Meet our Herd
All goats at Lautercreek Farm are registered with the ADGA (American Dairy Goat Association) and are the descendants of goats who have excelled in show rings and milking competitions.
Our primary reason for raising goats is for their sweet, delicious milk and because we’re enamored with their adorable personalities. Their forest-clearing abilities are an added bonus; we appreciate their hard work with helping clear additional pasture acreage.
Honeywood Hills Schwanli
Barn name: “Schwanli”
ADGA Nigerian Dwarf Doe
Coloring: Gold with abundant white, blue eyes
DOB: 4/4/22
Sire: MGF1191 Heart of Gold (Shepherd FF Legolas x Rolling Meadows J Cocoa)
Dam: Bees Barn Anne Shirley (Silver Maple Leo’s Outlaw x Mountain Mischief Millie)
Bees Barn Mairi Jane
Barn name: “Baby Jane”
ADGA Nigerian Dwarf Doe
Coloring: Broken Buckskin
*POLLED
DOB: 1/11/21
Sire: Silver Maple Leo’s Outlaw (Little Tots Estate Leonidas x Kyeema Ridge Uptown Girl)
Dam: Mountain Mischief Mairi (Terra Bella Pal Patagonia x Bannerfield Farm Mirielle)
Bees Barn Ruby Gillis
Barn name: “Ruby”
ADGA Nigerian Dwarf Doe
Coloring: Broken chamoisee, moonspots
DOB: 11/27/20
Sire: Silver Maple Leo’s Outlaw (Little Tots Estate Leonidas x Kyeema Ridge Uptown Girl)
Dam: Mountain Mischief Millie (Terra Bella Pal Patagonia x Bannerfield Farm Mirielle)
Skybirds SBJ Mayflower
Barn name: “May”
ADGA American Alpine Doe
Coloring: Cou Clair
DOB: 5/2/20
Sire: Skybirds Beau Jamie (SG Goodwoods James x CH Stoneybrook Star)
Dam: Skybids SBJ Mayflower (GCH Iron-Rod Supersonic x CH Woodtrail Graziers Marigold)
Mayflower is our favorite milk doe. She scored an ‘E’ in mammary at a Linear Appraisal a few years ago, (she netted 87 points overall), and it’s not hard to imagine why – her udder is beautiful, and milking her is a breeze. Her pedigree is full of goats who have excelled in the show ring, including Iron-Rod Rev Sutra (ADGA National Champion).
Skybirds Blackstar Nova
Barn name: “Nova”
ADGA American Alpine Doe
Coloring: Broken Cou Clair
DOB: 4/12/23
Sire: Chairein S Blackstar (Chairein YK Sexsation x Chairein Nimi Ballerina)
Dam: Skybids SBJ Mayflower (Skybirds Beau Jamie x Skybirds Supersonic Magnolia)
Daughter of an ADGA Spotlight Buck whose mother AND grandmother were in the ADGA Top 10 Milkers for multiple successive years, Nova is already promising to be an excellent milking doe, possibly even better than her Mama, Mayflower. Her pedigree boasts of ADGA National Show victories and milk records.
MGF1191 Heart of Gold
Barn name: “Winston”
ADGA Nigerian Dwarf Buck
Coloring: Gold with minimal white; blue eyes
DOB: 2/1/20
Sire: Shepherd FF Legolas (Nigerian Meadows STP Ahanu x Prairie Smoke CG Pennyroayltea)
Dam: Rolling Meadows J Cocoa (Little Tots Estate Jimi x AGS Kush-Hara Karma)
about our herd
Our goal is to raise our goats as holistically as possible. Our small herd free-ranges over 5 woodland acres, picking and choosing from a ‘buffet’ of delicious Kentucky flora. During the winter we provide free-choice hay in addition to their usual ACV-fortified water, high-quality minerals, and sweet feed.
We do not deworm on a schedule, but only when necessary – see why below.
While not holistic in the strictest sense, we also vaccinate our herd yearly with the CD/T vaccine. See more details below.
Our milk does are fed free-choice grain and a palm-full of black oil sunflower seeds on the milk stand to encourage milk production. Their kids have access to minerals, hay, and ACV-foritifed water, and they additionally receive limitless amounts of grain to support quick growth.
interested in baby goats for sale?
One of the most wonderful side benefits of raising goats for milk is having kids bouncing around every spring! We specialize in Nigerian Dwarf, Alpine, and Mini Alpine (Alpine x Nigerian Dwarf), all of which are ADGA-registered stock. If you’re interested in seeing what we have available, visit our goats for sale page here.
About our Alpines
Our Alpines are our milking superstars and play a central role on our homestead. I can always depend on them to produce around a gallon of milk per goat (while once-a-day milking, kid sharing, and eating off of pasture!), allowing us to have enough milk to drink plus enough excess to make cheese, yogurt, and baked goodies to my heart’s content. Our Alpines’ pedigrees boast of ADGA show victories (including some National ones!) and milk stars.
Our primary goal with selective genetics and breeding of our Alpine stock is milk production, followed by conformation.
About our Nigerian Dwarfs
We primarily raise Nigerian Dwarf goats for their cream. While they don’t produce as much as our Alpines, it’s hard to beat the taste of fresh Nigerian Dwarf milk! The ADGA also allows for a lot more ‘flash’ in Nigerian Dwarfs than in any other breed (such as moonspots, white spotting, blue eyes, etc). This appeals to me not only because I appreciate the aesthetics of pretty goats, but I also find studying the genetics that contribute to different characteristics fascinating. As such, our goals with selective genetics and breeding of our Nigerian Dwarf stock is to combine flash with milking capabilities and show conformation.
Q + A
Why don't you deworm on a schedule?
We’ve put a lot of research into dewormers, and we’re very careful about how we use them. Similar to antibiotics, frequent deworming will cause internal parasites to build up a resistance that can eventual render the medication inert. The internal parasites will become accustomed to the dewormer and become a quasi ‘super-parasite’ that is impervious to normal doses (similar to Wesley and the ‘locaine powder’ in the Princess Bride).
We use dewormers as a remedy when it’s necessary (according to the microscope) rather than a precaution. We’ve invested in the necessary supplies to analyze for parasites and can treat accordingly.
What vaccines do you give your goats and why?
We give CD/T on a yearly basis, typically 2 months prior to kidding. This vaccine protects against overeating disease and tetanus.
Overeating disease, or enterotoxemia, is caused by an overabundance of bacteria (clostridium perfringens). All goats have this bacteria in small quantities, but under specific conditions, the bacteria can rapidly multiply and produce large quantities of toxins. An excessive quantity of grain, parasites, or even stress can cause the bacteria to bloom. The ‘CD’ in the CD/T vaccine lets goats develop an immunity to the bacteria.
Tetanus is another bacteria that lives everywhere – in soil, in manure, even on the goat’s skin. If the bacteria is confined to an oxygen-deprived area — such as a puncture wound— the tetanus bacteria will reproduce rapidly and release potent, lethal toxins.
Although our goats are on pastures that have never been touched by livestock before, it has been previously traversed by hunters, and we worry about our goats getting hurt on something buried in the leaves or eating too much of something they shouldn’t. The CD/T vaccine is a simple and inexpensive way to prevent a common but fatal issue.