des Ruhigestelle/Tempo
Fern and Laurie
Acton
Last updated Feb 10, 2008
Download herd list (1.6 mb pdf)
Hello and welcome to our website. We have been breeding dairy goats for 45 years, but are still new at the computer. Truthfully, I’d rather be in the barn cleaning stalls and trimming feet, but have finally acknowledged the need to move into the 21st century. It has been a slow road for me to get this done. So, this isn’t a website so much as just a list of our breeding herd. All of the info is official, and verified w/ the ADGA links (that’s what took so long). To view this list, click on the ‘download herd list’ at top. Perhaps next year will see us with an improved version, but as kidding season is nearly upon us, my time will be spent in the barn. If you have any questions, I can now be contacted by email lauren (at) ruhigestelle (dot) com, although it may take me awhile to check for emails. Please remember this site is about our goats and not a place to ask veterinary questions. I will be happy to answer vet questions at my clinic at 503-982-2421 (Tues/Wed/Thurs), but prefer to speak with your vet. Remember, I do mostly surgery and anesthesia, so other questions are pretty much out of my league. The fastest way to contact me is still by phone at 503-829-2927.
However backwards we are in
technology, we do breed for a modern type of doe, one that is long boned and dairy, and is a true total performer. 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. Some
of our more well known does have traveled over 5,000 miles every year of their
lives, and continue to produce over 3,000 lbs of milk. This year, we went to
Production
is equally important to us. We are
always working toward our herd average goal of 3500 lbs milk with 100 lbs
protein. This seemed like a lot ten
years ago, but we have been at or near it frequently in the last few
years. We are as proud of Top Ten does
as our champions, and congratulate Elessea and Vonetta on their 2006 records. Several years ago we came up with our own
formula to rank each mature does total
performance. This has been a valuable
tool for us, enabling us to identify where we were lacking in our goals for
each breed. It also helps us to place a
value on type vs. performance for each doe.
No doe is perfect, but we like to think that each individual brings a
strong component to our total picture.
None of this could be possible without the use of ADGA’s performance
programs, and we would encourage all breeders to use the programs- they
certainly can open your eyes to the true value of any goat.
Lastly,
but most important, we 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 beer, 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, especially during the “snow”
season. To keep a balance between work
and play, and to keep burnout limited to kidding season, we do dry off many of
our does early, and only milk a select group through the winter. We attempt to keep January as free of goat
activities as possible, choosing instead to spend this time with each
other. While this makes it tough to
reach our herd average goal, we value the freedom and freshness the time away
gives us.
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. The coffee is always on, in fact I think I’ll take a cup out to the barn right now…
TERMS AND HEALTH CONDITIONS-
We do not knowingly sell animals with health or reproductive problems. We follow CAE prevention with annual testing and pasteurization, and are abscess free. The prices listed include an interstate health certificate, but do not include shipping or kennel, etc. Prices are negotiable, and may change depending on the quality of the dam when she freshens, but preordered kids with a deposit will not increase. A $100 deposit will hold a kid, and is refundable if an acceptable kid is not born. We do reserve breeder’s right to first choice of all kids. Kids must be picked up/delivered by 4 weeks of age unless other prior arrangements are made. We do charge $12 per week boarding fee for kids held after 4 weeks. This includes being raised on pasteurized milk and vaccines/parasite control as per our treatment schedule. Adult animals must be picked up at the farm unless delivery arrangements are made prior to purchase. Please refer to the last page of the sales list for current breedings and prices.
We do live in the wet
Our kids are raised on pasteurized milk and alfalfa hay. Grain and pasture are introduced at weaning, usually about 12 weeks old. Coccidia is treated by regular, monthly treatments of Albon, and kids are vaccinated with CDT at monthly intervals until 4 months of age. We do experience problems with too rapid growth, especially in the Saanens, so we do not free feed. In our experience, early freshening is detrimental to does bred for high production, so we wait a few extra months to breed yearlings. We will not be responsible for any doe which freshens prior to 16 months old. Just because they can grow fast and freshen young does not mean they should!!!
We strive to breed sound, healthy, productive goats. We work from a simple management plan that allows does to produce well without pushing them. We have our favorites, but nobody gets special treatment or feed. (okay, nobody under twelve years old!) We feed a moderate amount of good quality alfalfa, and the does have free access to pasture. Milkers are given 3 lbs daily of 16% goat dairy ration, does giving over 18 lbs get 4 lbs daily. Dairy cattle minerals and trace mineral salt blocks round out our feeding program. No extra vitamins, kelp, sunflower seeds, or foo foo dust are given to increase production or components. We do employ working dogs, both Border Collies for herding, and Anatolian Shepherds to guard against two and four legged predators.
SEMEN-
We do have semen available from most of our sires, both foundation animals and our more contemporary bucks. Our semen list is usually available on request. Most of our bucks are available through Frozen Assets (Karen Lewis). We do have a $100.00 minimum on semen purchases. I will admit to not liking to hassle with semen, especially at Nationals. Also, paperwork is my least favorite activity, and semen paperwork is last on my list, so please be patient, or try Karen first.
HISTORY-
Our herd stated in 1962 when
Bonzi’s Hazel rewarded us with three living kids. GCH++*B des Ruhigestelle Jury Duty and GCH
des Ruhigestelle Desiderata 2*M were born in 1972, and GCH des Ruhigestelle
Puppis 2*M was born in 1973. Both Puppis
and Desi were outstanding show does, winning consistently in the Northwest for
several years. Puppis was able to attend
the 1978 National Show in
In the meantime,
Laurie saw her first LaMancha doe kid born while at a show in 1976. It was love at first sight. She wasn’t able to find an available doe from a herd without health issues, so initially bred an Alpine to get a fun pair of experimental doe kids. These didn’t last during the ‘college cuts,’ but did inspire her to keep her interest. After finally graduating and ‘settling down’ ( well, maybe not settled, but at least with some of the bills paid…) Laurie purchased Singing Hills Sadie Hawkins at the 1992 Spotlight Sale. Okay, there might have been a little champagne involved, and Sadie really was a group purchase for a good cause, but the little “no ears” goat came home and started both Laurie and niece Mariah (then 4 years old) on a love affair with the mischievous little demons. It also started Laurie’s addiction to national sales, and two years later GCH Aspen Hills Karoline was purchased in partnership with Cindy Silva at the 1994 Colorama Sale. Karoline stayed at Cindy’s, but was the dam to GCH Tempo Katya 4*M. The last foundation doe, GCH Windstar Notta Shy Anne 2*M was purchased from Sylvia Prouty, bringing in the high production we demand in our herd. Sadie’s best known daughter was GCH Tempo Audrey E *M, together with Katya and Notta they captured many awards both locally and nationally. All three does have produced excellent, GCH and Top Ten daughters. In addition, they provided the foundation animals for the Barnowl herd, owned by Laurie’s sister-in-law Ardis Lyons and her daughter Mariah. The LaManchas have provided a unique, close relationship between Laurie and Mariah as they traveled together to nearly every show for 12 years.