Welcome Tapioca!
Help us welcome the newest member of our family – Tapioca, a darling young dairy doe. She’s beautiful, isn’t she? But what about those ears?
They’re called “gopher ears” and they are perfectly fine. She’s a La Mancha, the only American dairy goat breed. Developed in Oregon in the 1930s, the breed was created by crossing some Spanish small-eared goats with good Nubian and Swiss milkers. I don’t know why the ears disappeared, but the goats are known for high butterfat content (yum!) in their milk, and for very gentle personalities.
Tapicoca certainly seems to be very sweet. Every time I open the door to come outside, she talks to me from the west front pasture where she’s getting to know Congo, our Alpine buck, and Cream, our other dairy doe. We’re looking forward to enjoying more milk, come spring. Or January. The farmer we bought Tapioca from wasn’t quite sure she got bred there, but if she did, she’s due in January. If she gets bred by our buck here, she’ll be due late April or early May. I’m certainly not too thrilled about milking through the winter, but I will be thrilled to drink the milk. Cream and Tapioca. How much better can it get than that?
