desRuhigestelle

HELLO AND WELCOME TO OUR WEBSITE- It’s pretty plain, and we are not on Facebook or other social media. Quite frankly, I’d rather spend my time upgrading our genetics and facilities than upgrading our technology. We have been breeding dairy goats for over 50 years, and our goals are fairly simple- breed the soundest, highest production dairy goats, with the most reliable consistency we can produce, all the while keeping them healthy, happy, and well cared for. So, while the goats are ‘modern’ dairy type, this isn’t a 'modern' website so much as just lists of our breeding herds (and some other fun stuff too!). All of the information is official, and verified with ADGA. Instead of buttons and links and pictures of babies, here you'll find lots of real records and as much information as will fit on a page. To view our herd lists, click on the ‘download herd list’ at top. Be sure to also download the price list, terms and conditions.

Contact info-

I am MUCH easier to contact by email than any other method.

myname (at) herdname (dot) com

(change myname to lauren and herdname to ruhigestelle. Automatic e-mail address sniffers are getting more sophisticated these days!)

I try to answer emails within a day or two. Please remember this site is about our goats and not a place to ask veterinary questions. If you must call, please remember that I am NOT a morning person, so please DO NOT call before 9 am. I am frequently not around a phone during ‘normal’ calling hours, and do most of my correspondence at night. Thus, it may take me several days to answer a phone call. I do not have texting capabilities.

2014- This year was supposed to be quiet after the whirlwind of 2013. Thus far, that hasn’t happened! We finished appraisals and the last club show on the weekend of 6/13-15/14. We are excited about our new appraisal scores, including three FS93, Elenya, Living and WinClimber. That makes two FS93 daughters for WinSeeker! Of the 44 does we scored, 29 were Excellent! We also congratulate our new champions, ‘Sonya’, ‘Diva, Funny Bone, FreeHand, Moira, Renegade and Tocai. Elenya looks her best, FS93 with 2xBIS, and we were are proud of her son in the Spotlight Sale. Congratulations and thank-you to LI Scapegoats and Araby Farm for their generous bid! No longer in Tetra’s shadow, Living completed the year undefeated with 4 BIS wins, including the D7 Alpine Specialty at the OR State Fair, and the strongly competitive WA State Fair. On a more somber note, we bid goodbye to some grand old does, Elendili, Winseeker, Llyonesse and Elendaki, while Finally and Janica moved on to retirement homes. All have left us with wonderful offspring, and have made a tremendous impact on our lives and their breeds.

After much consideration, I made the difficult decision to stay home from Nationals this year. Quite simply, after all the trips I made in the last year, it was time to realize that home is my first priority, and I needed to stay here. So, I made the rather strange commitment to not do goat things in July. We have had some wonderful trips hiking and fishing, as well as going to plays, picnics and wine tastings, or simply staying here and enjoying our home. We did have a wonderful trip to and from the convention, driving from Portland to Portland! We took many by-roads on the way out, and enjoyed seeing much of the US that isn’t available from the freeways.

Our Grade A dairy has been doing well also. We have more than doubled our milk production in the last two years, thanks to a great product made by Portland Creamery. We have reached a confortable capacity, and will be offering milkers for sale again. Please inquire, or check them out on the Price, Terms and Conditions list above.

OUR MISSION- I had an interesting discussion with Stephen Considine about Saanen history a few years ago. He made a comment that has stayed with me, as it is true and really sums up my experience in breeding goats. He noted that we have been breeding the same type of dairy goat for 30+ years, the only difference is now that is what the industry wants too. And it's true that we have been breeding for the same type of doe, only now it is called a 'modern' type. We are trying to produce does that are long boned and dairy, and are true total performers. You won’t find mature show goats giving ‘a gallon a day’, or ‘2 gallon’ milkers with poor udders in our pens. Nor will you find obese goats, frail goats, or goats with severe structural faults. What you will find are sound, strong, highly productive does that milk well wherever they are, and rarely get stressed. We take pride in producing genetic foundations for commercial dairies, as we feel they should be the backbone of our industry. Our does are not pampered, rarely do we milk three times a day, and with a veterinarian’s unpredictable work schedule, they frequently must wait 16 hours between milkings. Pasture is an important part of our management, so our goats must be able to walk several hours a day. While we have our favorites, nobody gets special treatment, or special feed. (Okay, nobody under twelve years old!) Some of our more well known does have traveled over 3,000 miles nearly every year of their lives, and continue to produce over 3,000 lbs of milk.

Most important, we simply enjoy our goats. I strongly believe in “coffee management”- that is simply taking the time to just watch the goats do goat things. If everyone took the length of time it takes to drink a cup of coffee (or tea, or wine, or whatever…) doing nothing but watching their goats every day, my work as a veterinarian would diminish greatly!! While we love our goats and their achievements, we do have other interests, and especially enjoy the wonderful outdoor recreation of the Pacific Northwest. Whether it is an afternoon spent hiking to waterfalls, cross country skiing, or simply enjoying an evening fire on our deck, we try to keep the goats and work in perspective and remember to enjoy the time we have together. While having a dairy means that we can no longer dry off in the winter, we do still work to keep December and January as free of goat activities as possible, choosing instead to spend the time with each other. We value the freedom and freshness the time away gives us. Having, and trusting, our wonderful employees gives us the ability to continue to spend some time apart from the goats.

We enjoy visitors, but ask that you call ahead to make sure we home. Please do not wear clothing or shoes that have been in other barns, including your own, and our guardian dogs request that you do not bring other pets. The coffee is always on, in fact I think I’ll take a cup out to the barn right now…

Lauren & John

2013 National show summary- I would like to thank the local and National show committees for providing excellent facilities, and a well run show. It takes many hardworking people to keep things clean and deal with all the problems, and to remember all the details that make a show a great experience. My respect and thanks goes out to all of them. It also takes nearly a village to get a herd of goats to the show and into the ring. So, thanks to Allison and Risa, the world's best employees who stayed home to run the farm, my husband John and brother Dave for helping drive and doing the heavy work of setting up, breaking down and loading all the stuff, Jessica for washing the goats and helping show, Melanie for also helping show, and a very special thank you to Tracey for being the best 'pit boss' and keeping me going when the emotions were a little too much to handle. This was the last time the herd would show under the 'des Ruhigestelle' name, and needless to say, it was a very emotional show for me on Saanen day.

The wins we had were very exciting, but I was most proud that all the does we took looked their best, and all showed the strengths of type and production that we strive for. Aside from the youngest does, nearly every doe had milked over 3,200 lbs, and all scored FS91-94. However, for me, the greatest highlight of the show was the number of wonderful young people that I was fortunate to meet. Whether or not they stay in the goat world as they find their careers, I am proud to be a part of the industry that helped shape them into great young adults. I kept thinking of the ending of the 4-H motto "for my club, my community, my country and my world." Wherever these guys go, they will help to make the world a better place, and the goat industry should be proud of them.

And, below, a summary of our National show placings. Please check out the pictures on our breed lists, with the group class pictures at the end of the does-

LaManchas-

Evianna- 1^st/1^st udder 5-6 yr old, National Champion, Best Udder, High Lifetime Production- both

milk and fat, LaMancha Total Performer

Hannah- 3^rd place aged doe

Saanens-

Llyriel- 1^st place dry yearling

WinRiver- 1^st/1^st udder 2 yr old

Elixer- 2^nd/2^nd udder 2 yr old

WinCatcher- 1^st/1^st udder 4 yr old, National Champion, Best Udder

Elenya- 3^rd place 4 yr old

Elenwe- 1^st/1^st udder 5-6 yr old

Elendara- 3^rd place 5-6 yr old

Elende- 1^st/1^st udder aged doe, Saanen Total Performer

1^st Dairy Herd (River, Catcher, Elenwe, Elende)

1^st Breeder’s Trio (River, Catcher, Elende)

1^st Produce - WinSeeker (Catcher, River)

2^nd Produce- Elende (Elenwe, Elenya)

1^st Dam & Daughter (Elende, Elenya)

Premier Breeder

Premier Exhibitor

Alpines-

Tangle- 2^nd place Sr kid

Cofia- 2^nd place junior yearling

Tocai- 7^th /3^rd udder 2 yr old

RosaMarina- 2^nd/2^nd udder 3 yr old

Absinthe- 3^rd place 3 yr old

Living Free- 1^st/1^st udder 4 yr old, Alpine Total Performer

Rotini- 3^rd place 5-6 yr old, High Individual Lactation- both milk and fat

Tetrazzini- 1^st/1^st udder aged doe, National Champion, Best Udder, High Lifetime Production- both

milk and fat

1^st Dairy Herd (Rosa, Absinthe, Living, Tetra)

1^st Breeder’s Trio (Rosa, Living, Tetra)

1^st Produce - Tokay (Absinthe, Tocai)

1^st Dam & Daughter (Tetrazzini, Rotini)

Premier Breeder

Premier Exhibitor

Premier Sire- Yukon Jack

(Yeah, it was a really good week!)

Saanens** Alpines LaManchas