Prancing Pony Farm Maremma Sheepdogs and Mini Dairy Goats
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        • Electra
      • Reference Maremmas and Non-Breeding Dogs
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      • January 2023 Litter Gianna x Pax
      • December 2022 Litter Marisa x Sevro
      • October 2022 Litter Marcella x Sevro
      • May 2022 Litter Polar x Sevro
      • May 2022 Litter Marisa x Simba
      • February 2022 Litter Celeste x Sevro
      • December 2021 Litter Gianna x Simba
      • October 2021 Litter Marcella x Sevro
      • May 2021 Litter Olaf x Genevieve
      • February 2021 Litter Simba x Marcella
      • February 2021 Litter Sevro x Polar
      • December 2020 Litter Sevro x Gianna
      • September 2020 Litter Olaf x Carina
      • August 2020 Litter Simba x Polar
      • January 2020 Litter Olaf x Carina
      • 2019 Litter Olaf x Genevieve
      • 2018 Litter Olaf x Genevieve
      • 2017 Litter Olaf x Genevieve
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      • Reference Mini Nubian Bucks
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      • Reference Nigerian Dwarf Bucks
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      • Grooming Maremma Sheepdogs
      • Feeding our Maremma Sheepdogs
      • Vaccine and Parasite Protocol for Our Maremma Puppies
      • Keeping Your Maremma Sheepdog Cool in Summer
      • Goat Milk for Healthy Dogs and Puppies
      • Whelping & Puppy Rearing Info & Supplies for LGD's
  • Dairy Goat Client Portal
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    • Goat Care Info
      • Bringing Home Your New Goat
      • Health concerns of your new goat
      • Goat Care Articles & Links
      • Favorite Goat products
      • Supplies for Goats
      • Feeding Mini & Dwarf Baby Goats
      • Housing Does & Kids
      • Goat Parasites
      • Annual Disease Testing of Goats
      • Goat Hoof Trimming
      • Milking Dairy Goats
      • Milking Nigerian Dwarfs versus Mini Nubians
      • Our Dairy Goat Milking Parlor
      • Disbudding Mini & Dwarf Goats
      • Mini Nubian Ears
  • Home
    • Contact us
    • Veterinarian's Letter of Recommendation
  • MSCA Registered Maremma Sheepdogs for Sale
    • Available Maremma Puppies, Juveniles & Adults
    • Companion Maremmas
    • Maremma Buyers' Guide
    • Maremma Questionnaire
    • Shipping Maremma Puppies
    • Maremma Sheepdog FAQ's
    • Training Your Prancing Pony Maremma Sheepdog
    • The Prancing Pony Farm Difference - How We Raise and Train Our Maremma Puppies
      • Our Puppy Parlor
      • How Many LGD's do I Need?
    • Our Maremma Sheepdogs
      • Our Breeding Maremmas
        • Simba
        • Sevro
        • Pax
        • Pegaso
        • Gianna
        • Marcella
        • Marisa
        • Celeste
        • Electra
      • Reference Maremmas and Non-Breeding Dogs
    • Maremma Litters - Past & Present
      • January 2023 Litter Gianna x Pax
      • December 2022 Litter Marisa x Sevro
      • October 2022 Litter Marcella x Sevro
      • May 2022 Litter Polar x Sevro
      • May 2022 Litter Marisa x Simba
      • February 2022 Litter Celeste x Sevro
      • December 2021 Litter Gianna x Simba
      • October 2021 Litter Marcella x Sevro
      • May 2021 Litter Olaf x Genevieve
      • February 2021 Litter Simba x Marcella
      • February 2021 Litter Sevro x Polar
      • December 2020 Litter Sevro x Gianna
      • September 2020 Litter Olaf x Carina
      • August 2020 Litter Simba x Polar
      • January 2020 Litter Olaf x Carina
      • 2019 Litter Olaf x Genevieve
      • 2018 Litter Olaf x Genevieve
      • 2017 Litter Olaf x Genevieve
    • Maremma Sheepdog Info & Care
  • Mini Nubian & Nigerian Dwarf Goats for Sale
    • Baby Goats For Sale
    • Adult Goats for Sale
    • Goat Store
    • Breeding Plan Goats
    • 2023 Mini Nubians
    • 2023 Nigerians
    • Goat Questionnaire
    • Shipping Goats
    • Clicker Training Goats
    • Dairy Goat FAQ's
    • Our Dairy Goat Herd
      • Mini Nubian Does
      • Mini Nubian Bucks
      • Reference Mini Nubian Does
      • Reference Mini Nubian Bucks
      • Standard Nubian Does
      • Nigerian Dwarf Does
      • Nigerian Dwarf Bucks
      • Reference Nigerian Dwarf Does
      • Reference Nigerian Dwarf Bucks
      • Past Kidding Seasons
  • Prancing Pony Farm Blog
    • Dairy Goat Blog
    • Fun Farm videos
    • Our Prancing Ponies
  • Membership Home
    • Free Membership Sign-up
    • Products & Links We Recommend
  • Maremma Client Portal
    • Bringing Home Your Prancing Pony Maremma Sheepdog Puppy
    • Maremma Sheepdog Info
      • Favorite Dog Products
      • Housing Maremmas
      • Grooming Maremma Sheepdogs
      • Feeding our Maremma Sheepdogs
      • Vaccine and Parasite Protocol for Our Maremma Puppies
      • Keeping Your Maremma Sheepdog Cool in Summer
      • Goat Milk for Healthy Dogs and Puppies
      • Whelping & Puppy Rearing Info & Supplies for LGD's
  • Dairy Goat Client Portal
    • Bringing Home Your Prancing Pony Dairy Goats
    • Goat Care Info
      • Bringing Home Your New Goat
      • Health concerns of your new goat
      • Goat Care Articles & Links
      • Favorite Goat products
      • Supplies for Goats
      • Feeding Mini & Dwarf Baby Goats
      • Housing Does & Kids
      • Goat Parasites
      • Annual Disease Testing of Goats
      • Goat Hoof Trimming
      • Milking Dairy Goats
      • Milking Nigerian Dwarfs versus Mini Nubians
      • Our Dairy Goat Milking Parlor
      • Disbudding Mini & Dwarf Goats
      • Mini Nubian Ears
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​The Sad Part of Goat Breeding

8/2/2022

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This event actually happened in March 2020 and I posted it to my FB page and some goat groups, but didn’t think to blog about it, I guess because I was too upset at the time. But I thought I should add it here because this is a part of goat breeding that most people don’t think about or talk about, but I think it’s important to discuss so that we can all learn from these sad events and do better in the future for these animals that are entrusted to our care...

I lost a baby goat today. When you have as many babies born as I do you’re going to lose a few each kidding season and he’s not the first one I’ve lost this year. But he was a really special little guy - a bottle baby, which I rarely have, very sweet and friendly, healthy and strong and beautiful, and the first buckling of my own breeding that I’ve liked enough to want to keep. He was one of my favorite kids of the entire nearly 70 kids born this year. 

He seemed perfectly fine earlier in the day when I gave him his bottle, then I heard him yelling and went to check on him. He was in obvious pain. I’m not sure what was wrong with him but possibly Enterotoxemia. I began treating him for that immediately since that’s all I knew to do. It didn’t help. In less than 15 minutes he was dead and I am just heartbroken. 

When people ask me why my goats are “so expensive” this is why. Because I work so hard to raise healthy, happy, high quality goats. But sadly you can do everything “right” - give them the best hay, organic minerals, proper medical care and love and still you’re going to get your heart ripped out every so often. You’ll save some from difficult illnesses that most people would have given up on and then tragically lose other babies that you didn’t even know were sick. 😢

And why do I continue in this business despite the heartbreak it can bring? Two reasons. Because I love goats more than any other animal besides dogs. They’re unique and special creatures that bring me joy every day and I’ve adored them since I was a kid. And because I love sharing these wonderful creatures with other families like the lovely family that came earlier in the day to buy two wethers from me. I want to breed healthy, beautiful babies that can bring joy and happiness to others, be it does for milking and making cheese or wethers for pets. They’re all special and seeing how excited the families are when they take their new babies home makes me so happy. But some days it’s really hard to be a goat breeder. This day started out so great, but ended so awfully. I hope tomorrow is a better day all around. 😢
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    Author

    Hi I'm Kim. I have been an avid animal lover all my life but goats and dogs are my favorites so I built a business around them, breeding registered Mini Nubian & Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats and MSCA registered Maremma Sheepdogs. I love sharing my passion and knowledge of these amazing creatures with others.

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​We are located in Lemoore, California.
Goat Info
Maremma Info
  • Home
    • Contact us
    • Veterinarian's Letter of Recommendation
  • MSCA Registered Maremma Sheepdogs for Sale
    • Available Maremma Puppies, Juveniles & Adults
    • Companion Maremmas
    • Maremma Buyers' Guide
    • Maremma Questionnaire
    • Shipping Maremma Puppies
    • Maremma Sheepdog FAQ's
    • Training Your Prancing Pony Maremma Sheepdog
    • The Prancing Pony Farm Difference - How We Raise and Train Our Maremma Puppies
      • Our Puppy Parlor
      • How Many LGD's do I Need?
    • Our Maremma Sheepdogs
      • Our Breeding Maremmas
        • Simba
        • Sevro
        • Pax
        • Pegaso
        • Gianna
        • Marcella
        • Marisa
        • Celeste
        • Electra
      • Reference Maremmas and Non-Breeding Dogs
    • Maremma Litters - Past & Present
      • January 2023 Litter Gianna x Pax
      • December 2022 Litter Marisa x Sevro
      • October 2022 Litter Marcella x Sevro
      • May 2022 Litter Polar x Sevro
      • May 2022 Litter Marisa x Simba
      • February 2022 Litter Celeste x Sevro
      • December 2021 Litter Gianna x Simba
      • October 2021 Litter Marcella x Sevro
      • May 2021 Litter Olaf x Genevieve
      • February 2021 Litter Simba x Marcella
      • February 2021 Litter Sevro x Polar
      • December 2020 Litter Sevro x Gianna
      • September 2020 Litter Olaf x Carina
      • August 2020 Litter Simba x Polar
      • January 2020 Litter Olaf x Carina
      • 2019 Litter Olaf x Genevieve
      • 2018 Litter Olaf x Genevieve
      • 2017 Litter Olaf x Genevieve
    • Maremma Sheepdog Info & Care
  • Mini Nubian & Nigerian Dwarf Goats for Sale
    • Baby Goats For Sale
    • Adult Goats for Sale
    • Goat Store
    • Breeding Plan Goats
    • 2023 Mini Nubians
    • 2023 Nigerians
    • Goat Questionnaire
    • Shipping Goats
    • Clicker Training Goats
    • Dairy Goat FAQ's
    • Our Dairy Goat Herd
      • Mini Nubian Does
      • Mini Nubian Bucks
      • Reference Mini Nubian Does
      • Reference Mini Nubian Bucks
      • Standard Nubian Does
      • Nigerian Dwarf Does
      • Nigerian Dwarf Bucks
      • Reference Nigerian Dwarf Does
      • Reference Nigerian Dwarf Bucks
      • Past Kidding Seasons
  • Prancing Pony Farm Blog
    • Dairy Goat Blog
    • Fun Farm videos
    • Our Prancing Ponies
  • Membership Home
    • Free Membership Sign-up
    • Products & Links We Recommend
  • Maremma Client Portal
    • Bringing Home Your Prancing Pony Maremma Sheepdog Puppy
    • Maremma Sheepdog Info
      • Favorite Dog Products
      • Housing Maremmas
      • Grooming Maremma Sheepdogs
      • Feeding our Maremma Sheepdogs
      • Vaccine and Parasite Protocol for Our Maremma Puppies
      • Keeping Your Maremma Sheepdog Cool in Summer
      • Goat Milk for Healthy Dogs and Puppies
      • Whelping & Puppy Rearing Info & Supplies for LGD's
  • Dairy Goat Client Portal
    • Bringing Home Your Prancing Pony Dairy Goats
    • Goat Care Info
      • Bringing Home Your New Goat
      • Health concerns of your new goat
      • Goat Care Articles & Links
      • Favorite Goat products
      • Supplies for Goats
      • Feeding Mini & Dwarf Baby Goats
      • Housing Does & Kids
      • Goat Parasites
      • Annual Disease Testing of Goats
      • Goat Hoof Trimming
      • Milking Dairy Goats
      • Milking Nigerian Dwarfs versus Mini Nubians
      • Our Dairy Goat Milking Parlor
      • Disbudding Mini & Dwarf Goats
      • Mini Nubian Ears