Marilyn & her first cart goats 1960

Welcome to Kickadee Hill! “Kickadee” is a word we created to describe the gleeful way a goat will run and jump into the air, tossing her head this way and that, and kicking all four legs at once. When it came time to select a herd name, we decided that wherever our goat adventure took us, we’d like our goats to always be happy enough to go “kickadee down the hill”.

Brad and I were both born and raised on farms, and grew up caring for animals. We bought our first goats, a pair of Alpine does, in 1983. We quickly grew to four breeds and opened a dairy in northwestern Pennsylvania. For over a decade, we had a farm store as well as a raw milk license and a goat milk fudge making permit. In 1997 Brad received a job opportunity that moved us to Charleston, West Virginia. We have been exclusively Saanen for the last decade. We have gone full circle and are back to raising goats for the simple pleasures of the goat and her products.

The type of goat we breed today is the result of many years of work in the trenches. We went on DHIR standard test in 1989, and began to learn how to use the production data to choose sires that would improve our herd’s production. By 1993, we were first place out of 44 Pennsylvania goat herds with a rolling herd average of 3423 lbs. milk, 121 lbs. fat, 105 lbs. protein. During the early 90’s, we averaged five or six does across four breeds in the National Top Ten for Production each year. Those Top Ten does had 4,000+ lactations after birthing triplets and occasionally quads. With that rate of productivity, the does were walking a metabolic tightrope. The extra money we were making on milk was going straight into veterinary care. Their structure just couldn’t sustain their production. In 1991 we began to use ADGA’s linear appraisal system to improve our structure. As we did with the production data, we studied the linear appraisal program to learn how to effectively use the data acquired on our animals to improve our type. Through breeding and lots of work, we’ve developed the style of goat that pleases us.

Marilyn giving Arlo a brushing, 2008

Today our goal is to breed Saanens who are reliable in the milk parlor and competitive in the show ring. Nearly all of our milking does are Permanent Champions with several having their Superior Genetics designation. Although we no longer sell milk for a living, we milk our does year round. As a result, we continue to select for long, level lactations and easy temperaments. We like a sweet table milk, so we keep an eye on our butterfat levels as well. We keep goats for our pleasure, so we choose does with easy temperaments that can get along easily within the herds a well as with the humans who care for them. We breed for solid production and sound structure in equal proportions to create low maintenance, high performance animals who are capable of being productive will into their later years. It is not unusual for us to have does who are 10+ years old in the milking herd.

Buying kids can be an exciting way to add new genetics to your herd. We’ve had some of our doe lines as long as eight generations. Even our newer purchases have deep pedigrees with proven bloodlines. It is important to us that you are pleased with your purchase. Therefore, we will discuss our animals’ strengths and weaknesses with you so that you will know what to expect from your Kickadee Hill animal. If you’d like help making your choice, tell us which traits you are seeking and we will guide you towards the individuals who are strongest in those areas.

Brad making boards for new kid barn in 2007

You will receive a healthy, happy kid from Kickadee Hill. We hand raise all of our kids (including the wethers) and most will answer to their name long before they are weaned. Our kids are raised on a CAE prevention program. We pull kids at birth and feed them heat-treated goat colostrum and pasteurized goats’ milk. Our kids are routinely wormed with fenbendazole, cocci-treated with amprolium, vaccinated with CDT, and given Bo-Se and vitamin ADE supplements. We strive to give our kids the best possible start in life to ensure that they will reach their full potential as adults.

Working wethers are a great addition to any homestead. They can till your garden, haul in firewood, carry your supplies on a hike, and pull a cart. Easy temperaments, lots of size, sound structure, and great feet and legs are a must for a highly successful working wether. These traits are at the top of the list here at Kickadee Hill.

As is true of all creatures, a happy goat is a productive goat. We provide our goats with lots of room for exercise, rocks to play on, shelter from the weather, clean water, nutritious food, a fan to lay in front of during the hot summer months and oldies on the radio to chew their cuds by. In turn, our goats give us entertainment, affection, and a nutritious, easy to digest food source. I call that a fair trade. Goatkeeping is therapeutic. It is a way of life where every day begins and ends with creatures who appreciate something as simple as a clean drink of water and a scratch under the chin. Even when I’m having a bad day, goat antics can make me laugh in spite of myself. Our Saanens are very sweet and give peacefulness to my day. I can’t imagine life without them.