Dear Friends,
We are a ranch that believes in honoring both tradition and progress.
We respect the wisdom of those who came before us learning by doing, season after season.
But we also believe good shepherding means embracing the research, technology, and veterinary advancements available to us today.
This past year, one of our does, Enya, required both wisdom and technology.
Late last summer, she went into heat.
We bred her. She cycled again. We bred her again.
She kept going into heat and we realized we had a possible cystic ovary situation.
We followed the proper hormonal protocol to help her reset. Four times we tried.
Her hormonal imbalance became extreme and she began acting like a buck.
What might look like behavior to correct was, in truth, a body out of balance.
She wasn’t being difficult. She was in pain. And, she didn’t understand what was happening to her.
Eventually, her presence in the doe herd became dangerously disruptive to the other does.
We consulted with our veterinarian, who recommended we take her to Washington State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
So we loaded her up and made the trip.
At WSU, an ultrasound revealed what we could not see from the outside.
Enya’s ovaries, which should have been the size of large grapes, were enlarged to the size of ping pong balls and covered in multiple cysts.
Some farms might have chosen a quicker path. Auction. Culling. Moving the problem along.
But Enya is not a problem to pass off. She is a life under our care.
WSU has been pioneering a minimally invasive laparoscopic ovariectomy procedure for small ruminants - an advanced technique that allows for precision surgery and significantly faster recovery.
Through tiny incisions and remarkable skill, her ovaries were removed.
Within days, we began to see the difference.
She was no longer driven by a hormonal storm she couldn’t escape.
She will now be included in WSU’s case study and research that will be published in the near future.
Enya contributed to research that can help other goats and other farms facing cystic ovary problems.
What was so frustrating has now become part of something bigger.
My hope in sharing this is simple: if you have a doe in persistent heat or exhibiting buck-like behavior, don’t dismiss it.
Don’t assume it will resolve on its own. Work with your veterinarian. Ask deeper questions. There are options.
There is innovation happening in veterinary medicine that previous generations of shepherds simply did not have.
Good shepherding means refusing to overlook suffering just because it is inconvenient.
It means leaning into both compassion and science.
And sometimes, it means driving to a university hospital so one sweet goat can feel like herself again.
Enya will no longer make babies, but that is OK.
I will weave her beautiful mohair for many more years and enjoy her lovable presence in our herd.
Thank you for allowing us to share not only the beautiful moments on the ranch, but the complicated ones too.
Enya’s story is a reminder that stewardship is not just about production.
It’s about paying attention, having a strong relationship with your vet and asking questions, and choosing care even when it requires more effort.
We are grateful to partner with institutions like WSU that are advancing veterinary medicine, and we’re equally grateful for this community that values thoughtful, responsible ranching.
Together, we continue learning, season by season.
With love,
Angela
Angela
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