun Law & Order. Then at 2:30 am it was the Chappelle Show with the Charlie Murphy/Rick James sketch. I had seen it before, but I still laughed like it was the first time.

We should have held a jackpot here at our little piece of paradise this weekend. Lots of traffic at the barn this weekend. Goats and kids from around NW OK showed up. We trimmed hooves, handled condition, worked on showmanship, weighing, discussing feed programs and additives, worked leg hair, etc. Some goats we are starting to hold on, while others we are starting to feed more. This time of year is when we start discussing what goats need to target OYE and which ones will be lucky to make the team to go to the local and county shows. The wether was perfect to be outside messing with animals.

The Taylor girls even brought me a present…a big ass BOX of Special K. This thing is as tall as Duke. Its a good thing their Dad has time to look at Craig’s list on a daily basis so that he can find bargains and unique items.

A week ago, I was dealing with a buck that was acting queer and didn’t want to breed anything. By this Saturday, I had five different bucks here. Obviously, we got some does bred for June babies. Even the disinterested one decide he better get in on the action.

I’ve been looking for this Friday for awhile. I can stay home tomorrow. The weather is good. Duke and I might have to try out a coyote call and maybe a new gun or two. Wethers are going to get worked hard. Hooves, leg hair, weigh, showmanship, etc. Does and babies will get moved outside.

Just got done looking at the Denver show results and pics. Denver has done a really good job of neutering their goat show. Not many big names attended. I have gone and watched the past two years, and I did not enjoy it either time. I didn’t like how the NWSS show officials acted towards the showmen and I didn’t like how either judge lined the show up. Politics both time that I watched. And I didn’t have one showing. Completely impartial opinion. None of the goats this year took a very good picture. That happens sometimes. Anyways, a win is a win. Congrats to the exhibitors and breeders.

I enjoy judging livestock shows, but as a breeder, it makes it hard for me to be able to accept judging jobs in Oklahoma. I help too many people and the fact that kids have goats from me makes it unfair to me and them if I judge. Even though, I will always use the best one, it makes it hard. And there is always some mental midget that would stir the rumour mill and make it miserable for everybody.

Another dilemma is how to get good goats into good feeders hands. I have been very fortunate to see my goats end up with very good feeders that follow directions. But at times, a good one or two ends up somewhere that you know it probably isn’t going to get the care it needs to excel. It is always nice to cash a big check, but it doesn’t pay off if that animal doesn’t win to bring you future business.

I buy a lot of goats for families. If me or my crew has these goats, they are going to get fed, exercised and shown to the best of our abilities. As a breeder, it behooves me to continue to help these families with my goats and goats I have bought to make sure that they are getting them fed and shown properly. It is a pain in the ass, but I the ex-teacher in me still likes to see kids get better and succeed. Especially when they are working hard.

If you don’t have good feeders/showers with your animals, then you don’t have a good program. It is of utmost importance to find ways to get your animals into good homes. It will pay off.

It has slowed down at work, which is always the case for January. It takes a while in the morning and a while in the evening to get chores done in the barn. It is a little different this year, as the weather has been warmer. But we have to be prepared for it to get cold. Maybe, even later today. So far, the babies are healthy and the does are milking good. Been having some trouble getting a buck to breed, but several others are picking up the slack for him. I don’t think they mind the extra work.

Does anybody even watch abc, nbc or cbs anymore? All their news talks about is the presidential crap. They don’t have any good regular tv shows. We watch more discovery channel and animal planet than anything at our house. Not to mention, Law & Order re-runs at 3 am. Oh, and the occasional Triple D, (DIners, Drives Ins and Dives) Even the BCS championship game was on ESPN. The people that watch that reality crap on the regular channels are probably the same ones that screwed up our last presidential election and will probably do the same this time.

Duke had an ecounter with a doe saturday evening. We had turned does and babies out into the corral to enjoy a sunny afternoon. We were putting them back into their pens when B17 decided to turn around and head back out. Duke tried to “Ole!” as she ran by and he grabbed her horns. He couldn’t stop her. They hit a slick spot and they both went down head first. I saw his forehead bounce off of the concrete. He didn’t let go and he didn’t cry. I asked if he was okay. He said “My knee hurts.”

I saw the huge goose-egg on his forehead. I checked his eyes and he was fine. He limped around for a little while, then we finished putting goats up. He didn’t see the knot until he got to the house and I had him look in the mirror. It scared him. His mother about crapped when she saw it.

Tammy asked him what he wanted for supper. He said that he wasn’t hungry. She said, “Are you sure you don’t want something to eat?” He replied, “I’ve got a big goose egg that I can snack on if I get hungry.”

If your target show is in March and you are just now starting to work your goats, then you are behind. The ones that are planning on winning have already been doing their work. Practicing showing, exercising, working hair, managing feed/weight, etc. You can’t win a show in March by working Jan-March. It started last fall.

The thing I like about doe shows, is it is easy to tell who has consistently been working hair and who started a week or two before their local. Working hair on a doe a couple of times a week will pay off. The hair will “pop” more, lay right and therefore, be easier to clip properly.