More Than Just A Barn....

Here at Barn 2 Fridge we are about more than just a barn for the animals I raise to sell.  It is about sharing our knowledge and helping others start a project. 

 

I would like you to meet Morgan .... and his 2 kids (Bruce & Willy)

Morgan and the kids are part of another opportunity I offer here at the barn.

 

Morgan showed his doe goat last year at fair.  When he didn't want to sell her he asked for my help in starting his own breeding project.  We brought his doe to the barn and bred her with Roger (see my previous post).   Now Morgan has his Nanny goat to show in breeding class and 2 amazing little kids to show in market class this year.  It was so amazing to see the excited look on Morgan's face when he got to see his baby goats for the first time.  I look forward to helping him again this year.

 

 

 

GOAT CLINIC

Knowledge is only beneficial if you share it, And that is what I am doing here in the barn.

I had my first Goat Clinic of the season on April 23rd.   We vaccinated the kids, placed ear tags (for scrapies) and banded the males.   When that was done they learned how to put a halter on their goat and how to start working with them for showing.

 

 

  

  

 

 

These clinics are about a little more than just me sharing my knowledge .... They are about giving children who live in the city an opportunity to learn how to raise an animal and prepare it for showing at the Laramie County Fair.  This year we have 3 members of the Barn 2 Fridge goat clinic / goat showing opportunity.  All 3 children got to come to the barn and select their kid.  Each week they come out to the barn and learn new skills, participate in cares and attend educational clinics.  This year will be the first year for each of these kids (Mik, Anthony & Caden)  to participate in fair.  As this experience progress I will do my best to keep you all updated of everyone's progress.

 

I'm really looking forward to this years fair prep in the barn.

 

~Brad~

Boer vs Texas Genemaster Goats

We have been getting some questions as to the different appearance of our 2 sets of goats.  So, I thought I would take a minute and explain the different breeds I am producing here at Barn2Fridge.

Our first group of babies were produced from Boer parents.  Both the dame and sire are registered Boer.  Below is little Bobby he was our first male born in the first group of kids.  My plan is to keep him for breeding this fall.

Boer

 

Boer goats were developed in South Africa in the early 1900's.  There primary purpose was for meat production.  This has made them a very popular breed for 4H show goats.  The name Boer is a Dutch word meaning farmer.

 

 

 

Texas GeneMaster

 

 

Texas Genemaster are 5/8 Boer and 3/8 Kiko.  This breed has been bred to be superior because they have the bulk of a Boer goat but the hardiness of a Kiko goat.  Studies have shown that Texas Genemaster kids will grow and be heavier at a much more rapid rate than purebred Boer or purebred Kiko goats.  The development of this cross breed was started on a ranch in Texas in 1995.  It has been trademarked by the Onion Creek Ranch.

 

 

 

Last summer after purchasing 2 bred Boer Does I started to do research on market meat goats and came across the Texas Genemaster.  I found a ranch in Colorado that produced these beautiful goats. We went and visited this ranch and learned how they run their breeding operation.  They run 300 breeding nannies with a year round operation.  It was very interesting, they gave us many great tips and tricks for starting a breeding operation.  They are who we purchased Roger from (pictured above).  We bred Roger with  5 Boer Does last fall.  Our newest arrivals Cinnamon and Grace are 

his kids.  We have 3 more does due any day.

I plan to track the growth of all of the babies and will keep you posted on their growth rates.

Thank you for your interest in my project.
Brad~

The Babies Are Coming!

A little update.....


We have several animals due to give birth right now.  We are all very excited and can't wait to see what the next deliveries bring us.

As you know we have already had 2 goats kid - giving us 4 very healthy kids (3boys & 1 girl).

Just as soon as the first of our next round of babies arrives I will keep you posted.


Thank you again for following me.


Brad

Welcome to Barn 2 Fridge

Thank you for checking out my blog site. 


This is a little about me and why I started Barn2Fridge.


My name is Brad and I started my journey with livestock at a very young age of 5 when my sister bought her first pig for a 4H swine project.  I personally started showing animals at the age of 8.  I’m now very active in 4H & FFA and have shown ducks, chickens, turkeys, goats and pigs.  Though all my efforts of showing animals I have built a network of people who contact me annually to buy my home raised animals to feed their family.  This started me think …. Why not make this a business.


With the buy in from my parents at the age of 14 I started Barn 2 Fridge.  In doing so I expanded our basic operation into several breeding projects so I could better meet the needs of my customers.  Over the first year I increased my number of chickens from 12 to 21 for a more stable supply of eggs.  I purchased 9 turkeys for 2015 Thanksgiving season and successfully sold all of them.  I then purchased 4 head of cattle; 1 bull & 3 heifers.  My first calf is due in Spring 2016 and I’m so excited for this.  I purchased 6 nannie goats (2 of them I showed at fair last year) and a Billy goat.  Thus far I have birthed 4 amazing kids and have 4 more nannie goats due between March and April.  Last but not least; I followed my sister in her swine breeding projects and she and I have 2 gilts and 1 boar together.  We are expecting our first liter of piglets in early summer. 


This is all keeping me very busy for sure.  I started this blog to share my experiences of what has worked and what hasn’t worked for my farm and agricultural experience.  I hope you enjoy following my experiences along the way.

Thank you
Brad