Our 2011 kidding season got off to a great start on March 10th with a set of twin does!  As our does kid, photos & availability will be posted.

SPARKLING ACRES BROOKLYN SUN
Kori-Brook Sweet Sensation x *B Dynamic California Cruiser
Doe.  Dark bay with correct black markings
DOB: March 10, 2011
Status: Sold

SPARKLING ACRES AMBER SUNSHINE
Kori-Brook Sweet Sensation x *B Dynamic California Cruiser
Doe.  Medium bay with correct black markings
DOB: March 10, 2011
Status: Sold

SPARKLING ACRES CALIFORNIA JAC
Sparkling-Acres Julianna Jade x *B Dynamic California Cruiser
Buck.  Medium bay with correct black markings
DOB: March 12, 2011
Status: Sold

SPARKLING ACRES EVENING JEWEL
Sparkling-Acres Julianna Jade x *B Dynamic California Cruiser
Doe.  Medium bay with correct black markings
DOB: March 12, 2011
Status: Sold

SPARKLING ACRES RIDIN’ SHOTGUN (Gunner)
SGCH Sparkling-Acres Winter Rose x *B Dynamic California Cruiser
Buck.  Dark bay with correct black markings.
DOB: March 13, 2011
Status: Will be headed up to Welbian Farms, NY, as a new Jr. Herdsire
will be back here to work next year!!

SPARKLING ACRES JUSTA’ SPARKLE (Sparkle)
SGCH Sparkling-Acres Winter Rose x *B Dynamic California Cruiser
Doe.  black.
DOB: March 13, 2011
Status: Will be retained in the herd

SPARKLING ACRES DJ’S PARTY GIRL
Sparkling-Acres Dancin’ In Dixie x *B Dynamic California Cruiser
Doe.  Dark bay with correct black markings.
DOB: March 19, 2011
Status: Sold

SPARKLING ACRES CALL ME MACK
Sparkling-Acres Call Me Rilee x *B Dynamic California Cruiser
Buck.  Black with sandy legs & brown trim.
DOB: March 27, 2011
Status: Available…as a pet wether…$75

SPARKLING ACRES FOR PETE’S SAKE
GCH Sparkling-Acres April Wishes*M x *B Sparkling Acres Highland Rebel
Buck.  Bay with correct black markings.
DOB: March 28, 2011
Status: Available…$500

SPARKLING ACRES WISH UPON A STAR
GCH Sparkling-Acres April Wishes*M x *B Sparkling Acres Highland Rebel
Doe.  Black.
DOB: March 28, 2011
Status: Will be retained in the herd

SPARKLING ACRES 2 O’CLOCK TUG
Sparkling-Acres Foxxi Treasure x *B Dynamic California Cruiser
Wether.  Bay with correct black markings.
DOB: March 31 , 2011
Status: Available…$75

SPARKLING ACRES COWBOY DREAMS
CH Sparkling Acres Elegent Dream  x *B Sparkling Acres Highland Rebel
Buck.  Bay with correct black markings.
DOB: April 3, 2011
Status: Available…$350

SPARKLING ACRES DREAM A LITTLE (Ali)
CH Sparkling-Acres Elegent Dream x *B Sparkling Acres Highland Rebel
Doe.  Bay with correct black markings.
DOB: April 3, 2011
Status: Will be retained in the herd

SPARKLING ACRES AS LUCK HAS IT
CH Sparkling-Acres Samantha Jade x *B Sparkling Acres Highland Rebel
Doe.  Black.
DOB: April 6, 2011
Status: Available…$550

SPARKLING ACRES CLASSY JADE
CH Sparkling-Acres Samantha Jade x *B Sparkling Acres Highland Rebel
Doe.  Bay with correct black markings.
DOB: April 6, 2011
Status: Sold

SPARKLING ACRES CALIFORNIA LIMERICK
SGCH Little Orchard BR Lily*M x *B Dynamic California Cruiser
Buck.  Black with brown trim.
DOB: April 11, 2011
Status: Available as a pet wether…$75

SPARKLING ACRES CALIFORNIA LILY
SGCH Little Orchard BR Lily*M x *B Dynamic California Cruiser
Doe.  Cream with tan points.
DOB: April 11, 2011
Status: Available…$400

SPARKLING ACRES CALIFORNIA ROMEO
Welbian Farms Summer Love x *B Dynamic California Cruiser
Wether. Tan with brown and white markings.
DOB: April 12, 2011
Status: Available…$75

SPARKLING ACRES REBELS THUNDER
Sparkling Acres Faith’s Promise x CH Sparkling Acres Highland Rebel
Buck. Bay with correct black markings.
DOB: April 17, 2011
Status: Available…$75

SPARKLING ACRES REBEL’S STORM
Sparkling Acres Faith’s Promise x CH Sparkling Acres Highland Rebel
Buck. Bay with correct black markings.
DOB: April 17, 2011
Status: Available…$75

Two years ago, we appraised in the middle of a hurricane.  Last year, we appraised with the bucks in rut and the does haunched over and cold on a blustery fall-like day.   This year, we are looking forward to an exciting and rewarding appraisal!  The bucks and does look good and the kids are maturing nicely.  Our 2010 appraisal date is Tuesday, May 18th…a bit early to have anyone clipped, so we’ll stay cautious, and just trim them.

Caution paid off, and despite the nasty, rainy, cold day, appraisal went well!  ALL of our mature does went up in score…including Lucy, who appraised EX92!  Both of our bucks appraised EX90.  Two Rebel kids appraised Ec, and all our other kids were V.  We were disappointed with our Acclaim daughters yearling scores…according to the appraiser, they just hadn’t been in milk long enough to appraise the way we had hoped they would.  We thought we may have taken a few steps back on confirmation, but looking at the does after another few months of growth and maturity, we really like what we see!  There is no doubt that with Acclaim, we took multiple steps forward with udder improvements!  We’ll evaluate the does again after their 2nd freshening.

Tuesday, March 28, 2011

Is there a limit to the number of black does you can add to your herd in one year?

We were already blessed with a black doe kid from Rosie this spring.  Last night, April blessed us with a second!  And, of course, we had planned on keeping an April daughter…so “Wish Upon A Star” is here to stay.  We had waited for April to kid all week…funny how a doe can look and feel like she is ready to kid, but hold off for a full week.  April must have gone from ‘zero’ to ‘done’ pretty quick…we saw no sign of labor at 9:00, but found the kids, who had been just born, at 11.  Star’s twin brother has been named “For Pete’s Sake”.   Pete, sired by Rebel, is available for sale.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Since when does Oberhasli x Oberhasli/LaMancha cross = Nubian??!

At 6:30, on my umpteeth barn check, I found yearling Rilee VERY uncomfortable with 2 little feet and a nose that were apparently ”stuck”.  “Mack” (as in mack truck) was delivered a few minutes later, after some pretty hefty pulls.  He’s a very handsome, and CORRECT!! boy…black with tan trim.  Imagine our surprise when we got him cleaned up…his ears are thicker and wider than any of our other kids….and he is 1/4 LaMancha!!  Maybe next year Rilee can give us such a cute, correct doe!!  Mack is for sale, as a pet. 

Saturday, March 20, 2011

Happy Birthday Tim!

How many kids get a newborn goat kid for their birthday?!  With a house full of 30 guests, DJ, one of our yearlings, gave Tim quite a little gift last night.  At least she waited until after the cake!  Kellie and cousin Chris went out to do a quick barn check at 9:15 and there was DJ, 2 little hooves, and a twitching nose.  With a few good pulls and cheers from lots of anxious and excited onlookers, we were blessed with a big, single doe kid.  It didn’t take us long to name her…DJ’s Party Girl!!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Rosie!!

Well, it took long enough!  Rosie appeared to be in labor at 1 pm.  At 5:30, her water broke.  Although she has been doing fairly well, I was afraid that if she laid down to kid, she may not be able to get up and clean off the kids, so I sat in the barn with her until after 9.  Cold and tired, we searched for, found, and delivered a beautiful little buck.  Shortly after, we delivered…backwards…quite a surprise.  A small little BLACK doe kid!!  Rosie came through her deliveries well, and we were thrilled with a son that we will keep as our Junior Herdsire and a daughter that Tim lovingly named ‘Sparkle’…a nice tribute to the little doe’s wonderful granddam that we lost 7 years ago.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Jac & Jewel…

And our weekend started off with a bang!  Apparently Julianna had enough of carrying around all that weight…and surprised us with her little bundles of joy a few days early.  She delivered Jac and Jewel, two big, healthy kids at about 3:00 this morning.  We got a good look at old Twist yesterday afternoon…GEEZ!!  I know she’s old and stretched…but she’s HUGE!  There’s got to be at least triplets in there, if not more!  Rosie’s still hanging in there…I hope she’s not too far off…

Thursday, March 10, 2011

We’ve Got Kids!!

What a start to our kidding season! Twin does from Sunny!!  We’ve all been anxiously awaiting our first kids, so it was a pleasure to have Kristie help with the deliveries at 6:05 & 6:20 this morning.  It’s funny how twins can look so different.  Ashlee is dark bay with thick black facial stripes while Amber is a little lighter with thinner stripes.  Both are available, as of now.  Rosie’s hanging in there and is doing quite well.  She should be the next to kid…she’s due tomorrow.  Julianna is due Monday….can’t wait!!  I can’t remember ever starting to kid this late in the year!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

We WERE getting close…But NOW, we’re getting closer!!   :)

Well, we STILL don’t have kids!!  Those first few due dates on the calendar came and went…BUT–the calendar says Rosie & Sunny are due 3/11 and Julianna is due 3/13…and those are the 3 does we have been watching for a while now…so we have faith in those dates!  We believe Rosie has a luxated patella, which is a sore stifle joint that is causing her quite a bit of pain.  We think it is from an old injury and was aggravated by all the snow and ice this winter.  So far, she is pretty stable and doing well, considering she is 8.  Old Twist, at age 10, is HUGE…of course we are hoping for triplets!  Most does are due the week of March 19.  Guess we better start thinking of names!!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

We’re getting close…

We’ve been told, many times, to hand breed our does.  And we’ve tried that over the years…but many times our timing was off and the result was unbred does.  So, although we continue to pen breed each fall, each spring we continue to play the guessing game.  And, again this year, guessing we are!  Sammi and Twist are SUPPOSED to be the first does to kid.  Their udders are still small and they don’t look very close.  Julianna and yearling DJ, on the other hand, are looking like they may be the first to kid this year.  As we continue to wait and play the guessing game, there’s one thing we do know for sure:  Most of our does are still 3-4 weeks away from kidding…and they’re looking HUGE!!

Saturday, January 7, 2011

2011…A new year with new hopes!

As the snow continues to fall, we can’t help but wonder what the next few months will bring.  Bucks? Does? Red kids? Black?? Easy, uneventful labors? Problems? As excited as we are, we’re nervous too…I wish we could put that whole copper issue behind us.  WAY behind us!!  We’ve already got some cool names picked out and have quite a few kid reservations. Sammi is our first doe scheduled to kid, and Summer is the last doe due.  This year we’ll freshen 14 does…the most we’ve ever had to freshen. With Tim off to college, kidding season will be a challenge…but we’re anxious to meet our new little future champions…so, kidding season 2011…bring it on!!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Chasin’ Aces

It’s always exciting to hear about the accomplishments other breeders have with their Sparking Acres animals.  Sparkling Acres Chasin’ Aces currently resides in the Kori-Brook Herd of Centre Hall, PA.  Chase may have been the only Oberhasli at the DelMarVa Buck Expo last weekend, but that didn’t stop him from being named Best Buck in Show… in not only one ring, but in BOTH rings! (Judges were P. Kempe & A. McKeever-Clagget) Way to go Chase!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Appraisal Day

We’ve been wanting to start a blog, just haven’t made the time to do so.  We figured that today is as good a day as any to start!  Our appraiser was informative and educational and we learned a lot from her.  No matter how many times you appraise, we find that there’s always something to be learned.  ALL of our mature doe scores went up, as did our bucks, who are now both EX90…and we appraised all our kids…which were V’s and Ec’s.  We were disappointed with our yearling scores, but we see definite improvement in udders, so we’ll let them mature a little, give them a 2nd freshening, and see what next year brings!  Take a look at individual pages for our scores.

GCH Sparkling Acres Rae of Hope was recently awarded her
4*M status!

Congratulations to Hope and the Kori-Brook herd for such a wonderful accomplishment!  It’s always rewarding to breed a beautiful doe, but to have her excel in another herd and have her owners so proud and dedicated to not only her, but to the development of the Oberhasli breed, is an honor!

Listed below are links to the herds of some good friends of ours…
Friends who we consider family, and  wish were our neighbors!

Kapri-Acres Nubians
kapri-acres.com
Lori Varga
Nubian Dairy Goats
Columbus, NJ

Kori-Brook Dairy Goats
koribrook.com
LennieRae Vangorder & Josh Cox
Oberhasli, Nubian, & Alpine Dairy Goats
Centre Hall, PA

PH-Oberjoyed & Dynamic Obers
oberjoyed@oberjoyed.com
Patty Hanson
Oberhasli & Alpine Dairy Goats
Madera, CA

Welbian Farms
welbianfarmdairygoats.com
Glenn and Donna Pearce & Mike Binion
Oberhasli, LaMancha, Toggenburg, Saanen, Alpine, & Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats
Peru, NY

Unfortunately, it took us losing some of our best does to find out that we should be supplementing our herd with copper.  A special thanks to Donna Pearce and Mike Binion (Welbian Farms, NY) for explaining their supplement methods and getting us on track.  Since so many other breeders have since asked about how to supplement with Copper, we thought we’d post what we do and where we get the materials.

Jeffers  Livestock Supply Company
www.jefferslivestock.com
1-800-533-3377
—12.5 gm. Copasure Copper Boluses…item #: MG-C1
—Gel Caps (for mature animals)

Your local pharmacy
Triple zero size gel caps (for kids)

For adult animals: Empty the copper out of the Copasure Boluses.  Using the larger end of the clear gel caps, fill it with copper.  Close with the smaller gel cap end.  Administer with a balling gun.  Give one bolus to bucks and does before breeding and again after kidding.

For kids: Open the small gel caps.  Fill the larger end with copper and close.  Administer with a balling gun.  Give one bolus at 2 months of age.  Give another before breeding.

We were thrilled with the results we’ve had with supplementing copper.  Although it is not recommended for all herds, it has certainly worked for us!