Hill Country Goat Classic - Dec 15, '07

No Need of Spoil - a good article!

We went to Bandera yesterday for our fourth Hill Country Goat Classic. Each year there have been fewer and fewer dairy goats entered. The ladies doing the entry forms told me that dairy goats used to make up the majority of the show. But, yesterday, we had the ONLY dairy goats there.

Erinn entered 3 goats, one in each of the appropriate age groups, so she could show one in each class. But, since no one else brought dairy goats, they put all three of her goats in one class, which meant we had to recruit helpers to show them. She IS talented and all, but it's rather hard to lead three goats around at once. Dana got first place, Glitter got second, and Velvet got third.

After that class, it was time for her to show Mooky's Boer goat (#1), so I had the goat waiting for her when she came out of the ring and we switched goats. Kris took the other two goats from the two girls who helped us. Mooky's finger is only hurting if he bumps it on something, but since you have to switch sides fairly often when you are showing a goat, he could not show #1. The judge started pulling goats out, the worst first, and having them line up on one side of the ring. Erinn's goat did not get picked first, or second, and I was very relieved! Out of thirteen goats, she ended up being 6th place. YAY!! A nice change from last place. :o) She was sad that she couldn't show Hershey, but we just couldn't risk it with her still not feeling 100%.

Quite a few people commented to us about our goats, and asked lots of "dairy goat questions" and seemed quite interested. Dana's udder was very full, so that got a lot of comments, with her being the ONLY goat in the entire show to have milk!

The cold front hit before we left home yesterday. Then, we got to Bandera BEFORE the cold front. It was almost warm there, and right before we left the cold front caught up with us. When we got home, the lean-to gate had blown open and all the animals were pigging out on hay. There were 6 bales in there that wouldn't fit in the barn loft. With goats, they just eat the hay, and probably jump all over it too. BUT, both cows AND the horse were in there which meant that the bales were no longer neatly stacked. They pulled them down and scattered them around, which made it easier for the goats to jump on EACH AND EVERY bale and probably poop on each one too. Thanks a lot.

The kids unloaded the truck and Mooky vacuumed it out while Kris gathered kindling and took firewood in the house. I spent the next hour feeding and watering chickens, giving old hay to the pig for warmth, gathering eggs, and getting everything ready for the cold night ahead.