NEWS NEWS NEWS!!!
We have finished 3 champions here at Silveraurora with our very limited number of show opportunities. A number of others have 1 or 2 legs towards their championships too! We are thankful for the goats that we have purchsed, grateful to their breeders for doing such a fine job, and look forward to our own kids finishing in the show ring soon too.
MCH CH Twin Creek's WB Sebastian Bach*S finished his ADGA championship for his dual championship status at the Alaska State Fair ADGA show. Not only that, but he remains UNDEFEATED in the show ring, taking his third Best Buck In Show! He has an LA score of 90 - Excellent!
We now also have another AGS champion Senior doe - ARMCH Sandy Hills Hollow KF Sayil 2*M 3*D finished her AGS championship at the Alaska State Fair ADGA show August 2006 She also took Best Udder in Breed, her 2nd BU award, and has an LA score of 90 - Excellent.
Our Junior Doe, Desert Nanny's Tequila Sunrise, was awarded Grand Champion Junior Doe out of 15 entries at the Alaska State Fair ADGA show. She is out of a full sister to our Sebastian.
Silveraurora JT Tsunami took Grand Champion Senior Doe at the Alaska State Fair AGS show in 2007. Silveraurora JC Vanilla took Grand and Reserve Grand Champion Senior doe at the 2 day ADGA July shows in 2007. Another of our junior does, Ellie, took Grand Champion Junior Doe and Reserve Grand Champion Junior doe at the shows this year. Another Sr. Doe, Whynot, took a Grand Champion Senior doe in 2007 and Villa Nova Also took a Grand Champion win! We had a great show year and our kids have done well under judges Marie Layman, Lynn Fleming, and Steve Richter.
Onward, Silveraurora SB Xtinker went to her first shows at the Alaska State Fair in 2008 and was awarded Grand Champion Junior Doe for the Nigerian Dwarves under Judge Rusty Repp. In the 2nd ring, Silveraurora TH Xbean, Vanilla's daughter by our boy Thunder, not only took the Grand, but then went on to win Best Junior Doe in Show under Judge Daniel Considine! Congratulations to Heather Fair, her new owner.
Silveraurora is proud to announce the following awards we received for our 2005 Top Ten One Day Test milk production!!
QSF DTI Patience*D*M AR(both registries)
#2 High Score
#2 High Milk - 6.6 pounds!!
ARMCH Twin Creek's PM Scarlet*D*M AR(both registries)
#6 High Score
#7 High Milk
#8 High Butterfat
QSF DTI Faith*D*M AR (both registries)
#9 High Score
#10 High Milk
#11 (4 way tie) High Protein
Gay-Mor Mick's Poison Locket*D*M AR (both registries)
#7 High Butterfat
Herzinger's Bella Luna *D (AR pending both registries)
#4 High Butterfat
We also went home with the Lowest Somatic Cell Count on 305 day test with a 1.0 Linear Format.
Many more milk awards are posted on the girl's webpage too.
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We just want to say a word about our girls and their milk weights/production records. For more than 2 years now we have gone over to once a day milking. As we fine-tune our farm expansion, I hope to return to twice a day milking and help show how good our milkers really are. As it is, we have a number of girls who will gladly milk the full 10 months with an average of nearly 3 pounds of milk a day with a total lactation of 800 pounds or more. This has given me the opportunity to realize who my really solid milkers are.....those who will keep milking reliably and not drop off down to nothing by 6 or 7 months. For some families, milking only once a day is preferred. As our breeding program improves, we are pleased with the results we are seeing both in the show ring and the milk pail!
Many years ago back in the 70's, (EEEK! Am I really that old now??) I was involved with LaManchas and also milking. I have always loved goats! When we had completed building a very nice barn at our new farm and the stalls and heated dairy room were finished, it was time to fly up our goats. Our herd members have been selected for their fine structure and dairy qualities, as we believe the ND is a true dual-purpose breed not only being beautiful but also excellent milk producers! When a 21" tall goat can put 3 quarts of milk on the table in just one day, you know you have a great milking goat! Compact in size, very colorful, and fun to be with, the ND is an excellent choice for both young and old alike. We have been blessed with some top milk producers! One of our girls, Patience, milked 6.8 pounds on test in ONE DAY! Yes, that's equal to 3 1/2 quarts of milk! She made the Top Ten list for one day tests for 2005 and 2006, tying for first place in 2006, and we are very proud of her!
Our milking records reflect the fact that we milk WITHOUT a dairy ration, WITHOUT alfalfa as their main source of hay, and going to milking only once a day at about 2 to 4 months into lactation. This of course 'hurts' our chances for making Top Ten status for 305 day DHI testing, but then again milking once a day is a joy! It cuts production volume by 1/3 to 1/2 of what it would be, but there are only 2 of us drinking and using the milk for making fabulous cheeses, so we find that milking 10-15 does once a day allows us to do other things like hoof trimmings, cleaning stalls, and running a farm. So, you won't find us in the Top Ten for 305 day milk production, but you will find our girls giving some outstanding amounts for their first 4 months.
All of our goats are registered with the American Goat Society as well as the American Dairy Goat Association, and all of our milking does are on milk test. We milk by hand and have an intimate relationship with each and every one of them. The Nigerian Dwarf has been accepted into the American Dairy Goat Society so we also compete in the show ring with the 'big goats'. Since we freshen all year 'round, we also have kids running around here to entertain us too. We update our pages often and we hope that you enjoy visiting with us and our herd often too!
Silveraurora Nigerian Dwarf Goats are lovingly owned by Suzanne Nevada and Rick Williams, situated in Wasilla, Alaska on 120 acres about an hour and a half from Anchorage in the Matanuska Valley, an area known for it's beautiful farms, soaring mountains, and abundant wildlife. We practice organic growing methods and have clean tested water from a deep well. Be sure to click on our Farm Link below to see our progress.
The SILVERAURORA name reflects the Aurora Borealis that we often see here in Alaska in the winter times - not always colorful like photos you may have seen, it usually starts out as a silvery shimmer in the sky and intensifies from there, thus the name Silveraurora. We started our breeding program for AKC Australian Cattle Dogs back in 1997 and since have raised, shown, and won many championships in the show ring as well as many herding titles in the herding arena. Our puppies have been placed all over the US, Canada, and Europe, but we usually only have one litter per year. I am also a herding instructor and we own a herding facility here - but we never! herd with our goats. :-) We operate a 120 acre farm and it's my preferred occupation to take care of all the animals full time. If you decide to phone us, don't be surprised if I'm no where near the phone! Just leave a message and we'll call you back when we're back in the house again. Even with our cold winters, it's more fun to be outside than in!
Above is one of our lovely does, ARMCH Twin Creek's PM Scarlet*D *M AR both registries.
Our feeding program base is free-choice locally grown Brome/Timothy hay that is tested for protein content between 9% - 14%. We feed the hay that we grow, and our hay is organically raised. Herbicides and pesticides have not been used on the hayfields that we own or those we purchase from if we haven't produced enough ourselves. We supplement our hay with free choice Purina goat minerals and we feed Purina goat ration, whole local barley, and vitamin/mineral supplements and a custom mix concentrate. We no longer give CD&T shots, nor any other shots on a routine basis. We will certainly use modern durgs to save a life, but we don't do it to for any other reason. We are VERY much into a total nutritional program that naturally boosts their immune systems, including raising their Vitamin D, A, and E intake in the darker winter months along with brighter lighting. We also have boosted their copper and selenium intake in our custom mix and work closely with paid nutritionalists to analize our feed samples and help us develop a balanced feeding program for them. A few years ago we suffered greatly from copper and selenium deficiences, common here in Alaska, but feel confident we now have that problem solved. We have had many sets of quads and even quints, a testiment to quality care. Our water quality is excellent, being from a very clean and tested aquifer. We also have very few parasites here in this area which is a blessing so really limit any parastie control to only that which is needed based on fecal and/or blood tests. We love our vet and he helps keep our goats in top health too. Our babies are bottle fed and dam raised both and we have had very cooperative milkers that are dam raised - actually, our most 'obnoxious' girls have been those that we bottle raised - LOL! I think perhaps that we spoiled them a bit too much? We take milk testing seriously and only wish to produce and provide quality doelings and bucklings that will contribute strong mammary genetics for your herd. Remember, it costs just as much to feed a goat that can produce only a few cups of milk a day versus one that can produce a half gallon a day, so choose kids that will accomplish what your needs are.