We have a brand new TradeMe account with the name “cdgba.” We will be selling donated items for fundraising. The proceeds from the auctions will help us help those with goats in their lives, or those considering having goats, whether it be a pet or a productive animal. So next time you go to TradeMe, remember us and search for “cdgba” to find our listings. If you’d like to help us by donating unwanted sellable items, please contact us and we will arrange the collection of the items.
Sophia (12) and Jasmine (13) with the presenter Charlie
Our junior members Jasmine and Sophia got to appear in What Now (TV 2) on the 28th of February. Here are a few words from them on what they got up to:
Going to “What Now” was an interesting and unique experience. The funny thing is, when Julianna (somebody from the set of WN) called our house on Thursday evening, I and a friend of mine, Clementine, were just talking about the show. I wasn’t really nervous until the last second when my mother and I pulled through the gates (that led to the set) and parked. The other person who was going to be on the show with me was Sophia Smith, a very good friend of mine.
Unlike me, Sophia seemed to be not nervous. Ha. Go me. In front of the building there were a bunch of people, mostly kids from the ages eight to twelve. The set of “What Now” was crowded with people who were wearing red T-shirts with the word “CREW” on the back of them. There were flashing lights everywhere, even when they cut to commercial breaks. The crew members and the main hosts to the show were friendly.
But I have to point out one flaw that the main female host did, before Sophia and I went on camera, the host made a joke about how goats were usually called “kids” so it was kids milking kids. This is not right, only baby goats are called kids, adult goats are called bucks, does or wethers. Doe is for an adult female. Buck is for an adult male. Wethers are castrated bucks. And baby goats are called kids. It would be literally impossible for somebody to milk a kid, as they are not mature enough to mate and produce an udder.
Biscuit (4) and Samara (10)
The goats we had on the show were Samara who’s ten years old and Biscuit, a four year old. Over all it was very neat to be there on the set, with all the flashing lights and yelling of all the kids (human). I’m surprised that Samara, who was getting really jumpy, didn’t make a break for it out the door when all the children started chanting, “MILK, MILK MILK!”
30-second hand-milking competition!
It was a once in a life time experience, I’ll never do it again.
By Jasmine Gauland (13)
Jasmine (left) won Soda Stream at the Show
Jasmine Gauland and I were invited to appear on the kids’ programme “What Now” at 8:00 am on Sunday morning. I didn’t know what it was going to be like until we arrived at the studio. There were heaps of children there. Mrs. Gauland brought two of her goats, a Saanen and a Toggenburg. We were told that there was no time for a rehearsal. We stayed outside waiting for our turn for nearly an hour. The goats were a bit nervous. Then at last we took the goats into the studio. A guy came and asked us some questions, then we had a 30-second competition (milking the goats to see who could get the most).
The milk was then poured into jugs. Jasmine won. After that we tasted some feta cheese. Then we went out of the studio with the goats. It was all fun.
By Sophia Smith (12)
LIfestyle Block Magazine February Issue, 2010
The Lifestyle Block magazine (formerly known as Growing Today) ran a feature article on dairy goats in its February 2010 issue. The editor contacted Andrea, our secretary, and the resulting article incorporated interviews of the Smith family from Darfield and Andrea from Oxford. It was entitled “The House Goat Guide – Get Your Goat.” So, if you have a copy of the magazine, you can find the article from Pages 8 to 13. The editor Nadene told us later that the article was very popular with readers. Our life member and veteran goatkeeper Irene, whose contact details were published in the article, received several phone calls asking questions on goats from readers. You can have a look at the article here.
Post-milking udder inspection - the udder is judged before and after milking.
On Saturday the 6th of February (Waitangi Day), we had our annual South Island All Breed Show at the Canterbury Showgrounds where we also had the annual Club Show at the end of November 2009. Unlike the miserable cold and wet day we had for the Club Show a couple of months earlier, the day turned out to be a really hot day, although the morning was somewhat cooler.
The attendance on the day was excellent, and we had entries from outside of Canterbury, too. Generally, all breeds of dairy goats are judged together in a particular class (e.g. Herd Register Kidded Doe in milk, under 5 years; Associate Register Doe Kid under 6 months, etc.), but in the All Breed Show, the 5 recongnised dairy breeds are judged separately for each class.
There were entries for 4 breeds, namely the Saanen, Anglo-Nubian, Toggenburg and British Alpine. There was also a junior handler’s class where the children under 15 were judged for their knowledge and skills in handling goats. The youngsters who competed all loved the little prizes they received for participating.
Young stock are judged, too.
We were extremely privileged to have Mr. Gordon Webster, an expert judge all the way from Scotland, who was on holiday in New Zealand. He came to us after a couple of weekends judging dairy goats in the North Island. We hope he enjoyed the show as much as we did.
After a relaxed shared lunch, we had a raffle in which just about everybody present entered. Plenty of prizes were donated, and everybody who entered came away with something worthwhile.
So, for most of us in Canterbury, the show season is kind of over for now, until October. But for some keen breeders and spectators who are willing to travel, there is still the Mayfield A & P Show to be held on 13 March 2010, as well as the Mackenzie County A & P Show in Fairlie to be held on 5 April 2010 (Easter Monday).
Youngsters showing Toggenburg does.
By now, the breeding season for dairy goats would have already started in the North Island, and will be starting down here in Canterbury in March onwards.
