Today we confirmed our last doe via ultrasound as being bred. We are now less than 2 months away from the start of kidding season with 19 does bred of which 9 are first fresheners (FF). Our complete breeding list can be found here: http://box5217.temp.domains/~delunaac/sales/lamancha-breeding-list/
The December 2020 ADGA Elite Doe list has just been released and so excited to see Jasper, Heckofa and Kadara on the list again. Even more thrilled to see Kadara moving up from the 95th percentile on the last report to 98th percentile this time around. !!!! Now the fun begins attempting to dry them up for winter and breeding season.
September marks our 4th anniversary. To say this has been a strange year would be an understatement. COVID impacted us in so many ways including the cancellation of almost all shows as well as the annual ADGA Linear Appraisal program. Despite setbacks, all in all it was a great year for us. I always use this annual milestone as a look back and reflect on the accomplishments at our farm.
Our young herd have matured from a few bottle babies that jump-started us back in 2016 to a herd size of 40 today. This past year was our largest breeding program to-date, producing 51 kids and surprisingly a not so “buck kid” year as we’ve experienced in years past – 23 doe kids, 28 buck kids born. We finally reached a point where we’re able to retain kids for our future herd and we couldn’t be more excited.
This year we were fortunate to participate in a restricted show schedule that included 3 shows: BDGA in Hamilton, MT, Cache Valley in Logan, UT and Hell’s Canyon in Lewiston, ID. Our juniors were the primary focus for our program this year and they did not disappoint. At the Hamilton show, Hurricane-PM Golden Sai went RCH in the Dry Yearling Class. At the Logan show, Sai stepped it up taking GCH in the Dry Yearling Class and earning her dry leg. At the Lewiston show, Rockin-CB VVJ Lizzie went RCH in the Dry Yearling Class among some of the strongest competition in the PNW. It’s always exciting to obtain such strong results from our yearlings, knowing they are the future of of herd. Our breeding program for this coming year includes 6 yearlings and we’re super excited to see how they develop as milkers.
On the senior side, we continue to be amazed at our younger, senior does. In August we were notified by ADGA that 3 of our senior does achieved Elite status (awarded to the top 5% in every breed). Kadara and Jasper earned Elite status as 2 year olds, and Heckofa earned it as a 3 year old. We now have 4 does in our herd that have reached this significant milestone. Heckofa didn’t stop there, she also was awarded her Superior Genetics (SG) designation which is a pinnace of accomplishment for milking does. We now have 5 does in our herd that have achieved the lifetime SG designation.
Next month (October) kicks off our annual breeding program with 20 does slated for breeding, 6 of those as First Fresheners (FF). It will be another busy, crazy March and April as does begin to kid and kids inhale milk from lambar buckets as quickly as they’re filled. Fortunately we get a few down months in the winter to rest and re-charge before the crazy season starts up again.
We are fortunate and thankful in so many ways for all the great friends and mentors we’ve made along the way. Without their support, we’d never have made it this far. We’ve learned that the goat industry is a very tight knit group, always willing to help, especially in times of need such as what many breeders are currently going through with the west coast fires. We pray for the well being of all and hope 2021 brings us better times. Onward to year #5 !!!
Our breeding list for next year is now final and available for review: http://box5217.temp.domains/~delunaac/sales/lamancha-breeding-list/
Today we received exciting news from ADGA that three of our seniors does have achieved Elite Status:
Lucky*Star’s TD Kadara
Tempo HT Jasper
Sweet Deseret’s SFM Heckofa
So exciting to see Kadara and Jasper making this list as 2 year old first fresheners. Heckofa’s achievement did not stop with the Elite Status recognition. She also was awarded the Superior Genetics (SG) designation. An incredible attainment for an incredible doe.
Just finished our annual TB, Brucellosis and CAE testing and are excited to announce our herd maintains its clean track record. We continue to practice strict bio-security at the farm and shows to maintain our meticulous focus on disease prevention.
Happy to announce that all 21 does (17 standard, 4 mini) are now confirmed bred via ultrasound checking for the 2020 breeding season. Lots of kids showing up between March and May. Some reservation slots still available. The breeding lists can be found under the sales tab on this website.
September marks another anniversary for DeLuna Acres. It’s hard to imagine we started this venture three short years ago with a handful of bottle babies and have now grown to forty. So much has changed in such a short period of time. Lots of really proud wins and, of course setbacks, too. Every year I use this milestone as a look back to reflect on the wins and setbacks. Without further adieu …
Our young herd had another strong year in the show ring, participating in seven shows including our first trip to the ADGA National Show in Redmond, OR. Despite the small number of animals taken to shows this year, we were really proud of the results:
A second highlight for the farm were the solid numbers recorded in this year’s Linear Appraisal Test: 3 scoring 91 EEEE, 2 scoring 89, 4 scoring 88, 3 scoring 87, 1 scoring 86, 2 scoring 85 and 1 scoring 84, with seven of our does recording an E in mammary. So incredibly pleased with the results for such a young herd and excited to see what the future holds.
A third highlight was receiving notification from ADGA that three of our girls, Solarus, Venus and Quartzite were awarded their Superior Genetics (SG) Designation as two year old does. Hoping for many more to come in the years ahead as our does continue to mature.
The highlights weren’t without their share of setbacks. On June 23rd we lost one of our top senior does, Quatorze to twisted gut. Ten days later we lost our most promising doeling out of Pot of Gold to enterotoxemia. Both were a hard and painful reminder how little we really control despite the great care provided to our herd.
My late mother always said that setbacks come in sets of three and this was no exception. In June, Shelli made the personal decision to permanently relocate back to her home state of California to live. I made the commitment to myself, friends, family and customers to continue on with this venture and see it through to the end. There are many days when I question if it’s all worth it and it takes me about one minute to come back to my senses that YES, it really is all worth it. I love these animals like family and I am not about to throw the towel in. So onward to year four and hoping the wins significantly outweigh the setbacks.
And before I close, none of this could have been possible without the dedicated support and guidance of friends, family and most importantly great mentors. I will be forever grateful to each of you.
All The Best,
— Jim
All the hard work is finally paying off. We were notified by ADGA that 3 of our girls earned their Superior Genetics (SG) designation this month recognizing them as being in the top 85% percentile for their breed. So proud of these girls: Solarus, Venus and Quartzite.
Spent the weekend in Great Falls, MT showing at the MT State Fair. Always love coming up here. Beautiful country and super nice people to be around.
Very happy with the results from the three girls that went along: Wandella finally hit her stride as a 4 year old taking 1st in class in both rings, Senior Doe Grand Champion and Best in Breed. Sybella went as my 5+ year old entry and went on to win her class on Saturday. Kadara, a dry yearling entry won her class on Saturday and then went on to win Junior Doe Grand Champion.