B6 1 -Lahfcci^ter'Farming; Saturday,'April '2003
The "bottle babies” are especially friendly and inquisitive.
Goats, Kids Keep Nurse Ebaugh
Busy In York County
MICHELLE KUNJAPPU
Lancaster Farming Staff
DELTA (York Co.) If there
is a “goat guru” in York County,
Sharon Ebaugh has earned the
title.
Involved in sheep and goat 4-H
clubs since 1960, Ebaugh has not
only educated 4-H’ers about
goats, but has liberally doled out
her expertise and experience to
members of the community since
she began her career with goats
almost by accident.
“When we first moved here
there was a man down the road
who had a goat he didn’t know
what to do with and he asked us
if we wanted it,” she said. The
goat found a home with the fami
ly’s already-existing flock of
sheep.
Farming life was a natural
step. Ebaugh and her husband
Paul grew up on farms. Paul
worked in Lancaster County as
herdsman for a hog operation be
fore the couple purchased their
present farm in 1960.
Market sheep and goats are ac
tually very similar, according to
Ebaugh, and “we just learned
along the way,” she said, about
how to pick and breed quality an
imals.
Since goats would be useful in
giving lambs milk when the
sheep didn’t have enough, when
their daughter Linda asked for a
goat, Paul and Sharon purchased
another goat. When that nanny
kidded and presented the
Ebaughs with triplets Olivia,
Newton, and John the
Ebaugh’s herd began.
I guess everything came from
them, said Sharon. Pretty much,
they’ve all come from those first
two goats.
One of these two goats was a
Toggenburg billy. However, as
time went on, we found that we
had a lot of people that wanted
goat milk to drink, and Toggen
burg milk tends to be pretty
strong, so we mixed in other
breeds,” she said.
Although Sharon is no longer
milking her herd, dairy breeds
are still represented in her cross
bred herd.
The Boughs use some of the
acreage of their 50-acre farm for
hay and rent out the remainder.
Sharon stays home to take care
of the operation’s 51 kids, 26
nannies, and three billies.
Her husband Paul works part
time at a nearby meat market.
The Ebaughs have raised three
children: the oldest daughter
works as a meat cutter, their sec
ond daughter is a York County
4-H, dairy and animal science ex
tension agent in York County,
and their son owns Holtwood
Pork, a hog farm.
Sharon, a registered nurse, has
Since she leaves a maxi
mum of two kids on their
mother, this year Ebaugh
had seven bottle-fed babies
to take care of.
worked part-time as a nurse and
uses her skills in the community
and church, but has enjoyed
transferring her medical educa
tion to her now-exclusively goat
herd.
Kidding season comes at once
and with a vengeance to
Ebaugh’s herd. In die last 10
days of January, SO kids arrived.
“On one day the nannies had a
set of twins, a set of triplets, and
a set of quads,” she said. This
means more work for Ebaugh.
This year she had seven bottle
fed babies to take care of.
“It works better (to bottle feed)
because the goat only has two
feeding places, so the kids must
compete with each other and
none of them do well,” she said.
Ebaugh prefers a short kidding
season, “since I’m always there,
tending them I just live in the
bam. Especially when it’s cold,
I’m there to clean them off.” This
year was a successful one for
Ebaugh, who didn’t lose any
kids. “We had a beautiful kid
ding season everyone’s fine.”
A regular schedule of feeding
and lighting tends to keep the
nannies from kidding at night,
according to Ebaugh. In fact,
many of the nannies kid between
11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and occasional
ly later in the evening.
Those last days of January put
her nursing skills to the test.
“If the mother is in strong
labor for more than a half hour.
I’ll go in and check on it,” she
said. In addition, if the nanny has
had one kid and is still in labor
15 minutes later, she will check
for a foot or head in the wrong
place or an upside-down presen-'
tation. That’s the nursing part,
she said.
Understandably, Ebaughs
nursing/kldding skills are in de
mand. “I go around the commu
nity delivering, then I teach peo
ple how to do it,” she said.
She tells the story of delivering
goats for 4-H’ets, during a
snowy, treacherous Valentine’s
Day for a neighbor, and even
talking friends through a delivery
over the phone.
“People get a little panicky
with their first kids,” she said.
“Most people are not prone to
putting their hand in the back of
a goat.”
After two weeks the kids are
separated from the nannies. “I
don’t let them run with their
mothers full time, which allows
both the nannies and kids time to
rest and grow,” she said.
The kids may go to area 4-H or
FFA participants or to the ethnic
market in Baltimore.
Besides supplying 4-H’ers with
goats, Ebaugh has been involved
as a leader, adviser, and a 4-H
mom to her own children in the
Airville Community 4-H Club
since 1960.
“The goat projects teach the
kids responsibility,” and are also
ideal “since goats don’t need a lot
of property,” she said.
Goats also make a good project
since they are so hardy, accord-
A nursing education has transferred well to the goat
herd, said Ebaugh, who has delivered many kids not only
In her own herd but also in the community around her.
A nursing education has transferred well to the goat
herd, said Ebaugh, who has delivered many kids not only
in her own herd but also in the community around her.
ing to Ebaugh. Most of her med
icine cabinet includes only de
wormer.
“Worms. That’s the main
thing, worms,” she said. “You
just have to really keep on top of
it.” She also vaccinates for liver
problems associated with over
eating.
“I think it’s not a project that
you really lose your shirt if it
doesn’t do well,” she said. “It’s
not a get-rich-quick thing, but it’s
not an expensive hobby. It’s com
ing on there are a lot of people
wanting goats.”
Besides 4-H, another passion is
the meat goat show at the
Mason-Dixon Fair. She serves as
superintendent of the show. The
event is the only open meat goat
show of eastern Pennsylvania,
she believes.
Another pet project of
Ebaugh’s is the fair’s “older and
bolder” show, where parents,
community members, interested
passers-by, and anyone willing to
go into the ring can try their
hand at showing the 4-H goats.
This July will be the fifth year for
the relatively new fair.
The growing goat shows in
Pennsylvania are a barometer of
the growing goat business.
“When we got our first goat, the
guy couldn’t even give the goat
away. But then, I would say that
in the next 20 years, people be
came interested in goat milk for
their babies,” she said. Also, in-
terest in goat milk products is
growing among lactose-intolerant
adults, according to Ebaugh.
Goat milk fat globules are
smaller than those in cow’s milk,
which makes them easier to di
gest. Although the globules are
smaller and take longer to sepa
rate, goats milk is not naturally
homogenized as widely believed,
she pointed out.
Also a growing ethnic market
has created demand for goats.
Also, “people are finally getting
smart about the meat, which is
good for a low-cholesterol diet,”
she said.
As Ebaugh moves into the next
phase of her life (she is looking
forward to moving to a new
house and caring for elderly
members of her family), she is
cutting down on die herd. How
ever, a few goats will remain on
the farm, she said.
One of her favorites is the
aging Goldie. “I’m hoping to find
some papers to find out how old
she is,” said Ebaugh.
“She was taken to the county
(elder care) home, and she always
thought she was a person after
that.” Although goats can remain
productively in a herd for 8-10
years, she believes Goldie to be
much older than that average
age.
Also a favorite is Clifford
named after the children’s story
book dog a large red goat that
Ebaugh hopes to teach to pull a
cart.