Black Mesa Ranch
Snowflake, Arizona, USA
Artisan Cheese
Nubian Goats
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Cheese and Candy Information and Online Ordering Page
Featured pages on this site
Updated!
6/07: We have revamped our Ranch Workshop Packages!
In addition to our one and three-day cheese making and goat management workshops learn about our free open- house days and lodging accommodations.
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Award Winning Artisan Goat Cheeses
2 Awards 2008 ADGA National Competition
4 Awards 2005 ADGA National Competition
3 Awards 2004 ADGA National Competition
(available seasonally)
2 Awards 2005 ADGA National Competition
2 Awards 2004 ADGA National Competition
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Click here to read the online version of Kathryn's booklet
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This site last updated:
December 05, 2008
© 2000-2008 Black Mesa Ranch Inc. All Rights Reserved
Arizona Grown!
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Black Mesa Ranch Goats for Sale How we raise our goats |
BMR Goats are G6S tested and 100% CAE Free
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Jump to 2008-2009 Breeding schedule |
Jump to Main Goat Page |
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Jump to Dairy Goat Lineage Page |
Jump to Goats For Sale Page |
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Jump to Goats at a Glance |
Jump to What about Wethers? |
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Jump to Goat Shopping Guide - how to decide which goat you want |
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Our Goals
One of our goals here at Black Mesa Ranch is to place quality, healthy and productive goats with people who will care for them and enjoy them. To meet these goals we use two means: thoughtful breeding and exceptional care in upbringing.
Breeding
To start with, each and every one of our goats are 100% pure bred. Our dairy bucks and does are Nubians and either are registered with the American Dairy Goat Association or can be registered (wethers are not generally registered). Our Herd Lineages are of very high quality and our on-site breeding practices impeccable.
Health
Further, we practice closed herd policies and do not permit off-property goats access to our animals for breeding or other purposes. Despite having purchased our seed stock from CAE negative herds, and having no indications of disease presence, we elected to employ CAE preventative practices for our first 3 years here while also testing the herd for the disease (all of which have come back from the laboratory 100% clear). We are quite confident we have reasonable eliminated the chance of this disease in our herd and will continue annual herd testing. Monthly, we test each milking doe for mastitis, all animals are periodically wormed and kept up to date on all necessary vaccinations. We keep detailed medical records for all our animals.
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In brief: BMR herd tests CAE free for 2006 2/24/06 Once again our herd has tested 100% CAE FREE! We test every goat every year just prior to kidding (we pulled and submitted blood samples from 39 goats this year). With the test results in, we can feed our kids delicious raw milk with all it’s benefits, instead of having to pasteurize it to prevent CAE. CAE is an incurable, debilitating disease that is passed on most frequently dam-to-kid through milk and colostrum. Keeping our goats free of this disease is one of our top priorities, not only because the disease decreases production but because of the suffering it can cause the goats afflicted with it. |
Socialization
We also work to ensure that our goats are sociable and affectionate, as well as healthy. We are there when they are born and they imprint on humans making them friendly and responsive. We bottle raise all of our Nubian kids on pure goat milk and handle them often - how could we resist! Generally, we allow the kids and moms to bond together for companionship and safety. This can be a real challenge to get the kids to understand that WE feed them - NOT mom. But the extra work is worth it. This way the kids don't get stressed as much as other systems were they would be removed from the adults and moved from pen to pen as they grow. They also don't suffer the stress of being taken away for weaning that other kid-rearing methods require. Our kids, does, and wethers all live together from Day One.
All our kids are disbudded so they will not grow horns. They are given a series of vaccinations, and are wormed when necessary. These little guys get great care and huge daily doses of attention.
Summary
If you are planning on getting goats, no matter where you get them, please be sure that they are healthy. Many people’s joy of getting a free or cheap goat has turned to disappointment and grief when their new baby comes down with Pink Eye, Scours, Pneumonia, or some incurable disease that they have never heard of. Start out smart – start with healthy animals!
How We Raise Our Goats (In Pictures)
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Goats of all ages...
Kids
Kids are juvenile goats, up to one-year old, of any sex. Both the females (doelings) and the males (either bucklings or wethers) are about the sweetest creatures on Earth.
Does
Doe goats are the females. They are capable of producing rich, high-quality milk for drinking, cheese making, feeding orphaned animals, etc. They also make great friendly pets.
Bucks
Bucks are intact male goats. We generally castrate our males fairly young, so if you are interested in one of these guys let us know early in the year and we can work with you. These refreshingly uninhibited boys would make ideal herd sires but we don’t recommend them as pets. A buck can, however, be castrated into a wether at any time, eventually losing his “bucky” charms and becoming a fine companion.
Wethers (click here for more about wethers)
A wether (not to be confused with weather or whether!) is a castrated male goat. They make excellent pets, pack animals and animal companions. They have none of the strong odors that intact males (bucks) in rut are often associated with. Ours are sweet, lovable, gentle and friendly.
