Before we get into the actual results of the Delta County Fair, we need to go back a little.
I have been raising goats since 1980 and have been fortunate with the animals we raise and the ones we have selected to purchase. I have never lost a mother goat who was nursing babies…until 2021!
I had purchased this doe from another breeder and was hoping for something fabulous out of her. She had two bucks we named Howie & Harold. At first blush, they looked pretty good.
About two weeks after the babies were born, however, we found the mother dead in the corral. No marks. No signs of struggle. She was just gone. That was a shock.
Losing her was sad enough. But then here were these two little boys with no food supply.
We rushed to the farm and ranch store and purchased bottles and milk replacer for goats. Then we hurried back home to try to rescue these two babies.
Unfortunately, Howie would have nothing to do with the bottle. He just refused. We kept trying anyway, squirting the milk into his mouth and moving his jaw to try to get him to suck, but he had lost his will to live.
After a few weeks of struggle, Howie went the same direction as his mother—leaving poor brother Harold all by himself.
There was one big difference, though. Harold really wanted to live! Within just a few days of bottle feeding him, he caught on. Soon he was running to see us as he knew we had the goods!
Gerald and Mary feeding Harold.
Making trips to the barn every couple of hours in the cold months of December and January wasn’t something that Gerald and I really relished doing, but we did it just the same. How could we not? Harold loved to eat and was always hungry.
Harold was always hungry.
Due to all the trauma, he was smaller than most of the rest of our babies born around the same time, but he kept going no matter what. It was clear he had a lot of heart.
A few months later, in February, we had a family come from Delta to pick out some babies to show at the fair in Hotchkiss. One of the boys—Stihl—just fell in love with Harold and wanted to take him.
Harold with his new owner, Stihl.
Stihl’s brother Cole, who has shown goats before, selected one of our little doelings, Andi.
Cole with Andi.
Before we could let the babies go, we wanted to bottle-feed Harold for a little longer. He was small and we wanted to give him every advantage.
In April, the family returned to gather their animals. Here are their goats waiting to go to their new home.
Andi
Harold
Stihl continued spending a lot of time with Harold. His family sent us some pictures of the two playing in the back yard at their home. How fun is this?
Harold and Stihl in their back yard.
Stihl playing with Harold.
Worn out, the two stop to rest.
We arrived at the Delta County Fair in Hotchkiss and found Stihl leading Harold around. Honestly, seeing Stihl with Harold made Gerald and I very proud, emotional, and thankful that we had spent all that time and effort keeping this little goat alive!
Stihl leading Harold at the fair.
The classes in Delta County are so large that they have to break them into divisions so the judge can examine them. Each division comes in and the Judge selects three or four of the top goats and showmen, sending them into another pen to wait until all the top ones are selected.
Then the Judge brings these top finalists back out to compete against each other to pick the final winners.
Here is Stihl showing Harold. Stihl was the first picked in his division to wait to compete against all the top ones in his class.
Stihl showing Harold. Look at that focus!
Cole was in the same class but a different division. Here he is showing Andi. Cole was also picked to compete against the finalists.
Cole showing Andi.
So both boys ended up in the top group! Great job.
Here is Cole and Andi with their ribbon.
Cole and Andi w their ribbon.
Here is Stihl and Harold with their Reserve Grand Champion Ribbon!
Stihl and Harold with their Reserve Grand Champion ribbon.
These two boys along with their wonderful family did a great job finishing these goats, feeding them, clipping them, grooming them, and getting them ready for show. It is definitely a family effort and this family clearly works well together.
Congratulations to these boys and we look forward to seeing you again next year.
