I grew up with animals. I had horses, sheep, pigs, chickens, and rabbits. I always hoped my kids would have a chance to experience farm life as well, but life had different ideas.
My husband, David, and I met in 2017. Between us we have six kids and two granddaughters. We decided to sell my house and find something that was a better fit for both of us. We came across what we thought was the perfect house on a nice piece of land and we put in an offer. Sadly, the seller accepted an earlier offer and we settled on another house with less land. Amazingly “our” house fell out of escrow and we were able to get out of our second choice and here we are!
In April 2018, the first residents of Slidewater Ranch were baby chicks. The following week, we came across an opportunity to adopt two elderly alpacas and Dallas and Ringo joined the farmly. I began my search for Nigerian Dwarf kids. We found a breeder who had four pregnant does. We decided to put a deposit down on two wethers thinking we just wanted pet goats. Of the seven kids born, only two were boys, and they went to the person ahead of us in line. We went to meet the kids and decided to buy two twin doelings. We named them Chica and Brandy. While visiting the kids, this little black doeling totally stole our hearts but she was supposed to go to another home. Amazingly that also fell through and we jumped at the chance to buy her. We named her Piper. So in June we brought three baby goats home. The alpacas loved the baby goats and were very protective of them. It was very sweet to watch. In August 2019 we added a llama named Clementine to the group. I am learning how to process the alpaca/llama fiber and spin it into yarn. One day soon I will crochet a Dallas/Ringo/Clementine blanket that I will treasure for the rest of my life.
I began to think about becoming more self sufficient, and I decided I wanted to breed one of the goats. I wanted to make cheese and yogurt and maybe even try making soap. (I'd like to add that the fresh goat's milk is amazing, and I am making cheese and yogurt as often as I can!)
I started researching and learning all I could and we decided to start with Piper. On March 20, 2020, after my youngest son and I spent the night in the barn with her, Piper gave birth to the most adorable little doelings named Cleo and Chloe. Piper is an awesome mother and a good milker. We were undecided about whether we were keeping the kids or not, but the whole Covid-19 mess kind of made the decision for us and it was the best decision. And speaking of things "falling through," the family who bought the two wethers we originally hoped to buy needed to re-home them, and in August 2020 Bo and Luke joined the farmly.
My original three does (Chica, Brandy, and Piper) came from a good breeder and have awesome genetics, but this breeder wasn't interested in performance programs (shows, linear appraisal and milk testing) so they don't have any achievements in their pedigrees. I am jumping in and have shown Cleo and Chloe (who stunned me by being selected dry yearling grand champion). I intend to milk test in Spring 2022. All of our girls are registered and the entire herd is tested regularly for CAE, CL, and Johne's. These little goats are full of character and make wonderful pets. The girls will have the potential of being show goats and dairy goats as well, if that's what you are looking for. These animals are my therapy and I am so grateful to have all of them in my life.
Lastly, I'd like to thank a few people who helped us in our journey. Elaine for trusting us to take care of Dallas, Ringo, and Clementine in their golden years; Carol and Jimmy for selling us our original goats, showing us how to take care of them, thinking of us when Bo and Luke needed a new home, and the tables and A frames lol; and especially Jennifer Davis of Hidden Hills Nigerians for being a wonderful mentor and helping me learn so much about the amazing world of goats!
Terri Susuras
