After the hustle and bustle of the first day of ADGA nationals was over we awoke in our trailer to the sounds of planes flying overhead. The Kentucky Exposition Center is right next to the airport, and there are several UPS and other cargo planes that come in early in the morning. This got our first, full official day started, after getting ready for the day we made breakfast at the campsite and headed out wearing our Gray Goat polos, me to milk and clean the barn and Rob to sit at his booth to sell his Gray Goat spice rubs that can be found at www.graygoatbbq.com. After milking and taking care of everyone, I decided to get right into the action of shopping and supporting the other vendors at the show. I bought a commemorative 2021 ADGA national show T- shirt in my favorite color purple! Then we browsed the other vendors until stumbling upon HRD Design Co. To say I was in love was an absolute understatement. She had everything from very tastefully designed hoof print earrings, to Hoof tac toe, dairy goat Christmas ornaments, coffee mugs and so much more! We walked out of there with my new favorite pair of earrings, and a coffee mug that I use everyday. That mug sits proudly displayed on my home keurig! If you ever have a chance to check her out I highly recommend it!
I also talked with BD genetics, and I am now working to go down the path of purchasing my own semen tank and getting a few of my bucks collected. I see this as an insurance policy, to protect the genetics I have worked for, in case of some incident with my bucks. I also had a chance to talk with a really cool veterinary ultrasound company, along with meeting my very first Guernsey goat! Last but not least we had the pleasure of meeting the folks from Blue Cactus Dairy goats. They were there selling T-Shirts for the Southern Arizona Dairy Goat association. We purchased a shirt from them to support their club. It was spectacular to be able to connect with so many other people that are as enthusiastic about dairy goats as I am.
As the week progressed we continued to man the spice booth and took the opportunity on Tuesday to go to Kentucky Kingdom which is a water park that is right next door to the Expo Center. It was nice to be able to feel like kids again playing and enjoying ourselves in the wave pool, lazy river, adventure river and a tube slide that was like a tornado! When we came back from our day of fun in the sun, I checked on the goats and to my chagrin I found my Jr. kid with hives all over her body. We all immediately jumped into action, Rob ran to the store to get Benadryl, I took her out of her stall and took her to the wash racks to wash her skin thoroughly with soap and water and then we stripped her and her mother's stall of all of the bedding. I believe that it was the straw that caused her hives, because once I removed that and only bedded her with wood chips, she began to improve. I was also so thankful for my friend Melissa, who gave me a small coat to fit on her. With her hives and the AC in the barn she was cold and without the straw, I wanted to provide her with an extra layer of warmth and protection.
The next day was show day for the Jr does at 4 PM. I prepared myself to be until 2-3 AM, because of my experience at 2018 Nationals. As the show time approached it became clear that I would not be able to show my Jr Kid, she was not feeling well, and her body was covered in hives. When I went up to scratch her I found out that there were many goats that developed hives and even one that died. I learned a hard lesson that I will use moving forward. I will not order anything for bedding other than wood chips, because when I arrived home two of my other goats that I had left on straw the whole week developed hives, thankfully none as severe as my poor little Jr. doe kid.
I prepared our two remaining Jr's, an intermediate kid and my Sr. Dry yearling for the show and my nerves kicked in. I was already a little disappointed as scratching my jr kid meant that I had to also scratch my Jr. get of sire class, but I was looking forward to getting into the arena. As I stepped foot into the arena with Maggie my Intermediate kid, she proved that she was going to test my will power. The kid that I had worked with to teach to walk and set up had flown out the window, and I was left with a kid that would walk, but one that almost refused to set up. I spent the entire class fighting with her to get her to cooperate, at one point I even looked down at her and whispered ..... I promise that I am more stubborn than you are, I said every time you move, I will move you back to where you belong!!
All of this trouble was well worth it, as she was called out in the top 20 line up and ended up placing 18th in a large class of 65 goats. My Sr. Dry yearling Godiva was a different story, she was well behaved and cooperative, and truly a joy to show. There were 78 does in the Sr. Dry yearling class and although the judges came back to feed her dairy skin and bones twice because of her beautiful general appearance, she was dismissed and did not make the cut. I was surprised, because she usually has very loose pliable skin, but I found out once we got home, she was developing hives as well, and I am almost positive that is why her skin was so tight and not very dairy.
Overall, We had a great experience and I was exceptionally happy! My goal for the whole show was to make it in the top 20 cut at least once, and I did that in my first class! Come back next week as we wrap up the final piece of the 2021 ADGA national show with Sr. show day and our trip home. Take care and Happy Goating!