Goddard Farm Sphinx

2021- We bought Sphinx confirmed bred to Camelot Cattle Co Cerberus. Unfortunately, she slipped the pregnancy soon after we transported her here. Thankfully, we caught a spring heat and Sphinx was bred to Zao Hot Fudge for late August '21 kids. She kidded easily with buck/doe twins. The doeling, "Stella," was retained and the buckling was sold to a homestead in Arkansas to be a herdsire. We are confident that both of these offspring will be high performers. We let Sphinx dam raise her kids and we milk shared, and attempted to have her on milk test. The relationship was "ideal" for ease/amount of work, but it did not allow Sphinx to have a lactation that showed her full production potential. Sphinx also did not appreciate milking in the winter and dried up quickly once temperatures turned cold.

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2022- Sphinx was be bred in December to Robinett's-Caprines Amadeus for late May '22 kids. The pairing produced triplets- two bucks and a doeling, on June 1st. The first kid out, a buck was a very colorful little dude, albeit a bit small. He thrived outside of the womb though and he is now working in a friend's herd in Fredonia, KS. We will get him (Kansas Bluestem Pistol Pete) back in a few years as part of our buck trade-in program, and might allow him to breed a few does before moving him onward. The second kid, a beautiful solid brown girl without any white on her, is our Persephone. She's full of her mother's spunky personality. Her conformation is a perfect blend of her dam's strength and her sire's dairyness and we can't wait to see her udder. The third kid, the second buckling, was ginormous; his birth was a bit traumatic, but he's fine and working as a herdsire for new breeders near Independence, KS (Kansas Bluestem Titus). Sphinx had trouble delivering Titus and his head went in/out a few times before she was able to push him clear and I had a good opportunity to assist. As a result of the struggle, Sphinx picked up some bacteria and developed a uterine infection. We didn't treat at birth, since I didn't actually go in to assist delivery, and it was several days before Sphinx's symptoms convinced us her lack of appetite was more than normal post-kidding lethargy. The infection progressed and she also developed a bad case of mastitis. At one point, we weren't sure if Sphinx would turn the corner back towards us, but after about 10 days she did and is now healthy again. The rough start to the lactation caused a severe drop in body condition and overall "exuberance" for life, which was still evident at our Linear Appraisal session. We believe this had an affect on her score. Lesson learned and we will be extremly watchful for signs of infection after future kiddings! Her lactation is going wonderfully, although lopsided, and she peaked at about a gallon a day, with only one working half.