Every so often, we will name a Goat of the Month so that you can get acquainted with some of the girls that make up our herd.
You’ve heard a lot about our guys, so I think it’s about time that we start featuring the gals! And truth be told, last time I was up at the barn, I heard our ladies grumbling about being left out. They thought that surely I would know who really does the work around here. So of course I had to do something.
We’ll start with a doe that has done an exceptional job for us for many years now, and definitely deserves a little recognition. This month’s goat of the month is:
Britt’s Diamond Boers Pumpkin.
Or as we all call her, “Pumpkin.”
Here is Pumpkin’s story.
She’s a full blood Boer doe, born July 23, 2006 in Shelly Idaho, out of 10226961 KKK13 and BDBN Aspiration’s Twilight. She came to Swan View Ranch in May of 2007, where she remains.
A quiet, unassuming girl, she is not a fashion queen and definitely has no aspirations to be a model. Instead, she’s one of those stalwarts of the community, the ones who just get things done and never complain. In her modest way, she manages to be one of the most efficient and hardworking of the bunch. Always ready to roll up her sleeves in service of her little ones, she is happy with the simple life of being a mom, and produces great looking babies year after year.
In the fall of 2007, Pumpkin was bred to our buck Sir Lance, producing her first two daughters in February of 2008: Strawberry Cream and Little Miss Sunshine. In January 2009, she had two more daughters out of Lance—Pecan and Petula—and in 2010, two daughters and one son: Plum, Pearl and Perry.
In 2008 we acquired a new buck—Hollywood’s Clark Gable—and Pumpkin had one son and one daughter out of him in 2011: Cherry and Chuck. In January 2012, she produced three more sons.
In 2011 we purchased another new buck—Semi Load—and Pumpkin was bred to him in the fall of 2012, producing two daughters and one son in January 2013: Apple Lattice, Coconut Cream. and Mincemeat. (Here she is with Apple Lattice and Coconut Cream.)
Our exciting find of Balance of Power this April has made us really eager to see what he and Pumpkin will produce together when Pumpkin again blesses us with some beautiful babies in 2014.
As you can see from Pumpkin’s history, she is well deserving of the Goat of the Month Award. I think she knows it, too, as lately, she’s been getting a few extra treats out of me. She seems to know that feeding ALL the goats treats gets expensive, so when she sees me up at the barn, she walks very carefully through the pasture until she is right up by the corral. She’s stealth like a cat. No one notices she isn’t with the herd. She is a very clever girl!
When she realizes she’s made her escape, she comes in, looks at me, and makes her request with a very quiet voice so as not to alert the others. I can’t resist her, so she gets her licorice treats! I can tell by the look on her face that it’s the highlight of her day.
Congratulations, Pumpkin!
