RDR TC's Independence 1*M X *B Kastdemur's Vicco are proud to announce the arrival of their kids on 4/13/2018. (Yes, that is Friday the 13th, please don't take that out on our adorable little army of kids).
The three kids arrived on a beautiful, warm, and sunny day in a quick delivery. Scarlet Hills Ouija, Scarlet Hills Stella, and Scarlet Hills Buffalo have officially been welcomed to the world. Ouija and Buffalo, will remain in the herd and Stella will be moving to a 4-H herd to become their herd queen, or at least that is my prediction... here is our precious Ouija smelling the flowers by the barn!
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Kidding season is upon us and we are swimming in goat kids... the unfortunate part is that neither Cat or myself have kidded yet and we are both ready to join the milking string they get all the treats and grain. Our humans keep complaining about the lack of doe kids this year, but I don't see the issue. Less doe kids= less goats on the property and more attention for me! I Indy am the QUEEN of Kracker Ranch and deserve all the treats and pets... but not to sound dramatic or needy but I am ready to have these babies, I must be growing an army. Please excuse my mellow dramatic rants while I sit in the barn, twiddle my hooves, and wait for my babies to arrive. Cat has been busy following the humans around while they take pictures of some of the new arrivals, take a look at some of our littlest herdmates. As many of you know we live in the beautiful California wine country. It was the weekend of Janet's birthday and all of the humans had returned from a lovely dinner at a local restaurant (how rude that we weren't invited!) They fed us and we all went about our business. Well about 10 pm that evening, Cat and I along with some of the other goats started to catch the scent of smoke, we didn't think much of it and went back to sleep. Then around 12 am the lights in Janet's room came on and we smelled more smoke, but Janet was the only one awake and couldn't smell the smoke as well as we could and returned to bed. We knew that there was a problem but no one else knew yet. Then finally around 2 am all the lights in the house flipped on! The humans were finally getting with the program and realizing that something was really wrong! Within 20 minutes the whole neighborhood was awake and moving, our humans were loading us into the trailers in a panic and then we were flying down the hill to a safer location. Once we left the confines of our barn yard we could see that we were essentially surrounded by fire.
Once we arrived to the truck yard that our humans own they left us in the trailers (how rude we know but they claim it was for our safety as they didn't know if we were going to need to leave again soon) as they all stood outside watching the smoke and eerie orange glow spread across the sky. The internet was down and many of the phone lines had been melted in the fire, making it difficult to get information and for our humans to connect with their friends and family to see if they were safe as well. Once we could better understand where the fire was our humans turned us loose in a large pen in the back of the yard where we camped for the week that we were evacuated for. We were uncertain about how our home faired for a good portion of the week but we were very lucky, our property was untouched by the fires but came very close across the street from us. There were SO MANY people that reached out and offered to help in any way that they could, and our people are so thankful for the amazing community that we live in and our extended goat community that from other ends of the state and across state lines volunteered their barns and homes as a sanctuary for us. The humans tell us that this was the worst fire in California history and that while their friends and family were extremely lucky there are so many people in our community that saw their lives go up in smoke and still managed to help people and animals in need. Our story is not one of the insanely harrowing tales that are everywhere that you turn in our county right now but it did serve as a reminder of how fortunate to be a part of so many communities that are so genuine and kind. #sonomacountystrong Below is a link to an article all about the fires. http://sfist.com/2017/10/09/sonoma_and_napa_wildfires_destroy_c.php#photo-1 The Humboldt County Fair was our last fair of the season and it went spectacularly well. Cat was two times reserve to our herdmate Topanga...we are happy for Topanga but Cat really wanted the win! I on the other hand won my class but my daughter kept beating me out for Champion, yeah I know I should be happy for Penelope's success but sometimes a girl just wants to be the best. The fair was an extra long one and we got a lot of things accomplished; we had our milk testing verification test (our people tell us that we all did really well), participated in shows under two different judges, had pictures taken, partied with our friends when the humans weren't around, and celebrated the fact that we weren't at home in the record breaking heat. Even Lucy and Ethel (the herd matriarchs) made the journey to Ferndale. They said that they enjoyed their vacation from normal day to day life. Some excitement that happened after our local fair was the announcement that Cat earned a Superior Genetics designation which means that she produces a ton of milk all while still maintaining a beautiful body... our people keep calling her the all around dairy goat! I was jealous of Cat's new title but the humans told me that I am perfect so I am choosing to believe them and eat goat treats while I watch the rest of the herd like a soap opera. Until next time! Indy We have had a day to recoup after a very hot and long state fair. We made lots of friends that stopped by to say hi through out the fair and we are missing the many people that made our trip so enjoyable. Especially those that gave us a massage! The our goat friends had a great show, winning a few classes and even a reserve champion junior recorded grade! Our people also won Recorded Grade Breeder and 4th place Marketing Award that highlights their breeding program. Now they have some more pretty ribbons to add to their office!
We spent our first day home lounging about and enjoying the more pleasant weather. The baby goats were busy playing with each other and stretching their legs. They were getting bored at the fair, especially after our people made them stand for their new website photos. Below you can look at all of their glamor shots. It's Indy here and I thought that for our first post I would share a little about myself and my pal Cat. We are both residents of Kracker Ranch and have been members of the herd for our entire lives (4 years for me and 3 years for Cat). I am a LaMancha (the breed with very little ears) type experimental dairy goat, which means that I am a cross of two breeds of dairy goat but I look like a LaMancha, I am secretly half Nubian (the kind with floppy ears). Cat is an Alpine, she has upright ears and is a very tall goat. We became fast friends when Cat was moved into my pen when she turned a year old, we have been partners in crime ever since.
We are both favorites of our people and because of that we get away with a lot of things that our herd mates don't. On any given day if the humans are at the barn you can find us wandering around nibbling on trees, visiting with the other animals, playing with the dogs, or just helping out with the daily barn chores. Our people say that we are allowed to wander the barnyard because we are so well behaved but we know that its because we are the favorites in the herd. They tend to call me a free spirit because I find lots of things on the ranch to occupy my time and they lose track of me and have to go find me. Cat spends most of her time attached at their hip...they can't lose her lol! This week has been busy with fair prep as we are getting ready to attend the California State Fair this coming week and our local county fair the following week. We will be sure to keep you posted about the happenings at the State Fair and if you will be at the fair stop by and say hi! Just look for the Kracker Ranch sign, our humans will direct you to us! |
Indy & CatWe are two fun-loving goats that love our people and help advocate for the dairy goat industry. All the while sharing our escapades with you! Archives
April 2018
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