Marigold was a happy coincidence. I planned to shift my mini cattle purpose to homestead herds a few weeks back and realized I needed one to two more dairy mamas. I started researching my breed options, the benefits of one over the other, and if any breeds crossed well with beef breeds to raise that perfect homestead combo.
Upon learning about Guernsey, I discovered they have "milk of gold." I have a dairy sensitivity, so the milk benefits hit home with me. I started seeing if I could find any for sale. Nothing. The keyword "Guernsey" didn't bring anything back in any of the cattle sale groups. I shifted over to Craigslist, even though I prefer not to buy from Craigslist for a multitude of reasons, but primarily scammers. Anyway, I found Marigold! So I emailed the seller and moved along with my searches; honestly, I did not find much else except a Guernsey ranch in Tyler, TX, which was very tempting too.
The seller wrote back, and we started texting. Once we started talking about Marigold and her personality, I knew she was my girl. She was on a property by herself, raised organic, and was gentle & docile. They acquired her at four months old, directly from the ranch I had found in my searches—The Waldo Way. I was smitten.
We're so excited to breed Marigold and have gold milk for our family. We're undecided on who we'll breed her to this first time; we're more focused on getting her there quickly. Norman isn't of age yet, but that doesn't mean he won't try. He's an escape artist, too. My tentative plan is to AI her with a mini jersey or mini highland. We'll see what we can make happen the easiest and quickest. Mini Guernseys don't seem to exist, so we will experiment with our mini bulls & straw providers to find the best breed to cross her with. My end goal is the rich golden milk that Guernseys are known for. Who knows, maybe I'll end up with another one. 😉
Watch our Instagram, as I'll be getting my photography camera out later today to get some more great shots of her.
Welcome, Marigold 🎉
