We began raising Boer meat goats approximately 6 yrs ago. Having been born and raised on the farm, Duane was familiar with a variety of livestock - being partial to raising cattle, as his father had. I, however, was a little apprehensive about handling the cattle and was interested in finding something that I could handle and have a more hands-on role in. That was when we discovered meat goats, and particularly, the Boer goat. We started with two young bottle-babies (1 week old) that I raised (don't laugh) in the basement of our in-town home - not having our house on the farm, yet, and realizing that 4 hr feedings would be a little bit difficult had we not kept them there. I'm sure you can imagine the confusion and curiosity of neighbors and passers-by when hearing the strange sounds coming from the house!
After raising the two young Boer goats, we knew we'd found the core livestock for our farm. It's been a slow process trying to build a herd, but we are getting there and have steadily increased from the original two. Our goal is to eventually increase the herd to about 30 breeding does and maintain it there. We've learned a lot over the past 6 yrs., often learning the hard way, and have a lot yet to learn, but have found our niche and have loved each step of the way.
Two years after beginning our goat business and adding Dixie, our Great Pyrenees livestock guardian, we began an off-shoot of the goat business, raising Great Pyrenees LGD's, with the addition of our male Pyr, Beau. We seem to have a knack for producing excellent LGD pups - or maybe it's just Beau and
Dixie - and have placed puppies in more than 5 states in the eastern part of the country, to date, with additional pups soon headed to mid-west farms. We are very proud of the pups produced here on Huber Farm and the excellent workers they all have become in their new homes.
On other aspects of the Hubers, when not farming, Duane is a journeyman plumber, working new construction. He has a passion for farm equipment and particularly for tractors; being partial to "red ones", but also having a spot in his heart for green.
I am at present an assistant manager at a local Family Dollar store and a would-be fulltime goat and dog breeder, though time and finances make that difficult, today. I am college educated and enjoy reading, writing, and working on the computer as often as I can, when not pursuing my first love (farm and goats).
Chris is a newlywed and new dad, adding our beautiful granddaughter, Jaidyn, and daughter-in-law, Stephanie, to our menagerie. He is a college graduate in the college Microcomputer Electronics field, and working in Pittsburgh. He is the computer expert in the family and very good at what he does.
Jimmy works in the mining industry as a lab tech testing coal samples and lives on his own very near here, visiting the farm often and helping out when he can.
Craig is in 8th grade and lives in NJ, with his mother and step-father, visiting the farm several times a year.
