# signs on pens?



## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Anyone ever make little signs to hang on your pens at shows? How do you make them or hang them so your goats don't eat them? lol. State fair is just a little over a week away, and my daughter and I had talked about putting little homemade signs on each of the pens with nickname/farm name and maybe a picture of each goat/baby picture. I'd definitely like to put something on the buck pens along the lines of please don't pet/touch. 
These are boer goats and no where high to hang anything.

For the bucks - their hay feeders are small round mineral tub feeders I had my husband drill holes in so I could put hay in them and zip tie them to the front of their pens (eat through the bars), they worked great at the last show. I could possibly just tape signs on the back of those.
For the does - we could put a sign behind their hanging canvas hay bags, but I worry if they flip up the hay bags they could get to the sign so needs to be something safe.

I don't want to buy anything, I want to use stuff we have on hand. Although I know Michaels sometimes has wooden plaques for $1 or even the General Dollar. I don't think I'll be going near a Walmart to check there before we leave for state fair.


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## CCCSAW (Jul 11, 2019)

Some of ours have a top bar over the gate you can hang things from or run cord in between to hang things on. Most put up a decent back display with 2x4s and lattice or wire to hang things on. We try to keep things off the front because a board goat can and does eat plywood, so reinforcing is limited. But that would be your best option. You could like you said use the goat feeders to at least hide it from the goats but that's going to give you limited space. Ideas like reusable signs might work. You can make them out of plywood or attach to a plywood base. We have some premade wooden goat signs that I need to clean up for next.


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## bisonviewfarm (Apr 2, 2015)

We had corrugated plastic signs last year for the group. Surprisingly I didn't see a single goat eat them. Might be worth a shot as its pretty cheap to make


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

I'm heading out the door, will post more later, but this is an old pic I found - I believe these are the pens/same size we'll be using and same building. No place high to hang anything


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## CCCSAW (Jul 11, 2019)

Oh yuck... well I just we have to work with what they give us. 

You could certainly zip tip things to the front and just be prepared for them to eat it. It will take some work to figure out what will be the best way to hang things with the goats destroying it


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

You could maybe glue the paper to a piece of painted plywood so the goats won't want to eat it. You could paint the plywood pretty colors too so it could look more decorative


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

Or you could put them in really cheap picture frames from Walmart, but those might get knocked down and break


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

OR! You could get a wood burning set from Walmart (12$) and get a piece of scrap wood and wright the goat name on that and glue some little fake flowers and paint it, then take some duct tape and rip off some of the paint to make it look a little more "rustic" or "distressed" or just keep it looking clean and sharp.


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

https://www.walmart.com/ip/220V-110...MI29rGkc_z4wIVxkXVCh0bqgMZEAQYCCABEgIHTvD_BwE

Here is the wood burning set

Ok sorry I am spamming your thread!


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

The tighter you can make the signs, the less inclined the goats will be to mouth and play around with them. Zipties that not only hold them from the top but also pull them tight from the bottom might be useful...


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks for the suggestions! I wish I had time and extra $$ for the wood burning set, that is something to consider next year! I am getting ready to go out and do evening chores and will see if we have any thin, scrap pieces of wood my husband could cut down. Otherwise, I will check at Michaels this weekend. We need to get PVC to make a stand for the banner, so I'll have to go to Lowe's for that and there is a Walmart next door, so if Michaels didn't have something, maybe Walmart would - you guys got me thinking wood - don't they sell cheap wood plaques? I bet I could get my husband to drill holes if they don't have a way to hang! I figured we could print their name w/our farm name above and maybe a photo of them or baby photo of them. I'm going to refer back to this post and write down ideas when we do go to the store.


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

HoosierShadow said:


> don't they sell cheap wood plaques?


Yes, you can get those at walmart too. You could also get those little sticky letters to put on the wood. And put little decorations around those to. I would do fake flowers, maybe some burlap trim if I painted it, but this is you and your daughters project, so you can do whatever you want! If you have any extra paint from previous projects, or even spray paint. I would make bright colors so your signs will pop and people will be drawn to the colors! Maybe a nice bright blue, a nice coral color, a lilac purple, even just super white white! You could even decorate a cork board!
OMG. I am getting carried away! I love decorating things! I just dont have much time to do little projects like this any more.Sorry!


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

https://www.michaels.com/surfaces-and-plaques/plaques/809188676


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks for the link I will look through the ones available in store and plan on going Saturday morning!
I love decorating stuff too, not great at it, but it sure can be fun once you get going with an idea! I had a vinyl banner printed, and planning to make a PVC frame to hang it on. My daughter and I are working on a tri fold poster - actually she wanted to revamp the one she made last year! So we took most of the old photos and goat names off of it, and will be doing a 'Did you know' on the left side with goat facts and on the right side I made up a Breed Standards: What does the judge look for? info sheet that I plan on cutting out, applying to some construction paper and we'll attach it to the board - then the kids can select pictures for printing to add to it. We'll most likely have this set up with some decorations on a table, and my daughter wants to do a bowl of mints. The signs will be for the pens. 
We do have some paint. Ideally I think we'll try to print something we can attach to the front of the plaque - farm name/logo, goat name or something like that. If we can pick up decorations for them we will, but time to do it will be an issue, we have so much to get done and get ready before next Friday.


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

HoosierShadow said:


> We do have some paint. Ideally I think we'll try to print something we can attach to the front of the plaque - farm name/logo, goat name or something like that. If we can pick up decorations for them we will, but time to do it will be an issue, we have so much to get done and get ready before next Friday.


Well, I have another idea! I was looking through my stuff this morning to find a little table to put next to my chair in the milk room. I found a little wooden one, that I wanted to sand down and paint. It has a top much like this
https://www.target.com/p/quik-fold-...31Df4MLfIKjwmaVMZ1gaAqCQEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
but it only has 5 slats of wood on the top. I wanted to paint the middle one a really pretty blue color that would match my chair, just for a little pop of color, but decided to go with a small little plastic table i found that will be alot easier to clean.

Anyways, you could maybe get a wooden plaque like this








And paint the middle piece a really bright color, again to make it POP 
If you had more time, you could make individual plaques but that would be pricey and time consuming! Maybe you could do just one plaque of your does, or maybe one of all your junior does you take, one of all your senior does you take, one of all your wethers you take etc.


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

HoosierShadow said:


> but time to do it will be an issue, we have so much to get done and get ready before next Friday.


I understand that. How far away is the show? Your daughter could do some decorations in the car! :gottagohighfive)
i will try to think of some more good, quick ideas for ya!


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

Ok, here is my last one for the day. 
You can find decent sized rocks, paint your goats name on them, and have the rock holding down a picture of that goat. You could display it on your table by your trifold and mints. That isnt a sign, but it is a really cheap, quick, and simple decoration!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Our state fair is an hour away, not too far thankfully. We're planning to take 8 Boer goats. I entered 9, but opted to leave a senior doe home as she just stresses too much at the shows. 

The rock idea is very clever! My daughter is actually putting a bunch of pictures on the trifold though, but I will tell her about the rock idea - actually going to let her read the replies here this evening  
I'll share pics of what she/we come up with as soon as we can get some progress on the trifold. The Vinyl banner came in the mail yesterday and looks great, very pleased! I've never made one before so wasn't sure how to put it together - it was time consuming since I designed it in photoshop and had to do each photo individually (taking out background on some of the pics), just deciding on pics was hard - didn't want to clutter the banner, but wanted to make it so we can use it in the future, not just this year.

I'm hoping we can make progress on the tri fold tonight. It's a mess where we took the old pics off (will cover the spots with new pics). I tried to get her to start over a new one, but she likes this one too much lol

This is the banner design


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## Dwarf Dad (Aug 27, 2017)

Just love looking at pictures of your goats.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Dwarf Dad said:


> Just love looking at pictures of your goats.


Thanks! I'll have to share some recent pictures when I get on my computer later .

This is the progress on our trifold poster - only the trim, ribbons, top pics and words are glued down, everything else is just sitting on there. I printed and cut them out my daughter can arrange however she wants.

We'll be printing new pics to place randomly over the bottom part those pics are just ones we removed.

We'll add show pics to the right side. Sorry if it uploads sideways lol. 
Also, not sure if we should use red and blue just grabbed it to consider.


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## Morning Star Farm (Sep 26, 2018)

HoosierShadow said:


> Anyone ever make little signs to hang on your pens at shows? How do you make them or hang them so your goats don't eat them? lol. State fair is just a little over a week away, and my daughter and I had talked about putting little homemade signs on each of the pens with nickname/farm name and maybe a picture of each goat/baby picture. I'd definitely like to put something on the buck pens along the lines of please don't pet/touch.
> These are boer goats and no where high to hang anything.
> 
> For the bucks - their hay feeders are small round mineral tub feeders I had my husband drill holes in so I could put hay in them and zip tie them to the front of their pens (eat through the bars), they worked great at the last show. I could possibly just tape signs on the back of those.
> ...


I have seen displays like that at dairy goat shows and it can be as simple as a piece of paper in a sheet protector zip tied to the pen. If you zip tie all four corners, the goats seem to leave them alone. The paper has a cute picture of the goat, their barn name, a little bit of information and a few fun facts about them and do not feed or touch. Sometimes the fun facts are told by the goats, like my name is____etc....

Good luck at the fair!


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

Love the trifold!


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## GoofyGoat (Sep 21, 2018)

Nigerian dwarf goat said:


> Well, I have another idea! I was looking through my stuff this morning to find a little table to put next to my chair in the milk room. I found a little wooden one, that I wanted to sand down and paint. It has a top much like this
> https://www.target.com/p/quik-fold-...31Df4MLfIKjwmaVMZ1gaAqCQEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
> but it only has 5 slats of wood on the top. I wanted to paint the middle one a really pretty blue color that would match my chair, just for a little pop of color, but decided to go with a small little plastic table i found that will be alot easier to clean.
> 
> ...


Just a heads up:
Those wood plaques come from china and they're coated with a mold repellent... so I wouldn't use that plaque near the goats if they're prone to chewing. I work part time at Michael's and know this first hand as I unpack them from the truck weekly.


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

GoofyGoat said:


> Those wood plaques come from china and they're coated with a mold repellent... so I wouldn't use that plaque near the goats if they're prone to chewing. I work part time at Michael's and know this first hand as I unpack them from the truck weekly.


Wow, good to know! Well i guess @HoosierShadow back to scrap wood from the barn!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks for the kind comments on the trifold! We were going to work on it this evening, but by the time we got grocery shopping & dinner done, and goat chores, then a shower it was getting late. So we'll try to finish it up tomorrow - I'm about to print off the pics for it. 
We still have to wash and clip the goats, just so they can go back out to their favorite dirt spots and get filthy again and need another bath at the show Saturday morning lol!

Thanks GoofyGoat! that is definitely good to know! I was totally going to go in the morning when we go get grain!
I never did get a chance to look and see if we had scrap wood! Been a super busy day! But I'm wondering.... the protective sleeve suggestion gave me an idea...

What if I cut cardboard (I have some empty Amazon boxes!), let my daughter decorate the front, put it in a protective sleeve and fold it to fit the sign, and use a strong tape like shipping tape all around it, reinforce holes for zip ties, and zip tie it really tight as suggested? In that case all we'd really need is the tape, I would have everything else on hand! 

Again, going to look over all of the suggestions. It will also be great to use these ideas for next year too! I don't have shipping tape, but I do have extra protective sleeves.


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## Morning Star Farm (Sep 26, 2018)

HoosierShadow said:


> Thanks for the kind comments on the trifold! We were going to work on it this evening, but by the time we got grocery shopping & dinner done, and goat chores, then a shower it was getting late. So we'll try to finish it up tomorrow - I'm about to print off the pics for it.
> We still have to wash and clip the goats, just so they can go back out to their favorite dirt spots and get filthy again and need another bath at the show Saturday morning lol!
> 
> Thanks GoofyGoat! that is definitely good to know! I was totally going to go in the morning when we go get grain!
> ...


I think that is a great idea! You could even glue or tape a piece of paper to the cardboard to make it even sturdier, then cover them with the protective sleeve.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Yep that's my thought too! Next year I'd love for my daughter to make some kind of 'reusable' stall signs for the bigger shows she goes to - and decorate them like Nigerian Dwarf has mentioned! 

We'll try to get to work on the signs as soon as we get a chance and will share the progress! Hoping to finish the trifold poster today. Printed pics and cut them out so my daughter can arrange them however she wants. 
I have to go get feed this morning and stop to get the stuff to make a banner frame. 
Hoping to get the bucks washed and clipped later. I didn't realize it was going to turn hot again (low to mid 90s! yuck!), and we have to do our clipping outside, not enough room in the barn and too hot with the sun. But I lose shade mid day, so it's kind of funny I'll be in one spot and have to move to another. I give up around 1:30pm to about 4:30pm lol! I told my husband I need a pop up shade tent for when we clip goats!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks! I agree the weather loves to be crazy around show day! We've been in the 80s, not too bad, so of course low 90s for the days I need to get things done. The humidity is what makes it miserable.

We ended up not washing/clipping today. We'll start on them early tomorrowa try to get most done. 

We finished the trifold poster, I just hope now, we have room to display it lol. I also hope my friend has room on her table for my griddle so my daughter can use my table or we'll have to figure out how to get it displayed. She plans on getting mints to put in a bowl for people who stop to look at the poster. We'll start messing with pen sign ideas this evening.


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## GoofyGoat (Sep 21, 2018)

Your daughter did a great job! That'll be eye candy for folks who stop to admire your goats!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks! I appreciate it! 

For the pen signs, we've opted to only make 3, one for each buck - using the banner design, but without the middle photos and instead we'll put something like 'please don't pet' as we'd like people not to mess with the boys.


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## Morning Star Farm (Sep 26, 2018)

HoosierShadow said:


> Thanks! I appreciate it!
> 
> For the pen signs, we've opted to only make 3, one for each buck - using the banner design, but without the middle photos and instead we'll put something like 'please don't pet' as we'd like people not to mess with the boys.


That looks great! Hope you get a nice cool breeze tomorrow! I always wanted to put up signs like that. Some fair visitors are great, but others, WOW! And I don't mean War of Will! Lol


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Morning Star Farm said:


> That looks great! Hope you get a nice cool breeze tomorrow! I always wanted to put up signs like that. Some fair visitors are great, but others, WOW! And I don't mean War of Will! Lol


LOL! I definitely do agree about those fair visitors. We were lucky when we were in the arena as there were not a lot of people that would come through. But after a concert and drunk concert goers who were lost wondered in.... it could get interesting lol.
We'll definitely be in a more congested area, so we'll see what happens especially since it'll be Fri/Sat nights. Hopefully no drama, and people are respectful of the animals. It will definitely be a long weekend, but hopefully full of fun 

5 goats washed and clipped! 3 more to go, tomorrow! My body is protesting! lol


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks! Hopefully it will be a great experience as it usually is  Oh yes, I dread the idea of people trying to feed the goats or mess with them. A friend warned that people even tried to get in pens or open pens of Dairy goats when they used to go. Hopefully none of that happens! 
I enjoy talking with people. They have a 'Herdsman' award each year for the best 'farm display' and I was told they walk around and talk to everyone and look to see who is clean and organized, etc. So a friend told my kids and a couple of other families we should get involved and try to get the award, so... that is part of my kids drive for doing this (and mine lol). But it'll be fun regardless unless goats get ahold of everything lol

I agree, washing and clipping can definitely be back breaking! I got them all done today with the exception of horns and hooves! My husband and son can help with that tomorrow or Wed afternoon.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Walmart sells small chalkboard type plaques. They are rectangular, some shaped like arrows, etc. (also have pre drilled little holes in them). I used chalk one year and another year paint markets. Zip tie tight and the goats may not mess with them. (They are in the arts and craft aisle). 

Good luck in your show!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Morning Star Farm said:


> I was going to ask if they had those awards that you could win for your display! I hope you win both of them! I hope your goats don't ruin it for you! I know it would be just like mine to do that!
> 
> Oh Yes, while I've never had it happen, I've had friends stop people from climbing in pens at shows. They'll throw something in and then go in on the pretense of getting it. Taking kids is the worst, especially bottle babies, because they're so cute, they'll suck on everything and people are very free with their fingers. I've been very blessed not to have ever brought anything back from a fair or show. I enjoy walking around fairs and seeing the other animals because it makes it much easier to wait for your class! And I've met a lot of really nice people who want to get goats in the future. I look at the others as a challenge and kinda look forward to it!
> 
> What do you do with their horns? I never even thought of that, but I imagine you'd want them looking nice too.


Thanks! Hopefully it will come together great with as much work as we've put into it!  I don't have anything packed or ready to go yet lol I need to get on the ball! I decided to take it easy today, I really needed a day with a lighter load. 
First state fair show was stressful, then we knew what to do/what to expect. This one is stressful coming into it with not knowing what to expect with the building change. Usually it's a warmer building if I recall, they keep an overhead door open, and that is a worry because it's going to be very hot this weekend - 96 is forecasted high both days! yuck! Surely they will make sure everyone is comfortable.

The horns - you just want them to look smooth and clean/nice. Usually all they need is to have them sanded and make sure tips aren't too sharp. Others who have horns that are cracked/peeling from growing or damage from using them - you need something else, I know people use an electric grinder/sander I believe, but we aren't that spiffy (lol), my husband uses a hoof rasp, then sandpaper to smooth it. We don't do any fancy prep for our goats, but do try to make them look their best.

So far bucks might be winning on getting dirty first lol. Yearling paint is in the running though! I tell ya, they stand out there looking for ways to get dirty lol.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Goats Rock said:


> Walmart sells small chalkboard type plaques. They are rectangular, some shaped like arrows, etc. (also have pre drilled little holes in them). I used chalk one year and another year paint markets. Zip tie tight and the goats may not mess with them. (They are in the arts and craft aisle).
> 
> Good luck in your show!


Thanks! I was wondering about those little chalk boards! If the little signs we made work out, then next year I think this is something we may look into doing, plus do the decoration ideas that Nigerian Dwarf mentioned by adding flowers and decorations.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Morning Star Farm said:


> Oh yes! Maybe they'll bring out some big fans that are so great for circulating the dust around!! Seriously, I hope you do stay cool. I never showed in summer for that reason unless the barn was air conditioned.
> 
> That's interesting about the horns. Sounds like a little extra attention and work, but worth it.
> 
> They sit around all day looking for ways to get into trouble! I always washed mine no more than two days before the show, doused them with Showsheen and clipped the next day followed by another drenching with Showsheen. That kept them clean and they sure smelled sweet! Lol


Yep, you can't win either way lol. We're used to the summer county fairs around here, open sides on the barns and most have good air circulation, others have really good ceiling fans. Our goats aren't used to air conditioning so the plus side is, this building shouldn't be as cold as the arena. Usually the weather isn't too bad, but being in the 90s will be hot, so having them in the air conditioned arena for a few days then getting them back out into the heat wouldn't be good.

The horns aren't too bad really, I don't go overboard on trying to make them perfect. Just sand them down enough where they look smooth, so when you add some oil, they look nice and shine. The bucks are definitely the hardest to smooth out.

We usually clip 2-5 days out, then wash again at the show. I used to do Showsheen, but it gets so expensive with so many, we stopped using it outside of show day. Reminds me I need to find the bottle I have, I'd been saving it for state fair! We use random stuff, this summer we've been using whatever we had left over from last year lol. Showsheen, Revive, Goat & Sheep conditioning spray, but I did buy Pink Oil. We LOVE Pink Oil on show day, smells awesome! We put it on their horns, and of course spray it over them. I'm definitely packing some for the bucks lol


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Morning Star Farm said:


> No, that will not be good at all. With the dairy goats, the arena is almost always in the same building or area as the pens, so that's helpful. My goats loved the a.c. lol because they rode in the back of the car and stayed in the house as kids. So showing was a treat for them!
> 
> That must be fun! I always enjoyed conditioning my goats. It's really an art, but not too much of one, you're trying to enhance their natural qualities, not add artificial ones like some people do. Doesn't really happen with the dairy goats, but I've seen it a lot with Boer goats.
> 
> That makes sense! I always worried about my nice clean goats getting dirty, especially the ones who loved to roll. And it would usually rain right before a show giving them some lovely mud. The Showsheen helped me brush it right off. I never showed as many as you, so never went through that much, but it is expensive. I washed mine with my own goat milk soap and my homemade conditioner, sprinkled them with vinegar either white or Apple cider, and sprayed them with Showsheen when they dried. At all the shows, people noticed how soft and shiny their coats were. I have never tried pink oil. It sounds lovely though! What days do you show?


I tried to have a fan in the buck shelter for them a while back on very hot days and they went out and laid in the shade until I turned it off lol. Brats! 
Yes, fitting a Boer goat is an art, but not a skill I have lol! I'm not great at it, but usually get them to look okay. A lot of people do go overboard with the fitting from all these conditioners/routines to glues/adhesives and spray paint. Boning of the legs is the big trend, and OMGoodness it drives me crazy. Goats look like they have fake legs where the fitter has made the leg hair stand out on end (trying to make them look like they have more bone). I call them spike legs! I just don't get how this is a good thing especially when you can see it's not real 

Your regime sounds great! I'm sure the homemade soaps and conditioners are wonderful! I've used ACV before, but not alone - we used a little bit of Dawn soap and Listerine in with it when we washed them per recommendation from a friend. I do think it helped condition the skin/hair and helped ward off any skin issues. I really should go back to using it. 
We use Sullivan's Stain buster to whiten the goats. I didn't like it at first, still not great using it (I'm afraid to leave it on too long and turn them blue!), then we go over it with Clean & Clear, it smells great. We use Pink Oil for people (African American hair product), it's the exact same thing as ProPink sold I think by Winner's brand but about 1/2 to 1/3 of the price.

We leave tomorrow afternoon and the show is Saturday afternoon! I have nothing ready yet! But working on it. We're planning to take 8, hopefully all stay healthy and happy. I am always a nervous wreck leading up to a big show like this, so I get a bit paranoid (I have mild anxiety). I was up nearly all night for no reason, just kept thinking did I put this on the list? that? ugh.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks! We are leaving in about 4 hours! Whew, I just hope we can fit everything in my truck - I feel like we're moving out lol!
We have about 1/3 of the stuff loaded. I have to run a few errands and pick my daughter up early from school so we'll work on getting it loaded afterward. We'll wait until my husband gets home and leave. I told him we'd leave the minute he gets out of the car lol!!! He won't be able to go as he has to work, and take care of the dog and goats, unless he makes a surprise visit!
He's never seen the kids show at the state fair, he's only ever been 1x to walk around when we went back last year to use some extra tickets we had.

I agree 100% about the meat/breeding goats. It drives me crazy. 
Yep, some soaps can be harsh. Thankfully we've not had any issues with the Dawn. But I worry that some had a reaction to Mane and Tail!  Their backs broke out in little sores/bumps after getting a bath, so we didn't use it again.

We travel heavy lol! I wish we traveled light! But definitely isn't the case! I try to minimize, but also try to be prepared. Shavings honestly are the big space hog! Then the goat stand, even though it folds up. Also taking the new goat cart my son bought in a silent auction. It's like a goat stand, but on wheels so you can wheel them around! People use them a lot at shows to wash the goats on. This is a nice cart, but I think we'll eventually alter it and put bigger wheels on it (thinking all terrain cart lol). Taking nearly 2 bales of hay. The goat show box (trunk) is packed completely, and hoping we have room for a 2nd trunk to put misc stuff in - and use as a lock box for my cameras, etc. Sleeping bags, pillows, each have a back pack with clothes, air mattresses, tent, 2 bags with food, cooler, extra drinks. WHEW. I should definitely get a picture when we're done loading up lol.


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## Morning Star Farm (Sep 26, 2018)

HoosierShadow said:


> Thanks! We are leaving in about 4 hours! Whew, I just hope we can fit everything in my truck - I feel like we're moving out lol!
> We have about 1/3 of the stuff loaded. I have to run a few errands and pick my daughter up early from school so we'll work on getting it loaded afterward. We'll wait until my husband gets home and leave. I told him we'd leave the minute he gets out of the car lol!!! He won't be able to go as he has to work, and take care of the dog and goats, unless he makes a surprise visit!
> He's never seen the kids show at the state fair, he's only ever been 1x to walk around when we went back last year to use some extra tickets we had.
> 
> ...


Lol! Please do take a picture! That is a whole lot of packing!! There have been some shows when I felt the same way. Everything I take has to fit in the car, but even then it can be a tight squeeze like the time I brought 9! When I told the gate person how many I had, he said, that's surprising! I always bought my shavings at the show because they didn't allow outside shavings. Hay was packed, no, stuffed and jammed, in hay bags, water buckets were stacked and held things like Kool Lube and Showsheen, feed bowls were also stacked, and then I had one box of miscellaneous show supplies like collars and Clippers. That was about it plus a suitcase! I'm sure if I had a trailer, I would have brought a lot more though!

They sure don't make any small farm equipment on wheels with big enough ones! You'd think they would. Once in awhile you can find a cart with good sized wheels, but most do not. If it's meant for a farm, it's gotta be all terrain! Lol!

I hope you get a cool front for the fair, have a lot of fun and your goats win everything!!!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Whew, we're almost ready lol. I took a few pics, but that's minus the cooler, a large bag with food, our backpacks, kids shoes/boots and water buckets! We need 2 more water buckets so we left the others out on the sidewalk so we'd remember to grab the other 2 otherwise I'd forget! 
I'm about to take a shower and finish packing my backpack.

Oh and I have to figure out where to put the crock pot lol! It's cold but it's big.
Once the cooler is in I can cram other stuff, haha!

I remember my kids first shows, we had an SUV and the goats rode in the back on tarps and bedding! It was pretty funny. 
When you're determined you just find a way to make it work .


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Those pictures - now seeing them on my computer make it look like we have plenty of room left lol!! I should snap a quick 'unload' pic, haha!

This is the cart I was mentioning, it's in there too (shavings are on top of it, folding chairs under it lol).









Front wheels are okay, but the back ones are small. Ideally we'd like to replace them with big wheels. We have a head rest for it. My son always said he wanted one of these when he sees them at the shows. We'll see how it works out.


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## Morning Star Farm (Sep 26, 2018)

@HoosierShadow How did your goats do at the fair? Were the signs a success? I hope you won everything!


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## Nigerian dwarf goat (Sep 25, 2017)

Morning Star Farm said:


> I hope you won everything!


me too!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks Everyone! We survived! Sorry my reception in the building wasn't great and honestly didn't get much down time so I wasn't able to post. We got 3rd for Herdsman which was fun! We'll work harder to add to it next year! The 3 signs on the pens worked great, we'll make them for all of the goats next year and possibly add details about each goat like the kids had wanted to do  I'm going to make a separate post about the show, it was good, but last night after the show was crazy and very scary!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks! I was out of it when I posted last night, and feeling goat show hangover this morning lol!!! I'm getting ready to post about our state fair experience. I don't have photos from the actual show yet, my camera is still packed away. I didn't take a lot of pre show photos, it was just so busy.


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