History of Falling Star Pygmies
In 1997, I enrolled in an agriculture class in high school and it was required that we have a project. At the time I couldn't bear the thought of raising and bonding to an animal only to sell it for meat, so I took an alternate route. My family and I went through many options for my FFA (Future Farmers of America) project. We thought about everything from planting a garden to raising fish. Finally a friend of mine told me about a lady in our area who raises pygmy goats. I got in touch with her and that's where it all started.
I started out like most people do, with a single doe and a wether. As the years went on my interest grew and I became an active member of both the Sierra Pacific Pygmy Goat Association and the Willamette Pygmy Goat Club, showing at as many shows as I could. I bought brood does and quality show goats. Soon it was time to expand at home and up went another pen for the boys. I was so excited when my first doe was expecting. It was my very first kidding and I had taken all of the precautions. I watched all of the videos, read all of the books, but nothing prepared me for the night that I was about to have.
My prize showmanship doe went into labor at about 8:00pm. I watched her for about a half an hour and she wasn't progressing. So I called a good friend of mine for support. An hour had passed and there was no baby. We ended up taking her to the vet and having the kids pulled. One live and one dead. My doe died four days later of a torn uterus. She left me with a beautiful doeling, Sonnet, who quickly became my pride and joy.
Sonnet went everywhere with me. She stayed in the house, went to school with me and even slept beside me. She was even easier to house train than a dog! Eventually Sonnet had to make the transition to an "outside" goat. She wasn't happy about the change, but over time she became the herd queen.
That season I still had two more does to kid out. I had a wonderful pygmy goat breeder help me out. My herd grew and I learned the importance of breeding for ease of kidding, correct structure and longevity.
Enjoy the site and If you have an questions or comments, don't hesitate to drop me an e-mail: fspygmies@yahoo.com
I started out like most people do, with a single doe and a wether. As the years went on my interest grew and I became an active member of both the Sierra Pacific Pygmy Goat Association and the Willamette Pygmy Goat Club, showing at as many shows as I could. I bought brood does and quality show goats. Soon it was time to expand at home and up went another pen for the boys. I was so excited when my first doe was expecting. It was my very first kidding and I had taken all of the precautions. I watched all of the videos, read all of the books, but nothing prepared me for the night that I was about to have.
My prize showmanship doe went into labor at about 8:00pm. I watched her for about a half an hour and she wasn't progressing. So I called a good friend of mine for support. An hour had passed and there was no baby. We ended up taking her to the vet and having the kids pulled. One live and one dead. My doe died four days later of a torn uterus. She left me with a beautiful doeling, Sonnet, who quickly became my pride and joy.
Sonnet went everywhere with me. She stayed in the house, went to school with me and even slept beside me. She was even easier to house train than a dog! Eventually Sonnet had to make the transition to an "outside" goat. She wasn't happy about the change, but over time she became the herd queen.
That season I still had two more does to kid out. I had a wonderful pygmy goat breeder help me out. My herd grew and I learned the importance of breeding for ease of kidding, correct structure and longevity.
Enjoy the site and If you have an questions or comments, don't hesitate to drop me an e-mail: fspygmies@yahoo.com