New Venture!

A few weeks ago we went and visited a farm not too far from us to look at a ram for our herd of sheep. Almost right away it became clear how serious they were into their sheep, with the bio security precautions they were taking and the different registrations they were talking. They were an older couple and it was so cute how they answered for each other and they both knew names and numbers of their sheep and what they had delivered even years previous!

Now our herd of sheep is just a commercial flock, they are not registered and our lambs are sold for market.

However it really impressed upon me how awsome it would be to be that involved with something together. I have my horses and the sheep are his babies. So Dave and I got to talking about something that we could go into as a venture together and learn and study together.

So it came back to a few years ago, we had checked into Myotonic Goats. They are also referred to as fainting goats. Basically if they get scared or excited the myotonia in their bodies causes them to stiffen and they fall over. This does not hurt them, this is a natural part of who they are.

Also I should mention that it is cruel to purposely make them faint by scaring them...it would be cruel make any animal scared. At the time, there was none to be had in Ontario, and we weren't that serious then to have them shipped from the prairies. We had just bought the farm and there was so many other things to do at that time. Now, however we are committed!

Me, always having a flare for the different or unusual got right into researching the breed, the standard, the different registries and talking to a few different breeders. What really peeked our interest too is that there are only a handful of breeders in Canada. According to one breeder I spoke to, she said there are less that 300 registered in Canada which makes them a rare breed. There are alot in the states but with the border closing a few years back, made bringing breeding stock across the border impossible.

So it is really exciting for us to think of being part of something that will help restore the breed in Canada....plus they are soo cool!

Long story short, we are now on 2 waiting lists for "kids". 2 does and 1 buck each. One list is a breeder in Eastern Ontario and the other is a breeder in Manitoba. The kids are due anywhere from April to June. They will not be weaned for 4 months so it will be into fall before we will get our kids, if we get kids as they already have a lengthy waiting list. That will be ok so we can configure things here to house them and be able to pasture them apart.

We are excited and looking forward to seeing the different colour patterns that they have and what will come our way!

Call us crazy...probably...