Had a weekend without any shows or work related stuff, but we were still plenty busy. We had some visitors Friday evening, Kela and her friend Jacy spent Friday night with us. Kela worked with Duke on showmanship. Jacy was here to work on a report for a class. Duke thought it was big stuff having a couple of college chicks stay up late with him watching movies.

Duke and I worked babies Saturday morning. Then I went to Cleo Springs and Aline to sort through goats. There is a good set of wether and doe prospects scattered around. None will be for sale until after OYE.

Saturday afternoon, a trailer load of wethers made it to my house. Weighed, handled, cussed and discussed what has to be done between now and OYE.

Sunday, I went back to Cleo to clip a pair of does. I spent both days with the Cleo Springs Goat Queen–Tori Sessions. She’s pretty good help and she dang sure had hair popping on the does I had to clip.

Tammy was ecstatic about Arnett basketball. If you didn’t know it, Tammy was a heckuva basketball player for Arnett in the late eighties. She played in the state tournament every year. She now has a niece starting for Arnett and they came through the losers bracket to make it to the state tourney. The Arnett boys also qualified for state.

I’m ready for this Friday and the weekend. No shows, nothing scheduled, just get my own stuff done kind of weekend. And the weather is supposed to be decent to top it off. I’ve got a few trade ins to look at today and then, boom I can disappear till Monday morning.

I’m going to band a set of kids this weekend. There is a couple that I am going to leave as bucks. The rest are going to be wethers. If somebody is interested in buck prospects they better call quick. I’m not keeping very many and I already have several interested. Buck prospects will either be out of Joe Dirt or Fade2Black.

Fade2Black is a Black Sabbath-XFactor kid that I kept out of last year’s crop. Seelke, Pullan and Nation own him with me. These kids look way good.

It’s coming up on the time of year when I get to see a true Great American on a regular basis. Big I will be attending the goat show at Enid and OYE the next couple of weeks. I haven’t got to see him in a while, but I hear that he is in killer shape as he has been working out all winter keeping a new barn clean and doing arm curls testing drenches. I did get a scouting report from him the other day and he informs me that there is a really good set of does coming out of Noble county to show at Enid and OYE.

In all seriousness, if you don’t know Big I, then you need to make his acquaintance. He and his wife are really good people that will help anybody. Everybody is in a good mood when he is around. He is Milligan’s right hand man when it comes to getting things done. Our online sales would not be as much fun if he wasn’t here to help. It is his job to keep the rest of us on task and properly hydrated.

So go find Big I at the next couple of shows and meet him, talk goats, life and just be in a happy mood because he will be. Here’s to you Great American Legend–Big I.

Getting baby goats to bloom is part of the goat selling business. You want to get the babies to have some flesh on them without them being too fat. You don’t want somebody to buy a prospect and it melt when they get it home. I’ve bought enough goats that I’ve had it happen to me. I personally like a prospect to be just a little bit green in terms of condition. Those kind seem to go to feed and improve once you get them home. The bloomy, pampered little goats always sell good, but don’t seem to go to feed as good.

I keep nursing does on full access to alfalfa hay and I feed them twice a day. The babies can eat with their moms as well as hit the creep feeder. I do move the babies into the barn when it is cold or wet. I don’t turn the does out on pasture while nursing as I do think if you give them too big an area, the babies are harder to bloom.

Several years ago, I looked at a set of goats in Texas. I questioned the wethers’ ages as they were big for their so called age. I was sarcastically told, “Those ages are right on. We just grow them bigger down here as our weather is better suited to growing goats.” I have been around livestock all my life. I’m not a dumb ass. I can tell when animals/ages have been manipulated. I don’t care if somebody does it, but I don’t need to be lied to or talked down to. I spend a lot of money on goats for myself and others. I still haven’t written a check to that breeder.

Point is, they need to have some bloom on them in order to help them sell. But they don’t need to be fat and they don’t need to be skinny. It is hard to read muscle in a skinny goat. It takes some effort to get it right. Some think that I need mine bloomier, but they turn out and feed. And they don’t crash when you get them home.

Survived the Major County Livestock Show yesterday. I worked the hog show ring for 5 hours. I worked the exit gate, which at that show ring is the worst gate to work. I think I will let Fred have that gate next year. Grand barrow was a berk. I actually agreed with the judge. It is a dang good berk. I didn’t have any desire to watch the sheep show and since the wind was only blowing about 40 mph, Duke and I decided it would be a good chance to run up to Cleo Springs and look at some goats. We did see some way good doe kids and maybe a buck prospect or two.

The goat show started at 5 last night. The doe show at Major County is very good. There are several families in this county that are super tough at the doe shows. This spring will be no different. I’ll put this county up against any of them in Oklahoma. A lot of these does were born in Major county. The wether show was limited in numbers but not in quality. There were only 18 wethers, but 4 or 5 are premium sale quality at OYE. We only took one wether, but we only have 2 on feed. Duke had the grand, but showmanship wasn’t where it needed to be. Always more work. He’ll have it right by Enid and OYE.

President. That’s a term that doesn’t ring with the sound of respect or power that it used to. It was a big thing to study historical president’s in school. Now all the term means is that there is going to be some worthless info during the news. I don’t care what his approval rating is this week. I don’t care who is campaiging to be president in Vermont today and will be in Florida tomorrow. Turn the channell and see if any Law & Order is on.

It is local show day. I don’t understand why anybody would enjoy a local show. Sure, you can tell me how it gets the kids and the animals into the ring and it builds experience. They normally aren’t in the ring but a minute or two at a local. Think of the money spent on plaques and trophies for local shows. I know the first time they win a plaque at the local is a big deal, but give the kids the money and call it good. I despised a local show as an ag teacher and I despise them as a parent. I tried to bribe Tammy and Duke not to go, but they want to. Thankfully, I have to work on this wet Saturday morning. The good thing about a local, it means we’re that much closer to the shows that matter to me–Enid, Woodward and OYE.

Congrats to the Helms crew for raising the grand wether at San Antonio. With a win at a Texas major, the Texans will all be trying to buy Helms goats next year. Good for the sellers, bad for us Okies trying to buy them. Oh well.

I’ve got nothing today.

Watched the Westminster dog show on the tube last night. I enjoy watching how they have the dogs groomed and how the really good dogs walk into place when stopped by the handler. Regardless of species, it is easy to pick out the good ones. If you think good goats cost a lot, then take a look at the show dog world. They get plum nuts with the prices of their dogs and breeding fees. But there isn’t another species where it is appropriate to say “That’s one good bitch.” Then there could be donkey shows.

Had us a little showmanship and feed adjustment session on Saturday afternoon. Yes, it was very cold outside. But the heater in the barn that we were in was working very well. It seems like everyone has heavier goats this year. Don’t know if it is genetics, better feeding practices or because we have had a mild winter (until now!) or a combination of all of the above. Be interesting to see how it affects weight breaks at OYE.

We locked the babies inside last night and left the does outside. The wind made things plum miserable this morning. All of our sheds face the south and the wind is coming straight out of the south. At least it is supposed to warm up fairly quick.

Watched the grammy’s last night. I kind of like this Adele chick’s music. Pure natural talent, not a pile of slick production going on there. Plus, I like LL Cool J, Glen Campbell and the Foo Fighters, so it wasn’t a bad show as far as I was concerned. I love good music–rock, rap, country, classical, pop, Christmas songs, etc. I keep music going in the barn, XM radio in all of the vehicles and blue tooth to play the Ipod in the pickup if nothing good is on the radio. I can’t play an instrument or sing to save my ass, but I like good music.

Wasn’t very many people like Whitney Houston–one of the world’s best singers and one of the hottest women that you could find. I still remember that 1991 super bowl national anthem. That is how it should be sung.