lancafttrr f Armine Saturday Oct ? 19/fc 62 Goats are their business , hobby 9 and love The Fishers have learned to enjoy range anywhere from large stuffed goats not only as a livelihood, but also animals and wall paintings to a tiny as a hobby. Here, they stand with %-inch goat charm for a bracelet their collection of goat trinkets which By JOANNE SPAHR MANHEIM - Standing by the goat stall, getting a story, the reporter suddenly feels a slight tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she finds an eager and adorable yearling goat staring her straight in the face, pleading with its eyes for attention. Asked if the goat was trained to do this, Mrs. Jacob H. Fisher, Jr., (Jane), Manheun Rl, replies non chalantly, “Oh, no, she just learned to do that herself.” The taps keep coming until the reporter is forced to stop the interview and succomb to the desire to play with the animal. Then, the other yearlings in the pen get into the act, and the reporter is nibbled, licked, and bumped until everybody in the stall is content. Watching the scene with amusement, Jane finally says with a mixture of pride and love in her voice, “They all have their own per sonalities and little traits that set them apart.” She and her husband should know After 21 years of raising goats and building up their present herd to the size of 80, they are experts m the business. And, they are one of the three state in spected goat dairies in the area. All told, the Fishers milk 35 goats and have the rest for herd replacement and breeding stock. “We raise all our female kids, and let them freshen,” explains Fisher, “Then once a year or so we cull the herd, keeping the best milkers for ourselves.” They sell all their buck kids, however. They have special kidding pens for the raising of the little ones. Jane remembers the first time they went to sell a goat at an auction. “We had the three children along,” she laughs. “And, the whole time we walked along, all of them cried, ‘We want Betty!’ - the whole time!” she adds for em phasis. “Jake and I just looked at each other," she goes on, “and wondered what kind of parents the other people Thr Jfirob H. Fwhrrn mu*t have thought wr wrre with thrae three romtanll) bawling children.” »hr rhurklr* To finish her *tor>. she add* that that w»* the and last episode of crv lng rhlldrm at ■vain Believe it or not. lhr> got uwd to the Idea of selling thr goats," 'dir jtlates The Fishers have four out of the five good milking breeds in their herd The) have Alpine, Togeenburg. N ianan, .md Nubian The onl\ one thev don t liav e is TaMancha Although the animals don’t follow a particular breed color, there are distinctive wn)s to tell them apart The Nubians arc the most oa.sil) identified because of their ex ceptional!) long, droopy cars and Homan-t)pc noses When Nubians arc crossed with an> other breed, the length is added to a normal sized ear Fisher does a lot of crossbreeding because this creates a “hybrid vigor” and better milk At present, the Fisbers are in the business primarily for the milk production, and not for the breeding stock, itself Like the different breeds of dairy cows, different goats give different types of milk. Nubian*, for truUnre, are |Conh«*<J on P«f 6) higher in hutterfat and give READ LANCASTER FARMING FOR FULL MARKET REPORTS r WANT TO SAVE ' MONEY & TIME THIS HARVESTING SEASON? handy as a hired man the Original WHO OOESN STOPFOR mm RKIIfIRDTOn lunch j»R MULTI-PURPOSE .*j5L dump fluaai wagon Use It ALL Year w wm w behind CHOPPERS for 2 MODELS AVAILABLE haylage, silage 1200-- 575 Cu Ft. Capacity • with CORN PICKERS •as an EXTRA GRAIN BOX *4OO-- 640 Cu. Ft. Capacity • as a CHAFF SAVER Heavy Duty Running Gear • for HARVESTING BEETS Hydraulic Operation Buck & Montgomery Co. ~ I.G.’sAg Sales „ t Silvertola PA Clugston Implement biiveraaie, pa Chambersburg. PA Lancaster Co. v k ~ Gmmelli Farm & Farm Q..r.r.1» Industrial Equipment r?ove r PA P Quarryville, PA uover KA Northampton Co. Centre Co. George V. Seiple Dunkle & Grieb Easton, PA Centre Hall & Mill Hall For Additional Information Bernard Ricpel Suncook Valley Equipment Company, Inc. P.O. Box 220 Suncopk, NH 03275 I 485-5355 ' l . 1 X
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers