Great Lakes Pygora

Our herd is free of Foot Rot, Caseous Lymphadenitis (CL), Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE) and Johnes. We sample test a subset of our animals every year.

We support the Eradication of Scrapie, you can verify our enrollment in the USDA program by running a status report. Our number is MIJ0487.

We manage our farm to minimize the risk of disease.

• We quarantine new animals and anyone who goes off the farm for shows
• We buy new animals only from farms that test clean for contagious diseases
• Visitors will be asked to wear protective shoe covers or have their shoes washed with disinfectant
• We minimize trips through high traffic livestock areas such as feed mills and auctions
• We always take care to disinfect our shoes, trailer, vehicle tires, water buckets and anything else that may have been in contact with a high risk area

Bucks are half of your breeding program, so selecting the right one is crucial. Bucks are also unique animals and require special owners. Most males born on our farm will be wethered to ensure only the best traits are passed on. The animals selected to remain bucks must exemplify the Pygora breed standard, have full coverage dense fleece and have a fantastic personality. We want to make sure our bucks are improving the breed, not just maintaining it.

In addition to winning Grand Champion Wether with Ned in 2010 and Jacob in 2011 we also won the Dam and Daughter - looking for improvement in daughter (Bailey and Libby) class at the 2010 Michigan Pygora Show. Winning that class meant a lot to us because it supports the hard work and planning we have done to improve our herd.

We evaluate our breeding stock for several criteria and strive to bring about certain traits while eliminating others. We select breeding pairs to improve fiber density and coverage, have good conformation and temperment. We breed to minimize guard hair and breed out wattles.

We have decided not to disbud any of our kids. We now have several goats with horns and sheep with horns. The main argument against not disbudding is safety both for people and goats. Our view on that is have proper fencing, train your animals and always exercise respect and caution while handling your animals. We are happy to help answer questions or educate people how to handle their horned animals. If the animal is aggressive, he will be with or without horns. Scurs are not something fun to deal with either for the owner or for the goat. Horns are extremely helpful for fiber animals as they have itches they just can not reach to scratch without horns. Not to mention how hot they get during the summer with all that fiber. Horns really do help cool the animals during the summer. We see our horned Pygoras up and moving around during the hot summer days while our disbudded Pygoras are trying to cool off.

Registration is important in any breeding program and goats are no exception. We feel it is important to keep track of lineage on all our goats. Lineage helps us improve our stock and the breed overall. All breeding stock is sold with PBA registration papers or certificate of pre registration unless otherwise noted.

Wethers can be papered upon request unless otherwise noted. If you plan to show your wether please request papers.

There will always be a place on our farm for any animal you get from us if you find yourself unable to care for them any longer.

We are located in Ravenna, MI 49451. We welcome farm visits for people interested in owning Pygora goats. Please email us to setup a time. If you just want to see our goats for fun, plan to attend the Pygora goat show at the Michigan Fiber Festival in August.