It is a little bit windy today. I weaned a couple of does this morning. Decided to leave the rest on their mommas for a couple of weeks as they are only 6 weeks old. Brought some weaned babies in on Saturday. Most of these were out of Freak on a Leash. They are from one my herds out west and are pretty green. But there is a couple of wethers that look good and a killer doe kid. We’ll get them bloomed up over the next couple of weeks and have them ready to sell.

Looked on the oklahomashowgoats message board and noticed that bob and Diablo were at it again. If you would like Bob’s identification, then email with your guess as to the hometown or county of Bob’s residence. I will reply with a correct or incorrect. I will not reply to text or phone calls. Make sure you read previous posts before sending me your guess. There is already one hint out there in the blogosphere.

Got home from work last evening and was told that the Gosney’s had been hit by the tornado. Tammy and I loaded up and went to help. It was a direct hit. Their large metal barn was completely gone, even pulled the stem wall and foundation out of the ground. Numerous trailers destroyed/missing. Shannon’s brand new Suburban totaled. Thank GOD nobody was hurt and all of the livestock was accounted for and moved to neighbors. The house is repairable.

We lost a house to flooding eleven years ago. That wasn’t fun. But I would take a flood over a tornado. Our safety was never in question and we didn’t lose personal items, just a house/money.

Been catching babies and setting them up. If you ever think about having an online sale, then you need to catch the goats and set them up five or six times before picture day. Otherwise they won’t photo very well. These online sales are more work to do one right, but with my schedule it works for me. I can do this stuff after dark and then schedule photo day with Mr. Milligan and his boss, the original BIG I. Then they will check with their bosses and make sure that it will work.

Duke and I worked a set of babies yesterday. Gave everything their 2nd Covexin 8 shot. Wormed with prohibit. Banded and sheared weathers. We will wean this set in a week or so. Most of these are sired by Joe Dirt. This is an extremely consistent set of goats. He has stamped them with good rib shape and big loins that tie into their hip very well.

Trying to get everything ready for the June sales. We are going to sell doe kids in June.

The next set of does are set to start kidding after the first of June. There will be more Freak on a Leash’s in that set.

Made it out west on Wednesday. Stopped in to look at a set of Captain Morgan x Bodog babies. They are about 7 weeks old. Very good set. 4 or 5 wether kids that are real good. Only one doe kid in the whole bunch. They will be ready to sell in June. This set and several others will all get banded Sunday. The signs are right.

I have a pen of first time doe kids that are due in late June.  They have several acres of grass, are being fed twice a day and have free choice to an alfalfa bale that has no mold in it.  They have mineral with CTC (chlortetracycline) in it for an antibiotic.  They were vaccinated before breeding.  They look real good and yet, everyday is a new day in the doe pen.  One of them aborted last night about 30 days early.  Don’t know why.  She hadn’t been sick.  I enjoy the goat industry, but I don’t like dealing with does.  But I don’t have a choice if I want to raise good ones.

     It was less than a decade ago that there was not an organized OK state goat show.  I wasn’t raising goats.  Pfieffer’s were well known for Angus cattle.  The honorable Jack Staats was in his 54th year of teaching Ag-Ed and hadn’t touched a goat without a rope.  Fred was showing everything but goats. 

    I didn’t want to do it. Kela, Danielle Litzenberger and Kourtney Childers talked me into the goats.  All three of these girls had very successful hog showing careers.  We were low rent at buying show pigs.  Never gave a $1000 for a pig.  Can’t say that about goats.  How did this happen?

Must be the economy.

I do get hit up with lots of questions.  People call, email or catch me at shows and sales to ask about goats, judges, feeds, etc.  I would be willing to bet that the #1 asked question for the past year is…”Who is BOB?”.  I think that I will start leaving clues on here until somebody emails me with the right answer.  We’ll just see how mouthy Bob wants to get on the message board.  First clue, Bob does not live in the great northwest of Oklahoma.  By northwest, I mean north of I-40 or west of I-35.

     The internet is an amazing tool when used properly.  It has definitely changed the way ag products are marketed.  I routinely get calls and e-mails from all across the U.S. regarding goats.  Although most of my sale goats stay in OK, the online sales have generated interest outside the state. 

     The internet affects equipment sales as well.  Even though it is dry in our part of the world and not many people are looking to buy balers, swathers or tractors, people in other parts are looking to buy.  We make sure every piece of used equipment is listed on tractorhouse or usedexpress.  We sell a lot of equipment over the internet.  It is easy to tell when the weather is bad in another part of the country, as farmers get their chores done and go inside to the computer to look for equipment.  When we get numerous calls from Minnesota on the same day, you can bet there is a blizzard going on up there.

     In my opinion, most breeders do not utilize the internet to its potential.  At the bare butted minimum, any breeder, no matter how large or small, should have a page that lists contact info.  Online sales won’t work for everybody, but they have their place in the industry.  Banner ads always make visitors look to see what is going on.  They are probably the most cost effective form of advertising anywhere.