Dominant genes are a basic part of animal breeding.  Polled vs. horned, Red vs. black.  stress positive vs negative.  On and on.  Here’s what’s got me thinking about dominant vs recessive genes.  Black headed goats.  

     I had a set of triplets born this evening that are all black headed.  Momma is a Freak On A Leash on a Starbuck.  She was the only black headed Freak On A Leash that we had.  Grandma was supposedly the first Starbuck ever born at Kelly’s.  She was a part of the bottle baby doe kid adventure that Mikey Thompson and I dealt with several years ago.  Mikey’s daughter named this doe “Blizzard”.  I don’t know why. Black headed goat–Blizzard.  Yeah, it all makes sense.  Anyways, Blizzard was bred to Freak On A Leash.  She had twin doe kids.  One was red headed and the other was black headed.  I kept the black headed one and we call her “Blizz”.  Blizz is black headed like her mother.  

     The first time Blizz had kids, she had twin Black headed doe kids sired by Joe Dirt.  Those are the only black headed Joe Dirt offspring that I know about.  2nd time she kidded–single doe kid sired by Rainman–traditional colored.  This time–triplet Black headed kids sired by Rainman.  And these are the only black headed Rainman kids that I know of.  And I have bred Dirt and Rainman to other direct Starbuck daughters with NO black heads.  As I said earlier, Blizz is a Starbuck granddaughter.  I’m having trouble working this Punnet square.  It just doesn’t seem to fit.

     And to answer your next question…Yes, I do have a black headed Rumour Has It offspring that is out of a Starbuck daughter.  That would be the black headed quad that has three blonde headed brothers.  Yeah, the good night at a strip club quads.  Now, the Punnet square of that mating shows that the black head is recessive.  But some of these others don’t.  No matter what, I don’t care if they are white, black, blonde, red, paint, baldy or whatever as long as they are good.  Way good.  

     I have seen a pic of some Big Willy offspring and yes, they are black headed. 

     I catch a lot of crap for buying “green” ones.  Greenies.  Gruene (I like that place).  John Deere green.  Dollars are green.  Green grass, wheat, oats, alfalfa, etc.  Basically, green is a pretty good color.  I also like watching Mike & Mike on espn.  Greenie & Golic.  Well, anyways, back to the point.  I have been known to buy a green goat or two.  When I say “green”, I mean an animal that is less than desirable in terms of overall condition.  Which means, the parts are there, but it may not be worth two squirts of goose $h!T.  Only time and a proper feed and health practice will enable a “green” one to turn out.  

     Random question/thought–How come, during the movie “The Blues Brothers”, the first time that Elwood Blues is going to throw a shrimp at Jake Blues during their Chez Paul dining experience, he has to line it up 4 or 5 times?—- eye contact, lined up, toss it, yes.  But yet, less than 2 minutes later, he BLINDLY tosses a shrimp to Jake who catches it like a labrador catching dog treats.  Throw me another.  

     Now back to that green deal.  Personally, I would rather buy a little bit green one, than a toad fat, bloomy bastard.  Now, let’s be honest.  I’ve made some money on some green ones, but I have also lost money on those “green feelings”.  Some of those green ones never sprout.  On the other hand, I’ve never made any cash on buying a bloomy turd.  They can only go backwards.  Now, I’m not saying that none of those bloomy ones ever turn out.  It’s just that you are buying them at the top of the market.  Everybody can find those bloomy dudes.  They are what they are at that point.  If they go backwards, no good.  If they hold their own, well, you can look halfway intelligent for buying it.  

      Speaking of cool.  Check out Joliet Jake’s love interest in “The Blues Brothers”.  It is none other than Carrie Fisher.  Not only did she play Princess Leia in the Star Wars movies, but she also has a killer list of writing credits to her name.  

     It’s not that I’m smarter than others when looking at skinny animals, it’s just that I’m not afraid to gamble on a thin one that is backed with good genetics.  Before you go to buying a green one, you need to factor in the environment that a green one is coming from.  If the rest of them are bloomy, probably need to be scared of that skinny turd.  Why is he skinny?  

     Then, you can deal with a breeder like me.  The goats will be healthy, but not fluffy.  My goats tend to always get better after they leave here.  Thus, the reason when Poe shows up and says “I’ll give you some hundred dollar bills for that one”, I will probably agree.   I normally ask,  “Where’s he going?”  He answers.  And I say, “Get me a picture at the end.”  And, there is normally a picture of a Woodward or OYE premium sale caliber goat.  I’m not saying that the Poe Cat is always right.  I’m just saying that if I like a green goat and Poe likes the same goat, well, it is probably going to be a damn good goat.  

      Some people WANT to only look for the great green goat.  They will normally be wrong.  Some are scared of one that is too thin.  They will spend more on the “right” one, than take a gamble and spend less on the green one.  Then there are those that are looking for & trying to buy the right one, but aren’t afraid to try the green one.  This type of buyer usually buys LOTs of a goats.  This would be the fishing net method.  Cast it and try to reel them all in.  I like to fish.  

      Time to get green.  

      More than any other holiday, I feel that a huge percentage of our society has lost touch with the true meaning of Easter.  We have OVER-commercialized every holiday.  But Easter is at the top of the over-commercialized list.  Think about it–the cadbury cream egg, rabbits, colored chicks, Easter dresses and shirts, hunting Easter eggs, Easter egg baskets, chocolate rabbits, the Easter bunny, Easter meals, etc, etc, etc.  

      No matter your religious beliefs, this is my blog, so I don’t intend to offend anybody, but I really don’t care.   Easter is an important holiday in every Christian religion.  Actually, the most important.  Easter is all about faith.  The fact that JESUS died and rose again to fulfill the scriptures is what Easter is all about.  

     Having a Catholic upbringing, Easter as always been a special time for myself and my family.  Sure, we have done the egg hunts, big meals, gifts, etc.  More importantly, there is no doubt that all of our family members understand the true meaning of Easter.  My grandparents and now my parents make dang sure we remember.  I am thankful for that.  

      Now, let me tell you about my Easter weekend.  A rumour leaked on Saturday morning.  Olympic records were broken.  We had my brothers and their families to the Fargo paradise on Saturday evening.  And my parents showed up.  All was well.  Tammy, Duke and I went to Mass in Shattuck on Sunday morning.  They took me home and then went to Arnett to attend Easter services.  I have NO problems with Duke getting 2 times the religion on any given Sunday.  I am quite confident that he needs to build up all the goodwill that he possibly can obtain.  The Dragon Lady snapped a pic of my offspring and posted on facebook, which led to several “shit eating” grin comments that were texted to me.  We then met back at Shattuck for lunch.  Let me tell you a FACT!  My parents absolutely hit a home run with lunch.  Prime rib roast, green beans, twice baked taters, deviled eggs, fresh leaf lettuce salad with home-made buttermilk ranch dressing, frog-eye salad and a some other in-edible crap that I don’t eat.  Duke didn’t eat many veggies, but he did eat about 2 lbs of prime rib.  I had one glass of some kind of Spanish wine with my Uncle Jim.  I ate, then took a nap.  No egg hunts for this fat dog.  It was a really good family event.

     Speaking of Uncle Jim.  Several of you have met him.  Many of you of seen him at our place.  He is my mom’s oldest brother that lives in Fargo and also east of Fargo–this means he might be at one place or the other, at his schedule, nobody elses.  He basically does what he wants, when he wants as long as his dog “Mookie” is happy.  He very well might be the smartest person on the planet (not a Kelln opinion, as I have factual info to back it up).   He is WAY MORE opinionated than I am.  And you don’t have to ask for his thoughts.  Regardless of the conversation, opinion, thought, he can argue it.  He has a son and a daughter that live in California.  They are both older than I am.  They are Cali born and bred, but they have an attachment to this piece of paradise south of Fargo.  Kela spent this Easter sunday with my cousins south of LA.  And as a bonus, another cousin was also there.  I am glad that Kela can spend time with family.  Even if it isn’t Tammy, Duke and I.  

     I had a great Easter weekend.  I have a great family.  

     The best part of the commercialization of Easter—-Reese’s easter eggs.  And the next best part?  All of the Reese’s easter eggs will be greatly discounted in a week or two.  

      I burnt up some pavement today and goat to see some really good Okie goats.  Saw a couple of sets of March born kids that will be selling in June that look really good.  I also saw several of the doe kids that will be selling in the Divas doe sale on April 26.  That deal could be interesting.  Way interesting.  It’s goat to be.

    I’d like to move mommas and babies out of the kidding barn but Mother Nature just won’t let me do it.  It didn’t rain here today, but it was high 40s with really high humidity.  It felt dang cold out.  I’ve goat to say that they can stay inside another day.  

     I’ve been known to get too many irons in the proverbial fire.  Well, today, it goat really serious around here.  How serious?  It goat 3 times more serious than it has been. The #119 keeps rolling across the inside of my eyelids.  Let me reiterate, it goat really serious around here.

     Here’s to all of you that work to make things better and aren’t afraid to take a jump, no matter what you are doing.  I didn’t see anything bouncing on this Thursday, but I goat to feel my brain bouncing inside my skull–it bounced 119 times.  

     Did I mention that I like the movie the movie “Super Troopers”.  If you haven’t seen it, then you’ve goat to.  It’s goat to be one of the funniest movies of all time.  

      It’s time to get serious.  Physically I need to be in better shape.  There is always room to improve things mentally.  It’s time to do a better job of planning ahead.  All of us can do a better job at home and spiritually.  We shouldn’t miss a chance when opportunity presents itself.  Sometimes, you just know that it’s time.  And, once you realize that it’s time, then you need to act.   It is time.  

      Here I sit at my desk, in front of this computer screen on this dry, windy evening (not unlike many others that we have seen here the past five years).  I don’t care for the weather–90 degrees 48 hours ago, snow yesterday, below freezing last night, no rain, lots of wind.) But I do like sitting here, looking at auction results and jammin out to some killer good tunes.  Got a little bit of Tina Turner playing right now.  Simply the Best.

      Last night, after burning horns, I took some Red Solo Cups and covered up 7 or 8 tater plants that had sprouted.  I don’t have the Heart to waste the orange ones.  I also didn’t want the mid-April freeze to get our new garden.  The Dragon Lady and Duke planted these spuds on St. Patrick’s Day.  Somebody told me that taters needed planted on St. Paddy’s Day.  Like a George Strait song, it sounded good to me.  I left way early on March 17th, so they planted them.  As noted before, I’ve got a good shot of Irish from my mom’s side.  Of course, I’ve got a doubled up dose of German–Kelln x Schneider.  Just like reading livestock, you need to understand the genetics and backgrounds of the people that you deal with.  Either way, German and/or Irish, I like a really good spud.  I haven’t done much gardening since the 80s and I didn’t want to do it back then, but so far, I’ve realized that gardening now involves iTunes and a beer.  Heck, I’m all in if a sport involves Ozzy and Bud.  I’m pretty sure that it isn’t so much a sport, but more of an activity.  Back in the 80s, gardening was a punishment.  I hate(D) okra, maters, squash and zucchini.  I still won’t touch the stuff–fresh, cooked, canned or pickled or put in bread…RUSM?…zucchini bread…it doesn’t even sound right.   But we will have carrots and some Red Hot Chili Peppers, in the garden and on the iPod.  That and Quiet Riot is playing now–straight out of the 80s.

      These online auctions so far this year are way high.  Kind of like Cheech & Chong.  Smoked.  And it sounds like the live auctions up north have also been really good.  I even heard several testimonials of goats in kansass bringing a pile of cash.  Like Aretha, they just want a little bit of R-E-S-P-E-C-T.  When the Kansans are spending cash, then things are getting high.  Of course, I am all in on goats selling high.  The only goat sale so far in 2014 that wasn’t worth 2 squirts of duck crap was the OYE doe sale.  Hhmm?!?!     Seems to me that if you actually want to sell them, then they are worth something.  I guarantee you that here in Paradise City (zip code 73840), that goats are worth a little something and will be for sale as long as they bring a little something.  I don’t want no Cheap Trick.  But if you have one, then call me at 867-5309. 

      Tomorrow, in this industry, there is a chance to make a dollar, but like the Gambler, there is a also a chance to lose two.  You just need to know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em.  Like Don Williams sang, “LORD, I hope this day is good.”  And if things go properly, I will be listening to that good ol Irish rock band known as the Dropkick Murphy’s and they will have the bagpipes fired up along with the big amped guitars playin’ “Amazing Grace”.  But for now Poison is rocking the speakers and if that no-talent (but still had hit songs) band can make it, then I still have a chance.  I like it.  

     From the Jammin German, I bid you a lucky tonight and an even better tomorrow.  

Duke and I burnt horns and vaccinated a set of kids last night. Tammy made us throw our clothes directly into the washing machine as we entered the house. I guess she didn’t want us to stink up the house. This morning, I woke up and could still smell that unmistakable odor of burnt hair, hide and horn. Maybe that’s a sign that I need to trim some nose hair. No matter what you do in the goat business, disbudding is an unpleasant job. And even though you really think that you did a good job, three months from now, a set of antlers appear. Have a good day.

     I can over-think things–too a fault.  However, I have a reset button when things get over-loaded.  Taylor and Thompson don’t have this feature.  We had that April Fool’s day online sale that was a very big success.  I am still amazed at the number of calls, visitors, texts, emails, etc. that we had.  But, now that I have had time to think, re-think, over-analyze and think some more, and here is what I have come up with.

—-Online sales require just as much work as a live sale.  

—-You need to be prepared for visitors to see the offering ahead of and up-to-the time of the sale.

—-Good pics, honest presentation and write ups are of utmost importance.  

—-By having buck prospects, breeding age bucks, wethers, doe kid and a breeding ready doe kid, we hit about every demographic in the goat industry.  I wasn’t prepared for that.  

—-I still prefer a live sale, but EVERY breeder should be hosting at least some kind of online sale.  When my low-rent operation can get calls from GA, NC, PA, WV, OH, IN, IA, IL, MN, NE, MO, AR, SD, TX, OK, KS, CO & AZ, then real breeders need to get serious about marketing online.  There were 11 lots in that sale–9 of ours, 1 Tyke and 1 Milligan.  Those 11 lots went to AZ, KS, OK, TX, NE, Il, GA, & SD.   

—-I would say that most breeders don’t do a good enough job preparing for online sales–myself included.  It was obvious that I hadn’t spent any time getting wethers ready to photo, therefore, I left money on the table.  I know where I screwed up.  I tip my cap to breeders such as Pfeiffer, Hummel and Mock that dang sure do a way good job of having their goats presented right in an online sale.  There are others that are getting it done right.  It takes time and effort.  The time part is what causes me problems.  I would guarantee that it is money well spent to get good help for online sales.  Pay for a good photographer and if you can’t do good write ups, pay for it.  It will pay off.

—-The biggest drawback to an online sale—they are still on your feed bill for a couple of weeks.  I can’t complain and am not complaining as it took only 12 days for our April 1 offering to go to different homes.  Anytime that you offer online, you better have a delivery/pickup plan.  

     My thoughts on online sale–EVERy breeder should be offering products in some form or fashion in an online setting.  Whether you have 15 does or 750 does, there are more customers and therefore, more dollars out there on the internet.  

     I still like the old Guns N Roses song “Patience”.  The list of hit songs that involve whistling is pretty short.  This song should be on every person’s playlist that deals with me.  My calendar stays packed and I do things goat related on my schedule.  Whether they are wanting a wether from me or wanting me to buy a wether for them, it is best if people have patience.  Don’t crowd me.  Just let me know what you want and when you have to have it and things have a way of working out.  

      People get in too big of a hurry.  And that normally costs more money.  They go to buying crap that they don’t need.  It is amazing what another week will do when watching goats.  When given time, I have a pretty decent track record of getting the right goats to the right place.  I like to have some time to watch them walk, how they eat and how they change in a week or two.  But, people get in a hurry.  

     The ironic thing about patience, is that most of the time, I have ZERO patience.  But when needed, I can wait.  And I do wait, when I know that there is a payoff down the road.  

       I guess that I entered my birthdate into the dang facebook deal when I signed up.  I don’t know if it was required or not when I registered on that deal, but I wish it wasn’t out there.  Not that I care if anybody knows my age (43), but it is just another day.  Thanks for all that sent me messages.  I especially like the really prepared, smart-ass message I got from a certain DR. Clark.  Truly, the honor is mine.  

       It’s a known fact that I don’t watch a pile of basketball games.  However, I made it inside to watch the end of the women’s ncaa championship game.  UCONN vs Notre Dame.  Of course, I would have preferred the Irish win.  I do think that the women play a better brand of ball and do things right.  Why?  There isn’t the allure of money that the men deal with.  Money screws up a lot of things–in stock shows as well as sports.  Notre Dame has an incredibly successful b-ball team, but this UConn deal is un-precedented.  Men’s & Women’s.  Especially considereing that both programs were built from the ground up since 1990 ish.  Historically, I have watched a pile of Okie State games in real life.  And I have watched an ass-load of class A & class B b-ball games back in the late 80s.  But mostly, I was watching a Dragon Lady play.  She was good, real good.  But, I still have a visual of her in those shorts.  I’m just saying that they fit well. 

       What does this mean in the goat world?  It means never under-estimate the desire to do well.  Hard work and preparation will pay off.  That coach of UConn is impressive to watch and listen to in an interview.  It is VERY evident that he knows what he is doing.  Cocky?  NO!  Extremely confident is the term that I like.  I’m not out of line in saying that maybe the two best basketball coaches of all-time were women’s coaches–Geno Auriemma and Pat Summitt.  

      Money screws up a lot, but also motivates some to do well at a stock show.  We would show if there wasn’t any prize money.  But, I also wouldn’t want to drive to San Angelo every November if it only paid $50 to win a class and $250 to win the show.  A little more than that and our crew is ready to roll.  

      Competitvely, ball games are great, but a fairly judged stock show is better.