I just realized that I haven’t posted a blog for September or October so I decided that since September was my birthday month, everyone deserves know a little more about me and why I started this whole shebang.
Hello! My name is Renora Utz. I am 19 years old and live in Boone County, Kentucky. I have been raising goats for about 10 years and this started with my very first goat, Kisses. I showed her at the Boone County Fair in 2012 and I loved every second. I decided that raising goats was something I wanted to do forever and here we are!
This year was my last year showing livestock but I’m going to continue to raise goats and sell them to other showmen. My passion for goats is has not died down even though I’m not showing them. In 2017, after one of our goats, Winnie, had babies, she had too much milk and I knew if I didn’t milk her, she could get mastitis. I milked her every night and kept the milk in the freezer. As the freezer continued to get filled with milk, I knew I would have to do something with it all. I always wanted to make the soap but never had the milk.
I told my mom that I was going to try to make some so she made sure I had all the supplies I needed and was ready to do it. My first batch was oatmeal lavender and I have made countless batches of soaps and lotions and have loved every minute.
I got my dairy goat Holli the next Christmas. She was just a couple weeks old which meant I had to bottle feed her. This constant bonding made our relationship one of the best out of all my goats. When Holli died after giving birth, I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue with dairy goats. She had such a large impact on me and I was heart broken that she didn't even make it through her first kidding. I felt guilty, like there was something I could've done to help keep her alive and well, but I decided that I needed to let her go and get a new dairy goat, knowing that she could never be replaced. Now I have my dairy goat, Starburst, who I purchased earlier this year and I milk her everyday. I went from having no milk to having too much! She is a great dairy goat to start with.
BARN UPDATE!!!
Drumroll please....
ALL 7 OF THE GOATS BRED THIS YEAR ARE PREGNANT! (for now.) I say for now because with goats, especially our first time moms, Queen and Cookie, it is much easier to lose their babies their first time around. If this happens, we will just put them back with Trick, the buck, and hope that they take again. We had a bit of a scare with Cookie already but her second test came back positive so let's hope for the best. If all goes well, I will be doing another baby update like last year, but the babies will most likely not have names because we will not be keeping them, especially the boys.
Most of the babies will be born in late January- early February with Starburst's being born mid March. I am really hoping for an easy kidding season, and to make it easier on myself, I am making a Kid Kit. I have the printable checklist here!
Thank you for reading today's blog! If you don't already, like our page on Facebook! We have a giveaway going on right now until Nov. 16th!
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