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A little intro & some of the basics.... but first, some pics of Narnia baby goats
Slide show pictures taken by Chet McKnight
Narnia Goat Farm is located in Sequim, WA on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula. The delightful Nigerian Dwarf goats living at Narnia are purebred, registered with ADGA, and participate in performance programs.
The goats are bred and cared for by Jacki Marquart and husband Ben Smith.
Ben and his brother are 4th generation Holstein dairy operators. They also share a crop operation and grass-fed beef operation and they truck their own cows' milk to Darigold's cheese making plant in Chehalis, WA.
I'm Jacki. My educational and professional background are a mix of business and social work. I'm thankful that life led me down this fortunate path to do something full time that I feel fulfilled and passionate by/about.
Breeding Nigerians Dwarf goats using performance tools like the ADGA Linear Appraisal program, ADGA sanctioned dairy goat shows, Dairy Herd Improvement milk testing program, DNA and Casein type testing; allows us to measure progress each year as we breed for better production & conformation in daughters compared to their dams and other does across the country. Doing a good job at this has required quite a bit of regular homework to source the genetic traits that we want to incorporate in our herd. It also requires that we sell both adults and children each year so that we can devote our resources towards raising our retained breeding stock. < Cue the song "Letting Go" from the movie Frozen.> We use bucks who live on our farm. At this time, we have eight. Someone has a hard time letting go of goats. Okay, it's me. We also use frozen semen from other breeder's bucks from around the country via the artificial insemination process. The use of reproductive technology is amazing and rewarding. It allows us to access a deeper and broader gene pool. We have used so many other tools to learn more about breeding goats and we have had the opportunity to be mentored by breeders who are very experienced. At some point I hope to make a resources tab. I also can't measure the volume of things that I have learned from people that I have met from Facebook groups related to dairy goats.
If you are shopping for a well put together miniature dairy goat or even pets... we have those. Contrary to rumors about goats being willing to eat anything, they are ruminants like cows and have pretty specific dietary needs and preferences. They are more likely to become a lawn ornament than a lawn mower. They will eat weeds, misc. bushes, trees, bark and branches, wild rose bushes, crunchy dry leaves, strip berry vines, and many other bits of nature before they will eat the grass (usually.) I will always try to match browsers or buyers with the pedigree lines, show potential, milking abilities, personality traits or appearance traits that they are trying to find. If I don't have the right goat - I have lots of breeder friends that I can refer you to!
If you are new to goats, I have advice! It's good to figure out what personality types will work best for you before you shop. This is especially important with Nigerian Dwarf goats because their personality traits are plentiful. It's also good to figure out what you most want from having goats because that helps to shop for the right goats for your situation and makes it less likely that you will want to re home ones that are a bad fit for you. I'm definitely going to tell you what I think my goats assets and limitations are. I personally would rather the right goats and people end up together for a happy match whenever possible. Do you need a working milker who is independent and minds her own business? A playful hooligan of a pet? Breeding stock from a specific blood line? A show goat? I do hope that there is a goat or a family line in my herd that you will want to purchase or reserve a kid from because I will go insane if I keep them all. Whether you buy goats from me or someone else, I encourage you to spend some time finding ones that will be a plus in your day to day. "Stubborn as a goat" is a real thing. Some of ours are dam raised and some are bottle raised.
Beginning in 2025, we will be bottle raising most litters. There are a few moms that are so darn sweet and maternal. I'm going to let them raise their kids because it makes me happy.
Disease tested negative annually 2020 2021 2022 2023, and July 2024 for CAE, CL, Johnes, and anything that I randomly become worried about LOL.
The goats are bred and cared for by Jacki Marquart and husband Ben Smith.
Ben and his brother are 4th generation Holstein dairy operators. They also share a crop operation and grass-fed beef operation and they truck their own cows' milk to Darigold's cheese making plant in Chehalis, WA.
I'm Jacki. My educational and professional background are a mix of business and social work. I'm thankful that life led me down this fortunate path to do something full time that I feel fulfilled and passionate by/about.
Breeding Nigerians Dwarf goats using performance tools like the ADGA Linear Appraisal program, ADGA sanctioned dairy goat shows, Dairy Herd Improvement milk testing program, DNA and Casein type testing; allows us to measure progress each year as we breed for better production & conformation in daughters compared to their dams and other does across the country. Doing a good job at this has required quite a bit of regular homework to source the genetic traits that we want to incorporate in our herd. It also requires that we sell both adults and children each year so that we can devote our resources towards raising our retained breeding stock. < Cue the song "Letting Go" from the movie Frozen.> We use bucks who live on our farm. At this time, we have eight. Someone has a hard time letting go of goats. Okay, it's me. We also use frozen semen from other breeder's bucks from around the country via the artificial insemination process. The use of reproductive technology is amazing and rewarding. It allows us to access a deeper and broader gene pool. We have used so many other tools to learn more about breeding goats and we have had the opportunity to be mentored by breeders who are very experienced. At some point I hope to make a resources tab. I also can't measure the volume of things that I have learned from people that I have met from Facebook groups related to dairy goats.
If you are shopping for a well put together miniature dairy goat or even pets... we have those. Contrary to rumors about goats being willing to eat anything, they are ruminants like cows and have pretty specific dietary needs and preferences. They are more likely to become a lawn ornament than a lawn mower. They will eat weeds, misc. bushes, trees, bark and branches, wild rose bushes, crunchy dry leaves, strip berry vines, and many other bits of nature before they will eat the grass (usually.) I will always try to match browsers or buyers with the pedigree lines, show potential, milking abilities, personality traits or appearance traits that they are trying to find. If I don't have the right goat - I have lots of breeder friends that I can refer you to!
If you are new to goats, I have advice! It's good to figure out what personality types will work best for you before you shop. This is especially important with Nigerian Dwarf goats because their personality traits are plentiful. It's also good to figure out what you most want from having goats because that helps to shop for the right goats for your situation and makes it less likely that you will want to re home ones that are a bad fit for you. I'm definitely going to tell you what I think my goats assets and limitations are. I personally would rather the right goats and people end up together for a happy match whenever possible. Do you need a working milker who is independent and minds her own business? A playful hooligan of a pet? Breeding stock from a specific blood line? A show goat? I do hope that there is a goat or a family line in my herd that you will want to purchase or reserve a kid from because I will go insane if I keep them all. Whether you buy goats from me or someone else, I encourage you to spend some time finding ones that will be a plus in your day to day. "Stubborn as a goat" is a real thing. Some of ours are dam raised and some are bottle raised.
Beginning in 2025, we will be bottle raising most litters. There are a few moms that are so darn sweet and maternal. I'm going to let them raise their kids because it makes me happy.
Disease tested negative annually 2020 2021 2022 2023, and July 2024 for CAE, CL, Johnes, and anything that I randomly become worried about LOL.
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