Welcome to our site!
Kunic Ranch is located in the beautiful Central Coast of California. Nestled amongst the rolling oak studded hills overlooking Monterey County, we have been breeding registered French Alpine Dairy Goats for almost 40 years.
Buck service is available to two outstanding French Alpine bucks. We also offer select individuals for sale as well as fresh milk for the raising of orphaned animals. There are goat keeping tips at the bottom of this page.
Schipperkes are our ranch guardians, herding helpers and on rare occasions such as this, we have pups for sale. Breed type, intelligence and calm personalities are paramount in our pups, and many customers say they have never had such calm, useful, easily trained dogs.
Visit our chicken pages; we enjoy breeding & showing fancy poultry.
We welcome your interest in our stock.
Please Contact us at:
KUNIC RANCH
Kunic Family
(805) 467-3510
Seth making hay while the sun shines.
Serena riding in the early morning.
Tips for Goat Keeping...
Goats are easy to care for and your goat raising endeavours will be highly successful by keeping in mind a few guidelines...
First, make all feed changes slowly, in increments over a period of days, this gives their rumen microflora time to adjust to new feeds and eliminate potentially serious digestive or bloat problems. Most of their diet should be hay or browse, think of grain or concentrate feeds (grain, pellets, etc.) as "candy", to be limited. Grain is often not needed except by milking does, and growing kids, as long as good hay is provided. And, goats are "browsers" not "grazers", meaning they would prefer to eat brush, oak leaves and branches, rose bushes and such rather than graze your lawn as sheep would. Because of this trait, many are used from brush control.
Here in California, some areas are thick with poison oak. When my milkers have had access to this irritating plant as a regular part of their diet, I noticed that after some months of drinking their milk that I was no longer affected by the irritations typical of contact with poison oak. In fact, I could tromp through the stuff and handle it with no affect whatsoever. Through the milk consumption, I had developed a strong immunity to it.
And about "good hay", your does will need an all-you-can-eat diet of high-protein hay, such as alfalfa, to achieve optimum milk production and keep their condition up. Goats, as most animals, consume about 4% of their body weight daily in feed.
Grain can be fed to milking does at the rate of about 1# per head per milking. Some may require more, but be wary of overfeeding. We have found that the sweetest milk, with no off flavors what so ever is achieved by feeding "A&M", or ground alfalfa with molasses meal on the milking stand, free choice, and then pen-feeding grain after milking to the group at the rate of 1 lb. of grain per head per feeding. An additional advantage of this feeding system is that a person slow at milking (i.e. your relief milker or neighbor) cannot overfeed the does to keep them quiet on the stand since their grain will be fed later.
Garden scraps and weedings are fine to toss in the pen, just don't over do it suddenly, and add unusual feeds (such as a wheelbarrow full of weedings, etc) AFTER they have full bellies of their usual hay. And NEVER feed fresh bread, it's a sure fire way to cause serious bloat, or scours at the least.
Clean, clear water is a necessity at all times. In summer's heat, be aware of mosquito larvae in the trough, either dump every few days or put goldfish or mosquito fish in it.
Salt is best fed as loose salt, though blocks will do. If you provide a variety of salt, such as trace-mineralized, sulphur, and plain you will find that they prefer different salts at different times. Let them choose as needed, and your herd health will be improved. Be sure to give salt to your kids, too.
Kids need milk for at least 8 weeks, preferably longer, as long as they are growing. If bottle feeding, be wary of overfeeding and causing diarrhea. Simple diarrhea, from too much milk, can be stopped by giving them a homemade "kaopectate" mixture as follows: In a 1 quart mason jar, fill half way with water, then add 8 heaping tablespoons of clumping cat litter (just plain bentonite clay), 1 teaspoon of pectin and mix with a hand-held high speed mixer. This is the same as the old time kapoectate which you can't buy anymore.
Growing kids also need all the high quality alfalfa hay they will eat. We also feed a 20% dairy pellet increasing from a handfull per kid on up to about 1/2 pound per head daily.
Your doe kids can be bred at the first time when 7-8 months old, and weighing at least 70 lbs. We find that you will get a more productive first-freshener (first time milker) if they are bred instead as yearlings, having had more time to grow and mature. However, breeding as kids is advantageous for determing their udder quality and shape a year earlier than breeding as yearlings, thereby saving a year's worth of feed if the animal isn't destined to stay in the herd.
Dust as needed for lice with diatomateous earth or pyrethrin louse powder. The first tell tale sign of a louse problem is the observance of your animals itching themselves. Their haircoat will show little itch marks or roughed up hair here and there, and often chewed hair patches over thei withers.
Vaccinate for tetanus and Clostridium perfringens types C & D, AKA "overeating disease". We use "Bar Vac CD + T" . Ideally, give 1-2 months before your does kid (this would be their annual booster) , and to your kids at weaning (2 doses, 1 month apart).
A selenium shot is needed in some areas, especially where there is excess molybdimum in the soil, such as California's central coast.
Due to their picky eating habits and dislike of eating soiled hay off the ground, goats carry a reduced worm load as compared to many other species of livestock. Deworm with diatomateous earth othe de-wormer of your choice.
In regards to housing, a simple shed will do for protection in mild areas, more protection in severe winter areas. Be sure it does not open to the direction of your prevalent storms and wind. Provide shade for hot days. For one or two goats, a pen 16 ft x 16 ft. made of welded wire cattle panels is adequate, with a shelter inside. We try to make pens which can be easily cleaned by a tractor with scraper.
Predators: Build your fences with the thought of keeping out dogs and coyotes. Welded mesh cattle panels 5' high are good for pens. Keep an eye out for digging attempts along the bottom which could allow entry of a predator. We keep bells on our goats to be able to hear disturbances.
My favorite bells are the Swiss, tuned-in-harmony brass bells, which have a crystal clear ring clearly heard for some distance. Loud bells can also be a noisy deterrent to predators. When we lived near mountain lions, the goats had to be locked in a barn at night, and any outside pens had to have wire roofs as well.
Also, goats don't like to get wet, as a general rule. Nor do they like to walk in puddles. Kind of cute, really...
First, make all feed changes slowly, in increments over a period of days, this gives their rumen microflora time to adjust to new feeds and eliminate potentially serious digestive or bloat problems. Most of their diet should be hay or browse, think of grain or concentrate feeds (grain, pellets, etc.) as "candy", to be limited. Grain is often not needed except by milking does, and growing kids, as long as good hay is provided. And, goats are "browsers" not "grazers", meaning they would prefer to eat brush, oak leaves and branches, rose bushes and such rather than graze your lawn as sheep would. Because of this trait, many are used from brush control.
Here in California, some areas are thick with poison oak. When my milkers have had access to this irritating plant as a regular part of their diet, I noticed that after some months of drinking their milk that I was no longer affected by the irritations typical of contact with poison oak. In fact, I could tromp through the stuff and handle it with no affect whatsoever. Through the milk consumption, I had developed a strong immunity to it.
And about "good hay", your does will need an all-you-can-eat diet of high-protein hay, such as alfalfa, to achieve optimum milk production and keep their condition up. Goats, as most animals, consume about 4% of their body weight daily in feed.
Grain can be fed to milking does at the rate of about 1# per head per milking. Some may require more, but be wary of overfeeding. We have found that the sweetest milk, with no off flavors what so ever is achieved by feeding "A&M", or ground alfalfa with molasses meal on the milking stand, free choice, and then pen-feeding grain after milking to the group at the rate of 1 lb. of grain per head per feeding. An additional advantage of this feeding system is that a person slow at milking (i.e. your relief milker or neighbor) cannot overfeed the does to keep them quiet on the stand since their grain will be fed later.
Garden scraps and weedings are fine to toss in the pen, just don't over do it suddenly, and add unusual feeds (such as a wheelbarrow full of weedings, etc) AFTER they have full bellies of their usual hay. And NEVER feed fresh bread, it's a sure fire way to cause serious bloat, or scours at the least.
Clean, clear water is a necessity at all times. In summer's heat, be aware of mosquito larvae in the trough, either dump every few days or put goldfish or mosquito fish in it.
Salt is best fed as loose salt, though blocks will do. If you provide a variety of salt, such as trace-mineralized, sulphur, and plain you will find that they prefer different salts at different times. Let them choose as needed, and your herd health will be improved. Be sure to give salt to your kids, too.
Kids need milk for at least 8 weeks, preferably longer, as long as they are growing. If bottle feeding, be wary of overfeeding and causing diarrhea. Simple diarrhea, from too much milk, can be stopped by giving them a homemade "kaopectate" mixture as follows: In a 1 quart mason jar, fill half way with water, then add 8 heaping tablespoons of clumping cat litter (just plain bentonite clay), 1 teaspoon of pectin and mix with a hand-held high speed mixer. This is the same as the old time kapoectate which you can't buy anymore.
Growing kids also need all the high quality alfalfa hay they will eat. We also feed a 20% dairy pellet increasing from a handfull per kid on up to about 1/2 pound per head daily.
Your doe kids can be bred at the first time when 7-8 months old, and weighing at least 70 lbs. We find that you will get a more productive first-freshener (first time milker) if they are bred instead as yearlings, having had more time to grow and mature. However, breeding as kids is advantageous for determing their udder quality and shape a year earlier than breeding as yearlings, thereby saving a year's worth of feed if the animal isn't destined to stay in the herd.
Dust as needed for lice with diatomateous earth or pyrethrin louse powder. The first tell tale sign of a louse problem is the observance of your animals itching themselves. Their haircoat will show little itch marks or roughed up hair here and there, and often chewed hair patches over thei withers.
Vaccinate for tetanus and Clostridium perfringens types C & D, AKA "overeating disease". We use "Bar Vac CD + T" . Ideally, give 1-2 months before your does kid (this would be their annual booster) , and to your kids at weaning (2 doses, 1 month apart).
A selenium shot is needed in some areas, especially where there is excess molybdimum in the soil, such as California's central coast.
Due to their picky eating habits and dislike of eating soiled hay off the ground, goats carry a reduced worm load as compared to many other species of livestock. Deworm with diatomateous earth othe de-wormer of your choice.
In regards to housing, a simple shed will do for protection in mild areas, more protection in severe winter areas. Be sure it does not open to the direction of your prevalent storms and wind. Provide shade for hot days. For one or two goats, a pen 16 ft x 16 ft. made of welded wire cattle panels is adequate, with a shelter inside. We try to make pens which can be easily cleaned by a tractor with scraper.
Predators: Build your fences with the thought of keeping out dogs and coyotes. Welded mesh cattle panels 5' high are good for pens. Keep an eye out for digging attempts along the bottom which could allow entry of a predator. We keep bells on our goats to be able to hear disturbances.
My favorite bells are the Swiss, tuned-in-harmony brass bells, which have a crystal clear ring clearly heard for some distance. Loud bells can also be a noisy deterrent to predators. When we lived near mountain lions, the goats had to be locked in a barn at night, and any outside pens had to have wire roofs as well.
Also, goats don't like to get wet, as a general rule. Nor do they like to walk in puddles. Kind of cute, really...
How to Milk a Goat
Milking a dairy goat need not be complicated, though there are a few essential things you will need:
1. Milking stand with feed bowl (we feed alfalfa & molasses meal on the stand, and grain later in th e pen).
2. seamless stainless steel milk bucket or cooking pot; a lid is nice.
3. Jar of warm water wash & clean washcloth or paper towels, to wash & dry udder.
4. Glycerine based iodine teat dip.
When you return to the house with your milk in the bucket, you will need:
1. A clean sterilized jar in which to pour your milk.
2. A stainless steel milk funnel with MILK filter paper. Some folks use sterilized gauze or towels with good results.
As a general rule: only stainless steel or glass or sterile milk filter papers (or towels) should contact your milk. Everything must be scrupulously clean.
For best milk flavor, do not feed your goats for 2 hours prior to milking. On the stand, we only offer alfalfa & molasses meal (aka "A&M") and have found two advantages with this:
1. They cannot overeat A&M like they can grain; so therefore will remain patient and still on the stand happily munching away even when a person new to milking takes a long, long time to milk...grain is fed later to the group after they are all milked and back in their pen.
2. No off flavor problems with the milk, as we had when feeding grain and grain mixes while milking.
Milking Procedure:
1. Put the goat on the stand.
2. Give her A&M or grain of your choice.
3. Wash her udder with warm (+/or warm soapy) water.
4. Dry Udder.
5. Milk her out, as quickly and gently as possible.
6. Dip teats in iodine based glycerine teat dip.
7. Return her back in pen.
Milk Handling Procedure:
1. Pour your milk through a paper milk filter in a stainless steel funnel or through a sterilized cloth and into a sterilized jar or stainless steel container.
2. Place in refrigerator in coldest part. For faster cooling, set in a tub of ice water inside your refrigerator.
3. Rinse all your used milk handling containers first with cold water.
4. Then, wash all with hot, soapy water.
5. Rinse thoroughly with hot water.
6. For super clean, give a final rinse with a 10% chlorine bleach solution.
7. Air dry, do not dry with a towel as that can spread bacteria.
Now you're ready to go again for the next milking! Save up your milk from several milkings until you have 2-5 gallons ready for a batch of cheese.
24/7 Tech Support with Every Animal Purchase!
This summer, we will be offering GOAT SEMINARS, suitable to either Dairy Goat keepers or Boer goat keepers. These are aimed at folks new to goatkeeping, those who want to learn more, and those who are interested in sustainability in goatkeeping. You will leave knowing all the basics of goat keeping, logic behind cheese/yogurt making, care of kids, basic veterinary care, and so on. You will recieve an illustrated packet of reference material to take home with you.
Basic tuition: $60 , or $45 if you have purchased an animal from us.
Call for more details! And again, thank you for visiting our site!
Basic tuition: $60 , or $45 if you have purchased an animal from us.
Call for more details! And again, thank you for visiting our site!
805-467-3510
Schipperke Pups at 7 weeks of age. Cute!
New Pups!!!
See our
SCHIPPERKES page.
