Crow's Dairy

Valley Fever

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:08:00 +0000

Well, I wish she didn't, but Luna has Valley Fever :-( Poor thing will be on meds for at least one year. She has a horrible cough and is getting thin. The vet thinks that she will recover. I am hoping for the best outcome!

Good and Bad

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:54:00 +0000

D & K Trucking are delivering crushed asphalt to cover all driving areas! So much going on with new restaurants and resorts placing orders. That's the good. Our LGD Luna has to go to the vet. She is pretty sick. That's the bad.

Facebook | Home

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:37:00 +0000

Facebook Home: "I think my house will be lucky if we drag a pine branch from our tree into a the living room Christmas Eve and throw a star on it ;-)" We have just been so busy. Can't wait until I have the time to update you on our STORM experiences and the wonderful people that helped us out! Right now we are trying to catch up after being out of electricity for 24 hours ... post more later.

Facebook | Rhonda Watkins Crow

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:39:00 +0000

Facebook Rhonda Watkins Crow: "Rhonda Watkins Crow Got the goat barn loaded with straw! We are supposed to have our first freeze tonight. I will be looking for my Carhartt overalls for tomorrow morning!"

One Year Old

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:25:00 +0000

Here is a picture of the house and buildings at the OLD Crow's Dairy to celebrate our "new" Crow's Dairy as it turns one today! It has been a year filled with all emotions the human kind can experience. Thankfully, most of those have been in the positive column. We are happy to be where we are today. I like to think that if you breathe in faith, you exhale fear and that is truly how we have survived the challenging parts. God is good.

Life has changed dramatically for all of us. Wendell and I now have different social groups

that neither knows the other! I have online goat friends that I learn so much from and feel as I "know" them. Wendell has his farmers market group and the chefs. He is busy again with the public and he loves this. So many of "our" teachers running up to him for a hug :-) Of course, he loves it. I hope to meet some of his friends when we open to the public on Saturdays sometime after the first of the year. We are on the doorstep of a press release. Zoning is all signed off and waiting for the final approval!

We are so busy! As I sit here, updating the blog, I know that I should hurry as the does are waiting. In fact, Wendell just came in and gave me the "look" so I KNOW it is time to go.

Cheese Judging at the AZ State Fair

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:29:00 +0000

I was honored to be asked to be a judge at this year's Goat Cheese Competition at the fair. They had twice as many entries as last year. The only thing missing was a doggie bag to take some of the entries home with me! Debbie Emholtz of Jacob's Pride made a goat milk cajeta that I absolutely loved. Could have sat and eaten the whole jar right there! The cajeta was almost as sweet as Debbie :-) She and her husband are some of the nicest people. Two of our does are from her breeding program. Anyway, another hit was the pesto pine nut chevre. Sandy Van Ecko (spelling?) made that and it was amazing. She also made a desert cheese that was made with walnuts and cherries. Mmmmmmm. Now, if I can just get those recipes from them! Congratulations to both on their blue ribbons. Farm markets have been doing great! We are at quite a few during the week. Check out our updated website for more info ... http://www.crowsdairy.com/ Well, time to go milk the does and hang my chevre.

David Lee

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:41:00 +0000

Our youngest son, David Lee, has always loved to hang out with animals. I found this picture a few days ago. It really brought back some "goat" memories. The goat kid in this picture is out of our goat that was named Eclipse. She was a dairy goat that we bought and she would never raise her own kids. It was because of Eclipse -- and a couple of her friends -- that I became a very good hand milker. David would feed the kids afterward. Now, he is my main feeder for all of our animals. I appreciate him so much! Hard work is in his blood. In the current picture you can still see he loves his girls! Ha ha! Arvilla is his favorite and the other one that is staring at him is Charlotte.

Comet's Dam Does It Again!

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:05:00 +0000

We want to thank Martin and Louise McClure of Six M Galaxy for the opportunity to own one of Noel's bucks. Our Comet is doing a great job here in AZ! His dam is in the top ten milkers for the 4th year in a row. We couldn't be happier with the kid crop that Comet produced for us this year. We are getting ready to breed him again to some of the girls. Wow! I am so glad we drove all the way to San Francisco to get our guy when he was just a few weeks old :-) Below is his dam's pedigree and milk records.

Noel ~ 4 Time National Top Ten Milker SG Six M Galaxy Nova's Sonia Noel 10*M 2008 Nubian National Top Ten #4 in milk, #5 in protein 2007 Nubian National Top Ten #10 in milk 2006 Nubian National Top Ten#1 in milk, #5 in protein2005 Nubian National Top Ten#3 in milk, #9 in butterfat, and #1 in protein (tie)2009 USDA Elite Doe ~ 99th Percentile 2008 USDA Elite Doe ~ 99th Percentile 2007 USDA Elite Doe ~ 99th Percentile 2006 USDA Elite Doe ~ 99th Percentile 2005 USDA Elite Doe ~ 99th Percentile Linear AppraisalAge 2 V V V V 85Age 3 V E E V 89Age 4 E E E V 91DHIR01-11 304 2970 124 11202-11 305 3680 143 123 (ext. 316 3730 145 126)03-11 305 4030 163 141 (ext. 363 4390 178 158)05-02 305 3400 117 118 (complete)06-01 287 3450 120 118 (complete) 07-00 116 1950 63 64 (in progress) LIFETIME 1691 19890 747 696 Sire: SG +*B Six-M-Galaxy Poseys BF Nova Dam: SG Six-M-Galaxy Pistachio's Sonia 9*M

Farmers Market

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:01:00 +0000

Our first official family/friend customer was Pam Boettcher Bray. She and Wendell went to Underdown Junior High together and we were all classmates at Tolleson High School when it was just one school and not a district. However, Pam hasn't stayed in the West Valley. Wendell went all the way to a market in Ahwatukee for this sale. She also became our first return customer at the same market this past weekend. I think she really liked it because this time she bought a pound instead of 4 ounces!

Thanks go to her and ALL of our friends and family that have become an integral part of this business. Being in the Valley of the Sun for 5 generations has its perks. I have a picture of my great grandparents (must scan and post) with their favorite Holstein cow in Buckeye taken in 1930. They had moved from Chandler to a piece of land in Buckeye where they homesteaded some property not that far from where our dairy is today! Seems like we are related to everyone here. Because of that we have lots of wonderful promoters out there. Many of them are on facebook, too. Happy to say that we are selling out at the markets. Sometimes with 2 or 3 hours of market time left all of the product is gone!

The 'girls' are finally paying their feed bill :-) A lot of you have been asking so many questions. I must apologize for the lack of communication here, on the web site and on facebook. Erik and I are doing our best to keep you in touch. We have just so many hats to wear. The fact is that we are still waiting to do any press releases until we get our ag exempt status approved. Yet one more hop through the LEGAL hoops. I am a rules girl though and we are doing things the right way! Currently, we are in the last month or two of the application process and things are moving right along. Then, and only then, can we install our perimeter fencing that we have to have before we can have on-farm sales. Right now we are having a heck of a time just keeping Luna contained. When she sees a coyote or such, she somehow wiggles right through the goat's feeder. She is very people friendly though. Luna just does her job very well. No dog, coyote, bobcat or other critter is allowed near her charges. In fact, she even chases birds away. Though frustrating, she is really an amazing dog. Just smart enough to get out when she feels the goats are threatened. Keep an eye out for Wendell, Erik, David, Charlotte and Becky at the Farmers Markets. Erik does a good job at keeping those we will be attending posted on our facebook page. I really hope they see some more of you there. I, on the other hand, will be in the barn milking or in "Johnny Crow's Kitchen" making the cheese. Text me!

Back from North Carolina

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:47:00 +0000

I am so happy to be back in my barn! I sure missed my goats and I think Wendell missed me ;-) For the past couple of weeks I have been in the Raleigh area visiting Carol, Wendell's sister. I took this opportunity to stay at the Celebrity Dairy Inn in Siler City. Carol and I had a great time staying with Brit and Fleming Pfann. They have been making goat cheese for 22 years and I learned so much from them. Since my 5-day Farmstead Cheese Course at Cal Poly in 2002, and all of the many other courses I have rooted out, I find there is still so much to learn. We attended the ADGA conference in San Francisco last year and thought we had done most of our homework. But, with each visit, conference, or book, I am finding that there is always more to learn. Then I remember, after all of the study and research, it has finally paid off. The fact is that we have acheived a long-held dream. Remember? We are official! Orders are coming in left and right and we have not even done our first press release. The many teachers that came on field trips are starting to hear whispers of our new operation being open. Not to the public yet! But, we are hoping/planning to have all ready for a January open house. We will see. In the meantime, it is good to be home where I love what I do! Give me the goats, the public is Wendell's specialty anyway. Got to go work on the web site some more. Boy is it out of date! January will be here before I know it!

First Retail Feta

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:33:00 +0000

Wendell made our first batch of Feta last night. He was cutting the curd at 3am! A very tired cheese whiz he is :-) This cheese will age for one month before it will be ready for sale. All of the does are doing their job, too. We have had good production considering it has been a long hot summer. We are all looking forward to the cooler weather.

Our cheese will be on a menu soon!

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:25:00 +0000

The next step has been taken. We have now sold cheese to our first customers! Our cheese will be available on the menu at Calistro California Bistro 18221 N. Pima Rd. in Scottsdale http://www.calistrocaliforniabistro.com/ . Or, you can purchase it at Cheuvront Restaurant and Wine Bar 1326 N. Central in Phoenix http://www.cheuvronts.com/ and also at The Meat Shop 202 E. Buckeye Rd. in Phoenix http://www.themeatshopaz.com/

Facebook | Your Photos - Cheese Studio

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:17:00 +0000

Facebook Your Photos - Cheese Studio: "8 photosEdit PhotosOrganize PhotosAdd More Photos"

Facebook | Crow's Dairy

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:01:00 +0000

Facebook Crow's Dairy: "Praise God! A huge thanks to everyone for their prayers, labor, time, talents and love! We can't begin to list the family and friends that have supported and helped us get to this point."

We are OFFICIAL!

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:58:00 +0000

We had our final inspection this morning and we are now a lisenced dairy in AZ! The inspector said, "Looks first-class" and "One of the nicest setups" that he has seen.

We have had many challenges and are finally glad to see the fruits of our labor. Thank God for this wonderful opportunity to do what we love for a living :-)

Smile and the world smiles with you!

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:58:00 +0000

I just had to share this picture of Arvilla. She is the sweetest goat we have. She may have a wry nose, and she is missing some baby teeth, but we love her so much. I didn't know that goats lose their baby teeth 2 at a time each year. Next year she will lose the teeth next to the ones missing and so on. Thanks to my friend Kathryn Heininger for that little tidbit. Kathryn is my goat mentor and I always learn a thing or two from her when we visit.

The lack of posts lately tells the story. We are so busy! Since our grandson was born, we have all been working overtime here. Cruz keeps all of us hopping :-) We are so close to getting the cheese up for sale. It just seems that every time you think you are done, some other hoop needs jumped through. We are now waiting for the dairy inspector to calibrate our pasteurizer.

The goats are doing well in spite of the heat. Wendell and Erik are finishing the construction. I am milking and feeding the little ones. David Lee is our clean up guy. What ever job needs done, he is on that duty. Lately he has been helping me in the barn doing the wash up after milking among other chores. It is so nice to have him back from his summer tour! His band was gone for six weeks. They went as far north as Maine and as far south as Miami, FL with stops all along the way. It's just great to have him back safe and sound.

First visit to the dairy

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:27:00 +0000

The newest goat farmer in town. Well, it only took him 12 days to come to the farm :-) This is our newest grandson, Cruz. He slept through most of his visit to our house today. We are so excited to have a new milker coming up and Mary and Erik are so proud of this little guy (as are we)! Just had to share the latest pic of our new grandKID!

Kids of a different kind

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:19:00 +0000

I am going to post about some of the new "kids" that have been born to friends and family this year. The first one being Haley Jewel. This picture says it all. You can really see true love in the eyes of Haley and Grandma Gaye. We spent most of last summer in Montrose, CO caring for a dear friend that was losing his long battle with cancer. Through him we have become very close with some of the most wonderful people. Doug & Gaye, Tim & Amber, Tyler, Marilyn, Verna, Walter ... just to name a few. When Jack was close to the end, Tim and Amber found out that they were expecting. It was such a bittersweet time in their lives. Losing their Uncle Jack and finding out they were to be blessed with a new life. This baby would have been the apple of her Uncle Jack's eye! Oh, how I wish he could have seen this future Cover Girl. I miss Montrose!

Little Mike

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:12:00 +0000

Well, Natalie's little premie, Z36, is now a regular kid! We have been calling him Mike. He is bouncing around like all of the other kids now. Here is his picture. He is 2 weeks old and the size of most newborns. He is going to a 4H home today. I have really become attached to this guy. He was disbudded last night and did great. Bye Mike!

Sneaky Sharon

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:56:00 +0000

Sharon is one of those goats that likes her own kind better than the human kind. She was raised just like the others were but is her own goat! I check the ligaments by a doe's tailbone two or three times daily when the time gets near. It has been a great indicator and I have caught most of the girls within 12 hours of kidding. Sharon, stinker that she is, didn't make it easy to do the checks. I usually would have to get Wendell to help me and he is so busy. So ... we found Z39 in the doe pen. She had hidden her birth even from Luna! He was still gooey and wet when Wendell went to fix a fence near her hiding place. Sharon is an excellent mom! She was cleaning him like nobody's business. She loves her baby buckling. He is black and white with a white snip on his nose just like his mom. He weighed 7 lb 10 oz and is very heatlthy. Sharon is not as crazy in the barn as I had expected. She's only had one milking so far that was a little bit of a rodeo.

Barbara Helps the Doe Ratio

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:57:00 +0000

I pulled Barbara from the doe pen last night. She looked like her udder would explode and she was showing other signs the time was near. About 4 this morning I was convinced we would be having morning babies. Then she was still the same after milking. She was arching her back and straining while standing. Sometimes they will do this when a kid isn't lined up right. So, after a few more pushes that were going nowhere, I discovered only one leg and one head in the birth canal. After a little rearranging -- a 6.1# black and white roan doeling came out with a bit of help. Shortly after followed another 6.3# black and white doeling. Both were trying to stand within minutes. I fed them colostrum, Vitamin E, B12 and weighed them. The two are doing great. The roan girl looks so gray already. We are going to call her Gertie. The other one is Teri. I now have 21 to milk twice daily with 8 does left to kid.

Anniversary #28

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:14:00 +0000

Here is a picture of us going to our Jr/Sr Prom. Wow! Sweet 16 for sure. I would put a picture of our wedding, but I have it on my other computer :-) It has been a great 28 years and we are celebrating with friends and family. We are going to have a bonfire after milking tonight.

Cruz Control!

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:42:00 +0000

Okay! Okay! I have been so busy that I have not even blogged about Z37! HA HA! Not really, this kid's our new grandson. I will finally sit down and take the time to blog about Mary having her baby. Talk about a dream pregnancy/delivery/healthy baby experience. She even looked gorgeous after delivery. Cruz Ryan Hernandez is now part of the Crow Clan. He weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces, 19-1/4" born at 7:44 am on June 9th, 2009. His APGAR was 9/9. What a healthy little baby -- and all this at three weeks premature! We are so blessed. Mary's water broke a bit after 11pm the night before and we all headed to Good Sam. After a few hours, Wendell had to get back to milk. Mary wanted me with her during delivery so I got out of the milking chore! Wendell was still milking when Mary delivered Cruz (four contractions) and I called Wendell as he was making his way into this world. Wendell could hear everything and since we didn't know the sex of the baby it made it even more exciting! He heard Mary say "It's a boy!" and then heard his first cries. It was perfect. We are so happy for Mary and Erik.

Finally Standing

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:35:00 +0000

Natalie's little guy stood up on his own today! I am moving his odds up to 90/10 now to make it. When he was first born it was touch and go. I thought he had a 40/60 chance to live. So small and weak. I have been getting up at midnight to feed him and checking to make sure he is breathing before I go to the trouble of warming some milk. Usually, I have the milk on to warm before I realize I am awake. All of the moms out there know what I mean ;-) And, with healthy kids you don't need to do the toileting thing. I am so glad he can stand now because I won't have to be changing his paper towel diapers that I would make for him. Woo hoo!

NICU

crowsdairy@aol.com (Crow's Dairy) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 04:02:00 +0000

The Nubian Intensive Care Unit has a new patient. Z36 was born a week premature and is doing fairly well considering that. Natalie kidded with little effort when she had the 4-1/2 lb singleton buckling. He has markings just like dad and is so cute. I am feeding him once every three or four hours and since he can't stand yet (getting close though), I have to also do all of the toileting for him -- not my favorite part of the job. I have him in the back room of the dairy house where the scorpions are. Yes, the scorpions. Wendell and David are collecting the ones we find in a terrarium. These are not Bark Scorpions (because I would have killed those by now) but the less venomous Giant Desert Hairy. They are ten times bigger, twice as creepy, but not nearly as dangerous. The guys all chase down bugs to feed them since I am not, I repeat, am not going to be responsible for them. Ewww! My next animal will be Guinea Fowl! They love to eat scorps!