Emerald C Ranch

What's New Archive

December 29, 2019

We finished out the year with a Grand and Best in Show Buck for Emerald C Ranch IR Mercury at the Louisiana State Fair. I've also added a few animals to the sale barn, so be sure to take a look. And, the Spring kidding is now finalized! The goats didn't cooperate with all of my plans, but I did manage to get 6 confirmed bred with 1 still to be tested in January.

August 29, 2019

The Spring 2019 show season was our best ever with 10 Grand Champion legs won, 6 Reserve Champions and 3 Best in Show wins!

We bred our very best for the spring and look forward to watching them perform in the show ring and on the milk stand.

Linear Appraisal was also a great experience this year! We had an outstanding score of 91 EEEE for Emerald C Ranch Aqua Violet, followed by a 90 for Buffalo Clover Delta Alluvium, an 89 for Emerald C Ranch Earth Star and an 89 for our latest herd sire Emerald C Ranch IR Mercury.

We are now getting ready for a few kiddings that are scheduled this fall as well as a busy breeding schedule, for kids next spring! We plan to be at the Louisiana State Fair again this year as well as the Fort Worth Stock Show in 2020.

December 6, 2018

So, I'm really loving the new Goattz integrations! I've updated our current herd listings and sales lists using Goatzz (so easy!! And no, I'm not getting paid to say that!), as well as updated our kidding schedule for next spring. All does this fall are now finished kidding and you can see them on Facebook. I'll post those for sale as soon as I've had time to evaluate them and decide which ones to retain, but if you see one you really have your heart set on, just let me know and I'll consider it.

Linear Appraisals did not happen this year for us. Texas was scheduled for September, when I wouldn't have many does in milk, and the appraisal we tried to join in Oklahoma last spring got cancelled. But, we signed up again this year for ADGA Plus, so hopefully appraisals will work out in 2019. And, maybe sometime in the future, once our barns are complete, we can offer to be a host site!

2018 was a great year for the ranch. We had our very first home grown doe become a finished champion, with milk star and earn her Superior Genetics title, SGCH Emerald C Ranch Earth Star 1*M. My next task is to try to earn her dam's star so that Star can be a 3*M, fingers are crossed! Also, completely unexpectedly, a doe in milk, Buffalo Clover Pipa, that we showed at the Louisiana State Fair was awarded Best Senior Doe in Show!! Another first for us, we are extremely proud and happy for these accomplishments! See Star and Pipa in our current herd listings!

August 3, 2018

We have several new animals up for sale! I've come to realize that I just have too many, and need to let some of them go to new homes. If you have the time to invest in improving their lines, this is a great opportunity to get some starter animals for very reasonable prices. I've updated our sales page and linked it over to our Goatzz sales listing in order to help keep sale animals up to date.

March 2, 2018

More congratulations are due to our 2017 ADGA DHI 1*M star earners - Emerald C Ranch Earth Star, Emerald C Ranch Aqua Violet and Buffalo Clover Koto!

Kidding Season is upon us and we actually only have one more, of our 8 total, does due. I've kept Facebook up to date with Doe bios and all kids born so far. I've put in the comments which are sold or retained. If their status isn't listed there, they are available. I'll work on updating the sales page, but in the meantime, email or message me if you are interested in any of them.

Show season begins in April, and we are ready! We'll start out at the ETGRA April Showers show in Corsicana, then to the CTDGA Spring Fling in Fort Worth and the WCDGA Decatur Doe Down, followed by the RRDGA show in Gainesville and HNDGA show in Norman, OK (one of my favorites).

Lastly, but in no way least, I had all breeding stock tested for CAE, CL and Johnes (through Delta Livestock Diagnostics in Arkansas) and everyone came back negative! Even though I don't expect to see any positives, it's always nice to see it on paper.

September 11, 2017
Congratulations are due to our very own CH Emerald C Ranch IR Hematite, who earned his permanent champion title this past Spring, having won a total of three sanctioned Grand Champions.

A belated congratulations is also due to a doe, Emerald C Ranch Snowflake Obsidian, who now lives on Revalation Ranch in South Texas. She earned a milking star when I had her on test in 2014, but I didn't realize it until this year! Sorry Snowflake! She would actually be the very first star earned on our ranch.

We are on DHI milk test again this year and Emerald C Ranch FR Lumachelle has also now earned her milk star and we have two more possible candidates. We should know more on those two later this year.

We were late with our 2016 herd testing because I was trying to do all of the blood draws myself, so it actually happened in early 2017. In any case, all breeding stock tested came back negative (CAE for all tested and Johnes/CL for those new to the herd). Due to our new barns being built as well as other things going on in our lives, we will not be able to attend any shows this Fall. We hope to be back in the show circuit for Spring of 2018.

The kidding schedule has been updated for Spring 2018! As always keep your eye on our Facebook page late February/early March for new kid pictures and let me know if your interested in any of them.

We do have a few bucks available for sale now, wethers always available, and possibly a few does in the coming months. Check out the Sale Barn for more information, and as always keep an eye on Facebook for the latest updates.

September 25, 2016
The State Fair of Texas Dairy Goat show is this Sunday! We'll be there with one of our new milk does (see more on that below) and three juniors Friday-Sunday.

Also, the ADGA Convention is in Austin, TX this year!! I can't miss that and am looking forward to an awesome time learning and being around like-minded people.

The past spring show season has taught us that 1) there are some really great Nigerian Dwarf goats out there, the breed has come very far in becoming a dairy animal and 2) we need to work on our udder capacity! So, to help us move in that direction, thanks to Short on Heaven farm, we purchased additional TX Twincreeks animals, Sophie Ann, Sookie and Molly. We also took on Dreahook Gucci Guilty and a new buck from Short on Heaven that we named Rubuck3, a play on his dam's name Tic Tac Doe.

April 20, 2016
We've got our show string lined up and are planning to attend the RRDGA show May 7 in Gainesville, TX, the Heart of Oklahoma show May 14 in Norman, OK, the Heartland NDGA show May 27-29 in Norman, OK, the CTDGA show June 4 in Ft Worth, TX, and finally the Arbuckle Classic on June 18 in Sulphur, OK.

If your looking to participate in any of these shows, its not too late! Check the entry deadlines. For the Heartland show on Memorial Day weekend, there is NO DEADLINE, NO LATE FEES! You could even show up at the barn Friday afternoon and enter at that time. This show is near and dear to my heart, not only because I am the current treasurer/secretary, but also because it is a Nigerian Dwarf only show, includes bucks, wethers and dry does (which is becoming so rare these days), gives special recognition to the youth, provides up to 7 chances to win for youth and 4 chances for open, has NDGA shows as well as dual sanctioned ADGA/AGS shows, and has a friendly atmosphere with a catered dinner and raffle Saturday night.

Thank you to Jan Nelson of Buffalo Clover Farm for allowing us to participate in the 2016 Linear Appraisal. We got outstanding scores of 90 for two of our animals and also received an Excellent across the board for one of our Young Stock, Emerald C Agate Drusy. This tells me that we are on the right track of meeting one of our goals to improve the Nigerian Dwarf breed, creating an ideal homestead milking goat. Here are our final scores...
Bucks:

  • Milkman VEE 88
  • IR Hematite EEV 90
  • Mahogany VV+ 85
  • Heliodor VEV 87
Does:
  • Fairy Dust VEEV 88 (her last score in 2014 was 90, we'll try her again next year for a better permanent score)
  • Fiore Lumachelle (2nd Fresh) EEVV 90
  • Delta Alluvium (2nd Fresh) VEVV 89
  • Pumpkin (2nd Fresh) EEVV 88
  • Fire Agate (1st Fresh) VV++ 85
  • Percha (1st Fresh) +VV+ 83
  • Quartz (1st Fresh) +VV+ 84
  • Tourmaline (1st Fresh) V+VV 87
  • Holly (1st Fresh) +EV+ 85

September 16, 2015
Our 2015 Show season was spectacular with seven Grand Champions! Our own Emerald C Ranch IR Hematite won Best in Show, Ring 3 at the CTDGA Buck Bonanza and another herd sire, Sweet Blossom Woodstock, received a 90 (with 100 being the perfect animal) at our Linear Appraisal.

Fall kidding season is just about to begin. We have five does lined up for kidding and another set ready to be bred for Spring 2016. Check Facebook or Google+ for the latest baby pictures!

March 21, 2015
Spring kidding is underway! Check Facebook or Google+ for the latest baby pictures. Allie gave us one buckling and one doeling. Athena is up next, due literally any minute now. Then in about a month we have Briza and Pumpkin.

We are also gearing up for Linear Appraisal and a busy show season. Look for us at the annual Heartland Nigerian Dwarf Goat Association show in Norman, OK May 23-24! They will have, as always, NDGA and then ADGA/AGS open and youth shows. New this year is a Milk Test and expanded youth show! And, if that's not enough for you, there is usually a great Farmer's Market right next door Saturday mornings from 8-noon.

Get more information and entry forms from HNDGA website (http://hndga.webs.com/) or Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/hndga)

January 18, 2015
Milk Testing for 2014 has wrapped up and we are looking forward to 2015. We have a possible six does lined up for kidding this Spring, a number of shows, and last but not least Sweet Blossom Narcissus has earned her Superior Genetics (SG) recognition from ADGA for her combined Linear Appraisal scores and Milk Test production!

September 25, 2014
Catch us at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas this weekend, September 26 and 27th! We'll be showing in Cattle Barn 1 the afternoon of Saturday 9/27! Then, on October 18th, we'll be in Jacksonville, TX for the annual Lone Star Goat Club show. We are also still going strong on our DHI milk tests, milking our three does twice daily and getting TONS of delicious milk, for drinking and making butter, cheese, yogurt, kefir, as well as for use in soap and lotion.

July 12, 2014
It's been a while since the last update, but we've had alot going on! Follow us on Facebook or Google+ to keep up with the very latest. We had our herd linear appraised this year and also have them on milk test. Allie also earned her Junior leg during the HNDGA show in Norman this past May. We also purchased two stellar animals from TX Twincreeks this Spring - Holly and Fairy Dust! And, we are working our way into Artificial Insemination (AI) with a set of 73 straws out of five quality bucks. I've updated our herd listings with the LA numbers and our new does and also updated the kidding schedule for this Fall.

April 17, 2014
Snowflake had her kids on April 9th, three more doelings! So that is a total of six does (wow!), and no bucks this season. All three does are black and white with blue eyes, very much like their mom. We are retaining one doe from each of the two kiddings and are offering the other four for sale. See our sale page for more information.

April 01, 2014
Nari kidded this past Saturday, March 29th, and while she really made me work for them this time, we got three doelings!! One looks almost identical to Nari, all black with brown eyes and just the tiniest white poll. Then, the other two are twins and look very much like their sire, Woodstock, all caramel with faint light brown chamoisee markings, and absolutely no white or other spotting which is very unusual for my herd. One twin has blue eyes while the other has brown. We just have Snowflake left to kid now, and she looks like she's due anytime with a belly big enough for quints! In May, we'll be lining up a few breedings for Fall babies. Right now I'm thinking Athena and Rosetta with Woodstock, and then try Jasper again possibly with Ronald, or if I can find a high quality buck from another herd.

February 24, 2014
It's been a while since the last update, but a lot has happened! My milk parlor is officially finished (A/C, water and all!) and I'm starting the does on a DHI milk test program this year. We also have kids due out of Narcissus, our herd queen, and Snowflake at the end of March, both by Woodstock our two time Grand Champion buck! I've also been expanding my product line, experimenting with milk lotion as well as adjusting my milk soap recipes. We've got several shows lined up to attend this year as well as the Langston Goat Field Day, that should be fun!

November 19, 2013
Rosetta, Fiore and Athena have had their kids for the season. Unfortunately, we've determined that Jasper is not going to kid... she's just fat! She has no udder and showing no other signs, and would now be past due. We'll see if we can try again with Coupe, or find her another buck. The good news is that all kids are healthy and we finally got a girl out of Rosetta! That would be six boys to one girl. See our Facebook and Google+ pages for photos.

November 11, 2013
We went to the Louisiana State Fair show as well this year. We had been before but just as spectators. It was really alot of fun and nice to catch up with everyone and make new friends. The competition was tough this time, but we did pick up two first places.

Watch out for baby pics in the next few weeks on Facebook and Google+! Rosetta is giant, I'm betting three at least out of Milkman (she's got to have some girls for me this time!!). Then, Fiore has at least one coming out of Buffalo Clover Valentino, Athena has at least one out of Woodstock. Finally, Jasper might have one out of Kae Bar Te CAD Coupe, but her udder hasn't developed yet so she has me worried.

October 25, 2013
Our 2013 breeding herd testing results came back negative for CAE, CL and Johnes!

September 28, 2013
Wow, what an amazing time we had at the State Fair of Texas. Woodstock won Grand Champion both days and Thunder, Briza and Nari both picked up Reserve Grands! There were also a LOT of people at the fair this year, I'm not sure if that is normal or if they were there to see the new Big Tex, but it was so much fun and such great opportunity to talk with people and introduce them to the Nigerian Dwarf Goats and Pygmy Goats, who we shared the barn with.

September 11, 2013
We'll be showing at the State Fair of Texas September 27th and 28th this year! We've got all of our new doelings coming with us, along with Nari, Woody and our littlest buckling, Thunder. Catch all of the Nigerian Dwarf Goats, Pygmy Goats and Miniature Zebu Cattle that weekend showing in and around the livestock area.

June 15, 2013
Welcome Buffalo Clover Delta Alluvium to the herd! We purchased "Allie" from Jan Nelson of Buffalo Clover Farm in Collinsville, TX. She is out of the beautiful PGCH Buffalo Clover Delta Dawnn and PGCH Buffalo Clover Valentino. We are so happy to be able to bring these great genetics into our herd!

April-May, 2013
We attended both the 2013 NDGA Nationals and the HNDGA Dual Show in Norman, OK this year and do have plans for the Texas State Fair for the first time! At the NDGA Nationals one of our herd sires, Sweet Blossom Milkman, won Reserve Grand Senior Buck in the Saturday show and then at the HNDGA NDGA Show our other herd sire, Sweet Blossom Woodstock, won Reserve Grand Senior Buck and Milkman got Reserve Grand Senior Buck again at the HNDGA AGS/ADGA Show! We had a great time at both shows, are pleased with our bucks and look forward to next year.

April 25, 2013
The Spring kids have arrived! Narcissus gave us one doeling and one buckling, both of which we'll be keeping and watching closely as they grow. Rosetta gave us two more bucklings (darn it!), but I will be evaluating them in the coming months to determine if they will be kept intact, they do have potential. And, Snowflake had quints, three doelings and two bucklings!! Unfortunately we lost one of the doelings in the first week due to what we believe was an underveloped digestive system.

February 22, 2013
Congratulations to Mike of Arkansas on his new ownership of Anikka and Aksel! It was difficult parting with them, but I know they will be happy there. We are now also looking forward to expanding our goat operation as well as exploring other interests.

January 27, 2013
The 2013 kidding and show season is right around the corner! We'll be showing off our best in two shows this Spring, the Heartland show in Norman, OK May 18-19 and the NDGA Nationals in Kaufman, TX April 20-21. Snowflake, Rosetta and Narcissus are also pregnant, progressing nicely, and due in early April. Let's hope for some does!

October 27, 2012
We got four bucklings out of our first kidding from Rosetta and Snowflake. I am currently milking Rosetta and Snowflake and plan to re-breed them both, along with my top milker Nari, in November for Spring babies.

September 1, 2012
They are almost here... We have kids due out of Rosetta (x Woodstock) and Snowflake (x Milkman) in just days now!
Our 2012 CAE, CL and Johnes test results are also in, all negative!

May 19-20, 2012
We attended the two day NDGA and AGS/ADGA Heartland Nigerian Dwarf Goat show and Emerald C Fiore Lumachelle (Sweet Blossom Milkman X Sweet Blossom Narcissus) won first place in her class, 3-6 month Junior Does, both days. To be placed first by two different judges is really exciting and confirms her potential. We'll definitely be keeping an eye on her as she develops and will likely be showing her again next year!

April 30, 2012
Congratulations and thank you to the new owner of Cajun Queen, Maybelline and Mica (our 2012 buck out of Nari and Milkman)! They now live in Seminole, TX. It sounds like they are happy in their new home.

April 10, 2012
Praline has finished out our Spring 2012 kidding season with a single buckling, almost solid black with blue eyes! We are offering him for sale along with several other kids and juniors. I've posted our 2011 CAE, Johnes and CL testing results and am currently planning our 2012 tests. We also just finished clipping the majority of our goats and so I'll be updating photos as I can.

January 8, 2012
The kids have arrived! Narcissus and Maybelline have kidded and now we are just waiting on Praline to finish the 2012 kidding season.
From left to right above we have Nari's two kids, a buckling and a doeling that we've named Fiore. Then, there are Maybel's two kids, one doeling we've named Jasper and a buckling. Really spectacular color on those two doelings! We plan to evaluate the bucklings and wether as needed, but are offering them for sale. We have reserved Fiore, being the daughter of Nari. We have high hopes of her being an excellent milker like her mother.
We are also offering Maybelline and one of our Junior Does for sale. Check our sales page for more information!

September 14, 2011
We are gearing up for our 2012 kids from Praline (bred to Milkman), Maybelline (bred to Woodstock) and Narcissus (bred to Milkman). All are due in early to mid January. I'm expecting some good quality kids out of Nari. She is still producing about 3 pints a day and would continue if I were not drying her off.

May 17, 2011
Thank you to Sweet Blossom Farm for parting with Narcissus, our new herd queen, and our two new bucks Woodstock and Milkman! Nari is by far the most dairy of our goats, currently producing almost 3 pints of milk a day.

March 2, 2011 - Kids for Sale!!
This year's kidding produced two little doelings, one out of Rosie and one out of Praline. I'm calling Rosie's baby, Rosetta, a broken chamoisee with white markings and Praline's baby, Snowflake, black with white belt and markings... and blue eyes! Rosetta is the more independent of the two and has already, in less than one week, made it to the top log in their play area. Snowflake sticks right by her mom and was six days early, but we are spending alot of time with her to make sure she is friendly with people. Praline has quite a nice udder and seems receptive to milking. I'm looking forward to milking her once the Snowflake is weaned. I'll be holding on to Snowflake but will be offering Rosetta for sale when she is ready.

August 15, 2010
Thank you to Barred-M-Ranch for our most recent addition. A smart grey dun Fjord filly with nice zebra markings on her legs and distinctive markings above her eyes. We have done some basic training with her, but her biggest contribution at the moment is companionship for Aksel.

May 18, 2010
What a day! we had our first kidding on the ranch, which produced one very healthy Nigerian Dwarf buckling. We've decided to name him Fire Topaz - Fire after his Sire, Firecracker and Topaz to fit with our ranch's gemstone naming theme. His Dam, Maybelline is doing well and is making a very good mother. Watch him in action on YouTube

February 22, 2010
Aksel was gelded today and he seems to be recovering nicely. It also seems our practice trips paid off because he loaded and unloaded from the trailer beautifully, even after the procedure.

December 19, 2009
We are proud to announce that Flat Rocks Fire Cracker has joined our Nigerian Dwarf goat herd as our herd sire! Sunoco, a handsome and friendly wether, also joined us to be a pen-mate for Firecracker. Many thanks to Agape Oaks for parting with him. I know he will do great things toward improving our herd.

October 19, 2009
We took Aksel for his first trip in the horse trailer, in preparation for his trip to be gelded in February 2010. He loaded and unloaded like a champ and calmly ate his hay the entire trip. There was one small trip up on the way out of the trailer, which was caused by some hesitation on our part, not his. All in all, I was very proud of his performance.

October 15, 2009
The website is finished! Rough as it may be, we are pleased that we now officially have a presence on the web.

September 26, 2009
We attended the NDGA sanctioned show, sponsored by the Lone Star Goat Club at the Texas State Fair where we learned more about showing and judging Nigerian Dwarf goats as well as scouted out several potential farms and ranches to find our herdsire.