The word retirement means different things to different people. When Russ and Doris Breitenstein retired from Kansas City, Kansas to northern Arkansas, they probably never thought they’d be raising African Boer goats. But after they bought 16 acres just north of Green Forest, Ark., they decided to do something special with the land.
Doris said that because they have hilly, rocky terrain, the gentleman at the Department of Agriculture in Berryville, Ark., “suggested goats because of the kind of land that we have. He named a couple of different varieties of goats. We determined we wanted Boer goats. We liked the looks of them and what they were doing in the market.”
Beginning with just five does, the Breitensteins have increased their herd over the past 2 years. Doris said, “We’ve got 17, with eight babies and four on the way. Throughout the year we’ll have more. We got up to as many as 29 last year.”
Russ and Doris decided that if they were going to do this, they were going to do it right. So they have registered Boer goats and keep detailed records. In order to ensure that their goats get the best care, they monitor their feed, supplements and meds as best as they can.
Doris said, “We get the best Alfalfa we can get and we feed the best grain we can get… if we’re going to bring them into this world, we have a responsibility to keep them as healthy as we can.”
Russ added, “We make sure the food they get has a lot of copper in it, and I also buy copper supplement for them.”
Russ is handy to have around. He has installed goat fencing, constructed hay racks inside the barn and built a goat handling apparatus that will both hold and weigh the goat. Future plans include adding freeze-proof troughs in various locations and new fencing for the bucks.
Russ and Doris utilize controlled natural breeding practices. They are careful about which buck is put with which doe. Rather than have all their kids at once, they prefer to “have something going on pretty much year round,” as Doris put it. That way, when a customer looks them up on their website, there’s always something available.
Doris said, “Our goal is to continually increase the quality of the breeding stock we have right here, so we can always have good quality animals to offer somebody else. We want to raise goats for people that want to show them.”
