OUR GOATS
Goats Milk Soap Arizona
Lil' Toad Ranch Nubian Goats
Lil' Toad Ranch is on the very edge of the Phoenix metropolis suburb of Surprise, AZ. 'Ranch' is a nice term. It makes a nice herdname for our Nubian dairy goats. But really we're far from what you'd typically picture as a ranch. On our 1.25 acre horse property lot lives a small herd of Nubian dairy goats.
Our goats are amazing! They provide our family with milk, cheese, yogurt and soap! And they bring us lots of laughter and pleasure with their hang-low-wobble-to-and-fro ears and charasmatic personalities.
Nubian goats are dairy goats known for their long ears, roman noses and creamy, sweet milk. We currently have 12 goats in our herd. All our goats are registered with the American Dairy Goat Association. All our does on dairy herd improvement milk test program and we recently participated in a linear appraisal of our herd. Our goats are raised on non-GMO alfalfa hay, alfalfa pellets and our own homemade grain mix that includes barley, sunflower seeds, linseed meal, alfalfa pellets and molasses. We LOVE our goats and spend time with them daily enjoying their personalities and beauty.
Darla, Daylight, Daisy and Esmeralda are the milk producing does that make our amazing soap. They produce more than 2 gallons of milk a day for us whiche means lots of luscious soap. Below is a little bio on our milk {soap} makers!
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Esmeralda
Di-Ranch Farms Esmeralda is a sweetheart! And the foundation of our soap making herd. She came to us from a local breeder in 2014. She has an amazing lineage and we expect lots of milk from her. Her dam is from Wingwood Farm and her sire from M's Sagebrush Acres. Esmeralda was bred to Pella's Triple C Electrum and kidded two beauties for us on April 13th. Her doeling- Mulan- will be the beginning of our purebred Nubian line. Her buckling was recently sold to a wonderful family. You can find Esmeralda's genetics here at the ADGA website.
Luna
Lil' Toad Ranch Daylight's Luna is the grand-daughter of our very first doe- Darla. She is 75% American Nubian and will be the producer of our first 100% American Nubian goats this spring (Lord willing). Luna was born 3-30-15 to Lil' Toad Ranch Daylight. She is one of identical twin does born to Daylight that day. Her sister Lil' Toad Ranch Daylight's Star was sold to a 4-H member in the Tuscon area earlier this year.
Luna is a gentle soul and looks very much like her grand-dam Darla. She carries the beautiful breed character of a well-sculted head, very long, pendulous ears, and Roman nose. Luna was also bred to Victory Joy Zoe's Hershey Bolt this month. We are looking forward to great soap-making milk from Luna in the years to come!
The Kids
Currently we have no kids at Lil' Toad Ranch. But its kidding season and our kids pen will be filling up with ADGA registered Purebred and American Nubian kids in the spring of 2016. If you're interested in purchasing any of our kids please contact Sheila at our contact page.
Darla
Darla is our first Nubian doe. We brought her home when we knew not a thing about ADGA or purebreds or any of that. Darla is a native on appearance Nubian. In 2014 Darla kidded twin doelings. Darla is our family's milk producer and has taught us everything we know about dairy goats!
Mulan
Di-Rich Farms Fa Mulan Rouge or "Mulan" is the first purebred Nubian born at Lil' Toad Ranch. Her registered name reflects that she was conceived by her dam Di-Rich Farms Esmeralda and her sire Pella's Triple C Electrum while Esmeralda was still at Di-Rich Farms. Mulan was born 4-13-15 as one of twins for her dam Esmeralda's first kidding. Mulan's twin brother was sold as a wether. Mulan has the most gentle temperment and promises to be a great milk producer and over-all great dairy goat. She comes from well-known Nubian bloodlines. Mulan was just recently bred to Victory Joy Zoe's Hershey Bolt. We look forward to all that wonderful soap-making milk Mulan is sure to bring.
The Wethers
A castrated male goat is called a wether. Typically wethers become meat goats or pets. They also make great pack goats and herd companions. Our wethers are Danny and Champion. Danny was our first wether, purchased as a herdmate to the intact buck Hillbilly Acres Duke that we had at the time. We know longer have Duke, but Danny will stay at Lil' Toad Ranch for his life as he has become a farm pet as much as a herd companion to the does.
Champion is a rescue wether. He was a weak kid at birth and I tube fed him in my home. He was born to a doe on another farm, but we bonded with the little struggling guy with all our interventions and decided to keep him as another farm pet.
Both Danny and Champion are being trained to be pack animals so we can take them on our dream hike through the Grand Canyon!