The heart of our Homestead
As a little girl, Randee dreamed of becoming a schoolteacher. Over the years, her passion shifted toward animals, leading her to major in zoology in college, but her love for children remained strong. It’s no surprise that she enjoys homeschooling her own kids. One of her favorite aspects of Wild Willows is sharing knowledge about the animals.
Wonka
Our newest baby. He was born in the early hours of October 13th, 2024. He is half milking shorthorn and half beef.
Bart
Our miniature donkey. He came to live with us in October 2020 as a birthday present to Judah (he had been asking for a donkey for many years). He is a glorified pasture pet and
likes to let the whole neighborhood know he is here. Often, he says “Good Morning” or “It’s feeding time”.
Moana, Calliope, Hermione, and Applejack
Our original goats who started us out on our goat journey. These four are all half sisters (have the same dad) and Calliope and Hermione are full sisters. We picked these four out from a sweet family, Climbing Pines, in 2019.
Moana
She is the youngest of the four, born July 14, 2019. She may be Randee’s favorite, and they have a special attachment. Shortly after we brought her home, she became deathly sick. Randee nursed her around the clock while she was wearing baby pjs to help keep her warm. She is the best goat on the milk stand, even comes to the gate waiting her turn. She is an awesome showmanship goat for the kids, as she will let anyone walk her and typically cooperates very well.
Calliope
One of our twins, she was born July 6, 2019. She has always been a steady and easy-going goat. She was our first goat to do well in the show ring, winning Reserve Champion Nigerian Dwarf at the Auglaize County Fair. But unfortunately, developed mastitis and lost half of her udder function. She is still an incredible goat and makes amazing babies and somehow feeds them well.
Hermione
The other twin, was also born on July 6, 2019. She had also become sick shortly after bringing her home. But, recovered well. She is an easy keeper and has also been a great show goat. Her first time kidding didn’t go very well though. She had a baby with its head thrown backwards, Randee had worked on her for a couple hours before she ended up with a c-section. Ever since she hasn’t had any issues.
Hershey
Was born to Hermione after her c-section the year before, talk about nerve racking. Born on April 4, 2022, she was our big winner at the 2023 Auglaize County Fair. She won Supreme Champion Goat (meaning she was the best goat on the fairgrounds), after winning Junior Grand Champion Nigerian Dwarf, Senior Grand Champion Nigerian Dwarf, and Champion Dairy Goat.
BellaDonna
Remington’s first goat. She purchased her in September 2022 from CrossWind Nigerians in Cardington, Ohio. She was born April 11, 2021. Her first time kidding (having babies) she gave us three boys (not exactly what we wanted). In 2024 she had an amazing year in the show ring. She was the Reserve Grand Champion Junior Show at the Ohio State Fair and then went on to win Supreme Champion Goat at the Auglaize County Fair. Not only is she pretty, but she is so easy to handle. The poor goat was shown 10 times during the peewee and the adult showmanship classes, after she had earned all her own winnings! She got lots of love and treats that night after all her hard work.
Violet
She is Remington’s other goat she bought with BellaDonna. She is not the most fun to handle, as she puts the brakes on hard core anytime you try to move her. But she is very sweet. We look forward to having a little girl out of her this year.
Fiesta
was also purchased with Violet and BellaDonna from CrossWind Nigerians. He has fathered all of babies born on our farm in 2023 and is great at passing on his moon spots. He has an incredible hairdo and is just majestic..
Calypso
A Calliope baby born May 19, 2023. As a yearling she has done wonderfully in the show ring. She won Grand Champion at the Ohio State Fair, Jr Champion Nigerian Dwarf and Jr Champion Dairy goat at the Auglaize County Fair, and Jr Grand Champion at the Allen County Open show. She has won first place in her class multiple other times. We are excited to see her kid spring 2025.
In September 2023, we added goats from the state of New York thanks to RZ acres.
Misconduct
Even though she is our oldest goat on the farm, she has amazing genetics! Jonah decided she would be a great addition to our herd to help us improve our quality. She was born July 12, 2014, and is older than most of my children.
Superintendent
Born September 13, 2023, he quickly got to work after arriving at our farm. He won Reserve Champion Buck at the Buckeye Classic show in May 2024. We look forward to showing him again next spring and seeing more of his babies on the ground.
Briella
Ryder’s baby. Bree had her on her birthday, January 28, 2024. She had a pretty good year as a Senior doeling, winning several first places in her class.
Wild Willows Homestead 