Deep South Kikos

06/02/2026

We use rotational grazing with cattle on our farm. Our main catch pen, that we work cattle/goats in, is in the middle of the farm. Any time we have to work cattle, we try to schedule it when they are due to travel through the catch pen to the next pasture.

Today it was time to work the cattle since the grass was getting short and they were ready to move. We scheduled it for as soon as I (Shane) got home from my off the farm job.

Working them through the catch pen gives us an opportunity to look them over closely, re-tag any that need new ear tags, vaccinate before breeding, and identify any that we need to make the decision to be culled-due to temperament, health, age, information within their calving records.

We were able to get help from our new goat roper, uncle Butch McConnell. We were also fortunate enough to have our daughter Mallory squeeze some time in her schedule to help us out too!

05/31/2026

We decided to try fall kidding this year, as we normally have spring kidding. Since we’ve normally kidded in the spring for so many years, we decided to try using CIDR implants to help kickstart the does heat cycle.

We decided to add new genetics as well. We have this opportunity, thanks to Joseph Knetter, for allowing us to use his K32 Even Money Buck. He will have most of the young up and coming does since we have such a tight genetic pool.

We have three breeding groups with around 20 does in each group. We are starting to see the heat of the summer so we have our fingers crossed for a successful breeding season. I always say “you don’t know until you try”.

We also gained a new “goat roper” and would like to give a big thank you to uncle Butch McConnell for helping work goats on two separate days both inserting and removing 57 CIDR implants. He stepped up and took care of business by having the chute always full of goats ready to be worked.

I would like to give a big thank you to Ashley Hesterman for keeping us straight with the spread sheet. Keeping track of three breeding groups who are all in one big pen and being able to separate them is a big job.

05/09/2026

We decided to move kidding season to the fall. We haven’t had fall kidding in many years so we decided to try it again.
As you can see from the photos we did have a few unplanned kids due to a buckling break out, just so happened to be with the replacement doelings. We had five out of 10 doelings kid on their one year old birthdays.

The calf crop is still on schedule and going pretty good with just one issue. A young mom not wanting her calf and getting confused with her mom’s newborn calf, never had that happen before.

04/29/2026

Introducing pups to the watering hole for the first time.

They were born in this pasture but they haven’t ventured out far enough to get water from the pond so I decided to show them this afternoon.

03/25/2026

First calf of 2026 season. This one was born Sunday but I didn’t have my camera on me. I’m trying to do better about keeping it with me because you’ll never know what you’ll get to see. You might even see a turkey hunter slithering through the woods behind them!

03/21/2026

Took a walk in the front pasture today just to see if I can get a few pictures. Happy first day of spring 🌱

03/20/2026

So Ashley, what did you do today? Well, I walked around the pasture and pulled these devils out of the ground. Years ago I had written a blog post about a citrusy type tree we had growing in our pasture. We were warned to get rid of the original tree, but as it usually goes it wasn’t at the top of the priority list. I’m guessing birds, cows, or goats ate the fruit and spread the seeds. Shane noticed small ones springing up everywhere in the pasture and he has even had punctures to the tires on the Kawasaki mule from these. Today I decided to try to help out with them and filled the back of the mule with what I pulled from the ground. That was a job!!! Some were quite a bit bigger and didn’t want to leave. You can see the thorns and let me tell you they are sharp; I mean they put holes in tires!! I will include a link in the comments for anyone interested in these invasive things.

01/03/2026

We have a few guardians available for work. They are born and raised with cattle and goats. They come guaranteed for work and health.
Let us know what your farm needs are and we can pick the best pup for your farm.

11/26/2025

It’s BedTime.

11/26/2025