Presents
 
A FEW OF THE MANY SEASONS IN A YEAR OF A GOAT OWNER   

 

During the Spring we see the flowers blooming and know that our busiest season, Kidding Season will soon be in full swing; this is a "Bittersweet" time when we can't wait to see what we will soon be in our barns;  but it's also the time that worry goes hand in hand with each kidding. The next season of the year is Show Season; this is when we meet ourselves coming and going having extra chores to do; this is especially hard during the early shows when we may still have does to kid. Along with the aroma of our bucks comes the Breeding Season. Along with Breeding Season comes Fall when the front of the house could only be described as "Goat Heaven"  ... I dream about chocolate and the goats dream about all those leaves in the front yard.  Then before we know it the temperature drops, the snow starts flying and it's snow cone time. During these cold Winter days we keep a watchful eye on each of the does as we start biting our nails waiting yet again to see what kids we will be blessed with and of course watch the does as they freshen to see if our carefully planned breedings produced what we had hoped for.

The bucks have been hard at work; the does continue to spread out with each new day as though they are going to populate the world with their offspring  Our kiddings start mid March and all of the mature does should be through kidding by the first part of April with the first fresheners kidding late May to the first part of June.  If you would like to see who is bred to whom just click the BREEDING link further down on the left side of this page. I hope you can take the time to also peruse the entire website!  Please feel free to e-mail or call with any questions you may have; contact information is on CONTACT link. 

**A little information**  
Tally up the Linear Appraisal Scores of the does in the herd
Including 5 that are first freshening scores. THE AVERAGE SCORE IS
89.4     

PLEASE NOTE: I have added a link to Barlin Chain and Supplies.  It is hard for me to think that Barb has passed away; my mind just doesn't want to grasp it. I have decided to keep our "little business" going.  When you go to the Barlin area of this website you will not only find the products we carry but also helpful (we hope) information and hints. 

I hope you enjoy your tour through the Timber*Cove website!
 

Are you in need of  feeders
for show or home use or
maybe a milk stanchion
(single or multi goat stand)?
Check out
Misty Crystal Ranch
for all of the above and so much more!

INTRODUCTION
 

Welcome to the website for the Timber*Cove "earless wonders", otherwise known as LaManchas.  If you are new to the LaMancha breed of dairy goats; I feel I have to warn you that they are very "clown like" and will take your heart and steal it ... In my opinion, there is no other breed of Dairy Goat like the LaMancha (yes, I'm just a little biased).
 

A little herd history and how I evolved from a "city born and raised person" to being owned by these wonderful creatures called Dairy Goats. Back in the very early 70's we lived in suburbia.  Since we had always been animal oriented we decided to sign my niece and nephew up for 4-H.  When my nephew came home from his first general meeting, he told us he had signed up for two projects and gave me a choice of what he was going to get;  the two projects were Wildlife and Dairy Goats ... my choice was between a Tarantula or a Dairy Goat.  At that time in my life I couldn't handle anything with more than four legs, so the choice was a simple one for me. The University of CA, Irvine had donated 2 acres of land for the 4-H club to use as a farm, so we would make the 14 mile round trip twice a day to care for the goats ... yes, that is "goats" in plural since the herd grew fast.  I was hooked from the very beginning and cannot imagine my life without my goats.  The two-legged kids grew up and went on to other passions in life and the goats took over my life.   I have now been raising dairy goats for over 35 years (closer to 40…yikes, I’m not sure I want to think it has been that long).  Up until 1981 the herd consisted of only Nubians.  In February of 1981 a friend, Sheila Raymond (Gold Country LaManchas) presented me with a three day old little cream package (complete with a bow) who I named Kismet.  I had shown Kismet’s dam to her Championship (and several BOB and BDIS) and Sheila felt I should have at least one LaMancha in the herd. Sure, just one LaMancha; Sheila knew exactly what she was doing.  Well, it didn’t take much time for GCH Gold Country Rose Kismet 3*M to take over my heart, the herd (oh what a herd boss she was), and the show ring.  Kismet finished her Championship as a 2 year old, and through her 8-year show career was many times BOB and BDIS (actually, she was BDIS 1 week before she died of anaphylactic shock),  she was the 2^nd place 3 Year Old  at the ’84 Nationals, the 4^th place 5 yrs and over at the ’87 Nationals, produced 3 GCH daughters (2 in my herd LA 90) who in their own turn produced Champions and many other offspring, sons and daughters that have and are producing champions; and it goes on and on and on. Though Kismet is no longer alive, she still lives on in mine and many other herds as well as in my heart.  You will find Kismet offspring as the progenitors  of many of today’s top herds.
 

I like to make sure anyone who is considering adding a Timber*Cove animal to their breeding program knows that the line is usually slow to mature (don’t expect yearlings that look like 3 year olds).  My lines have lots of longevity; I lost my almost 17 year old, GCH Dew Time (older sister to Dew Say who is the dam of Sir Hershey, Saylor, Clown and Honey Dew) in 2007 after the worst ice storm the state of Missouri had seen in over 20 years (the Missouri residency was for only a few months).  I feel that this longevity is in part due to the fact that I demand that my goats be correct in type and strong in general appearance, all must stand on good feet and legs (that along with temperament are real high on my list of “must haves”).  My stock is medium in size; this is not to say they are short, they have a long bone pattern.  We all have our likes and dislikes, and we all have to look at our goats on a daily basis; we had better like what we see and I enjoy looking at my herd.  After saying that, I would like for those of you contemplating adding Timber*Cove breeding stock to your breeding program to be sure you will be comfortable with a little slower maturing line...I personally feel they are worth the wait. When you visit the doe page you will notice that each appraised animal has a breakdown of traits; hopefully this will give you more of an image of the stock.  I am very proud to say that many  bucks and does from my herd have gone on to prove themselves in other herds ... I can take credit for the choice of breeding these animals, but I certainly would be remiss if I didn't state that my contribution of genetics would/could stop if not for the purchasers of these animals caring and managing them correctly.
 

A few years ago I was able to experience the wonder of embryo transfers, this, thanks to the expertise of Dr. Bill Davis of Santa Rosa, CA.  This is an experience that I wish to repeat; plans to do so a couple of years ago were cancelled, but I hope to do so again within the next few years! 
 

If you have visited this website in the past (pre 2010), you will notice the absence of several of the does and a couple of bucks.  The size of the herd had to be decreased to a manageable number (more still need to go to new homes).  It was heart wrenching to see several of my special girls go; but the fact that they went to homes where they are appreciated helps to soften them moving on.

SHOWS OF 2009:  Well I guess I should put "SHOW" as we only attended one that year and that was the Western Idaho Fair in Boise, ID (our state fair) where there were approximately 640 does shown; not only were the numbers high, but the quality was incredible!  The LaManchas had 64 milkers in their regular classes with an additional 4 Champion Challengers.  I only took 4 kids and 7 milkers and I am VERY proud to say that the milkers really "strutted their stuff"!  In the yearling milker class DQ was 7th, Bow topped the 2 year old class with first udder, Pill was first with first udder in the 3 year old class with Quill being third with second udder and KC was fifth in that class, Tribby was 6th in the 4 year old class and Feather was 5th in the 5 and under 7 year old class.  Bow was Grand; she placed 3rd in the Champion Challenge class (behind two 6 year old, 6 freshening does) with first udder in that class and then won the Best Udder of Breed Class.  Bow, Quill and Pill were first for their sire, +B Here Be Goats C-Note in the Senior Get of Sire class, they were also the first place Best Three Females and part of the young second place Dairy Herd.  Bow and Tribby were the first place Dam and Daughter.  Needless to say these classes were very large.  I am so proud of my girls!!!!!

2010 The year started off with disappointments: Bow tried very hard to die, she dumped her kids and then ended up having to have a complete mastectomy. It also was not a good year for me personally, I have had some health issues which seemed to be "one step forward and at least 3 steps backwards". Even though there are still some serious issues that I will have to contend with; hopefully "things" will continue to go in the forward motion from now on.  I want to thank Trish and her mom, Dodie for all the care and attention they gave my 4-legged family and also give a very large thank you to Bev Clayton who is a true friend and Trish's grandmother for taking such good care of me during all of my surgical ups and downs (Bev also happens to be a nurse, so she could take care of the infection wounds).  Before my first surgery I gave Trish my breeding list; with all of the work at the ranch and her employment she was still able to catch 5 of my does in heat and bred them.  As disappointed I may be for not having more of the does bred (such as Pill who I don't want to become too fat); some things happen for the best as I'm not sure I could have handled more fresh does and more kids than what I  have.

2011 I am still recovering from the surgeries and pre and post health issues, plus the herd and I have made a permanent move to our own home; so 2011 will be a "no show" year.  I am already looking forward to 2012 when I will hopefully be stronger and be able to take a few of the herd members out to shows and I am planning on signing up for Linear Appraisal in 2012.

2012 My health issues continue so I was not able to take the herd out to shows; I did though have them appraised ... the new appraisal scores have been updated within the does information.

TERMS

Kid orders are on a first deposit, first on the list basis.  I ask that you make at least 2 choices for each kid ordered.  I require a $100 deposit for each kid ordered with the balance due by certified funds within 10 days of notification of birth. All payments should be made out to Linda Shuls with notations on the bottom of the check/money order for what the deposit/payment is for.  Deposits are non-refundable on cancelled orders.  If the kid you ordered is not born, you have the choice of letting your deposit sit for the following year (at this year’s prices) or you may request a refund of your deposit.  All shipping related costs (health certificate, any test required by your state or country, transportation and airfare, kennel etc) are the responsibility of the buyer.  I will be shipping out of Boise, ID.  I prefer to ship kids at 4-5 weeks of age; arrangements for pick up or shipping must be made no later than 6 weeks of age.  At this time I am not charging for transportation to the airport or for traveling to obtain health certificates, but if gas prices continue to rise I may be forced to do so.  All stated prices are for preordered kids.
 

The choice of breedings is a very well thought through process (and at times, an agonizing one); there are reasons for each, though sometimes it is hard to choose when there are so many quality herd sires available; each strong in certain areas, all  strong in depth of pedigree. You will notice when going through the herd's pedigrees that I tend to line bred on "dam lines" (for the most part).

All kids are raised on pasteurized milk.  Back in 1981 (I believe that was the year, may have been 1980) I was lucky enough to be one of the herds asked by Dr. Nancy East of UC Davis to be part of a new research program to eradicate CAEV.  Previous to the 1980/81 test group CAEV research it was thought that the only way to produce a CAEV free kid from a positive dam was via C-section and that was not always fool proof. The test group consisted of those of us pasteurizing milk and then those that fed free-choice cold milk with formalin added … Nancy even bought a springing cow and tested her for everything under the sun to get colostrum for us (who knew you could heat treat colostrum in those days?).  Pasteurizing worked; the other method did not.  I have continued to feed pasteurized milk since that time.  I test for CAE on an annual basis (though during my illness of 2010 and the beginning of 2011; I have not done any testing but plan on pulling blood soon).  Actually the only positive animals I have had since starting the program in 1981 were those raised elsewhere such as Karess, who re-entered my herd as a 3 year old after being raised as a kid by someone else (tested positive on her return to the herd) and Korrieanne who was a milk drinker; while at a show, “Korrie” proceeded to get to a bucket of positive milk before anyone could grab her and within 2 years had converted (I considered her positive and treated her as such from that first gulp) .  Both of the above mentioned does lived to be 15 and 16 years old respectively (Korrieanne was put down at 16 years old due to a dog attack ... she was in incredibly good health until the attack. Korrie had put herself between the dogs and the other girls), both were asymptomatic; neither kidded with the herd, they were milked last and their milk or colostrum was never used for feeding kids (even when pasteurized), it was always kept separate.

 

MY THOUGHTS ON FEEDING RAW MILK: I am aware that many dairy goat breeders are now comfortable feeding raw milk to their kids; as one who was in the "pasteurization thing" from the beginning (and still heat treats and pasteurizes) I feel I would be remiss if I didn't point out a few facts and experiences. First the way CAE took over the goat industry so fast is that many breeders (including myself) thought that allowing kids to nurse their dam caused temperament/attitude problems (not being "humanized") and that those of us who bottle feed (lambars in those days were big, bulky and metal) would have kids that were more responsive to people, hence easier to handle.  This to a point is/was true, except for those people who took the time to sit with the kids and allow the dams to show the kids that "their humans" are not to be feared, but loved. We all thought we were so smart by pooling milk and then bottle feeding ... this is exactly how CAE transmitted itself.  One doe with what we all called "big knees" or congested udders and then more does with big knees and/or hard udders. Most of us were not aware that it was a type of virus that caused the joint and udder problems. We all need to take a look at and be aware of the other things that can be passed on to our kids (4-legged) through raw milk:
Johne's (Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis ... MAP): This disease is in a large percentage of our cow dairies; it is shed in the animal's manure and then lives in the soil before there are signs that the cow has the disease. Since clinical signs usually do not show up until the cow is about 5 years old, the dairyman doesn't know (or doesn't want to acknowledge they have it);  a large portion of the cows living in a dairy situation are shipped off by or before 5 years of age.  There has been research that Johne's takes a higher temperature than our normal 162 degree for pasteurization to be killed (studies in USA and England).  I am pasting links to a couple (of many) sites that will give you more information on Johne's disease or simply do a Google for Johne's Disease in cow and Johne's Disease in goats: http://www.johnesdisease.org/  and http://www.johnes.org/handouts/files/CASTPaper16May01.pdf
Mycoplasma is thought by many to be a problem of the past in goats; in some ways it is, but it was put into the past because of feeding pasteurized milk to our kids.  Mycoplasma shows up in many forms, Arthritis,  Respiratory, Mastitis, Conjunctivitis and Septicemia, again, please do a Google search for Mycoplasma in goats. 
Another reason I continue to pasteurize my kid milk is: Many years ago I read an article in Hoard's Dairyman that stated  when a heifer calf ingested milk that contained subclinical mastitis, that the organism  would lay dormant in the immature mammary gland to rear it's ugly head once the heifer freshens.  My girls are clean, but let's face it we never know when mastitis can happen and I personally do not want to pass it on and continue a cycle. 
 
I hope you all do your own research; use your computer and read as many articles as your eyes and mind can handle (it truly is mind boggling, that there is so much information on the net).  The practice of feeding pasteurized milk is my preference, this is not to say it is the only way to raise healthy kids, but I do feel that breeders need to remind themselves "from where we came" and that CAE is not the only reason to pasteurize milk, or that a negative tests for CAE and CL means your herd is 100% clean of everything.  Please DO NOT think I am attacking those who choose to feed raw milk to their kids, I'm NOT, I am only stating the reasons I WILL NOT. We each have to decide how we want to manage our goats; the way we manage them has to work for us, the herd owners ... pasteurization WORKS for me and my herd.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have and again, thank you for showing interest in the Timber*Cove LaManchas.

We now ask that you take a peek at the herd on the following pages.  We hope you will enjoy going through this site and like what you see.

Congratulations to Jo Rooff of Woodbine-Way LaManchas on finishing GCH Timber*Cove CN Kit Cat 4*M LA 5-00 91 EEVE (called KC).  KC was awarded the Best Udder at the 2010 District 8 ALC Specialty (in So. Cal.), sponsored by Lost Valley Dairy Goat Association under Greg Murphy. KC finished her Championship under Erin Griner going Grand & Best Doe in Show.

August 10, 2011: It is with great sorrow that I tell of the passing of Jo Rooff. For those of you who did not know Jo; you missed out on knowing a terrific person. Jo is gone but will not be forgotten by those of us who loved her as family ... she will always have a very special place in my heart.  Jo and I had made an agreement (in jest) that if something happened to me; she would get Pill (Cat-a-Peller) and if happened to Jo KC will come back to me.  As I noted; this "deal" was made in jest; with neither of us ever expecting to collect on our "little deal".  At this time KC is being cared for by Kim Baker and will be returning to my herd as soon as Kim and I can arrange a time (after the snow melts) to meet up and make the switch ... KC will be coming home and Kim will get her newest herd sire, Timber*Cove Que Buenos,
 

Linda Shuls
timbercove@earthlink.net
541 262-8118

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