The greatest goats

PINE ISLAND  — What started as a personal passion for goats has turned into a sought-after service for other goat farmers. Michelle and Todd Kennedy raise Savanna goats as breeding stock, having learned how to keep them safe, healthy and happy.

“I don’t sell anything I wouldn’t want to raise and breed myself,” Michelle said. “For my operation, I want to raise the best goat possible to put in the market for other breeders to use.”

Todd and Michelle own two farms, 40 acres each, and about a mile apart. They bought their first farm, a former crop farm near Pine Island, in 1990 and raised their family there. The other property was the family’s cattle farm, owned by Todd’s parents. After their passing, the Kennedys bought it and now raise their cattle there.

Michelle always had an interest in goats. She had a couple of small goats as pets when she and Todd purchased their primary farm. After they aged out, the Kennedys did not have any goats for a few years — but Michelle wanted them back.

“After a very stressful day of working cattle one summer, between vaccinating and fly tags and all that, I was frustrated,” Michelle said. “I told my husband we needed to get some goats so I had something I enjoyed doing.”

The Kennedys started with four goats, but that turned into eight and then a dozen. They were crossbred Boer goats, but those were prone to parasite issues and were more labor-intensive than Michelle preferred.

“When we first got the goats, I didn’t know anything about them apart from the two pet goats I’d had,” Michelle said. “So, (Todd and) I went to a class at Oklahoma State University on raising goats; it was a 3-day ‘goat university,’ they called it, and it was probably the best choice I ever made because they went through everything, from birth to death and what can happen in between.”

Additionally, through networking with other goat owners in Oklahoma, the Kennedys first heard about Savanna goats, and they soon acquired some for their farm. The breed was initially developed in South Africa in the 1950s, bred from the same indigenous goats as Boer goats, but they were bred to be all white; with black-pigmented skin, they sunburn less than other breeds. The Kennedys also found they had better parasite resistance.

Savanna goats are decent for both meat and milk, although they do not produce as much milk as dedicated dairy goats. The Kennedys raise their goats mainly for breeding stock, as they are registered, DNA-verified Savannas, but they also use some for meat; they keep some Boer does to breed with the Savanna bucks as well.

“The cross of Savanna and Boer are actually your best meat producers because they have the … big muscling of the Boer goat combined with Savanna hardiness,” Michelle said.

Having cared for goats for years, Michelle knows each individual has its own personality; some are attached to their owners at the hip, while others can be more standoffish. Collectively, though, she says they are the smartest stupid animals one could ever find.

“They are very smart; they can figure things out, (and) they don’t forget anything, but they can do the dumbest things,” Michelle said. “I joke that, every day, they try to find a new way to kill themselves. As far as temperament, the Savanna goats are so calm. … We’ve never had an issue with aggressive bucks, whether it’s been Boer or Savanna. I think a lot of how you handle them when they’re young filters down to how they behave as adults, and we’ve never had aggressive goats of any kind on our place. The Savannas’ temperament seems to be very mellow.”

The kids, though, remind Michelle of puppies and are almost always born entirely white.

“They want attention, (and) they’re very inquisitive,” Michelle said. “When they’re born, they’re very vigorous and energetic. They really want to thrive.”

The Kennedys do not de-horn their goats, and because of the animals’ pneumonia susceptibility in Minnesota’s climate, they are proactively vaccinated for it. Deworming is done on an as-needed basis, and twice a year, goats are given bolus capsules with copper particles that prevent parasite susceptibility.

“You have to be proactive,” Michelle said. “You can’t be reactive because, by the time a goat lets you know they’re sick, they’re dead.”

On an average day, Michelle is usually up at 5 a.m. to feed the herd and check them, making sure everybody is acting normal.

“When a goat isn’t feeling normal, they’ll act completely out of character,” Michelle said. “They’ll be off by themselves, they won’t come up for hay … or they won’t come around when everybody else gathers around.”

Michelle has a full-time job as a financial adviser. When she comes home at 5 p.m., she heads back out to the goats for evening chores and checkups.

The Kennedys start breeding their goats in September, and Michelle takes time off work in late February or early March as the kids arrive. Thanks to ultrasound, the Kennedys can get a good idea of how many kids a goat is expecting and when they will likely arrive.

“The nice thing about Savannas is they tend to have twins and triplets,” Michelle said. “I have had quads (quadruplets) in the past, but it’s not very common, maybe one set a year, and then I had a set of quintuplets born last year, but that’s very rare with the Savannas. … We’re very impressed with their mothering abilities.”

Michelle has not had to do much traveling to sell her goats; most are sold by word of mouth or through advertising. However, the Kennedys have customers across the nation. Last year, they sold a buck and two does to a customer in the British Virgin Islands.

Being currently at over 100 goats — 40 does, 10 yearlings and 86 kids — the Kennedys are not looking to expand the goat farm until possibly after retirement. In the meantime, they are happy to hear from the people who have bought their goats and get to experience the joy of raising them for themselves.

“When I sell goats, I tell people, ‘I want to hear feedback — the good, the bad and the ugly,’” Michelle said. “Thankfully, it’s been good. That’s what gives me the greatest pride.”