it feels like Tuesday, or maybe even Monday. My days are all screwed up and I am still jet lagged. Lucky for me the weather has been good here. Kela had it easy kidding out goats last week. I just ordered some replacement parts for heat lamps. If any of you are using heat lamps, then you MUST use the lamps from Premier supplies. They are by far the best heat lamps built. They are safer, the bulbs last longer and they can’t get tore up.
We did eat like fat dogs while in Phoenix. I had phenomenal burger at a Mexican restaurant. It had ancho chile sauce on it. I also had a turkey pot pie at My Mother’s. I normally wouldn’t order something like that, but it was killer good. Went to Carolina’s and waited in line to order. It was kind of like the soup nazi on Seinfeld. Wait in line, step up to order, get you number and wait. Brought home some huge tortilla’s.
We also went to the Phoenix Zoo. Lot of walking, but I highly recommend it. Really cool orangutan exhibit. We petted the sting ray’s and learned about tortoise rape from the guy that handles the Gallopagos tortoises.
No we didn’t stay for the game. A week was long enough. Chores at home, work to attend, and Duke had to get back to school. My dad, brother Jake and Swigart went to the game. It would have been a good one to attend.
Well, it has been over a week since I posted anything on here. Let’s just say that we have been a bit busy.
First, we have been kidding does. Second, holidays. And third, the Dukester and I ventured west to Phoenix. I could have posted while there, but I don’t like typing on an iPhone. Plus I was busy showing, eating, or dealing with work stuff even though I was on vacation.
Our primary focus was to win the hog show. Duke got that done with a york barrow from Paul Rickabaugh. Bacon was a Paparazzi x Night Tripps/Pipe Dream sow. He won it easy. Sizzle, the cross wasn’t as good as we hoped, but that is part of it. The hog numbers were down. Bacon was the barn favorite and the judge’s favorite. Wide based, sound, big topped, square assed and clean fronted made Bacon a good one. Lucky for us, he prolapsed in October, otherwise, he might have weighed about 350. We held on him for awhile, but he was an easy feeder and stayed fresh. I am disappointed in the pictures of Bacon, as he looked good. But taking pics of a pig isn’t always easy.
The goat show wasn’t as planned. Torque got the shits a few days before we left. Kela and Duke medicated him, but the medicine that they used has a 14 day withdrawal time. So, torque had to stay home as the ANLS has a very strict testing policy. That meant Squatch was going. Just one problem, Squatch really wasn’t in show shape. He looked the part and handled really fresh, but he was soft over his ribs. Thus the reason that he was reserve grand. We have a habit of getting wethers softer than most, but we normally get them in shape. Not this time. Marvin Ensor judged it and did a very consistent, easy to follow job of lining wethers up. We got beat and that is fine. We know why.
The wether goat numbers were up at Phoenix. The quality was way up from previous years. Lots of good goats from AZ, NM, California and Kansas. The quality in those states seems to be improving rapidly. There was also a few good wethers from Texas. Squatch was a 191/ 100 from Helms. Those goats are feeding as our crew has had a res. div at Tulsa, grand at OK State Fair, res grand at Phoenix, Grand at the Lone State Elite as well as res & 3rd overall at Champion’s Choice jackpot.
The Arizona National is a laid back show that is very exhibitor friendly. It is great for young kids. They stopped the goat show while kids were in the hog show ring, in order to let kids show their own animals. It is a long way out there, but I highly recommend the trip. Nobody will get rich from the premium sale, but they give nice banners, buckels, chairs, etc to winners. Not to mention that the grand hog gets a set of scales.
We did take a co-pilot. A true hog showing legend, Mr. Kade Lamle. He was a welcome addition to the trip as he spelled me from driving. I am known to travel at a high rate of speed, but Kade managed to improve our travel time when he was behind the wheel. He and Duke hit it off well. Duke learned a lot hanging with Kade this past week. This is good and bad. I am afraid that I am going to need a larger barrow barn as Duke likes to show a few pigs. One of my favorite things about the stock show program is watching older kids take younger kids under their wing and show them the ropes. Duke likes Kade and they move at the same pace. Not fast, but they get things done right.
Happy festivus!!
That is my favorite Seinfeld episode–Festivus for the Rest of Us! If you haven’t seen it, you need to.
Little bit chilly the past few nights. The first five does have kidded, ten to go this week. Lucky for me, Kela is home to take care of does while Duke and I will be in Phoenix.
Hope everybody has a Merry Christmas. Drive safely and remember why we have Christmas.
Yesterday’s post about legends in Waynoka is true. It is amazing how many successful livestock people have come from Waynoka. The cattle history around there is unreal. Bixler’s, both Redgate families and Jerry Nickelson are well known. Eggleston’s used to raise some of the best show steers around. Gosney’s and Shanks’ have been known to raise some good cattle. Mac and Adrian Devilbiss have Waynoka roots. A pair of the biggest sheep legends originated in Waynoka–Ritson and Kenny Urban. The Hill family has shown many a good sheep and used to drive some good barrows. Chelsea Head might have won a sheep show or two also.
There has been many champion show pigs raised and shown in Waynoka. The Goz, Gary Gum, Bouziden’s, Darrel Hull jr., Ferguson’s, Larry Copenhaver, Mark Nickelson and Monte Sharp have all raised and shown some tremendous swine exhibits. There was a four year period when Mitchell Bouziden raised breed champions at OYE, Tulsa, OK State Fair, Ft. Worth, Houston and San Antonio. Not to mention that Litzenbergers raised many a good hog.
It was Waynoka that really stepped up the wether goat showing industry in Oklahoma. Kela, Danielle Litzenberger and Kourtney Childers won half the classes at the first Tulsa State Fair wether show. Of course, Kela and Danielle added several wins after that and Kourtney stuck to showing pigs. And there have been a lot of champion Waynoka goats since.
Let’s not forget that Waynoka is home to the most successful group of Cock Jocks. Waynoka has had more grand and reserve grand chicken champs at Tulsa than any other chapter. The Meriwether family even had grand and reserve grand the same year a couple of years ago.
The list of ag teachers that taught at Waynoka is impressive. Tim Herren, Galen McCune, R.A. Devore and Allan Poe are well known in the livestock industry. The accomplishments of the FFA chapter over the past 50 years is very diverse, impressive and consistent. Families such as the Fergusons, Zooks, Egglestons, Bixlers, Redgates, Bradfords, Clappers, Meriwethers, Whipples, Crissups, Hutchisons, Walkers, etc. have won numerous state speaking awards, judging contests, proficiency awards, state fair exhibits, etc, etc.
And if you are going to talk Waynoka, then you have to mention the Freds. Fred Slater and Fred Urban. Two of the funniest and most devious people that you will ever meet near a show ring. You will have a large time when either of those two LARGE characters are present.
Not bad for a town that is known more for sand dunes.
Well, the sun is peaking out which means I can leave. I’m pulling a trailer that I can’t get the lights to work on, so I had some spare time. Later on, I’ll pick another small town and extoll on its virtues. Maybe, Bouse Junction.
After serving a fifteen year sentence teaching in public schools and dealing with people all across the United States, I have had the opportunity to become acquainted with numerous people. Some could even be considered legends. The town of Waynoka has an unusual high percentage of legends. People known all across the U.S. for their livestock and FFA prowess. One of the biggest legends there is Mr. Stan Bixler.
If you know anything about the cattle industry then you should know about the Bixler Ranch. Stan has been a lifelong fancier of fine cattle. He is also widely known for his ability to analyze a speech and the delivery. He will always take time to listen and critique young people on their public speaking projects. He will offer advice to any young person on cattle projects.
Now, what makes a legend like Mr. Bixler. Is it the fact that he sired two outstanding young men that were excellent students at Waynoka? Blake and Clark are two upstanding gentlemen that are successful in everything that they do. I’m a better person for knowing them. Is it that he will always offer his great wisdom to anybody that will listen? Whether it is politics, sports, livestock, weather, oil, schools, business, etc., he knows about it. Probably because he has extra time and can watch Bloomberg, read lots of newspapers and magazines and spend time reading quality info on the internet.
I’ll tell you what makes a legend. It is a great wife. Rodeana Bixler is the one that makes Stan great. She keeps the bills paid. She modeled those boys into upstanding citizens. Rodeana helps with numerous school projects, 4-H/ FFA events, church and community activities, mowing the yard, cooking/cleaning/etc. She is probably in charge of the bovine genetic matings at the Ranch, but Stan gets the credit.
So, what I am saying is that Stan Bixler is a legend as he was smart enough to marry Rodeana and managed to keep her around all these years. Here’s to you Great American Legend–have a good day Mr. Bixler.
p.s. The Dragon Lady doesn’t want to hear that Rodeana is lucky to have you.
A common question that we get asked is “What additives do we feed?” The answer is not very many. All of our show wethers are on the Special K feed with Vindicator added to it. Vindicator is the new Grand Goat formula. Do I think that gand goat or vindicator works miracles? NO. But I do think that it helps their immune system and helps their appettite. If an animal feels good and eats good then you are going to get their full genetic potential. I also think that it does help with keeping their hide tighter. We also add liquid fat to our feed. We mix feed on a weekly basis using a cement mixer. 6 gallons of feed, 6 ounces of liquid and 32 ounces of vindicator per mix.
When we are within a week of a show, we add STOP! to their feed to help prevent fungus, ringworms, etc. We will continue to feed this for a week or so after the target show. You can’t feed this year round as this additive will lose its effectiveness if fed every day.
Occasionally, we get a wether that is a too fat and needs hardened up. In that case, if I don’t think that we can run them into shape, we use a high noon feed, original glo. A 1/4 pound of this stuff will help harden one. I have on occassion, used high noon’s Shine Em Up to try to bloom a thinner goat.
Are there other additives out there that will work. Yes. My experience with all species of animals has shown me that the majority of animals need a basic, yet complete feed with proper exercise is what works the best. We monitor our animals and adjust feed amounts as needed. By adjusting fat or protein levels, we don’t need many additives. If a person isn’t careful, they can spend more on additives than they can on the animal.
The family was inside last night, finishing supper and thinking about watching the clay-mation version of Rudolph. Duke’s phone rings, which means it is either a grandparent or Wichert. It was Wichert.
Wichert is Darin Wichert who is a neighbor/friend of our family. He and Duke talk hunting, animals and hang out at the sale barn together. Darin also guides deer hunters. He was so loud that Tammy and I could hear him through Duke. Let’s just say that he was excited. So, the three of us load up to go look at the deer that his hunters had shot.
They weren’t deer, they moose!! These were the absolute biggest antlers that I had ever seen in real life. It was a father and son from Louisianna that had shot these deer with bows. Both deer were non-typical but with amazing amount of mass. The cool rack had thirty one points and was about 8″ around at the base. The older deer was about 9″ around at the base and a had huge flat part of an antler, kind of like a moose. I don’t know what they will score, but they are both high.
Then we sat around talking to the hunters. The dad is a lifelong shrimper from southeast Louisianna. He also hunts gators. He was peeling fresh shrimp that they had brought with them. The son is in school to be a dentist. It was a pretty cool evening.
Made it in from the barn just in time for a roast beef dinner with carrots and some killer little taters. These taters are from Schwan’s and they are good. Don’t need butter, sour cream or anything on them. Just eat them. They are good enough that they compliment a Kelln born/fed beef. Heaped a pile of beef, taters and carrots on the plate and headed to my couch and tv. Flipped some channels and ended up on ESPN. The talking heads were going nuts about how Tim Tebow had led Denver to another win. I’m not a big NFL fan, but I watch & listen to enough espn XM to keep up. I love it when a guy like Tebow keeps proving all these experts wrong. All he did was win in college and all he is doing now is win. May not be pretty, but a win is a win. I think a guy like this is good for sports and more importantly, good for young people to look up to.
Maybe I am dating myself a little, but this Tebow reminds me of Doug Flutie. I don’t think Flutie ever got a fair shot in the nfl. He won in college, he won in the CFL and when did get to play, he won in the nfl. Some people are competitive and just understand what it takes to win.