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In my many years of raising livestock, I have had the opportunity to witness hundreds of animals breathe new life. Each time I deliver a baby, I marvel at the miracle that has taken place and am grateful for the opportunity to share time in this animal’s life.

This summer has been no different. Near the end of July, my sow Peyton was due to farrow. She farrowed right on time, and I was there with her every step of the way.

I can usually tell when a sow is getting close, and the more sows I have farrowed, the better I have become at predicting when she will start. It’s never an exact science, so I always make sure to check on the sow often, usually every three to four hours, once she has milk. Sows are not like many other animals in that they can milk several days or weeks ahead of time. My sows usually have milk just 24-36 hours before parturition.

Once Peyton hit that stage, I was diligent in checking in, and that means getting up several times throughout the night. On the Friday night the day before she was due, she just started to get milk, but seemed pretty content and spent most of the evening sleeping.

The next morning, however, was a completely different story. Peyton transitioned into what I refer to as hulk mode, which means her goal is to destroy everything she can. This is common with sows, and they can be very destructive. She’s uncomfortable, and makes it known.

I continued to check her throughout the day, and by midday, she had completely torn down the piglet area I had created and was doing her best to chew through her water bucket.

I farrow in open stalls, and when sows get closer, they begin to nest. Finally that evening, Peyton started nesting, so I knew we were getting really close. Her ligaments near her tail head were also completely loose, so I grabbed a book, some coffee and a chair, and began the waiting game.

About 10 p.m. that night, her water finally broke after some milk contractions. After about an hour, I delivered her first baby, an all-black boar pig. Peyton is a crossbred exotic, and the boar was a purebred Berkshire, so I was not entirely sure what to expect from this litter. Her last litter she had 10 boar pigs, so this time I was keeping my fingers crossed for some gilts, but first and foremost for healthy babies.

The next two hours flew by, and Peyton delivered another baby almost exactly every 15 minutes, with a few in shorter intervals. I didn’t have to pull a single pig, and only one was stillborn, which can happen in large litters. In total, she ended up with 11 live piglets, with six gilts and five boars. It was one of the easiest and most enjoyable litters I have ever delivered.

I don’t know if it made a difference or not this year, but one thing I did different was to feed the sow goats milk going into farrowing, to help increase the calcium in her system, which aids in farrowing ease. It seems to work, so it’s something that I will be using again in the future.

I spent the wee hours of the morning making sure the babies were nursing, the sow passed the placenta, and eventually that she got up and drank some water. I set the area for the piglets back up, and because I farrow in open stalls, penned the babies up in their warm area for a few hours.

I do this because it allows the sow to rest, and makes sure that the babies stay warm. I let them out every hour or so for the first 12 hours, and then every two to three hours after that. There were two runts in the litter, and I did not want them to get laid on.

After a few days, the piglets were turned in to be with the sow full time. They were big enough to get around, and old enough to regulate their body temperature, which is very important. However, the two runts were still getting kicked off the teats from the bigger pigs, so we decided to pull them from the sow and raise them on goat’s milk.

So far they are all doing well, and I look forward to selling some of these pigs for National Western Stock Show. The others we will keep to feed out, so we can provide meat to our family as well as a few others.

This next month will be busy with the start of breeding season for the Boer. I have all of the breedings planned, and will be utilizing three bucks this year.

At the beginning of September I will also be participating in linear appraisal, which is done through the American Dairy Goat Association. Through the program, the goats in my herd will be evaluated, and it will allow me to see what my herd’s strengths are, as well as where we need to improve. I am very much looking forward to this information.

The last dairy show of the year will also be in September, and then the show season will be over. It’s been a great summer, but I am looking forward to fall and all of the fun things to come!

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The last month has been pretty busy around the farm. All of the remaining does with kids were weaned, which means the beginning of the milking season. To make things easier I did order a basic milker.

It takes a long time to milk seven goats, but thankfully the vacuum pump milker helps to save my hands. It also allows me to do other things such as feed while I am milking.

Right now the majority of the milk is either being frozen for future use, or fed to the pigs to help them gain weight. It’s a lot of milk to handle every week, but it’s very important for me to keep the does in milk for linear appraisal and for the fall shows.

Linear appraisal will be held at the end of August to early September, and will allow me to see where my herd is, which will allow me to make plans for where I want to do.

The American Dairy Goat Association has appraisers that travel the country and give goats a score based on how good they are. This number helps breeders to know where they are succeeding, and in what areas they need to improve.

This year will be my first year to participate, and I’m very excited to see what things I am doing well, and where I can do better. I am always striving to better my herd, and this is a great way to do it.

I did get to attend a show this month, which was held in Nebraska. Each year, many different breeds of livestock hold a National Show. From cattle to goats, these events showcase the best of the best. The American Boer Goat Association National Show was no exception.

I had the opportunity to attend this show in early June. I wasn’t showing any of my own livestock, but I wanted to see what the best of the best look like.

I was not disappointed. The goats that were exhibited were some of the most beautiful, bold and majestic Boer that I have ever seen. I have seen a lot of great goats in my life, but these were amazing.

Even though I wasn’t in the ring, I was still in heaven throughout the show. I got to watch more than 1200 goats compete, meet breeders from across the country, and watch even the youngest kids strut their stuff. It was a great trip.

I did have one baby born this month, a crossbred Boer goat. He will be raised for early January and February shows as a market wether.

In about a month, breeding season will start for the Boer goats. I have been looking at pedigrees and trying to figure out which buck I want to breed to which doe. This is always an exciting time, and to make it even more exciting, I purchased a buck out of Windy Acres Boer Goats in Texas.

The moment I saw this buck, I knew I had to have him. I believed he would help me not only in my fullblood program, but also in my wether program. I breed for several different markets, so having a buck that can perform well in both is very important to me.

I believe that this buck, combined with the other two bucks that I have, will make a great set of babies for next year. It’s hard to believe that I’m already in the planning stages for 2015, when we are just barely over half way done with 2014. That is the way that is works, however.

As for the pigs, I am expecting a crossbred litter of Hampshire/Berkshire cross piglets in a little more than a week. These piglets should make great National Western Stock Show prospects, and any that aren’t sold for that will make great meat pigs. It’s been a little while since I raised one for my family, and we are starting to run low. There is nothing better to me than homegrown pork.

This last month we did have a little bit of unexpected addition, but something that I am very excited for. I had the opportunity to get into the alpaca business, and the opportunity was too great to pass up. In the next few months, I will be adding about 15 alpacas to the farm.

I have spent the last several weeks doing a lot of research, and am very excited for this new opportunity. Alpacas are very unique, and will challenge me to learn more. It should be a very exciting time!

The next month will be full of county fairs, and then prepping for State Fair and for linear appraisal. The baby pigs will also keep me busy, as well breeding season.

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It’s no secret that I love the show ring. I love the smell of shavings, preparing goats, the anticipation and the concentration required in the ring. I love to see the number of youth increase, and I love to see all people, young and old, competing with animals they love.

My first show of the season was rushed, and didn’t go as well as I had hoped. However, these shows happen, and all you can do is pick yourself up and move on. I debated for a few weeks on whether I wanted to make the drive to Torrington, Wyo., for the Wyoming Dairy Goat Association Fuzzy Show.

It was 230 miles each direction, would require three days away from home, and I would be by myself. Since I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make the Tri-County Show, I decided to go for it.

I spent the weekend before the show trimming the goats and cleaning out the trailer. A few days before the show, I washed the goats and clipped their feet, and loaded everything that I needed so I could take off after work on Friday.

I got the goats loaded, decided to take my Jack Russell Rodie, and off we went to Wyoming. The drive took longer that I had intended due to traffic, but I finally pulled in and got the goats unloaded and everything set up. I wanted to be able to stay on the grounds, so I took a small airpad, a blanket and a pillow and camped out in the back of my truck with my dog for the weekend.

Saturday morning I was up early, took care of the goats, showered at the fairgrounds and grabbed some breakfast out of the cooler. Saturday was the junior doe show first, followed by the buck show later that night. I would be showing three junior does.

The first doe that I showed was Hope Diamond, the daughter of my Alpine doe Glitter. Diamond can be a little rowdy, and it’s hit or miss on whether she will cooperate or not. In our first show she did not cooperate, and placed in the back half of the class. I was disappointed, but knew we had a second show.

In the second show she excelled and cooperated. She was second in her class, and after the champion junior doe was picked as the first place finisher in her class, she came into the champion drive. She set up perfectly, and the judge picked her as the Reserve Grand Champion junior Alpine doe! This was my first ribbon with an Alpine and I was very happy with her.

The second doe that I showed was Duchess. Duchess is a daughter of my beloved LaMancha Texas Tornado. She almost pure white, and has a sassy little attitude. Even though she is just over two months old, she is an absolute dream to show.

In the first ring, she placed second in her class in a very competitive class.

When it came time for the championship drive, I watched closely from the sidelines, just in case the doe that beat her won, as she would then be in contention for reserve.

That is exactly what happened. I was excited to bring Duchess back in, and after a few comments, the judge picked her as the Reserve Grand Champion Junior LaMancha doe. I was ecstatic.

This was my first ribbon with a LaMancha, and I couldn’t have been more proud. After checking tattoos and paperwork, we moved on to the second ring.

Part of the reason why people show dairy goats is to try to earn a title called a permanent champion on an animal. To get this designation, a doe or buck must earn three championship “legs.” That means they must win three different shows under three different judges. Does may earn one junior leg and two senior (in milk) legs, or three senior legs. Most dairy goat owners will not show their junior does anymore if they earn a junior leg, so that someone else has a chance to earn a junior leg.

This is what happened at this show. The champion from the first show scratched in the second. In the second show, Duchess won her class, and was again in the championship drive. This time the judge picked a yearling doe as the champion, but again selected Duchess as the reserve. She had won her second ribbon! She didn’t earn her junior leg, but I was still incredibly proud of her.

I also showed my junior Nubian named Nala, and she placed in the middle of some very large classes. I can’t wait to see this girl in milk next year.

In between the junior doe show and buck show, Rodie and I headed into town for some snacks and down time. We got back just in time for dinner and to start prepping for the buck show.

The first buck that I showed was Tornado’s buck kid, who I call Duke. Duke won his class in both shows and was the Grand Champion Junior LaMancha buck. However, it’s hard for young bucks to compete with older ones, and that’s as far as he got.

The second buck I showed was a yearling Nubian buck named Captain. Captain placed in the middle of his classes.

My last three bucks to show were all Nigerian Dwarf bucks. My yearling, DaVinci, was second in his class. My two-year-old, Abu, won his class in the first ring, as did my three-year-old, Belmont. Abu went on to be the Grand Champion Senior buck and made his way to the championship drive.

In this drive, he was great. After a quick overview, the judge picked him as the Grand Champion AOP (all other purebred) buck and Best of Breed! I’ve never won a breed or Best in Show title before, and it was an incredible feeling.

In the second ring Abu was second in his class and Belmont was first again. This time, Belmont was named the Reserve Grand Champion AOP buck. It’s a great feeling to have two different bucks win.

The last day of the show was for the milkers. I brought two Alpines, Glitter and Latte, as well as Tornado. All three does placed third or fourth in their classes, which I was ok with. They are all young with only one or two freshenings, and I know they are going to get better.

Trying to get out of Torrington was interesting, to say the least. A hail storm hit as I was just about to load my final goats, and the area where I parked flooded with enough water to flood the inside of the back of the trailer. I had to trudge through water that was several feet deep to get to the truck and get it and my trailer out before the water rose even more. It was a little scary, but worked out ok at the end.

Overall, I felt the show was a great success. I had a great time with Rodie, and met people from several different states and had great conversations.

I couldn’t be more proud of my herd, Champion Livestock, and where I am headed, and am looking forward to what is to come.