Former ranchers, originally from Arizona, Margo Chilcott and her husband, Brian, came to the Ozarks seven years ago and fell in love with a place, a 100-acre valley outside West Plains, Mo., in rural Howell County. Both currently work in real estate in southern Missouri.
“When I saw this valley, I was really tired. I’d been shown too many places by the realtor that day and I was ready to be done. Then we drove out here and I knew I just had to have it,” she laughed as she indicated her home today which she shares with her husband and 40 Boer goats. At the moment that includes 12 momma goats, 13 young does and 15 wethers. She also has breeding bucks for show or 4-H. “If people put down a deposit, I’ll hold their goat and not castrate him.
“Goats are like potato chips. You can’t have just one,” she continued.
“I sell the babies as replacement stock, show animals and for 4-H projects.
“I haven’t been involved in the showing so much in recent years, concentrating instead on the breeding but I want to get into showing more this year,” she added.
Margo has added a large garden to her property, has two spring-fed ponds that do not go dry during the year and her plans for the future include cows. Her current goat herd also includes Virgil, her very first llama.
“He is exceptional and so protective. He watches over the whole herd, waiting for the stragglers. He cracks me up in that he’ll go through the whole bunch, smelling them all like flowers. The nice thing for us is that they will follow the llama so they are not so likely to stray and if they do get outside the fence, they’ll stay close or come right back. Recently, we had a kid that got separated from his mother and was screaming when I picked him up to try to get him back to his momma. Virgil was the first one who came charging down the hill to see what was going on, as in who was hurting one of his babies. Pretty funny.”
Margo concluded, “One important thing I’ve learned is that you have to be your own veterinarian in this locale. The vets here are still struggling to catch up with goat producers and they’ll be the first ones to tell you so. Other goat producers and my own past experience and background in dairy have been my biggest help.
“We’ve got some good bloodlines going for us with our registered goats and I’m excited about what the future holds for us.”
